The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 118

#118 The Bargain
This was obviously a desperate attempt on her part, but desperate she was. They had not foreseen the fifth Prince being an ally of Vrehan, and this was just revealed at the worst timing possible. Both brothers were just about to fight, and Cassandra could see very few ways they would get out of there alive and unharmed. No matter what, she had to make it happen somehow. She felt cornered, but in this position, she at least wanted to take Opheus and his father into where they could be safe. Anywhere out of the fifth and second Prince’s reach would be nice. The fourth Prince hadn’t asked to be involved in the first place, and if there was the tiniest chance for him to walk out of here unharmed, Cassandra felt that she at least owed it to him. She was well aware of all the risks Opheus had taken until now, more or less willingly, but she couldn’t simply let him be killed now. It would be entirely her fault.
Meanwhile, the fifth Prince had raised an eyebrow, visibly surprised by her sudden proposal. He still had that . annoying smirk on, something that reminded her of his other family members. She wasn’t so happy about making a deal with that man, and strangely, she wished Missandra was there. Her younger sister was much better at coming up with a plan to keep them out of this kind of situation. However, she wasn’t there and Cassandra was alone to find a solution,
“What kind of offer would you make now?” Laughed the fifth Prince. “Do you have anything to offer that I don’t already have?”
“…You can have me,” she said.
Lephys looked confused, and so was Orpheus, glancing at Cassandra. She took a deep breath, trying to think like Missandra would think.
“I am not bargaining with you,” he hissed.
Cassandra wasn’t going to let go so easily. She had seen him flinch when she first suggested it.
“You don’t want to fight your brother,” she said. “You will both lose time and get injured. Regardless of who’d win, you have nothing to gain by battling each other here. So, instead of… fighting him, I’ll follow you without resisting. You can have me if you leave this place with me without fighting Prince Opheus.”
This time, Lephys pinched his lips, looking doubtful.
“…Why would you do that?”
“I will let you capture me without resisting, on the condition that you leave the Emperor and Opheus alone. You leave them here, and I will follow you to your residence, or the cells, wherever you want to take me.”
The fifth prince laughed, staring at her as if she was crazy;
“Why would I want to capture you? Do you have any kind of value? You are nothing but Kairen’s woman!”
“I am his favorite,’ she retorted. “Unlike your concubines, I am the one he deeply cares about. We both know he will come here, for me. No matter what trap you have set, he will definitely come.”
This time, Lephys seemed to hesitate, staring at her suspiciously.
Cassandra wasn’t sure of anything, she was making this up. She wasn’t sure of when her Prince would come back here, or how he would do, but she had complete faith in him. Something in her heart told her he was coming back, he was coming here for her. He would never let the Imperial Palace and her in Vrehan’s hands. Maybe he was confronting his brother elsewhere, but if Vrehan had been chasing after Missandra and her, they were both coming here.
The fact that Kareen had already placed spies around her residence indicated the Imperial Concubine was definitely thinking the final battle would take place in the Capital, too. Even if he had left behind by his brother, Lephys couldn’t ignore that his second and third brothers would come back here sooner or later,
“So you’re offering yourself as a hostage?” He said.
Cassandra nodded. Next to her, Opheus was utterly shocked by her sudden change of attitude.
“Are you crazy, woman!” He yelled.
“It’s alright,” she said.
“Nothing is alright! You can’t do that!”
Cassandra turned to him, though she made sure to keep the fifth prince in her field of vision as well. She took a deep breath, trying to convey her words the best way possible for him to understand.
“I’m a sorry, Prince Opheus. If there is anyone else in this Palace who can do something for the Emperor, I don’t think it can be me, now. If I had the proper equipment to do so, I would try anything, but I am not in a position to do so now. It would only buy him a bit more time, perhaps. However, I can’t.”
She was very careful about her tone of voice and what she conveyed through her eyes, hoping he would understand what she really meant by that. Opheus was all focused on her, but with his brother listening, she had to be very, very careful.
