Chapter 3
It took me three days to forge a letter between my father and an envoy from an enemy nation.
The handwriting was flawless, the seal matched down to the tiniest detail, and I made sure every accusation against my father was airtight; he was thoroughly framed from start to finish.
I personally delivered the letter to Harvey's Residence.
The doorman's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw me, and his hand trembled as he pointed at the plaque.
"M-Miss Reed, look at this..." he stammered.
I shoved the letter into his arms. "Tell your master I've got something huge. Ask him if he wants in."
Half an hour later, I was led into the study.
Franklin sat behind his desk, holding the letter in his hand.
"If this letter is real, the entire Reed family will be executed," Franklin said.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm aware," I replied.
"You're part of that family too," Franklin pointed out.
I shot him a cheeky grin. "If you kill me, then I won't count as one of them anymore, right?"
He stared at me, his eyes so hard to read that I couldn't tell what was going on in his head.
"I won't be handing this letter in," Franklin said.
I froze. "Why not?"
Franklin said, "It just hit me that you're even more dangerous than your father."
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
"Show her out," Franklin ordered.
Once again, I was dragged out.
"Franklin! You'll regret this sooner or later. I'm going home to write you up for colluding with the enemy," I shouted.
He stood at the study door, watching me from afar, the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch.
He was thinking killing me would be letting me off too easy.
Outside the palace gates, my father had just come down from the imperial court, and he looked pissed.
It was obvious that he'd gotten schooled by Franklin again in their war of words today.
"Sharp tongue as always, Franklin. No wonder nobody's ever dared to marry you," my father said.
Franklin just shot back coolly, "Well, at least someone had the guts to marry you. Too bad no guy would dare marry the daughter you raised."
My father was so choked up he nearly passed out on the spot.
"You bastard! How dare you say my daughter's unwanted? Just wait till I get home. I'll bring in ten or eight live-in sons-in-law if I have to," he roared.
As the two walked out of the palace gates together, the tension between them was very thick.
Sneaking behind the stone lion, I fixed my gaze on Franklin like a starving wolf stalking its prey.
Marcus's eyes sparkled.
Franklin spun around, ready to clock in for another round at the palace.
Dad yanked him by the sleeve.
"Why are you in such a hurry? It's still early. How about we find somewhere to keep duking it out?" Marcus said.
"I just remembered, I still have some official business to take care of," Franklin said.
Franklin tried to shake his sleeve free, but Marcus wouldn't let go.
Marcus gripped even tighter.
"My daughter came to pick me up after court today. Since you bumped into her, why not go say hi?" Marcus said.
Franklin's expression stiffened.
"No need to worry about me, Mr. Reed," Franklin said.
"What's the big deal? She's right there. She won't bite," Marcus said.
Marcus was hauling Franklin over toward me, gripping his sleeve tight.
Franklin, meanwhile, was yanking for dear life, trying to drag himself back to the palace.
The two of them were locked in a tug-of-war right at the palace gates, and Franklin's sleeve looked like it was about to split in two.
The officials who'd just left court all stopped to gawk, shooting glances between Marcus and Franklin.
Owen Noah from the Ministry of Rites looked like he'd seen it all before.
"Here we go again. They didn't get enough of each other in court, so now they're jumping right into another round as soon as it's over. Look at them, actually going at it," Owen remarked.
Sean Occam from the Ministry of Revenue shook his head.
"Nah, nah, just look at Marcus's grin; does that look like he's itching for a fight? If you ask me, he's totally trying to set Franklin up as his son-in-law..." Sean said.
Steward Bach from the Ministry of Works stared, eyes wide.
"Marcus's daughter? You mean... that one... that..." Bach sputtered.
He waved his hands around for ages, but couldn't quite describe her, and everyone else just nodded knowingly.
"That's not matchmaking, that's asking for trouble, isn't it?" Bach blurted out.
"Not necessarily," Sean said.
"Marcus is playing it smart. Since he can't win against Franklin head-on, he's sending his daughter over to mess up Franklin's life, using her as his secret weapon."
"Honestly, looks more like he's sending her to her doom," Steward muttered under his breath.
In the corner, Steven Tobias from the Ministry of War quietly pulled out a handful of popcorn from his sleeve.
"Go on, don't mind me. I'm just here for the show," Steven said.
I crouched behind the stone lion, having the time of my life watching the drama unfold.
After a long tug-of-war, Marcus finally dragged Franklin right up to me.
I beamed at him.
"Franklin, isn't the weather just perfect for..." I started.
"Shut up!" Franklin snapped.
Watching Franklin get roasted, Marcus was practically bursting with joy.
Meanwhile, in the imperial study, the king was so caught up in the show that he forgot to put down his spoon.
"So..." the king said.
He pointed his spoon at the three of us.