CASSANDRA: The Unfavored Princess-Chapter 64: A Handcuff

The Emperor walked into the first Princesses’ room who had her head bowed down.

"Leave me alone." The Emperor commanded as he waved his hands. As soon as the orders were given all the guards moved out of the room in a hurry. No one stayed apart from the Emperor and the first Princess.

"Father .." Princess Valeria said but soon closed her mouth as she saw the narrowed gaze of her father. She swallowed as she corrected her words. "Emperor."

The Emperor laughed as he disregarded Princess Valeria who was on the ground due to the pressure exerted by the Emperor. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

’Father is using the wind to keep me on my knees.’

’Why?’

’He had never behaved like this then what went wrong.’

’Did he know?’

Princess Valeria shook her head as he removed the thought from her brain.

’No, how is that possible.’

’Mother made sure that the matter would be buried.’

’I even had an apology delivered to Duke Salvador.’

’I am thinking too much.’

The Emperor looked at Princess Valeria who was entrapped in her own thoughts. His eyes sharpened as he took a step towards the chair, sitting in the glory.

"I hope my daughter’s knees are not hurting. I am not a loud person like your mother, but I am more powerful than her." The Emperor said as he looked at the first Princess with an innocent smile.

Princess Valeria’s smile cracked as her face darkened. "Of course not." She said with a breathless tone.

How could Princess Valeria’s knees not hurt? She was not used to bowing down in front of anyone and now she had to do it against her will. Princess Valeria wanted to fight back but she could not. The rage in the Emperor’s eyes was too terrifying for her.

"Then the Princess can remain like this till we complete our talk."

Princess Valeria wanted to look up at the Emperor but restrained herself. She knew that there was no use in doing so. The Emperor was angry.

"You know, Valeria. You were always the start in my eyes that shined brightly. The first Princess of the Elvira Empire that the Emperor loved and adored. The most favored Princess." The Emperor chuckled. "Many people thought that I loved you because you were the most powerful. Many of them thought that I loved you because you were born to the Empress. My legal first wife."

The Emperor smiled as his tone turned serious. "But I never told anyone the real reason. Do you want to know the real reason why your father has been favoring you, Valeria?"

Princess Valeria shivered at the Emperor’s low tone. Her hands clenched tightly as she hid under her dress. She knew that the situation she was in was not favorable for her.

’The Emperor is more powerful than the Empress.’

’I should not go against his wishes.’

Princess Valeria could still feel the lack of air in her lungs as she had struggled to breathe. Her eyes turned red as if she was revisiting the whole experience yet again.

"Well. Even if you don’t want to. I want to tell you, Valeria. My dear daughter." The Emperor got up as he took steps towards the first Princess. The sound of his steps on the floor revolved in Princess Valeria’s ears like that of death.

Princess Valeria’s heartbeats increased as her breathing hitched. The Pressure around her had started to increase. The footsteps suddenly stopped as the Emperor stood in front of Princess Valeria.

The first Princess could only look at the legs in front of her but her head hurt when she tried to look up.

"When you were little you knew how to behave. I was mesmerized seeing my daughter behaving like a perfect daughter at such a small age. I always thought that it was because of the Empress’s education but soon realized that it was your personality."

The Emperor held Princess Valeria’s chin as he made her look at him. "I had such a perfect daughter. How can she trouble me?"

The hold of the Emperor tightened, making Princess Valeria’s face stiffen in pain.

"Whenever you do anything, or trouble your siblings, you are intelligent enough to hold that back in. You portrayed it as if you had nothing to do about it, and strangely people were convinced. It was fun to watch others getting manipulated by your tactics."

The Emperor smiled. "I always thought that my heir would be you. Elvira would grande her powers to you, evoking all the other elemental powers. But now I think I thought too highly of you."

Princess Valeria’s chin started paining before the burning sensation started creeping in. Valeria’s eyes widened in horror. The Emperor was burning her.

Princess Valeria tried to struggle but failed to escape. Her eyes were turning red as the tear droplets started to form in her eyes.

’I want to escape.’

’If this continues, it will leave a spot on my face.’

’No.’

The Emperor burned the upper layer of Princess Valeria’s skin before letting it go. "You made a mistake Valeria. A grave mistake."

The Emperor rotated his hand as the soil came up and it formed a handcuff around Princess Valeria’s hand. Her eyes widened in shock. Valeria could not understand what was happening. She had not committed any crime to be treated as a criminal.

"This.." Princess Valeria’s eyes shook as she looked up.

"Attacking a black eagle was something more than a mistake. It was a crime. And I do not want to be an unfair Emperor. After all, I have suffered due to your illogical decision." The Emperor smiled as he took a step away. "You are to be kept in the outer Palace. There will only be two attendees and the guards."

"FATHER." Princess Valeria’s shoulder in panic. Her eyes trembled as she looked at him with a gaze full of blame.

"This is the decision of the Emperor. I do not want to listen to anything unnecessary. This is a request I have to fulfill so that the Empire does not suffer. I cannot fall out with Dukedoms for a daughter who did not understand common rules."

"But .." Princess Valeria was desperate. She tried to come towards the Emperor by crawling on the floor.

Her hands were held together as Princess Valeria struggled.

"You will only be allowed to come out on the day of the ball." The Emperor looked at the Princess who was on the ground. "But I hope you stay still till the Vivere Kingdom’s people are here and think about what you have done wrong."

The Emperor’s lips curled up. "I think you understand it well. I do not want you to interact with anyone. If I hear you calling someone to have a mere simple talk. I will not hesitate to kill my own blood."

The tears flowed down Princess Valeria’s eyes. She could not understand why this was happening. What was her mistake? She only threw a small ring of fire on a mere guard.

’Is the guard’s life more important than mine?’

’Is it necessary to punish me in this manner?’

’How will other nobles see me?’

’How will I gain power in the future?’

The tears refused to stop as Princess Valeria saw the Emperor going out of the room. Soon the heavy door closed with a bang but none of the attendees came in. It was as if everyone had abandoned her.

Princess Valeria controlled her heavily breathing heart as she tried controlling her breath. She rubbed her tears as her voice shook.

Princess Valeria walked towards the chair as she sat there in pain. The pressure she had felt left a daunting experience on her.

"Why did father react so curly to me?"

"We are the royals. Shouldn’t everyone bow their heads to us?"

"Why would we think twice before killing someone who disobeys our orders?"

Princess Valeria closed her eyes as she thought about the situation with a clear mind.

’Someone might have reported it to the Emperor.’

’Who was it?’

’Was it the Duke?’

’I am thinking too much. I should think about getting away from this situation.’

Princess Valeria’s eyes were lifeless as she looked out. But the silence never came to her. Soon the guards came in. Their sight filled with fear. "Princess .."

Princess Valeria looked at the people standing outside. They were the guards specially dedicated to the Emperor.

Princess Valeria giggled sarcastically. "So this is how I am treated now." The sneering on her face was visible but Valeria did not care.

’What is even left to care about?’

’I am a criminal in their eyes anyway.’

Princess Valeria smiled as she stood up. Her legs were still numb but she endured it. After all, she was the first Princess who everyone feared.

"Are you here to escort me to the outer palace?" Princess Valeria asked even though she knew the answer.

The guards nodded at Princess Valeria’s question. No one dared to say anything out of place.

"Very well then, let’s go." Princess Valeria chuckled as her eyes turned red.

No matter what happened, she cannot lose her calm as a Princess. The royal glory was in her blood and Valeria wanted to show that to all.