"THAT WAS NICE of them," Irina murmured. "Although they were painfully clearly just trying to fish for information, would you not agree?"

  Justine snorted, then winced. Irina didn't have to be told as she quickly helped Justine take a gulp of water. She said, "Well, it was still a kind sentiment, I suppose. Even if there was another reason behind it all."

  "Flowers," Irina laughed. "I can't believe they brought you flowers."

  Justine glanced up ruefully. "I don't hate flowers, you know. I'm just rather indifferent to them in the grand sense. I do find them pretty once in a while. Those are nice ones."

  "I'll have someone put it in a vase for you," Irina told her. "Get some rest. I demand you to get some. I want you back on your feet as soon as possible, but because you genuinely could be, and not because you're forcing your body to the very limit. Do you understand?"

  Justine shut her eyes as she slumped down. "You know I abhor feeling useless and laying in a bed like this."

  "You could go do things and then collapse, or you could remain here and then continue on with your work." Irina raised her chin. "Your choice."

  Justine's eyes fluttered open. "Oh, bloody hell. If you want me to rest, go. I can't sleep with you looking over me here, you know. My brain doesn't work that way."

  "Oh what, do I stress you out?" Irina asked, one brow arched.

  "Yes," Justine replied pointedly. "In fact, you do. You really, really do. I don't know if you've noticed, but you have that particular effect on people."

  "I'm offended. But fine, I'll go. You enjoy your rest—I'll call the physicians to come check up on you and see what to do next. They said a couple more days in bed. The poison's out of your system, but you're still weak. No physical activities for a while. That means no training."

  "This is not the first time I've been injured."

  "But clearly you do not have a track record of staying still when that happens. We all remember what happened with your leg."

  Justine winced. "Let's not mention that. Makes me cold just thinking about it. Dark times, Irina, those were dark, dark times. So. No idea who it is?"

  Irina tilted her head. "I've done some searching. As have the others, I assume. We meet in around an hour, technically to start our discussion and investigation, but really... It's just compiling everything we've managed to discover. I'd ask them to meet here instead, but I think you need some peace and quiet."

  Justine said, "Just tell me what you discover."

  "When we find them," Irina raised her chin, "you'll be in charge of their punishment. It's only fair."

  Justine's smile stretched into a grin. "This side of you is the best side, in my opinion. You learned it in the army camps."

  "I did." Irina rose. "I'll go now, I need to meet up with some of the servants to see what they may have discovered. I told them to await me in Ning Yu Gong at this hour. You'll be fine?"

  "I will be perfectly alright. I've had worse."

  Irina nodded. "I'll see you then." She left the room. Outside, three taiyi were gathered, waiting. Irina gave them a nod. "Xie xie ni men le." Thank you all. "I'll be taking my leave now, do monitor her condition and ensure that she's alright. If anything happens, send me a message."

  "Of course, Your Highness. Has, ah, it been discovered who the culprit is behind this unfortunate incident?" The physician who had answered was rather young, probably one of the newly graduated apprentices. And it explained his excitement for chi gua, the drama. If this could be considered drama, which Irina supposed could be for an outsider. It had more stakes if you were the person who the poison was intended for, but she could understand his mentality.

  "It will soon be." Irina gave a small flitter of a smile. "Don't you worry about that, just ensure the General is safe and well. That's your job. The truth will come out soon enough, I'm sure you'll be informed about it."

  The physician blushed. "Of course, Your Highness."

  Irina nodded. "Bing Yi," the maid, standing near a corner of the room, rushed over, "let us go to Gui Yan Gong."

  👑

  IT WAS FIVE minutes before eleven when Irina got to Gui Yan Gong. It was still quiet as she walked through the bridges—the front courtyard of Gui Yan Gong was in bridges shaped in grids, ponds of lotus flowers beneath them. Some koi fish swam around beneath. Bing Yi's eyes followed one as it went around the lake, before her gaze snapped back to the main palace, where Irina's office and the parlour was.

  Myrina was already there, as expected, head bowed over a piece of paper. Her brows were knitted together, so Irina chose not to go in and interrupt her, since Myrina was doing such an excellent job pretending she hadn't noticed Irina coming in yet.

