A pleasant, light sea breeze swept onto the large, luxurious balcony where a young girl sat in a graceful chair upholstered in silk. She wore a thin, green summer dress, and her long, curly chestnut hair fluttered slightly in the wind. Beside her stood a glass table holding a bell, a small teapot, and a white porcelain cup from which a wisp of steam rose, also swaying in the pleasant breeze. With her slender hand, she reached for the hot drink, took a small sip, and smiled, feeling the warmth of the coffee slowly seep into her body.
She turned her gaze once more beyond the confines of her cozy balcony, and there before her stretched the boundless sea in the distance, and a large city—though not as vast as the sea itself—the capital city of Crow. Carolina, for that was the girl's name—Carolina Crow, the second daughter of Arthur III Crow and the twin sister of Idivig Crow, the current King of the entire Kingdom—smiled slightly, allowing the breeze to continue enveloping her body, offering respite from the scorching heat that gripped the city. The small awning on the balcony where she sat cast a similarly small patch of shade, providing some relief from the summer heat, but the Princess, on the contrary, welcomed such warm weather, observing the part of the city visible from the palace balcony that towered above the capital.
Continuing to revel in the beautiful summer weather like a child, the girl retrieved a book from a small recess in the chair, found a charming wooden bookmark from the Duchy of Wood—a gift from one of the Duke of Wood's sons, was it Emil? Or Emmett? Maybe Eliot? Though, in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter; the Princess had no intention of marrying him anyway—the entire Wood family, like many inhabitants of their duchy, had dreadfully long and pointed ears, and their appearance always unsettled her, making it difficult to suppress her disgust. However, she had no intention of refusing such a lovely and beautiful gift. After all, her mother, Adrianna Hart—daughter of the late Harrison, Count Hart—always said one should take everything life offers. And she was right: she became the concubine of the late King, granting her children the opportunity to live as Prince and Princess of this kingdom, even though she herself never became Queen. Remembering her mother, who now resided in the summer palace of Crow, built by decree of the previous King on the territory of Hart County, Carolina smiled and returned to her book.
Time passed, and the sun slowly crept onto her balcony. Feeling its warm touch on her hands, the Princess set the book on the table and retrieved thin, silk gloves from another pocket of the chair, quickly putting them on to shield her snow-white skin. Perhaps this was exactly how her mother had won the favor of the previous King—with her truly aristocratic, white skin, devoid of any hint that its owner had ever engaged in manual labor. This very trait had been inherited by her daughter as well, although Idivig was not deprived of this beauty either, making her brother a truly enviable bachelor, aside from the fact that he was, well, the King. Having hidden her sensitive body parts in gloves, Carolina reached for her book again, but just as she was about to grasp it, a soft knock sounded from the door inside the room.
"My Lady," came a servant girl's voice from the corridor. She thought her name was Ammi. Or maybe Emmi? Or Enni? Though, what did it matter—she was merely a commoner servant, and the second Princess never bothered to remember their names or faces.
"If it's something important, enter; if not, you will be punished," Carolina stated, although even if she didn't enter, all her servants would be punished for one of them disturbing their mistress over a trivial matter. As previously mentioned, the Princess didn't remember them anyway.
"Yes, my Lady," the servant replied, and she slowly slipped into the Princess's room, carefully closing the massive white wooden doors behind her.
The servant was dressed in a maid's uniform, its hem reaching the floor, and her long, black hair was gathered into a slightly messy ponytail. The girl held an envelope in her hands and, with head bowed, approached her mistress's table, trying not to lift her head without permission. Consequently, her untidy hairstyle swayed from side to side. Carolina wrinkled her nose at the sight and decided she would have to reprimand the girl before dismissing her, but first, the letter.
"Lift your head," the delicate girl commanded in a authoritative tone, compelling the servant to obey. Meeting the eyes of her frightened maid, she continued, "Give me the letter."
The girl handed the envelope into the Princess's slender hands and bowed very low. As she was about to retreat, she heard another order:
"Shave off that ponytail; it offends my sight."
The servant said nothing, merely bowed low once more and carefully exited, trying not to disturb her mistress further. Carolina, meanwhile, examined the envelope. It was addressed to her from Lord Eduard, Count Sky, and bore the Count's own seal—unbroken and, most likely, not a forgery; at least, it resembled all the seals Count Sky had sent her before. Well, this seemed to be good news. Smiling, she broke the seal and began to read. But with each passing minute, the smile slowly faded from her face. Finishing the letter, she crumpled it into a ball and threw it onto the table. She would have liked to vent her anger on someone, but only the stupid letter was nearby. The sender, of course, was Count Sky, but the letter itself was written by Viscount Lines, describing how the Count had transferred management of the late Baron Starr's lands to him. This did not fit into the second Princess's plans at all, especially considering the death of Charles, Baron Starr, with whom she had agreements and to whom she had allocated a small budget, through her brother, for the development of railways and industry in the kingdom. This project was meant to boost her prestige in the country, as well as her brother's. Now everything was frozen, and instead of a trusted man like Charles, there was the cunning Howard, who was unlikely to cooperate so actively with the second Princess.
