Rise of the Unfavored Princess

Chapter 149: Ch. 148: Buy One Get One Free

The central palace did have a name. It was just hardly ever used that most hardly ever remembered. When the empress was young, she had delved headfirst into the history of the imperial palace with the enthusiasm only the young possess. She’d eagerly learned about the history of the architecture and the lives of those who’d lived within its golden walls. She’d longed to live there too one day.

“Father told me I might marry the crown prince someday, Kora,” a young Katya had told her joyfully. “I’ve never seen him before, but he must be very good-looking, no?”

Back then, Kora had called the empress by a much simpler “Young Miss Duvernay”. She’d been just as psychotic back then too, but Kora hadn’t learned the painful lessons enough times at that young age.

“Crown Prince Wilhelm is indeed handsome, my lady,” Kora had said on command. Those were the words she was supposed to say, but she had meant them.

The crown prince was said to be like a ray of sunlight, his every smile lighting up the room in a way that would make any woman’s heart flutter. In fact, there had been one occasion when Kora had glimpsed him in his carriage when she’d been running errands for her mistress. His golden eyes had met hers and then-

“But what good is handsome?” the young Katya had maligned. “Handsome will not win you a throne or allow you to reign from the Lotus Palace.”

“The Lotus Palace?” Kora had asked despite herself, offended on the behalf of the handsome crown prince. Catching her gaffe, the maid had quickly fallen to her knees. “Forgive me for misspeaking, my lady.”

.....

She had thought Katya was in a good mood when she’d told her to rise. “Never mind that. Do you know why the central palace is called the Lotus Palace?”

Kora nodded, praising her luck at being able to dodge punishment for speaking out of turn.

“The lotus flower is a symbol of rebirth, sinking into the mud at night before rising to the surface in the morning. Much like how the phoenix is on the imperial family crest, the lotus is a symbol of where the seat of power resides.”

Katya looked at her expectantly from the lounge chair she and her expensive dress were slumped on, awaiting a response. Kora swallowed.

“That is fascinating, my lady. But... but then why isn’t the name of the palace common knowledge like the rest?” she inquired.

“What ruling family would be stupid enough to allow for the secret ability that comes with their golden eyes to be common knowledge?” Katya chuckled.

She watched Kora’s face avidly, from confusion to the shock that rippled across her face and nearly made her drop the stack of books she’d been moving back to the bookshelf. Katya had always been an avid reader, absorbing copious amounts of inane information she occasionally regaled her maids with. But trivia about the Erudian Empire’s former flag paled in comparison to learning such a shocking secret.

“Amazing, no?” the young Katya had asked, her smile slowly melting off her face as cold, reptilian eyes focused on Kora’s quivering form. “It cost me a lot of time and effort to learn such a secret. What will you pay after learning such a thing for free, Kora?”

Looking back, Kora had not only learned such a shocking secret about the imperial family, but also that seeing and learning certain things could have terrible repercussions for lowly individuals like herself.

“For Winter?” the emperor pursed his lips in thought before his heavy gaze fell on Kora again.

The breeze that blew through the outdoor hallways ruffled at Kora’s skirt, coldly reminding her of the empress and what she would do to Kora if she were to drag suspicion onto Prince Julian. So she gritted her teeth and doubled down on her lie.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Her Majesty views Princess Winter as her own daughter and wishes for her to begin to participate in the social season like other young misses her age,” Kora said.

“She wishes for Princess Julia’s ban to end?” Emperor Helio said, reading in between the words like most nobility did and picking at what he thought to be the underlying message. In fact, Kora hadn’t been thinking of the bratty demoness at all, but hearing His Majesty bring it up, she realized it was also an opportunity for her to slightly redeem herself in the empress’ eyes.

On the ground, Kora lowered her head further in quiet acquiescence.

The emperor lightly chuckled. Kora didn’t dare look up but she could imagine the smile he had on his face, like a wolf peeling back its lips to reveal sharp teeth. It was nothing like the comforting smile of the former Crown Prince Wilhelm.

“She is my daughter too. The empress need not ask for such a thing.” His tone was almost jovial as he strolled past Kora as if nothing had happened.

Within seconds, he and his cohort were gone and Kora was alone quacking on the ground. It took her three tries before she could stand up properly.

This time when she walked, it was slow, with each foot dragging against the freshly cleaned floor in a defeated manner. There was no point in moving with haste, as the emperor had most certainly gone in the direction of Sunrise Palace. Bringing Felix there would only add further insult to the injury Kora had most certainly inflicted.

Her lip curled at the thought of the emperor. Despite his attempts and decent success at mollifying the people during his sudden succession, Kora had never liked him. Even when the usually stoic Katya had become enamored with the murderous bastard prince, she still didn’t. Stalking in the dark palace that seemed completely empty, Kora naturally did not sense the eyes that watched her every move before slinking away into the darkness.

