The carriage came to a stop on the gravel drive of Baron Carman's estate.
Xiao Lan clutched the hem of her clothes, her palms slick with sweat.
Through the carriage window, she could see the beautiful building and the young noblewoman waiting at the entrance to greet them.
Xiao Lan knew her younger sister was here.
Veylin got out first. He walked up to the young noblewoman and, with an utterly natural gesture, tucked a windblown lock of her hair behind her ear.
"Lilia, thank you for your help." His voice was gentle.
Lilia shook her head. Her clear eyes moved past Veylin to the uneasy figure inside the carriage.
"Brother, you really should come home more often," she said softly, then gave Xiao Lan an encouraging smile. "She's waiting for you inside. Go on."
Those simple words gave Xiao Lan boundless courage.
She lifted her skirt and all but ran out of the carriage.
Crossing the marble entrance hall, she immediately spotted the figure standing at the turn of the stairs. It really was Xiao Ling!
She was more than a head taller than Xiao Lan remembered, standing straight in a neatly tailored maid's uniform with a stiffly starched collar.
Her younger sister stood there quietly, like an elegant white narcissus.
Xiao Lan slowed, her heart pounding in her chest.
She approached her sister, so excited she hardly knew what to do with herself, and pulled her gifts from a coarse cloth bundle as though presenting treasures.
"X-Xiao Ling... look, I brought you... something to eat..."
She opened a roughly made wooden box. Inside lay a few honeyed fruits she had exchanged merit points for.
In Newborn Town, these were already the height of luxury.
"And this, too. It gets cold at night..."
She took out a scarf she