Atropa Belladonna

~~~一~~~

"Mother, we both know that isn't true," the female in purple retorted as she played with her sleeves, "At least I can remember the birthdays of my siblings."

The playful banter between mother and daughter continued on until they heard the familiar cry of a male servant that was not their own.

"Crown Prince has arrived!" came the decree, earning a groan from both of the females as the doors to the hall opened.

"He had to bring that damned eunuch with him," muttered the older woman as she brought her hands up to massage her temples.

"The Empress probably forced him to come along," her husband chuckled as the male in white entered the hall and they stood to give their salutes.

"Greetings, Crown Prince Zhang," the three greeted in unison before the young man bowed to each of them in return.

"Greetings, Clan Leader Bai, Madam Bai, and Young Lady Bai," he spoke before everyone straightened up and took their seats with the prince left standing before them.

"Your Highness, there is a place set for you," Bai Wang spoke as he gestured to the table set up in front of his daughter's, "Please have a seat."

"Yes, but first, Young Lady Bai," the male in white called, causing the woman to perk up at the sound of her name, "I'm here to give something to you."

She let out a small hum, standing up to receive a small box made of a glossy red wood before opening it to reveal a metal cloud pendant painted with a blue laquer sitting in the center of a black velvet cushion.

"Your Highness... This is an Imperial Crest... only members of the Imperial Family should have this," the ravenette stated with her honey-golden irises blown wide in surprise as she watched her fiancé take his seat with a straight face, "and we're not married yet..."

"Mother Empress thought to give it to you ahead of time," he replied as his chocolate-toned eyes focused on the frozen female, "She's been trying to since our engagement was first made public."

She desperately wanted to ask why, but held her tongue, slowly sitting back down and turning her gaze back to the pendant as the prince said, "Keep it with you at all times. Don't lose it."

The woman gave a small nod before she tucked the entire box into her sleeve, telling herself that she would find a proper chain for it after the meeting.

A few moments passed before various servants came in to deliver everyone's midday meal before leaving them to eat with no words spoken.

After knowing the young man for so long, the three assassins knew that he wouldn't actively take part in their conversations unless necessary, but was always listening in, so they just talked as they usually would during their rare meals together as a family.

They were known all throughout the country for being rich and refined, but the clan was still just a clan of assassins, they were not considered to be of noble standing, so they acted much more freely compared to other households, but this was also dangerous for them.

A shared trait shared by everyone in the clan was their use of blunt honesty with varying degrees of use from individual to individual.

Many of the clan members still acted according to general social rules, but there were times where the most lethal weapon they had were their tongues.

The same was definitely true for the clan leader's daughter who was usually perceived to be quite innocent compared to the rest of her clan, but those who truly knew her could say otherwise.

While she was innocent in some aspects, those in her clan knew that the woman found joy in using her words to toy with her enemies and targets just to see them get frustrated before she ultimately claimed her win.