Five hundred gold for assassination intelligence. Two hundred monthly for ongoing reports. Expensive, but necessary.
And the rchant’s advice was sound. She couldn’t wait for threats to develop fully. She needed to identify and neutralize them while they were still forming.
Faster. More aggressive. Less reactive.
She could do that.
Back in her office, Elara added a new line to her budget: *Intelligence Operations - 200 gold monthly.*
Then she added another note: *Assassination source - results in 2 weeks.*
Two weeks to know who wanted her dead.
Then she’d decide what to do about it.
The chair wobbled. She adjusted automatically and kept writing, mind already three steps ahead, planning for variables she didn’t even know existed yet.
Because that’s what you did when you couldn’t afford to be surprised.
You bought the information before surprise was possible.
.
.
TEN DAYS LATER.
Elara was reviewing the final inventory counts for the supermarket opening when soone knocked on her office door.
"Enter."
One of the beast knights stepped inside—not the fox-eared one, but a younger man with wolf characteristics. He bowed. "Your Highness. There’s a ssenger here. Says he’s from the Gilded Rose."
Earlier than expected. The rchant had said two weeks. It had only been ten days.
"Send him in."
The ssenger was a thin man in nondescript clothing, the kind of person you’d forget the mont they left the room. He carried a leather satchel and moved with quiet efficiency.
He bowed. "Your Highness. I have a delivery from the rchant." He set the satchel on her desk and stepped back.
Elara opened it. Inside was a thick folder, sealed with wax, and a separate note on top.
She read the note first:
*Found it faster than expected. The trail was ssier than usual—your enemies got sloppy.*
First paynt due upon confirmation. Second paynt due as agreed.
*—M*
She broke the seal on the folder and began reading.
The first page was a summary. Clean, organized, professionally presented:
ASSASSINATION FUNDING ANALYSIS
Target: Princess Elara Blackwood (Fourth Princess)
Period: Last 6 weeks
Total Attempts: 7
Total Funds Traced: 2,340 gold
Seven attempts. She’d only been aware of five. Two had failed so early her guards hadn’t bothered ntioning them.
She continued reading.
PRIMARY FUNDERS:
Baron Aldric Kessler - 800 gold
- Motivation: Economic (rental property revenues threatened by supermarket)
- Paynt thod: Direct transfer through rchant interdiary
- Assassins hired: 3 separate contracts, 2 failed, 1 partially successful (wounded guard)
Viscount Helena Marrs - 640 gold
- Motivation: Political (aligned with Second Princess faction, views Fourth Princess’s independence as destabilizing)
- Paynt thod: Laundered through textile guild donations
- Assassins hired: 2 contracts, both failed
rchant Lord Carver - 900 gold
- Motivation: Economic (owns majority stake in Port Crestfall’s existing market district)
- Paynt thod: Cash paynts, no paper trail beyond initial withdrawal
- Assassins hired: 2 contracts, 1 failed, 1 ongoing (assassins still active, expected attempt within 5 days)
Elara read the nas twice, committing them to mory.
Kessler she’d expected. Marrs was new information—aligned with Sera, the Second Princess. That ant palace politics had reached Port Crestfall faster than she’d calculated.
But Carver was the real problem. Nine hundred gold. That was serious money, and "ongoing contract" ant assassins were already in position.
She flipped to the next page: detailed paynt chains, dates, interdiaries. The rchant’s people had traced every transaction back to source.
Then she reached the final page and stopped.
CAPITAL CONNECTION:
Secondary funding traced to Imperial Treasury interdiary
Amount: 1,200 gold (separate from local contracts)
Source: Unable to confirm, but paynt authorization bears Third Princess’s administrative seal
Note: This funding appears to be for separate, more professional operation. No attempts yet, but preparations observed.
Third Princess. Yue Mingzhu.
The quiet one. The deadly one.
Elara set down the papers and leaned back in her chair.
So the local nobles—Kessler, Marrs, Carver—were amateurs. Angry, threatened, throwing money at a problem. Their assassins were second-rate, easily stopped.
But her sister was funding sothing else. Sothing that hadn’t moved yet.
Professional. Patient. Waiting for the right mont.
She picked up the note from the rchant and found a second page beneath it:
The capital operation is sophisticated. Watching you, learning your patterns, waiting for vulnerability. I’d estimate two more weeks before they move—they want certainty, not luck.
Recomndation: Change your routines. Increase security. Or deal with the local threats first and use the attention to mask preparations against the real danger.
Your call.
*—M*
Elara read it twice, then set it down and stared at the ceiling.
Three local nobles trying to kill her imdiately. One sister planning sothing worse for later.
Multiple fronts. Limited ti. Finite resources.
She needed to prioritize.
The local threats were noisy but manageable. Her guards could handle amateur assassins indefinitely. But they created chaos, drew attention, made her look vulnerable.
The capital threat was quiet but lethal. When it ca, it would be precise, professional, possibly unstoppable.
She couldn’t fight both at once.
So she’d eliminate the local threats first. Quickly. Publicly. Make an example that would discourage others while also establishing that she wasn’t an easy target.
Then she’d deal with her sister’s operation.
Elara pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and began writing three nas:
*Baron Aldric Kessler*
*Viscount Helena Marrs*
*rchant Lord Carver*
Next to each na, she wrote a single word:
*Destroy.*
Not kill. Not threaten. Destroy.
She’d take away everything they valued—reputation, money, influence—and do it in a way that made it clear what happened when you tried to kill the Fourth Princess.
The chair wobbled beneath her. She barely noticed.
Outside, construction noise continued. The supermarket was almost ready. Two more days until opening.
Perfect timing.
She’d deal with Kessler first. He was the easiest target and the most visible. Taking him down would send a ssage to the other two.
Elara pulled out another piece of paper and began drafting a letter to the city magistrate. Formal. Precise. Backed with evidence from the rchant’s folder.
By the ti she finished, Baron Kessler’s life was about to beco very complicated.
And she hadn’t even raised her voice.
.
.
# Grand Opening Day
The Central Market opened at dawn.
Elara had expected crowds. She’d calculated based on population density, market saturation, and the success of the drink distribution. Her projections suggested three to four hundred custors on the first day.
By the ti the sun cleared the horizon, there were over a thousand people in the street outside.
She stood on the second floor, looking down at the mass of humanity pressing toward the entrance, and recalculated rapidly.
"Lisa," she said, not turning around. "Double the door guards. Limit entry to fifty people at a ti. When fifty leave, fifty more can enter."
"Yes, Your Highness." Lisa hurried off.
Dimitri appeared at her elbow, looking pale. "Your Highness, this is far beyond—"
"I see it." Elara watched the crowd. They weren’t violent, just nurous. Excited. Curious. "Are the vendors ready?"
"Most of them. A few are panicking about running out of stock—"
"Tell them to sell what they have. When it’s gone, it’s gone. Creates urgency for tomorrow." She turned from the window. "Kitchen staff?"
"Overwheld but functional. The head cook says they can handle maybe two hundred als before they need to restock."
User Comments
0 comments from readers