——–

I slam the book in front of me shut, the words ‘DIVORCE’ in bold across the cover. Something about old-fashioned books, they never mince their words.

“Kora? In the direction of Julian’s courtyards?” I vaguely think back to the gorgeous low buildings that all together compose Julian’s living quarters.

The bright sun overhead is quite warm, even with the umbrella overhead to block out most of its rays. This medical leave I’ve been on has been a bit of a blessing in the sense that I have much more free time now that I am no longer a student for the second time around.

A strange smile spreads across my face as I connect the dots.

“So the assassination attempt was indeed Julian’s doing. What on earth was he thinking? He always told me he had no desire for the throne,” I muse.

Of the mixture of lies and truths Julian has told me, that was one I trusted more than most.

“Power is as seductive as a naked woman,” Emma says frankly. If I were drinking my tea at the moment I would’ve spit it out right then and there.

“Emma! Who told you that!” I ask, feeling like a mom whose kid heard his friends mention porn at school and asked her about it.

“My mother.”

I deflate instantly. “Hm. Well, she’s right,” I tell her. “It seems I never knew Julian well at all.”

The realization sits heavy on my shoulders, threatening to tug my smile into a frown. As my literal sibling and a fellow Traveler, I have always had a soft spot for Julian even amongst his many inconsistencies and betrayals. But I compartmentalize, the last of my restraints falling away and ridding me of the guilt of what I plan to do next.

“On the bright side, this means that the next step of our plan shall go off without a hitch. We will soon be rid of Sage and you can be back at my side proudly without needing to sneak around.”

Now is a good time to mention that poor Emma is hiding out of view under a nearby bush. It’s a good thing I’m one of the few people in this quiet garden behind the central palace otherwise there would be rumors circulating that the princess has gone mad.

“She got it from her commoner mother,” I’d wager they’d say behind covered mouths. Too bad I never knew her otherwise I’d be hurt.

Emma knows what I am talking about, but she brings up another good point. “If she loses Felix, she will come for me and try to lure me away.”

We both know who ‘she’ is. But it’s a good thing that we’ve been anticipating this ever since I made it appear that Emma and I have become estranged.

“All the better,” I say darkly. “Let her get tangled up in the web of her own making.”

A maid pushes out a cart of pastries, setting them down on the table and curtsying before leaving. This quiet deference is such a far cry from the constant disrespect I had to deal with in my early days. Powdery sugar coats my tongue in near euphoric happiness. The new pastry chef I brought in truly has a way with lemon tarts, even better than my own.

Power truly does taste sweet.

“Well, enough of that. Any ideas on how I can circumvent the foot ban that keeps me in this palace?” I ask, clapping my hands together to signify the end of the topic.

A distant gardener pruning the already immaculate hedges looks my way expectantly and I apologetically wave at him to ignore me.

My heart beats rapidly just at the thought of leaving the palace properly, an old panic bubbling to the surface. Being ferried from one location to another when I go to the Grand Temple of the Holy Church or the hunting grounds is nothing. But this, going somewhere entirely new that isn’t under the jurisdiction of my father or the Duvernay family? It sends my emotions into the spiral of the time I’d escaped the palace to save my life.

If you step on glass long enough, you learn to prefer the pain over the comfort of a smooth floor.

I can think of no better phrase that encapsulates my life at the imperial palace, where most threats lie await behind honeyed words and smiling faces. But every once in a while, under the opulent glamour, it comes for you like a knife in the dark. You only catch a glint of it before it buries its sharp end in your side and twists.

The worst part? More often than not the knife belongs from someone I know. Like Julian.

I hear a thump, that distant gardener has tossed his shears to the grass. His hat obscures his face, but he’s looking right at me.

I don’t scream as such events have become as common as a fire drill and Emma is in the vicinity. But I grab the heavy tome on how divorces are processed in Erudian court as the man suddenly advances.

“Uh, Emma. Emma!” I hiss, panic creeping into my voice as the figure breaks into a run.

I want to curse the heavens. I still have an itchy, cloth bandaid around my neck from the last attempt and there’s already another one. Is there a special this month? Buy one get one free?

I can hear Emma scurrying out of the bushes on command, blowing her cover. But it’s too late. The figure in a gardener’s uniform has already come to my side and invades my personal space in an alarming manner that causes me to suck in a breath of air.

“My dearest passenger, it has been so long since I heard from you face to face I had to seek you out for myself. How do you do?” The charming words melt my fear and ignite my fury, although I manage to grit my teeth and hold most of it back.

“Jack. What a pleasure.” I can barely recognize him, he’s grown a fair bit since the last I saw him and has acquired a hearty tan. My hand on top of the book trembles as I fight back the urge to slap his cocky face.

“No, the pleasure is all mine, your highness,” Clever Jack promises as he looks me deep in the eyes. He drops onto one knee and plants a kiss on the back of my frozen hand like a knight in shining armor.