It was late—well later when he finally got back to the dorm. A week, maybe less, was how long the assassin-turned-tailor was willing to stall before arranging a meeting with Alice.

The second the words left his mouth, he realized what a colossal mistake this was.

Impersonating a well-known criminal to make a fake deal with his fake sister about tying up a loose end that could, admittedly, use a little tying up?

It was a horrible idea.

He landed on the balcony and pushed open the door, finding Alice still awake in her uniform. She was at the table, scribbling on some paper with a focused look. Cal made for his room. He could find a way to broach the subject tomorrow when he was rested.

He had only just gripped the handle when she spoke.

"How was she?" Alice asked. Cal couldn't tell if the hint of concern was genuine or not.

He meandered over and collapsed on the couch, sensing that this wasn't going to be a one-and-done conversation.

"Perfectly fine," Cal responded quickly while pondering the actual question. Olivia had said she was fine, but the woman proved herself an able actor. Still, it would be disrespectful not to take her at her word. "She's a tough one."

"Did she say anything more about our offer?"

It was her offer, but Cal didn't bother to correct her.

"She wants to stay in the city," Cal gave the opposite of her actual opinion. "I wouldn't worry about her. She can handle herself." Cal added, lest Olivia be added to the 'list' Anne was on.

Alice glanced at him, her eyes lingering on him for a moment.

They narrowed, and he traced her gaze. Ah, he was hoping she wouldn't notice that.

"You're injured," Alice stated as a fact. The chair scraped against the floor, and she rose, approaching his prone form.

He was always bad at keeping track of things like that.

"I was," Cal clarified. Pushing himself into an upright position, he tugged at the hole to display the unblemished skin on his arm. "It wasn't a big deal."

She stopped by his side, leaning down and inspecting the tear.

"Can you give me more than that?"

Her tone was softer, not as demanding as he expected. Perhaps because of that, he decided to give her some substance.

"It was a misunderstanding." Of a certain type at least. "I was more careless than I should have been. Won't happen again."

Cal couldn't be sure that was the case; it was hard to account for outliers like that. Even so, he could at least try to make sure that particular psycho wouldn't get the jump on him again. How he would accomplish that would be something he'd have to workshop.

"There's no discoloration," she commented, a critical eye examining him. "You heal well."

He could hardly take credit for that. All he had to do was guide the magic where it needed to go, and it gleefully reverted any damage in its path.

There were plenty of mages able to heal their own wounds; all Federation mages were required to have some skill in it, as he knew from the field guide.

Cal always had the sense his was broader in scope than most; regrowing half your body couldn't be normal. Millie had readily confirmed as much and even came up with a plausible, if aggravating, way to explain it to the brass.

What she didn't see fit to inform him of was how peculiar it was for someone of his nominal age to heal without a mark. Most mages with scars got them early on in their careers.

"I'm pretty sure if I accidentally poked a hole in Rolland, he'd be able to do the same."

He made sure not to leave out the 'accidentally' part. Cal was still trying to be open-minded about the man, but leaving himself some wiggle room felt prudent.

"Perhaps, but not many would be bold enough to compare themselves with him. That being said, most of our contemporaries would be able to match that feat. I include myself in that number, but that wasn't always so." Alice sat down opposite him and reached for her sock, rolling it down. Midway up her shin was a lumpy red mark. "I was practicing on a rock formation, trying to improve the concussive aspect of my attacks; I succeeded but didn't account for the additional shrapnel produced. It took me a moment to realize I'd been struck at all; I'd foolishly drained my shell to power the blast. It's something I take great care to avoid now."

A smile broke out on his face, one quickly snuffed out when he realized he was close to laughing at what should have been a traumatic experience. His action didn't go unnoticed, and she raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"Sorry, I know how it is to be hit with your own collateral damage. Believe me." He'd unintentionally blown himself up more than once. Granted, he tried to learn something new with each one. "I," Cal paused to curate his follow-up, opting to choose an example that didn't involve exploding himself. "Had a bad habit of knocking things down to my detriment when practicing. Like trees and such."

Or beast, mainly beast. There was nothing like the high of victory being crushed when the thing you killed fell on top of you. He was just thankful there were no witnesses that could attest to how often that occurred.

"Is that what occurred tonight? Do I have to worry about a bill coming from the city?"

Was that what she was worried about? Cal reflexively felt for his pocket, the wad of notes feeling appropriately bulky. He had no idea how much it was and simply took everything Olivia and Lennard had on hand. Apparently, he could get more at the grocer from Haslin. There was some expense report he was meant to fill out whenever he did so, but if there was one benefit to having a handler, it was outsourcing all the paperwork to them.

"Nope, I'm smarter than Lily," Cal spoke in a jovial tone. "I made sure no one was around when committing my crimes against the city's infrastructure."

Frankly, Alice had no right to lecture him on that. She was the one who busted down a wall on their first day here. Sure, he'd encouraged it, but it was still her fist.

"Please tell me you are saying that in jest," Alice said in a slightly pleading tone.

Eh, he'd only broken up part of the road, and it wasn't even he who started it.

"You got me; slap a funny hat on me, and I could be a court jester."

