Third Young Master Vance Comes Demanding Someone
Luckily, King, the steward, asked the exact question he'd been wanting to. "Are you mute?"
The boy, Scrap, nodded once, then immediately shook his head.
Cassidy stared, confused. What was that supposed to mean?
King ventured a guess. "You can speak, but you're not sure how?"
Scrap nodded again.
King turned to Cassidy. "Princess, I think he's been through some kind of trauma. It's probably why he can't talk right now."
Cassidy had been dying to ask about his injuries, about why he'd run away from the Vance family in the first place. But whatever. He was a mission target, and he'd already helped her extend her lifespan. There was no way she was letting him go now.
"King, go get a deed of sale ready," she ordered. Then she turned her attention back to the boy. "Listen up. Your name isn't Scrap anymore. From now on, you're Jed. And you're a guard at this manor."
Jed's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.
King drafted the deed with impressive speed. The moment Jed pressed his thumbprint onto the paper, a fresh wave of confidence washed over Cassidy.
"Alright, King," she said, a new fire in her voice. "Let's go meet this Preston Vance."
She hadn't even made it to the manor gates before she heard him.
"Princess Solana, get out here!" Preston Vance's voice echoed from the street. "Don't think you can hide a runaway from my family just because you're a princess. Hand him over, now!"
Cassidy frowned and glanced at her attendant, Auspicious. "Is his father a prince, too?"
Auspicious quickly shook her head.
"Then why does he sound more entitled than I do?"
Auspicious hesitated, then seemed to grit her teeth. "In the past, Princess, you were... completely infatuated with Landon Vance. To win him over, you put his entire family on a pedestal. That's why they've always acted so arrogantly here. You let them get away with everything."
Cassidy pointed at her own chest in disbelief. "Was I really that much of a pushover?"
"Only with the Vance family, Princess," Auspicious said, shaking her head again.
"I didn't waste money on him, did I?" Cassidy asked, horrified.
"Oh, no, never," Auspicious rushed to reassure her.
"You and the Fourth Princess were both taken with him, but you knew she had more money. You couldn't win a spending war, so you convinced her that someone as pure and noble as Landon shouldn't be tainted by something as tacky as money. You both agreed to compete fairly,
using only sincerity to win his affection. The Fourth Princess thought you had a point and made a pact of honor with you on the spot."
Hearing that improved Cassidy's mood slightly, but it soured again the moment she stepped outside.
When Preston Vance saw her emerge, he didn't back down. If anything, he got cockier.
"Well, well, Princess Solana," he sneered. "I have to wonder when a runaway from my family managed to catch your eye. So much so that you'd personally step in to hide him?"
His gaze was dripping with contempt, his tone utterly devoid of respect.
He probably figured that since his sister, Blair, had become a Countess after saving the Emperor two weeks ago, the Vance family was untouchable.
He must think this whole stunt was just a pathetic attempt to get his older brother, Landon, to notice her. What a schemer.
Cassidy's frown deepened. She shot a look at King. "What's his title? Is he important enough that he doesn't have to bow to me?"
King was startled for a second before he caught on. "Princess, Preston Vance holds no official position. He has no rank."
A slow smirk spread across Cassidy's face. "Oh? No rank? So he's just a commoner. And a commoner dares to be this rude to me? They say the Vances are a well-bred family with a strict code of conduct. Sounds like that's just a bunch of talk."
Preston was stunned for a moment, then his face flushed with anger.
"You must be joking, Princess," he spat.
"While I may not have a title, I know enough to bow to royalty. I was just busy questioning this maid and, in my haste, I forgot myself. My apologies."
He paused, his sneer returning. "But why make such a big deal out of one little slip-up? Is it because my brother has been too busy to pay you any attention? Are you hoping to find an excuse to make him come here and apologize on my behalf? If you wanted to see him, Princess,
you didn't have to go to all the trouble of kidnapping a runaway."
The System suddenly piped up in her head. *Host, this guy's even more full of himself than you are! You have to take him down a peg!*
Cassidy raised an eyebrow. He was definitely asking for it. *I've earned the right to be full of myself. What's this clown's excuse?*
"King," she commanded, "get some guards and teach him a lesson!"
"Right away!" King had heard enough and spun on his heel to summon the men.
Her other attendant, a girl named As-Desired, looked horrified. Seeing a crowd gathering at the gates, she rushed to Cassidy's side. "Princess, the Emperor said that if you get into another fight, he'll punish you with a forced marriage!"
Cassidy, who had already rolled up her sleeves, froze. Reality came crashing back. "You have a point."
As-Desired breathed a sigh of relief.
Cassidy pulled her sleeves back down, her expression suddenly morphing into one of absolute terror. "This is insane!" she shrieked. "The Vance family is trying to storm Ashworth Manor to attack my father! My poor father!"
Auspicious instantly caught on, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Help! Somebody help! Preston Vance brought a gang of thugs to break in and attack the Prince!"
Just then, King returned with the guards, his expression a perfect picture of confusion. *What?*
*Preston Vance wants to storm the manor and attack the Prince? Unforgivable!*
Seeing her own men arrive, Cassidy roared, "Protect the Prince with your lives!"
The manor guards, hearing her cry, let out a unified roar of their own and charged forward, their war cries echoing down the street. The Vance family servants, seeing a line of guards rushing them, didn't have time to think. Their bodies just moved to meet the charge.
As the brawl erupted, the onlookers in the street surged closer, eager for a show. They could hear the shouts clearly, Preston Vance wanted to attack Prince Ashworth. They could hear the Ashworth guards vowing to protect him with their lives. It was enough to get anyone's blood pumping.
Soon, the news that Preston Vance was leading an attack on Ashworth Manor spread like wildfire, each telling more ridiculous than the last.
By the time the rumor reached the Imperial Palace, it had become: Preston Vance had murdered Prince Ashworth.
When the Emperor heard, he was so shocked he nearly choked on his own breath.
Seeing him turn pale, the Empress frantically called for Physician Miller.
In the middle of the chaos, the Emperor's head cleared just enough for him to dispatch a steward to Ashworth Manor to see what kind of trouble that little rascal had gotten into now.
Before long, a steward named Payne returned, the full story in hand. Trailing behind him were a bruised and battered Preston Vance and a smug-looking Cassidy, who looked like she'd just won a championship.
The moment the Emperor laid eyes on her, his head began to throb. Hadn't it been less than an hour since this troublemaker left his study? What mess had she made this time?
"What is it now?" the Emperor glared at her.
Cassidy, of course, was the first to speak, repeating everything Preston had said back at the manor. She perfectly mimicked his arrogant, dismissive, and condescending tone, in fact, she might have even oversold it a little.
"Uncle," she said, the picture of innocence, "it really wasn't my fault this time. Preston Vance was rude to me first."
"So you had the guards beat him up?" The Emperor's head pounded.