His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 49

Kassian tore his eyes from the lively streets of the capital, glancing at the woman in the seat across from him. The carriage was moving slower than usual to avoid disturbing Sarea with abrupt stops or bothersome rocking, so reaching the palace was taking twice as long as usual. During that whole time, she hadn’t uttered a word, just stood still, staring outside with a thoughtful expression.

After the night of his birthday party, he had barely seen her. Her Head Maid had replied to his inquiries that her mistress was recuperating, but it was probably just Sarea ignoring him. Just like now.

“Are you sure you should be attending?” He broke the long, heavy silence and she finally moved, setting her eyes on him with an uninterested expression. “Are you well enough? Your health is more…”

“Why? Would you have preferred to attend with your other wife?” she smirked, leaning her head on her hand. “Oh, wait. She is on bed rest because she got sick after almost drowning. Poor thing.” Kassian frowned but kept his mouth shut.

There was no point in getting defensive about something that was true. Besides, he didn’t want to rile her up with a quarrel, not after the last time.

They couldn’t afford to reveal her condition in the Imperial Palace.

“She said she fell, right?” Sarea suddenly asked and Kassian focused his eyes on her. He nodded.

“She is lying. The guards found traces of a second person on the bridge and Yulien said he noticed a shadow running away when he went to check out who screamed.”

“Why would she lie?” Kassian frowned. “She almost died! Perhaps she knew who pushed her and she is afraid to reveal their identity?”

“Maybe.” Sarea shrugged. “Or maybe she is an idiot and really thought she tripped on her own feet.

“Sarea.” Kassian sighed.

“Haaa, you’re so stiff sometimes!” she snorted, shaking her head and turning to stare out the window again. “The thing is, all the information we get from that place is second-hand. The people I placed there are not close enough to her to replace anything useful. The only people she directly communicates with are her maid, Kara, and those three slaves she bought. She is polite and sweet with everyone, but never has a real conversation with any of them. I can’t believe you haven’t turned at least one of them to your side. Especially the maid that girl seems to be in the center of everything, especially now that she is Head Maid. She controls Raena, the servants, the decisions of the household, and who knows what else. If you want to know what is happening around Raena, you need to have Kara eating from the palm of your hand. And if she refuses, you need to replace her.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Raena is too fond of the maid! If I remove her, who knows what kind of tantrum she might throw!” Kassian sighed, leaning back in his seat. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Sarea smirking, but he ignored her.

“You don’t want to make her mad, do you?” She chuckled. “You…”

“Sarea, stop with the teasing already.” Kassian sighed and both went silent for a while, each of them busy with their own thoughts. “Have you ever been in love with someone?”

“Yes. With a younger and prettier version of you when I was just as young and stupid.” She scoffed.

“Don’t worry, I’m good now. I wish you two all the happiness.” Kassian opened his mouth to retort when the carriage stopped and the door opened. Sarea looked at him expectantly and he quickly stepped outside, offering her his hand. His eyes drifted to the second carriage that had stopped just before them. The vehicle didn’t bear a family crest and the man that stepped out of it wasn’t a face Kassian recognized. His dark hair was diligently combed backward and his attire was new, although not particularly expensive-looking, and he looked uncomfortable in it. The fact that his carriage passed meant that he had to be a noble with an invitation, otherwise he would have never reached this far.

The unfamiliar noble offered his hand to someone inside, helping them climb out of the carriage. Sarea let go of his fingers and he instinctively looked at her as she sleeked her skirts and adjusted the top of her dress. She noticed him staring, but she ignored him, her eyes moving to something behind him.

“Oh, my! How bold,” she murmured, raising an eyebrow. He followed her gaze back to the couple he had been watching earlier, only to replace them talking to each other quietly while waiting for the palace attendant to check their invitations. The woman was standing with her back to them while the man faced Kassian, chuckling at something she said. There was something familiar about he, but Kassian couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Her blonde hair was lifted in a complicated hairdo on the back of her head and her dress was pitch black, covered with hundreds of shiny stones that made her shimmer as the light from the Palace’s open doors reflected on them. Her pale back was fully exposed, with just a thin piece of sparkling thread connecting the straps on her shoulders.

