CASSANDRA: The Unfavored Princess-Chapter 148: Medicine

Duke Salvador’s eyes narrowed. "Yes, only for the plan."

Duke Salvador looked at the fifth Princess as his eyes softened. "Why isn’t she up yet?" Aiden’s hands on Princess Cassandra’s hand tightened. There was worry in his eyes as he whispered. "What did they give her?"

Amy walked beside the fifth Princess as she touched her hand taking it away from Duke Salvador’s hand. Aiden’s eyes widened as he looked at the lady in waiting to be disrespectful to him but he soon realized that she was checking the fifth Princess.

"Have you studied medicine?" Duke Salvador asked as he gazed at Amy. There was a doubt in his eyes that was evident.

"Not a lot," Amy concentrated as she touched the fifth Princess’s wrist. Soon she gave the fifth Princess’s hand back into the Duke’s whose face clearly portrayed the dissatisfaction.

"I had to learn a little for the Princess." Amy’s tone was soft as she looked down as if she was revisiting the past. "We were the only ones who had to take care of one another. As I too had no family members I knew how it felt and on top of things, Princess Cassandra’s reputation in the palace was not too good. Not only was she unfavored but also neglected. When the fifth Princess was sick and no doctor had time to come, I had to learn how to treat the Princess."

Duke Salvador’s throat ran dry. His eyes were filled with resentment. He was always well aware that the situation of the palace and royal family was ideal. If the royal family does not find anything beneficial then they might not care about it at all. But Duke Salvador never knew that it would be applied to a living being too, especially to a Princess.

There have been a lot of rumors about the fifth Princess. She was powerless in a family where power was the only thing that helped one’s survival. But she was unfavored too. None of the family members loved her. She was like an invisible thing to them.

Duke Salvador did not doubt the lady in waiting words when she said that they were not given proper care. It was really believable that the royal family would do something like that.

"" Has the Princess suffered a lot there?" Duke Salvador asked as he touched Princess Cassandra’s hair lightly.

Amy nodded her head. "Life there was not easy."

"But it will be from now on." Aiden’s tone was filled with confidence. "I will make sure that it won’t."

Amy did not reply as she looked at the Duke. She knew what Duke Salvador felt for the fifth Princess and Amy had also seen how the Princess looked at the Duke.

Amy could only hope that the Duke keeps his words and Princess Cassandra lives the life that she deserves.

—----

The Emperor was sitting in the throne room as he looked at his aid. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"What is written in the letter?" The Emperor’s voice was filled with resentment as he asked. His fingers were tapping on the chair as he leaned forward. "What message did the Crown Prince send?"

The aid opened the letter sent by the third Prince, Prince Cedric. He could not understand why the Emperor would call him the crown Prince. The power dynamics had shifted and the first Princess was the candidate to inherit the throne.

’Maybe the Emperor wants Prince Cedric to be his heir.’

Although the aid thought so he did not show any reaction. He knew that the reaction would not be met with anything good.

The aid looked down as he opened the letter. The letter was sent wrapped on the pigeon’s neck. Although the paper looked small, the letter was quite big. The aid swallowed as he started reading it slowly.

"The journey has been a little tiring. We have seen a lot of things along the way. Maybe by the time you receive the letter, we might have already reached the borders of the Vivere Kingdom. Although the road was smooth we still faced some problems along the way. Everyone is doing fine. Princess Valeria is enjoying her time as she has started talking about Duke Salvador. Although the Duke’s personality is well known, he still respects the first Princess. They might have gotten a little close. I have seen them talking to them more often. The secretary is taking care of us as well. We do rest when the guards are tired but overall we are still healthy and fine."

The aid looked at the Emperor who had narrowed his eyes at some point. "Is that all?" The Emperor asked

The aid nodded. "That is all. It looks like the Third Prince is doing well and everyone is healthy."

The Emperor smiled. "Do you think Princess Valeria and Duke Salvador have gotten closer?" The Emperor asked in a low tone.

The aid did not know how to answer it. He thought it was a tricky question. But he also knew that he could not keep the Emperor waiting. "The Prince wrote that the Princess and the Duke are talking a lot. Maybe something might spark between them too."

"Yes, something might spark." The Emperor murmured as he got up from the chair. "Send a cup of tea to study."

As the guards heard the words one left as others followed the Emperor.

The Emperor was silent all the way until he reached his study room. He sat on the chair patiently waiting for the tea to arrive. Once the tea was served the Emperor removed a silver spoon from the drawer as he swirled the tea.

Although everything that the royals eat or drink is checked for poison, especially for an Emperor, there were still a few cases of poisoning in history.

The Emperor was well aware of his standing. He knew what his Empress was capable of. Someone can add a poison after the tea is checked. When the color did not change, the Emperor smiled.

The Emperor was not anyone new to this thing. He knew even when the young Prince or Princesses were dying, there was no evidence. None of the poison was found in their food but they might have eaten something by that time.

The Emperor chuckled. With the current situation, the Emperor knew that if he would die, the Empress would be released and she would take up the position of managing the Empire till the time Princess Valeria returned. Even if the Empress could not do anything from the inside the Emperor was well aware that she can make people do her work. After all, she went undetected for so long.

The Emperor smiled as he dipped the spoon in the tea again while touching the brim of the cup. He then moved it down and saw the color change.

"As I thought. She still has her charms." The Emperor smiled. His eyes turned sharp as he kept the spoon back inside. The poison was not in the tea but in the cup.

The Emperor pushed the tea aside as he turned around. He walked towards the window as he looked out. The Emperor’s mind was filled with thoughts.

The Crown Prince was an intelligent man. Even though he was still trying to be a good leader, he was intelligent. So a letter sent by such a man was never so simple. The Emperor knew that the Crown Prince must be afraid that someone who supported the first Princess might read the letter, so his tone was filled with a hint of a caring brother.

But the Emperor was different. The words written by the Crown Princess were not that hard to decode. The first Princess is trying to get closer to Duke Salvador. Even though the Emperor knew this might happen, he was still surprised. Not because of what the first Princess, Princess Valeria was doing but because of how Duke Salvador was reacting.

If Prince Cedric’s words were to be considered true then they will reach the Vivere Kingdom soon and from there the journey to the Kir mountains will not be long. But now that Duke Salvador was having a good time with Princess Valeria made the Emperor confused.

Duke Aiden Salvador was a supporter of Prince Cedric. Although they were not best of friends, they were on good terms. But if Duke Salvador started having a good impression of Princess Valeria then things might change.

The Emperor did not want Aiden Salvador to support Valeria in her craziness. If the Duke supported her then the other Dukedoms and Salvador’s dukedom might be at odds. It would be a reason for a war.

The Emperor sighed as his eyes shook. He looked back at the teacup as his heart filled with irritation.

"I think it’s time for the Empress to pay for her behavior." The Emperor murmured as his gaze narrowed. "Cedric, I just hope that you will handle the situation well. I am counting on you, my son."