“The only thing I can do is giving you more time with your father before he… before the Emperor passes. I do not want you to get injured or your father to be left to die alone.”
Opheus opened his lips, but did not say anything, looking unsure and terribly confused. Cassandra knew he would be smart enough to understand.
In this situation, Cassandra couldn’t do anything for the Emperor. She had no medicine, no tools. If she had had any chance to bring some in the Imperial Palace, she wished she could have. She didn’t think he would be held in Vrehan’s apartments, or in such a bad state already. She had to face reality. She couldn’t save him in the current situation, and even if she did her best, she may have only won him a bit of time, but not now, not anymore with Lephys present.
However, there was still a way. There was someone else in the Palace with knowledge similar to hers who could. Lephys did not know her younger sister was around too, but Opheus did. If only he could bring Missandra back here once she and Lephys were gone, and with some proper medicine, maybe they could buy some time… Missandra was not as good in medicine, but she knew about poisons, and she had studied a lot from Cassandra over the last few weeks; Maybe enough to save the Old Emperor or at least win him some time. It was the one thing they needed the most right now.
Time. All the time they could save the Emperor before his sons returned
“…What is the trick?” Asked Lephys, squinting his eyes.
“There is no trick, your Highness,” said Cassandra, turning to him. “You already know I am not a fighter. I won’t resist. All I wish is for Prince Opheus and his Highness to be left alone. We already know the Emperor is condemned. I only want to leave him a chance to die peacefully, and for Prince Opheus to leave here unscathed.”
“…What tells me my brother won’t come and kill me as soon as I turn my back?”
Cassandra glanced towards Opheus, who was still glaring at his younger sibling. She could understand why there was absolutely no trust between them. It felt hard to even believe they shared half of their blood…
“You have me as a hostage. His Highness won’t risk hurting me and losing his chance to be left out of all this. I… coerced him into helping me all the way here too. He has nothing to win in this.”
Lephys looked doubtful. Opheus was not a good fighter indeed, and he was the one prince who probably didn’t care much about either side. He wasn’t close to any of his brothers. Seeing that he had helped Cassandra was already troubling, but it did confirm that he cared enough about that woman.
The fifth Prince hesitated. Where was the trick? He didn’t remember Kairen’s favorite to be a cunning woman, but
he couldn’t process her sacrificing herself for his father and brother without winning anything back. None of this made sense, not even Opheus helping her in the first place…
“Why did you help that woman?” He asked his brother.
“Why indeed?” Sighed Opheus, putting his hand on his neck as if to massage it. “Women are such mysterious creatures…”
“Answer me!”
Opheus glared back.
“Don’t start ordering me around. I helped her because I wanted to. Satisfied?”
Lephys wasn’t buying it. He looked even more annoyed, fidgeting the fingers on his whip.
“You’re lying…”
“What do you know? Maybe Kairen and I have more taste in common than you thought?”
“Don’t take me for an idiot, I’m well aware of your tastes!”
Opheus scoffed, covering his mouth in a mocking expression and raising an eyebrow.
“You think you know me, Lephys? Do you think I’m anything like you rather than like Kairen, perhaps? You idiot…”
Suddenly, Opheus turned to Cassandra and, before she could make a move, he grabbed her chin between his fingers and kissed her.
That action shocked her just as much as the fifth prince. She couldn’t react, her whole body froze. Opheus’ kiss was deep, using his tongue and aggressively playing with her mouth. Facing that scene, Lephys’ eyes were wide open, even his mouth. Cassandra realized half-way that this wasn’t just a mere kiss and, coming back to her senses, she pushed the Prince away, blushing. She had never been kissed by another man before!
However, this wasn’t her only concern. She was completely flustered by the kiss, but Opheus had grabbed her hand during that moment, and put something between her fingers. Everything had happened so fast that she had to focus to hide it quickly.
“…You’re absolutely gross,” said Lephys, still in shock.
“Oh, dear, you’re not going to tell us you’re a virgin, are you?” Retorted Opheus with a smirk.
