THE SABLE SPY | FOURTEEN

  "YOU HAVE A CALLER, miss," the Dalton's butler announced. Cantrell, his name was. Laurence and Marcus glanced up, eyebrows raising. Cass narrowed her eyes as she took the calling card from his tray.

"The Honourable Ned Liu," she read aloud, meeting the two boy's eyes, letting the suspicion and confusion show. The three sat in the library, discussing yesterday's discoveries. Turning back to the butler, she told him, "Thank you. I'll be done in a few moments. Invite him in, please."

When the butler had vanished, Marcus stood up, scowling with a ferocious expression. "The hell is he doing here?"

Laurence looked pensive, tapping his fingers against the table. "Perhaps he noticed you two last night? Unlikely, though, from what we know of him. I have that much faith in you two's stealth abilities."

"Thank you," Cass said dryly. "I feel extremely proud. Perhaps you two should join me downstairs, just in case he attempts to kidnap me in broad daylight, yes?" She combed her hair back, tying it up quickly into a ponytail with the ribbon she had tied around her wrist, trying to make herself seem presentable. Both of them had seen her in far worse, and the servants of the house were discreet. There would be no scandal.

Marcus shrugged. "Just in case." He combed his blonde hair back, but it simply reverted to its original state. Stubborn hair, just like him. Neither of them had talked about what happened last night. Lord and Lady Rochesdale had been there during breakfast, and Laurence arrived almost immediately after. They had been in the library for a few hours, talking and discussing and planning.

The three of them made their way downstairs, with Cass leading, posture knife-straight, head raised. Entering the drawing room, Cass dropped into a polite curtsy. The two boys tipped their heads in greeting. "Good morning, biaoge. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Ned shot up, bowing. "Er... biaomei, Lord Archsham, Lord Farnsworth. I was hoping to invite you and Francis to a dinner at my residence, Cassalyn. On Friday night."

Cass mentally frowned. Head spinning, she arched her head and turned to Marcus. "Lord Farnsworth, do we have anything planned for that night?"

Marcus pretended to give it some thought, clearly realising that she was really asking whether she should attend. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "I believe so, yes. Lord Archsham?"

"The Bellastoke dinner, Dalton," Laurence mused. "I'm afraid your Miss Diao is engaged that evening."

Cass turned back to Ned with an apologetic look. "Sorry. I won't be able to attend. Perhaps whenever we are all in Asayama?"

Ned blinked, unable to respond for a moment, as if he was in a play and had forgotten his lines. All three of them patiently waited, placid and polite smiles on their face. "Oh. Uh, of course. If you don't mind, I'll leave now. That was all I wanted to ask. Wouldn't want to... bother you. Have some... business to attend to. I'll see you tonight?"

A ball. Cass nodded and smiled pleasantly, dropping into another curtsy. "Of course. The butler will show you out."

When Ned had left, the three of them returned to the library. "That was... very suspicious," Laurence hummed when the door shut. Cass stalked across the room back into the armchair she had been occupying, landing with a huff. That was an interruption she could have happily gone without.

"What was the point of that, I wonder?"

"Monitor me. He'd most likely keep the dinner late. I'd be exhausted by the time I arrived at Vawkher's Alley. Easily comprehended. And maybe he was hoping it'd convince me to show up alone or some bullshit like that," she scoffed, pinching her nose. "I'm disappointed."

"Because your cousin is bad at attempting to murder you?" Laurence looked amused. "And I thought I had the morbid sense of humour."

"You have no sense of humour," Marcus retorted. "I think he was checking. To see if you planned to show up. The Bellastoke Ball is the dullest event of the season. We didn't accept the invitation. Ned probably realises that, or his accomplice will."

"They have my sister," Cass's lips curled down into a snarl. "Do they think I'll just abandon her to the wolves?"

"What's Ned's relationship with his sister? Claudine, right?"

Cass gave it a moment's thought. "Strained," she admitted. "They have little in common. Claudine shares the family's opinion regarding him."

"Then he has good reason to doubt your loyalty to your sister," Marcus pointed out with a shrug. "He wouldn't understand it."

