Going through the proper channels to request a tour of the High Court was not difficult if you were from one of the most brilliant countries in the world. Or pretending to be, at least. What came before was the hardest. The town she and Sae grew up in, Barr’s End, never had a formal education beyond some primary schooling and whatever the parents taught their kids. The sisters were lucky enough to have had Sir Verin and Irwin provide them with books straight from the Marquessate every time they visited, though. 

However none of those books had required her to read about Shanri’s ridiculous legal procedures. 

“It’s not even a legal system,” Aris complained to Irwin during breakfast one morning. She had spent most of her free time since leaving Hinor Manor a few days ago in the Marquessate library. “They debate for hours on end about their cases and whoever gets tongue-tied in the end loses. For such a shoddy excuse for a trial they sure have a lot of rules.”

“It’s because they have a shoddy trial system that they have a lot of rules,” Irwin explained. “That’s why there are just as many frauds as there are actual scholars in Dailora’s capital. Worst kept secret there is.”

“How are they still the mainland’s chief intelligence country then?”

He merely shrugged and replied, “There’s only so much you can lie and imitate but it takes brains to keep up the act.”

“All I’m saying is that if I get challenged to a debate, you’re on your own,” she warned jokingly. 

“Nice to know you always have my back,” the young marquess replied, eyes narrowing slightly. 

“Are the people you’re lying to bad people?” Sae interjected. 

Irwin looked at her and then her older sister before responding, “Yes they are Sae. Very bad people-”

Aris kicked him in the shins and silenced him with a glare. 

“No, they’re not bad people,” she corrected. 

“Then why are you lying to them? And breaking the law too?”

“We’re not technically breaking the law, just-”

She glared at him again. 

“I’m going to be honest with you, Sae, because you’re not a little kid anymore and I trust you to make good judgments.” Her younger sister nodded. “We are breaking the law but we’re doing it so we can prove they broke the law, too, but in a more serious way. And we won’t hurt anyone like they did.”

No one that doesn’t deserve it anyway, she added in her head. 

“So it’s okay to do bad things as long as you’re doing it for good?” Sae concluded. 

“There’s a line between doing bad things to do good and doing bad things because you can,” Aris clarified. “You also need to make sure the bad things are truly your only option. Otherwise, that can make you a bad person too.”

Sae nodded and stared at the omelet on her plate. 

Aris turned to Irwin again. An unspoken conversation occurred between the eye contact that seemed to say:

How long will it be until we cross that line?

“What do you have planned today, Sae?” Irwin changed the subject. The girl looked up at him, a smile returning to her face. 

“Lady Basileus said that she would take me out on a picnic after my etiquette lessons!” She exclaimed. “I finally get to wear my new hat!”

“That sounds like so much fun, Sae,” Aris said. “Make sure to be on your best behavior.”

“Of course I will. I’m not like you during your lessons.”

She had meant nothing rude behind it, but it had Aris choking on her juice and Irwin laughing with tears in his eyes. It was just a simple comment she had heard from the maids, is all. 

________________________

Since the prince’s engagement party was over, the daily Uturi, etiquette, and harp lessons had been reduced to three times a week. This was good news for her since she no longer had to fake smile at Professor Owlan or fake sadness in front of Countess Holden at her ‘ineffective’ attempts at getting Irwin and Lady Zira together. 

Today was one of her days off so she spent it at the desk in her room, sorting through the piles of letters she had received from noblewomen. Next to her was Solin, clutching the wastebasket as Aris threw invitation after invitation away. 

“Miss-”

“Alin.”

“My lady-”

“Alin.”

“Miss Alin,” Solin finally conceded. “Do you really not want to go to all of these parties?”

Aris threw another letter over her shoulder where the maid had caught it deftly. “I’m not the party type. And most of them just want to know my relationship with Irwin anyway.” She picked up the next letter, the scales on the wax seal catching her attention. 

“Finally!” She suddenly exclaimed, scaring Solin into dropping the basket. The black-haired girl grabbed her letter opener and sliced the paper clean open. 

Miss Alin Anumea, your tour date within the High Court is scheduled for exactly one week from today on the eighth, she read in her head. 

“Solin, please let the marquess know a date has been set at the High Court for the eighth,” Aris said, walking towards the door. 

“Understood, Miss Alin,” Solin replied. “But wait, where are you going?”

“I have a meeting!” Aris called from the doorway.

“Miss, you need an escort!”

The sound of the door closing told Solin that she did not. 

________________________

Leaf & Petal was just as bright on the inside as it was on the outside. In recent years, the tea shop for nobles expanded its business and opened other stores within the capital closer to where the majority of the commoners reside. Since then, it has been the only shop in the kingdom to cater to all kinds of clientele regardless of their social status. From one of the tables next to a window, a red-haired knight sat waiting for her.

