If someone had told me yesterday that I’d be on a date with Lev after being smack-dab in a murder scene, I would’ve laughed in their face. But then again, yesterday was when we got engaged and now, here I was, sitting across from him in a carriage owned by his family on my way to a premier because my mother thought it was a good time for a date.

  Honestly, what kind of person looks at their daughter who had just witnessed two violent crimes in a span of an afternoon and goes ‘You should go on a date with your fiancé, sweetheart!’

  But what can I do? I was already here. Lev just went with Mom’s idea as well, not like he had any choice. He knew my mother well and knew that there was no point in arguing with her anyway, it’ll just be like talking to a wall.

  He hadn’t said a word since we got in the carriage. Too busy sifting through the mountain of paperwork Egor dumped on him before we left, adamant that Lev should at least do th paperwork they brought with them

  Sticky notes were plastered all over the documents. Egor’s terrible handwriting screwed in big letters:

  “URGENT.”

  “PRIORITY.”

  “I SAID THIS ONE FIRST LEV.”

  How touching.

  Lev, ever the diligent worker, read through them with intense focus that should be illegal on someone that good looking.

  I didn’t mean to stare—really, I didn’t—but the way the sunlight spilled through the carriage window, hitting his sharp features just right, made it hard not to look.

  Meanwhile, if Yvon, on the other hand, focused, he’d look like a frustrated toddler. No wait, that’d be an insult to toddlers.

  Actually…

  I could probably make a fortune off this, couldn’t I? I mean, just imagine! ‘The Winter Lyrix’s Meet and Greet: The Exclusive experience.’ Maybe even a tiered system—extra fees to see him closer and VIP packages!

  A brilliant business venture, if I do say so myself!

  “You like what you see?”

  I blinked. He said it so casually. He wasn’t even looking up from his paperwork, but somehow, he caught me staring.

  Was I embarrassed? No. Who do you think I am? I took immediate control of the situation.

  I leaned back, “Oh, yes.”

  That made him glance up, a brow lifting.

  “I was just thinking about how much money I could make setting up meet-and-greets between you and your hundreds of fans,” I said smoothly. “I’d be rich, don’t you think?”

  He smirked, “If you’re going to start monetizing my existence, I am going to have to ask for a cut.”

  I shrugged. “I’ll consider it.”

  And then—he chuckled. Not a huff, but a chuckle. Would you look at that, I made my fiancé laugh again.

  I tilted my head slightly, watching him as he flipped another page in the report he was reading, still wearing that amused smile. His concentration wasn’t focused anymore, I could hear his little laughs, the slight shift of his expression from sharp to distracted was dangerously nice.

  And his eyes? Oh those eyes were a trap, and I was caught in them.

  I turned away not wanting my thoughts to get any dumber, shifting my gaze to the window instead.

  Come to think of it, where are we going?

  “I suppose I should’ve asked this earlier, but… where are we headed?”

  Lev finally set his work aside, lacing his fingers together. “A boutique.”

  “A boutique?”

  “Can’t exactly show up to the premiere looking like this, can we?” He gestured vaguely at our current outfits—bloody and tattered. Yeah… not really what you would call formal wear.

  I hummed, “Sure we can. It’d make quite the statement, don’t you think?”

  Levv exhaled a low, amused breath—brief, effortless,—and then smirked.

  “Aren’t you a smart mouth, Young Miss?”

  “Yvette.”

  “I’m sorry?” He asked, confused.

  “Yvette,” I repeated. “Or Aidana. Or maybe you like Yaretzi. I have a first, second, and third name. Take your pick.”

  I wonder, I’m just trying to get him comfortable around me, but does this count as flirting?

  He still looked mildly confused but for some reason I found it adorable.

  “We’re going to get married soon,” I continued, “and it doesn’t quite sit right with me that my soon-to-be-husband is treating me like a stranger or some acquaintance.”

  Lev still didn’t react much, but there was something new in his gaze—a flicker of amusement.

  Satisfied with the reaction I was getting, I continued to tease him. “Or were you planning to address me formally even after the wedding? Should I do the same then, Young Master?”

  Lev shook his head slightly but the smirk on his lips widened into a grin.

  “Just call me Lev, Yvette.”

  I smiled. “Lev it is then.

