Reborn To Change My Fate-Chapter 195 - Hundred And Ninety Five

FLASHBACK TO THE DAY OF THE MARKET SCENE...

The market square was quieting down as the sun dipped lower, the frantic energy of the day settling into a dull, tired hum. The stall owners were packing away their wares, counting their coins, and gossiping about the strange scene they had witnessed—the noblewoman, the blind priestess and a prophecy.

In a quiet, shadowed alcove behind a spice merchant’s tent, Marissa stood waiting. She tried as much as possible not to look like a Grand Duchess in silk and jewels. She was dressed simply, her face hidden by the brim of a wide hat. She watched the street with the patience of a spider sitting in its web.

A woman approached. She was walking briskly, her step light. She had shed the heavy, grey robes of the "priestess." She wore a plain, colorful dress, her hair tied back in a cheerful scarf. She carried a wooden staff, but she no longer leaned on it like an old crone. She swung it like a walking stick.

She reached the alcove and stopped. She looked around, ensuring no one was watching, then bowed her head slightly to Marissa.

"It is done, Madam," the actress said. Her voice was clear and bright, nothing like the raspy, ancient croak she had used on Ashlyn.

She smiled, a professional satisfied with a job well done. "As Madam instructed, the message has been delivered. I spoke those words exactly to that woman. I told her about the star. I told her about the banquet."

Marissa nodded slowly. "Mmm," she hummed, a sound of quiet approval.

She looked at the actress. The woman was talented. She had played the part of the mystic perfectly, feeding Ashlyn exactly the kind of mystical nonsense she was so desperate to believe.

"Did she suspect anything?" Marissa asked.

The actress shook her head. "Not for a moment. She was hungry for it. She drank up every word like it was sweet wine. When I told her about the ’bad energy,’ her eyes lit up. She knew exactly who she wanted to blame. And when I mentioned the banquet... she looked like she had just been handed a crown."

Marissa smiled. It was a cold, satisfied smile.

"Good," Marissa said.

She signaled to Lily, who was standing guard at the edge of the alcove. Lily stepped forward, holding a heavy leather pouch. The coins inside clinked softly.

Lily handed the pouch to the actress.

"The remaining payment," Lily said.

The actress took it. She weighed it in her hand, her eyebrows rising. It was generous. She opened the drawstring and peeked inside, the gold glinting in the fading light. She smiled, a genuine, happy smile.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Madam," the actress said. She tucked the pouch into her bodice. "If you ever need a fortune told, or a ghost summoned... you know where to find me."

She winked, then turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd, just another face in the city.

Lily watched her go, then turned back to Marissa. Her face was furrowed with confusion.

"Your Grace," Lily whispered, her voice low. "Why did you do that?"

Marissa raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Why did you hire someone to trick the Second Lady into hosting a banquet?" Lily asked. "You gave her hope. You gave her a reason to celebrate. You gave her another chance to show off, to invite the whole city to see her wealth."

Lily shook her head, frustrated.

"If the banquet is a success," Lily worried, "won’t it just make her stronger? Won’t it make Carlos look powerful? Why give your enemy a stage?"

Marissa looked at her loyal maid. She saw the concern. Lily was protective, but she didn’t see the long game.

Marissa smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. It was the smile of a general watching an enemy army march into a trap.

"She believes Carlos would pass," Marissa explained softly. "She believes the prophecy is real. She believes that throwing a party will magically make him a commander. She wants to flaunt it. She wants to rub her victory in my face before it even happens."

Marissa turned her gaze toward the street, where Ashlyn’s carriage was just pulling away. She could see Ashlyn’s profile in the window, her head held high, looking arrogant and assured.

"But Carlos is an idiot," Marissa stated flatly. "He is a useless man. He doesn’t know strategy. He doesn’t know leadership. He thinks war is a game of chance."

Marissa tapped her fan against her palm.

"I have the receipts," she said. "All of them. I have the records of the gifts Ashlyn bought here in the market—the wine for the captains, the silk for the lieutenants. I know exactly who Carlos is bribing."

She looked at Lily, her eyes gleaming with intelligence.

"And later," Marissa promised, "I will get the one thing that will seal his fate. I will get the letter he wrote to the Minister of War. The one where he offers gold for an audience."

Lily’s eyes widened. She began to understand.

"When the time comes," Marissa said, "when he is standing in front of the generals, trying to lie his way into power... you will deliver those receipts to the Royal Barracks. You will give them to General Rogers."

Lily nodded slowly, a smile spreading across her face. "I will."

Marissa looked back at the retreating carriage. It turned a corner and vanished, carrying Ashlyn toward her doom.

"Ashlyn wants a spectacle," Marissa said. "She wants everyone to look at her. She wants the whole city to witness her rise."

Marissa opened her fan.

"So," she whispered, "I helped her. I spread the word far and wide. I gave her a priestess to validate her delusion. I gave her a stage."

She snapped the fan shut.

"Because the higher they climb," Marissa said, her voice cold and final, "the harder they fall. And when she falls, Lily... everyone will be watching."

FLASHBACK ENDS...