Solin had chosen three different dresses with matching accessories by the time Aris had finished her bath. After insisting that she did not help to get dressed, Solin passionately insisted that she was clearly underestimating just how much work it takes to put on a gown. It was clear the young maid would not back down so Aris reluctantly agreed to her assistance. 

The first dress had a wider skirt than the others with green bows attached to the blouse of the dress. Its sleeves flared out extremely at the end and the train was long enough for one to trip over, while small emeralds decorated the very bottom of the skirt. The second dress was much more modest: it was a pink off-shoulder dress with sleeves that reached the elbows. The dress itself was plain but the pink diamond attached to the bosom of the dress made up for. 

“It seems like you have a sense of humor, Solin,” Aris commented, eyeing the large jewel. She had missed the small smile that appeared on the girl’s face. 

“I wouldn’t dare, Miss.”

She examined the last dress carefully. It was a dark blue, floral-patterned dress with a grey petticoat. Lace lined the seams of the petticoat as well as the ends of the elbow-length sleeves. Aris turned around to find Solin’s eyes darting back and forth between her and the dress expectantly, eyes bright with hope. 

“I do believe the pink diamond would fit-” she was cut off when the maid rushed past her and began taking the blue dress off of the model. 

“Please do not joke with me about this, Miss,” Solin said, somewhat seriously. “That diamond is horrendous.”

Before handing her the dress, she stood still as she eyed the gaping wound on Aris’s right arm. The latter followed her stare and mentally cursed herself for not having prepared an excuse. 

“Oh, this…” she forced out a light laugh. “It was an accident. Sae was playing with knives.” 

The shock on the maid’s face scared her, because who would believe that an eleven-year-old child would be playing with knives? Instead, she simply nodded and continued helping Aris dress. 

Sorry, Sae.

After slipping it on, she wondered if her young maid had ever thought about becoming a designer. The dark colors complimented her hair without drawing too much contrast from her skin. The sleeves were the perfect length for the temperature of the season, as well as the necessary punch to the jaw, if needed. As she stood still, Solin yanked and pulled on the strings behind the dress, apparently trying to break a rib.

“Solin, are you aware that I must eat in this dress?” Aris asked, somewhat breathless. 

“Apologies, Miss.” She did not sound apologetic. 

“Solin, please, if you do not-” 

A tug. 

“-loosen it a little-” 

Another tug. 

“-I will be forced to cut the back of the dress open.” 

A pause.

The young maid grumbled something she couldn’t hear as she felt the corset loosen just a little more, allowing her lungs to inflate again. 

While nobles owned much more detailed and extravagant dresses, Marchioness Basileus had planned it so that the sisters were presentable but inconspicuous. When Solin finished, she spun Aris around to the full-length mirror behind her. An elegant, clean, daresay noble girl stared back at her. 

"You look amazing, Miss!" Solin exclaimed, turning her nose up to take credit for her small transformation.

"I do clean up nicely, don’t I? All by myself,” Aris stressed the last word. 

Solin paused before pouting at her through the mirror. 

Aris sighed and turned around. “I’m simply joking, Solin.”

“You joke very often for a noble.”

Aris didn’t say anything.

The hardest part about doing her hair was getting her to sit in front of the vanity. Putting her hair up in a bun was simple. Aris winced and closed her eyes as Solin pulled her hair back so tight, she felt most of her hair had been dragged out. Thin black strands were curled carefully to frame the sides of her face as a gold hairpin was struck through the updo bun. At one end of the pin was a gold chain dangling a small diamond flower. Aris looked into the mirror and moved her head, watching the chain sway back and forth.

"Very well, Solin. I like it," Aris determined. "Thank you."

The young maid looked proud of herself as she followed the young ‘noble’ out of the bedroom. Upon their exit, Solin directed her towards the staircase. 

“Solin, did the marquess introduce my sister and I to the house’s staff?” Aris asked, putting a hand on the railing. It should’ve been the first thing she asked; she needed to see what kind of cover Irwin’s mother had concocted for them. It was even harder since Solin never said her name, so she didn’t know what she could respond to. 

