The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 111

#111 The Minstrel in Gold
Both sisters almost stopped breathing. A drop of cold sweat ran down Cassandra’s spine. She had been hoping to find the Emperor and his Gold Dragon, but this was definitely not Glahad. Where was this white one coming from! The sisters hadn’t even heard anything until then. Missandra didn’t dare move either, but she sent a glance . towards her sister. No words were exchanged, but her expression was clear. Which Dragon was that?
Cassandra tried hard to remember. She couldn’t remember if the white Dragon was the fourth or the fifth Prince’s, she had only seen it once! She couldn’t even see its size, as only a little portion of his head was stuck against the window. The only thing that was a little bit reassuring was that he didn’t seem to be unhappy at all. The white creature wasn’t growling, and his eye just seemed… curious. Was he simply observing them? Either way, if he was there, his master definitely knew where they were. She didn’t want to wait to see which Prince was about to show up!
“Let’s go back,” she whispered.
Missandra nodded slightly, but neither of them could take their eyes off the gigantic beast staring at them. Both sisters started stepping back, very carefully. The big blue eye was following thier every move. They hesitated. They definitely couldn’t go back the way they came in, not with that one climbing on the tower as well. It would put them one arm away from the Dragon, and his maw was definitely longer than that. Moreover, they had already struggled to come in, Cassandra wasn’t sure she would have the strength to go back the same way without making a mistake this time..
The main entrance, then? It didn’t solve the problem of the guards on the other side. The Dragon or the Prince could warn them at any time. Cassandra was trying to gauge their options quickly, but no good idea came to mind, and Missandra was terribly quiet too.
“What the hell are you doing here, you two idiots!”
Cassandra sighed internally. It was too late…
Both sisters turned around, to find the fourth Prince standing there.
Opheus was very much like his brothers. Tall, with long black hair and fine musculature under his open shirt. His only marking trait was his strikingly blue eyes, both delicately circled by a trait of black ink. He was probably the most handsome of all the Imperial brothers, but he was making a sour face at the moment, his arms crossed. The long gold earring at his left ear kept dangling as he shook his head.
“Sorry, Your Highness,” said Cassandra, bowing instinctively. “We will leave and…”
“Oh, don’t you dare act like that! I recognized you, white witch!” Retorted Opheus.
Cassandra went white under her makeup. She had the feeble hope that he wouldn’t recognize her, as she couldn’t recognize him either, until two seconds ago. It seemed impossible to pretend to be two clueless maids now…
The Prince let out a dramatic sigh.
“You are all driving me nuts here! Darling, I have a good memory for faces, and even if you were as skinny and bleached as a skeleton back then, I still vividly remember the unfashionable slave girl Kairen went nuts about! Lephys may have hundred of his little whores, I don’t care. But the one lady that proved my older brother wasn’t just a monk with a sword, despite his questionable tastes, that one I remember!”
Cassandra was utterly speechless. She hadn’t expected the Prince to have such a… colorful personality. Until then, he had only been described as someone with a lazy and easily bored personality. It was apparently more about his attitude. At least, it didn’t seem like he had given any alert yet.
Unsure of what to say, Cassandra glanced Missandra’s way. However, to her surprise, Missandra was nervously chuckling, looking like she was focused on the fourth Prince’s face. He noticed it, too, and clicked his tongue, pouting his lips.
“You can stop staring like that, darling, we are not playing on the same level.”
“I know you,” suddenly said Missandra with a snicker. “You’re the Minstrel in Gold!”
“Oh,” said Opheus, raising an eyebrow.
Cassandra was completely lost. What was her younger sister talking about? The Prince himself didn’t seem very surprised, but his expression had completely changed after Missandra had said that. Cassandra turned to her, trying to understand what the hell she was talking about.
“Linue?” She called her.
“This Prince was a regular in the Red District!” Exclaimed Missandra. “He was only known as the Minstrel in Gold, because his name was unknown and he always came dressed with lots of gold jewelry, and would always write stupid poems to his lovers.”
“Stupid poems? Watch your mouth, you little bitch! I’m a lyricist, and everyone always said I have a lot of talent!”
“Yeah, let me guess your Highness, the same people to whom you generously gave your gold whenever they said that?” Retorted Missandra with a snicker.
“Wait, ” said Cassandra. “You know him from the Red District?”
“Well, not all the workers are female,” explained Missandra with a shrug.
“Oh…”
Cassandra hadn’t thought of that. It did make sense though… The fourth Prince probably wasn’t given the kind of entertainment he wanted in the Imperial Palace. She clearly remembered his siblings talking about his lack of interest for his concubines, despite his mother’s desperate attempts to have him give birth to heir… Well, now that explained a lot.
Cassandra gave a little glance, but the Dragon outside was still there, patiently watching. So they weren’t in danger with him, so far? Opheus flipped his hair over his shoulder.
“I was wondering what my darling had found here, but it turns out it’s just you two. You are quite stupid for coming back there, though. Do you have any idea of what Vrehan wants to do to you? That psycho seriously went crazy this time.”
“What about you?” Asked Missandra. “You don’t look like you’re about to report us.”
“Oh, please, do you think I care about my brothers’ stupid game?”
“This isn’t just a game,” retorted Cassandra, almost shocked. “They are killing each other! Prince Sephir died!”
Opheus rolled his eyes over.
“He was unfortunate to have been born first, yes. But me? I’m the one no one gives two cents about, and honestly, I’m quite content with that.”
