This Princess Will Not Marry You
The Second Prince's face went pale with rage. "Solana, have you lost your mind? Pulling stunts like this to get close to Heir Vance will only make him despise you."
Vance's expression hardened, the disgust in his eyes deepening. He was certain now. She had deliberately taken a servant from his family just to get under his skin. He'd hoped losing her memory might have settled her down, but he never imagined she'd become even more ridiculous.
His voice turned to ice. "Princess, I was willing to overlook your past behavior. However, that man is a runaway from my service at Vance Manor. I'm asking you to release him. If you don't, you will damage the relationship between our families."
*Heir Vance?*
Cassidy's mind finally caught up. Auspicious had mentioned something about her old self having a massive crush on this guy.
Oh, this was juicy.
The gossip-lover in her kicked into overdrive. She stepped forward, leaning in to get a better look and sizing him up from head to toe, her eyes as critical as if she were inspecting a cut of meat.
Meeting her bold stare, Vance's eyebrow twitched. He took an involuntary step back, his annoyance clear.
"Princess, have some self-respect."
Cassidy just looked at him, completely baffled. "Self-respect? For what?" Then she saw the scorn on his face, and it all clicked. "Oh my god," she said, her voice dripping with disbelief. "You don't actually think I *like* you, do you?"
The question was so blunt it hung in the air, utterly unfiltered.
The Second Prince scowled. "Solana, you're a princess! How can you be so shameless in public? Have you forgotten you're a member of the Imperial Family? This behavior is disgraceful!"
Cassidy turned to him, her expression deadpan. "Is your brain fully developed?" she asked, with a perfectly straight face. "Seriously. You and the Crown Prince are my uncle's sons. My older cousin is brilliant, but you..."
She let the sentence hang, the insult landing perfectly.
The Second Prince looked like he was about to explode. He absolutely hated being compared to his sickly older brother.
"Solana, do you have no respect for me at all?"
"Nope," Cassidy shot back instantly. "I don't even know you."
The prince was so furious he looked ready to lunge, but Vance quickly put a hand on his arm. "Your Highness," he whispered, "we're in public. Fighting with the princess here will only hurt your reputation."
With that, he turned back to Cassidy. The irritation in his eyes was gone, replaced by a deep, searching look.
Could amnesia really change a person this much?
The old Solana was just annoying, easy enough to dismiss.
But this new version, the one who'd lost her memory, was aggressive and completely unpredictable. He couldn't get a read on her at all.
Cassidy met his gaze. "What are you staring at?" she asked cautiously. "You don't actually have a thing for me, do you?"
She immediately took a step back, her expression wary.
After checking the distance between them, she still didn't feel safe and took another cautious step away.
Once she'd created enough space, she patted her chest in relief.
"Vance, you should just give up. Our families aren't a good match, and we'd never be happy. You deserve someone better. Not someone like me, because I'm the best."
Remembering his earlier jab, she threw his own words right back at him.
"So, I'm going to have to ask *you*, Heir Vance, to have some self-respect from now on and stop bothering me."
Vance was floored.
He was bothering *her*?
Had she completely lost her mind? Who was bothering who here? The man who had just advised the prince to keep his cool was now struggling to hold onto his own polished composure.
He gritted his teeth. "Princess Solana, you'd better watch your mouth. When have I ever bothered you?"
"If you're not bothering me, then why did you follow me to this restaurant and corner me? Wait," she said, as a lightbulb seemed to go off in her head, a whole dramatic narrative of unrequited love already forming.
She pointed at the Second Prince with a look of sudden, dawning horror.
"You knew I wasn't interested, so you brought him with you? You were planning to use his title to pressure me?"
"Wow. I can't believe you're that kind of person. Did you really think that would make me pay attention to you?"
"No way! I would rather die than marry you!"
Auspicious and As-Desired, standing off to the side, were speechless. For a split second, they both wondered if the princess who used to desperately chase after Heir Vance had been nothing but a fever dream.
The Second Prince and Vance were just as stunned, their jaws practically on the floor. They'd completely forgotten why they'd come looking for her in the first place. All they could think was: *How can someone so shameless and brazen even exist?*
As they stood there in shock, a furious female voice cut through the tense silence. "What? Heir Vance wants to marry *you*?!"
Cassidy turned toward the voice. A young woman in a vibrant red floral dress was striding toward them, the tiny pearl tassels on her hem chiming with every step, making her seem like a whirlwind of energy.
Seeing her rival, Auspicious leaned in, worried. "Princess, that's the Fourth Princess. She's definitely here to cause trouble."
The confusion in Cassidy's eyes was instantly replaced by alertness.
In the past few weeks, the two names she'd heard more than any other, besides Vance, were the Empress and the Fourth Princess.
Apparently, she and this girl had been rivals since they were kids.
Anything Cassidy had, the Fourth Princess wanted.
It started with small things, like clothes, and escalated to bigger things, like the men she was interested in.
They had a long, bitter history, and even their maids were sworn enemies who tried to one-up each other at every turn.
When she saw Cassidy wasn't paying her any mind, the Fourth Princess fumed. "Cassidy! How dare you ignore me!"
Cassidy shook her head. "I'm not. I'm looking right at you."
The Fourth Princess was momentarily speechless. "What did you mean just now? About Heir Vance marrying you?"
Cassidy spread her hands in a helpless gesture. "He was following me and wouldn't leave me alone. When I ignored him, he brought the Second Prince over to try and pressure me. Now he has me cornered here at the restaurant, and I haven't even had a chance to eat. I'm starving!"
The Fourth Princess's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're saying Heir Vance is bothering *you*?"
Cassidy nodded innocently.
The Fourth Princess scratched her head. "Did you get kicked by a donkey or something?" She'd heard Cassidy had hit her head and lost her memory, but she hadn't expected it to be this bad. No wonder her mother, the Empress, had forbidden her from visiting.
Cassidy gritted her teeth. "I'm perfectly fine! And let me be clear, from now on, don't connect me with Heir Vance. If you like him, that's your business. Leave me out of it."
The Fourth Princess narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Is this some kind of new trick?"
Cassidy touched the badge at her waist with a smug look. "I'm going to be serving the Imperial Court from now on. Boys? You can have them. I'm not interested."
The Fourth Princess's gaze was immediately drawn to the badge. "Capital Inspector? What kind of job is that? And how can a princess even have a government job?"
Cassidy puffed out her chest proudly, patting the badge. "Because I'm just that good."
The Fourth Princess's eyes went green with envy. "Father is so unfair! I want a job, too!"
Cassidy did not like the sound of that. "What do you mean my uncle is unfair?" she said, glancing at the crowd of onlookers that had gathered at the restaurant entrance. She cleared her throat, her voice rising for all to hear.
"It's because I have a heart for justice! I want to punish evil, protect the people, and solve their problems. His Majesty saw my dedication to the country and its citizens, and that is why he personally appointed me as the Capital Inspector."
As more people gathered around, Cassidy's voice grew even louder, ringing with performative passion.
"In the future, if any of you have a problem or a grievance, please, come find me! As long as your cause is just and it affects your daily life, I promise I will do everything in my power to see that you get justice!"