His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 67

Kassian parried the sword flying toward him, changing the angle so he could push his opponent back. Gerrin staggered a few steps, resuming a defensive position as Kassian swooped toward him. He tried to focus on the weight of his sword, the direction of the evening wind, and his opponent’s little tale signs that warned him what he was about to do next, but his concentration kept slipping.

Memories from the night of the festival flashed before his eyes – the way her eyes smiled and glared, the way her hair smelled, the way her skin and lips felt under his fingers.

Gerrin ducked under his sword, moving his weapon in his other hand and attacking without hesitation. Kassian had already overreached with the last blow, so he could only partially parry the next attack. His second-in-command pushed their swords up, slamming his shoulder into Kassian’s chest and then hitting him with his elbow. in the face.

Kassian landed on his a*s, his sword falling by his side with a loud clank. He felt his mouth fill with something warm, his lower l*p stinging. Turning his head aside, he spat the b***d, looking up at Gerrin, who was panting heavily, a deep frown engraved into his face.

“What’s with you? Your movements are sh!t today!” he muttered before looking warily at the other soldiers that threw curious glances at them.

They were all too far to hear since they had started increasing the distance between them the moment they saw their little duel heating up. Gerrin rarely allowed himself to speak to him in such a crude way, especially in front of others, but this only served to show how concerned he was. “If you’re not going to pay attention, go and do paperwork! I don’t want to lose my head ’cause I damaged your stupid Imperial body!”

Kassian got to his feet with a sigh, picking his sword from the ground. Gerrin tensed as if expecting a surprise attack, but Kassian just turned the sword in his hand a few times.

“I think I am done,” he sighed, wiping his with the back of his hand. Gerrin was right; he really wasn’t in his right mind right now. He was angry at Yulien for forcing him to continue this disgusting game of deception; he was angry at Raena for being such a schemer and a liar; he was angry at himself most of all for being such an j***t. This could all have been easily resolved if he ordered his guards to arrest her and pass her to Yulien to do as he liked. Yet the thought of her being tied up, questioned or tortured made his chest hurt. The worst of all was he couldn’t even talk to her about it.

Yulien had told him to stay away from Raena and to seek Madam Lydia instead. The problem that Madam Lydia had been unavailable every time he went to the restaurant, which meant Raena was home.

“I’m worried about you,” Gerrin said suddenly, and Kassian looked at him. “I have never seen you so out of it. I think it has been about… what? Six years since the last time I managed to draw b***d from you. What’s the problem? Do you want me to beat up somebody?

“You can’t help me with my problem this time, Ger,” Kassian replied, giving him a tired smile.

“Thanks for the spar. I’ll see you for the inspection tomorrow.” Kassian strode toward the stairs leading outside the training grounds, his step faltering as he noticed the Grand Chamberlain waiting for him at the landing above. Kassian resumed his walk, ignoring the glances from his soldiers until he was facing the older man.

“What is it?” Kassian asked before the Grand Chamberlain could speak.

“l apologize for bothering you here, Your Highness,” he said in his usual polite tone. “But Lady Lara has sent a servant three times already to enquire if you would be willing to visit her tonight. I took pity on the poor girl and came to ask what you’d like to do.”

Kassian sighed, rubbing his forehead. He had had his head so full of Raena and Madam Lydia that he had almost forgotten about Lara’s existence.

With her confined to her quarters and stripped of all her privileges, she was probably going crazy. It wouldn’t be long before she did something that would only make things difficult for him. He should probably meet with her and warn her to behave. He couldn’t deal with any more drama at this point.

“Tell her I’ll go,” he said with another heavy sigh. “I’ll take a bath, change, and head over there.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Ill relay the message.” The Grand Chamberlain bowed, staying like that until Kassian headed toward the Main Palace. He took his time to soak in the bath the Head Maid prepared, then changed and dragged his feet toward the Concubines’ palace.

His eyes inspected each and every guard as they saluted him on his way, making sure they were all in top shape, ready to react even to the tiniest threat. He had doubled the security inside the Palace, which had startled some of the staff and the concubines, but after an announcement was made that it was for everybody’s safety, things quickly settled down.

There hadn’t been any movement in the capital or outside of it and that concerned him even more than news of yet another revolt. It had been a while since the last uprising or trouble in one of the territories, which made him believe that their enemy’s focus had already shifted to the capital.

But what were they waiting for? Where were they hiding? A city-wide search would only alert them that the crown knew about their presence.

Increasing the guards was not going to work either since it might cause panic or when tension ran high, people often did stupid things which could lead to unnecessary accidents.

Did Raena really know something about this? Those three slaves she bought – could it be that she had done this on purpose, knowing they were indeed more than just unfortunate refugees who happened to cross the path of slave traders? Were they really spies or not? It was easier to suspect people than to trust them, but right now, the problem was that everybody could be an enemy.

What was worse, his enemies usually weren’t content with spreading rumors or trying to weaken his political standing – his enemies went directly for the kill with no fear or hesitation.

Kassian took a deep breath and tried to shake those dark thoughts away. He raised his hand and knocked on the front door of Lara’s residence, waiting for someone to open it. A maid soon appeared, leading him inside. Kassian followed silently, looking around- the place looked just the same as he remembered it, but somehow darker and lonelier.

