"A laundry basket? Seriously, Kovit? This is your grand master plan?"
"Hey, it's a classic for a reason," Kovit whispered back, his face a shadow against the dim light of the servant's corridor. He shoved a pile of stinking, damp palace linens over my head. "Besides, nobody questions the guy carrying the dirty sheets. Now stay down and stop breathing so loudly."
I crouched lower in the wicker basket, the smell of cheap lye soap and wet cotton burning my nose. My knees were jammed against my chest. Every bump of the wooden cart vibrated straight up my spine.
Outside, the palace was still buzzing like a disturbed hornets' nest. Phurin's guards were patrolling the perimeter with torches, their iron boots crunching on the gravel. From what Kovit told me right before stuffing me in here, Lali had spent the last two hours playing the fragile victim in the main hall. She'd reportedly "fainted" right into Phurin's arms, murmuring about how she forgave me for trying to poison her.
The whole court was eating it up. The ministers were practically weeping. To them, she was a saint; I was a rabid dog that needed to be put down.
*Let them think that,* I thought, my jaw clenching in the dark. *Let them get comfortable.*
The cart lurched sharply to the left. The humid, night air of Bangkok's ancient canals hit my face through the gaps in the wicker. We were out.
With a rough shove, the lid flipped open. Kovit stood over me, the moon reflecting off his golden earrings. We were deep in the Lower City, an area of narrow wooden alleyways, flickering paper lanterns, and the heavy, murky scent of the river.
"End of the line, My Lady," Kovit smirked, offering a hand to pull me out. "Welcome to the real world."
I stretched my aching limbs, dropping my linen disguise into place. "Where is he?"
Kovit nodded toward a dilapidated opium den jutting out over the black water of the canal. "Inside. The back table. But remember, Kanya... the Shadow Guild doesn't care about your noble blood. They only care about what you can give them."
"Good. Because I'm fresh out of noble morals."
I strode into the den. The air inside was thick with sweet, heavy smoke. Men slouched over wooden benches, their eyes glazed. At the very back, sitting beneath a torn silk tapestry, was a man with a jagged scar across his throat. **Vane**, the broker of secrets.
> **Character:** Vane (Shadow Guild Leader)
> **Danger Level:** Lethal
> **Current Mood:** Bored.
>
"A palace runaway and the useless prince," Vane rasped, his voice sounding like two bricks grinding together. He didn't even look up from a small dagger he was sharpening. "You're a long way from the golden spires, Lady Kanya. What makes you think you'll leave here alive?"
I didn't blink. I walked straight up to his table and slammed the velvet pouch down. Gold coins spilled out, gleaming like firelight in the dim room, followed by three massive, uncut rubies.
Vane's eyes snapped to the gems. The scraping of his dagger stopped.
"I don't want a fairy tale, Vane," I said, leaning over the table, my voice dropping to a cold, direct whisper. "I want to know every single thing Lali has bought, touched, or spoken to in the last three months. I want her suppliers. I want her real name. And I want it before the Sun Festival."
Vane slowly reached out, his dirty fingers wrapping around a ruby. He looked at the gem, then up at my face. A slow, terrifying grin stretched across his scarred face.
"They told me the Dechapanya girl was a screeching brat," Vane murmured. "But you... you have the look of someone who wants a bloodbath."
"I don't want a bloodbath," I said, my eyes narrowing. "I want a demolition."
Behind me, Kovit let out a low, breathy laugh. The floating box above his head flared brightly.
> **Affection Level:** +35 (Pure Fascination)
> **Current Mood:** Hooked.
>
"This," Kovit whispered, his hand resting lightly on his dagger hilt as he stared at me, "is so much better than polo."
Vane swept the gold and rubies into his sleeve with a fluid, practiced motion. The gems vanished like magic into his dark robes.
"The girl you call Lali," Vane said, leaning back and resting his thick calloused hands on the table. "She didn't come to us for standard poisons, Lady Kanya. The Purple Lotus Extract you intercepted? That was just a distraction. A play to keep your eyes on the ground while she moves pieces on the board."
I felt a chill prickle the back of my neck. "What else did she buy?"
"An untraceable catalyst," Vane murmured, his dark eyes locking onto mine with ruthless intent. "A powder made from crushed fire-orchids. It has no taste, no smell, and it leaves no trace in the body. But when mixed with the sacred ceremonial wine used at the Sun Festival..."
"The King," Kovit cut in, his playful tone completely evaporating. His jaw tightened, the soft lines of his boyish face instantly hardening into the sharp angles of a prince whose family was under threat. "The King drinks the first cup of that wine to bless the harvest."
"Exactly," Vane croaked, a nasty little smirk playing on his lips. "A sudden, flawless heart failure. It will look like a stroke. No magic signature for Prince Niran to track, no wounds for General Teerut to investigate. And with the Crown Prince so thoroughly wrapped around her finger... who do you think guides the hand that holds the new seal of the realm?"
My mind raced. *The plot isn't just a romance anymore. Lali isn't trying to win a dating sim—she's playing a political thriller, and she's aiming for the throne.*
"Why tell me this?" I asked, keeping my voice dead steady despite the adrenaline hammering in my ears. "If you're a broker of secrets, you could sell this information to the highest bidder. To the King's guard. Or back to Lali."
"Because Lali pays in promises of future favor," Vane spat, his eyes gleaming with cold pragmatism. "You paid in solid, unyielding gold. And more importantly... I like a good show. The court is boring when everyone plays the saint. A true villainess makes things interesting."
I stood up, smoothing the rough linen of my disguise. "The Sun Festival is in three days."
"Then you have exactly seventy-two hours to figure out how to stop a murder without a single person believing a word you say," Vane chuckled, picking his dagger back up. "Good luck, Lady Kanya. Try not to die too quickly. It ruins the entertainment value."
Kovit and I slipped out of the den, the thick, heavy smoke fading behind us as the cool, damp river air hit us once more. We walked fast, keeping close to the shadows of the wooden walkways over the canal.
"Kanya," Kovit said quietly, his gaze fixed on the dark, murky water below us. "If my father drinks that wine, the kingdom falls. Phurin is too blinded by her to see the trap until the noose is already tight around his neck."
I stopped walking and turned to look at him. The moon was high now, casting long, sharp shadows across his face.
"Then we don't tell Phurin," I said, my voice punchy and direct. "We don't try to convince him, and we don't try to play the heroes. We let Lali play her perfect, innocent card right up until the very moment she thinks she's won."
Kovit looked at me, a dangerous, breathless spark igniting in his eyes. He leaned down, his face inches from mine, the scent of sandalwood swirling around us.
"And what do we do then?" he whispered.
"We flip the table," I said, a slow, sharp smile cutting across my face. "And we show them what happens when you push a villainess too far."
> **System Notification:** *Main Quest Triggered: Prevent the Royal Assassination!*
> **Time Remaining:** *72 Hours.*
> **Current Status:** *Outcast. Rebel. Dangerous.*
>