Finn didn't reply, instead he scrutinized her tersely, trying to spot any similarity between her and Micah.

They both kinda have the same facial structure…

Their skin complexions were totally different, but Finn could kind of see some similarities in their sharp facial structure… Or maybe he was simply imagining it because he was specifically looking for it…

"You guys aren't saying anything…" the girl — Maeve, prodded, prompting Finn to clear his throat.

He swallowed his surprise and schooled his outward expression, while on the inside, he was lamenting the fact that Micah never once told them he was from the literal richest family in the world!

From Feugeur to Fugger? Typical Micah… Finn inwardly scoffed at the simplicity of the word play now that he was aware of it.

"As you can see from our surprise, Miss.Maeve, Caretaker Micah never mentioned you once…" Finn shrugged.

"Yeah," she huffed with a miffed expression, as if harboring plans for when next she saw Micah. "Well, at least now you believe my identity, right?"

Finn shrugged. "Fifty-fifty."

"I'll take that. Anything that won't require me to fully reveal myself. I sneaked out, y'know. Against Father's wishes… Again."

"And your guards followed…?" Finn frowned, subtly glancing at the disguised figures keeping a loose perimeter around Maeve.

"Father made it such that for every of his children, all guards are bound to secrecy of the affairs of whichever child they are assigned to—" she explained, but paused abruptly. "Let's move, shall we? We're starting to draw attention by standing smack in the middle of this busy street for too long."

She started to walk, and Finn and Althea fell into stride with her.

"Basically, Father gives us enough leeway that our guards don't need to report to him. Hence we trust them enough to take them along on escapades like this."

"You really believe your father doesn't know, or he pretends not to know?" Finn asked with a wry look.

"It doesn't matter either way. Even if he knows, as long as he maintains feigned ignorance, everybody wins," she snorted.

"We remain safe, giving him the peace of mind he wants, while we get some sorely needed freedom," she shrugged.

"Right now, I'm meant to be preparing for the banquet holding later tonight. But I don't want to. I'd rather spend it getting to know two people my age, who aren't pompous like most others in this city. Plus, you also know my brother... We can curse at him together." She laughed nervously.

Finn stared at her for a moment but kept silent, before tacitly allowing her lead them around like a tour guide.

Together they all started to roam the streets, as Maeve showed them to places they otherwise would never have explored, sights they would never have seen, and street delicacies they never would have sampled.

Within a single hour, the stiff barrier between them and Maeve had lessened considerably. She had given them a proper tour of the middle district of Xanth from the perspective of someone who knew the city thoroughly.

And surprisingly, by the end of their tour, Maeve and Althea had become… girlfriends.

It turned out even Althea wasn't immune to the one thing that brought most girls together… clothing — High-end fashion and latest trends in Xanth. Finn had, unwillingly, been dragged along to high-end fashion stores and sat for the last hour and a half of their tour, watching the two girls try out cloth after cloth after cloth.

If not for the fact that leaving them and heading out into the city alone to explore was not really a good idea, he would've done it in a heartbeat.

Thankfully, they were done now, and more importantly, Finn wasn't the one lugging around the shopping bags full of girls' clothing. Maeve had been tactful enough to hand those over to her 'disguised' guards, who would step forward to receive it, then disappear into the crowd immediately afterwards.

Handy. Finn guffawed internally, just as his attention was brought back to the present.

The four-hour mark, which the head butler and steward had mentioned earlier when they settled them into the Emerald Villa, was almost up.

The sun was setting, and the banquet was to begin in less than an hour. It was about time to return to the upper district. But before then, Maeve wanted them to end their tour by watching the setting sun from the tallest building in the whole of Xanth — The Needle Tower.

They ascended the tower in a separate, special gilded elevator, different from the one open to the general public, bypassing the crowd of tourists looking to experience the sunset just like them.

But the benefits Maeve's identity provided didn't stop there.

As they reached the general observation deck, some ninety floors high, Maeve simply flashed her family medallion and exchanged a few words with the tower's personnel, and immediately, they were dutifully shepherded to the higher floors, which were not accessible to the average person.

A well-dressed middle aged man, who carried himself with an important air, led them up the stairs, as the floors above had no elevator access.

It turned out he was the General manager in charge of the affairs of the building. He was a member of a merchant family who were friends with the Feugeur family, so Maeve had no choice but to humor the man as he rambled on and on, trying to curry favour for the duration of their climb to the 100th floor they were headed.

There's a downside to everything, even too much money. Finn chuckled when Maeve turned her head back and made a weird expression as the man delved into another round of ramble after she tried to end their conversation.

At least she'll have a good reason to dismiss him when we reach the top. Finn shook his head, remembering some of his own dealings as a noble growing up in Aethelos.

He was just reminiscing on those memories, when he noticed everywhere had become suddenly silent.

His attention snapped back to the present, and he raised his head up, pausing in his steps.

"Althea?" He called out, frowning.

What happened? One second she was walking right in front of him, and the next, she was gone. The same with Maeve and the General manager. The man's chatter had cut off sharply, as if he, along with Maeve and Althea, had abruptly been blipped out of existence.

Finn immediately embodied his Crimson Fist Baboon soul mass, feeling his blood boil and strength flow through his body. His psyche became more fierce, giving him more brazenness as he slowly walked the last leg of the steps to the 100th floor.

He paused in front of the exquisitely decorated wooden door, and pushed it, letting it slowly swing open as his eyes scanned the open floor.

"Of course this is your doing. Why am I not surprised?" Finn sighed after spotting a familiar grey-robed figure standing on the opposite end of the open floor, leaning dangerously against the glass panel that was the only thing separating them on all sides from the hundred-floor drop to the ground far below.

"Where is my partner and the other two?" Finn asked, as he scanned the entire room, top to bottom from the door where he still stood. "How did you make them disappear?" He frowned.

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