His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 63

“Not this one either” Kassian murmured to himself, leaning over the table and scratching the last name off the long list. He had been going over the Craidal Royal Family tree for the last few days, reading the descriptions and trying to recall every single face. It was a tiresome and unsettling feeling, trying to remember the people he’d killed, but it was important, so suffering through the memories of those pleading eyes and painful screams was necessary. It didn’t matter that he had no choice but to obey the Imperial order and execute those people. He had been the one holding the blade, so the sin weighed on his shoulders.

Those were all of them – people he had killed, people who had died fighting, people who had killed themselves in fear of being captured. Every single member of the Royal family who was written in their official registry. But if they were all dead, then was he mistaken that a descendant of the Royal family was leading the rebels? Could it be a bastard child? All the heirs in the family tree were legitimate children.

“Gah, this is infuriating!” Kassian leaned back in his chair, covering his face with his hands. How were they supposed to replace a bastard- or bastards – who had been hiding all their lives? While Craidal didn’t approve of the harem institution and their king could only have a single wife to rule beside him, the ruler’s reputation was one of a man as lax with his fidelity as he was lax with his duties to his people. Still, to not have a single bastard recognized? That was hard to believe.

That was only if his theory about somebody of that bloodline standing behind the revolts was right. Maybe the rebels’ leader was a soldier that everyone admired or a noble that had gathered the remaining forces and gone underground while preparing to win back their independence.

This was all Yulien’s forte. Just trying to figure out all the ifs and buts was making Kassian’s head hurt.

A creak came from the other side of the room, making him freeze. He was supposed to be alone in his quarters, with just the attendants and the guards a few rooms away, ready to provide aid or service upon his call. No one was supposed to be here with him and a report from his Shadows wasn’t due until tomorrow evening.

His eyes darted toward his sword propped next to his bed, and he pursed his lips. Too far away.

There was nothing on the table he could use either, apart from papers, ink, and a quill. He had to count on his own hands.

Kassian squeezed the armrests for a second, then he got up and turned as fast as he could, moving into a defensive position with his hands ready in front of his body. His eyes darted around the room, searching the corners where the candles didn’t reach, but he found no one there. There was no movement, no noise, no presence. He was alone.

Did he imagine it? They couldn’t have escaped that fast and the only ways out of his bedroom were through the window behind him, the door leading to the rest of the quarters and.. the backroom.

Kassian strode to the bed and grabbed his sword, unsheathing it with that familiar ringing that made his body relax and prepare itself for battle. He grabbed one of the candelabras from the table and strode to the backroom. Its door was open, so he carefully stepped through the threshold, keeping his sword at the level of his chest so he could react and protect his neck and vital organs in case someone attacked him. He took another step and another, raising the light so it lit up the room. There was no one there either.

Releasing a sigh of relief, he let his sword fall by his side and strode back into his bedroom.

Maybe he was just tense because of all the thoughts about death and murder. He really needed to take a break.

Stopping by the table, he glanced outside. The moon was making its way through the sky, shining brightly as hundreds of stars flickered around it.

The festival must have started by now. He had told Madam Lydia he’d see her there, but now he wasn’t sure if he should. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized just how little he knew of Raena herself – not the innocent, childish persona she had fooled him with, but the one that watched him with defiance and anger, the one that manipulated and played his entire household like a master puppeteer. If Raena really was the woman behind the veil, then how many secrets did she hide from him? Why did she go to such lengths to hide herself, to create these fake personalities? Why was that smart, capable woman shrouded in so many lies and deceit? Most importantly, what if some of those secrets were not ones he could just brush aside and ignore? Madam Lydia definitely had a connection to the Empress with all the favors she was getting, but how deep did that connection go?

Those questions plagued him and turned his b***d to ice, making him uneasy and afraid to replace the answers. And just as quickly as the dread spread, another feeling pushed back. Hearing her laughter ring in his head, seeing her eyes squint as she smiled behind the veil, listening to her talk, all those little things returned the warmth back into his body. He could tell she was indulging his flirting just because it suited her, but trying to draw a clear line between them. Yet, she wasn’t uncomfortable, and she wasn’t rejecting him like Raena did that day at the North Palace. Which meant if she really was Raena, she didn’t hate him. She was pretending. Again.

Why did it have to be so damn complicated? What’s with that woman and playing games? All he wanted was for them to sit down, put it all on the table and see where these feelings took them. He wanted to be able to see her, talk to her, touch her, love her, whenever he wanted, without having to wonder about a million things all the time.

