Chapter 54


    The Unlucky Sisters


    Like a rabbit caught in a trap, the young Valeria didn’t dare to move a muscle. It was the first time


    Cassandra witnessed a member of the Imperial family being so scared. Was it because of Shareen?


    She couldn’t be one of Kareen’s children, so who was her concubine mother…? A girl her age and her


    rank definitely had nothing to do there, especially alone and in a servant’s outfit. It looked like she had


    sneaked out of the Pce.


    “Valeria, talk,” insisted Shareen.


    However, the young woman stayedpletely mute and petrified by fear. Annoyed, Shareen ripped


    the little bottle off her hands and threw it at Cassandra.


    “Aren’t you good with nts and potions? What is that?”


    The girl was on the verge of tears.


    “Let me go…” She begged, trying to pull away from Shareen’s tight grip.


    Cassandra reluctantly opened the bottle. She didn’t like doing this, but if Shareen was asking… A little


    sniff made her frown, and feel so nauseous she almost dropped it. Dahlia immediately took it from her.


    Just like Cassandra, she sniffed it, and then, applied a bit on her pinky to get a little taste.


    “Dahlia! What if it’s poisoned,” said Cassandra, worried.


    “It is fine, my Lady. I have been trained for poisons. Moreover, this is no such thing. I can taste green


    orchid, pudding grass, nutmeg, sea squill, twin-leaved gamophilia…”


    The more she said, the paler Cassandra became, understanding what the content was. Shareen


    noticed.


    “Cassandra, what is that?”


    The young concubine exchanged a look with the servant, who nodded, confirming her thoughts.


    “It’s an abortifacient. A potion to… induce a miscarriage.”


    Instinctively, Cassandra put a hand on her belly and lost allpassion for the young Princess, who


    was clearly terrified. Her dark eyes went from Cassandra’s tummy to Shareen, growing wider and


    wider.


    “No, no, no! Sister Shareen, I swear this wasn’t meant for the Concubine! I swear! I would never dare


    to…”


    “To try to harm my brother’s offspring? Is that it, Valeria?” Said Shareen with a menacing tone, raising


    her wrist higher.


    The young girl cried in pain, as Shareen was taller than her and hanging her by her wrist on purpose.


    The difference in strength showed by the calm with which she was almost hanging her younger sister


    by her wrist without showing any effort.


    “Spill it, Valeria. Who is that meant for, you little swine?”


    The young princess obviously couldn’t bring herself to say it. Her expression was tortured between pain


    and frustration, but Shareen was not going to let go until she heard what she wanted.


    “I swear… I swear it wasn’t for her,” she cried repeatedly.


    “For who, then? Talk, we don’t have all day!”


    “Shareen,” whispered Cassandra, feeling a bit ufortable with the situation. “Maybe we should…”


    “No, she will say it now. Even if she doesn’t know who it was destined to, she has to know who asked


    her for it. Dressing up as a servant, leaving without an escort and trying to evade me, too. You know


    how short my patience


    is, Valeria, and I don’t think Father would mind much if I lost my temper with you…”


    The threat was ice cold, even Cassandra felt a chill. Was Valeria the daughter of a lower Concubine of


    the Emperor? She probably didn’t have any of the brothers’ backing, from Shareen’s words…


    However, she was only fifteen and defenseless like this. Cassandra sighed. She truly believed this


    potion wasn’t made for her. Valeria looked like she would have been much more terrified if Shareen


    had seen through her right


    away.


    “Is it for one of the concubines?” Asked Cassandra. “One of the Princes’? One of your Father his


    Highness’ women?”


    Valeria turned her eyes to her, looking a bit surprised by the sudden questioning, but seeing herck of


    response, Cassandra was sure neither of those was right. Then…


    “Is it for one of the Princesses?”


    This time, Valeria went from red to white in a matter of seconds. Shareen saw it, too, and smirked.


