From Now On I Am in Charge of Ashworth Manor
"Clifford, it's almost dinnertime. No one's coming to the manor now," a young maid murmured, bowing her head as she passed.
Steward King could only offer a weary nod in return.
He felt helpless, wanting to step in but knowing he was too old to do much good.
Besides, a part of him was still livid at the thought of Prince Ashworth losing a fortune at cockfighting, again.
Both masters of the manor were big spenders, that was true, but at least when the Princess blew through money, there was something to show for it.
Maybe this was for the best. A sharp lesson from his own daughter might be exactly what the Prince needed.
With a tired sigh, the steward decided to stay out of it. He did, however, find a nearby servant and quietly told him to fetch the manor's doctor. Just in case.
Meanwhile, Prince Ashworth stared in disbelief as his entire staff just stood around watching the drama unfold. No one was lifting a finger to stop his daughter, who was currently brandishing a rather large kitchen knife. He was seeing red.
"Are you all turning on me?" he bellowed. "Can't you see she's about to attack me? Stop her!"
The crowd suddenly found their shoes, their clothes, and the ceiling fascinating. They looked at the sky, the ground, anywhere but at him.
"Sooner or later, I'm selling all of you!" Ashworth cursed, scrambling to dodge another swipe of the knife.
The fact that he still had the energy to shout was the last straw for Cassidy. She strode forward and kicked him squarely in the shins, sending him sprawling to the ground with a pained grunt. He couldn't even get back up.
"You dare kick me?" he wheezed, clutching his leg. "I'll have you thrown out of this house, you rebellious girl!"
Cassidy crouched, pressing the flat of the blade against his neck. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."
Ashworth swallowed hard, the cold steel a terrifying reality against his skin. He tried to inch away. "I am your father!"
The knife pressed a little harder. "From now on," Cassidy said, her voice dangerously low, "I'm *your* father."
His eyes widened in fear, all the bluster draining out of him in an instant. "Cassidy, calm down," he pleaded, his voice cracking. "Let's just talk about this."
She glared down at him. "Fine. Talk. Why did you go gambling again?"
"You're the one who told me we needed to make money!" he protested, a note of genuine grievance in his voice. "I was just going to see the Duke of Crestfall to win back the family fortune I lost!" He said it as if he were the real victim here, still smarting from how the Duke had mocked him.
"You feel like the victim?" Cassidy asked, her frustration mounting. "I told you to make money, not throw it away gambling!"
"But I don't know how to do anything else!" he whined. "I only... I only know how to cockfight!" His voice trailed off as he saw the murderous look return to her eyes.
Steward King, seeing the Princess was about to lose it again, quickly stepped forward to smooth things over. "Princess, you can't blame this all on the Prince. Perhaps that Duke of Crestfall is cheating. How else could he beat the Prince every single time?"
Hearing this, Ashworth wanted to nod vigorously, but the knife at his throat was a sharp reminder to stay still. "Yes, yes!" he squeaked. "Cassidy, he has to be playing dirty. Otherwise, how could my strongest rooster lose in just a few rounds?"
Cassidy shot them both a look of utter disdain. "So you knew the Duke was cheating, and you still ran over there to hand him our family fortune?"
Faced with a stare that made him feel like a complete and utter idiot, Prince Ashworth's face turned beet red. He was speechless.
"I... I..."
Seeing her father's pathetic state, Cassidy yanked the knife away and threw it to the floor with a clatter of frustration. "Get the chicken. Get up. You're showing me the way to Crestfall Manor. I want to see what kind of super rooster this Duke is raising that it wins every single time."
Ashworth didn't move an inch, just stared at her.
Cassidy was so furious she snatched the knife right back up. "Are you getting up or not?"
He hesitated, then finally gritted his teeth and shut his eyes as if bracing for the worst. "The Duke of Crestfall has a rule," he mumbled. "You have to pay off your debt before he'll let you fight again. Otherwise, he won't give you a second chance."
Cassidy turned to Steward King. "How much silver is left in the house?"
"Princess," the steward replied gravely, "we currently have forty-eight thousand taels of silver in the manor."
Cassidy pulled out the two thousand taels she'd just earned and handed them over.
Steward King took the banknotes, his brow furrowed. "Princess, with this, we're still short twenty thousand taels. If we pawn the pearls and jewelry in the storehouse, we might be able to scrape it together."
"Don't pawn them," Cassidy said, waving a dismissive hand. "I'll handle it. Find the chicken that lost today and come with me to Crestfall Manor. We're having a rematch."
Ashworth stared, shocked. He thought she was just using the cockfight as an excuse to go storm the Duke's estate. "Cassidy, that's not a good idea, is it?" If they stormed the place, that old jerk would mock him for being a sore loser. He'd never be able to show his face in public again.
Cassidy ignored him and turned to her maid. "As-Desired, draw up a contract for me. It will state that from now on, Ashworth Manor is under my control. All future family spending must be approved by me before any money can be withdrawn."
She was staging a coup.
"You want to take away my authority?" Ashworth yelped.
Cassidy simply nodded.
"You... you..." He was so furious he was sputtering.
"If you can find a way to win back the family fortune you lost, control of the manor will be yours again," Cassidy offered, her tone deadly serious.
Ashworth deflated instantly. But then an idea seemed to strike him, and he straightened his back, a smirk on his face. "And you think you can win it back? Fine. If you can win it back, you can be in charge of this manor." He was calling her bluff, certain she couldn't possibly succeed.
Cassidy didn't hesitate. "If I win back the family fortune, then from now on, you listen to me. Whatever I say, goes."
He gritted his teeth. Thinking of the mountain of money he'd lost, he finally nodded. "Fine! I agree. But if you can't win it back, this manor stays under my control!"
"It's a deal." Cassidy immediately took the freshly written contract from As-Desired and held it out. "Put your thumbprint on it."
Ashworth snatched the paper, scanned it once, and then pressed his thumb firmly into the ink and onto the contract.
Steward King looked on, completely bewildered. "Princess, what about the other twenty thousand taels?"
Cassidy tucked the contract away. "I have my ways."
She glanced at the disheveled, speckled hen and asked the System in her mind, *Can you only possess that donkey?*
The System seemed to glitch for a few seconds before answering. *Oh, right, Host! I can possess other animals too. Why didn't I think of that?*
It didn't have enough points to possess something as large as a donkey right now, but a small animal like a chicken should require far less energy.
Its current points were more than enough.
A moment later, its excited voice popped into her head.
*Host, I tried it! I can totally possess that chicken! *
Cassidy's mouth twitched. *So you never even tried to see if you could possess other animals before this?*
The System sounded a little sheepish. *I... I forgot.*
Luckily, she was already used to her not-so-brilliant system. *I'm taking you to a cockfight in a little bit.*
The System sounded hesitant. *Host, isn't this cheating? Isn't this, like, wrong?*
Cassidy was speechless for a second. *We're the bad guys. Bad guys don't have morals.*
The System seemed to have a moment of profound realization, as if it had just unlocked a fundamental truth of the universe.
Seeing that her point had landed, Cassidy turned to her maid. "As-Desired, take good care of that chicken. I'm going to use it to get our revenge later."
As-Desired quickly agreed. She had no idea where her princess found such confidence, but as her maid, her job was to support her no matter what.