THE TRASH PRINCE'S BLUEPRINTS

CHAPTER 16: ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

Later that night, a deeply offended Lady Elsie Jeffries contacts Lord Thomas Jeffries, of House Jeffries, her eldest brother through a magical art of long- distance calling unique to those who are citizens of the powerful city-state of Aethelgard, namely echo glass scrying, which is activated by chanting a spell around a scrying glass, infusing it with her mental energy, and making sure it reaches her older brother, until the glass starts glowing with an eerie light.

A few minutes of waiting later, the glass glows with an eerie light, and the features of her brother can be seen appearing from the other end.

“ Sister? What's going on? I know it is night in Thaloria by now, and should you not be fast asleep in this unholy hour? “

“ There is someone I want assassinated, My lord, and I humbly ask for your backing, if things go wrong. “

“ What exactly happened, my lady? Enlighten your brother, on who dared to cross you, and pick a fight with you. “

“ It’s Third Prince Cain, my lord. He forged an authorization letter allowing the residents of Flayer's Den, Icebound Redoubt, and Sentinel's Vigil, along with the merchant guild envoys of merchant guilds stationed there, to avail themselves of loans with my signature. “

“ They suffered a sudden attack from Shadowbeasts, sister. They need aid. You can overlook it for once, surely? “

“ Overlook, Thomas? This will set a dangerous precedent- “

“ Fine, fine, Elsie. Whatever you say and do, you shall have the backing of House Jeffries. Just be careful out there, ok? ”

“ Ok. I shall inform you if the attempt is a success or not, Thomas. “

Thomas disconnects the scrying call from his end, and Lady Jeffries next contacts Pope Aurelian Blackmoor.

“ Good evening, Lady Jeffries, what an honor. Pray tell, how can I be of service to you at such an ungodly hour? Do you have any… sins and unholy acts you wish to confess to me, perchance? “

“ No, not such as that, Your Holiness. I crave the Holy Church's backing, and House Blackmoor’s backing. “

“ Backing for what exactly, my lady? “

“ Backing and support to kill the Third Prince. He has long since been a rosy thorn on the side of the Holy Church, and and a rosy thorn on the side of House Blackmoor, yes? Now is the perfect time to uproot that thorn, and cast it to the fire. “

“ Now you got my attention. How will you go about eliminating the Third Prince then? Care to share the details, my lady? “

“ Let's not speak of plans yet to be fulfilled, Your Holiness. Leave the killing to me. By nightfall the next day, the thorn on your side shall now be plucked, and cast to the fire. “

“ May The Sovereign bless you, Lady Jeffries, for your plan is fraught with peril. Go in peace, and with the backing of House Blackmoor and the Holy Church. “

“ System Online. Situation Analyzed. Pizza Inferno Scanned. Possible poisoning plot detected. Immediate action is advised. “

The System says after Third Prince Cain says a sharp order to the System. “ System, scan the place for potential threats. “

The next following evening, as Third Prince Cain enters his usual favorite pizzeria, a small but popular pizzeria named Pizza Inferno in Silverfin Outpost City after taking his car for a ride all over Frostmark Province late at night, he approaches the counter with with a bold yet elegant swagger to his steps, a sly grin on his lips, and dressed in in an elegant yet functional shadow beast lion coat, baggy pants made from the skin of a shadow beast bear, a belt from the skin of a shadow beast wolf, and boots made from the skin of a shadow beast stag, and orders one large Spicy Diavola Pizza, with a side dish of spicy chicken fillets, a side sauce of spicy gravy with chillies swimming on the gravy, and a tall, and hot mug of strong, unsweetened caffe Americano to ward off the chill of the night.

After a few minutes of waiting and sitting on his chair, he notices the smiling pizza maker, who goes out of his way to serve the order of the Third Prince.

“ Hello, pizza maker. May I know your name? You seem to be a new hire in this place. Where's the usual pizza maker of Pizza Inferno? “

Prince Cain grins his sly clever grin, pouring a small drop from the Scrutiny Flask he always carries around on the pockets of his jacket, while doing small talk to disarm suspicion from the man grinning right in front of him.