While he was contemplating whether they even had jesters, her face hardened slightly.

"Don't mock them," she spoke with a clear and reprimanding voice. "It takes great courage to carry on while so many ridicule your every act."

Cal considered pointing out that being laughed at was the whole point, but something about the look she had told him to hold his tongue.

It wasn't his place to pry, so he simply stared at the ceiling, pondering when this arrangement would finally run its course. She wasn't the worst roommate; he could put up with it a little longer.

A minute or two passed before Alice continued.

"Your friend stopped by." That got him to sit up. He hadn't a clue to whom she could be referring. "I didn't know you'd become acquainted with a member of House Exporiena."

Cal sorted through what he knew of noble houses, not finding any match. There were a lot of them—too many to reasonably keep track of.

"What did they want?" Cal asked, fishing for more to go on.

Alice closed her eyes, breathed in, held it, and then exhaled.

"You haven't the faintest idea of what that house is," she stated while running a hand through her red mane in a tired manner. "I thought Mother went over all of them?"

She probably had, but he couldn't be expected to retain much when he was bombarded with names.

"She did," Cal confirmed and continued on shamelessly. "I'm testing you." Alice stared at him unblinking, and he awakened his phone, turning the screen toward her. "This is a timed test. May want to begin answering."

He tapped an imaginary watch to further prompt her.

"Truly, you missed your calling," Alice responded dryly. "His given name is Ryan, and it's not a poor connection to make. They're a Viscount house and maintain a strong network of connections, some of which reside in the palace."

Huh, usually the man texted him when he wanted something. Although the last time they'd spoken had been under precarious circumstances.

Cal noted the last bit of what she said. Being in the palace didn't mean you were with the royal family, but it did make it more likely. Had he known this sooner, he might have jumped to conclusions about the boy knowing his identity. Given the core mess, he doubted it.

"Did he say what he wanted?"

Rather than respond directly, she went back to the table, returning with a large stack of papers. She handed an envelope to him.

Cal took it, seeing the seal was unbroken. He pocketed it and planned to open it in the privacy of his own room.

Now that she brought it up... Cal decided to bite the bullet instead of putting it off for tomorrow.

"You know, he's a pretty good friend to Anne," he said leadingly.

Alice sat back down in her chair and sorted the rest of the stack on the coffee table in front of her. She grabbed a select few pages before leaning back in the chair, crossing her legs, and reading them intently.

"Is that so?" she offered while pursuing the papers.

It was going to be like then.

"Yep, I'm just checking, but the plan is still to wait and see with her. Isn't it?"

Cal watched her closely, trying to figure out what was going on in that head of hers. She ran a hand through her hair again, moving it out of the way of her face. It hadn't been obscuring her sight in the slightest.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"I think you should focus on your studies. Let me handle these matters."

Fat chance of that happening.

"You really think I'm going to accept that type of response?"

There was no heat in his voice; it was a genuine question. She may not know the real him, but she should know enough to guess that approach wouldn't work.

"I'd held hope," Alice breathed almost wistfully before restarting with a serious tone. "Why do you care what becomes of the girl?"

There was one primary and simplistic reason.

"She helped me," Cal plainly stated. He didn't keep track of things as well as these noble types, but if someone did him a solid, he wouldn't forget it. "Not to mention, I'm the whole reason she's been dragged into this mess."

Anne had been nice enough in the city, explaining some things and sharing some ice cream. She'd also censored that bit in the paper. She had tried to manipulate him just a tad, but given everything else, he thought that was fair enough.

"That may be so, but she still presents a danger."

Cal couldn't deny that. He also couldn't explain how he was working from another angle.

"You can't leave her out in the cold," Cal argued and decided on a different approach. "What does that say about House Ardere, that they leave their allies behind?"

He was stretching the term allies, but the talk of family got her attention.

"Our house has no allies; I would have thought you well aware of that," she didn't quite snap, but there was a fire in her words. "The equation is simple: us on one side, everyone else on the other."

Cal watched the slip of paper closely, expecting it to burst into flame. It didn't, which he thought strange. The temperature of the room hadn't changed either.

Had she learned some self-control? Why was he disappointed in that?

"And where does Lily fit into that little formula of yours?"

She blanched at the name, and Cal stole the next words from her.

"That's different," he air quoted. "Yeah, she's been around longer, but the Anne of today could be the Lily of tomorrow."

He didn't believe it, but he was trying to speak in terms she'd understand.

"This conversation is irrelevant," Alice spoke quickly and shook her head. "The approach to her hasn't changed; I won't act unless new information presents itself."

He was sure he'd be forgiven for being skeptical if she knew a crazy assassin had 'greeted' him earlier.

It was a shame he couldn't outright say: 'Hey, our psychopathic tailor told me about your meeting because she used to sleep with a sort of buddy of mine who happens to be a member of the Constellation.'

Or he could, but that would open a whole new can of issues.

"Say it again, this time look me in the eyes."

It was fairly confrontational, but he didn't appreciate being lied to.

Alice looked up from the papers, her red eyes locked onto his.

