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would call her anything but beautiful…but Merrich was unfortunately handsome and of the same military rank as Friedrich…
    “Her build is… ,” Friedrich trailed off misleadingly.
    “Thought so. Why else wouldn’t one of the other Trieux tramps snatch her up for their sons? At least she has that charming personality, eh?” Merrich said.
    “At least ,” Friedrich echoed, a smirk hanging from his lips. He needed time to sweeten Cinderella up to him and his country, but when she finally came around, he was going to take great delight in introducing her to Merrich. “Her gait is…impressive.”
    “She scuttles , does she? Well, Mutti always said personality and intellect are more important than beauty.”
    “Did she? Your mother is a wise woman ,” Friedrich said.
    “Of course she is. Anyway , you could probably hire trainers or something for your future Trieux misses. They could help. Maybe.”
    “I see.”
     

 
    Chapter 5
    The day after the attack against Colonel Friedrich , Cinderella broke into the Trieux Royal Library.
    As a result of the increased patrols city-wide , the patrols around the library were lessened to free up soldiers. Cinderella may not get another good chance for her illegal activity, so she waited until the late afternoon before she went to Werra, making her way to the closed library.
    A kerchief tied over her eye-catching hair served as her poor disguise, but none of the patrolling soldiers looked twice at her, so Cinderella judged the time to be perfect.
    She hummed as she walked t o the back end of the library, which was pressed against the backside of the Trieux House of Lords—where the Trieux nobility used to meet to vote on matters of the country.
    Both buildings were closed, so Cinderella only had to worry about outdoor activities.
    Cinderella kept her gait slow and even , acting unconcerned as she adjusted the basket on her arm. “Rats,” she said when she rounded the corner. The back window she used to squirm indoors was boarded up from the inside.
    Cinderella pushed against the wooden block , testing its strength. It didn’t budge.
    “ So much for that route—although it took them months to figure out that was how I got in. Where else can I…ah-hah,” Cinderella said when she spied an open window. It was higher up, well above Cinderella’s head, but its wooden shutters hung, barely secured enough to shield the open window from the weather. The scarcely useful shutters were casualties from the mistreatment the building suffered when Erlauf marched against the capital.
    Cinderella traveled the back end of the build ing to peer around either corner. A patrol wasn’t due for a few minutes, but one could never be too careful.
    Cinderella retreated to the window and pushed a crate against the wall. She was still too short to reach the wooden sill. Cinderella piled several planks on the crate before she tried again.
    Cinderella stood on her tip toes, and still lacked the height. She jumped and her hands brushed the window sill, but she wasn’t strong enough to pull herself up. She hung there for the barest moment before her arms gave out, and she fell back on the crate.
    She placed her hand on her hips and glared at the wall before she tried climb ing up, wedging her fingers and feet in cracks and gaps between the stone blocks that made up the library.
    She climbed up on ly one layer of the blocks when a voice behind her said, “So you’re the lawbreaker that’s been evading my men for the past year?”
    Cinderella shrieked , lost her grip, and fell back on the crate. She lost her balance and toppled over the side. Cinderella rubbed her stinging side as she boosted herself into an upright position. “Ah, Colonel Friedrich. What a surprise it is to see you here,” Cinderella said when she realized who stood with her in the back alley.
    It was her rotten luck he would find her.
    “ This explains those skills of evasion you displayed yesterday. You had months of practice