Ingrid woke to the sound of birds chirping outside her window.
For the first time since arriving at the palace, she felt… rested. Truly rested.
She stretched in bed, looking around with satisfaction. Her room was now properly decorated. Her personal belongings had finally arrived last night: a few spare clothes, a small chest with family keepsakes, a blanket knitted by her mother, and a handful of books she loved reading before bed.
It had taken time, but everything was here now.
Last night was seriously weird, she thought as she got up. But today can be considered my first real day.
She dressed quickly, tied her chestnut hair into a ponytail, and grabbed the documents Patrice had left her. She'd read a good chunk of them last night before falling asleep.
"Right," she murmured, scanning the task list. "Breakfast at seven sharp. Feed the pet. Make sure the young master is presentable. Clean the main rooms…"
Her plans for the day were more or less set.
She left her room and headed down the corridor connecting the main palace to Cassian's dedicated wing. Thankfully, among the documents was a detailed map of the Wing of Honor. Without it, Ingrid would've gotten lost at least three times.
Right at seven, she reached the junction point.
And right on time, servants from the main palace appeared, pushing a large covered cart.
"Good morning," Ingrid said politely, bowing slightly.
"Good morning," the two servants replied in unison, both middle-aged women with neutral expressions.
They didn't seem particularly thrilled to be there. In fact, they looked eager to leave.
"Here's the morning delivery," one said quickly. "Everything's there. Have a good day."
And before Ingrid could respond, they'd already turned and hurried back down the corridor.
They don't seem keen on going any further, Ingrid noted, watching their retreating backs.
She shrugged and took the cart, pushing it through the corridors to the Wing of Honor's kitchen.
Once there, she began unloading the contents.
There were several covered trays. She lifted the first lid and found a royal breakfast: perfectly golden scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, fresh fruit, warm bread, and pastries that smelled divine.
For Cassian, I guess.
She uncovered a second tray, more modest but still appetizing, meant for her.
Wait…
She frowned at the sight of several more identical trays.
That's way too much food. The palace must know I'm the only maid here right now.
Maybe it was a mistake? Or perhaps they planned to hire more maids soon?
She set the thought aside and moved to the final tray.
This one was different. Much larger. And heavy.
When she lifted the lid, she found… meat. A lot of meat. Raw, bloody chunks piled in an impressive quantity.
For Cassian's pet, she recalled.
She'd learned this morning from the documents that Cassian had a pet. But the amount of meat…
This is definitely not a cute bunny, she thought with unease.
Cassian was in his room, bouncing gleefully on his bed like it was a giant trampoline.
"Boing! Boing! Boing!" he laughed, jumping higher and higher.
The Shoreless Sea floated calmly near the window, watching silently.
Cassian leaped one last time, flipped in midair, and landed sitting, gazing out at the garden.
The morning sun illuminated the trees, making the dew on the grass sparkle.
It's a beautiful day!
Then he heard footsteps in the corridor.
He immediately stopped and turned toward the door with anticipation.
TOC TOC.
"Young master?" Ingrid's voice called. "May I come in?"
"Yeah!" Cassian replied cheerfully.
The door opened, and Ingrid entered, carrying a tray laden with delicious food.
"Good morning, young master," she said, bowing respectfully. "I've brought your breakfast."
Cassian floated from the bed to her, a radiant smile on his face.
"Morning, Ingrid! You know what? I won hide-and-seek yesterday!"
He said it with absolute pride, as if he'd accomplished a heroic feat.
Ingrid smiled kindly.
"Congratulations, young master. You hid really well."
"I know!" Cassian crossed his arms, puffing out his chest slightly. "You never found me! In fact, I caught you sleeping in a room."
He tilted his head, curious.
"You must've been super tired after looking for me all day, huh?"
Ingrid blinked, caught off guard by the direct question.
"Uh… yeah. Exactly. I was… really tired."
Thank goodness he thinks that.
In a dark corner of the room, Nathan and two other Silent Circle members, hidden in the shadows, barely stifled their laughter.
This girl's a terrible liar, Nathan thought with amusement. But at least the kid buys it.
