The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 64

 The White Lily
Cassandra was left speechless, and hesitant. How could all those people bow to her? The most powerful beings of this Empire were all gathered here!
She could understand them bowing to Kairen. He was the Third Prince, the War God with many achievements behind him. It wasn’t just about his parents’ relationship, he was truly a remarkable man by himself. No matter how much the Emperor loved his concubines, he wouldn’t have been so proud of a useless son no matter who his mother was.
Cassandra, however, didn’t feel like she had achieved enough to deserve such treatment from the Emperor. Her medical accomplishments had been restricted to the military camp, for a few weeks…
The Prince was holding her hand, and looking at her with that determinate expression in his eyes. He would not let her bow.
So, a bit afraid, Cassandra didn’t bow, despite her hands shaking and that little fear, crawling on the back of her mind. However, as she looked around, the only other person not to bow was, of course, The Emperor himself. To her surprise, as their eyes met, he gently smiled at her.
That was the most heart-warming, unexpected exchange she had with that man so far. With just one look, he gave her the confidence she needed to keep standing and wash away that fear that her years as a slave had instigated in her.
“Alright, you may all rise,” announced the Emperor shortly after.
As everyone stood up, Cassandra only had one thought she turned toward the Second Prince and his entourage and, sure enough, the whole group gathered there was glaring at them.
Cassandra wasn’t clueless about what the Emperor had just done by putting one of his six sons forward. Though he couldn’t be named as the official heir yet, Kairen was clearly his favorite, and the fact that Cassandra was bearing his child was bringing the most joy to the Old Emperor. As soon as their son would be born, in a few months’ time, the Third Son would be appointed as the official heir. 2
She tried to understand the reactions of his brothers. Sure enough, the Second Son Vrehan had a sullen look on his face that said it all. Anour, as expected, was as happy as usual, discussing with one of their sisters. The fifth and fourth princes didn’t seem to care much, for one was gawking at the young ladies, and the other looked bored to death. The first Prince, however, was looking their direction with a gentle smile.
Cassandra had heard little about the first Prince Sephir, but he was clearly favorable to Kairen being picked. Even during the usual Banquet Dinner talks, to which she tried to listen to a bit, he was often on Kairen’s side and supportive of him. She wondered how was their relationship so good…?
“Your Highness, this is too much! A lot of Nobles won’t accept this change,” suddenly said one of the ministers, stepping forward. “Slavery is an essential part of our Empire’s economy. Moreover, we are doing a great favor already to all those war prisoners by giving them jobs, and a chance to stay alive! We should…”
“How many slaves do you personally own, Minister?” Asked the Emperor.
“I… I would say roughly thirty, your Highness, but my wife manages such things in my stead, so…”
“How much do you pay your slaves?”
“I… I am not sure… The usual amount for a lower servant, I guess…”
Several people around clicked their tongues. The Emperor sighed.
“My dearest White Lily, come here please.”
After a few seconds, Cassandra realized that the nickname didn’t belong to one of the Emperor’s concubines but
to her. Kareen gently pushed her forward, and Cassandra walked up to the Emperor, who was holding out his hand. A bit hesitant, she put her hand in his, and he caressed it, like a grandfather would have shown affection to one of his grandchildren.
“Do you see this beautiful young Lady, Minister?”
The man had his mouth open, clearly confused. Despite her gorgeous pink dress, and the jewelry she was wearing, Cassandra’s scars were visible. Thin white lines on her pale skin, like the disturbing canvas of the perfect beauty she could have been. He seemed to slowly understand but didn’t dare say a word yet.
“My son has taken her for Concubine a few months ago, and she is now bearing my grandson.”
“C… Congratulations, your Highness…”
“Thank you. But before this wise son of mine picked this flower, do you know where she was blooming?”
“N… No…”
“Tell him, White Lily.”
“I was a slave,” said Cassandra.
The few people around who were guests and had no idea gasped. Some may have remembered the unusual incident that had happened during the Dragon’s offering on the Red Sun Festival, and make the link between the frail slave back then, and the beautiful young lady standing to the Emperor. Both due to her Prince’s care and her pregnancy, Cassandra had regained a few pounds, and she was nowhere near the dirty and scrawny girl they had seen before.
“Exactly. This young Lady was the slave in the House of the previous Minister, the exact same spot you acquired six months ago.”
Cassandra was surprised. So her former Master had been replaced by this young man… He was as shocked as her, and bowed, a bit ashamed.
“I had no idea, your Highness.”
“My White Lily, how much did you earn back then?”
“N…Nothing, Your Highness.”
“Not a coin?”
