Silks whispered against the rough sandstone floor, as Aprilia curtsied in her new dress, bowing just the right amount.

  “The pleasure is all mine, my lord,” she said in a gentle tone that hid her irritation. She was careful to not let the expensive dress get dirty. The thing cost more than what her family used to earn in five years, and now she had three of them. This one had a beautiful green ruffled skirt with gold and silver floral embroidery and a white under-skirt .

  “Better,” Lothar commented like an appraising schoolmaster.

  “Who wears a dress with the white part dragging on the floor?” she said in exasperation.

  “Rich folk.”

  “They’re idiots! It will get dirty and take forever to clean.”

  “That’s the point,” he said in an instructive tone. “They have servants to do the cleaning. They, uh, probably think they are doing the servants a favor by giving them work. I asked you to get yourself some. Did you?”

  “No.”

  “Why not? You have the money.”

  “I don’t want to order people around.”

  “I see you do it every day at the school. You seem to even enjoy it.”

  “They’re children,” she snapped. “They need instruction or they will spoil. Jack’s silly order to not use the cane has already made teaching harder.”

  “He has some odd ideas, but I think he got that dress for you for a good reason. You need to get used to living and looking like a noble. That way you won’t feel too out of place when you’re hosting them.”

  She rolled her eyes. “No. I’m pretty sure the lecher just wants me dolled up for him before he ri-” she stopped herself mid sentence.

  A cheeky smile crept up Lothar’s face but he straightened his expression under her glare.

  For a few heartbeats.

  “Someone has been missing their special one.”

  “Shut up!” she playfully smacked his shoulder.

  “That’s no way to address your teacher and General. You used to be so respectful.”

  Hard eyes bore into him. “That was before I found out you’re essentially Jack’s twin, despite being a decade older, and before you forced me to do all this ‘training.’”

  The words landed harder than she meant. She saw it at once and reached for him. “I’m sorry. I know I can be harsh with my tone, but I’m very thankful for what you’ve done for us all, especially me.”

  Lothar gave her his winning smile and ruffled her hair.

  “It’s all right.”

  Aprilia noticed that he wore an expression she had only seen on people who doted on their younger siblings. Lothar, as far as everyone knew, had no family, and refused to talk about his past.

  “Did you have any siblings?”

  He got a far away look in his eyes. “Yes,” he whispered, “a brother and a sister.”

  Despite her better judgment, she went ahead. “What happened to them.”

  “My brother died years ago. He was the best big brother one could have. The sister; uh, we were not too close.”

  “Is she, also?”

  “Yeah,” he muttered softly.

  Aprilia let the silence settle for a while, rubbing his shoulder, before speaking.

  “Why are you still alone?”

  He turned to look at her, “What?”

  “You haven’t been looking well ever since Jack went to Nanon. I know you pushed him into looking for a woman when he was lonely, and I’m very, very grateful for it. Plenty of young woman would like to be with you, but you haven’t-”

  “No,” he said in a flat voice that would tolerate no argument and pushed her hand away.

  She sighed in resignation.

  “Fine. Let me make some tea for you. Which one would you like, my lord?” she asked, with a twinkle in her eye.

  A moment later, she was astonished to have asked that question. She had choices!

  “The Amlain spice blend.”

  Her eyes widened. “The one that’s worth ten gold?”

  “That one. With Amlain now under Zoran’s control, prices have shot up, but a proper noble household would rather beggar itself than not have some spiced tea from Amlain to offer its most eminent guests. You need to know how to prepare and serve it.”

  She exhaled. “Fine, but you better guide me through it. I don’t want to waste any of it. My mother would have a fit if she knew how much coin I was just boiling away.”

  Aprilia went to the kitchen, with Lothar following. She marveled that she had a pantry of her own now; stocked with spices that were worth more than her entire village back in Nanon.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  And the space! Their home was a bastion, whatever it meant, a large hexagon with walls made of sandstone. They were roughly hewn, as the poor craftsmen rushed to finish the bastions and insulae before winter set in. Still, it looked like a proper suite in a castle. Each of the four rooms was bigger than the house she used to live in.

  She opened the doors of the cabinet that held plates, cups and shining cutlery with intricate designs. A plate and a cup were missing, as Jack had asked them to be given to her father; not as a gift, but products to be replicated.