The palace attendant stepped in front of them, greeting them with a bow, then turned to escort them to the party. As if sensing their gazes, the blonde woman looked aside, her eyes locking on them. A black veil hung in front of her face, covering everything but her sparkling blue eyes.

“A veil?” Sarea murmured in a disapproving tone. “Why didn’t the attendant ask her to take it off? No one is allowed to enter the Imperial Palace without revealing their face and proving their identity.”

“She probably has permission from the Empress,” Kassian replied automatically, just as the blonde woman and her escort disappeared through the front gates of the Imperial Palace.

“Permission from the Empress?” Sarea frowned. “Do you know her?”

“Welcome, Your Highnesses.” A voice interrupted them and the two turned to look at another palace attendant waiting for them at the base of the steps. He was wearing the official servant attire, which they took out only on grand occasions – black pants and a red jacket with a high collar matching a pair of thin summer gloves.

Gilded buttons and fancy needlework adorned the hem of the jacket while the crest of the imperial family stood proudly on the left side of his chest. It had been a while since they had brought those uniforms out – usually, they wore their regular black ones except for the Emperor’s birthday and the anniversary of the Empire’s founding.

Kassian felt Sarea squeeze his arm, and he quickly stepped after the attendant, focusing on the present. He had to stay sharp and keep an eye open, who knew what else that viper had prepared for tonight?

They walked in silence the whole way, the only sound coming from Kassian’s steps and the rustling of Sarea’s dress. When they reached the hall where the function was to be held, the attendant whispered their names to the Royal Master of Ceremonies – an old gray-haired man with a wrinkled face and sharp nose who had occupied the position even from before Kassian’s birth.

Kassian waited as the Master of Ceremonies hit the small gong hanging by the door and announced their names in a loud, clear voice that reverberated through the enormous hall. Sarea took Kassian’s hand and the two of them descended the small staircase that led them inside the ballroom.

Only direct descendants of the Emperor and his close b***d relatives could enter through that door and only they were announced, so as they moved to join the festivities, everyone turned to give them their greetings.

Kassian tried hard to keep the conversations short and this time, so did Sarea. When everybody’s attention finally turned to the second prince’s arrival, the two took refuge by one of the walls, letting out a sigh at the same time.

“So,” Sarea said, taking a sip out of the tall, champagne glass she had grabbed from one of the passing servants. “This veiled woman -is she the rumored Madam Lydia from that new restaurant that opened recently on Ruby Street?”

“You know about it?” Kassian asked in surprise.

“Come on, Kassian, I am not dead yet.” Sarea said. “All of my maids were talking about it once it opened. I heard they don’t deliver or cook outside their restaurant.” Kassian nodded, remembering what Yulien had told him. “Interesting. I guess the special treatment goes both ways.

“Meaning?” Kassian frowned.

“The food tonight is supposed to be prepared by Madam Lydia’s cooks,” Sarea replied, looking around – probably in search of the so-called food. “Have you tried it? Is it good?”

“Yes,” he replied, his eyes catching a glimpse of Blaine who was just making his way toward them. He was wearing his house colors, black and green, and he had removed his glasses – probably hidden in the inner pocket of his jacket in case of reading emergencies. While he smiled at the other nobles that greeted him, his eyes looked weary and he kept stepping impatiently from one leg to the other every time somebody tried to start a conversation.

When he finally reached Kassian, he bowed his head in respect, greeting both him and Sarea as usual.

“Your Highness, may I steal you for a minute?” Blaine asked and Sarea scoffed, finishing her glass In one go.

“I’ll go replace my father then,” she said, giving them a forced smile before walking away.