Of course, she could threaten the old Viscount, but he literally had nothing to lose—his son had died twenty years ago, his wife around the same time. He had no lands, and the town of Lines, his only property, was located somewhere in the backwoods of the Sky Barony. There seemed to be no leverage over him, unlike Charles—after all, his youngest son Leon, on whom the late Baron had placed great hopes, was studying at the Royal Academy of Crow, and not very successfully at that. But with a small nudge from the Princess, he could either be expelled or remain—though all this was complicated by the fact that this young Starr was a friend of her younger half-brother, Arthur IV Crow, born from the late Queen Latonia Crow of the Dukes Celestial line. And over him, she had no leverage whatsoever, because upon reaching the age of twenty-one, this little brat was supposed to become King. Currently, her brother was nothing more than a Prince Regent, though no one called him that to his face, especially not his own twin sister, who considered him the full-fledged King, and everyone continued to address him as "His Highness Crow." But even the position of Prince Regent was quite respectable, considering Arthur was only seventeen, and when Idivig took the oath and regency, he himself had been only fourteen. So, at the very least, her brother had another four years to figure something out—or she herself had time to secure the throne for her twin.
Killing the little pest would be ideal and even safe for the future reign, but her twin brother didn't strive for that at all. He almost always sat on the throne with a bored expression, as if all this sudden responsibility weighing on him was tiresome. If Carolina were in his place, she would have long ago eliminated all other claimants to the throne—except Idivig himself, of course; the Princess cherished him greatly—and would be reveling in power, leading the kingdom into a bright future, signing contracts with the Free Cities, and developing industry throughout the realm, sweeping away all those unnecessary prejudices so many clung to.
She stood up irritably and angrily waved her hand as if trying to strike someone invisible, creating a small gust of wind. It was enough to knock the crumpled ball of paper off the table, where it was then caught by its companion, the sea breeze, and floated down from the balcony towards their summer garden. Carolina blinked, watching the flying ball of paper, then, lifting the hem of her dress, ran out of her room, hoping to catch it before anyone else did. She could have tasked the servants with this, but there was a small chance that even her servants might blab what they shouldn't to the wrong ears, and then that information would spread throughout the kingdom, depriving Carolina of any informational advantage. Like a bullet fired from a musket, she flew through the castle corridors, occasionally bumping into servants but paying them no mind, as if they were empty space, and ran on.
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After a couple of minutes, breathing heavily, her dress crumpled from numerous collisions, she entered the palace's summer garden and began to scrutinize her surroundings intently, searching for the accidentally blown-away letter. Soon she noticed a tall girl with long, blonde hair that almost reached the floor, dressed in some kind of loose white gown. She was examining with interest the very crumpled paper Carolina was looking for. But the second Princess stood frozen like a pillar, not expecting to encounter who she saw here—the first Princess, Vanessa Crow, her half-sister, who had voluntarily renounced all rights to the throne. Although, perhaps someone had convinced her to do so, for she was simple-minded and a bit out of touch with reality. Always with her head in the clouds, muttering something under her breath, rarely listening to anyone, and always smiling that foolish smile, clearly not of this world. Now she was nearly thirty—six years older than Carolina—and still unmarried. Few nobles wanted to take such a wife into their family, especially since she had no rights to the throne whatsoever. In the Crow family, or rather, the second Princess herself considered her a bit of a curse, and perhaps it was because of her that the previous King had taken a concubine to have such intelligent and authoritative children as Carolina. Eventually, their younger half-brother was born alongside Idivig, who had more rights to the throne as he was born from the Queen, not a concubine. After their father Arthur III's death three years ago, her brother, as the adult male of the Crow family, had assumed the regency.
Vanessa turned slightly, distracted from the letter, and looked at her sister with her soft blue eyes. Smiling her usual foolish smile, she walked across the grass towards Carolina. The second Princess noticed that the approaching girl was barefoot, and what she had initially taken for a dress was actually a white nightgown.
"Carolina!" the first Princess exclaimed and literally engulfed Carolina's small, slender figure in her arms. Gritting her teeth, the second Princess embraced her half-sister.
"Lady Vanessa," the younger sister addressed her in a formal tone, already trying unobtrusively to escape the embrace of the giant, who was a good two or three heads taller. "Would you please release me?"
"Oh," was all Vanessa said, and let go of her little sister. Then she brought her index finger to her lips and, tilting her head slightly, looked questioningly at Carolina, who, in turn, dusted herself off a bit and straightened her dress.
"Dear sister," the second Princess began, "Could you please give me that scrap of paper you're holding?"
Vanessa shifted her gaze from her sister to her hand, in which she held the unfolded letter, and with a happy smile, handed it to the girl. Without further thought, Carolina quickly took the scrap of paper and crumpled it again in her hand, trying to smile at her sister as naturally as possible.
"Thank you, dear sister," the second Princess said with a strained smile, but Vanessa smiled back at her so sincerely that Carolina was even a little taken aback.
"You're welcome, little Carolina, you're my family, how could I not help you?" the first Princess continued smiling.
