Never Ever Spend a Poor Persons Money
With that, Solana hopped onto her Maserati scooter and zipped away from the manor.
Auspicious hurried after her. "Princess, where are you headed?"
"The imperial palace. Going to see some family." Solana patted the handlebars of her scooter, a determined look on her face.
To Auspicious, it sounded a whole lot like she was going to the palace to mooch off someone. But knowing better than to argue, he simply followed along.
Meanwhile, inside the imperial palace, the Emperor had just finished reviewing his state papers. Taking a rare moment to relax, he was gazing with satisfaction at a painting his staff had recently acquired for him.
"Steward Payne," he said, "you always tell me every painting in my collection is worth a fortune. So why do I like this two-thousand-dollar one so much?"
Steward Payne smiled. "Because that painting was bought with the money the Princess gave you as a sign of her respect, Your Majesty. That makes it special. Every time you see it, you're reminded of how much your niece cares for you."
The Emperor burst out laughing. "Hang it up for me, somewhere I can see it every day."
Payne moved to carry out the order at once. Just as the painting was being hung, a young attendant appeared at the doorway.
"Your Majesty, Princess Solana is here to see you."
The Emperor, still admiring his new artwork, brightened. "Perfect. Have Solana come in and join me for dinner. Payne, go tell the imperial kitchen to send our meal here."
The steward gave a quick nod and slipped out of the room.
When Solana entered, she saw the Emperor was in a visibly good mood. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. This was going to make things a lot easier.
"Uncle, your favorite niece missed you!" she chirped, scurrying over. She started by massaging his shoulders, then gave his back a few pats, laying the affection on thick.
The Emperor felt a prickle of suspicion. "You're acting awfully friendly today. What is it? You need something from me, don't you?"
That was the opening she'd been waiting for. Solana immediately sat down beside him and let out a dramatic sigh. "Uncle, your brother is so irresponsible. He's gambled away all our family's money."
The Emperor's brow furrowed. "What did that scoundrel Ashworth do now?"
Solana put on her most outraged expression. "Uncle, your brother lost seventy thousand dollars on a cockfight. A full seventy thousand! We can barely afford groceries, and he's still out there gambling. He's just so reckless!"
The Emperor gave her a confused look. "He's your father. What do you mean, 'my brother'?"
"He's not my father," Solana declared, her nose in the air. "I have completely disowned Prince Ashworth." She then leaned in conspiratorially. "But you're different, Uncle. You and he have the same mother. You're blood brothers, nobody is closer than you two."
"I have no such brother," the Emperor said with a grimace.
"And I have no such father," she shot back.
With neither of them willing to claim Prince Ashworth, Solana remembered why she was there and turned to the Emperor with wide, hopeful eyes.
"Uncle, could you do your niece a little favor?"
He immediately grew wary. "What favor?"
Solana rubbed her hands together, looking a bit sheepish. "Lend me twenty thousand dollars. Tomorrow, "
"No!" the Emperor cut her off instantly. He should have known. The little troublemaker gives him two thousand dollars one day only to try and flip it into twenty thousand the next. The nerve.
"Uncle, I'm borrowing this for your brother!" Solana protested, clinging to his leg like she was about to throw a full-blown tantrum. "If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be in this mess!"
The Emperor felt a pang of guilt. He blamed himself for not being stricter with Ashworth when they were younger. Now, because of his negligence, Solana had to worry about her own father at such a young age.
"Fine, fine, stop the waterworks!" he sighed, yanking his imperial robe out of her grasp. "I'll give it to you, alright?"
He retrieved a small box from behind a decorative screen. Inside were stacks of cash. He counted out twenty thousand dollars and handed it to Solana.
"Take it," he grumbled. "I must have done something terrible in a past life to deserve you and your father."
Solana's eyes lit up, her gaze fixed on the cash box still in his hand. "Uncle, there's more in there. How about you lend me another, "
"Get out!" the Emperor roared, pointing at the door. "Get out right now! And don't you ever come to the imperial palace again. You are not welcome here!"
But Solana wasn't ready to give up. "Uncle, trust me! Lend me another twenty thousand, and when I strike it rich, I'll pay you back double!"
The Emperor slammed the cash box shut with a loud bang. "If you don't get out of here right now, I'm taking back the twenty thousand you're holding!"
That did the trick. Terrified, Solana quickly stuffed the bills into her pocket. "I'm going, I'm going!"
Fearing he'd change his mind, she hiked up her skirt and scurried out the door.
When Steward Payne returned with the food, he found the Emperor fuming. He looked around, puzzled. "Your Majesty, where is the Princess?"
"Don't even mention that little troublemaker!" the Emperor snapped.
Payne was even more confused. Just a moment ago, His Majesty had been praising the Princess, saying she was the only one of the imperial children who showed him any real respect. How had she become a "little troublemaker" in the short time he was gone?
"Your Majesty, what happened?"
The Emperor took a deep breath to calm himself, then looked at his steward seriously. "Payne, let me give you some advice. From now on, never, ever accept money from a broke person."
It was a painful lesson to learn.
Payne was completely baffled, but he nodded along anyway. The more the Emperor talked, the angrier he got, until he finally pulled the steward aside to vent about Prince Ashworth and his entire disaster of a family.
Having already left the palace, Solana sneezed several times on her way home.
The System couldn't help but ask, *Host, is this what they call 'mooching'?*
"I'm not going to stiff him," Solana said confidently.
"Once we beat the Duke of Crestfall and get our property back, we'll pay the Emperor back immediately."
She sniffed. "Besides, this whole mess is my father's fault. I'm just cleaning up after his brother for him. The Emperor should be thanking me."
The System was completely convinced. It suddenly felt fine about where the twenty thousand dollars came from. In fact, it didn't just feel fine, it wanted to go back and borrow more.
One girl and one System returned to Ashworth Manor, both feeling very satisfied with themselves.
Prince Ashworth was shocked when he saw the cash his daughter brought back. "Solana, where did you get this? Did you rob a bank?"
"From the imperial palace. From your older brother."
"My brother is that rich?" Ashworth said in disbelief. He muttered to himself, "I tried to borrow money from him so many times, but he always refused. Said his private treasury was cleaned out by a master thief." He shook his head. "I actually felt bad for him for the longest time."
Solana glared at him. "Do you have any idea why he wouldn't lend you money?"
Meeting his daughter's furious stare, Prince Ashworth shrank back. "Now, now, don't be mad. I promise I won't hang out with that Duke of Crestfall anymore."
Solana knew that promise was worthless. Instead of worrying about his future gambling, she figured it was better to find him something to do. A man with too much free time on his hands was bound to get into trouble.
She patted her father's shoulder. "Dad, we signed a contract, right?"
He nodded eagerly. "Of course. From now on, whatever you say goes."
"Good," she said with a sharp nod. "Because after we take care of this, I have something I need your help with."
Prince Ashworth puffed out his chest. "Leave it to me, honey. I'll get it done for you, no problem."
"That's what I like to hear," Solana said, a small smile playing on her lips. "I feel much better now."
She turned and headed toward the dining room. "Dad, after we eat, we're going to Crestfall Manor to win back everything we lost."