As soon as dawn set in, the Dragon Emperor called for a gathering of the court.
Everyone in the palace gulped in fear when they heard the news. They knew the gathering was the place where the Emperor would officially announce what would become of the previous royal family as well as who would be placed in charge of the territory.
The Emperor and his people were equally unnerved regarding the gathering, but for an entirely different reason. This was their only chance to flush out the filth of Pandreia before it spread.
"I should just kill every member of the royal family," Calix huffed. "We're out of time, and it's the only surefire way to cut off the head of the rebels."
"I can't argue with your reasoning," Thane nodded, "but if word spread to Vitocia that Pandreia, who surrendered, had been dealt with more brutally than Mevani…"
"It could get messy," Calix finished for him.
The royal family of Mevani had consisted of Leif, who died at the Emperor's hand. His father also died, and the previous ruling family had been publicly announced as dead. (Though, there were a few who knew what had actually become of the once removed Mevani king and his golden-haired daughter.)
But the Pandreian royal family was huge.
The previous king had been married three different times and produced a dozen heirs. Not to mention his own many siblings and those still living of his father's siblings. Just shipping them all off the continent would be difficult to organize, but to kill them all?
It would be nothing short of a blood bath.
"We'll have to find another solution then," Calix mumbled, rubbing his forehead.
Aside from confirming their suspicions that it was one of the royal princes behind the rebels, Taegus was unable to find any other useful information for them in such a short time. Things would be entirely in the Emperor's hand.
Kel knew he was the kind of man to always have a few tricks up his sleeve, but the way he seemed to be racking his brain made her nervous.
Would they be able to pull this off?
Despite the potential risks and inherent ruthlessness of simply executing the entire royal family, was that the best option?
With these worries hanging over her, Kel spent the entire morning before the gathering pouring over the recent events again and again in her mind. There had to be some clue, some hint at the identity of the person behind everything. They knew it was a prince, but which prince was it?
Surely, someone had slipped up somewhere.
As she replayed the events yet again, she suddenly froze when she came to the part where Lucy had gotten poisoned.
They'd all been so frazzled that night that none of them noticed.
The doctor.. the herbalist.. the knife..
As Kel thought about it more, it made even less sense. Something about all of that was very wrong--something they had definitely missed.
"There's something I need to do," she announced, abruptly rising from her seat.
Thane and Calix both looked up from where they sat, pouring through various documents and discussing the recent events themselves. Desperately, they were trying to decide how to proceed with the gathering.
Calix studied her for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Take at least three guards with you," he warned.
"I will!" Kel called, already bounding out of the room.
Behind her, Calix added, "... and be careful."
"I'll be back before the gathering!" Kel shouted over her shoulder.
She was surprised at how easily the man let her go. With all the assassins and potential threats lurking about, his possessive nature would have never allowed him to do so.
Perhaps, he had begun to trust her more and recognize her capabilities.
.. Or he was at wits' end and utterly exhausted--to the point he thought Kel and one of her crazy schemes might be worth indulging.
"That jerk. He doesn't see me as capable at all, does he?" Kel scoffed to herself as she walked briskly through corridors.
"Well, I'll certainly show him!"
"Um, Your Highness?"
One of the guards behind her called out to her softly just as she was raising a fist in resolve.
"Hmm?" she turned around, lowering her arm and suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"Do you.. know where you're going?"
Kel froze.
Technically she knew where she was going, she just didn't know how to get there. And her thoughts had been so full of the Dragon Emperor while she was walking, that she never stopped to ask for directions.
Fortunately a group of maids wandered into the corridor at that exact moment, all of them immediately bowing their heads to Kel.
"Can you give me directions?" Kel asked, approaching them.
"Of course, Your Highness!" they replied in sync as if the line had been well-rehearsed.
Kel cleared her throat.
"There's someone I need to find."
After receiving advice from the maids, Kel finally made it to her destination. All that was left was to test and see if her instincts had been correct.
Her little escapade ended up taking longer than she had planned on, but, true to her word, she returned later to the Ruby Room with just enough time to get ready for the gathering.
Well, the maids griped that she had not arrived with enough time left, but Kel managed to convince them that a simple look would be plenty suitable for the occasion.
"Where did you go all afternoon?" Calix asked later as he took her arm in his to escort her out of their room.
He had opted for a simple look as well, though it somehow seemed intimidating. Perhaps it was because the scarlet sash across his body looked like fresh blood against his black clothes.
"Ah. I had some questions about the poison to ask the herbalist we met last night," Kel explained, tearing her eyes away from the blood-colored sash.
More than anything, it seemed like a bad omen of things to come.
"I see." Calix nodded at her short explanation. "Did you get the answers you were hoping for?"
"No. I didn't even get to see her," Kel admitted.
"But.. I think I found something even better."
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