"Dear sister, I've asked you not to call me that," Carolina said with annoyance, trying to suppress her anger towards her interlocutor, reminding herself that she was not of this world. "And, dear sister, what state are you walking around in? You should put on shoes and proper attire."
In response to her words, Vanessa pouted slightly, clearly not having heard this for the first time that day. Perhaps that's why she was here, in the garden, where at this hot time of day there were few people.
"It's my home, I'll walk around in it as I please," the first Princess said sulkily. In response, Carolina merely sighed heavily, not knowing how to explain basic things, as their elder sister always ignored propriety and any rules of etiquette.
"I'll summon the servants to escort you to your room, dear sister," Carolina said wearily.
"Why?"
"So they can dress you appropriately, dear sister."
"Why summon servants when you're right here, little Carolina?" At these words, Vanessa approached her younger sister and took her by the arm, but due to the height difference, the second Princess's arm was lifted slightly. She continued happily, smiling again, "You can escort me yourself."
Carolina looked at her sister, slightly stunned, then quickly composing herself, silently walked forward. Vanessa willingly followed, adjusting her pace to her younger sister's to neither lag behind nor hurry her. Sometimes the second Princess was amazed at the tact her elder sister could display, despite her almost complete lack of manners. She still remembered how Vanessa might show up at a celebration dressed entirely in black, or conversely, fail to appear at some reception because she didn't feel like it, and, to Carolina's surprise, many forgave her for it. Though the Princess herself sometimes found it hard to be angry with her sister, looking at that sweetly smiling girl.
The sisters continued walking through the castle corridors, climbing higher and higher. Servants stepped aside before them and bowed low, and Vanessa greeted them, calling out the name of each person they passed. Another surprising trait of the first Princess—she remembered all the servants by name, unlike Carolina. But the latter considered remembering the names of commoners beneath her dignity. Despite this, the second Princess knew almost every noble person throughout the Kingdom of Crow and beyond.
When the princesses reached Vanessa's room, she merely waved her little hand at her sister and slipped inside through the large, painted wooden doors. Once her elder sister disappeared from sight, Carolina felt relief and nearly dropped the very scrap of paper she had run downstairs for. Trying to gather her thoughts, she headed to another part of the castle's living quarters where her own room was located. Just as she was about to leave the floor designated for her elder sister, she collided with a man she least expected to meet here—he was tall and slender, with short but curly black hair, thin and severe facial features, but the most remarkable thing about his appearance was his black eyes.
"Lord Gabriel, Count Hollow," Carolina addressed the man.
"Your Highness, Lady Carolina," the Count replied. "How may I be of service?"
"I merely wished to ask what the newly appointed Count has forgotten on my elder sister's floor?" Carolina said, trying to maintain a impassive and calm expression, for this man seemed to exude a certain aura of terror, causing fear almost on a subconscious level. The second Princess blamed his abnormal eyes, which she had never seen in anyone else before.
The man smiled warmly, clearly trying to defuse the situation—he seemed to understand the effect he could have on people.
"Lady Carolina," Gabriel said, smiling, and the girl saw how hard he was trying to make that smile innocent and simple. "Surely I don't need to explain why men visit unmarried ladies?"
Carolina gasped involuntarily at the question, covering her mouth with her hand, while the Count, as if nothing had happened, continued down the corridor, winking at the Princess beforehand. She stared after him in surprise, not knowing what to say.
"Until we meet again, Lady Carolina," Gabriel bid her farewell, snapping the girl out of her stupor.
"Until we meet again, Lord Gabriel," Carolina murmured quietly in reply, and turning around, quickly headed to her room.
The girl did not yet know whether this meeting was for good or ill, but the fact that the newly appointed Count—when had he received his title? Carolina stopped in the middle of the corridor and began to think. Some passing servants glanced curiously at their mistress, but knowing her stern temper, they left her alone and continued on their way.
When Carolina remembered that Count Hollow had been appointed to his post almost fifteen years ago, she continued on to her room. The Hollow domains consisted of the former holdings of the counties Hart, Hands, and Sky. The first two counties had been under the jurisdiction of the Duchy Blood, and Sky County under the jurisdiction of the Duchy Celestial. Meanwhile, Hollow County fell under the jurisdiction of the Duchy Blood. Pondering all this, Carolina tried to understand what the young Count was trying to achieve. If her memory served her correctly, Arthur III himself had appointed him, but for what merits? Trying to recall, the girl gasped again involuntarily.
Exactly!
Gabriel Hollow had saved Vanessa from an assassination attempt, and when she was kidnapped by unknown persons—at the time, they suspected the neighboring Kingdom of Stone—he returned her alive to the royal family and helped avoid a scandal between the kingdoms. And the surname Hollow had been bestowed upon him by Carolina's father, along with the title of Count and lands. Had he perhaps started visiting her sister back then? And how long had this been going on?
Carolina felt embarrassed and, pushing these thoughts aside, quickened her pace towards her room even more, knowing how strongly the blush stood out on her snow-white skin. She would think about this later; now she needed to deal with the problem of railway construction, the train, and Viscount Lines.