"He's seen us interact—"

"Then his accomplice. Whoever you think is blackmailing or controlling him. Ned doesn't seem to have much of a say in this." Laurence shrugged. "That does point to this mysterious figure being unfamiliar with you. Benjamin's right. They might not have shown their face in Arecia at all, tugging the strings behind the shadows. Do you think they'll show up on Friday?"

"They have to know I suspect Ned," Cass murmured, drumming her fingers against the chair's arm. "He's a horrible pawn. There's no way anyone would suspect he's the mastermind behind all of this. No motive, no resources. He practically chokes on his words. This traitor is intelligent and cunning to pull a plot like this, and has to be at least familiar with him to be able to blackmail Ned. A business associate? Can we dig into his business, see who he frequently works with?"

"Think Luke already dug something up. Didn't think it was important at that point," Laurence replied. "I'll send for the information when we head to Borewood Street later. This appearance is still... odd."

"He's not even trying to hide it," she said with a snarl. "It's pathetic, really. I cannot believe we share the same blood."

"I have a cousin who's just like Laurence," Marcus shrugged casually. "Blood doesn't matter shit, I suppose. Upbringing does. And some people are just born differently. Nothing we can do about it."

Cass's face was blank. "How am I supposed to go back to Asayama after this?"

Laurence and Marcus watched her for a while, silent. Both of them had the same answer for her, and they both knew she wouldn't like it. Just don't go back. Stay. With us. But they chose to be considerate today and turned their heads away, burying themselves in the nearest paperwork or book as she shut her eyes to catch her breath.

"I'll invite Lady Asteria to Borewood to share our newfound information," Laurence finally said, looking up from the newspaper he was skimming through.

"Anything interesting?" She asked absent-mindedly, nudging at the paper.

He shook his head. "Boring stuff. Your kidnapping happens to be the most exciting thing that's happened all month. That, and Arecian relations with Melique tensing even further."

Marcus frowned and pushed himself up from his spot on the chair and started reading the report over Laurence's shoulder, eyebrows knitting together. "Is that even possible? We're all but formally at war."

As was Sai with Melique. Melique's ambitions had been tolerated at first, as its attention had been firmly on the small island nations nearby. But when they turned their forces towards Vayante, their neighbouring country, the world had turned tense. If Melique invaded Vayante– which was weaker than ever after multiple years of civil unrest, they'd likely become the new world superpower, with an overwhelmingly large amount of land, army, wealth and political power. And no doubt they'd become greedy and start spreading out their influence.

War had not been formally declared, but relations were so tense you could cut it with a knife. Cass knew from her great-aunt's contacts that the Bone Court of Sai was watching with hawk-like eyes. It was rumoured that the emperor's niece, Princess Irina was to lead in the inevitable war herself. Despite only being sixteen, the princess had already led two successful military campaigns against rebels who tried to defy the new dynasty's rule. A most impressive girl. Cass's respect had only grown after reading the letters she had replied with to her inquiries regarding her family's banishment. Eloquent and well-spoken, with experience and wisdom well beyond her age. It made sense, considering the princess's rumoured past.

"How long until war's actually declared, you think?"

"Sai first," Laurence mused. "I hear that the Bone Court's still pissed at Melique for destroying one of the Saian consulates in Vayante two years ago. Anrim, right? Then that one in Noras two months ago. I give that around a year or two before formal warfare. Arecia would act pissed that Sai acted first but then happily toss their armies in the fold. We're going to be busy in Melique for the near future." His tone was light, but Cass could hear the strain and pain under his voice. Jack Dumont had died merely a few years ago at the hands of Meliquean agents. Perhaps their countries were not fully at war yet, but their intelligence had been for many years. The sacrifices they made on the daily would not be sung about in the generations to come, but washed away quietly into the stream of time and history, forgotten.

