Chapter 3

3

She had once insulted the Emperor's favorite princess to defend a maid who had made a mistake. She was forced to kneel at the palace gates, and my father had to beg the Emperor for mercy.

At galas, she would demand that maids sit at the table with the nobles. She would yell, "Everyone is equal! Why can't my maid eat with me? You people have no respect for human rights!"

Since then, Wrenna had offended every noble lady in the Capital, and our family was socially shunned. My father said that without his secret guards, she would have died a dozen times by now.

And now, that guard wasn't just protecting her. He was going to help her lead our family to the slaughterhouse.

I realized that when dealing with ungrateful vipers, you couldn't leave any room for mercy. If I wanted my parents to truly give up on her, I had to lay out the danger she put us in right in front of them.

The next day, during a family meal, I brought up Xavion again.

"Sister, the whole city knows you brought a man home. They even know you hired a miracle doctor for him."

"Rowan, don't think I don't know you're the one who told Father to cut off my money! I'm not using family funds anymore, so what else do you want? Do you want to kick me out of the house to be satisfied?"

"You've been heartless since we were kids!" Tears began to fall from Wrenna's eyes as she sobbed into her hands.

My mother immediately tried to comfort her. "No, Wrenna, you'll always be my sweet daughter. No one is kicking you out. Rowan, how could you speak to your sister like that? Apologize now!"

She gave me a little shove. I looked at my father, who was silent. He sighed but didn't stop her.

"Apologize? If she hadn't offended every noble family in the city, would I still be without a single marriage proposal a year after my debut?"

"Because of her, the high society calls us savages with no morals. You only care about her. No one has ever thought about me."

My father froze. My mother's eyes widened, and she looked at me like I was a stranger. "She's your sister! If her own family doesn't support her, who will?"

Wrenna looked up slightly and gave me a smug, triumphant smile. But I saw my father's expression waver.

That was enough. Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will grow. As long as they started questioning her actions, the rest would follow naturally.

I didn't mind helping Wrenna along. While the nasty rumors were swirling around her, she was tucked away in Xavion's arms, complaining about her hard life.

"I'm so good to them. Why do they say such things about me?"

"How can they be so cruel? How can they ignore a dying man?"

"My parents, the townspeople... do they have no conscience?"

"I'm not cold like them, Xavion. I'd live on scraps just to save you."

Xavion reached out weakly and stroked her hair. "Don't worry, Wrenna. I'll make sure they all pay for what they've done to you."

Wrenna finally smiled after hearing that promise. Her maid reported everything to me, and I rewarded her with a silver coin.

"Good job. Keep watching her and that man."

The little maid took the money and left happily.

The afternoon sun was piercing. I fanned myself, my eyes narrowed as I placed a black stone on the game board.

No wonder Xavion hated the Sterling family so much in the book. It was because Wrenna spent every day complaining to him. I didn't realize my 'saintly' sister harbored so much resentment in private.

"Miss, tomorrow is the Palace Gala. What do you think of this outfit?" my maid, Chloe, asked, holding up a modest dark green dress.

I shook my head. "No need to be modest this year. Get the crimson silk gown."

The Palace Gala was the time for young ladies to show off. It wasn't just a party; it was when the Royal Consorts scouted for potential daughters-in-law.

I usually avoided royal drama and tried to stay invisible so no prince would notice me. But to deal with the rebels and the enemy prince, I needed to ally with the royal family.

Chloe looked surprised but went to get the dress. "Miss, do you have a crush on someone?"

I looked at the dress, satisfied. "This one. Scent it with jasmine."

Love wasn't the goal. But I had already chosen my ally.

Chloe was excited. "Which gentleman has caught your eye, Miss?"

I didn't answer and placed a white stone on the board. The trap was set. Now I just had to wait for Wrenna to walk into it.