“Please go in, Your Highness. My Mistress is expecting you,” the maid said at the door she had opened for him. Kassian glanced at her before stepping in and flinched as the door closed behind him. He looked around, frowning as he realized that there were fewer candles than usual in the room, drowning it in an eerie gloom. Most of them were scattered next to the bed, with a couple staying over the small round table that had been brought in.

Several dishes were already waiting on it, steam rising from a few of them as if they had just been taken out of the fire.

He looked away from the food, ignoring the rumbling of his stomach, and searched for Lara.

She appeared from the door leading to her bathroom, gliding over the floor in a long dress tightly hugged her body. A long slit ran from the top of her thigh all the way to the floor, showing her leg with every step she took. Her pitch-black hair was brushed to her left side and arranged in a way that it was partially covering her face, likely to hide the slowly healing bruises and swelling. The doctor had said that her injury was not life-threatening, so with proper rest and time, it should heal by itself.

Still, the bone had been slightly displaced, so her perfectly proportionate face was not going to be so perfect anymore.

“Your Highness, you’re here!” Lara exclaimed with a hint of relief. She dropped into a graceful curtsy and quickly rose up, intertwining her fingers as if to stop them from fidgeting. “l was told you haven’t had dinner, so I took the liberty to have Some prepared. Please join me.”

Kassian glanced at the table again, hesitating.

“Sure” he said and she beamed, waiting for him to sit down first. As they settled, she grabbed the bottle of wine that was prepared, pouring some of it into the two glasses standing in front of each of them. Once she was done, she picked up her fork and looked at him.

“May I?” she asked, pointing toward his plate. He nodded, and she sunk her fork into one of the pieces of meat in the middle, bringing it to her mouth and slowly closing her lips around it. She took her time chewing on it, her face contorted as if she was in pain, then forced a smile.

Kassian picked up his own fork, preparing a bite. She seemed entirely focused on her plate, but he could feel her impatience even without looking at her.

“What is it that you want?” he asked, taking a bite. The meat was a bit overdone and the spices were a tad too much, but he tried to ignore that, forcing himself to take another bite.

“l only wanted to see you, Your Highness. I’ve missed you!” she said readily, as if expecting the question. When Kassian looked up she was watching him, her face turned slightly to the left, so he was only seeing her good side. He wanted to tell her he wasn’t so shallow but decided against it.

Ever since they knew each other, she had always been particular about her looks so no matter how many times he told her he didn’t care what she wore to visit him or how much makeup she put on, she didn’t seem to hear him.

“I’ll ask one more time what you want and then the answer will be ‘no’,” he said tiredly, putting the fork down and leaning back in his chair. She hesitated for a moment, her lips twitching as if she was struggling to keep that beautiful smile up.

“Very well. I do have a request” she said with a soft sigh. “But I do miss you. I know I made a mistake and sincerely repent for my actions, but that hasn’t changed how much I love you! If anything, l am more than willing to set things straight and make amends if it means for you to forgive me.”

“Just say it, Lara,” Kassian warned. She let out a puff of air, pouting her lips.

“Very well. Tomorrow there will be a party at the North Palace and all concubines have received an invitation, me included. However, as per your orders, I am not allowed to leave my residence. I request that you allow me to go out to the North Palace and continue my punishment the day after. Please, Your Highness! As you can see, your wife has forgiven me already, otherwise why would she invite me? This would be a perfect opportunity for me to offer my sincerest apologies both to her and her Head Maid.”

Kassian studied her, his fingers tapping on the table. A party? This was the first time he was hearing of it. It had to be an internal one, otherwise, he would have been notified if outsiders were supposed to enter the residence. And she had invited everyone, including Lara? What was she up to? Was it another one of her schemes? What could she possibly want from the concubines?

One thing was clear – there was no way she had forgiven Lara. While Lara could pretend like she didn’t care that he almost had her hands broken and smile at him with the same overflowing affection, she probably hadn’t forgotten that it had all happened because Raena wanted it. Could it be that Raena organized the party now on purpose, knowing Lara couldn’t attend because of her punishment? That made more sense than forgiving Lara. Unless she planned to do something to her at that gathering.

Either way, it was better to keep them separate. He didn’t want to antagonize Raena, and he definitely couldn’t take Lara’s side if she decided to do something on her own.

“No,” he said, getting to his feet. “It wouldn’t be a punishment if you got exempted from it whenever you feel like it.”

“But Your Highness..” Lara protested, standing up.

“Don’t push it” Kassian warned her as she opened her mouth again. “My decision is final. Try to go and suffer the consequences.”

He turned his back on her and walked toward the door, painfully aware of her eyes drilling a hole in his back. Just as he was about to touch the handle, her voice stopped him.

“She really got under your skin, didn’t she?” she asked in a low, bitter voice that didn’t sound anything like the sweet, melodic tone from before me.”

You must see how deceptive and cruel she can be, don’t you? She is doing all of those things because she can, because she knows you won’t do anything to her, but she has no intention of returning your feelings. How can you trust and love someone when you can never be sure if they are lying to you, if they are faithful to you, if they aren’t plotting something behind your back? You are everything to me, Kassian, my whole world! I would never betray you! And I’ll be right here when she breaks your heart and betrays your trust for the last time. I’ll wait for you to realize that in this life no one can love you as I do. I’ll wait for you to come back to Kassian gritted his teeth, staring at the door for another second, then walked out without looking back.