  The girl was wiccai, and Irina hadn't bothered being quiet. Myrina had most definitely noticed Irina walking in, and was just prudently ignoring her.

  Bing Yi, who'd been around Myrina enough for the past year or so, quickly followed Irina past the small corridor into Irina's office. "Would you like some tea, Your Highness?"

  Irina shook her head. "Prepare some, but not for me. Everyone's coming within the next few minutes anyways. And she'd just gotten quite a bit of information from the servants who'd been ordered to head to Ning Yu Gong.

  Some suspects had begun to pop up in her head, accompanied by theories. They were all quite fascinating, if she was to be honest, and she hadn't seen any of them coming. It seems she needed to keep up with the times a bit more than she already did. She didn't know nearly enough.

  That was rather terrifying to know. Because she already had eyes and ears everywhere. Yet it still wasn't enough. So what was enough?

  Never mind that, because she heard the sound of quiet discussion. Glancing out one window, she caught a glimpse of Asteria's light blue gown—the countess was obsessed with that colour—and what seemed to be Io's green frock. A minute later another group entered. The three Iron Wolves—Rhys, Ronan and Dom.

  After a few more moments, everyone was gathered. Irina stood just as Bing Yi came in to fetch her. Before the maid could open her mouth, Irina gave a nod. "Let's go."

  "I've served the tea, Your Highness."

  "Excellent." Irina gave her a smile. "You can go and rest now, you've worked hard enough today."

  Bing Yi curtsied and left. Irina continued back down the corridor. From behind the screen, she heard and saw her friends move around the room, getting comfortable. Despite some of the laughter that sporadically occurred, the general atmosphere was tense. No one was quite comfortable, knowing what had happened yesterday night. And that the assassin was still at large.

  Irina entered. Everyone stopped their conversations gradually, turning to face her. Irina tilted her head. "Anything?"

  "Some," Dom's face was grim. "I did not realise how much bad blood ran among our guests. Now that I do, well, I have to admit. A lot of people have motives."

  "Oh dear," Irina sighed. "I'd been hoping this would be straightforward. I've gotten some stuff too."

  Danna's eyes flickered around the room. When she had to be, she could curb her tongue. She said, "We have plenty of time. Asteria, Io and I went to interrogate some of the maids, cooks and servants who were in charge of the food yesterday. Apparently, quite a few of the guests' servants had gone throughout the night to give specific requests regarding the food. It could have been any of them."

  "Do we have a window?" Irina asked, frowning. "For when the poison would have been put in?"

  Asteria answered. "Almost three hours, Irina. From even before the feast started—the drinks were prepared and poured very early on and left to the side until they were served. The maid who delivered the drink swears that no one could have interfered with it, and I believe her. Would have been after it was poured and before it was delivered."

  "Us, meanwhile," Rhys murmured, leaning backwards, posture relaxed though her gaze was alert, "we were instructed by the daren to look into the possible motives our guests might have. The Cheonuangese are not the only ones slightly tempted by the Meliqueans' offers. The Hrishnans as well. They need money. Their rich are insanely wealthy, but their poorest are struggling. And we all know about the selfishness the noble and powerful can exhibit, no offence. That gives both the Cheonuangese and Hrishnans a motive."

  Io interjected then. "Not the Cheonuangese. I know almost every person in the Cheonuangese delegate personally. None of them are among the pro-Meliquean party."

  "Not the Meliqueans then," Ronan shrugged. "So. Hrishnans. Obviously, the Meliqueans have a clear motive. It could be the Novokulugans—the Kozlov would have a motive," he shot a glance at Danna, "and as we all know, there are most definitely Kozlov agents mixed in with the Novokulugans. And even the Imperial Novokulugans could have a motive. We know they're not exactly pleased with how little support Sai has given them overall."

  Danna glowered. "I really hope you're not suggesting Aleks is trying to poison Irina."

  "As much as I think he has the skill to do so," Irina snorted, "I highly doubt he'd want to raise your wrath in such a way. And if he is the culprit, I rather think you'd be the mastermind. But Ronan's right. The Kozlov agents do have a motive. As do the Imperial Novokulugans, though I rather dislike the idea of our allies backstabbing us in such a way."

  Danna smirked in response.

