"Mali, if I stay in this palace one more minute, I'm going to start biting the furniture."
It had been three days since the Emerald Gala. Three days of "Lady Kanya" etiquette lessons, three days of eating dainty bird-sized portions, and three days of Prince Phurin sending me "concerned" letters that were basically just him asking if I'd finally lost my mind.
I needed out. I needed street food. I needed a boat noodle bowl so spicy it would make me see the afterlife again.
"But My Lady! The General's guards are everywhere!" Mali squeaked, helping me wrap a plain cotton scarf around my head. "If you're caught in the commoner markets wearing... that..."
"I look like a peasant, Mali. That's the point." I checked the mirror. I'd ditched the silk for a simple linen wrap and tucked my hair under a straw hat. I looked less like a villainess and more like a girl who sells mangoes by the river. "Stay here. If anyone knocks, tell them I'm having a 'meditative silent retreat.' Or a nap. Actually, definitely say a nap."
I climbed out the window, shimmying down a trellis of jasmine vines like a pro. (Being a gamer gives you weirdly good spatial awareness, okay?)
I made it past the first gate. I dodged the royal elephant stables. I was ten feet from the secret garden exit when a voice like low-frequency thunder stopped me cold.
"The 'meditative retreat' looks suspiciously like a prison break, Lady Kanya."
I froze. Slowly, I turned around.
Standing under a Bodhi tree was General Teerut. He wasn't in his ceremonial armor today—just a simple black tunic that did unholy things to his biceps. He was leaning against the trunk, arms crossed, looking at me like I was a particularly confusing map.
> Character: General Teerut
> Affection Level: -40 (Suspicious but... entertained?)
> Current Mood: "I knew you were up to something."
>
"Oh! General! Fancy meeting you here," I said, putting on my best 'I'm totally innocent' face. "I was just... checking the structural integrity of this wall. Very sturdy. Good job."
Teerut walked toward me, his heavy boots crunching on the gravel. He stopped way too close. He was so tall I had to tilt my head back until my neck cracked.
"In a peasant's disguise? With a sack of stolen palace gold?" He reached out and flicked my straw hat. "You're a terrible liar."
"Fine! I'm going to the market!" I snapped, dropping the act. "I want real food. I want to see people who don't bow every time I sneeze. And I want a skewer of grilled pork that costs five baht, not a 'deconstructed hibiscus foam' that costs a small village's taxes!"
Teerut stared at me. For a second, I thought he was going to haul me back to my room by my collar.
Instead, he let out a huff that might have been a laugh if he wasn't so allergic to smiling.
"The markets are dangerous for a girl like you," he grumbled. He reached into his belt and pulled out a plain cloak. "If you get kidnapped, Phurin will have my head. And I like my head."
"So... you're letting me go?" I asked, hopeful.
"I'm coming with you," he said, throwing the cloak over his shoulders. "And if you tell anyone I'm doing this, I'll tell the King you tried to elope with a stable boy."
"Deal!" I cheered, grabbing his massive arm and tugging him toward the gate. "Come on, Big Guy! First stop: The floating market. My treat!"
Teerut looked down at my hand on his arm, his ears turning a very interesting shade of pink.
> Affection Level: -32 (Wait, why is she touching me?)
> System Notification: Event Triggered: 'The General's Day Off'. Survival chances increased by 5%. Heart-throb chances increased by 50%!
>
We made it to the riverfront, and honestly? It was beautiful. The smells of lemongrass, grilled fish, and sweet coconut milk were everywhere. I was in heaven. I bought two skewers of Moo Ping and shoved one at Teerut.
"Eat it," I commanded. "It's better for your soul than that bland palace porridge."
He took a bite, his eyes widening. "It's... acceptable."
"It's life-changing, admit it!" I laughed.
We wandered for an hour. For the first time since the truck hit me, I felt like a person again, not just a character in a script. I was telling Teerut about a 'dream' I had (which was actually just the plot of a movie I saw back in Bangkok) when I saw her.
Lali.
She was standing by a silk stall, but she wasn't alone. She was talking to a man in a dark hood—someone who definitely didn't look like a 'nice village boy.' She handed him a small, glowing vial and whispered something that made the man grin nastily.
My gamer brain went into overdrive. That's the 'Purple Lotus' poison. The one used to frame Kanya in Chapter 15!
"Teerut, look," I whispered, pulling him behind a stack of wicker baskets.
"What? It's just the girl from the gala," Teerut said, reaching for his sword hilt.
"No, look at what she's holding," I hissed. "She's not the 'sweet flower' everyone thinks she is. She's—"
Before I could finish, a familiar, playful voice echoed from the canal.
"Oh! Is this a double date? How scandalous! Why wasn't I invited?"