“I didn’t peg you as the type to enjoy citrus tea and strawberry cake, Sir Krylington,” Aris joked, pulling out the chair across from him.

“Please, call me Leon! I call you Alin,” Leon insisted.

“I didn’t tell you to call me Alin,” she joked again. 

“You didn’t have to. You’re my friend.” 

Barely a minute into their second meeting and Leon had already considered her his friend. Sometimes it was nice to think so carefreely. 

“I could be a serial killer for all you know,” Aris posed. “Maybe it was my plan to meet up with you and then kill you.”

Leon put a finger to his chin in mock consideration. “If you did, I’d have to blame it on Irwin. Bad judge of character he is. Can you believe he called me ‘loud’?!”

Considering some of the other customers in the shop had turned and looked at them, it was not something hard to believe. 

She turned and looked at their surroundings before giving the small crowd an embarrassed smile. 

“I’m not loud, he just has sensitive hearing!” The redhead continued to speak loudly. 

“I understand Leon,” Aris sighed. “Can you-”

“Even if I was loud,” he continued, throwing his arms up in the air. “It’s just because I get excited unlike that wet blanket.”

She opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by his prolonged monologue. 

“He’s just like my brother, calling me ‘loud’ and ‘rude.’ Zephyria, I called that lady’s hair pigeon-like once and he never-”

“Leon,” Aris finally spoke sternly. “Can you please sit down?”

Leon looked down at his body as if he hadn’t noticed that sometime during his rant he had gotten up. Additionally, he looked around, realizing he had drawn every single pair of eyes on the second floor of the tea shop. Slowly, he sat back down with a grunt as he crossed his arms. 

“Have you calmed down?” Aris asked, raising an eyebrow. 

He spared her a glance and nodded once. 

“I don’t mind if you have a loud voice Leon,” she said. “But as a knight you should be mindful of how you act in public.” 

He nodded meekly with a slight pout. 

“I didn’t scare you, did I?” Leon asked, looking like a kicked puppy. “My mother always flinches when I start talking.”

“No worries. You didn’t scare me.”

He nodded again, reaching for the tea kettle. “Tea?” Aris held out her teacup as he poured. “This is my mother’s favorite tea shop.” 

“Are you close with your mother?”

“Sure. But my brother’s closer. She doesn’t like that I don’t take her religion as seriously as he does.”

Vemalla wasn’t a very religious kingdom with the main goddess of worship being Zephyria, the goddess of the sky. Sure, there were a few temples here and there on her behalf but overall it was rare to see one of her devout followers. Leon continued speaking. 

“I bet she wished she raised us back in Imory.”

“Your mother's from Imory?” Aris asked, blowing on her tea. 

He nodded and popped a sugar cube in his mouth. “Nothing more stuffy than growing up with clergymen for relatives.”

She took a sip from her cup and remained silent. The thought of a young Leon being forced to be quiet as his mother prayed brought a smile to her face. 

“Anyway, let us talk about the reason I asked to meet with you,” the black-haired girl said. 

Leon made a hum of agreement, finishing the last of his macaron. 

“Do you have information on the person I asked you to look into?”

The knight’s eyes shone brightly like grass on a warm spring day. 

“Of course, I have everything in-” he unzipped his jacket and pulled out a white file. “-here.”

Aris happily took the file from his hands and opened it with anticipation. It didn’t take long for her to get through the information since…

“There’s nothing in here,” she observed, looking up at him. 

“I know! Isn’t it exciting?” he exclaimed, picking up another macaron. 

“It would be a lot more exciting if I had the information I asked you to find for me,” Aris responded.

“The folder was for some flare. Hate to break it to ya,” Leon said. “But there’s no noble named Leo with blonde hair and green eyes.”

She closed the empty file and placed it on the table in front of her. “This is unbelievable”

“Hey, I may be unreliable-”

“I said unbeli-”

“But my sources definitely aren’t!” He insisted. “No noble or child of a noble named Leo or even nicknamed Leo exists in any official family tree.” 

A moment of silence passed as Aris processed this information, mood souring by the second. 

“Alin…are you okay?” Leon asked, face morphing into one of worry.

“I’m fine, Leon. Why do you ask?” She managed to keep her voice steady.

“You look like Irwin every time he finds out I’ve skipped out on training.” 

A beat.

“Leon, be honest. Do I look like a human trafficker?” 

“Huh?” He looked appalled at the question. “No…I don’t think so.” 

“Then why do people keep lying to me about their identities?!” She shouted, slamming a hand on the table. 

The guests around the shop looked at them once again.