THE WHITE FOX | TWENTY-THREE

  IT WAS THE third time Lady Kuroki had picked up the paper to reread, and Asteria got the cue that all of them were rather tired of it. After all, Danna was actually glaring. Io's attention had shrivelled up and vanished long ago, and she was now the only person sitting patiently and waiting without making a mess.

  Much slower than needed, the baroness looked up. "Fascinating."

  "That's all you have to say?" Danna demanded. "Fascinating? Really? After all that?"

  Lady Kuroki ignored her with all the stubbornness she possessed. "If Cora Langley was one of my agents, I'd have knocked her on the head by now."

  "Obviously," Danna muttered under her breath. "She's bloody incompetent."

  And ignored once more. Asteria felt a sudden bit of pity for her friend. But then, she'd already broken her promise to not be defiant. Not that she hadn't seen it coming, of course. A blindmen could have done so. She'd known Danna for years, and one thing the girl could never quite quesh was that tongue of hers. It was part of her. When she was young and didn't know how to use her fists, her mouth had been the only thing saving her life. You couldn't take that out of her.

  "Any ideas of this ally?"

  Asteria shrugged, eyes following her aunt's moving figure. "Seve Romero's an unlikely choice in our opinion. One of the other suspects, unless only Cora has been actually doing anything, and the other one just keeps track of everyone else. Then it could honestly be anyone."

  "Fine. Nothing. Back to zero."

  "Not exactly," Io said slowly, well-aware that she was probably on the way to getting scolded, but being unable to stay quiet. "We can confirm at least one person. That's not zero."

  "But you'll still be leaving someone on the loose. Not good enough. Whatever you're doing now, dial it up to two hundred." The baroness crossed her arms, pinning her students with a stare that would terrify anyone else. But they were used to this, so none of them even flinched. A crucial part of being educated by Lady Ichiko Kuroki.

  Danna said, annoyed, "We can't do much if they don't start with something, you know. We're not bloody miracle workers." Spying required time and patience. Neither things they possessed an abundance of at the moment.

  This time, Lady Kuroki straight-up glared. Asteria nudged Danna, flashing her a warning look. This wouldn't end well. The baroness could only be pushed so far before snapping, and it was never quite pretty. In front of her aunt, Asteria often felt like a little girl again, desperate for approval and acknowledgement. She doubted that would ever change.

  "Figure it out. That's a command."

  Danna took a glance at Asteria with one brow arched. Future duchess my ass, she seemed to be mocking.

  Asteria returned with an equally emotionless look. She respected Lady Kuroki not because of her title, but because she was an elder, and had far more experience than she had. Lady Kuroki was a master at this game of spies, even if she didn't act like it these days. Danna knew that, she was just playing around, which Asteria wasn't appreciating at the moment.

  Io cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence that had weighed in around them. "Cora Langley is working under Diego Contreras."

  Danna looked at her. "So?"

  Io shrugged. "It seemed like something worth discussing, don't you think? He's Diego Contreras, and he somehow has control over someone like Miss Langley. And while she doesn't write the recipient's name on the note, we can assume it's one of his people collecting this note. How do we feel about one of Diego Contreras' men or women being so close to a house full of defenceless people?"

  Lady Kuroki said, with no small amount of irritation and disappointment, "We should have sent someone to watch who came."

  "Who?" Io shot back. "Trust me, Mr Sanchez and I discussed it, but both of us agreed that any one of us vanishing for so long was bound to cause suspicion."

  Asteria murmured, "It's not enough evidence, you know. They'll just say someone forged the note."

  "Yes, yes," Lady Kuroki waved her hand in the air. "We need stone cold evidence she cannot refute. Well, her and her family. They're probably involved to some degree. Probably, don't quote me on that." She stopped pacing for a moment, giving them a long and hard look until they were practically squeaming in their seats. "Not fun, accusing rich people of treason."

  "They're usually the only ones who could cause actual damage," Asteria pointed out.

  "Not you too!" Her aunt's hands flew upwards as she stared at the ceiling in visible dismay. "Children these days."

