Caellum glanced between the sobbing older woman and the visibly embarrassed younger woman in partial amusement.

  What kind of play was being acted out right now?

  The old woman was sobbing and checking his expression every few seconds, and the younger woman looked like she wished that a hole would open up in the ground and swallow her whole.

  It would have been amusing if his head wasn't throbbing in pain while his body ached.

  "You, your highness! Please save us!" the older woman shouted as she sobbed.

  "From?" Caellum asked lightly.

  "From the cruelty of the palace!"

  As the older woman began crawling toward him, still sobbing, Caellum felt as if he were in a horror movie and took several steps back.

  "First, stop the fake crying and screaming. Otherwise, I'll leave immediately." Caellum instructed.

  The older woman immediately dried her tears as if she had never shed them and stared at him with a professional expression, while the younger woman stared at the older woman with her mouth open as if she couldn't believe what was happening.

  Ignoring her, the older woman bowed politely before speaking in a much calmer voice, "Apologies, your highness. I just wanted to emphasize the urgency of the current situation and to offer myself to your service. I believe that we might be able to help each other."

  "Is that so? Then let's talk. I don't like noise, so keep that in mind."

  "Understood."

  Caellum stepped past the remnants of the smashed doorway and entered the room.

  Since the chair he used to smash the door was in pieces and the other looked quite rickety, he sat on the edge of the bed, crossed his legs, and stared at the two women curiously.

  He had briefly noticed it while in the kitchens, but they were clearly related.

  Both had a medium-brown skin tone, which seemed to be rare in the palace, which was full of people with paler skin, and a silver stripe along the front of their hair, like a birthmark.

  Both had caramel-brown eyes that were slightly slanted upward and braided hair tucked into a bun.

  Even though they were dressed in the simple clothes that kitchen servants wore, the younger woman's beauty couldn't be hidden, and the older woman retained a unique elegance and attractiveness that normally wouldn't be found in a kitchen worker.

  Naturally, Caellum was doubly suspicious, but the question was, why were they here?

  And why did they come now?

  Although he had a faint suspicion, Caellum wanted to hear their thoughts and reasoning.

  After watching them kneel once more in front of him, Caellum gestured to them.

  "I don't like wasting time, so speak plainly. What do you want?"

  "We want to work for you and become your people, 13th prince. You have a lot to offer, and so do we." The older woman announced as she raised her head to meet his eyes.

  Her eyes were confident and bold, as if she knew she had a winning hand that he wouldn't refuse.

  He quite liked that attitude.

  Not that he would let her know.

  "All of a sudden? Why?"

  "Because I don't want me or my daughter to be blamed and to die for something we didn't do, which is quite likely, when you look at that vindictive, green with envy, two-faced bitch of a queen's track record and how she is moving right now." The older woman spat out honestly, which made Caellum burst out laughing.

  It was the first time he heard someone insult the queen, and while he didn't usually insult women, he quite liked that description of her.

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  But it seemed like he was the only one, as the younger woman immediately smacked the older woman's arm while scolding her.

  "Baba! You can't talk about royalty like that."

  "Be quiet, Natalia! I am speaking to the prince and trying to save our lives!"

  Yaga, the old woman, shushed her daughter as she stared at the 13th prince.

  Even though he was quite young, young enough to be her grandchild, his eyes were some of the coldest eyes that she had seen, even when he laughed.

  And the bloodlust she had sensed in the kitchen was some of the worst she had experienced.

  Due to her line of work, she had seen and experienced quite a bit over the decades of her life, and the sliver of bloodlust that had leaked out of the prince was of someone who had killed people, many people, and would be willing to do it again with no remorse.

  It felt like death itself brushed by her, and it genuinely frightened her.

  The moment the 13th prince left the kitchen, she immediately stopped working and dragged her daughter to wait at the 13th prince's palace while she did some covert investigations.

  Her instincts told her that if she didn't get out, if she didn't make a move and stop choosing neutrality, she would be in danger.

  And it seemed that she was right.

  The queen was turned away while the 13th prince was comfortably welcomed to the king's study.

