Chapter 15
Asil was the one Ludwig—no, Grand Duke Caliente himself—had publicly introduced as Lady Bolsheik.
To doubt such a person’s identity was, in effect, the same as saying one did not trust the Grand Duke of Caliente.
That was why, at the Grand Duchess’s party, even the young ladies from the most prominent houses in the Empire who prided themselves on their sharp tongues had been forced to retreat without a word.
The aide, whose excitement had only now begun to cool, lowered his eyes. The Crown Prince withdrew his hand and patted the aide’s shoulder lightly.
“I understand how you feel. And… thank you.”
“Your Highness, I told you—you shouldn’t say things like that.”
Though he grumbled, the aide couldn’t quite hide the emotion on his face. The Crown Prince laughed heartily.
And then, still wearing that bright smile, he leaned closer and whispered in his aide’s ear.
“As usual, you’re right. Which is why I want you to keep an eye on Lady Bolsheik. It’d be troublesome if some strange woman clung to my brother. Of course, I’m sure His Grace the Grand Duke wouldn’t have confirmed her identity carelessly, but… you never know.”
The aide bowed silently, and the Crown Prince massaged his neck, still stiff from the murderous aura he’d felt earlier.
“Well then, shall we head back? A theft, huh? That gives me a good excuse to visit again soon.”
“Your Highness!”
“Ah, enough nagging. I’ve heard plenty.”
And so, what had been an irritating encounter for Asil and an amusing one for the Crown Prince ended as chaotically as it had begun.
A little earlier—back when Asil was lounging lazily in Ludwig’s study.
In one of the annexes of the Grand Duke’s mansion, a tea gathering was underway, attended by several young noble ladies.
The Grand Duchess’s party had ended with a tremendous shock: the appearance of Lady Bolsheik, who was revealed to be the woman sitting beside Grand Duke Caliente himself.
With the party over, it was only natural for the guests to return home—and most of them did.
However, a few chose to remain at the mansion instead of leaving.
Most stayed only briefly, as their travel schedules had been delayed or tangled. But there were exceptions.
“I didn’t expect to leave this early, so… I haven’t received the money to hire a carriage yet.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
At a small tea table shared by those remaining, one young lady blushed shyly as she spoke.
“So what will you do now?”
“Ah, well… there hasn’t been any discussion yet.”
She lowered her head and fidgeted with her teacup. The other ladies exchanged glances.
To speak so openly about being unable to return home because she lacked money—how shockingly naïve!
At best, one could call it innocence; at worst, stupidity.
And now, they even knew—against their will—that her family was that poor.
One lady, who had been staying only out of courtesy, finally spoke with a strained smile.
“I’ll take my leave first.”
Her departure was followed almost instantly by the rest; chairs scraped, skirts swished, and in moments the table was deserted.
The naïve-faced lady blinked, then began shoving the leftover pastries into her mouth.
Had any of the others seen her, they would have fainted at her manners—but she wore a blissful expression.
After all, when would she ever get to eat such luxurious sweets again?
When the tray was finally empty, a servant arrived silently with another one.
“Wow!”
The naïve young lady gasped in delight at the new assortment of colorful confections.
In that moment, she seemed to forget not only that she was too poor to afford the carriage back to her distant territory, but also that she was a noble—albeit a minor one—of baronial rank.
She devoured the pastries with childlike fervor.
Then, as if suddenly realizing herself, she spoke in a small, sheepish voice.
“Um… sorry, but could you pack some of these up for me?”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, embarrassed by her own request, yet she did not back down.
“I want to share them with the maid who’s watching my room. Oh, and could you pack up the ones I had earlier too?”
For a noble lady to ask for leftover pastries to be wrapped up—such a thing was unheard of.
But the Grand Duke’s servants did not so much as flinch.
They simply bowed and complied, packaging everything exactly as she requested.
“Is there anything else you need, my lady?”
The naïve-faced girl smiled brightly and shook her head.
“No, this is plenty! Thank y—ah, wait, I’m not supposed to say that.”
She ducked her head in embarrassment, clutching the large basket tightly to her chest as she scurried away. The servants who had seen her off in silence soon returned to their duties.