  And with that, I leaned back against the seat. “Wake me up when we get to the boutique. I’m tired and want to take a nap.”

  He nodded and I shut my eyes, exhaustion washing over me, and slowly fell asleep with the rustling of papers as my lullaby.

  ?

  The moment we stepped out of the carriage, I felt like a *vortan in a circus—stared at and whispered about as though we were an attraction.

  Was it the bloodied state of our clothes that caught their attention? Or was it the fact that the Lev Niege and I had just emerged from a carriage owned by the House of Niege together, hand-in-hand.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Either way, the gawking was insufferable.

  Lev, as unfazed as ever, escorted me into Tissu, one of the most famous clothing chains in the empire. The name always reminded me of tissues, which is ironic considering the boutique’s clientele would rather be caught dead than crying in public.

  Tissu belonged to his maternal family, run by his maternal aunt. A formidable business woman responsible for its rise to prestige. It was no secret that she—as well as her husband and kids—doted on Lev and his siblings excessively, which meant he could stroll into any of her stores unannounced and still be treated like the imperial family. No need for appointments or upfront payments, he could simply walk in and the staff would cater to him.

  The moment we stepped through the doors, as soon as they caught a glimpse of his face, the staff greeted him.

  “Greetings to the second cub of Niege! Welcome to Tissu—”

  The staff collectively choked on their words, the rehearsed politeness put on hold as their eyes landed on Lev’s bloodstained shirt.

  From behind the counter, a sharply dressed woman presumably in her 40s—let out a strangled gasp before rushing forward.

  “YOUNG MASTER LEV! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!” Her voice was shrill with panic, her sharp gaze swept him up and down. Searching for wounds. “A-Are you hurt?! W-Who did this? Should I call for the doctor? O-Or maybe the intrèpolians?! No, better yet, I’ll call both—”

  Lev, ever the picture of calm, exhaled and ran a hand through his hair then started unbuttoning his cuffs.

  “We’re fine Sienna. We just got caught up in something. You’ll read about it in tomorrow’s paper. For now, we need your expertise.”

  This

  Sienna froze, absorbing his words.

  “... We?”

  Then finally, it seemed to register that he hadn’t arrived alone.

  She looked behind his back and saw me, waving at her causing her eyes to widen in horror.

  “Y-YOUR RADIANCE?!”

  Really?

  It honestly isn’t even a surprise anymore. A month doesn’t go by where I’m not mistaken for her so I slowly got used to it, though as a result, it became a abit of mine to correct them by stating my full name so that people wouldn't forget that I existed.

  "Her younger sister actually," I corrected, smoothly giving her my most polished smile. "Yvette Aidana Yaretzi Oryx of Sunglen. A pleasure."

  Sienna paled, visibly mortified.

  “G-Greetings to the fourth cygnet of Oryx! My sincerest apologies, young miss! You just look so much like Her Radiance—”

  My smile didn’t waver, “Tell me something I don’t know”

  Sienna laughed nervously, but Lev—clearly eager to move things along—started to remove his cravat.

  “Now that introductions are out of the way, could you help us out of these clothes, Sienna?”

  “O-Of course! Right away, young master!”

  As her staff scrambled into action, Lev handed me his handkerchief.

  “You have blood on your neck,” He said. “Must’ve been when the prep cook cried on your shoulders. My apologies for not noticing sooner.”

  Then, he turned towards Sienna’s direction. “Oh, I forgot to mention. Pick out something formal. Something fit for a premiere since my fiancée and I are attending a musical tonight.”

  Everyone in the boutique stopped moving like time was frozen. If someone had dropped a pin, it probably would’ve been deafening.

  Sienna and her staff stood frozen, their expressions ranging from stunned to horrified. I half-expected someone to faint.

  The catalogue I had asked for hit the ground with a loud thud.

  “You’re going to a premiere—wait no, that shouldn’t even be my fiat question. Young Master, DID YOU JUST SAY FIANCéE?!”

  By how loud Sienna’s voice was, her words have probably been heard by the whole boutique and maybe even outside.

  “Yes, I did,” he replied.

  One glance at Lev’s face and you’ll see that he’s puzzled, unaware of why people keep on reacting so dramatically whenever he casually refers to me as his fiancée like it was somehow common knowledge.

