Unlike his cousin, who was sticking to his own corner, and drinking himself to death, Antoine was actually having a good time mingling with the other guests. So far, it had been an excellent night, with nothing going wrong.

Though when he spotted Andraste approaching his cousin, the heir apparent to the company, and family, felt the need to intervene. "Good evening, Lady Andraste.", Antoine greeted her with a polite smile. He would gesture her towards a place where even his cousin wouldn't overhear them. Such a place wasn't too far off, thanks to the combination of music, the sounds of chatter, and Thomas' apparent focus on inducing liver failure.

"I'm worried about my cousin. He's been acting - oddly ever since he arrived in Kalos.", he would confess to her, a solemn frown on his face. "He has no idea about the arrangement, and nobody has figured out how to tell him.", he would continue.

Andraste Breathnach

Ah. So Antoine was avoiding a blow up, then. Why had his father set up the arrangement if Thomas was such a loose canon? An unpredictable force in all of this? Tilting her head, she eyed Antoine and brought her wine to her lips, taking a delicate sip before bringing her glass down, clasped between both of her hands. Her gaze drifted toward Thomas one last time before she was lead away from the other man by his cousin.

Keeping her features calm so that no one would recognize that they were speaking about something too sensitive, Andraste sighed softly. "No one has told him, then," she said slowly, watching a few people dance together toward the center of the gala floor. The music was delicate but lively and Andraste found herself enjoying it for just a few moments while she tried to gather her thoughts. "And I'm guessing that you're worried my approaching him might set him off?" she asked, shifting a little. The beading in her dress caught the light.

"It appears as if he is well on the way to that without me," she observed, lifting an eyebrow at Antoine, "His behavior here will reflect on both of our families. I'm sure you realize. Do you have a handle on your cousin, Lord Antoine?"

Antoine Benoit

Antoine would give her an affirmative nod, his expression still as solemn as ever. "Yes. He's not been in the best state, lately.", he'd tell her. "And I don't imagine him harming you, but if not approached carefully, his reaction will surely be explosive.", he'd tell her. Mostly, it would be his father that would be the subject of his wrath.

Antoine glanced over to see his cousin drinking like a common Magikarp. The sight of which caused him to stare in concern momentarily, before shifting his gaze back to Lady Andraste. "Of course. The main issue with this arrangement is twofold: for one, the matter of courtship and romance is one he'd rather have a choice in. He never cared for arranged marriage.", he'd tell her. "And I don't know if you know, but he currently has a girlfriend. One he clearly cares deeply about.", he'd continue.

Antoine had to wonder how that would even work out, if Thomas didn't just decide to turn his back on his family, at that point.

Andraste Breathnach

Andraste had to refrain from choking on the sip of wine she had taken. Clearing her throat, the woman lifted her head and stared hard at Antoine as if he had something entirely outlandish. Never mind that Thomas would take an explosive stance if told about the arrangement, but that he had a girlfriend already. Bringing her fingers to her lips, she tore her gaze away from Antoine as if she were feeling embarrassed.

She was. Terribly so. If this was to work, then how was she to compare to someone he already loved? What was her father thinking? What was Lord Benoit thinking?

"No," Andraste said, finishing her glass of wine in a single gulp, "I'll admit that I wasn't aware of that. I am not usually one to question the decisions my father makes for me," she continued, "Though I find myself now wondering what your father is playing at. Is he aiming to humiliate me for some reason, Lord Antoine?" she asked, turning her full attention onto the other man. "Because this is going a long way to do so."

Antoine Benoit

"I see. I apologize for dropping that on you so suddenly.", Antoine replied to her. Truth be told, it was better that he did it, rather than Thomas tell her that. Who knows how badly that would've gone?

"Humiliate you? No, my father wouldn't do something like this to humiliate someone.", Antoine told her gently, but firmly. "Rather, I think he's trying to do what he thinks is best for Thomas, whether or not he agrees. You see, my father isn't too fond of Thomas' girlfriend, despite how happy she seems to make him. I think father must've taken it upon himself to find someone he deems better for him. And to be honest, he might've seen you as a perfect match for Thomas, especially if he's going this far.", he'd continue.

"In all honesty, arranged marriage is extremely rare in our House. Uncle Daniel met Aunt Samantha in Unova, and they eventually got together on their own. Mother and father got married of their own volition. So I don't understand why he's doing this to Thomas.", Antoine would add.

Andraste Breathnach

The woman did her best not to seem wildly insulted, or even embarrassed by what was happening between them. Her glass was empty, and truthfully, she couldn't keep her gaze off of it in order to look at Antoine. She had faced insurmountable odds, battles, fights of all types, and had a number of military accolades under her belt. But she'd never felt so anxious as she did now.

"That feels like a petty reason to arrange a marriage for someone who wouldn't appreciate it," Andraste finally said, taking in a deep breath and passing her empty glass onto a tray that was passing by. "But I'm almost flattered that your father sees me as a good match. I doubt that Thomas is going to feel the same, however," and here, her gaze went back to the man once more. She bit down on her bottom lip and then stopped, schooling her features once more so that no one would see her sweat.

