Chapter 2

Mother gave me a slow once-over, her gaze edged with disgust. I wanted to explain, but when I saw how she was already convinced this was my fault, I shut my mouth.

Oh well. So what if I was confined to my rooms? I had all the time in the world to get my revenge anyway.

I just didn't expect the opportunity to come this fast.

One night, I was copying the household rules and must've nodded off at my desk. I was half-asleep when I heard a commotion outside.

Jamie came storming into my courtyard with a crowd of servants in tow, while Jordan was in Mother's arms, looking upset.

"Mother, the pendant you gave me disappeared right after I left Julian's room today. You got it for my birthday last month, and it's the only one in Javilon. Julian grew up as a bandit—he must've seen every kind of treasure there is while looting. Why would he steal what's mine?"

Jamie kicked open my bedroom door and snapped at the servants behind her, "Turn this place upside down. Search every inch of this room!"

The servants moved like they were raiding a criminal's den. They even pried the bedboards, but in the end they came up empty-handed.

Mother frowned, her gaze full of disappointment and disgust as she looked at me. "Give the pendant back to Jordan now!"

Jordan probably thought I would be unable to defend myself and would end up thrown out of the Shaw family in disgrace.

To his surprise, I slammed my hand down on the table so hard it shattered into pieces. "How dare someone steal from us? I'm catching this thief today if it's the last thing I do!"

Before anyone could react, I slipped right back into my persona as the leader of a bandit stronghold and barked at the servants, "Come with me! We're tearing this place apart!"

Jordan started to panic when he saw how serious I was. "Julian, it's fine if it's missing. There's no need to go looking for it."

I ignored him and led the servants off to turn the entire Shaw Manor upside down. We dug through the flowerbeds three times and shook every single egg in the kitchen to see if anything was hidden inside.

In the end, we dragged the pendant out from under Jordan's bed—along with a half-used packet of aphrodisiac powder.

I pretended not to notice how Jordan's face went from steely to pale. I snapped, "Whoever this thief is, they've got some nerve! They not only stole Jordan's pendant but even tried to drug him!"

Mother and Jamie fell silent for once when they saw the pendant and the aphrodisiac powder. They both gave Jordan a long, hard look, then turned and walked off.

I acted like I saw nothing and hollered, "Wait, aren't we going to keep searching? We haven't caught the thief yet!"

Jordan shot me a hateful glare, then hurried after them, tossing one last threat over his shoulder. "Just you wait, Julian!"

…

The next day at breakfast, things were a little tense between Jordan and our parents. He kept trying to ingratiate himself with Mother, serving her breakfast and attending to her every need, but she remained unusually cold.

I just focused on my own meal. The food at Shaw Manor was much better than anything I'd had at the bandit stronghold up in the mountains.

Mother frowned as she watched me scarf everything down.

Jordan seized the opening. "Mother, I don't know what came over me yesterday. I'm sorry. How about I invite Madam Cavill from the Hall of Etiquette over to teach Julian some proper manners? Father's hosting a banquet soon, right? We can't have him being humiliated."

Madam Cavill was a governess known for her etiquette in Javilon. Plenty of princes and princesses had learned their court manners from her.

At that, Mother finally smiled. She patted Jordan's hand. "That's very thoughtful of you."

He hooked his arm through hers affectionately. When he looked at me, a flash of viciousness crossed his eyes. "I'll see to it that Julian learns how a gentleman ought to behave."

Just like that, I got dragged off to etiquette lessons without knowing what hit me.

Out in the corridor, Jordan pulled Madam Cavill aside. He slipped her some silver and whispered something to her.