Cassandra shook her head, a bit embarrassed by the memory of those days. Not only she didn’t get any money for herself, but she also had to beg for scraps from the kitchen, and considered herself extremely lucky on the days she could have a hot meal, or have her stomach full…
“Do you think this young Lady is a War prisoner, Minister?”
“I… I would think it’s unlikely, your Highness,” admitted the man.
Indeed. Any scholar present knew who the enemies of the Empire were, and none would include white-skinned people. Moreover, a young woman like Cassandra had nothing to do with war prisoners, who were captured on the battlefield, usually enemy soldiers. She was proof that the Slavery system was unfair, and put innocents in shackles for the wealthy people’s sake.
“See,” said the Emperor. “A young woman was made a slave. Not because her country lost a war, but because some greedy scum captured young innocents for profit. Then, she was sold in the house of one of my subjects, and made to thrive for years to survive. No wages, only whips and work.”
Cassandra was blushing. She was standing next to the Emperor, the old man holding her hand firmly but gently, and hearing him tell her story, all eyes on her.
On the side, the first Prince coughed a few times, breaking the heavy silence after the Emperor’s words before he resumed.
“And yet, did you know? That woman is a doctor. A precious, knowledgeable healer, with new techniques our own doctors are struggling to understand. Instead of resenting this Empire, who treated her worse than livestock and brought her to the very brink of death, she worked along with my third son. Despite being a young woman, she willingly went to one of our Army camps to heal our soldiers. Our people, Minister! Not just a handful, but hundreds of them were sent back to their units! I still receive her praises, day after day, from men on the front, from our own Generals. Now, tell me once again, Minister, I dare you to tell me how much your slaves are paid!”
Despite the shock, the young minister seemed reasonable enough to acknowledge his wrongs. He bowed lowly, not only to the Emperor, but to Cassandra as well.
“Not enough, Your Highness. I thank your Highness and the young Lady for opening my eyes on such unfairness. I promise to pay closer attention to my household’s slaves from today on, and will give your Highness my full support on the changes to be made in the Slavery System of our beloved Dragon Empire.”
Cassandra was surprised. Most people would have been terrified by the Emperor’s anger, but despite his obvious fear, that man was also truly acknowledging his mistake. Not only because the Emperor had been angry, but because he seemed shocked by Cassandra’s Story as well.
Behind him, some other people bowed as well, stating they would do the same, and bring more support to the Emperor for his reform.
Meanwhile, the young Minister stood and bowed again, clearly to Cassandra alone this time.
“Lady, please, accept the apologies of this blind man for underestimating those issues. I am grateful for this lesson, and hope you haven’t been hurt by my ignorant words earlier.”
“It… it is alright,” said Cassandra, unsure of what she was supposed to say in this situation.
“The Third Prince is truly wise, for picking such a precious Concubine,” said the Minister.
Behind him, many more people praised Kairen too, and Cassandra realized, this was a political move on their part. They wanted to make sure the Third Prince knew he had their full support early on after the Emperor has pointed him out.
“Alright, alright!” Declared the Emperor. “Please all of you now enjoy those Celebrations. No more politics, we will have plenty of time to discuss those topics later! Enjoy yourselves!”
A wave of applauds and praises rose before all the guests went on to chat, drink and eat. The Emperor, however, still was holding Cassandra’s hand, not letting her go, hence she turned to him. 1
“Are you having fun, White Lily?” He asked her.
“Your Highness, thank you for your generosity. That matter is truly important to me,” Cassandra replied, trying to hold back her tears of gratitude.
“I know, my dear White Lily. It is for me too. Now, tell me, how is my grandson growing?”
“Fine, your Highness,” she said with a smile, rubbing her little bump.
“Good, good! I can’t wait to meet him. Be sure to rest lots and bring him to me as soon as he’s born! You make sure to give my son a girl or two, after that! I want a granddaughter as cute as his mother!”
Cassandra chuckled. Did the Emperor want granddaughters to dote on instead of Shareen or Kareen? He smiled back to her.
“I have a present for you, my White Lily! Wait a bit…”
He gestured for a servant to approach, who was carrying a little chest.
“Look at this!”
Looking very proud of himself, the Emperor opened the chest, that contained… a gold tiara.
Cassandra was speechless. The design was thin and intricate, beautiful. Despite the little tiara being so thin, she could tell that was a valuable item. Moreover, aside from the gold, there were little lilies, made of white jade, with pink diamonds in their center, making her realize why he had picked that item for her.
“Your Highness…”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful…”
“Isn’t it! I had one of our best Imperial artisans craft it for you. Wear it, wear it!”
She was a bit overwhelmed. Was it alright for her to wear a tiara? That kind of item was usually reserved for the Imperial Family… She couldn’t refuse the Emperor, and let him put it on her head.