  The queen was scrambling to eliminate some of the kitchen workers and evidence, while the 13th prince had left the king's study and peacefully strolled back, playfully flipping the royal chit that could only be given by the king in the air as if it were a toy.

  If that wasn't a clear sign that things were changing and the previous power structure in the palace was being shaken up, Yaga felt that she deserved to be beheaded.

  And at the center of it was the 13th prince, who was laughing in a gentle manner that seemed warm and inviting, but whose cold purple eyes were glancing between her and her daughter as if weighing their worth.

  Yaga knew that this wasn't the previously cowardly 13th prince.

  If he found them lacking, he would discard them, which meant she would have to leave the imperial palace and go on the run again with her daughter.

  That was unacceptable.

  She needed to make a deal with the prince, and she planned to do it.

  "Ah, I haven't had a good laugh in a while, so thank you. However, insulting the queen before me won't win you any points. So explain yourself. How is the queen moving?" Caellum honestly wondered.

  Since he had no staff, no spies, and no way to know what happened after the queen had left the king's study, he was completely in the dark.

  "She's begun cleaning up her loose ends and calling her people from the kitchens to her palace. It's mainly being dealt with by her lady-in-waiting. Those called to her palace haven't come out yet. It's clear that trouble is brewing and that something big is going to happen on the king's end, while the queen is performing damage control. Heads are going to roll, and I don't want to be one of them. That's all the information I have for now, but I can get more if you need me to."

  "So you have eyes all the way in the king's study and the queen's palace? Spying on royalty is quite the crime. How bold of you." Caellum replied with a smile.

  He was partially impressed and partially skeptical. After all, she could be lying, and he wouldn't even know it.

  "I prefer the term, observant. And of course, I would never dare to directly spy on the king or queen. But I've eaten more salt than you have rice, so I can sense what way the wind is blowing." The old woman confidently said while staring intently at Caellum.

  "Eating more salt, eating less rice. Doesn't it all become shit at the end?" Caellum quipped back.

  The older woman blinked, then burst out laughing.

  "You're right, your highness! Whether it's rice or salt, it all becomes shit and gets pissed out in the end. Right now, things are turning into shit!"

  "Baba! Language!" the young woman griped at her mother's crudeness before shooting a chastising glance at the prince.

  She couldn't understand why her mother was acting this way, especially before the weak 13th prince, but the other two people ignored her.

  "So, before it goes to shit, please take us in 13th prince. We're useful and have come to throw our lot in with you. If you don't take us in, we have nowhere to go. You'll be leaving us to death."

  "So? Why me?"

  "You're the weakest and need manpower the most. And the other factions are full, or the price to join them is more than I'm willing to pay." The older woman replied honestly, watching Caellum's reaction.

  If he had a bad reaction, she would stop here, but if he didn't take it as an attack on himself…

  "That's accurate. So why me?" Caellum smiled calmly.

  Then it was workable.

  "Because it's clear you have potential. It's been a day since you reached adulthood, and the queen has already been hit so much that she's scrambling. I'm willing to bet early, to reap the rewards later."

  Plus, this was the best way for her and her daughter to remain in the royal palace.

  "So you're gambling on me. After being bystanders this whole time? You sound like an opportunist. How do I know you're not working for the queen? Sent by her to infiltrate my camp."

  "You don't. We may be bystanders, but we can swear on our lives that we haven't participated in harming you. And as for opportunist, I wouldn't say so. It's far more difficult to stay neutral than to pick a side, and I assure you, I haven't picked one."

  "I don't know you, so your assurances mean nothing," Caellum replied lightly.

  "Then, why don't we leave the past in the past and focus on nurturing a better relationship in the future?" the old woman said slyly. "Besides, we didn't come empty-handed. We came bearing gifts that not only show our sincerity, but that will be sure to make the queen quite upset during this extra difficult time."

  "Did you now?"

  "Yes, sir. And naturally, we'll hand them all over if you take us in."

  "What if I take the gifts and leave you to dry?"

  "Then we'll take the gifts back and run away. I have that much confidence in my skill." The old woman confidently replied as if it were common sense.

  Caellum stared at the audacious woman before laughing again.

  He really, really liked her style.

  "Interesting. I'll think about it. What are your names and your skillset?"