“Of course. I think my Lord has ink and parchments in our bedroom, though he never uses it.”
“Alright, I’ll go and borrow it then!”
Missandra left the garden like that, leaving Cassandra with Dahlia, who looked a bit upset, watching Missandra go. Cassandra was a bit surprised. What was wrong between Dahlia and her sister? They had barely met.
She took a few leaves she needed for the First Prince’s decoction, watching her young female servant.
“Dahlia?”
“Yes, Lady Cassandra?”
“Do you perhaps…not like my sister?”
Dahlia immediately blushed, looking down in embarrassment.
“It’s nothing like that, my Lady! I don’t… Hold any hard feelings against your younger sister, really. I just… I… I’m a bit jealous of her.”
Jealous? Cassandra was perplexed. Was it because she had taken her younger sister as a servant? It seemed like a rather foolish issue for Dahlia to be jealous of, though.
“Jealous of Missandra? Why?”
Dahlia blushed a bit more, looking down on the basket she was holding for the leaves, blushing.
“It’s that… P...Princess Shareen seems very interested in Lady Missandra, and… I… I like Princess Shareen very much…”
Cassandra was completely caught off guard. So that’s what it was! She had almost forgotten Dahlia said she liked someone in the Imperial Palace. But of all people, it was Lady Shareen!
Cassandra was completely caught off-guard. She hadn’t expected that.
“Really?”
“I know it’s shameless of me to be thinking about one of the Royal Princesses in such a way! I just… I’ve always admired her since I was a little servant. Lady Shareen is such a strong-willed woman, and she knows how to fight, too… I swear I am fine with admiring her secretly! It’s just… I was a bit surprised by how quickly she seemed to like Lady Missandra.”
It was rare for Dahlia to open up with her feelings like this. Cassandra felt a bit bad, as since she had found Missandra, she hadn’t paid too much attention to Dahlia. She chuckled and took her hand gently.
“It’s fine, Dahlia. I wish you’d be more open with me like this. I’m glad I have you as a friend here.”
“A friend… Lady Cassandra, do you really think of a lowly servant like me as a friend?”
Cassandra was taken aback. Not because of Dahlia’s reaction, but because her words echoed her own, not too long ago. A lowly servant, or a lowly slave. It was something she would say often about herself, notably when her Prince tried to get his feelings across to her. Now that she was thinking about it, their relationship had been so awkward and unprecedented from the start. Back when she was sitting against that throne, with some of his fur cloak covering her, she would have never guessed the position she would be standing in today.
“Dahlia, don’t call yourself that. You are no lowly servant. You are a servant, and my friend, if you’ll accept.”
The young woman’s eyes immediately got filled with tears, and she bowed profusely.
“Thank you, Madam! I’ll treasure our friendship!”
Cassandra still felt like this was a bit different from what a friend should say, but she understood Dahlia’s long years of service in the Imperial Palace prevented her from saying what she wanted, or changing her habits in a few days. It would most likely be a gradual change. Self-confidence couldn’t be built in a few days after years of serving others.
“About Missandra and Shareen,” said Cassandra. “You know, I don’t think they see each other in a romantic way. My younger sister is a bit stubborn, and I think Princess Shareen just enjoys watching her because she is entertaining. She rarely sees someone of a lower rank rebel like Missandra does. Princess Shareen is someone who enjoys strong characters, but from what I have seen, her lovers are more… submissive types.”
Cassandra felt a bit shy talking about Shareen’s tastes, but after all, she had seen it first hand. Their first meeting had left quite a strong impression on her, not necessarily in a good way. However, since then, she had learned to understand Shareen a bit better. The Princess was stubborn and hated when someone resisted her. She enjoyed mostly teasing people she liked, like her brothers. And lastly, she had very low standards of decency.
“I see,” said Dahlia, blushing a bit more.
“I don’t think my younger sister would be interested at all, either,” added Cassandra with a sigh. “They bicker nonstop. Plus, though neither of them look like it, Missandra is half Shareen’s age.”
Indeed, sometimes, Cassandra wished her younger sister wouldn’t act so defiant when she was just a sixteen-year-old girl. Missandra had grown too mature and stubborn, but if it wasn’t for Cassandra, she wouldn’t have survived in the Imperial Palace with such behavior.