“ Hello, Your Highness. It's an honor to be able to serve you. I’m Jason Spencer, and I’m indeed a new hire to this place. Oh, and don't worry, the pizza and drinks you ordered aren't poisoned. “

“ Oh, really, after you, then. Have a taste, and a bite or two. “

Prince Cain gestures for Jason to sit down, and Jason sat down.across Prince Cain.

“ Good, Jason. Now, have a slice of that pizza. Have two slices if you must. “

Jason obediently slices the pizza, and pretends to eat it, then slams the hand holding the pizza against Prince Cain's face, but Prince Cain dodges and ducks aside in time.

Prince Cain takes out an injection, and injects the contents straight into Jason's still outstretched hand, before Jason can react.

“ You're lying, Jason. It's a good thing I always carry the Scrutiny Flask with me, or I’ll have been dead by now. Oh, and the injection? It's a truth serum, whose potency is increased to 200 percent, and in 1 minute, it will travel up your bloodstream and affect your nervous system. Resist all you want, but I’ll wangle the truth of whom you work for all the same. The serum is also mixed with a neurotoxic venom, namely the venom of a basilisk. You’ll be dead in 30 minutes if I don't inject the antidote. “

Prince Cain says with a sly, venomous grin, like a viper about to devour his prey, and it makes Jason break out in cold sweat,

“ Have mercy on me, Your Highness. It was Lady Elsie Jeffries who I worked for. “

“ An assassin begging for mercy when caught. How quaint. I thought you were supposed to be stronger than that. It's the first time I've come across a cowardly assassin. “

Prince Cain mocks, then injects what Jason believes to be the antidote into Jason’s arm, and rams the contents of the poisoned coffee cup straight into Jason's throat, before walking out the door of Pizza Inferno, and leaving Jason in the maws of death, as Jason started to convulse violently before his body went limp as a result of the compounded effects of the two poisons.

Heh. How quaint. An assassin getting poisoned by his own poisons. What an amateur. Those who cross me, and make attempts on my life, shall never live to see the day.

A few hours later, Lady Elsie Jeffries is found dead by the Winterkeep Police in her sprawling penthouse as she was enjoying a late night snack. Her personal chef is nowhere to be found, and an opened, half-empty rat poison sachet can be seen scattered in the penthouse kitchen, with fingerprints that clearly belongs to Lady Elsie are spotted when the rat poison sachet is taken to their Magics & Science Laboratory for a forensics testing from their chemists and mages. They rule out foul play, and declares her death as suicide.

Similarly, in Aethelgard, the House of Jeffries has been found dead by patrolling slave soldiers of the Aethalgard Slave Army in their heavily guarded manse, with signs of their manse being broken into by a heavily armed group, with advanced weapons they have never seen before, most specifically, an experimental rifle that shoots penetrating rounds in rapid succession, with a scope, rapid reloading mechanism, imbued with fire, thunder, and metal magic, and has a magically enhanced accuracy range. Spent bullets can be seen littered all over the ground. Grenade shrapnels can also be found littering the manse, with the doors and windows destroyed by some sort of explosive device that explodes upon contact with the doors and windows in a few seconds. The most chilling thing they find upon investigating the scene is a blood-soaked note on the main door of the manse that read:

If any of you nobles come after me, with the backing of your entire House, I shall eliminate you root, branch and stem. Consider yourself forewarned.

Third Prince Cain Valtair Thaloria

In Blackmoor Province, the next day, the entire Holy Church and House Blackmoor are in an uproar when a threat letter signed by Third Prince Cain is pinned right outside the front door of the Shadow Peak Citadel, with smudges of blood on the letter, and the ink of the letter is blood red.

It read:

Hey, Aurelian Blackmoor, Leonora Blackmoor, and Alaric Blackmoor the bastard, the next time you come after me, Prince Cain, I shall make sure you all will never live to see the light of the day. Enjoy plotting.

Third Prince Cain Vailtair Thaloria