Cassidy Sterling and the Fourth Princess Brawl
Cassidy Sterling nodded, a satisfied smile playing on her lips as she took in the employees' renewed enthusiasm. Then, she turned and shot the Fourth Princess a look of pure disappointment.
"Look at Ryder Sinclair, he's completely dedicated to the Spring Breeze Tower," Cassidy said, her tone dripping with condescension. "Now look at you. You're the co-owner, and this is how you treat the place? You just neglect it?"
The Fourth Princess's eyes went wide. "Cassidy, what are you talking about? Who's neglecting anything?" she shot back. After all, Cassidy had only shown up for the grand opening and hadn't given the restaurant a second thought since. For the main owner, she was completely useless.
Cassidy just straightened her back and pointed to the Capital Inspection Bureau token at her waist, which she'd polished until it shone. Her voice dropped, suddenly dead serious.
"As a Capital Inspector, it is my duty to ensure the stability of all of Argent and preserve the peace that reigns under His Majesty."
She paused for dramatic effect. "Since taking this post, I have worked from sunrise to sunset, never daring to slack off for a single moment. I'm so busy I barely sleep! All I think about is helping my uncle, the Emperor,
root out the traitors hidden in our streets who are trying to overthrow the Aethelian Empire."
She took a step forward, her chin lifted high.
"Those villains lurking in the shadows hate my guts. Every single day, they plot to take my life and silence me. I can't even close my eyes at night!"
Her gaze drifted toward the Imperial Palace with a look of pure, unshakeable conviction.
"Now that someone is trying to topple our empire, how can I possibly put my own business before my duty to my family and my country?"
"It has always been hard to balance loyalty to one's family and one's country," she declared, her voice ringing with theatrical passion.
"The weight of that duty is immense. Today, I sacrifice my own personal interests to ensure the people of Argent can live and work in peace, and to protect my uncle's empire for all eternity! As a Capital Inspector, you have to be able to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders!"
[Lifespan plus one][Lifespan plus one][Lifespan plus one]
The Fourth Princess opened her mouth, but for a long moment, no words came out. She was just... stunned.
*Can having a government job really change a person this much?* she wondered. If she remembered correctly, Cassidy was only a sixth-rank official. Listening to her now, you'd think the entire Aethelian Empire would fall apart without her.
The Fourth Princess glanced down at the miniature Inspection Bureau token Cassidy had given her, which hung from her own waist.
For a second, she couldn't decide whether to feel ashamed for her own lack of dedication or just disgusted by how unbelievably shameless Cassidy was.
How could anyone say such cringey things with a perfectly straight face?
Meanwhile, Prince Ashworth had been listening to his daughter's speech with a swelling sense of pride.
He quickly memorized her heroic words and turned to head for the Imperial Palace, eager to tell his brother, the Emperor, before he forgot.
The entire empire was resting on his and his daughter's shoulders!
And since he was working so hard, his brother definitely owed him a raise.
Cassidy, completely oblivious that her father had already run off to monetize her performance, was still giving her passionate speech. After being forced to listen to another fifteen minutes of it, the Fourth Princess finally snapped. She pulled out a thick wad of bills, five hundred dollars.
Cassidy's mouth snapped shut. She accepted the cash with both hands, cradling it like a sacred offering.
"You're too good to me, Princess!"
The Fourth Princess ground her teeth. "So, where are we going now?"
"To The Onyx Guard," Cassidy replied, her eyes glued to the money she was counting. "We're going to see how Lord Garrison's interrogation is going."
Hearing this, the Fourth Princess's eyes lit up. Forgetting all about dinner, she grabbed Cassidy's arm and dragged her toward the carriage.
On the way, she couldn't help but ask, "Cassidy, do you really think Lady Bradford is suspicious? I didn't see anything wrong with her."
Having just pocketed five hundred dollars, Cassidy was in a fantastic mood. "That's classified information," she said breezily.
The Fourth Princess immediately tried to snatch the money back. "If you're not going to tell me, then give me back my money!"
Cassidy clutched the cash to her chest, her expression instantly wary. "What for? Is a princess really going to rob me in broad daylight?"
The Fourth Princess stared, so shocked by Cassidy's nerve that she wanted to just tackle her. "That's *my* money! What do you mean, 'rob you'?"
"You gave it to me," Cassidy said, her tone ridiculously self-righteous. "So now it's mine."
"Give it back!" the princess sputtered, lunging for it. "I'm taking it back!"
But now that the money was in her hands, there was no way Cassidy was letting go. "Fine, fine! Do you really want to know how I figured out Lady Bradford was trouble?"
The Fourth Princess, who had already rolled up her sleeves, reluctantly pulled them back down. "Of course. I'm a member of the Capital Inspection Bureau too, you know. I need to learn how to investigate cases so I can help the people."
Cassidy cleared her throat and looked at the princess with an incredibly sincere expression. "The spirits in the Hall of Kings told me."
For a beat, there was silence. The Fourth Princess, who had been expecting some clever detective trick, clenched her fists and launched herself across the carriage.
"Cassidy, I have had *enough* of you!"
"You dare hit me!" Cassidy shrieked as her hair was yanked.
"It wouldn't be the first time!" the Fourth Princess growled back.
Cassidy, furious, grabbed the princess's wrist, and the two of them immediately started wrestling in the cramped carriage.
Just as they arrived at the entrance to The Onyx Guard, the servants pulled back the curtain to help them out, only to find the two princesses, who had been holding hands on the way in, now pinching, biting, and clawing at each other in a full-blown brawl.
Cassidy's maids, Auspicious and As-Desired, reacted first. They dropped the curtain and lunged at the Fourth Princess's maids, Peach and Lotus.
"Your master bit our Princess! I'm gonna kill you!"
Peach and Lotus weren't about to take that lying down. "Your master tried to gouge our Princess's eyes!" they yelled, rolling up their sleeves. "I'll beat you to a pulp!"
The two groups of maids started cursing and scuffling right there on the street, their fight somehow even more vicious than the one inside the carriage.
They knew from experience that if their masters finished fighting and saw that their maids had lost, they'd be in for it.
To make their own lives easier, they had no choice but to go all out, using every dirty trick in the book.
It was a chaotic mess of hair pulling, arm pinching, and choking.
When Cassidy and the Fourth Princess heard their maids had joined in, they only fought harder, the brawl spilling from the carriage out onto the street.
Lost in the heat of battle, neither had any idea how ridiculous they looked; all they could see were their own brilliant fighting skills.
When a few Onyx Guards came out to see what all the noise was about, they were met with the sight of two groups of women brawling at their front gate.
Hearing the maids shouting "Princess!" and "Fourth Princess!"
made them feel like the sky was about to fall.
Why in the world were two princesses fighting at the entrance to their headquarters?
Completely baffled and terrified the women would get seriously hurt, the guards ran to find Lord Garrison.
When Vaughn Garrison stepped outside, he was greeted by the sight of Princess Solana, Cassidy, and the Fourth Princess tangled up in a heap on the ground.
Cassidy's hair was a mess, hairpins scattered everywhere.
One of her hands was yanking on the Fourth Princess's cheek while the other was digging into her nose.
"Give up!" Cassidy was shouting. "Today, I'll show you just how powerful this Princess is!"