Chapter 1

I was the hottest star at the Capital Music Hall, and to buy my freedom, I supported three patrons.

My jealous rival, Cathy Lewis, called me cheap.

I smiled. "How about I let you have these three patrons instead?"

She opened her mouth to curse, and then froze. Floating words appeared before her eyes.

[Cathy, hurry up and grab them. These three are the future Regent, Grand Marshal, and Prime Minister.]

[If you win them over, you'll be a noble lady someday—outrank the queen and put the consorts to shame.]

[OMG, this is so satisfying. The heroine spent ages trying to win these guys over, but in the end, Cathy's going to steal them all at the last minute.]

The contempt in Cathy's eyes instantly turned into feverish excitement.

"I'll take all three," Cathy said.

I grinned and held out my hand. "Five hundred gold coins for each patron. No haggling."

Cathy gritted her teeth. "Fine, deal!"

Little did she know, these so-called down-and-out scholar, rogue bodyguard, and penniless musician were each more trouble than the last.

I was more than glad to seal the deal.

*****

Cathy must have lost her mind.

The way she looked at me was like I was a walking goldmine, or maybe a total idiot.

She grabbed my sleeve, afraid I'd back out at the last second. "Ruby Sinclair, talk is cheap. Let's get this in writing."

I was grinning inside, but on the surface, I pretended to be a little reluctant. "Cathy, these three guys might be down and out right now, but they're all super talented. I've invested so much—"

Cathy cut me off, staring into thin air like she was checking some info. And then she let out a cold laugh, yanked the gold hairpin from her hair, and slapped it down on the table.

"Enough with the nonsense. I know you're greedy. Five hundred gold coins each, right? I'll take the scholar, Edward Crown, first!" Cathy said.

I pretended to sigh and fished out a battered jade pendant from inside my dress.

This was supposed to be Edward's "love token" for me, but honestly, it was a knockoff from a street stall.

"This is Edward's token. It's as good as meeting him in person," I said. "He lives in a shabby deserted house on the south side of town. He's got a bit of an attitude, so you'll need to be patient with him."

Cathy snatched the pendant and polished it up like it was her lucky charm.

Her eyes were brimming with greed. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to 'take care' of him."

She really stressed the word 'care.'

I watched her rush off and couldn't help but shake my head.

Edward had a bit of an attitude? That was not even close.

That guy was nuts.

He's actually the crown prince, undercover as a commoner, getting a taste of real life and secretly investigating cases.

He absolutely hated being humiliated with money, and he despised anyone who tried to use him for their own gain.

I got close to him by pretending to be an illiterate girl, bringing him lunch for half a year.

Cathy was going to risk her life messing with him.

I turned and headed back to my room, counting the gold coins I'd just gotten.

Five hundred gold coins—halfway to buying my freedom.

It was definitely a good deal.

As I finished stashing away the gold coins, the madam sashayed into the room. "Ruby, what's gotten into Cathy? She snatched up all your broke patrons in one go."

I picked up the rouge on the table and dabbed a bit on my lips. "Maybe she wants to see what it's like to play charity for a day."

The madam rolled her eyes. "You're really not worried one of those losers might actually make it big someday?"

I couldn't help but laugh at that.

If those three ever revealed who they really were, this whole place would be flattened in a heartbeat.

I was just an ordinary girl chasing money. There was no way I could handle these living legends.

Cathy was a woman of action.

That afternoon, she changed into a simple white outfit, took a food box, and went to the deserted house in the southern part of town.

To appear more virtuous, she even softened her makeup to look more demure.

I was upstairs at the Capital Music Hall, listening as the maid came back to report. "Ruby, Cathy really went all in. As soon as she walked into the deserted house, she started weeping right in front of Edward.

"She went on about how much she admired his talent, saying she'd love to be his muse and keep him company while he studied."

I nearly burst out laughing.

Edward couldn't stand women who acted all weepy.

He thought women who cried were weak and useless.

Back when I was trying to win his sympathy, I always bit my lip and held back my tears, pretending to be strong and unbreakable.

Cathy's act was a total flop.

The maid went on. "Edward shot her a cold look and ignored her. But Cathy wasn't discouraged at all. She took out the soup from the food box and even tried to feed him by hand. Edward flipped the bowl over without a second thought."

I couldn't help but tsk.

Edward was playing the role of a penniless scholar, and he couldn't stand being pitied by the wealthy.

To him, that was nothing but an insult to his dignity.

But I didn't expect Cathy to have another trick up her sleeve.

Apparently, she paused for a moment, staring into the air like she was getting some expert advice from the live comments.

Then, out of nowhere, she dropped to her knees and pulled out some gold coins from her dress. "Edward, I know your mother is gravely ill, and you need money fast. Take this. Pay me back when you make it big."

That was Edward's Achilles' heel.

He pretended his mother was gravely ill this time to test people's sincerity.

He wanted to see who was genuine.

Back when I was trying to pass his test, I even pawned my only gold bracelet.

The look in Edward's eyes when he saw that bracelet was so intense it sent chills down my spine.

Now, Cathy went straight for the cash.

It was tacky, but it did fix his urgent crisis.

The maid said, "Edward took the money, and his expression actually eased up. He even bothered to ask Cathy for her name."

My heart skipped a beat.

Did Cathy really just luck out like that?

But then it hit me that Edward was suspicious to the extreme.

Taking the money didn't mean he trusted Cathy for a second.

He'd only see her as scheming, with some hidden agenda.

He might even suspect I'd leaked his background to someone else.

The thought alone made my back go cold.

Looked like I needed to keep my head down for the next few days.

No way could I let Edward find out I was the one who pointed Cathy in his direction.

If he ever caught wind of it, with his methods, I wouldn't even leave a corpse behind.

I was debating whether to fake a sick day when suddenly, a ruckus broke out outside my door.

Cathy was back.

She was all smiles, practically floating in.

She burst through the door, bragging at me. "Ruby, that scholar of yours was easy pickings. Just gave him some gold coins, and he was all mine. Guess I'll be a noble lady soon."

I watched her strut around, looking so pleased with herself, and felt sorry for her.