Cassandra understood that he was the one that no one could see as a threat, but that didn’t mean his brother’s crimes weren’t any less horrible! His own older brother had been murdered only a few days ago, he couldn’t be that insensitive as to not care at all!
However, he did look like he didn’t care. Opheus put a hand on his hip, gauging the two of them.
“I honestly don’t give a damn about reporting you, I don’t even care enough to yell,” he said. “However, I am curious about why the hell do I find Kairen’s favorite and her sister into my Father’s chambers.”
“We hoped to save the Emperor,” explained Cassandra. “I know he is sick, I want to see him.”
“We can heal him,” added her younger sister. “If you tell us where the old man is, we can…”
Opheus scoffed, interrupting her, and pointed at Missandra with his long nail.
“First, no offense darling but I wouldn’t even entrust you with a spoon.”
Missandra looked offended by his words, but the Fourth Prince ignored her, turning to Cassandra instead.
“Secondly, why do you two care about what happens to my father? Shouldn’t you be somewhere taking care of your brat you were pregnant with and waiting for your man to pop Vrehan’s dead off? Because honestly, I know I am.”
Cassandra was a bit surprised to hear that.
“You don’t like Vrehan…? You support Kairen?”
Opheus dramatically rolled his eyes once again.
“You may be a physician or whatever but you’re quite slow, darling, aren’t you? Vrehan is a freaking sicko, his sister Phetra is the Empress of bitches, and trust me, I know more than they all think I do. Compared to him, Kairen is at least not bouncing around about murdering our family members and becoming Emperor.”
“So you can help us?” Asked Cassandra, her hopes getting up again. “You can tell us where the Emperor actually is?”
“Why would I? I told you, I’m fine as long as neither of them thinks I’m against them. Why would I give you two any help? I am already quite generous in not giving you little rats away to the guards, I hope you’re taking notes about that.”
Cassandra’s hopes melted immediately. So he wasn’t going to help them at all? Were the sisters condemned already? There was no way they were going to be able to walk out of here, not while the two guards were still standing guard outside these apartments! Moreover, they couldn’t stay hidden here forever either!
Next to her, Missandra took a deep breath and crossed her arms, looking surprisingly quite confident.
“Well, it’s a bit too late for that, isn’t it? You’re already an accomplice.”
“What?”
“You have seen us. As you said, you didn’t denounce us right away and you have no intention to. So, that means you’re on our side.”
Opheus frowned, looking a bit confused.
“Didn’t you listen to anything I just said, you little pest? I am not on anyone’s side! Unless I go walk around naked into the throne’s room, I won’t be considered a target by Vrehan either! I am the invisible Prince and I like that!”
“Oh, but you have seen us already. So now, you’re technically hiding our existence to the Second Prince. If we get caught and say you had actually found us, it will be bad for you, isn’t it? You won’t be so invisible anymore…”
Cassandra couldn’t understand. What was Missandra thinking by provoking him like that! Despite her doubts, she remained quiet to let her younger sister talk. After those few weeks together, Cassandra knew that Missandra was better than her for those kinds of things. Missandra was what they called smart-street, she was better at getting out of a situation when she was cornered.
“What are you talking about!” Screeched the fourth Prince. “I am not helping you, I’m just keeping my mouth shut!”
“Oh, I bet the second Prince will think the same when he learns that you had us right under his nose and did not let his soldiers know. He’ll probably overlook this and think you just didn’t care…”
Opheus opened and closed his mouth twice, completely taken aback. Finally, he scoffed, outraged by Missandra’s words and her confident smirk. Putting his fists on his hips, he was now glaring at her.
“Why shouldn’t I give you away right now, then, you little pests? I am extremely generous already to let you go without saying a word! Why the hell are you threatening me for right now!”
“I am not threatening you,” replied Missandra with an innocent smile. “Of course, you’re very free to rat us out to the Psychopath’s men if you prefer. However, I cannot guarantee that the War God won’t be back first…”
Once again, the fourth Prince was rendered speechless and blinked several times.
“Kairen? He’s coming back here? Seriously?”
Missandra nodded. Whether she was truly convinced or lying through her teeth, her older sister couldn’t tell. However, they clearly weren’t sure that the War God was really on his way back, or even how far he was at the moment. That was a heavy bet her sister was putting up right now…
“Yes. His Favorite Concubine is here, after all,” she said. “The War God will be back in the Capital at any time. I mean, you could give us up, but it would truly be a too bad timing it the Third Prince came back meanwhile. If the
War God learns that you sold out his Favorite concubine… If my older sister dies just like that, I wonder who he will get mad at? I mean, obviously, the second prince is the first choice, but I wonder who he will get angry at then? It gets pretty bloody when the War God gets mad, you know.”
Cassandra was once again completely speechless. Her younger sister was truly shameless! She was putting the fourth Prince into a horrible place, torn between the fear of the second or third brother’s wrath. It was too late for him to pretend he hadn’t seen them, not after everything Missandra had just said. The poor man looked like he was about to vomit, too, completely stunned by the teenage girl.
“You… You… By the great Dragon, you’re the worst little swine!” He yelled. “That was me being nice!”
“Oh, it’s nice of you to not rat us out, but now we would like to know where the Emperor is. So now, you can pick a side. Because either you help us and we can get out of here without making any waves and with potentially a chance to save the old man, or my sister and I will get caught as soon as we try to get out of there by your sicko brother’s men, tortured and most likely die in horrible circumstances; Your choice, your Highness.”