The morning started like any other, with Aria walking through Barako's streets toward the administrative building. Her black hair, dark as the deepest night, caught the early sunlight as she made her way past the familiar shops and houses. The deep green of her eyes reflected her contentment with the routine that had shaped her life for the past year.
At the office, she found Marcus and the other officers gathered around Captain Philip's desk, their voices carrying an unusual excitement. Philip was a veteran of fifty-one years, graying at the temples but still sharp in both mind and bearing. He had served in various administrative roles throughout Barako for nearly three decades.
"Kronen, perfect timing," Philip called out as she approached. "We've just received word from the capital. The Vianna family will be visiting Barako next month."
Aria felt her pulse quicken. The Royal Family of Livenhime only came to Barako every twenty years for the Grand Festival, when the ancient relic called Navada was brought out from the treasure house. The Navada, shaped like a perfect sphere and crafted from materials no one fully understood, was considered the national treasure of their country. During the festival, the Vianna family would pray to it for Livenhime's continued prosperity.
"The festival preparations will require significant coordination," Philip continued, his tone becoming more formal. "Harbor operations, crowd control, security arrangements, and ceremonial protocols all need to be managed seamlessly."
Marcus whistled low. "Twenty years since the last one. Most of us have never seen a festival of this scale."
Philip nodded, then turned his attention directly to Aria. "Kronen, your work over the past year has been exemplary. Your attention to detail and ability to coordinate complex operations haven't gone unnoticed. I'm recommending you serve as Vice Incharge for the festival's security and administration."
The words hit Aria like a physical force. Vice Incharge meant she would be second only to Philip himself in managing the most important event Barako had seen in two decades. It was a responsibility that would normally go to someone with many more years of experience.
"Sir, I... are you certain?" she managed to say.
"Completely certain. Your work speaks for itself, and this festival will require someone who can handle multiple moving parts without losing track of the details. That's exactly what you do best."
The other officers murmured their congratulations, and even Marcus clapped her on the shoulder with genuine enthusiasm. "You've earned this, Kronen. No question about it."
The rest of the morning passed in a blur of preliminary discussions about the festival's requirements. The Vianna family would arrive with their retinue, requiring accommodations and security. The treasure house would need to be opened for the first time in twenty years, with the Navada carefully transported to the ceremonial site. Thousands of citizens from across Livenhime would travel to Barako to witness the event.
By midday, Aria's head was spinning with the magnitude of what lay ahead, but underneath the nervousness was a deep sense of pride. This opportunity represented everything she had worked toward since beginning her career in city administration.
She practically ran home, her usual measured pace abandoned in her eagerness to share the news. Rick was in their small garden, tending to the vegetables they grew for their own table. He looked up at the sound of her hurried footsteps, and his face immediately showed concern.
"Aria? What's happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Not a ghost," she said, breathless from her rush home. "Something wonderful. The Royal Family is coming to Barako next month for the Grand Festival, and Captain Philip has chosen me as Vice Incharge for security and administration."
Rick's face went through several expressions in quick succession—surprise, then what might have been worry, then genuine happiness as he stood and pulled her into his arms.
"That's incredible news," he said, spinning her around in the garden. "Vice Incharge? Aria, that's a tremendous honor."
"I can barely believe it myself. Philip said my work over the past year proved I could handle complex operations. This could change everything for my career."
Rick set her down but kept his hands on her shoulders, looking into her green eyes with the same pride she felt herself. "You've earned this. Every early morning, every late night working on those harbor schedules, every dispute you've resolved fairly—it's all led to this moment."
Around his right wrist, she noticed the silver bracelet he always wore, the one with the ancient symbol that served as his family's heirloom. He had told her once that it was all he had left from his noble heritage, though he rarely spoke of those days.
"I need to tell Liz," Aria said suddenly. "She'll be so excited to hear about this. My childhood friend deserves to celebrate this with us."
Rick nodded, though something flickered across his expression too quickly for her to interpret. "Of course. Go share your good news. This calls for celebration."
After Aria left to visit her friend, Rick stood in the garden for several minutes, his expression growing serious. The excitement from moments before had been replaced by something more thoughtful, more calculating. He looked down at the silver bracelet on his wrist, running his thumb over the ancient symbol etched into its surface.
He went inside, changed from his work clothes into something more formal, and left the house. His destination was across the city, in one of the older districts where buildings had been constructed decades ago and were now showing their age. The apartment he sought was on the third floor of a narrow building that had seen better days.
Rick climbed the stairs and knocked on a familiar door. It opened to reveal an elderly man with careful eyes and the bearing of someone who had spent years in service to others. Behind him stood a woman in her forties, stern-faced and dressed in the simple clothing of a domestic worker.
