102: Day one

Day one

When Aries arrived at the Marquess estate, her eyes almost popped out of their socket. She held her breath, standing beside Dexter.0

"Marquess, I mean, brother, what is going on?" she leaned to his side, whispering while keeping her eyes at the servants lined up on both sides while bowing deeply.

Dexter glanced at her as he offered his arm to her. "They are welcoming the only princess of the empire, obviously." He smirked before the servants spoke in unison. 

"Welcome back, My Lady. And we wish for your full recovery." 

Aries furrowed her brows, clasping Dexter's arm as they marched forth. She didn't expect to have this warm welcome from the servants since she believed they were the only ones who knew about Daniella's death. But it seemed they had no idea that Daniella died, and she wasn't Daniella. 

"It was a long journey. I will take Daniella to her room later. Bring us tea while we rest in my study." Dexter ordered a middle-aged man — the head butler of the house.

"Yes, my lord." Gustavo, the head butler, placed his palm across his chest and bowed slightly. He flashed a polite smile at Aries before he went to prepare them the tea the marquess asked. 

As he walked away, Aries could not help but fix her eyes on him. Gustavo was a middle-aged man with a towering and slim figure. His hair was blanched with a streak of black on its neatly tucked turfs. And that monocle surely suited the prim air he exuded. 

"Dan." Aries blinked and set her eyes back to Dexter. "Let's go." 

Dexter cocked his head slightly before she nodded. Aries then followed him to the study while looking around the marquess's estate. There was no shadow of a doubt Dexter was rich, filthy rich. Everything in the mansion, from ceiling to floor, screamed luxury. 

She thought the Rose Palace was already a luxurious place to live in. But the marquess's residence was the other face of luxury. It could even par with the Rose Palace since that was the best place in the entire imperial palace. She was so engrossed in studying the hallway, admiring everything, that she didn't realize they reach the study. 

"After you." Dexter opened the door for her, standing on the side. 

"Uh... thank you." She smiled awkwardly before entering the study. To her surprise, the study wasn't just a simple study room. It was a library. She looked up, even the second floor was surrounded by bookshelves. 

The huge chandelier above sparkled, granting a cozy atmosphere in the room. Her mouth fell open. This place wasn't as big as the library in the inner palace, but it was gorgeous. 

"Welcome, Daniella." She flinched when Dexter spoke to her side, casting him a look only to see his proud smile. "From now on, you'll spend most of your days in this place. Why don't we take a seat first?"

"Alright."

"People in this place know you came from a long journey," Dexter marched towards the round table, dragging one chair for her to sit on. When Aries expressed her gratitude upon sitting down, he sauntered towards the chair close to her.

"But they didn't know it was just an hour's journey," he added as he unbuttoned his coat before plopping his butt down. "Since we still have time, I would like to brief you on a few things beforehand. I didn't get to tell them since the carriage ride is short and you were distracting me."

"You started it," she mumbled, but he ignored it as he leaned back. 

Dexter rested his leg over the other, hands linked on his lap, eyes on her. "From this moment on, I will call you Daniella and you... will be Daniella. The main objective here is to fool everyone. Now, if you're wondering, how come the servants didn't recognize you is that they never saw her face." He paused so she could follow since he wouldn't have time to repeat everything again.

"Daniella was recuperating in one of our private residences in a faraway town that is close to nature. But alas, you already know all those things didn't help, and she still left this world. In other words, those selected few who had seen Daniella weren't in this mansion," he continued in a knowing and slow voice to make things clear to her. "Still, the servants in this place weren't foolish. All the servants in the stronghold were quick-witted and had undergone extensive training just to work in here."

"My point is, they might think you are Daniella just because I said so, but they would notice a thing or two immediately. Unlike the palace where everyone pretended to be blind, deaf, and mute, my people are different."

"What..."

"They might not maltreat you for my sake, but if they don't believe you are Daniella, then expect that those in the Maganti won't buy your disguise." He stressed, without much change in his expression. 

Aries kept quiet for a moment, blinking while staring at him. Her eyes caught his golden hair that was akin to the sun shining gloriously in the morning. His thick yet fleek brows, narrow and sharp nose, a pair of light olive eyes, naturally contoured cheek, and his cleft chin.

If Abel's beauty was akin to perfection, Dexter's charms were different. If she could describe it, it was... noble. But that wasn't the point. 

It didn't cross her until now that Dexter... didn't look like her. Their eyes probably shared almost the same color but in a different shade. But one could tell if they stood side by side, they weren't siblings. 

The hair color was already an indicator. 

"Can I ask? Do you think they already raised suspicion the first time they laid their eyes on me?" she inquired, watching the corner of his lips curl up into a smirk.

"What do you think?" he cocked his head to the side. "That hair of yours must've surprised them."

"..."

He purposely did it, she thought. He purposely didn't tell her about the people in here, so he could see whether she could salvage it. But to his surprise, Aries smiled not long after as her eyes glinted with clarity. 

"The second everyone in Maganti sees this face, they would also raise suspicion. This is a good exercise," she expressed while nodding approvingly. "Thank you, brother."

Dexter looked at her in a daze for a split second before he smiled warmly. "You're welcome, Daniella."

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