The Prince frowned before understanding that her sickness was due to her pregnancy, not any sort of poisoning. He grabbed the whole tray and threw it out of the closest open window, before running back to her.
“What can I do to help?” he asked while caressing her hair.
Cassandra shook her head. She was just trying to breathe a little deeper, and she felt too embarrassed to talk after vomiting. She had occasional random morning sickness, but this was the first in his presence and the most embarrassing one. While Kareen knew about the unpleasant consequences of pregnancy, her son was clueless.
Since his concubine couldn’t formulate any request, Kairen called out for servants to assist. Dahlia and another young woman rushed in to help Cassandra.
“Lady Cassandra, would you like some water?” whispered Dahlia.
“P...please.”
Unhappy, Kairen stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching the two servants take care of his concubine. He hated being unable to help, but this was a woman’s matter. If Cassandra was uncomfortable with his help, he’d rather do nothing and let the servants assist her.
After a few minutes, Cassandra was able to sit down and talk. With the Prince by her side rubbing her back, she let Dahlia know the ingredients and smells that usually triggered her nausea or made it worse. The young servant nodded in acknowledgement.
“I will make sure the kitchen knows, Lady Cassandra.”
As Dahlia stood up to leave, Kairen watched her and turned to Cassandra.
“You can make her your private servant if you want,” he suggested.
To his surprise, Cassandra’s eyes widened in mild disbelief.
“Really?”
He had thought she would straight out refuse the idea, but on the contrary, she seemed to love it. He nodded.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes…I might even be a bit hungry, to be honest. This baby is really moody.”
Kairen nodded and put a hand on the little bump. His son. That child better be good to his mother once he’s born.
After a while, Dahlia reappeared with a different tray and some of the specific food Cassandra had requested. The only thing they could find, though, was a variety of nuts that grew further south, which made the Prince frown. Cassandra, however, was satisfied with what Dahlia had gathered in such a short amount of time. She cleaned herself up a bit, got changed, and decided to eat in the closest open space she could find, as she didn’t want to stay in the room where she had just vomited minutes ago.
The Prince followed closely behind her, to everyone’s surprise. The Imperial Servants couldn’t help but stare at the War God accompanying his concubine like she was a precious treasure he needed to keep within arms reach.
As soon as they sat in the garden, Krai appeared over their heads and even bickered with its Master about who would sit closest to the concubine. Dahlia watched as the scene unfolded before her. With Cassandra chuckling between the dragon and its master, she couldn’t help but feel that Cassandra might just be the luckiest concubine around.
“Can we go search around the brothels today?” suddenly asked Cassandra, turning to the Prince.
Kairen frowned.
“You’re sick.”
“I’m not sick, I’m pregnant. I will be fine. Dahlia can take care of my needs.”
The young servant avidly nodded in agreement. Kairen glared at her, immediately causing her to look down in fear.
“No. I wouldn’t be able to accompany you.”
He probably had more meetings with the Emperor and his military advisors today again, but Cassandra was tired of doing nothing aside from getting lost and sipping tea with his mother. She took a deep breath and insisted again.
“Please. I’ll probably be safer there than I am here.”
That part was true. With her pink dress and an Imperial Servant following her, no one would dare to lift a finger towards her. In the Palace, however, she could be attacked at any time. The Prince’s frown continued, he didn’t like having her in a different place. It was fine when she was with his mother in the Diamond Palace, but…
“Go with Shareen,” he finally said.
