The truth was, he was very aware of how little this treasure was. Any of the Empress’ bracelets she was wearing were probably a lot more valuable... He was completely at his wits’ end, though. If the Empress laughed and sent him back, he had no idea what he’d do...
To his surprise, the white-skinned woman put her embroidery aside and stood up, coming to take the chest. Had the Empress given an order he had missed? He didn’t say a thing, though, as she took it. She looked through it and, to his surprise, there was a slight smile on her lips.
“...There are some books in here,” she said, taking the only two little books included.
“Y-yes, Your Highness... Those are very ancient books of our nation...”
She smiled and turned to the Empress. She hadn’t touched anything else in the chest.
“What do you say?” she simply asked.
The man was shocked. She was allowed to address the Empress so casually? However, the Empress shrugged.
“It’s your daughters this is about. You take responsibility for it.”
Her daughters... The man suddenly understood. He had been completely tricked by her outfit. This woman was no servant and no foreigner. She was the one and only War God’s wife, the Empress’ sister-in-law, the mother of the Crown Prince. The most adored woman in this Empire!
Imperial Princess Cassandra, the Water Goddess.
Chapter 1
“Do you like tea?” she asked softly.
“Ah... Yes, please.”
The man was still stunned.
The woman before him was a legend in this Empire. She was adored like a living deity, perhaps more venerated than the Empress herself. Yet, from where he stood, just a couple of steps away from her in this tiny kitchen, she seemed like any ordinary woman, simply pouring tea with a soft, serene smile on her lips. She wasn’t even especially beautiful. Her chestnut hair was held in a high and large ponytail, but still so long it fell down to her lower back. She wore no makeup, except perhaps some for her rose-tinted lips, and was actually a bit skinny. Her green dress wasn’t any better than those of the servants here, and she only wore a couple of gold jewelry items too. Moreover, he just couldn’t get used to how pale her skin was. He’d heard of tribes, in the south, with white-colored skin, but he had never witnessed it himself...
“You look tired,” she said, presenting him with a cup. “It must have been a long journey.”
“It was, Your Highness,” said the old man, taking it. “It took me over a month to come here, Your Highness.”
“You may call me Cassandra,” she chuckled. “Your Highness is a bit too ceremonial for me... What should I call you?”
He stood a bit more upright, trying to forget how dirty he ought to look right now. He had no money to buy clean clothes and wore the same thing for days. Most people would have treated the old man like any beggar, with his messy beard and tired eyes. Yet, this woman didn’t even show any sign of discomfort.
“This old man’s name is Yassim, my lady. Yassim Hemelion the Wise.”
“Well then, Yassim the Wise,” she repeated with a gentle smile, “please tell me about the Eastern Kingdom.”
The man’s hands froze on the cup. He had followed Lady Cassandra, the Water Goddess, outside the throne room, a bit relieved to escape the arrogant Empress’ gaze, but he had no idea of their real destination or why she was even listening to his demands. She had first stopped by this small kitchen to make the tea. Seeing this living deity pouring tea in a kitchen didn’t seem to surprise anyone, as all the servants coming in and out acted as if this was a regular thing that happened, quickly bowing before moving on with their tasks.
Now, his cup still in his hands, he kept following her a bit helplessly as Cassandra walked out, back to one of the large corridors of the palace. She was walking slowly, and clearly waiting to hear his answer... The man took a deep breath.
“...Our King is still young, Lady Cassandra. He is a brave, young man, but he didn’t become our King easily. After so many wars and battles, our people were famished, angry, and lost.”
“It must have been hard.”
“Yes, my lady,” sighed the old man. “Very much so. The civil war left many cities in ruins and our roads stained with blood. We are struggling to bring all our systems back to a functioning, let alone flourishing, state. Commerce, finance, education, everything has been shattered, and we hope to build something better out of what was previously destroyed. But it is hard. Even five years after our young King rose to power, bandits are still roaming free, terrorizing our already traumatized citizens...”
“Isn’t it a bit strange that a king would look for a queen in a situation like this?”
Despite Cassandra’s gentle voice, the old man frowned. He knew this woman was probably too smart not to have understood already.
“...We are hoping to confirm our young King’s power with a strong lady by his side, Your Highness.”
“A strong lady from the Dragon Empire... A lady with a dragon,” she whispered.
The old man kept his head low.
Of course, any sovereign would have been delighted to have the power of a legendary beast to assert their authority. The young King of the Eastern Kingdom, among all, was in dire need of such power. He was a bit more nervous now that the lady clearly knew some of the intentions behind his arrival here. He hadn’t intended to hide it, but he did hope this wouldn’t come to light so soon. Now he was probably looking like a desperate and shabby old man with big demands...
He stopped, his hands tight on the little cup.
“Forgive me, Your Highness. You must think I’m a shameless man to have come here without even a decent present for your daughter and make such a demand.”
Honestly speaking, everything he had heard previously about the Dragon Empire had made him think he was lucky to have kept his head on his shoulders this long... Yet, to his surprise, Lady Cassandra chuckled, and he dared to look up. She was looking at him with that gentle gaze of hers. There was something invisible yet incredible about that woman. How young was she? Perhaps fifteen or twenty years younger, at least? Yet, she was looking at him as if she had seen the whole world with those emerald eyes. Yassim had always considered himself a scholar and well-educated man, but he felt like a child in front of this young woman. She gently put her hand on his dirty shoulder.
“I think you’re a very brave man,” she said, “and someone who deeply loves his country.”
Those few words hit Yassim hard. For a second, the man felt his throat tighten a bit, as if he was about to cry. In a few words, she had said everything that made his trip worthwhile. Even more than that, he felt like he was somewhat acknowledged; all the hardships he had endured to come here felt like a painful but distant memory. He was an old man who had thought this trip might be his last, and now that he was at his destination, he could find a bit of relief in the words of a stranger...
“Thank you, my lady...”
Cassandra smiled and turned around, resuming their walk. Wasn’t she going to tell him they would refuse and send him home? Where were they going now? Yassim had the faint thought she might have simply indulged this exhausted visitor, but now, he was reminiscing about her discussion with the Empress. Would the Water Goddess really be willing to give away one of her daughters? Yassim knew she had many children, but all those he had interrogated also said the Imperial Family was closer than ever in this generation...