I turned. Sitting in a small wooden boat, looking incredibly stylish for someone in a rowboat, was Prince Kovit. He was waving at us like a maniac.
And Lali? She'd heard him. She turned, saw us, and her 'innocent' mask slammed back into place instantly—but not before I saw the pure, unadulterated rage in her eyes.
Lali's face did a 180-degree flip so fast I almost got whiplash. The scary, "I'll-bury-you" glare vanished, replaced by that watery-eyed, "Oh no, I'm just a tiny flower" look. She tucked the purple vial into her sleeve faster than a magician.
"Prince Kovit! General Teerut!" she gasped, her voice trembling like a leaf in a monsoon. "And... Kanya? What are you doing in such... humble clothes?"
I looked down at my cotton wrap, then back at her silk. "I'm practicing for my future as a peasant, Lali. It's called 'foreshadowing.' You should try it."
Teerut's hand was still on his sword, his eyes darting between Lali and the hooded man who was now melting into the crowd like a literal shadow. "Lady Lali, who was that man? He looked like a member of the Underground Alchemists."
Lali's bottom lip quivered. "A... a man? Oh! You mean the poor herbalist? I was just buying medicine for my sick grandmother. She has... the coughs. Many coughs."
Grandmother? Girl, your backstory says you're an orphan. Get your lies straight!
"How noble!" Kovit chirped, steering his boat toward the wooden pier with the grace of someone who's never done a day's work in his life. He hopped out, his gold anklets jingling. "But enough about grandmothers and coughs. The sun is setting, the river is cool, and I have a boat full of spicy fermented fish and expensive tea. Get in, everyone!"
"I should get back to the barracks," Teerut grumbled, but Kovit just looped an arm through the General's massive elbow.
"Nonsense, Big Brother Teerut! You've been working too hard. Besides," Kovit leaned in, his eyes sparking with pure mischief as he looked at me, "I want to hear more about Kanya's 'retirement.' It sounds hilarious."
Ten minutes later, I was stuck on a narrow wooden boat, sandwiched between a brooding General who took up 70% of the seating space and a Prince who wouldn't stop poking my shoulder. Lali sat across from us, clutching her silk bag like it contained the crown jewels—which, honestly, it might have.
> Current Situation: The Awkward River Cruise
> Danger Level: High (Mostly from Lali's hidden poison)
> Vibe: 0/10. I just wanted my noodles.
>
"So, Kanya," Kovit said, reclining against a silk pillow. "You told Phurin he could have Lali. Does that mean the engagement is off? Because if so, I have a list of suitors who would pay a lot of gold just to see you stop throwing tantrums at parties."
"I'm a free agent, Kovit," I said, grabbing a piece of dried squid from the snack tray. "The engagement is a 'no' from me. I'm thinking of moving to the mountains. Maybe becoming a nun. Or a professional professional taster."
Lali let out a tiny, high-pitched giggle. "Kanya, you're so funny! But we all know you love Phurin. You even tried to hex me last month because he gave me a jasmine garland, remember?"
Teerut stiffened. "She tried to hex you?"
I rolled my eyes. "That was the old Kanya. This Kanya wouldn't waste high-quality magic on a jasmine garland. I have standards now."
I looked at Lali's bag. I had to get that vial. If she planted it in my room later, I'd be executed before I could even say 'spoiler alert.'
"Oh! Is that a new silk pattern, Lali?" I asked, lunging forward with fake excitement. "It's so pretty! Let me see!"
"No! Stay away!" Lali shrieked, pulling the bag back.
But I was faster. I 'tripped' (a classic villainess move, honestly) and tumbled right into her lap. My hand dived into her bag, my fingers brushing against cold glass.
Got it!
"Oops! My bad! The boat rocked!" I scrambled back, the purple vial tucked securely into my own waistband.
Lali scrambled to check her bag, her face turning pale as she realized it was gone. She looked at me, her eyes screaming murder, but she couldn't say anything without admitting she had poison in the first place.
Suddenly, the boat hit a heavy ripple. I looked up. On the bridge above us stood a tall, slender figure in white robes.
> Character: Prince Niran
> Current Mood: "I see everything."
>
Niran wasn't looking at the sunset. He was looking directly at me—or rather, at my waistband where the purple glow was faintly visible through the cotton. He adjusted his glasses, a small, knowing smirk playing on his lips.
"It seems," Niran called out from the bridge, his voice echoing over the water, "that the 'retiree' is busier than she lets on. Kanya, do bring that 'medicine' to the library later. I'd love to... analyze the ingredients."
Lali looked like she was about to faint. Teerut looked suspicious. Kovit looked delighted.
And me? I just sighed.
"Can we just get the noodles first? I'm literally starving.!