Page 175 of The War God’s Favorite

“This was foolish and reckless of you, Lady Missandra! What if Lady Cassandra gets blamed for what happened? You went too far!”

“You didn’t do anything to help my sister!” Missandra retorted back. “So what, I should have let her be insulted? That woman had no right to come and pick on her! I can’t stand bitches and bullies!”

The girls just kept going at it until Cassandra reached Kareen’s place. Their argument somewhat made her panic even more, and when she finally spotted the Imperial Concubine, who was taking tea in her garden, Cassandra ran to her, falling at her feet, in tears.

“Cassandra, dear! What happened?”

But Cassandra had given too much of her strength in that little confrontation with Phetra, and for some reason, her nerves couldn’t take it. She had been so scared for her sister, for Dahlia, scared for herself and her baby, and she was angry all at once…

“Servants! Get some fresh water!”

“I’ll prepare…”

“Don’t you two dare move from here!” roared Kareen, furious. “You two girls better not move an inch before telling me what in the world happened!”

Kareen was glaring at both Dahlia and Missandra, making the girls white with fear. The two of them were experiencing the Imperial Concubine’s wrath first-hand for the first time.

While several servants helped put Cassandra on a chair and brought her fresh water and dried fruits to help her recover from her emotions, Dahlia and Missandra told Kareen what had happened, bickering a bit in the process. She seemed to be caring for Cassandra more than listening, but Kareen wasn’t losing one word from them.

When they were done, Missandra was angry again, frowning while looking at Cassandra.

“I can’t believe that Princess dares to pick on my sister like this! She…”

Before she could end that sentence, Kareen stood and slapped her.

The noise resonated loud and clear in the little garden, making the servants run away like scared mice. Dahlia, too, had her eyes open wide in shock.

“I’m fed up with your reckless attitude!” yelled the Imperial Concubine. “You are not in the Red District anymore! This isn’t some girl’s fight where you can talk back and get away with some light punishment! You are in the Imperial Palace! When are you going to realize that your childish attitude is putting your sister in danger?”

Missandra was completely speechless. She put a hand on her burning cheek, unable to say one word, staring at Kareen. The Imperial Concubine was absolutely infuriated with her.

“You can’t be stupid enough to provoke an Imperial Princess and think you’ll get away with it! Your sister has done her best to survive so far, you’re here for two days and you piss off an Imperial Princess! Do you think everyone here will let you get away with it, as my children do? Kairen and Shareen are only putting up with your attitude because of their love for Cassandra!”

“But she… that Princess is the one who came…”

“Yes, she did, and you should have left it for Cassandra to handle! If you hadn’t provoked her, Phetra wouldn’t have dared to pull out a weapon in my son’s apartments! Now you put a target on your back, and there is no guarantee we will be able to save you! Do you think it was smart to retort back if you lose your head for it? This isn’t a child’s game! Stop acting like a brat and thinking you’ll always get away with that attitude! Whether you like it or not, this is a Dragon’s Den! Our Palace, our rules! Stop trying to apply your logic here, before you get all of us and your sister killed!”

Missandra was on the verge of tears, now, and took a few steps back before running away, crying. Kareen gestured for a few servants to follow her, making sure she didn’t leave her apartments. She sighed, sitting back by Cassandra’s side.

“I didn’t say anything until now, Cassandra, but that sister of yours needed to hear it sooner or later.”

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry,” sighed Cassandra. “I should have been harsher with her earlier…”

“You just found your long-lost sister. It can’t be helped that you didn’t want to scold her too much. I hate having to fight with my children, too.”

Cassandra still felt sorry for Missandra. Somehow, she regretted forcing her younger sister to come to the Imperial Palace when she wasn’t prepared for it.

She couldn’t stop worrying. What if Phetra really managed to kill Missandra? She would never forgive herself.

“Do you think… Phetra will…?” she asked, not even able to bring the words to her lips.

“Don’t worry, Cassandra. That little bitch won’t get away with threatening you and my grandson this time. Just you wait until my son hears of this, he won’t sit still. Just because he seems so calm, those people shouldn’t forget he is the War God.”

Cassandra nodded, despite not feeling much better. However, she knew she needed to calm down. So much worrying was not good for her baby. Truth was, she had such a fright earlier. She tried to relax a bit, drinking the tea brought by the servants, but nothing could chase away the darkness in her heart. Kareen stayed by her side, caressing her arm gently.

To their surprise, Krai arrived first. The big black dragon showed up all of a sudden, popping its head above one of Kareen’s walls with a growl.

“Where have you been, boy?” scolded Kareen.

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