“I’m good at that. Back when I was in the Red District, I could tell who got pregnant after only a couple of weeks. All the girls came to me to get my abortion medicine, too, so I got used to finding out who was pregnant. That Princess is definitely not pregnant.”
Kareen nodded, though she still looked doubtful.
Kairen and Shareen walked back to their side, too. Kairen, for once, let his dragon keep its spot behind Cassandra, probably so as to not scare Missandra. She was already looking uneasy with the dragon’s head only a few steps away from her. Shareen, next to their mother, grabbed some wine and shook her head.
“I don’t like that. I wish we knew who that damn potion was for.”
“Can it be one of the other concubines?”
“Aside from you, I don’t see who it could be. That idiot Lephys has pregnant concubines that we know of, but he’s too dumb for our father to ever consider him as an heir. No, my guts telling me it has to be for one of the Princesses.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone wearing purple that was pregnant the other night,” said Missandra. “But I’m not a hundred percent accurate.”
“Not all the Princesses were there anyway,” said Kareen. “A lot of them try to be forgotten so that no one will ask the Emperor to marry them. They’d rather remain single than be forced to leave the Palace.”
“Will Phetra have to leave if she gets married?” asked Cassandra.
“That’s the whole point. Once we get married, Imperial Princesses like me lose most of our status. We can still wear the Imperial Purple, but aside from throwing tantrums and making the idiot husband kneel, it’s not that great. Father doesn’t care much about anything outside of the Palace. It’s less trouble for him if he has less whiny children to handle. Hence, most of the time, our sisters make sure to live their lives quietly. Or they work hard to help their brother get the throne.”
Cassandra suddenly understood why Shareen, despite being over thirty years old, was still single and living in the Palace. If she had been married off, it would have been one less ally for Kairen in the race to the Golden Throne. Indirectly, not marrying off Shareen was a way to show the Emperor’s favoritism once again. Without Kairen born a few years after her, Shareen would probably have led a very different life.
Once again, Cassandra thought the Princesses were very unlucky. Their destiny was closely tied to having a brother or not, and that brother’s actions.
“How many sisters does Vrehan have?” suddenly asked Cassandra, curious.
“Only three from the same mother. The oldest is already married. Phetra is the second sister, and they have a younger one.”
“Oh, what was her name again?” asks Shareen, frowning. “We rarely see that child, I almost forgot about her.”
“Phemera,” replied Kareen. “She must be around Missandra’s age now. She rarely goes out though, I think Phetra and Vrehan keep her from attending any banquets.”
Cassandra frowned. It seemed strange that they would hide their younger sister. Perhaps it’s to protect her? Or to keep her from spilling their secrets?
“Could she be the pregnant one?”
Both Shareen and Kareen stared at her, confused.
“Phemera rarely goes out,” repeated Kareen. “That child is so fragile, I heard she has to stay in bed all day. She probably never even gets a chance to see any man!”
Cassandra nodded. So, who then? Another concubine whose pregnancy could have been a threat to Vrehan?
“I wish Phetra was the one pregnant,” sneered Shareen. “That would make an excuse for Father to repudiate that vermin.”
“He already said he will marry her off! What more do you expect? Also, don’t wish for a pregnant woman to be in that state. Even if she’s a snake, her child would have nothing to do with it. Watch your words, Shareen. No, actually, eat and shut it!”
After that, the Princess sulked, and it appeared the topic was over. In the end, they still had no idea who the abortion potion could have been destined for. Without any definite answer, the conversation would only keep going in circles. At least, they were sure of who had ordered it, but the culprit was now locked up in the Imperial Prison with several fractures and no reason to answer them.
Cassandra felt like they were missing something, though. It was odd that Phetra would go out of her way to get that abortion potion. She hated not knowing who the victim should have been. It felt like another threat was hanging above her head with that unsolved question.
Thankfully, Cassandra could soon forget about that matter. As they were having a quiet dinner, Kareen had fun entertaining them with many rumors about the other concubines from back when she was in the Palace and the many stories she had witnessed. Between the feuds amongst the concubines and her own adventures, she had enough stories to write a full book! To Cassandra’s surprise, she and Missandra had a lot of fun exchanging about their favorite tricks to piss off their rival concubines or prostitutes. The Imperial Concubine wasn’t afraid to talk about some very crude topics, and Cassandra was the one, several times, to blush and try to change the topic a bit, much to Shareen’s amusement.
Somehow, it also became obvious that Missandra had taken in the lesson about her attitude with the Imperial Family. Even if it was only the five of them, plus Dahlia chuckling on the side, Missandra was very careful with her words, and absolutely avoided showing any disrespect for the Imperial Family. Cassandra thought it was a topic they would have to discuss sooner or later, but at least, it seemed her younger sister had finally understood that her words, if said at the wrong time and place, could have her killed.
It appeared that the Dragon Empire’s fever medicine wasn’t so bad, only late to take effect. Missandra started dozing off at the end of their dinner and had to be taken back to her bed, half-asleep, to finally finish her night properly. Cassandra stayed a while looking at her younger sister’s tired face, unsure.
Somehow, she wondered if Phetra was like her, trying to protect her younger sister from all of the Palace’s schemes.
Sturdy arms appeared from behind to embrace her gently.