"So," Cassian continued, floating in circles, "next time, we should set a time limit! That way, if you don't find me before it's up, I win automatically!"
Ingrid nodded vigorously.
"What a brilliant idea, young master! I never would've thought of that myself."
Please, yes, let's set a time limit. Then I can nap without guilt.
She set Cassian's tray on a small table beside the bed. The food was exquisite, perfectly presented, and smelled amazing.
Ingrid eyed it with a flicker of envy.
I'd love to try some…
But knowing she might be watched by the Silent Circle, she didn't dare.
"There you go, young master. Enjoy—"
She froze.
In the corner of the room, near the large wardrobe, something stirred.
No, not stirred. Something was *there*.
The Manticore.
It lay perfectly still, its fierce eyes locked directly on her.
It was so motionless she hadn't noticed it at first. But now that she saw it…
Oh my God.
Its face was terrifying. The flaming mane, the massive fangs peeking from its closed jaws, the enormous claws lazily scraping the marble floor…
Ingrid wanted to run. Every instinct screamed at her to flee.
But her legs wouldn't move.
"Oh! You noticed!" Cassian exclaimed with enthusiasm.
He floated quickly to the Manticore, stroking its mane affectionately.
"This is my pet! His name's… uh… actually, I haven't named him yet. But he's super cool!"
The Manticore let out a low rumble, almost like a purr.
"Look, he already likes you!"
HE DOES NOT LIKE ME! HE'S THINKING ABOUT EATING ME!
In the shadows, Nathan watched the scene with a smirk.
Normal reaction, he thought. After all, this is the creature that foiled the king's assassination, even if Ingrid doesn't know it.
He still remembered the day the Manticore returned to the palace, proudly carrying a werewolf's severed arm in its jaws.
Without confirmation of the werewolf's death, it was assumed it had escaped. But missing an arm, it was no longer a real threat.
Poor guy. Even if he survives, he's done as an assassin.
Ingrid, meanwhile, mustered every ounce of willpower to move.
Come on. Come on. Move your legs. MOVE.
She took a shaky breath, then forced herself to walk to the kitchen to retrieve the meat tray.
Each step was torture.
Each step brought her closer to… that thing.
It felt like every step forward was a step toward her doom.
The Manticore tracked her with its unblinking, glowing eyes.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she set the meat tray down at what she hoped was a safe distance from the beast.
"H-here," she stammered. "Enjoy."
Then she turned and headed for the exit at a pace that, while not a run, was definitely faster than a normal walk.
Once in the corridor, she leaned against the wall, panting.
I hate this job. I hate this job. I hate this job.
---
In his royal office, King Cedric lazily eyed the documents stacked on his desk.
Bringing Cassian to the palace was no small feat, he thought, sighing.
He'd played the "I'll reward you for saving me" card, but Cassian wasn't interested.
Even when Cassian said it wasn't intentional, Cedric, knowing this was the meeting he was destined for, had insisted fiercely.
In the end, it was by appealing to Cassian's curious nature that he'd succeeded in bringing him along.
"Want to see what a real royal palace is like? There's tons of cool stuff! Secret rooms, a chair that claps every time you sit down, cakes…"
It had worked.
But now, Cedric faced another problem.
Legitimizing Cassian's presence in the palace.
Rumors were circulating that he'd brought back an alleged illegitimate child.
Those had been officially debunked, of course, but it was now one of the kingdom's hottest gossip topics, alongside the assassination attempt.
Cedric frowned, thinking of his wife, Queen Charlotte.
She didn't show it outright, but he knew she'd sent people to investigate Cassian's past.
He was certain her real goal was to find Cassian's supposed mother to…
Cedric sighed deeply.
To make her disappear quietly, probably.
Charlotte was a jealous, possessive woman. If she truly believed Cassian was his illegitimate child, she wouldn't stop until she'd "resolved" the issue.
What a mess.
The investigation into his assassination attempt wasn't progressing either.
Those involved had either been found dead, with no traceable leads, or had never been found at all.
As if they'd vanished into thin air.
Someone's cleaning up after them. Someone powerful.
Cedric tapped his fingers on the desk, lost in thought.
Everything's getting so complicated…