9 Lady In Red

'Duke had his dance?'

'With who?'

Valeria's eyes widened when she heard those words but soon she maintained her expression. "But Duke had been absent from the dance floor."

"Hmm, true. Where did you dance? Oh, was it in the garden?" Lord Bentham touched his chin as if he was in deep thoughts. "Oh, I heard some rumors going around that you were with a lady in red. Was she the one who .."

Lord Bentham swallowed his words when he saw Duke Salvador's gaze piercing through his soul.

"Still The Duke should dance with a Princess." Princess Valeria said softly. Her hands were clenched tightly as she wanted to find that lady soon.

[I will kill the lady as soon as I find her.]

[Should I give her poison and let her house burn?]

Princess Valeria's hand was trembling as she tried to control her burning fire. She was a fire mage who did not know how to control her anger. She was a Princess who all of them loved. She had gotten everything whatever she desired.

[If I don't have it, then I will burn everything down.]

Duke Salvador's eyes flicked. He subconsciously looked at Princess Cassandra who was looking at Princess Valeria with narrowed eyes.

'She never looked at me.'

'What is so interesting with everything else that she does not have time to look at me.'

Aiden looked at Princess Valeria wondering if he could tell her the truth. What if the fifth Princess' life becomes more miserable.

"Who told you I didn't dance with a Princess?" Duke Aiden's Salvador's words attracted a lot of affection.

Everyone's attention was already on the trio, but Duke Aiden Salvador's words brought a wave of whispers along with it.

It was not long before it reached the Emperor's ears.

"Did the Duke have his dance? Who might the Princess be?" The Emperor's words made everyone look at the Duke with a questionable gaze.

No one had seen him having a conversation with any Lady and nor have they seen him at the dance floor.

Aiden's gaze moved towards the place where many Princesses were seated. Unknown to him, everyone else gaze also followed Aiden's.

Princess Cassandra swallowed hard. She did not want to have a lot of attention on her. She knew what everyone else was thinking and she wanted to avoid it as much as possible.

'Please don't look at me.'

'Please don't make me a center of attraction.'

'I have a lot of baggage on me now.'

As if reading her mind, Duke Salvador's gaze moved away from her in a fraction of a second. She hated being the center of attention and Aiden understood her.

Aiden looked at the Emperor as he smiled. "Yes I did enjoy a pleasant dance with a Princess but I would like to get to know her better."

Everyone gassed. Duke Salvador had refused to give the name of the Princess publicly. It was sure that he wanted to protect her, but who.

"As a father, I would like to know which of my daughters have caught your eyes." The Emperor smiled but his thoughts were a little different.

[So will you marry her.]

[I hope it would be Valeria but looking at her expression I am sure she is not the one.]

[Can I make the Duke's love shift towards Valeria. I should be able to.]

"If the Duke wishes, he can visit the palace anytime he wants to." The Emperor smiled as he said.

"I would love that," Aiden's lips curled up as if he had gotten a free pass to do whatever he wanted to. "But I hope that I don't meet my lady in red when she is in a sticky situation."

Cassandra's eyes widened as a flush blossomed on her face. Her milky white skin had turned a shade of pink. But Cassandra still tried to keep calm and a straight face.

Everyone looked at the Princesses. From the total of seven, at least four of them were wearing red. Even one thought the same thing.

[One of them is the one the Duke is interested in.]

[But who?]

Their eyes collided as the Princesses looked at each other with envy. One of them was their rival but no one knew who.

Soon the banquet ended with a lot of tension and a prospective power struggle between the four Princesses.

-----------

Cassandra rolled around in the bed as she thought back on today's situation.

So many things have happened till now that it was difficult to imagine.

"The banquet was so beautiful." Amy's voice flew into Cassandra's ears. "I never thought that the Duke was this handsome."

Cassandra laughed as she looked at her lady-in-waiting who was busy around the room, doing something. "I thought you said that Duke Salvador was handsome."

"Yes, but this. Uff …" Amy blushed. "He is not humanly handsome."

"Then what? Godly handsome?" Cassandra asked as he looked at Amy.

"Oh my, Princess. You also think so. I had never seen him in real life but just heard of the rumor. But looking at him, I am sure anyone would fall for his charms." Amy blushed as she said like a young girl in love.

Cassandra giggled. "So have you fallen for his charms now?"

"No .." Amy shook her head as her voice trembled, "I mean he is handsome but my heart's already given."

Cassandra smiled as she tried to control her laughter. "So did you dance with your crush?"

Amy blushed as she nodded her head.

[And it was beautiful too.]

Cassandra smiled. It was good that Amy enjoyed herself.

"But Princess, what do you think will happen now? The Princesses will try to outrage one another." Amy asked worriedly.

"I guess I was lucky that I didn't wear red." Cassandra giggled as she thought.

"But Princess I heard you changed clothes when you bumped into the third Princess. Were you hurt?" Amy was worried about Cassandra. It was not the first time that the Princess had been in this situation.

"No, I was not hurt. It was not."

"I heard it was because the third Princess was jealous that Lord Bentham was talking with you."

Cassandra smiled. "I could not leave the place when someone is talking to me though."

"But Princess, did you enjoy yourself?" Amy walked towards Cassandra as she asked, looking at her.

'Did I enjoy myself?' Cassandra asked herself that.

The experience was not as bad as she had imagined. Even though the Empress had tried her best to push Cassandra into things she was saved by the Duke.

'Did he mean that he wished he would not save me next time we meet?'

Cassandra did not want to get into trouble. But it seems there was only one choice now to free herself from the palace.

'Should I get married?'

Cassandra was thinking seriously about it now. She was pushed into a situation that made her think about it seriously.

"What will the first Princess do now?" Amy's voice made Cassandra look at her.

"The first Princess?"

Amy nodded, "It is said that Princess Valeria is extremely angry right now. So much so that her palace is almost destroyed."

Cassandra did not reply, as she heard Amy's thoughts.

[So that means Princess Valeria is not the one who danced with the Duke.]

[It should be one of the remaining three Princesses.]

[What will the first Princess do to them?]

Cassandra's spin shivered as she too thought the same. Looking at Princess Valeria, it was certain that she hated being the second option.

'Will she kill someone again to be the first?'

Cassandra thought. She wanted to hide herself as much as possible. But if this continued then one of the three Princesses wearing red would be hurt by the first Princess.

'But if they knew it was me then I would be dead.'

Cassandra knew that she would die, and no one would even look for her killer. A Princess without any power was a showpiece in this Empire. An existence that could be demolished by anyone.

"Princess. Isn't this red?" Amy asked as she saw her blue dress that Cassandra had changed. "I think it is wine. It will not go away."

Cassandra's heartbeats fastened. "Amy throw it away or better burn it down."

"But Princess." As Amy looked at Cassandra's gaze she realized something. "Is this the …"

Cassandra's breath stopped for a second. Amy was thinking everything in her mind even if the words were not coming out of her mouth.

[It was Princess.]

[You were the one who danced with the Duke.]

[How was this pos..]

"Amy." Cassandra's words broke Amy's trail of thoughts. "If you and I both want to live, you need to take care of this dress."

Amy was silent but finally, she nodded. "Yes, Princess."

Survival in the palace was hard and a lot of secrets needed to be kept all the time. "I will take care of the dress."

Cassandra sighed, but her mind was not at rest.

'What if someone else knew about it?'

'What will Princess Valeria do then?'

Things were starting to get interesting at the Empire.