"Your Highness," the old man said quietly, stepping aside to let Rick enter. "We weren't expecting you today."
"Hello, Edmund. Maria." Rick nodded to both of them as he entered the modest apartment. Edmund had served his family for over thirty years, one of the few who knew the true nature of their current situation. Maria had also been in service to his household, and unlike Edmund's careful acceptance of circumstances, she had never fully embraced the necessity of their current deception.
"Is everything well, Your Highness?" Maria asked, though her tone carried the edge it always did when discussing Rick's current life. She had never approved of his marriage to Aria, viewing it as a complication to his true purpose, regardless of her personal feelings about the arrangement.
"The Royal Family is coming to Barako next month," Rick said without preamble. "For the Grand Festival. The Navada will be brought out from the treasure house."
Edmund's eyebrows rose slightly. "The twenty-year festival. I remember the last one, though you were too young then to understand its significance."
"I understand it now," Rick said quietly. "And I understand what it means for us. The timing couldn't be better. My wife has been chosen as Vice Incharge for the festival's security and administration."
Maria's expression hardened further. "That woman has no idea what she's involved in."
"Aria knows nothing, and it needs to stay that way," Rick said firmly. "She's earned this position through her own merit, and she deserves to be proud of it. What we do is separate from her work."
Edmund nodded slowly. "What are your instructions, Your Highness?"
Rick was quiet for a moment, looking out the apartment's small window toward the harbor where ships came and went, carrying goods and people between the vassal territories of the great empire.
"It's time," he said finally. "We'll do it next month, during the festival. All the preparations we've made, all the waiting—it ends then."
"Are you certain, Your Highness?" Edmund asked. "Once we begin, there will be no turning back."
"I've been certain for years. The festival provides the perfect opportunity. The Vianna family will be here, the treasure house will be opened, and there will be enough chaos and distraction to cover our movements."
Maria leaned forward. "And your wife? She'll be in charge of security. Won't she become suspicious?"
"She won't have reason to be, if we handle this correctly," Rick said. "Aria is capable and thorough, but she trusts me completely. Her position gives us access we wouldn't have otherwise."
"But Your Highness," Edmund said carefully, "if something goes wrong, suspicion will naturally fall on whoever was responsible for security."
Rick's expression grew more serious. "I know. That's why, once we have what we came for, Aria comes with us. I'll reveal everything to her then. She can't stay in Barako after this—it wouldn't be safe for her."
Maria's eyes narrowed. "You're planning to bring her to the capital? Your Highness, the implications—"
"Are mine to handle," Rick cut her off. "Aria has been part of my life for seven years. She's not just a convenient cover anymore. When this is over, she deserves to know the truth, and she deserves protection from the consequences."
Meanwhile, across the city, Aria was walking through a different neighborhood toward a small house where her childhood friend lived. Liz Sanches was twenty years old, the same age as Aria had been when they first met. She was an orphan who had been raised by an elderly couple who had since passed away, leaving her to live alone in their modest home.
Aria knocked on the door and heard Liz's voice calling for her to enter. She found her friend in the kitchen, preparing tea with the careful movements of someone who tired easily. Liz was pale, had been since childhood, and though she tried to hide it, Aria could see that her friend's health hadn't improved over the years.
"Aria!" Liz's face lit up with genuine happiness. "What brings you here in the middle of the day? Did you escape from the administrative building?"
"I have news," Aria said, settling into the chair across from her friend. "Amazing news. The Royal Family is coming to Barako next month for the Grand Festival, and I've been chosen as Vice Incharge for the event."
Liz's hands stilled on the teapot. "Vice Incharge? Aria, that's incredible. You're barely nineteen and they're trusting you with something that important?"
"I can hardly believe it myself. Captain Philip said my work over the past year proved I could handle complex operations. This could change my entire career."
Liz poured tea for both of them, though Aria noticed her friend's hands shook slightly. "You deserve this recognition. You've worked harder than anyone I know."
They spent the next hour talking about the festival, about what it would mean for Barako to host the Royal Family, and about Aria's hopes for her future in city administration. Liz listened with the attention of someone who genuinely cared about her friend's success, offering encouragement and asking thoughtful questions about the responsibilities Aria would face.
What Liz didn't mention, and what she had been hiding for months, was what the physician had told her about her condition. The weakness that had plagued her since childhood was getting worse, and she didn't have much time left. But seeing Aria's happiness and excitement, Liz kept that knowledge to herself, determined not to cast a shadow over her friend's moment of triumph.