Chapter 3: Two

For starters, Xavier decided to bring Maria to the inn on the outskirts of the capital where he was lodging. 

It was a quaint two-storey cottage house appropriately named「The Cottage」, and the innkeeper was a lovely widow in her seventies who spent her time tending to the small rose garden in the backyard. Since it was in a poor location far away from any major roads, they had to walk quite a distance before reaching their destination. Maria didn’t seem to mind the long walk, however, as she used the time to inquire about Xavier’s background.

“Big brother isn’t from the capital, is he?” she asked curiously.

He raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think that I’m not from the capital?”

“Your accent,” she pointed out with a laugh. “You hid it consciously while you were pretending to be a priest, but when you are speaking normally, you pronounce the ‘s’ sound with a high pitch unlike the locals.”

He grinned and ruffled her mousy brown hair with his hand. “Why, you’re smarter than you look, little miss. And you’re right, just as you said, I’m not from the capital.”

“So, why has Big brother come to the capital?” She tilted her head innocently. “To celebrate Her Highness' birthdate?”

“Hmm, I guess you can put it like that.”

“Did Big brother come here alone?” 

He shook his head. “Theo is with me too. He’s my…partner, I say.”

“Oh, then where is Theo now?”

“Probably…” He thought for a moment before shrugging. “Still asleep inside the inn, if you ask me.”

Upon reaching the cottage house, he rapped his knuckles against the door and said, “Granny, Iʼm back.” 

A few seconds of silence ticked past before he cleared his throat and shouted, “Granny! IʼM BACK!” 

The door was flung open and Granny Innkeeperʼs head popped out from behind. “You donʼt have to yell, youngster, Iʼm not hard of hearing.” 

“But you are, Granny.” 

“Huh? Come again?” 

“BUT. YOU. ARE.” He huffed and gestured at Maria, who had been watching their exchange with an awkward smile on her face. “This child was beaten up by a thug in the square just now, and I was wondering if you can help clean her up and give her a fresh set of clothes.” 

“Huh? Speak up, youngster.” 

“THIS—” He sighed and rubbed his forehead briefly, feeling a headache all of a sudden. “Maria, Iʼll let you explain things to Granny instead, alright? Iʼll return to my room first. If you need any help, just call for me.”

“M-mm, sure, Big brother.” 

He left poor Maria with Granny and quickly went to find Theo upstairs. The first floor consists of the innkeeperʼs living quarters, shared kitchen and bathroom, while the second floor had two single rooms and one master bedroom. Currently he and Theo were the only occupants, so even though they technically booked a single room, Granny kindly permitted them to stay in the master bedroom so that they didnʼt have to share a bed. 

Theo was already waiting for him inside the room, a humourless smile on his pale face. “So you finally promoted yourself from conman to kidnapper?” 

“Surely you jest.” He took off his robe and hung it sloppily on the coat rack by the door. “Man, wearing the clerical robe makes me feel all itchy inside, it’s so uncomfortable.”

“That’s because it’s a fake made out of rice sack fabric,” Theo pointed out in a tired voice. 

“...you didn’t have to give a serious reply there, you know.” He shook his head and walked over to the dressing table, where Theo had his crude forgery tools laid out on the tabletop. “How’s the progress?” 

“Took me a whole bloody night of trial and error, but I managed to imitate the Prime Minister’s handwriting with almost 100% confidence.” He stifled a yawn and pointed to a folded letter on the bedside dresser. “I made a prototype while you were away, take a look yourself.” 

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Xavier picked the letter up gingerly and admired its hefty weight in his hand. “This is some fine quality paper, man. Where did you get this from?”

“The babushka’sAn old woman in Russian. Both Xavier and Theo aren’t from the capital, so to distinguish them from the locals, Xavier’s accent is noticeably different and Theo has sprinkles of his native tongue in his speech. husband used to be a commander of the empire’s army, I heard, and he frequently sent letters home while he was away. So I searched her chamber and found an old box filled to the brim with letters in a drawer.” 

“Not only did you steal someone’s personal keepsake, you were snooping around in a seventy-year-old’s bedroom?!” He gave Theo a disgusted look. “Is there anything you can’t do?” 

He shrugged and smiled wryly. “Bratukha, being a forger means making full use of whatever materials you have on hand.” 

“...” Xavier returned his gaze to the letter and unfolded it. Written in thin golden ink, the contents read: 

To the honourable Sir/ Mdm, 

 

You are cordially invited to attend the coming-of-age ceremony of Her Royal Highness Princess Anastasia de Cetheri, at the Grand Palais in le Capital de l'Aetherium. 

Please kindly bring this letter along with you as proof of invitation and present it to the guards before making your entrance.  

We look forward to your noble presence.

 

By grace of His Majesty King Cetheri VI

 

Signature of Prime Minister Sir Averie de Grigori

 

At first glance, the letter honestly looked like a genuine invitation sent by the royal family, save for the empty space at the bottom where the signature of the Prime Minister should be written. Even though he still felt bad, he had to admit that Theo was a genius for reusing Granny’s old letters as a base for the replica. 

“So? Were you able to get what I asked for?” Theo asked impatiently. 

Xavier reached into the front pocket of the clerical robe and tossed the envelope to him. “The Prime Minister’s secretary didn’t question my identity one bit and gave me the old man’s signature easily. Man, the Church’s influence in the capital really is something.” 

Theo merely nodded his head in approval. “What about the—” 

“Yeah, yeah, I placed an order at the tailor’s for the dresses. Tab’s on the Church, as usual.” 

“Then, there’s nothing much for us to do now except to wait till our entrance at the ceremony.” Theo glanced out of the window and gestured for him to come over quickly. “Look at what the babushka is doing to the girl.”

“Hmm? Isn’t she washing Maria’s wounds?” Xavier peeked out of the window. “What is she doing…ayo, Granny, you’re gonna drown Maria in the well!” 

“Huh?” A faint confused voice shouted back from the backyard. “Youngster, can you repeat that?” 

“THE WELL! PULL HER OUT OF THE DAMN WELL, GRANNY!!!”

 

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