  Asteria decided to stay silent from now on. Huo chong kou chu. Trouble came from the mouth. Besides her, Danna snickered. Io just looked bored.

  After a moment, Io stated, "It's not fun to accuse rich people of anything."

  "Well, no." Lady Kuroki tapped her fingers against her desk, eyes narrowed, deep in thought. The wrinkles on her face were more profound and visible than usual. Asteria lowered her gaze. "What do these Caershireen agents say about all this?" she demanded.

  "Actually," Danna muttered under her breath, "only Maximilian Harlande is Caershireen. Sanchez is Vayante, and Volkov is Novokulugan to his very core."

  Lady Kuroki looked at her student in exasperation, obviously trying to pick a few choice words to reply with, but ended up shaking her head and turning away instead. Asteria said, "The lieutenant echoes our sentiment."

  "Well then. Why are you here? Go collect more evidence." A glare, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. Well, it was, but it was much easier said than done. Evidence did not just pop out of nowhere. "Search Langley's room again. Look for more notes. Instructions."

  "We've already gone through her crap twice!" Io exclaimed, infuriated.

  "Well, she's obviously writing notes, so she may have produced more in the past few hours." Lady Kuroki's large sleeves flapped in the air, spraying a gush of fresh wind against Asteria's cheek as the woman neared. "Don't just sit here. Junya, go tell Yi'e to do her job."

  Asteria gave Io a look of sympathy. "Iolanthe, go search Cora Langley's room again later."

  Io's groan echoed in the large chamber. Danna rolled her eyes and looked on, indignant. Lady Kuroki looked at them, satisfied. "Well. I think my job here is done."

  All three girls remained silent. When Lady Kuroki's mouth twisted downwards, Asteria gave a quick nod and hopped to her feet. "Thank you for your aid, my lady," which she wasn't sure was at all what Lady Kuroki had given them. More like a light scolding. But the baroness seemed distracted.

  Lady Kuroki walked towards the desk she had dropped the paper on and handed it back to them as if it were nothing. "Keep this safe."

  "We shall." They weren't idiots. This was the best evidence they had so far. They weren't just going to lose it like careless children misplacing toys.

『-』

  "THAT'S ALL THE baroness said?" Lieutenant Harlande sounded incredulous. Lady Asteria stifled a sigh. He'd get used to that, maybe.

  "It was. She did not have much to add. She's satisfied with our investigations so far. But truly, we require much more evidence before this trip is over." She kept her voice level and civil, not daring to betray her inner frustration at the baroness's indifference. It had always been Lady Kuroki's style.

  "Not exactly," the lieutenant pointed out. "We could wait until after this is over to further collect evidence."

  "You'd risk her running away," Asteria said. "Best if we finish this up within the next week or so, at least with sufficient evidence to implicate her quite thoroughly in the crime. Leave the clean-up work for afterwards."

  "Fair." He sat down on the dark red lounge, staring out of the window. Asteria's fingers skimmed the side of the lounge as she watched, leaning against the study wall. She watched as he took off his jacket, leaving his white shirt as he leaned backwards, rolling up his sleeves.

  Was it hot in here? She hadn't felt it.

  "The amount of times we're meeting in private is bordering on scandalous," she mused, taking a sip of the water she'd been served.

  "Really." His brows rose. "I assure you, Sanchez and Miss Mi are far worse."

  "They're young. No one would judge them. Not like it really matters for Io anyways." She rolled her eyes, playing with her silken sleeves.

  "Besides, it's only scandalous if we're discovered. I have no intention of that, do you?"

  "None whatsoever." Part of her power was her reputation. So she did her best to keep it pristine, untainted. A love affair did not fit into that image.

  "Excellent, then. We're on the same page." He stretched his arms as she watched, transfixed. He had the body of a soldier. He wasn't a giant, but his body was muscled and strong. He was lean, the kind of hidden strength you wouldn't notice until you were close. When it was too late.

  She flicked a lock of long, ink black hair behind her shoulder. She hadn't bothered wearing it up. Too much of a hassle. It wasn't as if she truly had to stand on formalities here anyways.

  "So, we ought to search Miss Cora's room again."