  Ronan cleared his throat. "Not the Caershireens. Not the Arecians. The Asayamans, perhaps? Considering that little... ah, incident? Last year? Princess Sachiko might hold a grudge. She could just be petty enough, and it would match up with the timing—right before the wedding."

  Once upon a time, when the engagement had just been announced, Princess Sachiko of Asayama had thrown a fit that shocked the world. It had been a known fact that she admired Stephen, but it had been wholly unexpected of her to actually attempt to bar the engagement from happening. It hadn't affected anything—the Asayaman Emperor had seemed just as horrified as anyone else by his daughters' behaviour. But even now, the animosity from Princess Sachiko was clear. She was not among the Asayaman delegates, but she was a princess. She'd have people working under her.

  Malcolm voiced out her inner thoughts though. "Is she really that petty, though? All things considered, Princess Sachiko has never done anything rash besides that. And even then, it wasn't supposed to get out. It was just gossipping servants. I don't think she'd risk something like this."

  "Oh," Io frowned. "Where's Ryan, by the way?"

  Irina answered. "He got called away to some meeting with His Imperial Majesty and the Girans. He'll be coming later, maybe. We'll see."

  "Right," Rhys leaned back. "Uh, Asayamans, Hrishhnans, Novokulugans. Meliqueans, of course. The Kon Rians have no motive we could discern, and I doubt it's the Girans or Wheldrakians. But of course, those are political motives—except for Princess Sachiko. Personal motives are a bit trickier to figure out."

  "I've done some investigation of my own," Irina announced. "The drink mishap, I was looking more specifically into that. The servants told me that they'd never make such a mistake, and that my drink, along with Ryan, the Emperor and the Empress's, and Prince Stephen and Frederick's, were put alongside long before. It would not have, under any circumstances, gotten mixed up with Justine unless someone purposefully messed with them."

  North murmured, "Reeks of preparation. Not excellent preparation, but preparation nonetheless."

  "We've already established that," Danna huffed. "Not someone skilled. We can eliminate the chances of this being a professional assassin. It's most definitely an amateur."

  "There are no agents I know among the Meliquean delegates," Rhys admitted. "Could still be them. But they know Ronan and I would be on the lookout, so if they did send agents, it wouldn't be anyone we'd recognise."

  Io crossed her arms across her chest. She was sitting on a stool, half-leaning against a shelf. "Is it just me, or does it feel linked to the wedding? As if someone is trying to stop it? Who gains from that?"

  "The Meliqueans, obviously, and their allies." Malcolm scratched his neck. "We know they're trying hard to stop this, but I get the feeling they've given up in the past while. Nothing has been going on. I think they've just accepted it."

  "That's the feeling I get too," Rhys admitted. "I think that was what Contreras was trying to do during the engagement, but Diego fucked up his plans." Anthony Contreras was the spymaster and Head of Intelligence for the Meliqueans. His son was Diego, a Falcon infatuated with Rhys who'd caused them massive trouble during the engagement party last year.

  "Well," Io said sarcastically, "I think that's the first and only time I'd ever feel grateful towards Diego Contreras."

  "I hate him," Dom supplied helpfully.

  Irina's eyes practically rolled to the back of her head. "We all realise, I think. And we all share the same feeling. Thank you for that wonderful input, Dominic. Such helpfulness."

  "You are the most welcomed, my princess." Dom flashed a grin. "I pride myself on being as helpful as can be."

  "Which is," Danna said, bored, "clearly not very much."

  Dom shot her a glare.

  Io pretended no one had said anything at all and continued, "But I don't think it's the Meliqueans. I feel like this is personal. It would be so much more well-planned if it was political. And it's poison. A coward's weapon, or so they say. Someone who desperately wants to keep their hands clean. I think it's a woman."

  "What a stereotype and offensive assumption," Irina faked outrage, but deep inside she rather thought Io was right.

  Io pressed, "Could it be one of Prince Stephen's admirers? He has a few. He's handsome, you know."

  "Thank you," Irina deadpanned. "I hadn't noticed."

  Io smirked. North blinked. "I don't see how this is relevant."

  Everyone ignored him. Io continued onwards with her deductions. "It would explain the poison. nianide. Again, most makeup and beauty products we use include a bit of it. I wouldn't be surprised if the poison was quite literally from that. Justine mentioned the peach juice tasting weird—what if someone quite literally poured perfume into it?"

