The capital, Asyyla, was unlike anything she had seen. Miles before reaching the city’s outskirts, she could already catch glimpses of the towering buildings. Tall towers and domed roofs competed with each other in extravagance and vanity. Daliya suspected that some roofs were even made of pure gold. The sunlight reflected off their shining surfaces, blinding her eyes.
Just how well off was the empire?
They stopped near the entrance of the city. Mazin presented her with a white stallion, her horse for her ceremonial arrival.
There was no horse prepared for Haitham. Daliya suspected the act was intentional. She waited for a fight to break out, for her bodyguard to taunt her knight captain. But strangely enough, Haitham had shrugged.
“I can walk,” he said. Then he added with a nonchalant air. “I don’t require something to carry me from one point to another like some pompous ass.”
There it was. The taunts.
She frowned. Did he include her in the ‘pompous ass’ comment?
They found an audience waiting for them. The crowd lined the sides of the road. Men, women, and children gathered to watch them make their way inside the capital’s towering walls.
Daliya glanced ahead, the breath stuttering in her chest. Up on the hill, way higher than the other buildings, was the most magnificent castle she had ever laid eyes on. The white crystalline towers she had glimpsed earlier bordered the castle buildings. It was a fortress. It was a majestic fortress towering over the city, bringing all the other buildings to shame.
Daliya’s humble castle looked like a ramshackle cottage compared to this architectural marvel.
“Quite an eyesore.”
Daliya glanced down at Haitham. Although his voice was light, his eyes held so much anger and hatred that Daliya had to look away to avoid suffocating from the projected feelings.
Haitham’s hatred for the emperor ran deep, deeper than she ever thought. He would have raised the whole castle to the ground if given the chance.
A wild thought floated to the forefront of her mind. Maybe she would lend him a helping hand if the emperor ever found out about her not being his daughter or that the crystal he sent the princess searching for no longer existed in this world—unless he was looking for its fine dust, then that was another matter. Maybe, just maybe, she would be successful in bringing a particle or two to feast his eyes on.
They took a turn instead of keeping straight toward the castle. When Daliya turned questioning eyes to Mazin, who was a few feet behind her, he blinked at her, uncomprehending.
“Are we not heading to the castle?”
Shouldn’t they greet the emperor or something? Wasn’t that mandatory? She didn’t want to start on the wrong foot. She was already at a disadvantage.
Mazin’s brows furrowed. He paused for a while, hesitating, before saying in the calmest and slowest tone she had ever heard him use.
“His Majesty still hasn’t granted Your Highness an audience yet.”
Ah, so his own daughter needed some kind of permission to see him.
Pretentious bastard.
“We’re heading to Your Highness’ mansion.”
So, she had a mansion in the capital. Good. Great even. She didn’t want to spend more time than necessary with the arrogant man.
Her mansion was considerably smaller. Not even a castle, and not even a tower. She frowned. She had seen more extravagant mansions on their way here—excluding the white monstrosity on the hill.
Shouldn’t the sole princess of the empire—supposedly the crown princess—possess the second-most lavish house in the capital?
No. She wasn’t salty.
Although… just a little. She was the princess, after all. She wasn’t asking for much.
Servants were waiting for their party. They flanked the road from the main entrance to the mansion’s door. A bit accustomed to such shows of veneration. Daliya walked inside without a misstep. But her carefully curated mask crumpled as soon as she closed her bedroom door. She sighed, massaging her aching shoulders.
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Between traveling during the day and training at night, she was ready to tumble into dreamland and only resurface after at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Alas, her plans would have to take a backseat as her infamous companion walked in through the window.
“Doors exist for a reason, you know?”
She wanted to sound reproachful but instead came out as tired.
Haitham raised an eyebrow at her. “You want them to see me walk into your room? At this time?”
One glance at the window showed that it was late afternoon.
What was wrong with the time? It was still hours before darkness invaded the city.
She paused.
Yeah. Maybe he was right. She was the empire’s princess. It wouldn’t do to let a strange man into her chambers. Even if that said man was an assassin who only cared about killing her slowly with his arduous training from hell.
This place was the capital, not her castle, where rarely anyone batted an eye at seeing him shadowing her.
“Fair enough.” She sighed. “What do you want?” She lifted a finger, cutting him off before he uttered a word. “No training. I’m tired. I want to rest.”