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    “So that’s what it was… One of our dearest sisters ordored you for this. Now I wonder which one of


    those bitches was dumb enough to get pregnant.”


    To Cassandra’s surprise, she let go of Valeria right after those words. The young Princess didn’t wait


    and ran away in a hurry. Cassandra turned to Shareen, confused.


    “Is that it? Aren’t you going to ask her which one?”


    “There are only a few who could get that child so scared. If it was any daughter of a low-rank


    concubine, Valeria would have spilled the beans right when I caught her. She is an only child and her


    mother is of no importance now. Whichever Princess ordered her to get this potion is at least as scary


    as I am, and there aren’t many that can be said of.”


    Cassandra finally understood.


    Though they were all seemingly sisters, not all Princesses had the same statuses or power. Shareen,


    for example, was backed up by a favored mother and a brother. Phetra, too, had a ratherfortable


    position thanks to her Imperial brother Vrehan. However, not all Princesses had the same luck. Unless


    they had a brother or a mother favored by the Emperor, they were probably just pawns for the others…


    Valeria was probably among the unlucky ones, fighting for her own survival just like many.


    Who could be pulling her strings, then? Cassandra had an idea, but she wasn’t sure.


    “Which Princess would want an abortion potion?” She wondered out loud.


    “Don’t know. But we are not supposed to engage in sexual rtions until our father marries us off…”


    Cassandra turned to Shareen, surprised. She knew it was a rathermon rule for daughters in the


    Dragon Empire, but somehow, this brought out apletely different side of Shareen she had never


    thought about.


    “Does that mean you are…?”


    “Married? Me?” Asked Shareen with a snarl. “Hell no.”


    “But…”


    Cassandra still vividly remembered some scenes the Princess was involved in that she would rather


    forget. She even blushed just thinking about it. Shareen smirked.


    “Oh, Cassandra, I may be a virgin but it doesn’t mean I can’t y, can I?”


    This sentence would stay a long time in the young Concubine’s mind before she could actually realize


    what it meant, and rearrange her whole way of seeing Shareen.


    She shook her head, trying to forget about it, and turned to Dahlia, pointing the little potion still in the


    servant’s hands.


    “Do you think she came here just for this?”


    “Probably so… No Princess would want to be seen here buying an abortion potion, Father would be


    furious…”


    Cassandra nodded, taking the potion. She silently thought she should hold on to this until they found


    the culprit. Maybe she could even find a clue…


    “All right,” said Shareen. “I’ve had enough, let’s go grab your feisty sister before I really lose patience.”


    The three women agreed to go check the next Brother, but once again, Cassandra’s heart faced


    another deception. Missandra hade and left this ce too. This time, however, things appeared to


    be different, as the young cunuch exined. (3)


    “Mie tricked some local thugs into losing a lot of money, and they didn’t appreciate. They came often to


    harass this brothel, so the owner decided to kick her out. She only realized a whileter that Mie had


    actually stolen her money too… I have no idea where she is now, though, this is all from about… eight


    or nine months ago? She could be anywhere now, but I would bet she didn’t stay in the Red District.


    Too many people were unhappy with her, and this group of thugs is still actively looking for her. To be


    honest with you, I wouldn’t even be surprised if she left the Capital, your Highness.”


    Cassandra had to repress the urge to cry. How could her younger sister get in so much trouble? She


    should be barely sixteen by now! Did Missandra grow to be such a mischievous girl from her upbringing


    in the Red District? The worst for Cassandra was to think that, all this time, the two women had been in


    the same City. Though the Capital was extremely vast, they could have crossed paths, if only


    Cassandra had ventured closer to this area, or Missandra had been near one of her old master’s


    properties…


    “Well,” said Shareen, “I guess this is it for today. At least we know this troublemaker sister of yours was


    still alive and well a few months ago. She could be literally anywhere now, though…”


    “I can still ask around… There are a few ces Missandra could have tried to go to…”


    Cassandra was already thinking about where to search for her next. After everything she had found out


    that day, she couldn’t give up. She felt closer to Missandra than she had been in years.


