Page 212 of The War God’s Favorite

“Well, I like to care about myself more,” said Shareen. “Others can come after. Your people had a very selfless way, but I still think this is a bit odd.”

“I agree,” replied Cassandra with a chuckle. “Since I grew up in the Dragon Empire after that, I do see our differences, but I’ve also grown to love both. I like the dedication of the Rain Tribe to others, but I also like how living in the Dragon Empire is teaching us to care about ourselves. It’s a very different environment, after all.”

Cassandra had already thought about this before. Somehow, she felt that having met Kairen had allowed her to grow as a person. She wasn’t afraid of her own shadow anymore, but she cherished her own life more. She was miles away from the slave girl who had lost all her will to live in that arena. She had grown a lot more in those few months, more than in the previous few years.

After her words, Missandra and Shareen started an argument about the different ways of life between the Dragon Empire’s people and the Rain Tribe, but Cassandra was too tired to take part. Somehow, all this rain had made her a bit sleepy, and she just enjoyed this long brunch, her head on Kairen’s shoulder. She kept snacking on those cheese cubes and green grapes, but also some slices of dried and smoked meat, which Missandra quickly took notice of.

“Hinue, you’re eating meat again?” she said with a frown.

“Sorry, it’s...the baby.”

Cassandra couldn’t see it, but Kairen glared at Missandra, warning her. The War God put a hand around his concubine’s belly. Kareen, too, clicked her tongue.

“Let her eat. Your sister is pregnant. She can eat and drink whatever she wants as long as she stays healthy!”

“Is that why you sent that bottle of wine to our room, Mother?” growled Kairen, annoyed.

It wasn’t that often that the Third Prince would get mad at his own mother. All the servants in the room froze on the spot, their eyes going to the Imperial Concubine with a bit of worry. He wouldn’t do something to his own mother, would he? However, Kareen was not impressed at all. The War God was her own son, after all. His obsidian eyes had no effect on her.

“Why can’t I? I know Cassandra is reasonable. You would drink most of it by yourself anyway!”

She wasn’t wrong, but Kairen still glared at his mother, a bit annoyed. Cassandra chuckled. Truth was, she really didn’t mind that little taste of mulled wine before sleeping. It may have helped her sleep better, even. However, she wouldn’t dare to say that in front of the War God.

Moreover, she had noticed, throughout the lunch, Kairen didn’t take his hand off of her belly. Even while he was eating, the War God would only use his right hand. It wasn’t that surprising that he would easily hold her and cuddle, but Cassandra was starting to wonder if there hadn’t been a bit of change since the previous night. Maybe it was only her imagination, but they had slept in a spooning position, and that time, he also had his hand covering her little baby bump. Was it because he had felt the baby kicking? Cassandra silently hoped that the father of her unborn child would slowly grow more attached to this child. Until then, Kairen had shown more care for her than usual since the beginning of the pregnancy, but not much care about the baby at all. Maybe he hadn’t realized much before? She was the one carrying their son, so maybe, to Kairen, she still came before a baby that had yet to come to this world.

She secretly wished this large hand spread in a protective way around her tummy was a good sign for their future as a family.

As they finished their lunch, the rain kept falling continuously. It probably wouldn’t stop for a while, either. Cassandra secretly hoped all this rain and the storm would slow the Imperial Army as much as possible before they arrived there. Shareen, however, was sulking.

“As soon as that damn rain stops, Anour, we’re leaving,” she announced.

“Already?” asked the teenage boy, sulking a bit.

“We are not going on a holiday, remember? I want to hurry and go to the camp to whip those damn idiots’ asses.”

“Aren’t you just going there to play?” said Anour.

Kareen chuckled, but Shareen didn’t answer that. Of course, the War God’s Army was probably doing just fine without her or even their Commander-in-Chief. The real threat would be the East, and Cassandra was in no hurry to have Kairen go there.

Once their lunch was finished, Kairen and his sister had to talk over military matters, so Cassandra went back first to finally change into warmer clothes. She carefully hung her green ceremony clothes where she could see them, as if that would make the dream last a bit longer. She took a bath to clean and warm herself up first, and put on a new pink dress, with a light fur cloak, as the rain was keeping the temperature low. Between the hot and dry weather of the Capital, the humidity of the Diamond Palace, and the cold of the Onyx Castle, Cassandra felt like she could get sick very easily. Hence, she made sure to cover herself, and drank some more warm tea.

She had another intention while going back to her room, and that was writing her letters. She asked for some ink and parchment. She wrote a long letter to Evin first, wondering if the Imperial servant would be happy to hear any news from her. He was the most serious man she had ever met, but she kind of liked him. He had been of great help back when she lived at the camp with Kairen. She was hoping to get some news from the Red Room as well, see if her medical teaching had done some good there. What she had heard from the Emperor in the Capital wasn’t enough. Cassandra was hoping to hear more from Evin directly. She also added some more recommendations, about some herbs she remembered seeing there but hadn’t taught them to use yet. She ended her letter wishing him well.

After that, her next letters were for Orwen, the blacksmith apprentice, and the servants of the Onyx Castle. She was curious to know how they were all doing. She missed Nebora most, as her first friend there. They had a rocky start, but she truly appreciated her honest nature. Cassandra took her time to let her friend know most of what had happened for her and realized that, once it was put on the paper, it was indeed quite a lot. Finally, Cassandra wrote some shorter letters to the younger servants, and Patrina, the Head Maid there.

“You look busy...”

She smiled, feeling two sturdy arms around her waist as she was writing the last couple of sentences. Kairen put his face into her neck, letting her finish. Once she was done, Cassandra put her letters to the side for the servants to collect and turned to him.

“What about you, my Prince? Did you finish discussing war with your sister?”

Kairen suddenly put on a grumpy front, surprising her a little.

“Don’t you have something else to call me now?”

“You mean, Almien?” said Cassandra with a chuckle.

Kairen nodded, and leaned in to kiss her, satisfied.

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