Convincing the bandits turns out simpler than expected.

«First of all, let's talk about it around a table,» Alexander says. «Or a camping fire, whatever. Bring us to your camp, and let my knights drop their arms. They've stood like this long enough.»

«We don't trust you,» the bandits reply. And we don't have a choice but to accept staying unarmed.

As we enter their place of hiding, I return to think about how to prove the crimes the local lord is committing. There's a chance that the exchange has already happened and it's too late to find the people that were sold.

«If he's selling people, then there must be someone buying,» I mutter while walking. «The simplest case is that he's in contact with human traffickers or someone from abroad.»

«I hope it's like that. If the exchange is completed in our lands, and someone from Ethiro is involved... Unveiling it would be the start of a revolution, Thea.»

«We also have to find a way that something like this doesn't happen again. I believe it's time to add some rights for the peasant, to put an end to the boundless powers of the administrators. They're not gods walking on the hearth: they should remember what is their role.»

«You're too idealistic, Thea. It's impossible to create a perfect world in such a large empire. Polis was a standalone city; it was easier to maintain control without restricting people.»

«Now that Polis is part of this Empire, I won't let my people be tortured by some crazy idiot. And I won't let it happen to your people either.»

«You're too caring.»

«And you aren't?» I murmur.

He's travelled around the continent and solved problems and won awards. He's as caring as I am, so why is he insisting on letting this go?

«By the way, there's politics behind it all. Foreign threats might use local rebels to distract the capital from the borders. Or they will attack to ease the pressure on the rebellious land and wait until the Empire crumbles up from inside.»

«So, you're doing it for yourself,» he chuckles. «As if I could believe it.»

«Changing the lord didn't improve things,» I point out, returning to the original topic of this strayed conversation. «It's the system, the problem. Shall we erase all the nobility at once and replace it with new faces?»

«That could work,» Alexander replies with a nod.

«I was joking.» But the idea might not be complete rubbish. Adding new blood into the local nobility might remind the others that they're not untouchable, and they'll pay attention to how they behave.

«We need a second carriage and two people that might pass for noble's servants,» Alexander says out loud.

«And possibly a girl to accompany me. They'll wear our clothes while we'll doll up to look more relevant than now,» I continue. «We also need some information about the local lord's habits. And his name, to start with.»

«It's Viscount Prothus,» Alexander mutters. «He's the son of the previous lord who has been demoted. I hoped his son would choose a better way, but it seems that it runs in the family...»

«Young Prothus is worse than the previous. At least, that one didn't punish the families of the rebels,» the bandit comments. «After hanging them in the central square and letting them rot like that, he didn't look for another way to make us suffer. The current Viscount doesn't stop at nothing.»

«How many people have disappeared till now?»

«Each of us had a wife and children.»

«Hmm... It means two hundred people at least,» I mutter, counting the bandits. «Just enough to make some profit, but not too many to avoid alerting the capital. After all, if a whole village disappears, someone will notice it.»

«I think you should stay in an inn while I solve it,» Alexander whispers. «It will get dangerous.»

«I refuse.»

He sighs, considering to tie me somewhere so that I don't run into danger.

«If you stop me this time, I won't help you ever, Alexander. And you can start thinking about having another child with me because I'm not going to help you in that either,» I lie. Somehow, these words sound familiar.

Alexander crooks his mouth and searches for enough strength to fight against my blackmail. But then, he understands that he can't cage me away every time something happens. Maybe.

«If you sense any danger, you'll take a carriage and travel to the capital. Immediately.»

«Yes, my Lord,» I murmur, rolling eyes and crossing arms. «As you wish...»

The preparations take more time than intended. We find two boys able to act as servants in the bandits' hideout. But for the girl that will be my maid, we need to visit the village.

«This is my Daughter. The name is Prim. The rest of my family has disappeared, but she was in the woods when they took her away. She brought me water and some food...»

«All right, Prim,» I say to the girl. «We'll have to work around your manners and change clothes... I have a simple blue dress that will draw the attention away from the weak points, so it mustn't be too difficult.»

«Yes, milady.»

«Oh, no!» I stop her. «It's either your grace or my Lady. Milady isn't something a personal maid would say. Take it as if it was my name, and you won't get confused. In Kyre, people often use the second alternative more. But if you're afraid you'll get confused, use grace instead.»

The girl nods, and I open the luggage with some simple dresses that can be passed as maids'. I have just two good dresses for me, but the Viscount won't open my portmanteau to check how many there are. It should be enough not to sound suspicious.

«Do you have any sister?» I ask her. «Or have you ever styled your mother's hair?»

«Yes, your grace,» she whispers, opening her eyes wide at the awkwardness of that new phrase. Ah, I'll have to work on this too.

«Repeat.»

«Yes, I have, your grace!» she almost shouts.

«Hmm, better. Keep a low tone when you talk with me. And do not look at me in the eyes in front of other nobles. I don't usually like this kind of behaviour, but we don't have time and wits enough to convince them that you're my real maid.»

«But why are you travelling without a maid, your grace?»

«You can phrase it like this: why is your grace travelling without a maid?» I correct her. «Because my husband is jealous of my handmaid. He didn't want to share my attention with her, so he sent her through another road.»

«Oh,» she whispers. «I have to pay attention too, then...»

«He didn't sell her into slavery,» I chuckle. «We parted from the caravan to sightsee. That's all.»

We pass the rest of the afternoon talking about the duties and manners of a maid. Prim learns soon how to tend to me, and she helps me change into new clothes in the small hut that is her house. When we're done, it's almost evening.

We'll reach the Viscount's residence just in time for supper.

«Do not stare at him when we meet the Viscount,» I finish my instructions. «And don't react if you see anyone you know. Pretend to be another person, Prim. It's better if you keep your head bowed, to hide from people's gaze. There's less chance that someone recognises you. And it will be easier to find your mother and siblings.»

«Yes, your grace,» she replies with her hands crossed in front of her. A nobleman from the court would have recognised that she's a village girl without manners of speech or refined movements. The Viscount, with some luck, won't suspect a thing.

He's never been in the capital, as much as we know. Which means his real status is lower than a baron that spends the whole summer at the Palace. Even though he acts like he owns every inch of land in his fief and every person living on it.