The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 49

The Childish Games
When Cassandra felt she had stayed in their sight for long enough, she took her basket back and left without adding a word. Ignoring all the stares on her, she only went a bit further away, into another garden, with a wider sample of vegetation and an artificial lake and fountain. There, she dipped her bare feet in the shallow water, humming calmly.
Her plan was so simple, yet she wondered if it’d work. Most of the concubines had watched when she washed her hands and saw the blue marks that wouldn’t go away. Of course, it was on purpose. Cassandra had washed laundry countless times before. She knew what colorants were the hardest to wash away, especially without any kind of soap. If she wanted, she could have gotten rid of it, but this was all part of her plan.
First, have the concubines and Princesses believe her story. Even if they didn’t believe her at first, the odd blue colour she couldn’t seem to wash off her fingers and nails should have planted a seed of doubt in their minds. That was all she needed. Just a little bit of doubt, ignorance mixed with a bit of fear, and time for it to grow inside a narrow mind.
As she rested on her own by the lake, she was surprised to see three young women come to her side. She frowned a bit. Those women seemed to be sneering between themselves while glancing her way. Two of them had a red dress and only the one walking ahead had a pink one. She had seen those women before. All of them were among the Fifth Prince’s concubines. How many did he have exactly?
“Concubine Cassandra, do you mind if we accompany you for a bit?”
Cassandra shook her head. Since those women were on the same level as her, she didn’t have to show any extra politeness, but she shouldn’t be too rude either. Kareen had already scolded her many times for acting too submissive when she didn’t need to, and Cassandra was diligently trying to apply her advice even more now that she was accounted for as a high-ranked concubine.
“We were worried you’d feel unwelcome over there, with such a crowd. It must be suffocating to face so many women at the same time,” said the one in a pink dress.
“It’s fine,” simply replied Cassandra.
She was wary of those women. She had no idea why they would want anything to do with her, the newly brought concubine. If it was merely out of curiosity, it would be fine. All three of them sat within a reasonable distance of her but, judging from the places they took, it was obvious the one with a pink dress was the leader of the trio.
“It is such a blessing to finally see a Concubine to the Third Prince. His Highness must be delighted to have you.”
Cassandra couldn’t help but wonder if her pregnancy was known to everyone yet. Unlike some of the other women, she wasn’t exposing her baby bump. Back in the previous garden, some of the concubines were so proud of their pregnancies, they were showing off their big bellies. On the contrary, Cassandra wasn’t exposing as much skin. Her dress was fully covering her stomach, protecting it from the sun and obvious stares. Not all the concubines had been there at the feast last night, but Cassandra knew the chances were high that the news of her bearing the War God’s child had probably spread already.
“Thanks.”
She didn’t want to get too friendly with other concubines. None of them could have been there by mistake. You couldn’t stay a Prince’s concubine, residing in the Imperial Palace, if you couldn’t take care of yourself first. No woman in this place was as innocent as they looked.
For a few minutes, the three women pretended to talk between themselves, about trivial matters such as the weather and their Prince’s latest concerns, but Cassandra knew they were observing her. She pretended not to know and soaked her feet, ignoring them.
“Lady Cassandra, what do you think of this?”
Wondering what topic they had finally decided to share with her, she turned her head to them. The woman in a pink dress had a cunning smile Cassandra didn’t like.
“My servant made a mistake this morning. I thought I should punish her, but my friends thought I should be nice to her and let it go. She has been a very nice servant of mine for a while but…recently, I’ve been thinking she’s acting too much in front of my dearest Prince. I think maybe the little swine is trying to seduce one’s Prince. What do you think?”
Cassandra frowned a bit. It may have seemed like a trivial matter, but her words were heavier than they seemed. Was she hinting at how a servant or a slave, like Cassandra, had dared to seduce a Prince? She obviously had no idea. Cassandra sighed.
“I wonder why you should punish her. Isn’t The Fifth Prince the one to have many concubines? If he can split his love so easily, you should be used to His Highness welcoming one more every once in a while, right?”
The concubine’s expression turned sour.
Cassandra was clear, though. She wouldn’t let this woman imply they were in the same situation or that Cassandra had stolen anyone’s property. She couldn’t compare her Prince with his womanizer of a brother. Basically anyone could become the Fifth Prince’s concubine, with a good body and some sense of seduction. No wonder those women were jealous to death and eager to start fights at any given occasion. 3
“At least she isn’t some slave,” said one of those in a red dress, pretending to talk to her peer.
“It has to be difficult, you know. We should even pity her,” said the other one. “I mean, the Imperial Family can be so wilful. If it’s only a slave or a servant, they can be wiped out without blinking and no one will even remember them.”