“Of course, Miss,” she answered as she trailed behind her. “The staff was very excited to welcome a scholar of your caliber from Dailora. They all love using the Visocul ever since we got the prototype.”

I have to pose as a scholar? She overestimates me, Aris kept her mouth in a hard line. It was a good thing Solin couldn’t see her facial expression right now. 

“I see,” she uttered. “I’ll be sure to relay that information.”

To whom, she did not know. 

Once she reached the foyer, she heard the sound of people talking coming from the dining room. The two double doors to the dining room were open, drawing her attention to the two laughing people at the ornate refectory table. The dowager marchioness noticed her entrance and greeted her with a nod as the girl performed a small curtsey. She turned her attention back to Sae, tone bubbly with conversation. Solin pulled the chair out next to Sae for her and retreated to her position next to Leta near the entrance. 

"I assume you’ve worked up an appetite-" Marchioness Basileus waved her hand. Another maid she hadn’t seen before walked through another set of doors wheeling a cart. “-the chef always outdoes himself when we have guests.” 

On cue, a tall man wearing an apron and toque walked out of the kitchen as the maid wheeled the cart back in. He held a filet knife and was overjoyed at the idea of another person trying his food. 

He cleared his throat.

“Braised venison, slow-cooked with fragrant juniper berry sauce!” He exclaimed, earning a slight flinch from Aris. “With creamy mashed potatoes infused with truffle oil straight from Imory! Topped with more shaved truffles.”

Eyes still wide, she decided that his declaration deserved a round of applause. He continued to look at her with bated breath as she picked up a piece of sliced venison. Truly, it was something to be honored with how much she enjoyed it. She looked at the others’ plates: the older woman had almost finished hers while Sae’s plate was devoid of crumbs. 

“It is magnificent,” she told him with a smile. “Best meal I’ve ever had.” 

The chef was giddy at her reaction, giving her a smile in return that was larger than usual for a man of his stature. He bowed once to her and once to Marchioness Basileus before retreating to the kitchen, almost skipping. 

“-were so pretty! I couldn't choose between the yellow one or the red one so Leta helped me to pick out one that matched my eyes~" she said dreamily.

"Yes, your eyes are very pretty," the marchioness praised.

She felt out of place. It was clear the dowager marchioness had a soft spot for Sae, but her stance on her older sister had stayed blurry over the years. 

Aris looked up from her food at the sudden silence. The woman was staring at her as her sister ate her ice cream happily. 

“Is the food not to your liking? You should’ve said so, Odris wouldn’t have been offended.” She waved her hand, supposedly ushering for someone to fetch the chef from earlier. 

"No, no, no. It's not that. It's delicious, truly." As if to prove her words, she scooped up some potatoes with her fork and ate it. Within seconds, she felt an instant burn inside her mouth.

"Oh, dear, I should've warned you. The potatoes had just been boiled." the dowager marchioness said, holding back a smile. It wasn't a smug smile at all that she was trying not to show, it was a smile of entertainment. 

Without a doubt, Irwin is her son. Aris swallowed the mashed potatoes with great difficulty.

All the while she was suffering, Sae was having a great time eating her dessert and laughing at her sister.

"Do you mind if I excuse myself? I have a matter to discuss with Irwin," Aris finally breathed out.

"Of course not, he's in his office. You might have a hard time finding him behind all of his paperwork, though." Marchioness Basileus blew softly on her own serving of potatoes. "Just go back up the way you came and make a left. It'll be the second to last door to your right."

"Thank you." Aris curtseyed. 

She exited the dining room and headed down the hallway. The many windows along the hallway made it very bright.

The directions led her to two white doors and she knocked three times. A silent "come in" was heard from behind the doors. Aris opened the right door and walked inside, closing it behind her. Irwin's mother was right; she couldn't find him behind the large stacks of paper on his desk. There was a young man standing next to the desk of papers busily reading things off of a clipboard he was holding. He seemed to be around her age, his brown hair much darker than Sae's, and was wearing a more contemporary styling of a butler’s uniform.

"And then you have a meeting with Count Holden to discuss the drought in the East-"

"Doesn't he love Rokamint?" A voice came from behind the papers.

"Yes…?" the young man answered in confusion.