  Irina stared. "That is... so stupid."

  Io raised her chin. "With all due respect to the fact we're still stumped, I don't think we're dealing with someone very smart here. Oh, above average intelligence, most certainly. Genius? Not precisely. Stop thinking big. Think small. Nianide was most probably used because it was the only they had, though this does show some proficiency in chemistry. I think it's a woman, and there's only so many female guests who'd be educated enough on the subject to know nianide can be used as a poison."

  "Someone of higher status," Rhys noted. "The ladies of a lower status won't be nearly as educated. Most people have heard of nianide, yes, but not everyone knows it's nearly as common as it is. Someone knowledgeable, who pays attention to detail."

  "Or," Danna drawled, "they just want to make us think that."

  "It doesn't hurt to investigate in that direction first," Rhys said, shooting Danna a glare. Danna pouted, but there was a little smile on her face. As much as she liked to destroy fun these days, even she wouldn't deny the lead that deduction gave us.

  Myrina said, suddenly, after having remained quiet and wordless for a majority of the discussion, "I think it's either a Hrishnan, Meliquean, Dumahian or Kon Rian."

  All eyes jumped to her. Malcolm's brows furrowed. "Why?"

  "I was in the kitchen supervising before the feast started. I've been thinking and thinking about all the servants who'd come and go then, and the only one who'd ever gone near the drinks for the Imperial family and other royalties was a dark-skinned maid. I didn't catch a glimpse of her face, we were at opposite ends of the kitchen. She was veiled, which I didn't think was off then, because quite a few of the Hrishnans and Dumahian women were veiled. Ghoonghat, you know. Or niqab. I was too far away to tell for certain.

  "It could be a Kon Rian posing as Dumahian or Hrishnan, and some Meliqueans have dark skin too. I've been thinking all day, I don't think anyone else would have had the opportunity. She was scrolling around part of the kitchen, waiting for one of the servants. I didn't pay much attention because there were people around her." Myrina screwed her eyes shut, clearly deep in thought, trying to find the memory in her head. Myrina's memory was perfectly reliable—she never forgot a thing she looked at.

  Another reason why Irina had insisted on keeping her around, even against her will.

  There was far too much potential. She could not, absolutely could not throw it away.

  And everyone was quiet for a moment, taking it in. "A guest, then," Irina murmured finally, glancing up. "Any features you remembered? Height? Colour of clothing?"

  "Black," Myrina winced. "Black silk. Not very tall, just average. Again, her face was veiled. Only her eyes were left out, and I was too far away to properly catch a glimpse. But she's the only one I think who could have possibly gotten to the drink without anyone noticing."

  "Rhys, Dom, Ronan," Irina could tell the three Wolves already knew very well what she was going to ask them to do, but they remained  quiet as she said, "tell Zhang daren this, and inform him to keep an eye out for the Hrishnans and Dumahians. Not the Kon Rians, I don't think. No Kon Rian maid would be running around in black silk, and they look far too different from the Hrishnans and Dumahians to pose as them."

  Asteria sighed. "Time to brush up on my Hrishnan and Dumahian, it seems. I'm rusty, no better time than now to practise, I suppose."

  Irina offered a smile. "You all know what to do, I suppose."

  Danna tapped the table beside her. "I'm familiar with some of the Dumahians. People I met in my while abroad, us foreigners in Melique had to stick together. I'll see what they know."

  "I feel like we're all forgetting about the elephant in the room." North scowled. "Irina, you can be honest with us. How's Justine?"

  Irina laughed. "And of course, North is the only one not carried away by the excitement of an investigation and is able to keep his head clear. Justine's fine. Her dose wasn't lethal. She's already awake, though she'll be needing some more rest. I'd suggest you all keep your concerns and well wishes to yourself until she's ready to receive guests."

  Breaths of relief were released all around the room. "Oh thank bloody god," Io muttered. "She's absolutely fine? You're certain?"

  "Absolutely and perfectly fine." Irina gave a small smile. "Don't you worry. The best way we can help her right now is by finding out who put the poison in the drink in the first place. Happy hunting, my friends."