He huffed. “It’s not about training. However, your lack of enthusiasm is quite disturbing. You’re still ways behind her strength.”
“I know, I know. But not today,” she complained. Though it suspiciously sounded more like whining to her ears.
“Fine.” He raised his hands in mock surrender. “But that’s not what I’m here.” At her querying look, he continued, “Pick up your coins purse. We’re going shopping today.”
“Shopping?” she asked, incredulous.
“I just thought you, of all people, would like to taste Asyyla’s cuisine. At least, before meeting the old bastard.”
She perked up, her tiredness suddenly forgotten at the promise of delicious food. “Why, yes, of course.” She hurried to the closet and took out a random dress. “Give me just a moment to change my travel clothes.”
She hurried to the en-suite bathroom to get rid of all the dust she had collected, ignoring Haitham’s snickers as she slammed the door behind her.
A couple of hours later, she was meandering around the food district, a half mask and a cloak concealing her identity. The assassin had thought of everything, apparently. Once she announced her readiness to depart, he had pulled the half mask over her face. She had planned to send him on food errands while waiting for him, hidden in the cold embrace of the dark alley’s shadows. But now, she could walk freely amongst the stands.
She walked, happily chewing on the BBQ skewer. The meat was seasoned perfectly, and the veggies added a whole new flavor to the whale dish. It was simply divine.
Haitham walked beside her, arms filled with the food she had still to sample.
“And you said you weren’t a glutton.”
“I’m not. I just have a sophisticated palate,” she said highly. “Something you’re quite missing on my ear, bodyguard. A shame, really. With all this food, you still find things to agonize about.”
He scoffed. “Let’s hear you say that after you can no longer fit in your uniform.”
Daliya stuck her tongue out mockingly. “I'll just order new ones to be made. I’m the princess, remember?”
“Speaking of.” Haitham glanced up and down at her outfit. “Is this what you’re going to wear for the ball?”
Daliya paused. “What ball?”
No one told her about this.
“The ball. The annual festivities always culminate with a ball hosted by the emperor himself at the castle. All the important figures in the empire will be present, along with some dignitaries.”
“How did you know this? Is this one of your intel from your spy?” She wiggled her fingers in the air, eyebrow raised.
He paused, hesitating. “You could say that.”
For some reason, Daliya felt as if he was hiding something.
“You might need a wardrobe change.” He rubbed his chin in thought.
She looked down at her dress. Wha was wrng with it? It was beautiful. The silver white and the dark midnight blue complemented each other. Whoever made it had a great sense of fashion. It was light and practical. She could run and fight while still looking like a princess out of a fairy tale.
Ten out of ten. Would totally recommend.
“You don’t have a tailor in mind, do you?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “How would I? The only thing I’ve been doing since getting here is training, training, and training some more! Remember?”
He looked somewhere beyond her sight, lost in thought, before saying, “I might know someone who might help.” At her raised eyebrow, he added, “A friend of a friend knows someone.”
“Of course.” She snorted. “Who else do you know? A makeup specialist? A royal etiquette teacher?”
She was joking. How would an assassin be acquitted with such a variety of people? She expected him to laugh and question her line of thinking, not nod, with no hint of teasing on his face.
“While I do know some people who could help you with etiquette, I believe it would be best to teach you the basics for now. As for the makeup specialist, the princess is known for not having much taste in such things. It would be weird if she started now.”
Daliya balked at him. Him? Teach her etiquette? What else did he know? No, the question should be, was there something he didn’t know?
“How do you know royal etiquettes?” she couldn’t help asking.
He hesitated before answering, “They come in handy sometimes.”
He turned away, avoiding her narrowed eyes.
“Come. we don’t have much time to waste. The emperor might call upon you sooner than we expect.”
Nope. the madman was quite late to call upon his only daughter. Was this a show of strength? A matter of ‘know your position. Even if I don’t have powers, I’m still the emperor,’ kind of thing. The old man shouldn’t have bothered. She had no intention of posing as his heir.
She might not even have the chance if things didn’t change.
“We’ll talk about this later.” She pointed her finger at Haitham, hoping to appear threatening. However, with the silly mask over her face, she doubted she pulled it off.
“Sure,” he said, nonchalant.
