“So mean,” she whispered.
“Mh...”
He obviously had no remorse or intention to apologize for his past behavior. Cassandra sighed. She was so scared back then, the Prince suddenly taking an interest in her had been completely unexpected. Thinking about it, her feelings for him had evolved so quickly. She had been caught in a storm and happy to submit.
Kairen gently kissed her temple again, caressing her hair gently. She couldn’t ignore him, she just enjoyed his touch so much. Cassandra smiled and wrapped her hands around his neck, locking him into some more kisses. It had been a while since they had been able to rest and snuggle together, without worrying about any event to attend or anyone to accompany.
“Kairen... Why didn’t you take any other concubines? Before me?” she asked, feeling a bit curious.
He sighed, frowning a bit. He didn’t like that question. They both knew he’d had concubines in the past, but none of those women had made it out alive. They weren’t picked by him, either. Cassandra clearly remembered Nebora’s words. All the concubines Kairen had been presented with were sent by his brothers or father. From their meeting, she had somehow assumed it was natural for him to take new concubines on a whim, as it was for any Prince. However, she had been proven very wrong as soon as she arrived at the Onyx Castle. Not only did Kairen not have any other concubines, but he also didn’t show much interest in any woman besides her.
His glare and disgust towards the women that had tried to seduce him previously had made her realize, he absolutely loathed that kind of behavior. She truly was the only woman he ever showed any arousal or interest towards. He didn’t care about any other woman, no matter how young or beautiful she was. As a healthy young man, it was a bit surprising.
“I hate those women,” he whispered.
“The concubines?”
“You... Didn’t ask about my bedroom. The one in the Imperial Palace.”
“No... I figured you didn’t want to talk about it... and I didn’t want to pry.”
The Prince sighed. For a while, Cassandra wondered if he was going to end the topic there. He put an arm over his face, covering his eyes. He didn’t look sad, just...bothered. She felt a bit unsure, as she couldn’t see his expression. Was it too sensitive to bring up? She hesitated a bit on what to add, biting her lip.
“Kairen?”
“That room... We lived there when I was younger. Shareen, Mother, and I. One night, when I was twelve or thirteen...I woke up, it was very late. I was feeling sick, strange. I didn’t know what it was. Then I realized I wasn’t alone. A servant woman was there.”
“In your bedroom?”
“In my bed. She was on me... Sucking me. I stayed there. I couldn’t move. I felt like a monster was trying to eat me. I got mad... Krai got mad, and we killed that woman. I’m not sure exactly what happened. You saw the room.”
Cassandra was speechless. She clearly remembered that bedroom. It was as if a beast had gone berserk inside. It was Kairen and Krai’s wrath that had been unleashed inside.
The young concubine felt her heart going crazy inside her chest. She was mad and terribly sad. She was sickened by what had happened to her Prince. He was so young! How could that woman do such a thing? For a minute, she had a hard time calming down and holding in her tears. Never had she seen such a vulnerable side of her Prince, or even imagined he had one.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her voice almost breaking.
“Don’t be. That woman is dead.”
“But... why did she...”
“She was probably trying to become a concubine. Some women target the Imperial Family so they can improve their lives this way.”
Cassandra felt utterly disgusted. How greedy could a human being be? To go ahead and rape a young boy! She had never been so shocked before. She had always felt like the Imperial Family was absolutely untouchable, always the ones inflicting the pain, the ones in control of other people’s fate. Never in a million years would she have imagined they were the target of such monsters.
No wonder the Prince was so disgusted at those lecherous women, after what he had gone through. Then, two of the concubines he had been sent afterward had tried to kill him. How could he still believe in any woman after that? He was seen as prey by those monsters from such a young age. The War God had grown to be the man he was because he had learned to fight the worst kind of monsters from a young age.
“She was the first person I ever killed,” he whispered. “Mother found out in the morning. She got rid of the body, and we moved back to the Diamond Palace again. She kept as few servants as possible, but I wasn’t afraid. I would just murder anyone if I had a doubt. I kept killing, my father sent me to the front, where I could unleash as much as I wanted. It wasn’t the same, but somehow, the sight of blood helped me more than anything else.”
“So that’s how you became the War God so young.”
“I felt like I belonged on the battlefield more than anywhere else. I hated being here, or in the Imperial Palace. I slept better on the ground than in any bed.”
Cassandra suddenly remembered how desolated and empty the Onyx Castle always seemed. Any of Kairen’s bedrooms, she had always thought they didn’t look like anyone lived there...and no one did. The Prince avoided those places, preferring his army tent. Everything made so much sense now.
“When I met you... You were the first woman that didn’t care. You showed only fear. Any woman I had met, no matter how scared they were, there was always that...thing in their eyes. That slight hope that I might get interested in them, fuck them, and make them my concubine. That greed, the same greed I had seen in that woman’s eyes. I’d rather kill them.”
He took his arm out of the way, to come and gently caress her soft cheek.
