The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 61

 The Slave & The Prostitute 

As they arrived back to the Imperial Palace, the doors opened wide thanks to Shareen’s purple outfit and Cassandra’s pink dress, but her younger sister couldn’t stop frowning or be wary of everyone they crossed paths with. She stuck right behind Cassandra, checking everything around them as if she was ready to hide, fight or run away anytime.

Shareen walked ahead, as usual, to head back to her apartments, next to her brother’s. She was still pissed about getting drugged in the middle of the street, enough that she didn’t even want to mention that incident.

Cassandra, however, had other worries in mind. For some reason, she wasn’t feeling too good about her sister being into the Palace. Missandra would be an easy target for anyone who wanted to harm her, and she clearly remembered Phetra’s evil ways. The cruel Princess couldn’t attack Cassandra as long as she wore an Imperial title and the symbolic pink dress, but Missandra, on the other hand, was a mere commoner she could kill without blinking.

Moreover, as soon as she and Shareen had come back, an Imperial servant had informed them that the War God was still in a session with the Emperor. Hence, instead of going back to her Prince’s apartments, Cassandra decided to go to the one place she thought would be safer.

Her apartments in the Palace had nothing to do with her own Diamond Palace, but Kareen was still ruling over the place like a Goddess over her temple. The servants, used to see Cassandra go in and out on a daily basis, didn’t even question her. Funny enough, the War God’s concubine had less trouble meeting with the Imperial Concubine than the Emperor himself…

“Where are we going?” Asked Missandra in a whisper.

“Don’t worry, little sister, everything is fine.”

Behind them, Dahlia was following the sisters closely, still very confused to hear them speak another language. She knew that the third Prince’s Concubine had grown outside of the Empire’s borders, but she had never heard about the southern tribes or their culture… It was a very unexpected reminder of the Lady’s unique background.

“Cassandra, dearest! What are you doing here?” Said Kareen, surprised to see the young woman come in at that time.

Cassandra bowed politely.

“Sorry, Lady Kareen, I hoped I could stay here with my sister until his Highness was back?”

The Imperial Concubine glanced at Missandra after her sentence, not hiding her surprise to see Cassandra’s sibling there. She had heard Cassandra mention a younger sister a couple of times, but she had no idea she had been searching for her since she was back in the Capital.

Seeing Cassandra’s worried expression, and her younger sister terrified behind her, the Imperial Concubine understood quickly what was going on. She gestured for a servant to approach.

“You two must have quite a lot to catch up. Feel free to use the tea room.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Just like that, the servant led Cassandra and Missandra into a different room. Kareen watched the women go, well aware of why her grandson’s mother had chosen to come here. She immediately gave instructions for Missandra, too, to be monitored closely, and for Kairen to be informed.

Meanwhile, Cassandra and Missandra were finally alone in another room.

The younger sister couldn’t relax, however. She grabbed Cassandra’s hand.

“Big sister, how come you’re here? Who was this woman, and how… how did you become a concubine, of all things…?”

Cassandra took a deep breath. She understood Missandra’s concerns, but it was time she explained everything. From the first time she was bought and sent to work for her first master, up until her meeting with the Prince, and everything that had happened afterward, Cassandra told her sister everything.

A servant had brought them two cups of tea, but neither of the sisters touched it. They were too absorbed in their conversation, trying to patch together the pieces of their past together. When Cassandra finally arrived to the present, Missandra was crying.

“I… I can’t believe you’ve been through all of this… A slave… I… I thought you might have been freed, like me… You’re so much smarter, and… educated… I hoped you’d found a good man and married early…”

As she talked, she kept glancing over all of the scars on Cassandra’s body, her lips trembling. The concubine was so used to seeing all those scars, she didn’t care much for them anymore. They had healed long ago, and even her Prince never reminded her about her damaged body.

However, for Missandra, this was the brutal vision of her sister’s hardships. She felt almost ashamed of her own body, spotless and well-nourished.

“Missandra, what happened for you? I told you what we heard, but… I need to know…”

The younger sister nodded, trying to wipe her tears away.

“It’s mostly as you heard. I was… sold right after you, to a brothel. Until I was thirteen, they simply trained us, groomed us to be beautiful and seduce men… I had my first customer when I was thirteen, but, I wasn’t tamed. I didn’t want to lay and be a toy for them to play with… So whenever I could, I would rebel, cause a ruckus and make sure I was locked away from the customers for a while. I stole as much money as I could to, without being noticed. I had intended on buying myself out of slavery, but I didn’t think someone would pay my debt for me.”

“Was that… The husband they mentioned?”

Missandra nodded.

“A good man, actually… He was a scholar’s son. We got along because he was smart, my favorite customer. With the money he borrowed from his family, he convinced my last workplace to sell me to him, and he bought my freedom. Marrying him was part of the deal, but I didn’t mind.”

“…What happened, then?”