Cass grimaced. "It's going to be painful. Not close, I think, but painful. Not even Melique can stand against the combined forces of Sai and Arecia, and whoever else they manage to drag in. But it's still going to be bloody. We'll lose a lot of men and women. Good men and women." Female soldiers were rare, but they existed now. Sai had been the first to push it— Cass believed it was mainly the empress and Princess Irina's work. All men and women were given compulsory military training for two months. Those who showed potential would be conscripted into the army full-time. Saian's army was strong, and that wasn't even considering the small handful of wiccai they had managed to lure back. People called them witches and cursed their names, but that was because of fear. A single trained wiccai could easily demolish a small squadron.

Some politicians and leaders had slowly realised the advantages of having a small group of these people under their thumbs. The Yie dynasty was one of them. They now had a squadron of about fifty wiccai, some lured away from the safe haven in the Hatlen Isles and others discovered from their own streets, children of those who had hidden their abilities for generations in fear of discrimination and prejudiced attacks. The Iron Wolves. Near legendary, the emperor's personal squadron. It still had a long way to go— their ranks were almost all men. Many wiccai were old-cultured, the women not allowed to explore their powers for self-defence or combat, forced into domestic roles. But if the rest of humankind was slowly breaking out of it, the wiccai could too. But it would take time. When her exile was lifted, she'd try her best to aid Princess Irina, whom she had formed a working relationship with. Young as the princess may be, she was ambitious and intelligent.

"War," Marcus released a sigh. "What is a war if it is not filled with blood and gore?"

None of them were in the mood to speak much after that. War truly was such a depressing topic.

✴

LADY ASTERIA DID NOT come alone. In fact, she brought both of her friends with her. At their incredulous glance, the countess simply shrugged and said, "Lady Kuroki has business to conduct. She requested we leave the house intact. I saw no way to achieve that except bringing them both along. And we lied, by the way. I'm not the best fighter. Danna is."

The statement was so random that all four of them stood and stared for a few moments before Cadieux recovered and offered them all a seat. The youngest girl, Iolanthe, happily took it, grinning from ear to ear. Miss Daneira was the epitome of grace and elegance, and with a few sweeping steps, sat down besides Lady Asteria, whose spine was straight as a stick. Such a strange assortment of girls, Cass found herself musing. Ciri fit right in.

Daneira, or Danna, finally spoke. Cass realised with a jolt that this was the first time she had heard her utter anything past basic pleasantries. Her voice was smooth, and like the rest of her, resembled running water. Ice, water and fire, Cass decided, eyeing the three. Perhaps Ciri was the wind. "I see we have shocked you." That wasn't the King's Arecian, the accent Saian nobility thrived for when learning the language. There was a hint of Archenblair in there, from the highlands. Miss Daneira had not learnt her Arecian from a proper tutor, though her father's poor finances might explain that. "My apologies. We are used to being very frank with each other. After all, we have known each other for years and live together. Forgive us if we shock or offend you."

"No offence taken, Miss Pang," Laurence offered a sweeping bow, but it wasn't mocking, "I'm known for rather shocking statements myself, and Cassalyn here has a tongue sharper than a knife."

Miss Daneira studied him with a raised wry brow, before dropping her gaze and offering a coy tilt of her head. The little one, Iolanthe, sniffled. "I hate it when everyone's so formal. Have I ever told you that?"

Lady Asteria, with a deadened expression, said, "Yes. You have. On multiple occasions. Far too many, I might actually go as far as saying. Your protests have started to lose their effects."

Iolanthe beamed. "Excellent. And also not excellent." Laurence looked like he was about to laugh. Marcus was fighting a smile. Cadieux and Cass simply looked faintly amused.

"How old are you, Miss Iolanthe?" Cass asked politely, sitting down opposite them.

"Turning thirteen, miss." There was a devilish glint in her eyes, and her grin was cheeky. Little rebel, Cass decided. "I like to think I'm very precocious."

"She is a little hellion, that's what she is," Lady Asteria scoffed. "Ignore her. I only brought her along because she'd drive Daneira mad otherwise."

Iolanthe frowned. "I'm not that bad. Tell her that, Danna." She nudged the older girl's arm, causing her to sigh.