"I won't speak more on it." Cal was about to press harder when her voice continued. "However, I can assure you I have no ill intentions toward her, nor am I currently planning any action against her."

Cal dissected her words carefully. Currently didn't mean there would be none in the future, but it did imply she wouldn't be taking any meetings about it. Trying to determine who was the liar between Plusier and her was proving surprisingly difficult.

"If that changes, you'll tell me?"

Her gaze kept steady on him as she nodded.

On the bright side, he'd find out soon enough if she was lying.

"I can see you hold some reservations." There was a hint of disappointment in her tone. "Would it improve your confidence if I said I was considering tying our families by marriage?"

Cal wasn't ashamed to admit that it caught him completely off guard. His mouth opened and closed as his brain restarted to process that information.

Anne had an older sister and a little brother. Was there someone else in there Alice was considering marrying? Why? If it was just to buy silence, that seemed extreme.

"Is there some childhood crush I'm not aware of here?"

Ah, there was the hair; It flared for half a second before settling down.

"No," Alice said in a tone not dissimilar to someone reporting a recent death. Cal waited and was trying to remember where the emergency biscuits he squirreled away were when he noticed the ends of her mouth tug up. "I'm referring to your marriage, not mine."

Oh.

Oh!

Oh, no.

Yeah, fuck that.

"I can't tell if you're being serious." Cal couldn't rule out the stupidity of noble politics, which was a scary thing. "Wait, no. I totally can. I saw you almost smile there. Nice joke."

He blamed the absurdity of the statement for his lagging mental faculties.

"Is that so?" She tilted her head and held out the papers she'd been reviewing. "Why then am I reviewing the agreement as we speak?"

Cal snatched the papers, expecting to quickly find them to be something unrelated.

Alarmingly, the words union and marriage were liberally sprinkled throughout. The pages lit, and soon he was dusting his hands to remove the ash.

"Childish. And pointless, I have copies."

Cal eyed the remaining papers on the table and reached out, meeting no resistance. He flipped through them, finding they were boring coursework.

"Right, well, I have more fire." He tossed the papers back on the table and manifested a small flame in his palm before quelling it. "And, more importantly, objections. Heaps of those."

Marry him off? Not even the Federation was brave enough to try something like that. They also weren't in the business of arranging marriages, or at the least, it wasn't the norm.

"You've not even heard the proposal?" Alice spoke as if they were discussing some run-of-the-mill deal. "There are quite a few incentives for us, and you've already proven you can get along with your friend. I'm sure you'd take well to her older sister."

Cal took a mental step back. As stupid as this sounded, these arrangements probably took some time to finalize. Odds were he would be long gone before anything was officially signed, and even then, didn't they need their 'parents' approval?

"I wouldn't get your hopes up about that; lots of things could change between now and then," he said vaguely. He wasn't sure how his extraction would be handled, but every day that passed made it seem like a more complicated event.

"Which is why we should act decisively." She reached into her breast pocket and received another folded set of papers and a pen. She laid the papers on the table between them, keeping a hand on them. The pen was held out for his retrieval. "As heir, I've already certified the preliminary agreement. Sign here, and we can have you wed during the next break."

Cal looked at the writing instrument as if it were a hissing snake. His gaze traveled up to her again, and he saw the slight tug of her lips again.

"You're actually messing with me, aren't you?"

It was the only logical answer, but he also lived in an illogical world among illogical people. He met her eyes again and held her stare. He wasn't sure how long they'd been at it when she blinked, and a rueful smile came onto her face.

"Read more closely next time; I merely transposed our names on an old agreement I found in the library. There were many inconsistencies readily apparent in the first paragraph alone."

It had looked pretty damn convincing to him, but maybe he shouldn't have burned it that quickly.

"I didn't think you'd go so far for a joke," Cal said, looking at the girl in a new light. "Shouldn't you be doing more important things?"

Her smile faltered, and she rose, smoothing out her uniform.

"Perhaps, but Lily told me about your discussion." She raised a hand, stalling his quick retort. "The subject, not the contents. I supposed I thought we could both use some levity right about now."

Cal let the grimace come and go on his face. She was walking toward her room when he called out, steeling himself.

"It was good; I appreciate it." Fair was fair, and she'd gotten him. "And I know you two share almost everything anyway. I don't mind if she tells you."

Alice paused, looking back at him with a strange look in her eyes.

"I would prefer you tell me yourself, but I've been counseled on patience recently." She remained at the doorway, not quite ready to cross the threshold. "An idle thought, if you'd allow me."

Cal looked at her curiously and signaled for her to continue.

"Had I been serious, would you have signed if it ensured her safety?"

A small frown came over him. He decided to take the question at face value, taking a moment to think through it.

"Yeah."

Cal nodded, satisfied with his answer. There was no reason to overcomplicate things.

"I see," Alice broke the silence that had followed his response. "One last thing before I turn in, will you need a replacement shirt? I can schedule an appointment."

Cal released a huff of amusement. Yeah, he bet she could. The worry was that it wouldn't stop at a new shirt.

"I'm fine, got plenty of spares."

He remained on the couch, organizing his thoughts. As the door of her room closed, he heard a good night uttered.

Cal found himself agreeing with that.