Cassandra ignored them, a bit annoyed. Were all concubines so petty? So childish? Did they think they could toy with her? She wasn’t a slave anymore, so why would she listen to this nonsense? Seeing Cassandra wasn’t flinching, the concubine in the pink dress clicked her tongue. She thought she had found easy prey, but this wasn’t as fun as she had thought.
“You know, it’s been done before. Servants taken as concubines and forgotten the next day. Sent to feed the dragons.”
“Really?” said Cassandra, her voice remaining very calm.
Her experience as “dragon food” probably was not the one they had imagined at all. Actually, Cassandra smiled, remembering her first encounter with both Kairen and his dragon. Seeing her like this, the concubine became red, annoyed at her passive response. Wasn’t this bitch going to worry at all! The War God wasn’t anywhere in sight, so how could she keep acting so mighty! She wasn’t even that pretty!
“Well, slaves are meant to be tough after all.”
Once again, Cassandra ignored her. She couldn’t be affected by such a petty attitude. Actually, she thought this concubine was acting like an annoying flea, trying to bother her with baseless sentences and a mighty attitude.
She couldn’t be bothered by that, or she wouldn’t be able to withstand one more day here. After dipping her toes in the freshwater some more, turning a blind ear to their nonsense, Cassandra stood up, brushing her hair a bit. To her surprise, the concubine stood up too and stepped closer.
“Now that I see you up close…”
Cassandra did not like this woman being so close. Aside from her Prince and his family, she hadn’t gotten used to anyone being so close. She took a step back and the concubine in pink smiled, mistakenly thinking she was afraid.
“If…one was to disappear…mysteriously…I wonder how long it would take one to worry?”
Was this woman an idiot? Or did she think Cassandra was that weak? To be scared by such a childish threat?
Cassandra had learned to be afraid of the Imperial Family. Whether it was a Princess or a Prince, she would have definitely been scared. But a concubine was only a woman, like her.
“Are you threatening me?” she asked.
Her calm but cold voice was sending a warning. Only the two women in the red dresses understood and carefully stepped back, looking pale and worried. Truth was, Cassandra herself wasn’t scary at all, but her calm and confidence in this situation was something their instincts couldn’t underestimate.
Unfortunately, the other Concubine missed that warning, smiling like a cat once again. It was as if she had found an easy prey to toy with, and would play until she had enough. Only, Cassandra wasn’t in the mood to be playing at all.
“Why would I threaten you, Lady Cassandra? We are both concubines, after all. It would be a shame if anything happened…by accident.”
Cassandra hated that word. No accident ever happened in the Imperial Palace. As the other woman kept stepping forward, she kept retreating, closer and closer to the pond, until her heels were touching the water,
“Do you think…I’m scared?”
Cassandra’s sudden question, said in a clear voice, finally managed to make her doubt. She frowned. She had been retreating all this time, wasn’t she scared
“Step back,” ordered Cassandra.
Her soft and gentle voice didn’t match her words. Hence, the concubine didn’t move and chuckled.
Don’t you give me orders. You may wear a pink dress, but you’re still under me. As any slave. You’re under anyone here. Don’t think this color will…”
“Step back.”
As she said this for the second time, the concubine frowned, annoyed. Who was this bitch to give her orders?! She had been a concubine for over five years here! She wouldn’t listen to the orders of a mere…
Before she could add another word, a sudden flap of wings was heard, and she retreated in a hurry. She barely had time to move before a giant claw ripped the grass she had stood on a couple of seconds ago. (4)
If the concubine had been a bit more aware of her surroundings earlier, she would have seen the dark shape that had been growing bigger in the sky, coming their way at a scary speed. Cassandra had seen it coming from far away. Had the dragon gone hunting before looking for her?
Krai growled, wrapping its large body around Cassandra, putting its head right where her hand was, as she gently patted and scratched the dark scales. The dragon was happily growling, glad to be reunited with her, but to the three terrorized women, those sounds were horrifying. Moreover, the woman who stood unaffected at the center of those mountains of scales was still staring at them, completely fearless.
“You got interrupted. Please continue.” 2
“I… I…”
Before she could gather her thoughts, Krai’s large tail whipped in the pond, splashing them. All three women got drenched, and yet, they didn’t even dare scream.2
They tried to retreat, but to their surprise, Cassandra smiled softly.
“I believe you weren’t done talking. Please stay.”
For the first time, they realized how scary this woman was. Because she could utter those words with the softest voice, the gentlest smile, while a murderous beast was standing right next to her.
Cassandra hadn’t really planned on cornering them, but Krai had come at the right time, and in a few minutes, she had decided she shouldn’t let such women make easy prey of her. They would be an example, to show others she was no toy to play with. Like Kareen had told her, it would be better to teach them she wasn’t going to be someone to take lightly. She would have her hands full dealing with the worst people already.
She had no spare time for the childish games of bored concubines.