“You don’t like those?”
“I… love them. They are very beautiful. Thank you, My Lord.”
A faint smile appeared on Kairen’s face, as he caressed her hair gently.
“They are from my father. No more dirt.”
Cassandra knew he was talking about the horrid state of the white dress she wore on their first encounter. The young concubine could still vividly remember the terrible color the water turned when she washed it. These dresses had nothing to do with the cheap white linen she had known for most of her life. Cassandra couldn’t even recognize all the fabrics in there. She knew some master creators held the secret to fabrics like the celestial silk or the heavenly wool.
She was completely impressed with how fast these had been delivered here, and in such quantity too. There was plenty enough for one woman! She didn’t even know where she could put these. Was she supposed to keep all those in the chests?
“Don’t you want to change?” asked Kairen, a bit impatient.
She nodded, yes. Those dresses were probably more befitting of the winter weather anyways. Was that kept in mind when they sent those to her? She took a few minutes picking one, and noticed there were both winter and summer dresses in there. She had so many choices! On a rough estimate, there were about thirty dresses. She finally chose one that looked warm enough and not overly luxurious to put on.
It was long and a darker red with extra layers to keep her warm, only showing off her shoulders and collar line. There were embroideries and little gems around her chest, on the arms, and on the fur around the skirt and wrists.
As Cassandra tried it on, it was obvious the dress was a perfect fit on her. Was it tailored? Moreover, it was her first time wearing such a fine-quality item. The fabric was very soft on her skin, and the color was beautiful. She really liked it, though she felt a bit shy wearing such an expensive dress. She turned around to show it to Kairen.
But the Prince was frowning a bit. Cassandra felt a bit sad that he wasn’t too enthusiastic about her outfit. She had wished that he would find her prettier in those.
“What is it, Your Highness? Don’t you like it?”
“This color. It doesn’t suit you.”
Cassandra looked down. Did he not like red? She couldn’t change though. All the dresses were red, different shades of red, but still red. She looked at herself in the large mirror in the room. She could see what he meant. With pale skin, green eyes, and brown hair, cold colours suited her more. This deep red was a bit too much.
There wasn’t anything they could do about it though. The Empire was very color-coded when it came to the official outfits. In the Empire, slaves wore white, common people wore colors from yellow to dark brown, servants wore blue or green depending on their masters and statuses, and the Officials wore grey or black according to their ranks. The Concubines could only wear two colors: red or pink. Cassandra was only a low-ranked concubine, thus red was her colour. Pink would have complemented her better, but it wasn’t something she could access for now.
There were several ways to become a High-ranking Concubine: be of noble birth, do something that would benefit the Empire and the Emperor could reward her for it, or bear Kairen a child. While the first one was impossible for her, she couldn’t access the last two for now either.
“Would you rather me keep wearing white, My Lord?”
This only made Kairen frown more. He shook his head, holding out his hand for her to take. She joined him.
“It’s fine for now. We’ll work on making you a high-ranking Concubine later. ”
“Goodness... Don’t you have enough now?”
Nebora was frowning while looking at everything Cassandra had bought. Three full baskets of medicinal herbs on the little chariot behind them. The concubine was still looking at the stalls, smelling more herbs and observing the products. Cassandra chuckled.
“Not yet. This is my first time seeing a market in the North, and we rode two hours to get here. I should make sure I don’t miss anything before we go, shouldn’t I?”
“You’re a really strange woman. You have five chests full of riches, yet all you care about are spices and herbs.”
Cassandra had never really cared for those things. The young girls at the castle however, had been excited to check out her new dresses and jewelry, and even played with it when the Prince wasn’t around. She had fun reuniting with the other girls and answering their endless questions about the military camp and soldiers. It was like she had gotten a lot of younger sisters all at once.
Nebora, however, was two years older and more composed. She was a bit interested in the jewelry, but didn’t dare touch it. She only helped Cassandra tie her hair up with golden hairpins and suggested a couple of bracelets for her to wear.
When the young concubine had insisted on going to the nearest village, she had been the only one allowed to go with her. The other servant girls had much work to do with the Prince back, and Patrina had made sure to keep them busy. After Kairen agreed, Cassandra and Nebora had left with only a chariot and a horse they borrowed from the castle.
“I’m still curious on how you got His Highness to let you go alone,” said Nebora.
“It’s only a couple of hours by foot. He can be there in ten minutes if he flies. And I doubt anything will happen here.”
She moved on to the next stall where the man greeted her with a polite smile despite his eyes being riveted on her red dress.
“Well, with the Army so close, no bandits are stupid enough to come to this area, but we still have wild beasts, you know.”
