The Courtesan

Chapter 23

 “A-Achoo!”

“Your highness, please move from the window. It’s cold.”

“But Ellie... shnow!”

“Yes I know it’s snowing your highness but if you get a cold now, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to get a doctor for you.”

“Aww…” 

He climbed down from the window, finding something else to play with. Staying indoors all day made him more fidgety. It made it harder for me to focus on my plans. 

In my letter to Amelia, I asked for information on the King’s harem. Knowing her, she would easily be able to provide such a thing. The snow hadn’t piled too high so my letter was easily delivered. If I was lucky, I would get a reply in a few days. 

That being said, the king was returning to the palace alongside the prince. And as for Casella day, they were having a big celebration in the palace. In my days as a princess, my father would invite his allies and the evening would settle peacefully. It was also where I met Prince Klaus. 

If he came to the celebration, then…

I couldn’t think about it. There were few people around I recognized so my identity stayed hidden for as long as it had. In fact, Andrella was the only one in five years to recognize who I was. It was almost like all the nobles were replaced. With that conclusion, Prince Klaus would most likely be absent from the celebration. At least I hoped so. 

My plan was to capture Prince Kron’s attention when he returned. It was going to be hard because of Prince Miyon’s bad reputation but that was key too. When I first met the little prince, Prince Kron was carrying him carefully. He also looked enraged when he saw me with the boy so I could safely assume he cared for the child. 

I was going to use that to my advantage. The prince was unmarried, despite being the crown prince. He was definitely going to be burdened into getting a wife. Finally, I had a deal breaker. I had valuable information on the Queen who was definitely not his mother.

Once I get his attention and give him information on how to advance in the palace, he would consider me an ally at least. From there, it would be Lady Andrella’s famous seduction techniques. 

The flaws in the plan were apparent. I could be wrong about Prince Kron being attached to Prince Miyon or he could choose to not believe the information I have to offer. In the best case, I could get ignored, and in the worst case, I could die. It was worth the risk since I already got his attention once. I could do it again. 

“Your highness, I already told you to not go too close to the window!” 

Getting close enough to be the Prince’s concubine at the very least meant I could give Prince Miyon a better life, one he definitely deserved. 

“You must be really bored. Let me sing to you then.”

Prince Miyon enjoyed my singing so I often used it to lure him to eat or sleep. 

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. Far above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.”

He clapped his hand excitedly, mouthing the words he knew. I would have to teach him how to write soon. 

We sang for a few more minutes before we were interrupted by a loud rumbling. I initially thought it was from outside but a cacophony of sounds followed, all from nearby. I immediately became suspicious, holding the prince next to me. 

Throwing him into the cot, I went to the door to investigate what was going on. The hallways were dark though it was midday. There were candles hanging on the wall that I definitely lit earlier. Now, the only source of light was the fireplace in our room. 

My body trembled for a bit and not from the cold. Picking a snuffer, I whispered to the prince to stay put while I went to light the candles. There were about ten candles in total. I lit eight without problems. When I got to the ninth, I saw a shadow move across the hall. 

It was a brief instant but it looked humanoid. Quickly lighting the last candle, I rushed back to the room. However, I was too late. I almost tore the door off its hinges when I heard his scream. 

“Miyon!”

In the room was a figure dressed in black, the little prince in their arms. He was flailing around, his struggle intensifying when he saw me. An intruder dressed in black, a dagger to their side…..an assassin. My blood ran cold. 

“Let him go!” 

As if they were deaf, the assassin ignored me, opening the window. A cold gust blew into the room, blurring my vision. When the wind settled, both the assassin and the prince were gone. 

“Miyon! Miyon!”

I called his name, expecting a response. They couldn’t have gone far in the few seconds it took for them to leave. I stopped screaming, listening closely from afar. I listened and listened... I didn’t hear anything. 

He’s gone. He’s gone. He’s going to be killed, just like them… why?! Why did they take him?! I finally found family…. and you took him from me!

It was like a switch had been overturned in my head. I tore off the edges of my skirt, tightening my shoes and ran out of the west entrance. I had the advantage, knowing the basic structure of the palace. Something like that was less likely to change in five years. 

Entering the abandoned west quarters, if anyone wanted to escape unnoticed, they would go through… the cold palace! 

With renewed vigor, I ran towards the cold palace. While running, I began screaming at the top of my lungs.

“Help! There’s an intruder in the palace! His highness has been taken! Help!” 

If people knew Prince Miyon was missing, they were less likely to help. There were definitely other princes but people outside the palace didn’t know which prince was taken. Using that logic, they would definitely rush out. Besides, an intruder in the palace wouldn’t go uninvestigated. 

I was close to the cold palace and at the edge of my vision, noticed the same black blur. I forced my legs to go even faster, stretching my hands to reach for him. 

“Miyon!” 

I caught the attention of the assassin and with my intense concentration, noticed they hesitated just a bit. They changed their direction and dived into the cold palace from the roof. The cold palace was locked with a heavy padlock on the outside. The key was most likely kept deep in the palace so even if the guards got there, the assassin would be long gone before the place was even open. Forget the key, the guards hadn’t even showed up!

Prince Miyon was slipping away from my grasp as time ticked by. I removed the pin that held my hair in place and bent it. It was a special hairpin gifted to me by Prince Klaus, more malleable than the jade hairpins that reigned in the market. Amelia was responsible for teaching me how to pick locks. 

Sliding the pin into the lock, I fiddled around a bit. I lost grip on the pin because of how much my hand trembled and worse, I wasn’t able to maintain focus. Counting on the complex layer of the cold palace to stall the assassin, I gave the hairpin one final twist. 

The padlock fell to the ground, sending relief through my system. I immediately pushed the door open and ran into the cold palace.