  One of the staff members, a young woman with a measuring tape, pointed at me.

  “S-She is your fiancée, Young Master?!”

  Lev's eyebrows scrunched together.

  “Yes. Is there a problem?”

  Sienna, still stunned, spluttered.

  “SINCE WHEN?!”

  Lev arched a brow, the picture of indifference. "Since yesterday."

  Lev arched a brow, still puzzled at the dramatic reactions.

  “Since yesterday.”

  “YESTERDAY?!” Sienna’s eyes bulged more than they already were. I fear that if she does this more those peepers of hers were going to come out of her head.

  “But Young Master… it’s just been a month since the royal wedding…”

  The rude girl with the measuring tape then covered her mouth after realizing everyone in the room just heard what she said.

  “And what of it?” Lev asked. “What does Their Radiances’ wedding have to do with my engagement to Yvette? Is there a problem with our engagement? “

  Sienna, visibly flustered, rapidly shook her head. "T-There’s no problem at all, young master! I-It’s just unexpected, t-that’s all! I apologize if I’ve offended you, young miss, young master!"

  Sienna was intimidated by Lev’s words because though he spoke calmly, his words carried his authority.

  I, for one, have had enough of the dramatics. Yvon’s breakfast show already hit my daily quota, and after that, it’s just excess. “I would like to see the catalogue now.”

  Sienna gulped and nodded quickly.

  “Y-Yes, right away!”

  She bent down to retrieve the catalogue but before handing it over, she hesitated.

  “B-But, just so the staff and I fully understand. You are engaged as of yesterday and attending a premiere… tonight?”

  Lev, who was obviously getting annoyed by the repetitive questions, clicked his tongue.

  “Tsk. Just how many times are you going to ask about this?”

  At that, another one of the male staff members—probably the head tailor—looked like he was inches away from losing his mind. Running his hand through his verdant green hair, he hissed in frustration before speaking up.

  “Let me get this straight, Young Master,” he said barely keeping his composure. “You want us to put together two formal outfits that would suit the premiere of a musical tonight, in no more than an hour?”

  “That is exactly what I am asking you to do,” Lev said in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

  I shook my head and sighed as I watched a vein pop out of the man’s temple.

  His frustration was understandable. Preparing an outfit for any formal event took time. You have to consider what kind of event it is, the theme, and the person wearing it. For nobles—especially families that govern territories—this was extremely important as their actions, our actions, are more scrutinized by others. What we eat, what we wear, what we say—whether we liked it or not, we would almost always be in the spotlight.

  This wasn’t just any noble attending a premiere, it was the second Young Master of Niege. A man coming from a ducal family, ranking above other noble houses and only below the imperial family.

  This was his first formal appearance since the victory banquet after not publicly showing his face during the royal wedding.

  His first time in public after that ridiculous romanticized version of the venobra’s love story made waves in the empire. His personality was exaggerated beyond reason—portraying him as this cold, cruel, and possessive “second lead”. And not only that, the story made it seem like it was natural that he wasn’t the man she chose because how could a cruel man ever be deserving of the bright and kind maniac—I mean “female lead”.

  And now not only is he appearing in public, he’s appearing in public engaged to none other than me.

  The “heroine’s” younger sister, the same woman that high society has labeled a try-hard, jealous, stuck-up brat—or if we’re going by the story’s description of me—the “minor villainess” whose only role was to exist in Yvonne’s shadow.

  So, yes, of course people are going to talk.

  If I didn’t like how people looked at us when we got out of that carriage, I’m expecting to be three times more irritated on that premiere.

  But what can I do about that now?

  Letting out another sigh, I just started to untangle the knots in my hair.

  The staff scurried around busying themselves since there was no time to waste, and a young man started to escort us to the VIP room. People around us still whispered, shocked about our engagement. The bringer of the news, Lev, on the other hand still was looking as unfazed as ever, still not realizing why people reacted that way.

  “You really don’t give people any warning or time to prepare before you drop shocking news, huh?”

  He gave me a blank look, “I don’t understand.”

  “Of course you don’t,” I said patting his back, “I’ll explain later. In the meantime, try to not break more people, alright?”

  ACE IN THE HOLE GLOSSARY

  Creatures