Lephys was not amused. He suddenly raised his whip and slashed in the air. Though it may have seemed like a mere anger outburst, the whipping still left a big dent in the nearest wall. Cassandra couldn’t help but shiver. If
e could cut that deep into the wood with just a whip, she didn’t want to imagine, what if he used that on a human body…
“Fine! I’m taking that woman with me, but don’t you dare move our father anywhere, Opheus. You can’t anyway. I have my guards and brother’s men surrounding the Palace, no one can come out!”
That was more than disputable, considering that Cassandra and Missandra had managed to walk in despite the security, but surely, the Emperor’s health wouldn’t allow to move him anywhere again…
Lephys walked over, and though Opheus still had his weapon in hand, both brothers only glared at each other. It was like two beasts in a room, ready to jump at each other’s throat. If there had been any brotherly love between those two, it was now definitely gone. Cassandra stepped forward, trying to place herself between the two men, hoping this would work, somehow.
“You take care of yourself,” whispered Opheus to her, though he was still glaring non-stop at his younger brother.
“Thank you…”
Lephys brutally grabbed Cassandra’s wrist, pulling her to his side, and away from Opheus.
“You better not go anywhere, Opheus…”
“And where should I go?” Retorted his older brother, pissed.
Lephys made a sour face, but he had nothing to answer to that. Agitating his whip once again, he wrapped it around Cassandra’s wrists, pulling them together, tightly trapped. She made a grimace, the fiber painfully cutting through her skin a bit. Opheus saw that too, but did not say a thing.
“Fine,” hissed Lephys.
As they were still glaring at each other, Lephys pulled Cassandra to leave the room with him. She glanced back once more at Opheus. Maybe she dreamed it, but she saw him very slightly nod with a determined expression. Had he understood her silent plea? Was he going to send someone for Missandra, or find a way to have her come to help the Emperor? She could only hope so.
It was too late, now. Lephys was quickly dragging Cassandra away, walking confidently across Vrehan’s apartments. He was obviously in charge, with his brother gone. None of the guards they crossed paths with said a thing, and the servants didn’t dare raise their heads either. They knew, thought Cassandra. All the people working there were already obeying the second and fifth prince as if the power was already theirs all over the Imperial Palace…
Somewhere in her heart, Cassandra was utterly disgusted. The Emperor had probably taken years and years to establish himself over this Palace, and worked for years to keep his Empire afloat, and yet it was overthrown so easily. Fear and Envy were getting the best of all those people. They didn’t care which master they served, as long as they could keep their positions and money. She thought about Lephys’ speech earlier about his concubines. It was always the same. People killed and threw their lives away for greed…
“How did you get inside the Palace, to begin with?” Suddenly asked Lephys as they were still walking.
“…I paid a servant to help me,” she lied.
She deliberately made it sound like she had used someone she hadn’t known before, so Lephys wouldn’t try to find and kill the culprit. He wouldn’t lose his time over a simple corruption.
“Tsk… Those little rats cannot be trusted.”
Cassandra didn’t add anything else. Lephys wasn’t Opheus. He would have no compassion for her, and the only reason she was alive at that moment was her relationship with Kairen.
She tried to think of her next move. How was she going to get out of this situation now? She was captured so easily, it was almost laughable. She kept following Lephys. He didn’t seem to fear she was going to escape, but his whip was tied tight around her wrists. Cassandra tried to remain calm.
“Where are you taking me…?” She asked. “To the cells?”
“Oh, no, darling, that would be too obvious and boring. No… I have other plans for you.”
He suddenly turned around to face her, grabbing Cassandra throat in his hand. She almost choked, barely breathing as he was tightening his grip. He had a dark, sadistic light in his eyes, something that reminded her of his vicious older brother.
“I don’t get a chance to make my annoying older brother suffer often, but if I can, I will. I wonder what will Kairen do when he learns I had my fun with his precious woman? I knew you were interesting from the day we met, and though I find you rather ugly, you will still be a nice toy before they come back…”
Cassandra’s blood left her face.