  A secret compartment in the cupboard revealed a hidden drawer. Multiple aromas filled the air as bags worth their weight in silver came into view. Spices she didn’t even know the names of, never mind tasted. Aprilia was marveling at her good luck when her eyes fell upon the empty place where the bag of Amlain tea should have been.

  She was anything but forgetful, but she wasn’t perfect. So she ran her eyes through the drawer, then the shelf, the whole cupboard and then the entire pantry.

  Nothing.

  Panic began setting in as her movements became more frantic. She stopped, taking in a long breath, reminding herself that other items weren’t cheap either and she had to be careful with them.

  “What is it?” Lothar asked from behind, startling her.

  “I can’t find it.”

  “Must be somewhere around.”

  She nodded absentmindedly, dread creeping in, as they began searching. They searched for five minutes but found nothing.

  His face was grim, making her heart sink.

  His voice came out cold. “Check the other items.”

  He stood outside Jack’s study while she moved the stool to lift the hidden door in the floor. She descended into the tiny cellar and looked into the dirty bag that contained a few gold trinkets; leftover loot from the brigands. All there.

  Another bag hid pouches heavy with gold coins behind it. All there.

  Then she pulled a part of the wooden floor and took out the most precious items in Chadom; Jack’s engineering sketches. Thankfully, all of them were right there.

  She put it all back and got out.

  “Everything is fine,” she whispered to Lothar, her heart still pounding in her ears.

  “That tea isn’t the biggest loss, but our sense of security. Someone stole from you and fled away unnoticed.”

  He glared at the windows, even though they were slits through which no human could pass.

  “Have the guards ever left the house unattended?” he asked her harshly.

  “No.”

  “I’ll double the guard. Post more responsible ones.”

  “Thank you, but the tea?”

  He spent some time thinking. “The tea’s not important, the culprit is. We can’t let a thief that can go in and out of your house unnoticed run wild.”

  He pointed to the door and they left the house, locking the door with a crude lock.

  People gawked as they walked toward the bastion that was the military’s headquarters, mostly at Aprilia, as her dress fluttered behind.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, head hung low in shame. She tried to keep up with his long strides, trying to lift the dress away from the muddy ground. She hadn’t had the time to change into something more practical and it was taking all her effort to keep the expensive garment from getting dirty.

  “It’s not your fault, Aprilia. The truly valuable items are still there. But, the thief must not get a second chance.”

  She nodded silently, as the guards moved aside to let them in.

  Soldiers saluted to Lothar, followed by stares at Aprilia, which the sensible ones were quick to control. The rest got smacked on their head by their compatriots.

  “I should’ve changed the dress,” Aprilia hissed.

  Lothar looked her up and down. “Yeah, but time is of the essence.”

  They went to the office Lothar shared with his second in command, who was quick to get up and salute, his eyes lingering on Aprilia for less than a heartbeat.

  “General.”

  “Rafiel, I need a sweep of the whole city.”

  “All of it?” the usually stoic man couldn’t keep his composure intact.

  “There’s been a theft in the Supreme Leader’s home.”

  The man’s face blanched. “What was taken?”

  “Luckily nothing critical, just something expensive. But we can’t let a thief who can get in and out of there unnoticed be on the loose.”

  He took a breath of relief. “What was it?”

  “A bag of tea. A very expensive one. Spiced, so it has a strong smell.”

  “Hmm,” Rafiel made a displeased face. “It would have been easy if we had any trained dogs.”

  “What about that fellow, who has a very sharp nose? Torik?”

  “Out hunting.”

  “Send someone to find him. Let me know the moment you get hold of him.”

  Rafiel nodded sharply. “Will do.”

  As the men discussed their plans, Aprilia hid her trembling hands in the folds of her luxurious dress.

  She looked down. Mud streaked the hem where she had failed to keep it lifted high enough. The gold embroidery caught the light, brilliant and obscene.

  All this effort. All this cost. And still someone had reached inside and taken what they wanted.

  Jack’s words came back to her. Why he wanted an alliance at any cost.

  She had resented him then, thinking him a lecher trying to justify his desires. Now she understood his reasoning.

  Wealth wasn’t just a boon. It attracted parasites.

  And because of it, they would never be safe in the same way again.

  Happy New Year!

  Thank you for reading the chapter!

  Please leave a comment, Rating ? or Review ?? if you are enjoying the story. Also Follow ?? and Favorite ?? it so you don't miss new chapters!

  Also, please consider joining my ? There are some goodies there for every member, even the free tiers ones!

  Ghost Stories. It's very offensive.