Lies and secrets made life miserable. Lies and secrets always led to death.

A knock came from the door and Kassian jumped, cursing under his breath. He turned around, calling for them to enter, and one of his attendants stepped in, bowing.

“My apologies for interrupting you, Your Highness, but you have a visitor.”

Kassian frowned, heading to the door. The attendant quickly stepped out, escorting him back to his reception room. It was too late for meetings and he hadn’t summoned any of his concubines, so who could it be at this hour? A hopeful thought that Raena might have come for something crossed his mind, but he quickly brushed it away. There was a better chance of the sky falling.

They stepped through the last door and Kassian looked around impatiently, his eyes stopping on the two figures standing nearby and arguing quietly. Both were wearing simple dark cloaks, the type commoners wore, but as expected, the quards had made them take off their hoods to verify their identities. When the taller of the two raised his head, Kassian frowned, recognizing Yulien’s heavy-set bodyguard.

The shorter man turned, an amused smile dancing on his lips.

“Are you out of your mind?” Kassian hissed as he strode to his brother. “And what are you wearing?”

“I’m in disguise!” Yulien said, raising his hands to give him a better view of his disguise. He was wearing a pair of brown pants tucked into knee-high boots, the type the city soldiers wore, and a gray shirt with an open neck and a slit running between his collarbones. His hair pulled into a low ponytail, with a few unruly strands falling around his face. “What do you think? Vyn said that I look just like a commoner!”

“No, I didn’t.” His bodyquard retorted. “I said you can never look like a commoner, Your Highness.”

“Close enough.” Yulien shrugged. “You’re going to that festival, yes? We’re coming with you!”

“No! A hundred times no!” Kassian shook his head. “Most importantly, why are you so cheerful? Weren’t you complaining that you were dying from overworking just yesterday? Did something happen?”

“I finished with the paperwork and I even got a letter from Arina that they are safe with her father. So starting tomorrow, I’m going to make our dear stepmother’s life so bothersome, she might try to kill me with her own hands. For tonight, I need a break, so I remembered this festival thing you’ve mentioned.” Kassian opened his mouth to repeat his answer when his brother’s smile dropped abruptly. “I have the two scariest people in the Empire by my side, I think I’ll be fine. We’re going and that’s final.”

“Sometimes I wonder who is the older one of us two,” Kassian sighed, shaking his head. He turned to Vyn for support, but the bodyguard looked like he had already exhausted all his energy for arguing.

“Don’t annoy me. I can still let your wife divorce you,” Yulien said with a wicked smile, patting Kassian on the arm. He still had deep circles under his eyes and stains of ink on his fingers, but there was a new liveliness in his eyes, which Kassian couldn’t ignore. It was rare for his brother to be this reckless and even rarer for him to ask something from Kassian. Usually, it was the other way around. Kassian sighed.

“That’s really low, brother.”

“Go change and let’s go. Is Blaine coming?”

“No. I gave him the night off. Wait here,” Kassian said, turning his back on them and heading toward his room. He changed into a clean set of commoners’ clothes he had prepared for the occasion, grabbed his cloak and his sword, and quickly returned to his guests.

He made Yulien and his bodyguard put on their hoods even before they left the mansion, then they rode in silence with Yulien between the two. Kassian couldn’t stop glancing around until they had to slow down or risk trampling over the people still walking the streets.

“Stop fidgeting so much. We have a few extra eyes following us from the shadows,” Yulien said, just loud enough for his brother to hear. Kassian’s gaze darted around, searching the dark corners and rooftops, but he noticed no one there. Still, knowing they had at least some backup in case of emergencies helped him relax a little. “I’m not as reckless as you think.”

The rest of the capital seemed almost deserted in comparison with the loud, merry Ruby Street. A row of shop stands offering bread or pastries, some strange round sandwiches or sweets in tiny boxes made the space feel even more crowded. There were a few performance artists gathering attention and the stream of people never seemed to end.

“I don’t know if it’s because l haven’t seen one of these in more than a decade, but it’s impressive what they’ve achieved!” Yulien said while Vyn went to tie the horses. His bodyguard returned, stepping behind the crown prince almost close enough to hug him. Yulien grimaced as he adjusted the hood to hide more of his face, then turned toward Kassian. “Let’s go have some fun, brother. I feel good about tonight.”