Two-faced prince!

Cassandra knew he was like this since they had met, but she wasn\'t aware of how good he was at acting until they had met a group of nobles who wanted to meet his future bride.

"Lady Cassandra, I\'ve heard a lot about you."

"Good things, I hope," Cassandra said as the man\'s lips brushed her hand. She avoided meeting other nobles as a rule. But being the Prince\'s future bride meant more socializing, more tea parties, and more conversations about the savagery of the demons and dark ones.

"Lord Castro… if you could let go of my bride\'s hands…".

Cassandra gave a tightlipped smile to the older man, who was still holding her hand. At least Prince Hunter was not scared to talk to Nobles like this. And it seemed like those nobles were showing signs that they were already used to this attitude.

"Ah, forgive me, Prince Hunter." Lord Castro smiled and let go of her hand. Then he turned his attention towards the prince standing next to Cassandra. "When I heard about the engagement, I was curious. I had heard of the renowned La Roche Family but I had never met General Carmichael\'s sister."

"My bride is… bewitching. I can\'t blame you for acting like you\'ve seen an angel. I had the same reaction when I first saw her."

This man…

Cassandra gnashed her teeth and avoided Hunter\'s eyes. She lowered her gaze and pretended not to hear any more of this man\'s flattery. Cassandra focused on the other people around them. Most of them were people that she recognized simply because of the clothes that they were wearing. Most of them had their family crest on their coat—a sign that they were their family\'s heirs.

Unlike Cassandra who was wearing her family\'s crest, the women surrounding them didn\'t have one. Usually, only the direct heirs had the right to wear crests. However, this custom was not applicable to the four great families.

The four great families were proud Elementalists. Wearing a crest meant that one could use that element. For instance, Jude from the water elemental Cephie family would never go out of his room without wearing the insignia that looked like waves. Most of his possessions would have the same insignia, too.

However, someone from the Cephie Family who could not use the water element would not have the right to wear their family\'s insignia.

"Ah, but I am wondering, why would Lady Cassandra join the hunt? I mean… no offense, Prince Hunter but your marriage is around the corner. Wouldn\'t it be good to keep your bride safe in your castle?" A man with a mustache spoke. He smiled at Prince Hunter before moving his eyes towards her, as he continued. "I heard that Lady Cassandra fought at the gate with her parents. However, she is still a woman. And just like all women, she needs to be cherished and protected. I would never have my soon-to-be bride join me in hunting, especially since these grounds can be a bit dangerous."

Cassandra smiled back. "Lord Corpus… may I know how many dark ones you have killed when you visited the gates?"

The man\'s face instantly changed, the smile on his lips vanishing. "That—I couldn\'t remember. But that is irrelevant to my concerns. As a woman— "

"A hundred and five." Cassandra interrupted him. "I beheaded a hundred and five of them and watched their bodies crumble, their ashes blown away by the wind. I burned a few of them. The smell of their flesh burnt by my fire was… memorable."

Almost instantly, the atmosphere turned grave.

Maybe it was the somber tone in her voice or the confidence that accompanied her sinister smile. Perhaps it was the fact that she was a woman, talking about beheading and burning someone. Cassandra watched as the Lord\'s face paled, eyes turning away from her. Then she felt Prince Hunter\'s hands on her waist.

She continued, "But of course, I am but a woman. Who am I to talk about killing dark ones?" She lifted her head and met the Prince\'s smiling face. "I need to be cherished… and protected. I absolutely needed a dashing and brave man by my side, all the time."

"My Lady… I hope you don\'t mind." A woman, blond with a timid smile, cleared her throat before she continued, "I am curious. I have heard that you fought at the gates. May I know how old… I mean… no offense, but how old were you when you went to the gates?"

"I grew up at the gates. I started fighting when I turned… eighteen."

She heard another woman gasp.

"You were so young… a woman at that age…"

"Celeste, Lady Cassandra grew up at the gates." The man standing next to the blond one said. He leaned forward and whispered, "Look at the way she speaks. She sounds uneducated. I heard she ran away and left Zealandia too." It was a whisper. But Cassandra and most people around them had practiced martial arts. Their senses were obviously sharper than the normal Zealandians.

Cassandra only sent the duo a smirk.

"Lady Cassandra… may I know about your future plans after marrying the Prince?" Lord Castro asked, trying to ease the tension.

"Plan…" Cassandra smiled. First, she needed to survive long enough to marry him. Then she needed to survive their first night. Then live long and survive the first week. Then the first month. In fact, her plan was just to stay alive. "I have many plans," she said.

"We…" Prince Hunter added. "We have many plans… together."

Convincing. Cassandra rolled her eyes inwardly. This man could easily fool the surrounding people. What a fox.

"Yes, that\'s right. My Prince and I have… a lot of plans together." For now, she could only maintain the smile on her face. Her gaze then shifted towards the Crown Prince, who was walking towards them.

Just seeing the Crown Prince sauntering towards them with that gentle look tired her. Given a chance, she would choose fighting against dark ones or demons over talking to these people, any day.