"Remind me to bring with me some Rokamint tea. Maybe he'll be too busy drinking it to not-so-subtly advertise his unmarried daughter this time," the annoyed voice said.

Aris couldn't help but give him a sarcastic remark. "Not like she would want to marry you anyway."

She heard a chair scrape as the young marquess’s silver hair appeared behind the papers. He walked around the desk to lean against the front of it.

"Then we can die alone and unmarried together," he said smugly. Then he turned around and talked to the brown-haired man. "Orland, this is-"

His words were cut off when the young butler rushed around him and grabbed Aris's hand. He had dropped the clipboard next to the desk and was shaking her hand violently.

"Many greetings, Miss Alin! I’ve always wanted to visit Dailora! Is it true that their annual debate draws crowds of thousands? Have you ever met the brilliant inventor Sevan Tal-" a clipboard was thrown at the back of Orland's head.

He promptly let go of Aris's hand and rubbed the back of his head in pain. She rubbed her shoulder as she felt if the intense hand-shaking had gone on any longer, he would’ve dislocated it.

“Calm yourself. She’s a guest,” Irwin grumbled. “Not someone to be interrogated.” 

It was then that Aris got a good look at him. The bright lights of the room contrasted his dark complexion, but it didn’t hold a candle to his smile. Despite being given a mild concussion a moment ago, Orland picked up his clipboard like nothing had happened and bowed slightly to her while whispering small apologies. 

"Nothing to fuss over," Aris reassured, turning towards Irwin. “Can I have a word with you?”

The marquess nodded and gestured towards the door. He went to follow her out when Orland’s voice called him back. 

“Your Grace, there’s still many documents that need-”

The slam of the door cut him off. Orland looked at the desk of papers and sighed. Working for the young noble was surely akin to looking after his younger brothers.

________________________

The garden was filled with flowers similar to those in the vases of the manor. A stone path led the way to a large gazebo that was situated in the middle.

"What did you want to talk about?" Irwin asked as they were walking.

"This isn’t about our plans," Aris confessed.

"And here I was, thinking you might start to take this seriously.”

That struck a nerve.

"Don’t tell me I’m not taking it seriously,” she glowered. “I know how much this means to you but you’re not the only one with someone to avenge.” 

She waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, she took a long breath and tried to calm down. 

“Lincoln was arrested by a nobleman’s guards."

Irwin stopped walking. She had walked further ahead of him but stopped to turn around. He then smirked slightly and shook his head. "Always pegged him for a criminal."

"Well, he's not." Her expression darkened. "And how can you say that when you’ve never even met him?"

"But can you prove he’s not a criminal?" He fired back.

Aris stayed silent. Could it be that drunken claim about being a criminal was the truth?

"What do you want me to do about it?" Irwin finally gave in.

"I don't want you to break him out of prison if that's what you're thinking,” she started, crossing her arms. “I need you to use your connections to find out what he got supposedly arrested for and how we can clear it up." 

A beat of silence.

He threw his arms up in the air. “Fine. What am I looking for?”

A smile finally found its way on Aris’s face. 

“A family crest with a spear and halberd crossed in front. With wings.”

The marquess made direct eye contact with her with a serious expression. 

“I know that family.”

“Perfect, that saves you the trip.”

“No, no. You don’t understand. That’s House von Sane’s family crest-” he rubbed his temples. ”-Archduke von Sane.”  

“Archduke?” Aris repeated, not believing him. “Archduke? Not Baron or Count? Archduke? As in, this kingdom’s only Archduke? Second only to the royal family?”

Irwin nodded solemnly. “And he’s not a very nice Archduke either. Not a lot of people would willingly inform on him.” 

But the girl wouldn’t let this deter her. She smiled suddenly as an idea came to mind. 

“Don’t you have a lovely collection of untouched whiskey?” 

“Yes… but what are you-” he cut himself off, crossing his arms. “Absolutely not.”

Aris mirrored his stance and gave him an expression that said “we both know you’re going to cave. Just do it now and save us some time”

She then turned around and continued walking further into the garden as Irwin jogged to catch up, whining.

"I was saving that collection, too."