Chapter 76: Chapter-76

Five hundred gold for assassination intelligence. Two hundred monthly for ongoing reports. Expensive, but necessary.

And the Merchant’s advice was sound. She couldn’t wait for threats to develop fully. She needed to identify and neutralize them while they were still forming.

Faster. More aggressive. Less reactive.

She could do that.

Back in her office, Elara added a new line to her budget: *Intelligence Operations – 200 gold monthly.*

Then she added another note: *Assassination source – results in 2 weeks.*

Two weeks to know who wanted her dead.

Then she’d decide what to do about it.

The chair wobbled. She adjusted automatically and kept writing, mind already three steps ahead, planning for variables she didn’t even know existed yet.

Because that’s what you did when you couldn’t afford to be surprised.

You bought the information before surprise was possible.

.

.

TEN DAYS LATER.

Elara was reviewing the final inventory counts for the supermarket opening when someone knocked on her office door.

“Enter.”

One of the beast knights stepped inside—not the fox-eared one, but a younger man with wolf characteristics. He bowed. “Your Highness. There’s a messenger here. Says he’s from the Gilded Rose.”

Earlier than expected. The Merchant had said two weeks. It had only been ten days.

“Send him in.”

The messenger was a thin man in nondescript clothing, the kind of person you’d forget the moment they left the room. He carried a leather satchel and moved with quiet efficiency.

He bowed. “Your Highness. I have a delivery from the Merchant.” He set the satchel on her desk and stepped back.

Elara opened it. Inside was a thick folder, sealed with wax, and a separate note on top.

She read the note first:

*Found it faster than expected. The trail was messier than usual—your enemies got sloppy.*

First payment due upon confirmation. Second payment due as agreed.

*—M*

She broke the seal on the folder and began reading.

The first page was a summary. Clean, organized, professionally presented:

ASSASSINATION FUNDING ANALYSIS

Target: Princess Elara Blackwood (Fourth Princess)

Period: Last 6 weeks

Total Attempts: 7

Total Funds Traced: 2,340 gold

Seven attempts. She’d only been aware of five. Two had failed so early her guards hadn’t bothered mentioning them.

She continued reading.

PRIMARY FUNDERS:

Baron Aldric Kessler – 800 gold

– Motivation: Economic (rental property revenues threatened by supermarket)

– Payment method: Direct transfer through merchant intermediary

– Assassins hired: 3 separate contracts, 2 failed, 1 partially successful (wounded guard)

Viscount Helena Marrs – 640 gold

– Motivation: Political (aligned with Second Princess faction, views Fourth Princess’s independence as destabilizing)

– Payment method: Laundered through textile guild donations

– Assassins hired: 2 contracts, both failed

Merchant Lord Carver – 900 gold

– Motivation: Economic (owns majority stake in Port Crestfall’s existing market district)

– Payment method: Cash payments, no paper trail beyond initial withdrawal

– Assassins hired: 2 contracts, 1 failed, 1 ongoing (assassins still active, expected attempt within 5 days)

Elara read the names twice, committing them to memory.

Kessler she’d expected. Marrs was new information—aligned with Sera, the Second Princess. That meant palace politics had reached Port Crestfall faster than she’d calculated.

But Carver was the real problem. Nine hundred gold. That was serious money, and “ongoing contract” meant assassins were already in position.

She flipped to the next page: detailed payment chains, dates, intermediaries. The Merchant’s people had traced every transaction back to source.

Then she reached the final page and stopped.

CAPITAL CONNECTION:

Secondary funding traced to Imperial Treasury intermediary

Amount: 1,200 gold (separate from local contracts)

Source: Unable to confirm, but payment authorization bears Third Princess’s administrative seal

Note: This funding appears to be for separate, more professional operation. No attempts yet, but preparations observed.

Third Princess. Yue Mingzhu.

The quiet one. The deadly one.

Elara set down the papers and leaned back in her chair.

So the local nobles—Kessler, Marrs, Carver—were amateurs. Angry, threatened, throwing money at a problem. Their assassins were second-rate, easily stopped.

But her sister was funding something else. Something that hadn’t moved yet.

Professional. Patient. Waiting for the right moment.

She picked up the note from the Merchant and found a second page beneath it:

The capital operation is sophisticated. Watching you, learning your patterns, waiting for vulnerability. I’d estimate two more weeks before they move—they want certainty, not luck.

Recommendation: Change your routines. Increase security. Or deal with the local threats first and use the attention to mask preparations against the real danger.

Your call.

*—M*

Elara read it twice, then set it down and stared at the ceiling.

Three local nobles trying to kill her immediately. One sister planning something worse for later.

Multiple fronts. Limited time. Finite resources.

She needed to prioritize.

The local threats were noisy but manageable. Her guards could handle amateur assassins indefinitely. But they created chaos, drew attention, made her look vulnerable.

The capital threat was quiet but lethal. When it came, it would be precise, professional, possibly unstoppable.

She couldn’t fight both at once.

So she’d eliminate the local threats first. Quickly. Publicly. Make an example that would discourage others while also establishing that she wasn’t an easy target.

Then she’d deal with her sister’s operation.

Elara pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and began writing three names:

*Baron Aldric Kessler*

*Viscount Helena Marrs*

*Merchant Lord Carver*

Next to each name, she wrote a single word:

*Destroy.*

Not kill. Not threaten. Destroy.

She’d take away everything they valued—reputation, money, influence—and do it in a way that made it clear what happened when you tried to kill the Fourth Princess.

The chair wobbled beneath her. She barely noticed.

Outside, construction noise continued. The supermarket was almost ready. Two more days until opening.

Perfect timing.

She’d deal with Kessler first. He was the easiest target and the most visible. Taking him down would send a message to the other two.

Elara pulled out another piece of paper and began drafting a letter to the city magistrate. Formal. Precise. Backed with evidence from the Merchant’s folder.

By the time she finished, Baron Kessler’s life was about to become very complicated.

And she hadn’t even raised her voice.

.

.

# Grand Opening Day

The Central Market opened at dawn.

Elara had expected crowds. She’d calculated based on population density, market saturation, and the success of the drink distribution. Her projections suggested three to four hundred customers on the first day.

By the time the sun cleared the horizon, there were over a thousand people in the street outside.

She stood on the second floor, looking down at the mass of humanity pressing toward the entrance, and recalculated rapidly.

“Lisa,” she said, not turning around. “Double the door guards. Limit entry to fifty people at a time. When fifty leave, fifty more can enter.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Lisa hurried off.

Dimitri appeared at her elbow, looking pale. “Your Highness, this is far beyond—”

“I see it.” Elara watched the crowd. They weren’t violent, just numerous. Excited. Curious. “Are the vendors ready?”

“Most of them. A few are panicking about running out of stock—”

“Tell them to sell what they have. When it’s gone, it’s gone. Creates urgency for tomorrow.” She turned from the window. “Kitchen staff?”

“Overwhelmed but functional. The head cook says they can handle maybe two hundred meals before they need to restock.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep