Consort De Arrives
"He was so cocky, completely disrespecting Ashworth Manor," Cassidy said, her voice trembling.
"He brought a whole crew to block the entrance to my home. I was afraid he was going to attack my father, so I called the guards for protection. I was terrified! Thank God they were there, or Preston Vance would have beaten my father and me to a pulp."
The blatant lie sent a wave of hot anger through Preston, making his injuries flare with pain.
"Your Majesty," he managed, bowing despite the agony.
"I beg you to see the truth. I only went to Ashworth Manor today to retrieve a runaway servant from my family's household. I had no intention of disrespecting the Prince or the Princess. She sheltered our servant for no reason and refused to hand him over. That was bad enough,
but when I tried to reason with her, she ordered her guards to attack us without a second thought!"
Cassidy's expression was one of cool composure. "You're claiming I took your servant? Where's the proof? Without it, you just sound like a thug looking for a fight."
Preston fumbled inside his coat and pulled out a deed of sale. "This is his deed. The servant's name is Scrap. He has sticky fingers, stole from my family before he ran off. After days of searching, I discovered he'd been taken by the Princess to her residence!"
Cassidy barely glanced at the paper. "That doesn't have an official government seal. How can you call that a deed of sale? Besides, there's no one named Scrap in my residence."
"You..." Preston's face flushed, his pallor turning a mottled red with a mix of fury and panic.
He was right, of course. For a noble family with countless servants, did they really need a government stamp for every single one?
As long as they held the contract, the person belonged to House Vance, official or not.
Besides, Scrap was from The Savage Arena.
People bought there were always off-the-books; they were ghosts who couldn't have their names on any official government record. How could he possibly have papers?
Just as Preston stood there, completely at a loss, a young attendant's voice cut through the tension, announcing that Consort De requested an audience. A wave of relief washed over him. His aunt was here.
The attendant had barely finished speaking when Consort De swept into the room, a vision of grace in a luxurious court dress. Following close behind was another exquisitely dressed woman who shared his features: his older sister, Blair.
Consort De curtsied first to the Emperor and Empress, her sharp eyes taking in the tense scene and her nephew's battered state. She seemed to grasp the situation in an instant.
She turned to Preston. "What happened? Who did this to you?"
Relief flooded Preston's face. "Aunt. Blair," he said, his voice thick with misery. "It was the Princess. She stole my servant, denied it, and then ordered her guards to beat me."
Consort De's gaze swept over her nephew's bruises before flicking to Cassidy, a spark of anger flashing in her eyes. But with the Emperor and Empress watching, she held her tongue.
"I wonder," she said, her voice dripping with false curiosity, "what Preston could have possibly done to offend the Princess so deeply that she'd have him beaten this badly."
Cassidy just snorted, ignoring her entirely. She looked past the consort, directly at the Emperor and Empress on their thrones. "They're trying to frame me! It was his own men who beat him up. Anyone in Argent can tell you that."
Cassidy looked utterly confident, and for good reason. She had given her manor guards very specific instructions: she told them who to hit, and more importantly, how to get someone else to do the hitting for them.
The Ashworth guards had been strategic. They'd done a lot of shouting, yelling slogans about protecting the Prince as they charged, but they never threw the first punch. The Vance family servants, on the other hand, were hot-headed. The moment they saw guards rushing them, they'd charged in blindly.
"You!" Preston was seething. He remembered it now. Those shameless Ashworth guards! They'd yelled their heads off, but the second the fight broke out, they had all ducked behind *him*. The idiots he'd brought with him had ended up clubbing *him* with their own sticks.
The Emperor rubbed his forehead, looking weary. He glanced at the man beside him. "Steward Payne, tell us what you saw outside Ashworth Manor."
Steward Payne bowed deeply. "Your Majesty, when I arrived, the fight was already underway. I saw servants of House Vance, armed with sticks, chasing the Ashworth guards. The guards, in turn, were hiding behind Master Preston. The Princess, meanwhile, was screaming in terror,
clinging to two of her maids."
He paused. "As for the cause of the fight, I questioned some bystanders. They said, and I quote, that Preston Vance brought a group of thugs with sticks to block the manor entrance, and that he was threatening to kill the Prince."
The Emperor's gaze snapped to Preston, sharp and dangerous.
"Your Majesty, I've been framed!" Preston blurted out. "I only brought my men to retrieve a servant! I would never disrespect the Prince. And those sticks, they weren't ours! The Ashworth guards must have shoved them into my men's hands!"
Cassidy stared at him with wide-eyed disbelief. "Let me get this straight. You think I armed your men with sticks so they could attack my own father? Does that sound sane to you?"
Consort De's face tightened with fury as she listened to Cassidy's accusations.
"Princess, that's enough nonsense," she snapped. "Preston was raised in the Vance household with strict discipline. He is respectful and knows the rules. The idea that he would lead an attack on Ashworth Manor is absurd. Do you think you can make up these lies and treat House Vance like a doormat?"
At the accusation, Cassidy's hand flew to her chest. Her eyes went wide with a wounded look as she stared at Consort De. "You... you yelled at me?"
Consort De was completely baffled. "When did I yell at you?"
Cassidy looked heartbroken. "You just said I have no manners!" she wailed.
Consort De gritted her teeth, momentarily speechless.
*Is this girl a complete fool?* she thought, stunned. *Does she have any idea how court politics work?* A normal person would offer a subtle rebuttal, not... this. Who just comes right out and asks if they're being insulted? It was like arguing with a child who'd just learned to talk.