40 Break

Aliester was trying to prevent himself from laughing out loud.

Although, he still felt a bit exhausted due to the crest and power transfer, he could not help but feel a bit better upon seeing the embarrassment on his twin's face.

Aria's face grew redder than her eyes.

For sure, she never wanted them to see her in school. She didn't want them to see her wear a maid uniform while serving other people.

Aliester tried to keep himself from laughing as his sister had a hard time maintaining her composure.

It seemed as though Aria was trying to hide her anger. She gave them a fake smile. "What are you guys doing here?" she hissed.

Aliester would have answered but he knew that if he would open his mouth, he would guffaw and that would get him into trouble.

The other boys were seemed to be tongue tied. It was not every day that they get to see a princess dressed up as a servant.

Kanna was the one who answered for them. "They came to visit you." She smiled innocently, oblivious of the other girl's discomfort.

"Your shift has ended a couple of hours ago. Why don't you take a break and take them to the VIP?" the brunette suggested.

Aria hesitated but Kanna pointed out while discretely looking around. "Your cousins are getting a lot of attention. You won't have privacy if you stay here. Besides, Aliester felt sick a while ago."

Aria looked at her brother.

Seeing her face, Aliester cleared his throat to prevent himself from laughing.

Even though, he had somehow recovered, he still looked pale.

Sighing, Aria took them to the adjoining room which was turned into a VIP lounge. The place was decorated with tables and couches. It seemed more private than the other side.

Kanna got the privilege to take their orders.

After she left, Aliester gulped as his sister glared and snapped. "I told you to stay home. Why are you here? And brother dear, what do they mean that you are sick?"

Aliester composed himself and seriously revealed. "I am not sick. I am better now, it was just an effect when the crest and power transferred.

Aria was surprised. "What?!"

So Aliester shared the sad news. "We have an emergency. His grace, Alastor died. I am now the duke of Alcove."

Not expecting such news, Aria was rendered speechless. Her face lost color as the information sunk in.

"We need you to help us." Conrad butted in. "More people will suffer and die unless the witch is defeated."

Shaking her head, Aria kept quiet for a few minutes before blurting out. "If you want to stop the witch, then do you have any plans?"

The four looked at each other in uncertainty.

"I won't go unless you have a concrete plan. With the way I am, I could not even go against Gloriosa. How much more take down Lobelia?" she grimaced.

Turning towards the Verbanians, she frowned. "You know that I am a failure in the family. I have been ostracized and discriminated from the rest of the nobility. Society would never accept me."

"It that true?" Blaze asked.

The other Verbenians nodded.

"Unfortunately, the way they thought about people with black hair did not change. But I think they will welcome you now that the atrocities done by the queen had been brought to light." The mage said.

Aliester incised. "Most of the faction will still accept you. They need your help. We need your help."

"No one else will be able to help us, but you. You excel a lot of fields." Blaze reiterated.

"I am only trained in martial arts and swordsmanship for self defense and championships. Not on actual battle." Aria argued.

"You were able to kill the nightshade." The king pointed out.

"That was a fluke, your majesty." She bit back.

Aliester cut in. "No, ever since we were children, you are always good in fighting. You have a natural talent as a weapons master. You have defeated me countless times."

But Aria remained unconvinced. "It is only sparring and that was our usual mock fights between siblings. Even if that is the case, tell me, how can a swordsman defeat a caster?"

At first, they were unable to answer. But Blaze seemed to have an idea. "Do not allow him or her to cast a spell."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"You need to be faster than the witch. You must not allow her to have a chance to cast or use her magic."

"That would be impossible." Aria seemed to give up.

"You said before that Shinobis are as swift as the wind." Daxton incised. "I think as an assassin, you can take the witch by surprise and kill her once and for all."

Thinking it through, Aria finally said. "Give me a few days. Anika might come back anytime soon. We will have to train."

The tense air broke when someone knocked at the door.

"We'll talk about this later. This isn't exactly a topic for this venue." Aria said.

"It is okay. It is not like, they could understand Verbenian language." Conrad reassured.

"Let us resume the talk later at home, I still need to finish my duties here in school. So could you please refrain from talking about the other realm while your are here?" she asked.

When the boys agreed, Aria opened the door.

Aliester's jaw dropped. Kanna had changed into a maid's uniform. She was carrying a tray filled with assortment of sweets and their specialty, parfaits.

Seeing the food, Daxton's mouth watered.

When Kanna set the tray down, the knight instantly grabbed one and eat it.

He took a bite and chewed the sweet treat happily.

"I will take the plates later. Aria you can have the rest of the day off. Enjoy with your cousins and friends!" Kanna left to give them privacy and time to eat.

As soon as the girl closed the door, the others released their tense shoulders and grabbed their food.

Aliester, on the other hand looked closely at the knight. It had been a few days since they had arrived and he seemed to look different.

"What?" Daxton asked.

"Daxton, have you grown fat?" the young duke asked.

Having similar thoughts as her brother, Aria who was near the knight playfully poked his cheeks. "it is definitely flabby."

"Of course not!" he denied as he avoided her fingers.

"Really, when you first came here, you were skinny but now your face seemed round." The princess pointed out while pinching his cheeks.

"You will be called the Fat Knight if you continue pigging out." She teased to ease the remaining awkward tense air.

Daxton huffed. "you are one to talk. You are a princess and yet you wear maid's clothing."

Aria blushed beet red and mocked punch the knight in response.

At the banter and teasing, the others began to relax and enjoy their short respite.