The King's Mistress

Chapter 137: Unlikely

Deep in her heart, she celebrated this encounter. She’d been counting on this. Sierra knew there was a good chance Cassandra would come to see her. Perhaps, to gloat at her or, to help her.

"I guess one of us has clearly seen better days," Cassandra replied nonchalantly.

She looked down at the ground of the cell with disgust, her shoes were ruined.

"Sorry about your shoes, I would’ve preferred for us to meet somewhere... nicer," Sierra chuckled.

The soldiers she had come with stood guard outside the cell. Sierra knew they were Cassandra’s personal guards. They were there for her protection.

Cassandra shot her a glance as she pursed her lips, "I came here to offer you a chance to escape."

Sierra was surprised, "A chance to escape?"

Cassandra knew how unbelievable it all was. After all, both of them had not seen eye to eye since the beginning. She had been contemplating her decision to come and see Sierra for an entire day.

"I don’t like owing favors, Sierra, so consider it my gift to repay my debt to you. This is the only leniency I will ever show to you," she explained while folding her arms.

Sierra was surprised.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Cassandra asked back, confused by Sierra’s question.

"Why are you helping me?"

This was the golden opportunity for her to get rid of Sierra, was it not? And yet she was offering her a chance to escape.

Cassandra bit her lip, "I’m sure it’s clear to you that someone has framed you. Let’s just say..."

"And you’re upset that it wasn’t you who pinned this on me, but perhaps... someone we both know?" Sierra responded with a smirk.

She took the words right out of her mouth. Based on Cassandra’s visit and the words she’s spoken alone, Sierra already knew who framed her. Cassandra never liked Sierra and had always wanted to put her in her place.

Now that someone had gotten to her before she could, it was clear that it did not sit well with her.

Cassandra chuckled a little, "I guess you’re not as stupid as I thought you were after all. But still, why come back here when you could’ve escaped?"

It was a question she’s had on her mind since she heard Sierra had turned herself in. Who in the right mind would do something like this? Sierra would, that was clear to all.

"Because I intend on proving that I am innocent. Since that is the truth."

"So I guess I came for nothing then? You’re clearly not going to take up my offer," Cassandra said in defeat, with anger brewing in the back of her mind.

She had hoped this would write off the debt she owed to Sierra. Though she did not like her, the fact that Sierra had saved her life on multiple occasions was true. There were no lies in that.

As she turned to leave, Sierra stopped her.

"You came for a good reason, Cassandra. And I’m grateful for your offer but I would have to decline. However, there’s something else I would like to discuss with you."

She turned back to face Sierra as she scoffed, "Why should I listen to you?"

"Because I can drag you down with me if I choose to do so," Sierra explained with a wide smile.

"Are you trying to blackmail me?" Cassandra asked with her eyes wide, shocked.

"No, not at all," Sierra said as she waved her hands up, "What power do I have to blackmail you with? I’m simply cautioning you, seeing as we’re friends now-"

"Friends? Have you lost your mind from your festering wound? We are most certainly not friends." freēwēbnovel.com

"How about acquaintances? And as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, no?" ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Cassandra furrowed her eyebrows, "What are you trying to say?"

Sierra leaned back against the wall, instantly regretting it as the hard surface of the rock wall gave her more discomfort. She got up to her feet instead and walked towards Cassandra.

"I have a hunch Agnes is behind all of this and I intend on taking her down. To boost my credibility, I intend on bringing up some incidents from the past..." she continued explaining while watching Cassandra carefully, "Which perhaps include a certain assassination attempt on me."

Sierra had to give props to Cassandra. She didn’t even flinch at the information she had just revealed. She simply glared at Sierra, waiting to see what she might say next.

"I’m pretty sure she wasn’t smart enough to have planned everything..." she allowed herself to trail off.

Glancing over to Cassandra, Sierra already knew she already got her where she wanted.

Cassandra knew exactly where she was going with it. If Sierra produced evidence of it in court, that would be highlighted. It would not take long for them to trace the blame to her and Agnes. At that point, even if the false allegations against Sierra became true, the other crimes would be brought to light too.

No one would be safe. Cassandra also knew of the incident involving Sierra’s horse, Midnight. Though both Agnes and Cassandra were supposedly on the same team, Agnes’s impulsive moves have irked her for a while now.

When she abandoned Cassandra to fend for herself during the archery test, she knew Agnes was not a trustworthy ally.

"Didn’t she abandon you during the archery test? To fend for yourself against the deerphant?" Sierra brought it up just as she was thinking about it.

"So your plan is for me to work with you and pin the blame on Agnes so that you and I get off scot-free?" Cassandra asked in disbelief.

"That’s the idea, yes."

"But I hated you. In fact I still do. I just... I don’t understand, why are you still so cordial with me?"

Sierra was taken aback by the princess’s question. She had not considered it before. Though they had never seen eye to eye, Sierra had a level of respect for Cassandra. She knew well that it wasn’t simple for a Princess to command such authority like her.

"I guess you can say, I respect you," Sierra shrugged.

Cassandra averted her gaze, deep in thought.

"Will you help me?" Sierra asked again.

"I don’t usually take bets like this, but I’m intrigued to see where this goes," she took a few steps toward Sierra.

She leaned forward as she opined her index finger at Sierra as she spoke in a cold menacing voice, "But mark my words, Sierra. If you end up betraying me at any point in time, even the King would not be able to protect you from my wrath."

Sierra took the threat in stride and nodded as she replied, "Understood, your Highness."