I stood in the center of the cold cell, staring at the laundry chute. The "Damsel in Distress" trope was tempting, but I had spent a month building squire-level callouses for a reason. If I waited for Kaelen to scale the walls, I'd just be proving Cassian right—that I was a prize to be protected, not a person to be respected.
"Rescue is for side characters," I whispered to the empty room. "I'm the one with the plot armor."
The Search for the Hidden PathI started with the walls. Every "High Treason" tower worth its salt had a hidden passage for secret executions or royal escapes. I pressed every protruding stone, pulled at the iron candle sconces, and even tried to pry up the floorboards under the hard cot.
Nothing moved. The stone was as stubborn as the Prince's ego. My knuckles were raw and my muscles were beginning to throb, but the frustration only fueled me. I circled the room again, my eyes narrowing as I stopped in front of the laundry chute.
It was a dark, vertical tunnel lined with smooth, enchanted wood to prevent snags. It was designed for heavy bags of linens, not for a five-foot-four noblewoman with a stubborn streak.
The Leap of Faith"If I get stuck, it's going to be a very embarrassing way to end this novel," I muttered, peering into the abyss. "The 'Ethereal Feather' found dead in a pile of dirty tablecloths. The headlines would be brutal."
But I remembered Kaelen's words: Don't look at where you want to hit; look at where I'm open. The chute was open. It was the only exit that didn't involve a key I didn't have.
I checked the belt of my modified gown, ensuring the dagger The Thorn was tucked tight. I didn't have my training pants, but I had ripped the inner lining of my skirt earlier to give my legs more room. I took a deep breath, smelling the faint, lingering scent of the sedative-laced broth I'd refused to drink.
Come on, Liliana. Since when do female leads die in the first act?
I climbed onto the ledge, tucked my arms tightly against my chest, and let gravity take over.
The DescentThe slide was faster than I expected. The wood was cold and slick, and the wind whistled past my ears as I picked up terrifying speed. I used my elbows and knees to friction-brake against the sides, a move I'm pretty sure Kaelen would have called "reckless but effective."
I plummeted through the darkness for what felt like miles, the smell of damp stone being replaced by the scent of woodsmoke and... yeast?
THUMP.
I hit a mountain of soft, heavy fabric with enough force to knock the wind out of me. I lay there for a second, staring up at a dimly lit ceiling, covered in what smelled like the Crown Prince's silk bedsheets.
"Well," a low, familiar voice vibrated through the room. "That was certainly less graceful than a laundry bag."
I pushed a pillowcase off my face to see Kaelen standing over the bin, a lantern in one hand and a look of genuine, stunned disbelief in his eyes. Behind him, the laundry room was empty, the second bell still echoing in the distance.
"You... you jumped," he said, his voice unusually quiet.
"I didn't want to wait for the 'Breakout' to happen to me," I panted, climbing out of the bin and shaking out my hair. I stood tall, despite the fact that I was covered in lint. "I told you, Kaelen. I'm not a flower. And I'm definitely not waiting for a knight in shining armor when I can just use the laundry chute."
Kaelen looked at me—really looked at me—and for the first time, he didn't smirk. He gave a slow, respectful nod. "Squire level, indeed. Maybe even knight-aspirant."
I looked like a mess—my hair was a bird's nest of lint and my dress was torn—but I had never felt more like a protagon
"Kaelen," I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "I'm not going to your estate. And I'm certainly not hiding in a hayloft."
Kaelen adjusted his grip on the lantern, the light catching the sharp angle of his jaw. "Then what is the plan, Liliana? Every guard in the Aethelgard wing is going to be looking for a 'missing' lily within the hour."
"I'm going to the Sun Palace," I stated. "I'm going to see the Emperor."
The silence that followed was heavy. Kaelen stared at me, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. In the hierarchy of this world, the Emperor was a god-like figure who rarely dealt with "fragile" noble girls, let alone ones who smelled like dirty laundry and rebellion.
"The Emperor?" Kaelen repeated, his voice skeptical. "The man who hasn't smiled since the Great War? He'll have you thrown back into the tower before you finish your first bow. What could you possibly have to offer a man who owns the kingdom? To make a deal to break a royal engagement, you need a wager. You need leverage. What do you have, Liliana?"
"Absolutely nothing," Liliana replied , but it always works out because im the female lead and female lead's always defies logic. "Now, help me get this lint off my dress. I can't negotiate with the most powerful man in the world looking like I fell out of a closet.