    “Tomorrow, pretty face,” said the Princess with a frown. “Sun’s about to set, and my brother will make a


    fuss if I don’t bring you back before night falls. Especially considering where we spend our day.”


    Cassandra blushed. Indeed, a lot more establishments were open now, as the Brothels and their


    tenants were preparing to work. More customers were filling the streets too, though they kept a careful


    distance with the three women. They probably wondered what this odd trio was doing there.


    “Come on, let’s go.”


    As they started walking back, Cassandra couldn’t help but nce sideways, just in case she could spot


    Missandra. It was a bit desperate, but she just couldn’t stop. Even Shareen, who noticed, didn’t bother


    to say anything about it, resolutely walking her back to the entrance.


    “You!”


    An angry voice came from behind them, but for the first few seconds, neither Shareen or Cassandra


    realized it was aimed at them. Hence, they turned back only when they realized people around were


    eyeing them.


    Charging their way was arge man, with a shaved head and too many tattoos to see his face’s


    actually traits. He was quite horrendous to look at, but Cassandra had a good idea who that man was


    anyway. In the Capital, criminals were marked like so, their wrongdoings tattooed in visible ces for


    others to see. While most people wanted to avoid those as to not to be cast away by the society, local


    thugs like this man arbored them proudly, as if it was a proof of strength. And that one had a lot. (1


    “You little bitch! Do you think you can hide from us? And use this kind of disguise, too? You’ll see!”


    Shareen and Cassandra exchanged looks,pletely unsure about what was going on. It was Dahlia


    who understood first and stepped to stand between that man and the young concubine.


    “I think you are mistaken, sir! My Lady is not the one you seek!”


    “Are you kidding me? This bitch is the one I’ve been looking for! You’d better give me my money back


    and you’ll take a good one for stealing from me, you bitch!”


    Cassandra was speechless. Was that man mistaking her for her sister? Were they really so alike that


    someone would actually confuse them? A group of men was gathering behind him, with only a few


    fewer tattoos but quite the same horrible faces.


    Shareen sighed, swinging her swords, a bit hesitant.


    “Cassie, do you mind if I y a bit? I need to exercise, and I have some frustration to vent…


    While Cassandra had a generous soul, she really didn’t care much for criminals. That man’s bad deeds


    were tattooed on his face and she was well aware of this kind of people’s horrible behaviors towards


    women like her. She nodded, crossing her arms.


    “Alright gentlemen, let’s y,” said Shareen, a bit too enthusiast.


    Cassandra turned around. They were only a few steps away from the entrance.


    While the Princess happily parred with the men present, she couldn’t handle them all, especially since


    they were trying to corner the trio. Dahlia had taken a little dagger, but it wouldn’t do much against the


    sabers the criminals had.


    The young concubine took two fingers to her mouth and whistled. After a few seconds, arge shadow


    came over them, and all the thugs’ faces turned sheet white.


    “Cassandra! Why are you spoiling my fun!”


    “I am tired, and this is not a yground. I want to go back, my Lord will look for me.”


    Krainded next to her, growling immediately like a big cat would purr. His paw was squishing a man


    on the ground with a gruesome sound and a long screech, but he didn’t seem to hear it. Instead, he


    was more curious about the men running around him in utter fear, and gobbled one up, as if he was


    trying some new treat out of sheer curiosity. Meanwhile, Cassandra was climbing on its back, leaving


    Shareen to her game. Another thug tried to throw his saber at Cassandra, but the Dragon sent it to fly


    away with a p of a wing. Unfortunately for that man, that weapon came back right at him, stabbing a


    painful spot.


    “Fine, you party-wrecker, just go!” Yelled Shareen. “But take that damn lizard with you before he eats


    them all!”