Luna was indeed stubborn, and no one could stop her—not even her parents. The same went for Rich, who gave up trying to change her mind when she decided to sneak into the palace in the middle of the night.
Luna's worry was what drove her to act so boldly, even daring to infiltrate the palace. Though Luna had entered the palace before, she didn't know every part of it. Only a few areas she had once set foot in, and they were not the places where Rhea would be held. Her little sister wouldn't be placed in an easily visible room.
"Is my sister in the palace prison?" Luna asked softly as she walked out of the narrow street toward the main road of Mierre-Park. Not too far away, Rich's house was still within the city and close to the main road.
"She's perfectly safe, seems like they're waiting for you to come," Vincent said. He walked beside Luna, guiding her down a path that passed several shops near the palace. Luna used to take this road as well whenever she infiltrated the palace in disguise. "At eight o'clock at night, Rhea usually has milk delivered to her room. You can use that moment to bring the milk in."
"Is there a maid who delivers it?" Luna asked as they walked.
"No, I'm usually the one who gets the milk for Rhea," the man replied before continuing. "Later, wait behind the kitchen. I'll get the milk there, and afterward, you'll bring it in with me."
"You'll be waiting outside the room?" Luna asked again.
"My shift starts at eight," he replied. "But the problem might be when you have to get out of the palace."
"That's not a problem. I know a few exit routes from the kitchen. After I come out with the empty glass, I promise I'll get back to Rich's house safely," she said quietly.
They chose to end the conversation as they entered the palace grounds. The road was occasionally crossed by a palace guard or servants, whom neither of them recognized. Truthfully, there were too many palace servants, and it was likely no one knew each other unless they were on the same team.
It was the same as when Luna worked at the national intelligence agency—she didn't know her coworkers in the same organization unless they were teammates or frequently collaborated.
Without many words, Luna followed wherever Vincent led her. First, they walked toward the kitchen. Yes, the first task was to get the milk. Luna only waited briefly because this was part of Vincent's usual routine before starting his shift. He had the trust to bring milk to Rhea every night.
Luna took over the tray with a glass of milk for Rhea. If Finn had treated Rhea decently, then he was probably just testing Luna's courage to come here. Seeing that Luna wasn't thrown into prison was already a good sign in her eyes. She had imagined far worse scenarios, even fearing that Finn would do everything in his power to hurt her younger sister.
Luna's steps carried her deeper into the palace. They headed to the left wing of the palace, a hallway Luna had never visited since she usually came to the right side, where workrooms were located. The palace only had two floors, but Luna admitted it was vast, with dozens of large rooms inside. It was only natural that she hadn't yet mastered the layout if she only visited occasionally.
Luna turned right, spotting a man standing guard in front of a room. He wore a guard's uniform similar to what Vincent had on.
"Is this your new friend, Vincent?" the man asked, greeting Vincent. He smiled when he saw Luna carrying the tray with the glass of milk.
"No, she's the one assigned by the head of the kitchen today to deliver the milk," Vincent replied casually. He seemed to be well-practiced in handling situations like this.
"I think this is my first time seeing you. What's your na—" the man was cut off by Vincent, avoiding further interaction so they could carry out the mission smoothly.
"She has to work, better let her deliver the milk first," Vincent said quickly before knocking on Rhea's door. Without waiting long, he helped Luna open the door and closed it again after she stepped inside.
Luna looked at her little sister, who was still standing and gazing at the bright lights of Mierre-Park. She usually only stared into the darkness of the plantation. But it had been several days since she arrived in Mierre-Park and had seen many other sides of the city.
"Uncle Vincent, I said I don't want to drink milk. I want to go home, I want to see my sisters." Luna's steps grew closer to Rhea, who still had her back turned. A smile formed on Luna's face—she couldn't hide how happy she was to see Rhea still healthy.
"In that case, I'll just place it on this table, okay?" Luna's voice made Rhea turn around in an instant. She saw Luna placing the tray on the table. That was Rhea, the girl looked healthy and cared for in this place.
"Luna!" The girl ran to her, hugging Luna, who had crouched down to be at her eye level. She let her sister hug her tightly. "How did you get in here?"
"I have all the ways to do what I want," Luna felt her shoulder grow wet. She pulled away slightly and saw that Rhea's face was soaked in tears. "Hey, why are you crying? Did they hurt you here?"
Rhea shook her head, trying to hold back the tears, but she couldn't.
"I want to go home, Luna." Luna gently stroked her sister's small back. "Was riding horses there fun? We have so many horses now, don't we?"
"I'll come again tomorrow, this time bringing more people to help get you out of here," she said while wiping Rhea's tears. "I promise camp will be really fun when we go back tomorrow."
"Do the horses eat a lot of grass?" Luna nodded confidently. There were still two horses left at the camp because she only used one carriage. "We have to name them so we don't mix them up someday."
"They probably spend all day just eating, I'm pretty sure," said Luna, chatting casually with Rhea. She stroked Rhea once more; she had to leave soon in case Vincent's friend grew suspicious of her. "Sorry, I have to go now. Tomorrow night I'll come to pick you up. Wait for me and the others, okay?"
"Luna, take me home. I only want to stay at camp with you guys," Rhea said just before Luna let go of the hug and waved her goodbye. Just as she had promised, she would come back for her sister tomorrow.