Kassian turned back to his aide, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

“I found it” Blaine said, his shoulders stiffening. Kassian frowned and was just about ask what he was referring to when his aide spoke again. “The owner of Her Highness’s Secret Palace. I found the name.”

Kassian’s eyes widened with excitement and he gave him a sign to continue, wondering why he was taking so long to say it.

“The legal owner of the place is your wife, Her Highness Raena.” Kassian stared at him with bewilderment, wondering if he had heard him correctly. When Blaine didn’t laugh or correct himself, Kassian swallowed his confusion, shutting off a million questions that buzzed around in his head.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“I triple-checked and had the clerks in the legal office check as well. She bought the land and the building with her own money, signing the deed herself. All documents are in order,” he said in a single breath. “On the other hand, apart from a slip about being hired as a manager, I could not replace any paper trail for Madam Lydia. It’slike she came into the capital shortly before the restaurant opened and is staying in the restaurant itself. I had people ask around but nobody knows where she lives, if she has any family in the capital or if she has any friends apart from the owner of that brothel. I have a suspicion that Lydia is not her real name.”

“She’s here tonight,” Kassian said, looking around the ballroom. His eyes finally found her on the dance floor with the same man she had arrived with earlier. Despite having other couples on the dance floor, he could tell the crowd was observing them – some with disapproval, some with envy.

Some with greedy, hungry eyes. “What do you know of Count Marden Robick? Is he a supporter of the second prince?”

“No. He is neutral,” Blaine said quickly. “He is not on particularly good terms with any nobles. Due to his parentage, most nobles don’t want to associate with him. And thanks to his hate for his father, he hates the nobles just as much. Or so I’ve heard.”

“His parentage? Meaning his mother?” Kassian asked without looking away from the swirling couple.

“Yes. His mother was a prostitute in a brothel,”

Blaine replied. “The young count even lived in the brothel until he was old enough to work. He only moved into the count’s mansion after his father’s death.”

‘Hating nobles, huh?’ Kassian thought tiredly.

“Why can’t anything be easy for a change?”

If he hated nobles, then the chances of him speaking to them and revealing information – like the identity of Madam Lydia – was slim. This also meant that woman probably wasn’t a noble herself.

“Blaine,” Kassian said, turning toward his aide, who had joined him in staring at the dancing couples. “Can you arrange for a meeting with Madam Lydia tonight? A private one.”

“I’ll do my best, Your Highness.”

After being left alone, Kassian turned his attention back to the dance floor. His eyes searched for Madam Lydia, but he quickly realized she no longer there. He found her surrounded by a group of nobles, with Count Robick standing very close to her, his hand resting on her waist. The group talked excitedly for a while, growing in numbers by the minute until they parted to let somebody in. Kassian frowned as he watched Rissen extend his hand toward Madam Lydia. She hesitated for a second, but then accepted it and followed him to the dance floor. They seemed to talk the whole time they danced, but even if Kassian moved closer, there was no way he could hear them over the music.

As the song ended, Kassian watched them bow to each other before each returned to their group.

She received another few invitations to dance, but declined them all since she didn’t return to the dance floor again.

Impatience rose in Kassian’s chest and he looked around for Blaine, wondering what he was planning to do. When he couldn’t replace him, he switched his attention to Madam Lydia just as she was talking to a servant and taking something from the tray he was holding. Kassian squinted his eyes and realized she was opening a folded piece of paper. She said something to the servant, who quickly walked away, then she raised the paper to her veil, her eyes searching the room.

When they stopped on him, Kassian tensed.

She stared openly at Kassian, then inclined her head as if in agreement. She said a few words to her escort before walking away by herself.

Kassian looked around for Blaine again and finally spotted him just as he was making his way to where he stood. He looked around before speaking.

“She told the servant she will be there in the next half an hour,” Blaine reported in a low voice. “I suggest not to linger long. Who knows who might be listening.”

“Thank you.” Kassian nodded. “I’m going now. Look after Sarea for me.