They Want to Kill Me
The Third Prince was furious. "Princess Solana, what in the world do you think you're doing?" he demanded, his voice sharp. "I'm just here having a quiet meal with friends. You can't just barge in with your guards and act like this. What is your problem?"
But Cassidy was just as furious, completely unfazed by his shouting.
She fired right back, "I don't care *what* prince you are. When I was downstairs, I felt two people staring daggers at me. One of them was you."
She swept her gaze across the room. "I haven't identified the other one yet, but they're in here. Once I have everyone's names, I'll be back to check them one by one. I will find the person who wants me dead."
Hearing this, the prince looked like he was about to explode, his eyes burning with a rage so pure it was almost visible.
A murderous gaze? Not quite. It was the look of a man so jealous he could kill her just for the sight of the Cloudpiercer Bow on her back.
He'd begged his mother, the Noble Consort, to plead with the Emperor to give him that very bow as a reward for crushing a bandit rebellion. The Emperor had shut him down flat.
And now, there it was, strapped to Princess Solana's back. How could he not be jealous? He was so jealous he wanted to kill her on the spot and rip the bow right off her.
His expression darkened as he glared at Cassidy's smug face.
"Princess Solana, the Emperor made you Capital Inspector, and this is how you behave? By recklessly throwing your weight around? I was just meeting some friends for a chat. Were we bothering you in any way?"
he sneered. "And on a whim, you order the Onyx Guard to make a scene and trap everyone in this room. Do you have any respect for me? Do you have any regard for the royal family's dignity?!"
"You weren't thinking about royal dignity when you were in here plotting to kill me," Cassidy shot back. "So why should I think about it for you?"
She leaned forward, her voice dropping. "Don't think I don't know what's going on. You saw that I caught the man who killed the Marquis of Stonehaven, and you're worried he'll talk. That's why you wanted me dead, to shut me up."
The pieces were falling into place, and Cassidy felt a sudden, fierce urge to throw every last one of them into the Onyx Guard's prison for questioning.
The rest of the guests in the private room just stared, completely baffled. What was she even talking about? The Marquis of Stonehaven? How did they get dragged into that?
"Princess Solana, what is this nonsense!" the Third Prince roared, a vein pulsing in his forehead. "Stop making wild accusations! What does the Marquis of Stonehaven's case have to do with us? Don't you dare try to pin that on me."
The others in the room stood up, one after another, their voices rising in protest.
"What is the princess trying to say? We just came out for a meal, and now we're being accused of treason?"
"Exactly! What exposure? What Marquis? Is this how you conduct an investigation? By just making things up?"
"This is bullying! Making accusations like this without a shred of evidence!"
Being ganged up on only strengthened Cassidy's certainty. These had to be the people behind the plot to frame the Marquis.
"If you're so innocent," she said coolly, "why is everyone getting so worked up?"
They all looked like they were about to lose their minds. How could they *not* be worked up? They were being accused of a crime that could get their entire families executed.
The Third Prince already had a short fuse. First, he'd been trapped in the room by her guards, and now she was slapping him with this insane charge. His last shred of self-control shattered. He kicked the pearwood chair beside him, sending it crashing to the floor.
With bloodshot eyes, he bellowed, "Don't you think for a second you can run wild just because the Emperor gave you the title of Capital Inspector! You're a sixth-rank official, and you have the nerve to be this arrogant? Accusing a prince and framing court officials because you have a little favor?
Do you really think there's no one who can put you in your place?!"
Seeing the very real threat of violence, and noticing that Auspicious and As-Desired had finished writing down the names, Cassidy immediately clutched her chest, putting on a show of being utterly terrified. She pointed a trembling finger at the prince.
"You, you yelled at me! You were going to hit me! You just wait. I'm going to tell my uncle right now that you all framed the Marquis of Stonehaven. And when I found out, you plotted in here to kill me! It's horrifying!"
With that, Cassidy snatched the list from As-Desired and bolted from the restaurant. She hopped on her horse, a look of frightened excitement on her face, and galloped toward the Imperial Palace.
Time to go tattle.
Inside the palace, the Emperor had just managed to find a moment of peace and was closing his eyes when a familiar, loud voice echoed from the doorway.
"Uncle! Uncle! I found the mastermind!"
Cassidy burst into the Imperial Study, waving the list.
Looking at the worked-up girl who had just stormed in, the Emperor's head began to throb. He was really starting to think that letting those two troublemakers from Ashworth Manor investigate anything was just asking for a migraine.
"Alright, alright," he sighed. "Tell me. Who did you manage to tick off today?"
Cassidy put on her most pitiful, scared expression. "Uncle, someone wants to kill me."
At that, the Emperor's eyes sharpened. "Did last night's thief have accomplices?"
Cassidy nodded frantically. "Not just one. A whole room full of them."
She immediately launched into the story of how she had cleverly sensed the murderous intent around her and decisively ordered her people to corner the culprits, all while getting their names down on a list.
She didn't forget to brag about her amazing interrogation skills, either, claiming she'd gotten the thief to confess without even trying.
The Emperor was both shocked and angry. "You little troublemaker, those are killers! You took him out on the street? Aren't you afraid their organization will try to assassinate you?"
Although he had no experience with the martial underworld, he'd heard its members were ruthless people with no regard for human life.
Cassidy glanced at the remaining time ticking down on the mission timer only she could see, then puffed out her chest with heroic passion. "If it helps you, Uncle, who cares if I die!"
The Emperor was speechless. The sentiment was moving, but he'd much rather she just stayed safe. All he needed was for the two kids from Ashworth Manor to stay alive and out of trouble. That was more important than anything.
He rubbed his temples. "You said you found this killer's accomplices? A whole room of them? Did you find the headquarters of the Crimson Veil?"
Cassidy shook her head. "No, but I found people who know him. I got this feeling... like two people wanted to kill me. One of them was your son. I still don't know who the other one was."
The Emperor was dumbfounded. He could only wonder which one of his sons had managed to provoke her this time.
Cassidy spread the list out in front of him.
She had originally planned to trick him out of fifty taels before showing it to him, but with her own life on the line, she decided against it.
If she didn't finish this mission before her time ran out, the people on this list might just find her, shove her head in a latrine, and drown her.
"Uncle, you have to listen," she said urgently. "I was just out in Argent, and I found your son in a room with all these people, plotting how to kill me."