Last Chance [Extra #2]

Part 21

The thought that Elizabeth was working with the Crown Prince was both unbelievable and reasonable at the same time. Cassian was conflicted. On one hand, he wanted to believe in his fiancee's innocence, and on the other, he knew there had to be something that started the nightmare he was forced to go through. If Elizabeth took part in his cousin's scheme, then she was a great actress. Cassian was completely fooled by her kind demeanor and left her in charge of everything. Had she wanted to, she could've easily ruined him.

Perhaps she didn't see the point in doing that, thinking he'd never come back from the battlefield?

Suddenly, he wanted to hear Ellie's opinion on this. "Ellie, why do you think Elizabeth didn't do anything to harm the Vautour family while I was gone?" he asked, curious to hear what she thought of this. It was unreal how easily the woman before him earned his trust and got him to spill everything. He liked listening to her, her voice was soft and soothing, unlike the words she spoke with brutal honesty. However, that was also something he appreciated.

Even the most bitter truth was better than a sweet lie.

"You mean why didn't she make you go bankrupt while you were away?" Celosia asked to make sure they were thinking about the same thing.

"Precisely. She had every opportunity to do so, and if what you've said is true about her working with my cousin, then she had every reason to do it as well."

"I doubt even the Crown Prince is stupid enough to destroy a Grand Duchy for the sake of taking down his competition."

"I don't think I understand..."

Celosia thought for a moment before speaking, "The Grand Duchy is an autonomous principality, hence the Imperial Family has almost no jurisdiction here. Ruining it would be unreasonable, as it's one of the richest parts of the Empire. The resources here cannot be found anywhere else, the Grand Duke's army is even more powerful than the Imperial one, and the Temple has little to no power here, which helps with trade and other businesses that are forbidden in the other parts of the Empire. Destroying such a valuable asset as the Grand Duchy would be a stupid move. I think that what the Crown Prince may have wanted was to take back the North's autonomy."

"You mean he doesn't want to bring ruin to my land, but to take it from me?"

"Exactly. If he had the Northern Duchy, it would be a great achievement that could be rewarded with the Imperial crown. Or he simply wanted this land to start a coup and take the throne by force. With all the resources here, he could easily battle against the other Duchies and win. It's hard to tell, really, as I have never met the Crown Prince. I can hardly speculate about his intentions when I haven't seen the man and tried to understand his thinking."

Somehow, Ellie's words struck a cord in Cassian. He didn't want her to meet his cousin. Ellie was a treasure he discovered, and he didn't want to show her to other people. the Crown Prince would no doubt try to bring her over to his side, and Cassian worried that Ellie might fall into that trap. She had no reason to take Cassian's side, so losing such an intelligent and clever ally could be detrimental to him. If someone like Ellie was working with the Crown Prince, then he would become unstoppable.

Cassian didn't know how true that statement was. He was unaware of Celosia's power, yet still knew that being her enemy would be disastrous. If she indeed wanted to help the Crown Prince, no one in the Empire would be able to stop them.

But she didn't. She felt like the Crown Prince was just a spoiled brat that happened to be in a high position. A position he didn't deserve.

Perhaps she would be able to get him off his high horse and make him taste reality.