Alois left immediately after our conversation and no one else even knew he visited, but after the story I had heard, my evaluation of the Cano family was brought down to a new level of disdain. Alvis had been absolutely right. They needed to go, but before we could just remove them we needed to set a trap.

“How is finding the replacement going?” I asked Alvis. He had put himself in charge of the search.

Alvis smiled. “Better than I expected. No problems on my end. Feel free to move onto the next step,” he replied.

I frowned and began pacing the length of my hotel suite. The next step. When put like that it seemed so simple, but if the trap was not effective it would be impossible to convince the public. Frankly they already had the evidence they needed. The key to this trap was getting the public’s approval.

The situation was severe enough that they would have to act regardless of whether or not they had it, but it was always better to have the majority on their side. The Cano family was the easy part since they were not well liked, but the butler who was holding the lord’s family more or less hostage was very popular. It would not be easy to force him to ruin his image.

My eyes landed on Alvis and Storm who were deep in a conversation in a foreign language. Strange. Storm shouldn’t know the same languages as Alvis. Hold on, wasn’t this perfect? Alvis was the prince’s butler and etiquette teacher, and Storm was a dangerous summon who I had personal suspicions of being an assassin himself. The pair of them might just be enough to force the butler out of his disguise.

“Cassandra?” Alvis asked, “I don’t mind being observed, but that gaze of yours is a bit intense.”

“Sorry, I was just thinking,” I sighed, “I feel like I just figured out something important but I am stuck behind a wall again.”

“What kind of wall?” Storm asked with interest.

“The Cano family is easily disposed of, but the head butler’s disguise is fairly perfect. How are we going to convince anyone that he is an assassin from Gaia?” I explained, “The only think I have been able to figure out is that you two might be the only ones who can shake that image.”

Before I could say anything Alvis sprouted a rather dark grin on his face. “Cracking a facade of a master. Sounds entertaining. I also have a few things I need to find out,” he mused, “but why Storm?”

“You said yourself that you are a noncombatant,” I pointed out.

“True,” Alvis agreed, “Things could get awkward if he tries to kill me.”

“It would be rather fruitless,” Storm muttered in agreement, “but defense isn’t really my strong suit. I might be able to cook up a truth serum but I take it you don’t want to resort to poison or torture.”

“If at all possible,” I answered, unable to ignore the chill going down my spine. Once again I was convinced that Storm was not someone I should offend. I was lucky that he seemed to be on my side. “You will have to look like the good guy in the situation.”

Storm looked at Alvis. “Hey, how do you feel about dying?” he asked with a broad smile.

“Ah, interesting. That might work,” Alvis chuckled, “Murdering someone in public could definitely destroy his image.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Hold on! Dying?!” I demanded.

“Don’t worry, I won’t actually die,” Alvis assured, “Death is something I don’t have the privilege of. But, Storm, you will have to do something so that my auto-healing does not kick in. If I just come back good as new, I will be seen as a monster and they will take his side. Or worse.”

“Right. We don’t need a sudden appearance of cultist followers mixed up in this,” Storm said, “I think I can manage it, but how are we going to get him to attack you in an obvious way in public? From what I have heard around this assassin has a tendency for poisoned needles.”

“It will work because it is me,” Alvis promised, “It is already well known that poison does nothing to me.”

“You’re not immune to poison. They just can’t kill you. What if he decides letting your sleep for a while is enough?” Storm pointed out.

“Is that something I would need to worry about with a poison master at my side?” Alvis questioned.

I was feeling extremely left behind, and I was clearly missing some vital information. Storm seemed to know something about Avlis that no one in Tethia did. Was it because Storm had been summoned before or was there a deeper meaning?

First things first, “You can’t die?” I asked Alvis.

“How else did you expect one of the founders of Tethia to still be alive?” Alvis lectured, “You are a very skilled princess but there are moments where you think of the silliest things.”

I was tempted to retort, but Alvis was not someone I could win an argument against, so I swallowed my thoughts.

“Right. How are we going to get the butler to come out into the open where he can be provoked in the first place?” I asked.

Alvis’ smile returned. “Leave my prey to me, princess. Why don’t you go meet with Silas again? You might need an alibi for the time being.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Alvis, I realize you are one of Tethia’s founders but that does not mean you can break the law.”

“I won’t,” he assured, “but our enemies will grow suspicious. Make sure to meet Silas somewhere public, and take Rena and Storm with you. I will leave with Keane to the fishing village again. That is all you need to know.”

I sighed. “Alright. I do still need to find the other part of my image. I will contact Mr. Toll.”

When I finished making an appointment with Silas Toll, Alvis had already left with Keane. I collected Rena and Storm and headed to the cafeteria to meet Mr. Toll. He was waiting at a table and made a show of inviting us to a private room to discuss business. Then he made sure that the private room had only one door that faced the cafeteria so anyone who cared could tell that we never left. It wasn't the most airtight alibi but it should be enough to avoid suspicion.

“I’ve done some research for the past few days and I think I may have found what you are looking for,” Silas announced once everyone was seated, “Since cookies will be your main image source I thought of something that matched with them.”

He proceeded to take out an ornate vial that was reminiscent of a dagger. It was filled with a clear blue liquid with an enchanting hue to it.

“It’s beautiful, but I don’t quite follow,” I admitted.

Silas smiled. “These are dragon tears. They are one of the rarest magical ingredients in the world. If used properly they can become the most powerful elixir or the deadliest poison,” he explained, “As you might know, dragons don’t cry very often, and when they do it is usually a sign of great catastrophe, but I have discovered a little secret. Dragons cry quite a lot when laughing.”

I was taken aback by the information but I still wasn’t sure where he was going with his sale’s pitch or how they connected to cookies.

“If added to a meal it only takes a drop or two to turn that meal into a miracle,” Silas continued with a smile, “Of course, I can promise a steady supply.”

“Add tears to cookies,” I repeated. Perhaps this was another instance where Alvis would claim that I was strangely silly but I could not imagine tears being delicious, not could I imagine something that color of blue being edible, “Are you certain it is safe? The dragon had no diseases?”

“Of course,” Silas promised, “These are my tears, after all.”

“You’re not a dragon,” Rena retorted.

“Because dragons are known as seclusive creatures it is no wonder that you don’t know,” Silas explained, “Most dragons have learned to take a human form to trade and enjoy the company of humans. Naturally, our magical properties only remain in dragon form so if we are killed in human form it is a waste, so in some cases, it serves as insurance.”

“That is an interesting way to look at it,” I muttered.

Silas turned his attention back to me. “So? What do you think? I will even throw in the rights to call me a friend for free. I am sure the story of the tenth princess being in possession of the precious tears of her dragon friend will spread far and wide. You won’t even have to use them for people to believe your cookies are miracles.”

“Alright,” I gave in, “I’m sold, but you had better hold to the second part of the deal, and I would like to propose something else.”

“Oh?” Silas asked.

“The Cano family intends to ban you from Lion Seaport and things are going to be chaotic for a while. How would you like to come to the capital? I will be sure to invite you to the palace.”

I was confident that he would not refuse but my heart was pounding. He was still a wandering merchant.

“Very well. I can’t promise how long I will stay but I will certainly go to the capitol and visit my newest friend,” Silas decided.