  He said, "We've done it once. I assume Sanchez and Miss Mi have done it at some point. Perhaps we ought to ask Miss Pang and Volkov to do it this time? They might notice something we'd missed."

  "Wise." She nodded her approval. "I'll tell her to do that. She won't be pleased." Io, though, would cheer with joy.

  "No one would be," he said dryly. "Being stuck with Volkov's presence alone, especially when he isn't inclined to make your life easy should legally be considered torture."

  She couldn't help it, she snorted. He looked up at her, grinning. "You find that funny?"

  She choked down another laugh. "Yes. Yes I do. Was I not supposed to?"

  He pondered about that for a few moments. "Fair point." She kept making those tonight. All her life, actually. She was a walking bundle of wisdom sometimes.

  She pushed herself forward, settling down besides him like they had sat not very long before. "Alright. Back to business. What do we ought to do while Danna and Mr Volkov are busy rumbling through Miss Langley's things?"

  "She might try to send another message. Or if she realises the letter wasn't received, run. We'll need to be careful and on alert. I'll talk to Carlston," he promised.

  She waved her cup around in the air, careful not to spill it. "Does he not... question your requests?"

  "He trusts my judgement."

  "Must be nice," she muttered with more bitterness than necessary.

  He smiled again. "Not used to people obeying you without questions?"

  "The obeying part isn't the issue. It's the part where they might spread the information that concerns me. Not a problem when I'm at home, but it is anywhere else." It was why Lady Kuroki didn't employ many maids. That, and the fact that her girls could be thrust into dangerous situations where they'd need to be self-reliant at any moment.

  "I assume the emperor and empress choose their servants very carefully."

  She didn't directly respond with yes. Instead, she said, "The Court of Bones is a large place filled with many different people. Secrets are worth more than gold."

  He raised a brow and stayed silent for a bit, as if waiting for her to say more. She didn't. There was a fine line between bored gossiping and revealing too many details, and she'd been taught since childhood where it laid. Her parents had worried that people might have taken advantage of her naivete to gain information. And people had certainly tried. So silence had been the first lesson, learning when to stop talking. Learning what could be said and what couldn't be.

"You can't just say something so cryptic and then not add anything more," he grumbled, crossing his arms. She was acutely aware of his body heat besides hers, though they were at least a palm's length away from each other. Distractions, distractions. She couldn't afford those, not right now.

  "I'm afraid it's all I can reveal." She punctuated the statement with a little shrug.

  He sighed. "I hate that part of my brain just accepts that. It's extremely frustrating."

  "You shouldn't. It shows that you're not a hopeful optimistic fool."

  "You think optimists are idiots?"

  "Nothing is wrong with being a bit hopeful, of course, though it often sets you up for disappointment. And pessimists are horrible to be around. Realists are the best, I think."

  He tilted his head. "You know what, I agree."

  "Further evidence you possess a brain."

  He looked at her. "You know, I thought for a while that Miss Pang was the snarky one with the deadpan comments and jabs. I've changed my mind. It's you. She's just more upfront and loud with them."

  "I tend to keep my comments to myself," she tilted her head, "Nothing is expected of Danna, I like to think, so she lets herself say what she wishes to say. Me, I have a reputation to uphold."

  "Quite a burden."

  "A simple one, compared to those many others carry. I'm grateful." She glanced down at her nails, rubbing her thumb against one that was growing too long for her liking. She kept them shorter than most others of her status for practical purposes. It was why she usually didn't wear nail guards either, unless absolutely necessary, though those made good impromptu weapons, according to Danna. Asteria had rebuffed the point, noting that the guards made it difficult to actually do things with one's hands.

  He gave a little shrug. It could have meant anything, so Asteria chose not to waste time trying to decipher it. She'd probably be wrong anyways. She fidgeted with her qipao to cover herself better, since the fabric was starting to slip and the slit revealing more than she wanted it to. She caught him staring for a moment before he turned away.

  She didn't mention it. They had work to do. This was no time to dawdle on personal feelings. It was tragic, but true. Life would be so much more efficient if people learnt how to separate their own feelings from the work at hand. Something she'd learned early on, and something all of her mentors encouraged.

