Yvon rubbed his nose bridge in frustration.

  “I skip out on one abrupt family outing and my twin sister comes back engaged!”

  "Are you done being stupefied? If so, get out of my room so I can get some sleep."

  Ignoring me again, he just continued rambling on.

  "This whole thing is just absurd!"

  “So you’re not done yet,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Look, it’s as clear as the waters in Lake Kalopsia that even if we wanted it, Lev and I would have a hard time getting out of this or did you miss the part where the empress basically told us to get married?”

  “That’s what makes this whole thing more annoying! It’s the fact that the imperial family gave this the ‘okay’! I mean, this is the same family whose head of their house has a soft spot for you and wanted you to be his son’s wife! The emperor even got ahead of his own son, overwhelming you with gifts the moment you agreed to be a candidate for crown princess! And then what? As soon as his radiance marries our older sister, you're just another political bargaining chip for his wife?"

  "Mind you, I was ten, and the emperor and empress wanted a daughter. I was basically their practice run for her radiance, Princess Cielo," I reminded him. "And besides, what does being a crown princess candidate have got to do with anything? I wasn't even officially one since the selection process ended before it even started when Yvonne entered the picture."

  I leaned on his shoulder, "Look at it this way: the imperial family wants me to get married to the second most eligible bachelor in Vreqiseon. Or is he the first now that his radiance is married?"

  "Maybe it's their way of compensating you for getting your hopes up at becoming crown princess," said Yvon. "Or maybe it's their way of cheering you up because they thought you might be sad your childhood crush got married to your older sister!"

  Not only was Yvon poking my cheeks, but also at a topic I'd rather not talk about. Not because it was embarrassing, sensitive, or anything like that, but because there was no point in talking about it.

  When I was younger, there was a year and a half when I lived in the imperial palace.

  Our parents were preoccupied with taking care of our older sister, who was sick, and at the same time, the Ducal family of the north was massacred. Only the Grand Duchess—the emperor's younger sister—survived. My mother wanted to comfort her best friend but couldn't do so because she was focusing on Yvonne, so she sent me to comfort her valiance in her stead.

  That's when I met his radiance, the crown prince, and just like many little girls in Vreqiseon, I had a crush on him.

  "When are you going to forget about that? It wasn't like that was uncommon anyway. I was one of like a thousand girls that had a crush on him. Quit teasing me about it. The joke’s gotten old."

  "And out of a thousand of them, only one is my twin sister," he retorted.

  He lay back on the bed and mused, "Come to think of it, you and Lev would be good together since the people you fell in love with married each other! Let's call it 'The love story of the two people whose love was unrequited.' What do you think?"

  I rolled my eyes, "That your naming skills need some serious work. I’m curious, when I talk, do you just hear a *furpaw barking? I literally just said quit teasing me about it! Also, weren't you just ticked a few seconds ago that this engagement was done behind my back? Go back, I like the concerned version of you better not the prick you are now.”

  Iy smirked and poked my cheek again.

  “Just making sure you’re still human, Yvie. I can’t have the best strategist in this sorry excuse for an empire turn heartless overnight,” he said with sarcasm.

  “Aww, but isn’t that how you love me best?” I joked.

  “Me? Love you? Who fed you lies?” He jested as he played with my hair, smirking.

  He let out a laugh and kissed my temple, “Kidding aside, I know that I can’t do anything about this if you’ve already agreed. So why don’t you just tell me what plan that brain of yours was already cooking up the moment you knew this was advantageous to us?”

  I smirked, grabbed the dagger I hid under my bed, and started tossing it up and down, with a smile on my face. "How'd you know I was already scheming something?"

  "Because I know you all too well," he answered. "Sure you look like you’re one gust of wind away from collapsing from exhaustion, you were oddly cool-headed about it all. Spill it, Yvie. What are you up to?"

  "Just something that will speed up our plan," I said.

  "As you said, I was given an advantageous piece for my board today," I added, throwing the dagger straight into a hidden slot where it fits. Doing so opened up a secret wall with a board filled with all sorts of plans and details.

  I stood up and grabbed a small portrait of my fiancé from the pile on the table, placing it in the hidden compartment.

  I turned to face my brother, "It would be a shame not to use it, wouldn't you say?"

  Seeing the villainous look on my face, Yvon shivered.

  “This poor family has two beautiful daughters and none of them are normal or sane for that matter. Remind me every now and then not to get on your bad side. I’d rather die at our older sister’s hands than yours.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Likewise,” I replied with a sweet smile that only made him shake his head in disgust. Jerk. He should learn to appreciate when a beautiful girl is smiling at him

  "You said this would speed up the plan, right?”

  “Yeah, what about it?” I answered, looking at the board.

  “How much would this speed it up?” he asked.

  “Oh by years at least,” I answered. “With this, we’d be able to execute our plan sooner than we initially planned.

  “Can we make it happen within three years?”

  I turned around and raised my eyebrow at him.

  "I told you, didn't I? I don't want to live in an empire where that venobra we call our older sister is the empress."

  He grabbed the other dagger hidden under my bed and tossed it straight past my head and into the portrait of my sister on the board. I knew it wouldn't hit me, so I didn't even flinch, but that was dangerous!

  After he hit the portrait, he smiled and said, "That would be a living nightmare."

  ?

  Late into the night, Lev looked out the window of a private room of a local bar on the outskirts of the capital, observing the bustling night market as he sipped his drink.

  His drinking companion and squad member, Egor, leaned back in his chair and asked, "Are you really tying the knot with the kid?"

