Seeking the Duke of Crestfall for a Cockfight
Prince Ashworth hesitated. "Cassidy, are you sure you can win? I'm telling you, that chicken the Duke of Crestfall uses is... weird. It's definitely not as tough as mine, but it somehow manages to win every single time."
He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I've been asking around. Every time the Duke's chicken wins a match, it drops dead the very next day. Guaranteed." He shook his head. "That can't be a coincidence. He's got to be cheating, but I just can't find any proof."
Cassidy gave him a baffled look. "If you know his chicken is strange, why do you keep betting against him?"
Prince Ashworth had the decency to look guilty. "I... I just can't help myself."
Cassidy's hands balled into fists. Her father's sharp eyes caught the movement, and he quietly scooted a little farther away from her.
She was starting to feel sorry for the Emperor. "Dad," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "it must have been so hard for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager to put up with you all these years."
Her father glared at her, stung, then stalked off to eat his dinner alone.
Cassidy paid him no mind. After she finished her own meal, she gathered her maids and guards and headed straight for Crestfall Manor.
Soon enough, a commotion erupted on the quiet street as a flashy entourage made a grand, noisy arrival. Leading the procession wasn't a carriage, but Princess Solana herself, perched on her little donkey, Maserati, and cradling a speckled, nearly featherless hen in her arms.
Cassidy eyed the gates of Crestfall Manor. Instead of having someone announce her formally, she simply pointed. "Auspicious, go knock. Tell them the Princess heard the Duke of Crestfall has never lost a cockfight and has come specifically to seek his guidance."
Auspicious returned a moment later, her face sour. "Princess, the gatekeeper says it's too late. He said if you want a cockfight, their master would be happy to oblige tomorrow."
Being turned away at the door was not part of the plan. Cassidy's expression hardened. "If they don't open this door right now," she declared, "I'm about to make a huge scene."
The words had barely left her mouth when the heavy gates of Crestfall Manor swung open. A few moments later, the Duke of Crestfall emerged, his face a thundercloud. Seeing the ostentatious entourage and the arrogant smirk on Princess Solana's face, he frowned. "Princess. To what do I owe the honor?"
Cassidy tilted her chin up, radiating smug confidence. "I heard my screw-up of a father lost a good chunk of the family fortune to you in cockfights. I'm here to win it back."
The Duke let out a cold snort. "You want to get into cockfighting too? Fine. First, pay off the seventy thousand dollars your father owes. Otherwise, there's nothing to talk about."
Cassidy clapped her hands. As-Desired stepped forward with a box, flipping it open to reveal neat stacks of cash.
"Seventy thousand dollars," Cassidy announced. "Not a penny less."
The Duke's eyes flickered toward the money, his expression unreadable.
"You're certainly more direct than your father. So, what else do you plan to bet? What does Ashworth Manor even have left?"
He'd heard the rumors about Princess Solana, that she'd been a little...
off, ever since a donkey kicked her in the head. He really didn't want to poke the bear.
"We'll bet Ashworth Manor itself," Cassidy said lightly.
The Duke's mouth twitched, and he refused immediately. "You must be joking, Princess. Ashworth Manor was a personal gift from the late Emperor. How could I possibly accept such a wager? That's not a proper bet."
This princess really *was* off her rocker.
Cassidy raised an eyebrow. "If that won't work, then let's change the stakes. Before my mother left, she gave my father The Ninefold Soul-Return Elixir. They say it can bring the dead back to life, regrow flesh on bone, and heal the most grievous wounds in an instant. We'll bet that."
She'd heard her father mention the elixir before; it was supposedly a priceless treasure. Personally, Cassidy didn't believe a word of it.
Beside her, Auspicious and As-Desired went pale, tugging at her sleeve in a desperate attempt to make her reconsider.
But a flash of pure greed lit up the Duke's eyes. He had been scheming for a long time to get his hands on that very elixir. "Oh? And how exactly do you want to bet?"
Playing the part of a woman who'd lost her mind, Cassidy shook off her maids' hands, her voice ringing with absolute confidence.
"One round, winner takes all. If I win, every property, shop, and ounce of gold my deadbeat dad lost to you is returned to Ashworth Manor, with interest. And I also want your Crestfall Racetrack on the outskirts of Argent."
She paused for effect. "Of course, if you win, The Ninefold Soul-Return Elixir is yours."
The Duke struggled to suppress a triumphant grin. "Since you insist, Princess, I accept," he said, his voice low and steady. "Let's put it in writing."
Both sides drew up a deed and signed it, moving so fast it was as if they were afraid the other would back out. The cockpit was quickly set up in the open courtyard of the manor.
Because the stakes were so high, Cassidy had sent Reid Donovan to invite his former superior, Vaughn Garrison, the Commander of the Onyx Guard, to act as a referee and prevent any cheating. The Duke was perfectly fine with that; he was more worried this unhinged princess would try to pull something.
Vaughn, who had been dragged into this for no good reason, looked absolutely furious.
One was a Royal Princess, the other a court noble, and they were gambling over a cockfight right in front of him.
Worse, they had the gall to ask him, the Commander of the Onyx Guard, to be their referee.
The fact that he hadn't already reported them both to the Emperor was a miracle.
Reid Donovan stood off to the side, head bowed, saying nothing. One was his old boss, the other his new one; he wasn't about to get in the middle of this.
Cassidy, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere, saw Vaughn arrive and immediately shouted, "Let's get started!"
Vaughn's face darkened. "Princess, I am with the Onyx Guard."
"I know," Cassidy nodded. "Everyone in Argent knows the Onyx Guard has a great reputation. But don't get too cocky. My Capital Inspection Bureau's reputation will eclipse yours soon enough."
Vaughn couldn't stop his eyes from drifting to the spot on her head where she was rumored to have been kicked by a donkey.
Cassidy met his gaze, reflexively touched her own head, and asked warily, "What are you looking at?"
Was he planning to take out the competition early?
She was starting to regret asking him to be the referee.
Then again, racking her brain, she couldn't think of a better candidate.
Since she'd woken up in this world, he was the only official she knew.
And a ridiculously good-looking one, at that.
Vaughn turned his cold stare on the Duke of Crestfall. "Duke, are you sure you want to hold a cockfight and gamble right in front of me?"
The Duke, who had been blinded by the thought of the elixir, sobered up instantly under Vaughn's icy glare. Gambling in front of Vaughn Garrison, the cruel, cold-blooded, and ruthlessly impartial leader of the Onyx Guard, was like committing murder in front of the Minister of Justice.
He shot a panicked look at Princess Solana. "Princess, perhaps we should reschedule."
But Cassidy was completely oblivious. "Hurry up!" she urged impatiently. "What are you waiting for?"
Reid finally leaned in and whispered, "Princess, it's not a good idea to gamble in front of Lord Garrison."
Cassidy finally pieced it together. "Oh, don't worry, Lord Garrison," she said dismissively. "We're off the clock. I invited you here as a friend to be the referee. Besides, I already told the Emperor about this. It's all above board."
System: 'Host, when did you do that?'
Cassidy: 'I'll tell him when I return the money later.'
System: 'So you're asking for forgiveness, not permission?'
Cassidy: 'Don't get hung up on the details.'
System: 'Is this from a villain's training manual, too?'