The place she went with her basket full of sweets was a guest room in the mansion’s annex.
Without even knocking, she flung open the door and called out bluntly to the room’s occupant.
“Eat this.”
Her expression was now completely blank—the naïve smile she’d worn earlier nowhere to be seen.
The person she spoke to looked remarkably similar to her.
“What’s this?”
“Something we’d never get to eat in our lives.”
“What?”
“Just shut up and eat. I had to grovel to get these.”
Gone was the country girl’s innocent mask; her tone was rough and coarse. But the other woman didn’t care, only pulling back the cloth covering the basket.
“Whoa, seriously? You eat like this now?”
“Watch your mouth. You’re my maid here, remember? The Grand Duke’s house warned that each family could only send one member. Did you forget?”
“Ugh, such rules. Fine, fine—thanks for the food.”
The “younger sister” watched her “maid” devour the pastries greedily and clicked her tongue.
“Anyway, what about the valuables?”
“Of course I took them. Everyone was gathered at that tea party, remember? They’re over there.”
The older sister jerked her chin toward the bed. The younger frowned and reached underneath it.
Her fingers found not the floor but a small pouch taped beneath the bed frame.
When she opened it and saw the glittering necklace inside, her eyes gleamed briefly—but then she shook her head.
“You can’t just stick it under the bed every time. This is the Grand Duke’s mansion.”
“Then where do you want me to hide it?”
After a moment’s thought, the younger pointed to the half-eaten pie on the table.
“Bring that.”
“What, you want to eat again?”
The older reached for the pie as if to protect it, but her sister snapped:
“Eat all you want. Not that one—grab another and take one bite.”
“Hmm?”
Without waiting for her to finish, the younger stuffed another pie into her sister’s mouth, took the new one, tore off a piece, and shoved the necklace inside.
The older sister clapped her jam-smeared hands in admiration.
“You’re so clever! Pretending to be a naïve fool to lower everyone’s guard, bringing me along disguised as your maid—genius! Who in this noble mansion would ever think to search through half-eaten pies?”
She nodded eagerly.
“And stealing from the guests instead of the Grand Duke’s household—brilliant.”
“Of course. You’d have to be insane to steal from the Grand Duke himself. Besides, those idiotic ladies were too worried about their image to let any of the Grand Duke’s servants near the annex—they filled it entirely with their own people.”
“Ha! You really are smart.”
“You’re just slow. Anyway, we need to pull one of the cheaper gems off this necklace, sell it for cash, and get out fast.”
“Right. Before anyone notic—”
Knock, knock, knock!
Before she could finish, a hurried knock echoed through the room.
The sisters exchanged a glance and nodded. The younger quickly put on her innocent smile.
“Come in.”
The door opened silently, and two servants entered, bowing deeply with troubled expressions.
“We’re terribly sorry, my lady, but we must ask you to come with us.”
The younger tilted her head innocently.
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes, my lady. Please, if you’ll come with us first.”
Meanwhile, out of everyone’s sight, the older sister slipped something from her pocket and shoved it deep into her half-eaten pie, just as her sister had done earlier.
Moments later, the younger followed the servants without protest. The older trailed close behind.
Neither of them knew that the incident they had just set in motion—the theft that began with their hands—would soon lead to bloodshed.
How long had it been since the two sisters, escorted by servants, were made to wait in the mansion’s grand reception room?
Click.
The door opened, revealing a furious young lady who stormed in, her anger plain on her face.
Behind her came another young lady with an identical face.
“Twins?”
The older sister blurted the word aloud, and her voice—belonging to someone dressed as a maid—rang clearly across the quiet room.
The twin noblewomen glanced briefly at her, but fortunately, they didn’t shout “How dare a servant speak!” or demand punishment.
They simply ignored her.
The twin with a ribbon tied around her left wrist gave the younger thief a polite nod; the latter returned it with her familiar, naïve smile.
The twin with a ribbon on her right wrist exhaled sharply, her hand brushing the empty space around her neck.
The older sister hunched her shoulders and edged closer to her sibling, who whispered nervously while glancing between the twin noblewomen—
