The Father and Daughter Who Want to Sever Ties
After a few fun days out on the town, Cassidy Sterling had managed to extend her lifespan to a full month. Feeling pretty pleased with herself, she headed back to the manor.
But the moment she stepped through the gates, she found Steward Payne waiting for her. He practically nabbed her on the spot and whisked her straight to the palace.
This time, though, it wasn't the Empress Dowager who wanted to see her. It was the Emperor himself.
When Cassidy arrived at the Emperor's study, she was surprised to see her old man there, too, especially since he was supposed to be locked up in the Imperial Clan Court.
Prince Ashworth's eyes went wide when he saw his daughter, and he shot her a panicked look. *Did you get into trouble?* it screamed.
Cassidy just shook her head, glancing back with a silent question of her own. *Dad, did* you *get into trouble?*
He shook his head again. *Then why would your uncle call us both here?*
Cassidy leaned in and whispered, "Maybe he heard we've been behaving and he's ready to let us off the hook."
Prince Ashworth seemed to think that sounded perfectly reasonable and immediately sat up a little straighter.
The Emperor glared down at the father-daughter duo kneeling on the floor, who were too busy trading shameless glances to notice.
His desk had been buried for days under a mountain of complaints against Ashworth Manor.
His own mother, the Empress Dowager, was so fed up with these two that she'd locked herself in her private chapel to pray.
A wave of pure fury washed over him, and he slammed his hand down on the desk.
"You scoundrels!" he roared. "Kneel properly!"
They both jumped, startled, and immediately straightened their backs, kneeling perfectly still.
The Emperor spoke through clenched teeth. "A Prince and a Princess. The two of you have dragged the royal family's reputation completely through the mud."
They both looked up, the picture of confusion.
Prince Ashworth looked genuinely hurt. "Your Majesty, I've been cooped up in the Imperial Clan Court this whole time. I haven't gone anywhere."
"That's right, Uncle! And I've been in my room copying 'A Lady's Guide to Virtue' for days!" Cassidy quickly added. She had, of course, climbed over the walls plenty of times, but she'd been careful to avoid everyone and always showed up for meals, so no one had any idea she'd been sneaking out.
Looking at the two innocent-looking fools, the Emperor felt a headache coming on.
He turned to the steward standing beside him. "Payne!"
"Right here, Your Majesty," Payne replied instantly.
"Tell these two exactly what's been going on in Argent for the past few days."
"Yes, sir."
Payne cleared his throat before addressing the master and mistress of Ashworth Manor.
"A few days ago, the madam of the Spring Breeze Lounge sent a bill to Ashworth Manor. Prince Ashworth was in the Imperial Clan Court at the time. The amount on the bill was so large that the manor's steward didn't know what to do, so he had no choice but to send it to the palace."
He paused, glancing at the Emperor's darkening expression, and his voice dropped.
"When the Empress Dowager saw the bill, she discovered that Prince Ashworth had apparently bought the entire lounge."
Complete confusion washed over Prince Ashworth's face. When did that happen? Had he gotten so drunk he'd somehow been tricked into buying a brothel?
Payne continued, a hint of outrage in his own voice now. "And just yesterday, in the middle of the day, on a public street in Argent, Prince Ashworth reportedly abducted a man and took him back to the manor."
"What?!" Prince Ashworth leaped to his feet.
"That's a complete lie! Someone is trying to ruin my reputation!"
He turned to his brother, pleading. "I haven't taken a single step out of the Imperial Clan Court! And I definitely didn't buy that lounge! You have to investigate this! Someone is trying to frame me!"
He was so worked up he looked ready to grab the Emperor's legs and start wailing. After spending days in that miserable court, now he was being framed for things he didn't even do. It was just so unfair.
Payne gave the prince a sympathetic look before explaining, "The Princess bought the Spring Breeze Lounge in your name, Prince Ashworth. The abduction on the street was also done in your name."
He took a steadying breath. "Now, the rumor spreading around town is that the Prince not only likes women but also snatches men off the street and has... certain unconventional hobbies."
Prince Ashworth, who had been stomping around the study shouting about being framed, suddenly went still. He slowly turned his head to look at his daughter, who was kneeling on the ground, trying her best to shrink into the floor and become invisible.
Feeling her father's death glare, Cassidy slowly looked up and gave him a sheepish little smile. "Dad, I can explain."
Prince Ashworth glared back, his teeth gritted. "Fine. Explain." He couldn't wait to hear how his troublemaking daughter was going to talk her way out of this one.
Cassidy's knees were killing her, so she just plopped down on the floor and crossed her legs.
"Look, I just wanted to invite that star performer from the lounge back to the manor to help me copy 'A Lady's Guide to Virtue.' But the madam at the Spring Breeze wouldn't let her go. She said the place has rules, and the girls, especially a top-tier one like Miss Sutton, never work off-site."
She shrugged. "Rules are made to be broken. So, I had to buy the place."
"Then why did you use my name?!"
"I didn't have that kind of money," she said, as if it were obvious. "I had to put it on your tab, Dad."
"And what about grabbing a man off the street?"
"I was just playing the hero!" Cassidy insisted, feeling like the real victim here.
Yesterday, after buying the lounge and seeing her lifespan increase by ten days, she'd been happily walking home.
But then, on a crowded street, she literally bumped into a guy.
The second their eyes met, she knew. It was fate.
Sure enough, a name had popped up on her light screen: Jed.
At first, she wasn't sure if it was really him.
But then a group of people came chasing after him, shouting, "Jed, stop right there!"
Cassidy took a closer look and realized they were from the Vance family.
She remembered what the Empress Dowager had told her just a few days ago: *If I hear you're out there misbehaving and ruining your reputation again, I'm sending you straight to the Imperial Clan Court to keep your father company! *
A shiver went down her spine. Without a second thought, she started shouting her father's name, threw the guy over her shoulder, and ran for home. Luckily, she always dressed like a man when she snuck out, and this time she'd even changed into a servant's uniform to avoid being recognized.
"Then why did you use *my name* to snatch a man off the street?!"
Prince Ashworth was furious. He might be a screw-up, but he never messed around with women, let alone men.
His idea of a wild time was getting wasted on wine and watching rats fight at the gambling dens.
The worst he ever did was show up drunk at the Censors' houses to yell at them when they complained about him.
"Well, I couldn't exactly do it in my own name. I'm a girl! If people knew I grabbed a man off the street, what would happen to my reputation?"
"So my reputation doesn't matter?!"
"Dad, your reputation has been terrible for years. One or two more things won't make a difference. I'm still young! I have a bright future ahead of me. I can't let it be ruined!"
"You little rebel! Your future is important, but mine isn't?!"
"Dad, what future do you even have?"
"My future is Ashworth Manor!"
"But Ashworth Manor is going to be mine sooner or later anyway!"
The Emperor, sitting on the throne, watched with a grim face as the two scoundrels below argued about their reputations, their futures, and their inheritance.
It wasn't long before they were demanding to disown each other, begging him to issue an imperial edict so they'd never have to see each other again.
At this point, the Emperor just wanted to strangle them both.