Chapter 26
After walking out of the illegal auction house, Michelle used her Shadow Spirit Steps to sneak into the Imperial Palace. She was already sure that David Elether was the person who was observing her at the harvest festival banquet and when she was dealing with the assassins, so she could be sure that he was someone from a higher ranked place, just like Alexander Terce. And that led her to think about why someone so powerful would come down into the Empire.
But the answer to that was something Michelle wouldn't be able to guess with her information, so she could just sneak into the Imperial Palace and go find the Eight Prince who lived in the Cold Palace, cast out from the rest of the Royal Family. No one knew why, but the Emperor hated the little boy since he was born and made him live there with his mother. After the little prince's mother died, he was left alone with just one maid to take care of him.
Michelle wandered around the Cold Palace for a good few hours until she found the Eight Prince. He was poorly dressed, his clothes dirty and torn, and he was clearly malnourished. Seeing the little boy like that, Michlle's heart burst with rage. One thing she hated the most was seeing small children being abused or neglected. The Eight Prince was nine years old, but being so malnourished, he looked to be six or seven.
He was sleeping, so he didn't notice Michelle as she slipped into his room, if it could be called a room, and tied her hair into a high ponytail, a hairstyle only men used to wear in the Empire. She put on the disguise mask, but only let it change her face to look a bit more manly. She was already wearing a set of men's clothes, so, at the moment, she looked like a young scholar. She leaned against the wall and waited for the young prince to wake up.
Before the prince woke up, Snow and Mare did and got out of Michelle's sleeves. Mare let her body shift into a bit bigger shape before wrapping herself around Michelle's waist, and Snow shifted size so she was the size of a wolf and sat down next to Michelle.
With two beasts like that with her, Michelle no longer looked like a young scholar but more like a dangerous immortal.
After a while, the Eight Prince woke up and his eyes widened when he saw Michelle looking at him, with Mare around her waist and Snow next to her. He was scared. "W-who are you?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Michelle pushed herself off the wall and petted Snow a bit. "Your Highness, do you love your late mother?" she asked calmly.
"Yes..." the young prince nodded.
Michelle walked towards him. "And do you love the Emperor?" she continued asking.
To that, the Eight Prince shook his head. "Royal father was always harsh on mother. And he didn't visit her when she was sick." The Eight Prince was clearly angry.