"I believe we were summoned here for business regarding our dear friend Miss Cirinique Diao, Io dear. Perhaps we should actually listen to our new friends tell us what they have discovered instead of wasting their time with pointless banter. Heaven knows we do enough of that already." She finished this statement by taking a small sip of tea from the cup Cass had poured for them beforehand. "Tieguanyin, Miss Diao?"

Cass nodded in confirmation. Iron Goddess of Mercy tea. She loved the name of it so much. Not losing a beat, Marcus and Laurence launched into an explanation of what had occurred yesterday night and earlier that day. The three young ladies listened with a variation of expressions— curiosity and amusement (Miss Mi), bafflement and confusion (Miss Daneira) and a simple raised brow (Lady Asteria).

Lady Kuroki taught her girls well. Asteria said, "There is no doubt that your cousin is involved in this. No doubt at all. Tragic business." She made a sound by clicking her tongue against her teeth. "Parricide. And I'm willing to bet that your other cousin, this Francis, has no idea of the supposed planned dinner at all."

"A ruse," Marcus agreed. "If she had agreed to attend, he'd most probably have hightailed to Francis immediately to plan it or cancelled it on some unplanned business."

"Likely the latter." Cass reached out for her own cup of tea. Taking a long sip, she looked back up and said, "It's easier that way for him. Though actually holding the dinner has its advantages as well."

"The same plan, then?" Asteria asked, tilting her head. "We wait until Friday, head to the mysterious meeting and grab Ciri. Preferably we unveil the villain, considering the great security risk and the drop of treason mixed in the solution, of course. Though that could wait another day if necessary. Saian intelligencers would be much interested in it." Her dark brown eyes flickered between the three Arecian agents in the room.

"On that note, Luke had fetched some information on Ned Liu's business contacts. I left them in the library. Let me go fetch them real quick." Without another word, Laurence swept out of the room and ran upstairs, leaving the others behind. After a moment's silence, Iolanthe Mi jumped up and started twirling around the room, before finally stopping in front of the shut window and glancing out. Cass watched her, a small smile hovering on her face. Carefree joy like that was rare in this line of work. But the girl still had her childhood intact for now, her innocence complete. As complete as possible, anyways.

But then Cass remembered Asteria's words. A royal bastard, whose own father murdered her mother. Who spent years in the slums of Asayama. She had spent a mere few months with Ciri in Sial Corner and both girls had seen far too much. If little Iolanthe managed to remain naive and shielded through all that, it was a talent. More likely she used her humour and good spirit as a shield. Instantly, a wave of sadness slammed against her, but she kept up the smile.

"Io," Miss Daneira murmured, glancing down at the table.

A pause, and then: "Sorry." Iolanthe flounced back to the couch and sat down in a very unladylike manner.

Asteria grimaced. "You're going to give everyone an epilepsy."

"She's a child, let her be a child." Cadieux's words were quiet. Io grinned at him, her smile golden. Such spirit was almost entrancing for jaded agents like them, even if it was just false bravado.

"Here. All the paper." Laurence placed it down on the table, bursting through the door.

Lady Asteria reached out to take the stack, and the other two girls started reading over her shoulder. Cass let them, picking up the papers after they had finished them. They'd be much more familiar with the names on the list than any of them.

"Bai Jinshuang has business in both. And he deals with Ned Liu? That is worth noticing," Miss Daneira murmured, jabbing her finger at a line. "He has the resources."

Marcus glanced at Laurence. "You said he was clean."

"He is clean," the girl said. "What people don't realise is who assisted him in starting the business. His eldest brother is the Earl of Tai Luo. Bai xian sheng is illegitimate. The earl holds shares in the company, and an executive position, if I recall correctly."

"The earl's fortune was stripped after the revolution. I did wonder how he continued to live so lavishly," Cass muttered, leaning backwards.

"His illegitimate brother, of course. He owes him. I don't think Bai xian sheng is fully aware of what his brother has been using his company to do. Saian intelligence tries to keep it hushed up, because letting this spread would be detrimental to the business, which gives far too much money to the government to ruin so easily. And the earl hasn't done much damage so far. He has a motive for committing such risky treason."

