“Son, news just came from the border. We are under attack! I can’t believe those damn Republicans have the guts to throw an attack during the Celebrations”

“The Eastern Republic?” said Shareen. “I thought Brother defeated them already! Where did they find the courage to launch a new attack?!”

“I don’t know, I don’t care!” sighed the Emperor. “But they are making a ruckus at our border, and I don’t like that. We just got the news, they attacked last night. Anyway, while the Northern Barbarian Tribes are contained, Kairen…”

“I shall defend the border,” said the War God.

“Yes, yes. I really don’t like this! Losing time over this! So annoying, so annoying!”

Cassandra’s heart tightened. The Eastern Republic’s attack made no sense now! That country was much weaker than the Dragon Empire. However, no one in the room seemed to doubt that this attack could be pushed back without trouble. The Emperor was more worried about his Celebrations being ruined, and for a while, that was all he vented about, while the siblings waited, arms crossed until one of the Generals reminded him about the more pressing topic.

“Oh, whatever! Kairen, you can go and lead the army to crush them! Crush them for good, I’m fed up with those idiots! If it wasn’t so much workload I would just conquer them and that would be the end of the story! tsk!”

“Father, what about the Northern Tribes?” asked Shareen. “Even if the barbarians are quiet at the moment, Brother can’t just pull out his army like that.”

“You can go and replace him, for now. Kairen, you can take the Imperial Army with you, and let Shareen handle the north. One or two Imperial factions should be enough anyway, just go with Krai and handle this quickly!”

Cassandra was speechless about how this matter was handled. The War God only had to take a dragon, a portion of the Imperial Army and that was it? She had known about the strength of the Dragon Empire before, but now, they were talking about the fate of another country as if it was just a small matter to be handled overnight!

“Let Shareen go to the East,” suddenly said Kairen.

His sister frowned, turning to him.

“Kairen, I’m not the War Goddess,” she said. “What are you…”

Then, Shareen’s eyes fell on Cassandra, and she understood. He didn’t want to take his concubine to another battlefield. Shareen rolled her eyes and slapped his arm.

“Are you an idiot? We will just leave her with Mother! She was supposed to go back to the Diamond Palace with Mother soon anyway. You can just take Cassie back when you’re done with that stupid battle.”

“What? Who is going to the Diamond Palace?” suddenly asked the Emperor.

“Mother wants to go back,” said Shareen, her hands on her hips.

The Emperor turned white.

“Why! The Celebrations are not even over yet! Why can’t that damn woman stay here for more than a few days? She is so mean to me! She never lets me see her, she even ignores the Celebrations! How much more heartless can your mother be?!”

While the Emperor kept rambling and complaining about Imperial Concubine Kareen, Shareen sighed and turned to her brother and Cassandra.

“Seriously, Kairen, don’t be an idiot. Cassie will be just fine with mother, and it’s only for a few weeks anyway.”

“A few weeks?” repeated Cassandra.

From what she had heard until now, it looked like the matter of the Eastern Republic attack would be solved rather quickly, but to think it would last a few weeks? She felt really unsure about being separated from her Prince for so long, a second time. It would be just like the first time, when he was locked up here in the Imperial Palace while she stayed back with Kareen. Shareen sighed.

“It’s still about moving an army and pushing the enemy out of our territory, sweetie. The trip itself will take a few days to the East, and even if Brother has his dragon, the Army will need to get there the old way.”

Kairen was still frowning. The Third Prince didn’t like this situation either. Cassandra was upset, though she did her best not to let it show too much. This was so sudden. She didn’t think they would have to separate so quickly!

The two of them exchanged a long glance. Cassandra’s heart was breaking, but she was well aware that this was his duty as a Prince. Eventually, she gathered her courage and nodded, gently taking his hand. Kairen put his arm around her and kissed her head before turning to the Emperor.

“Father, give me the command of the Imperial Army. I will leave at dawn.”

“Oh, yes, yes,” said the Emperor, interrupted in his rant. “Can someone here write this down? Oh, you there, perfect. As of today, yada yada yada, I hereby confer the power to lead the Imperial Army to my son, the Third Prince Kairen, War God of The Dragon Empire, and dala, dala… Just leave it, I’ll fill in the blanks later for the paperwork. Copy this, I’ll make the official announcement later. Alright, Son, it’s done.”

Kairen nodded and turned to Cassandra.

“I’ll take you and my mother back to the Diamond Palace before I leave,” he whispered.