"If you figure it out, please do enlighten me. I am still fairly shocked myself," Andraste murmured.

"If things were different, I'm sure he'd be happy to have someone like you. I can see where father is coming from by trying to pair you two together. Perhaps he's hoping that it would at least lead you two to communicate, and for him to see what father sees in you. But this is frankly - inconsiderate of him.", Antoine would respond, hesitating at the end.

"I will let you know as soon as I can. I'm going to have a talk with father.", Antoine told her.

Before he could leave Andraste's company, he would hear an uproar that would leave him, as well as many other attendees, in shock.

Andraste Breathnach

'Inconsiderate of him.'

Andraste hung onto those words and resisted the urge to let her tongue grow sharper. Nothing about being noble was considerate. People like them couldn't afford to take feelings into consideration. Andraste desperately wanted another glass of wine, mostly because Lord Antoine had done a damn good job of making her feel both incompetent and, frankly, inferior. It was really a double-edged sword, because he was seemingly attempting to also talk her up at the same time.

"Of course," Andraste said, letting out a deep breath and allowing herself to feel deflated in the moment. She still didn't let that defeat play out on her features, though. This had been a good match and when it had been posed to her, Andraste had not rejected it. She liked socializing with suitors, but she had always had the quiet expectation that her father would match her. After all, he was the man that knew her best, and knew what she could and could not handle. He also had the connections that would set her up with someone who could handle her and her needs. Her own mother and father had been matched and they were perfectly in love, so it was weird to think that there would be resistance at all.

That said, she didn't want to voice those thoughts to Antoine. He seemed keen on taking the talk directly to his father, but the commotion behind them started, and she found herself turning her gaze back to Thomas once again. What... was he doing? Ena, her Espeon, had been socializing with a few other loose Pokemon, and returned to her mistress' feet, hackles raised a bit.

This... wasn't really happening. Was it? Was this happening? Arceus above, it was. Standing beside Antoine at the side of the ballroom, she had nothing to really cling to. No glass, no wine to sip at to pretend she wasn't entirely enthralled with the absolute gall of this man. Not Antoine, but Thomas fucking Benoit. Thomas Fucking Benoit who was her damn betrothed, though he didn't know it yet. Would he have held back if he had? If he had known that him doing anything like this would be absolutely fucking humiliating to his intended?

Andraste's gaze narrowed sharply, though it slid very slowly in Antoine's direction while Thomas continued his literal temper tantrum. Like a child. In the middle of a court function. She caught her mother's gaze, and her brother's. Both utterly horrified, it was Lachlan that seemed to school himself first before touching Catriona's arm. Her mother seemed to remember herself, and Andraste watched her mother and brother talk quietly between themselves before both of them looked to Andraste once more.

Was she okay?

No, she absolutely wasn't. There were many different ideas swirling through her mind, and setting Thomas Fucking Benoit on fire was at the very forefront. She wouldn't cause a scene here, however much she wanted to, she knew better. Andraste was the picture of poised and proper, if not a little rigid from her years in the Galarian military. Still, she could play coy like the best of them and simply reached aside of her to a waiter who was hesitantly trying to get back to work. This time, Andraste took up a glass of Galarian whiskey and took a slow, measured sip of it.

Thomas kept on, and each moment drew the lady closer and closer to cuffing the man up the back of the head. The soldier saw red and she had to take a second sip of her drink to calm those mounting feelings, those nerves. It was noticing her father's simmering anger from across the room that had Andraste straightening. 'Oh no,' she thought to herself, though he seemed to key in on Patrice Benoit instead of any of his family, casually pulling the other man into conversation as Thomas was escorted out of the room, the hall, the building. Hell, hopefully someone escorted him off the fucking planet for the stunt he had just pulled.

When the man was gone, Andraste finally looked to Antoine, "You were saying you had a handle on your cousin, earlier. This does not look like the situation being handled," the lady pointed out to the lord, taking the rest of her whiskey in one whole gulp before she placed it very hard onto a pretty little side table to just the left of them. "Insulting this Gala's benefactors, for one. Insulting my family, for two. Presenting himself in an uncouth manner, for three. You best hope that your father can save face, for the Benoit's sake. Excuse me, Lord Antoine," Andraste said, giving him a proper curtsy before she left him on the other side of the ballroom and exited after Thomas and the guards.

On her way, she grabbed her coat and her clutch and was stepping out onto the street where she continued to watch the situation between Thomas and the security guards. Reaching into her clutch, she pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and began her watch. Making sure that her betrothed didn't fuck himself over more on the way to his respite for the night. Then the security guards cleared out, Andraste cleared her throat and spoke up, "Do you have a safe way home, Lord Benoit?" she asked, looking at the screen of her phone for the time, "Or will I be yelled out of my own car while I transport you to your lodgings?" Andraste asked.

Thomas Benoit