  For such different people, Asteria realised suddenly, her mentors sure had similar advice. Perhaps it was because it was the best one available.

  Conversation ceased, as they enjoyed their drinks and glanced around at anything but each other. Asteria thought about home, whether it was her room at the school or the one in the Scarlet Palace, in her father's gong. She wondered what they were doing. It was nine at night here in Caershire, which meant it was nine in the morning in Sai. Her parents would just be waking up, probably, unless they had had a busy night with their work. Then they might not have slept at all. It wasn't a rare occasion. They hadn't gotten to where they were by slacking. Her parents were people who worked their asses off before giving up.

  Ran in her family. In her blood. Her aunts were like that, whether it was Lady Kuroki or Aunt Junya, her youngest aunt. Neither the Lu nor the Song liked to slack off.

  Maximilian Harlande was the same, she supposed, in regard to his bloodline. They were both products of great houses, with their fate written for them before they'd even taken their first breath. They learned to excel within the boundaries they'd been set, fighting to achieve bigger, better things than they'd already been given, learning with every step they took that that was a privilege within itself they had to treasure.

  And somehow, their paths crossed like this. And Danna met Aleksandr Volkov, someone who finally matched her in sardonic wit and the sheer ability to irritate someone, and was encouraged to change in the face of what practically was her male counterpart, even if it didn't last. And Io met Louis. Yuan jia lu zhai. Rivals often cross paths again. The one boy who'd bested her years before, who the younger girl never quite got over. With this, Io finally got closure on that chapter of her life.

  If all of this wasn't fate, she wasn't quite sure what was. An incredible amount of luck, perhaps.

  Funny, though, how only the people involved would ever know the full story. They'd be mentioned in the report to her father and the emperor, but it would be brief. Most likely the lieutenant would try to downplay their involvement too. It would cause too many problems otherwise.

  It was their own little secret.

  Though Volkov... They still had to find a way to convince him to shut his mouth. She'd discuss that with Danna when this was all said and done. Perhaps those two not only shared the same humour, but the same method of thinking as well.

  Perhaps he could be bribed. Or maybe he'd just find it amusing to keep his mouth shut. Or maybe a lecture from Lady Kuroki would do the job. Who knew?

  "What are you thinking about?" he asked, raising a brow as he leaned towards the other side to see her better.

  She raised her glass to take a sip, musing over her answer. "The mission. And what happens after it. I like to plan the clean-up quite early on."

  He winced. "I hate the cleaning up bits."

  "Me, I enjoy plotting and replotting ideas and strategies for it that I'll never use beforehand.  Helps me relax."

  He blinked. "You're weird."

  "I'll take that as a compliment." Another sip. She was running low now, so she eyed the jug on the table, still half-full of water. A servant had brought this up before she'd arrived, probably. No questions on what the servant had thought of all this. She'd love to explore the mind of one someday. She'd been on many missions, and she'd wondered more than on one occasion how so many servants remained completely unfazed even when the oddest of events occurred around them. It was a talent she wished to emulate.

  She still refused to look at corpses. It wasn't precisely that she was scared, but it'd always made her uncomfortable. It was one of those little things that inconvenienced her in the long-run as a field agent. Hence why she wasn't one. Very simple, really. Those things added up into something big. She was content for the most part to stay behind the scenes and strategise.

  It meant separating from her friends, though. That always hurts.

  She'll manage, though. Her parents hadn't raised her to be a coward.

  He let out a soft chuckle. "I'll be honest. I don't regret running into you, even if it does make this more difficult for both of us."

  She thought about her answer for a little bit. He didn't seem to mind, humming a soft song and waiting patiently. "Well, I guess I agree."

  "You guess?" He didn't sound offended, which was good. Some people might be. If anything he seemed amused, which was as nice a reaction as any.

  "I suppose," she repeated with a comical amount of snobbishness. She sniffled, too, just to hammer it home. He let out a laugh.

  He thought she was joking. She wasn't. Because it was difficult to admit anything more without crossing the lines they'd already painted. Lines that could not under any circumstances be crossed. Lines that were there for a reason, even if it was getting more and more difficult to remember why.