  Lev took another sip of *whisper and replied, "Yes, and she's not a 'kid' anymore. She came of age last year."

  "Hey, I've known her ever since she was a baby. She's like a little sister to me. No matter how old she gets, she's still a little kid in my eyes," said Egor.

  "I just don't get it, Lev. Why are you going through with this? You could've easily gone around it by asking the emperor for the freedom to choose your wife. He's been asking you what reward you wanted for your contribution to Vrequiseon's triumph in the recent war. He was at a loss after you rejected all his suggestions."

  "I don’t need a private island at the moment, and the promotion was just the emperor's way of compensating me because his son married my prospective fiancée," Lev explained. "Why are you so uneasy about this anyway? We—the parties involved—are willing to do this, so what's the matter?"

  Egor furrowed his brows and retorted, "Because you're eerily composed about this! Look, man, I know you're usually pragmatic and level-headed, but we aren't talking about what you're having for lunch here. Marriage is a big life decision! I'm your best friend now, and I can tell that you still have lingering feelings for Yvonne, but you want to marry her little sister?!"

  Yvonne’s name stirred an old memory—candlelit dinner, laughter, and her asking him to look after her troublemaking little siblings.

  He felt a pang in his heart and tried to forget and simply focus on work. Pouring himself another glass of whisper, Lev replies.

  Lev set his glass down, tracing the rim with his thumb. “My feelings for Yvonne don’t matter anymore. She’s married to my best friend and that’s the end of that story. I have no intentions of longing for an already married woman unless it’s my own wife. Besides, though it’s not the reason we’re going through with this, this isn't just a matter of two families getting together. It's more than that. Our territories and our people's lives rest on this agreement because if we lose it, war breaks out, and both sides won't be able to take it. As she so eloquently put it, Serebro needs Sunglen, and Sunglen also needs Serebro."

  Egor shakes his head and sighs, "You nobles and your responsibilities."

  Lev laughed, "You speak like you're not the future Viscount of Edrea."

  Their conversation shifted as Lev picked up the pile of paperwork Egor brought for him.

  “Plus, your feelings for Yvonne don’t matter anymore? Ha! Try telling me that when you don’t wear the necklace she gave you anymore, maybe then I’ll believe you.”

  At Egor’s words, Lev flinched and held the necklace by habit.

  Seeing this, Egor grinned, satisfied. “See my point?”

  "Also, I already said it didn’t I? Like it or not, I’ve taken Haneul’s place as your best friend, so you’re stuck with me now.”

  “What are we? Grade schoolers?” Lev said shaking his head, “It wasn’t even official so let it go.”

  “But seriously, man? You just got engaged today, and I don't think work should be your priority right now," said Egor. "You should be spending your time getting to know your bride! You're getting married in a few weeks!"

  Lev—who was barely paying attention to Egor's words—replied while still focusing on work, "I'm looking forward to it."

  Egor pressed, "Take this seriously, will you? If you're going to marry her, give her at least some attention! She's not Yvonne, who's fine being in the background. Yvette loves the spotlight. Honestly, man, do you even know the first thing about your fiancée?"

  "I am taking this seriously," said Lev. "And I know she's not Yvonne. We'll take our time getting to know each other. We have the rest of our lives for that."

  "But one thing's for sure," Lev added, grabbing his file on Yvette; he scanned the information he had on her, "I got myself one intriguing woman for a wife."

  Furrowing his brows, Egor asks, "What do you mean by that exactly?"

  Taking the small portrait of Yvette in the file, Lev held it up against the moonlit window, remarking, "Something about those green eyes look familiar.”

  “Yeah,” said Egor, “The fact that she’s the spitting image of her older sister would make it seem so.”

  Lev smirked, “That’s not what I meant. I’m saying… There's more to her than meets the eye."

  ?

  Begrudgingly, I agreed to let Yvon sleep in my room tonight, specifically to avoid his incessant whining. At this point, he was practically living in my room while his room was empty most of the time.

  What's the use of using separate bedrooms if he keeps on sleeping in my room?

  I sighed. I'll be sleeping in the window seat again. I could sleep beside him but then I'd just wake up on the floor thanks to his sleeping habit of flailing around.

  I took the dagger from the hidden slot and closed the wall before heading to bed.

  As I walked by, I caught a glimpse of a picture of my older sister and me playing at our old tree house. Given how similar we look, we were often thought of as identical twins.

  I picked up the photo and Yvon noticed.

  "Whenever I see that picture, I'm reminded that we shouldn't take things at face value. With how happy you two look there, you wouldn't suspect that she was threatening you to smile for the painter in order to get that perfect picture."

  I smirked and stashed the picture in a drawer. "Let's not reminisce over bad memories. I'm busy enough thinking about the modifications to the plan; I don't need to be bothered by our unpleasant past."

  As Yvon falls quietly to sleep, I catch up on a mystery novel I've put off reading for a while. I was flipping through the pages, engrossed in the deductions the detective was making, when suddenly a bookmark fell out.

  It was a gift from the crown prince, something I've cherished ever since I got it.

  Usually, I'd put it back in the book, still using it despite being worn out because of its sentimental value, but not today.

  Somehow, today feels different.

  Standing up, I place the bookmark in the same drawer as the picture, murmuring, "It's time to say goodbye to my childhood."

  ACE IN THE HOLE GLOSSARY FOR THE CHAPTER

  Creautres:

  Miscellanous:

  Food and Drinks:

  Whisper - a potent, robust, aromatic aperitif similar to vermouth