The Pig Governor
Cassandra was still thinking about the farming problem that night as she cooked with Patrina and Nebora. The food they were slicing and mashing wasn't so bad, but it wasn't particularly fresh either. With no proper farmers around to tend the land and provide food, no wonder the whole area was deserted.
"What about trading then?"
"You're thinking about that again?" sighed Nebora. "Trading is what we do. Usually we can only buy at the nearest village, but it's two hours from here using the horses."
"Is the village big? Could we go there?"
"Certainly not now!" said Patrina, frowning. "Just focus on your task and stop chatting so much!"
Having said that, she left the kitchen to go to the storage room. As soon as she was gone, Nebora moved closer to Cassandra and whispered.
"She's not wrong, you know. You may not know this because you came from the Capital, but this area is terribly unsafe at night. As soon as the sun sets, a lot of dangerous beasts start to roam around. You would get killed and eaten in minutes."
Cassandra had no idea. Indeed, the Capital was a large and highly guarded City, as most of the Empire's officials were located there. Only the Governors had residences on their designated territories, though some high-ranked nobles had built secondary residences outside of the Capital walls. She also knew of a few other big cities that existed and were doing quite well on their own, but from the day she had been sold to her first master, she had never taken a step out of the Capital.
"I'm also not sure when His Highness will come back, but if I were you, I would stay close to the castle."
Cassandra couldn't help but blush a bit when she heard those words. She wondered when he would be back too.
Krai also hadn't come back. Wherever the Black Dragon had gone, it must have been pretty far, because it was nowhere to be seen; not even from the Prince's tower. The two women kept chatting until Patrina came back with a grumpy look on her face.
"We have to make an extra portion."
Nebora frowned.
"What? That pig is eating here again?"
Patrina just nodded, and went outside again to call Prunie and Marian. Cassandra finished cutting her vegetables and turned to Nebora.
"Who are we talking about?"
Nebora rolled her eyes.
"The Governor, Grovah. The man is a fucking pig. He acts as he pleases here, and if His Highness is gone, he likes to order us around. He has his own manor but this is where he spends most of his time. He even took a room here!"
"Why does he stick around?"
"Because he is so full of himself and likes the Castle better. And because he gets to act like a fucking pervert with the servants here, too. I heard he touched all of his servant girls back at his manor, despite having a wife and five concubines!"
Cassandra almost dropped the pot she was carrying.
"What? Even here?"
She thought of the young girls like Bina and Prunie, who were only fourteen and fifteen years old. Sadly, it was not uncommon for officials to abuse their powers and have their "fun" with the servants, but this was the Prince's Palace!