"You know a lot about him."

An apologetic smile. "The earl's legitimate younger brother attempted to court my sister, Lady Megara. I decided to do a bit of research before we made any hasty decisions. It was a wise choice, as it turns out."

"Oh wow. Ulysses Vaughn is Grey Jackal. Your cousin is practically running with one of the most dangerous and dirty gangs in Gira. Did you know that?" Iolanthe glanced up from the papers, chewing on her bottom lip.

"I've realised that I don't know a great deal of things about my cousin."

'The Jackals hate Gana. Vaughn would not be this person. Neither is he Sai." Lady Asteria pursed her lips and continued on. "Hua Jueying is a possibility. He's an exile. Resides in... Cheonuang. He loathes the fact that he's been forced to turn to trade. He was a viscount before the revolution, where he backed the wrong horse. The Yie dynasty chose to have mercy on him and let him go in exile in disgrace instead of execution. Revenge is a good reason for what he is doing."

"Except the name of the dealer has been kept silent."

"But his nationality has not. And I have good evidence that Mr Hua's lackeys have been sighted around town."

Marcus leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Have we found our man, then?"

Asteria shrugged. "Potentially. It's worth a check. You'll most likely find him hanging near the harbours."

"Which is where I was ambushed."

"The harbours are also within walking distance of the borders of Sial Corner." Laurence's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Got him. Who knew it would be this easy?"

"Here's a few problems," Miss Mi huffed, rolling her eyes as she broke away from the small group. "Hua Jueying is immensely rich and powerful. Though if he's our man there's no question on how he acquired his wealth. He has the backing of quite a few Cheonuang gangs. Powerful gangs." Iolanthe's mother was from Cheonuang. It made sense she'd know much about the country. "Gangs with links to mobsters here, in Arecia. And after underestimating you once, he won't be so content with letting you slip through his fingers a second time. He'll be bringing out the big guns. He's like that."

"You know him." That was a personal description.

"My aunt was... familiar with him."

Iolanthe Mi's mother had been a courtesan. Lady Asteria said that her aunt had been the one to take her away from Sai to Asayama, and Asayama was certainly close enough to Cheonuang. Had the aunt worked in the same line of business as well?

Cass raised a brow. "Is this personal?"

Iolanthe waited for a fraction of a second too long. "I'm not a revenge-hungry person," she finally said. "If I did, I'd have spent the last few years of my life trying to hunt down and kill my father. But I won't lie and say I won't feel satisfaction if he ends up being your man and you punish him for his crimes."

Laurence looked impressed. "You're wiser than you act." No questions about the little sliver of her past she revealed. Perhaps they already knew. Perhaps they didn't care, or sensed the tenseness the girl was exhibiting.

Her lips curled up, but there was a sadness to it as she relaxed. "I am an abundance of wisdom, Lord Archsham. Brimming with it. It spills out once in a while and surprises everyone."

Asteria reached out and rubbed the young girl's shoulder before casting Laurence a dirty look. "Do not encourage her. She is insufferable enough as she is." They were growing more comfortable, or perhaps they simply acted this way whenever they weren't being inspected under careful eyes. This was sisterhood. There were a few kinds of students Lady Kuroki's school took in. The legacy students, like these three, had family members who were taught there as well, and went in knowing what role they were to play. And then there were the other students. Those who had virtually been abandoned by their families and left to the guidance of a stranger. It made sense for them to be so close-knit.

Could she have had that, had she gone to Lady Kuroki's instead of staying in Arecia? She had Laurence and Marcus, but it wasn't the same. Even back then, there was a certain line between them none of them ever dared cross.

Cadieux cleared his throat. "I'll send my men out to scout for Hua. You have been of great assistance, ladies. I'll leave you here for now, must go organise this little expedition. The rest of you can stay here." When the man was gone, Laurence turned to the three with a dazzling smile.

"I don't suppose I could convince any of you to tell us when exactly Sai plans on waging war against Melique?"

None of the three girls looked even slightly impressed. Cass fought back a massive grin.