The morning following the harvest banquet brought a cold, gray mist over the gates of the Arden Dukedom.
Lucien sat at the head of the heavy mahogany desk in his private study, his hands folded tightly under his chin. While his eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the tall window overlooking the front courtyard. He had not slept a single minute. The image of Cassian's pale, trembling form, the sharp smell of illness, and the faint, desperate touch of the prince's hands haunted him continuously.
Just then a heavy knock echoed at the doorway, breaking the stillness.
Before Lucien could give permission to enter, the tall double doors swung open. Ruby Charmainia Thompson stepped into the study, her dark silk dress rustling against the stone floor. Her face was set in a tight, sharp expression—a stark contrast to the sweet, delicate persona she wore at court.
"You didn't come down to greet your guest,"
Ruby said coldly, closing the door behind her with a sharp click.
Lucien did not turn his head to look at her.
"I did not invite any guests today, Lady Thompson."
Ruby let out a soft, bitter laugh, sweeping across the rug until she stood directly opposite his desk. She slammed her gloved hands against the polished wood, leaning forward.
"How long are you going to keep doing this, Lucien?"
she demanded, her voice rising in frustration.
"How long are you going to run behind Prince Cassian every single time he snaps his fingers?!"
Lucien's jaw tightened, but he remained silent, his eyes remaining fixed on the empty courtyard below.
"Look at me when I am speaking to you!"
Ruby snapped, her patience snapping.
"Last night was our night! It was the official announcement of our betrothal! And yet, the moment his servant whispered in your ear, you abandoned me in front of the entire noble court to run up to his private chambers!"
"He was ill,"
"He is always 'ill' when it suits him!"
Ruby countered sharply, her eyes flashing with anger.
"Can't you see through his games by now? He uses you! He pushes you away, gives you to someone else, and then pulls your leash the moment he feels like you are slipping out of his grasp! We are getting married next week, Lucien! Our wedding is in a matter of days! You should be focusing on me! On us! On the future of our families!"
"If you came here to preach about duty, Ruby,"
Lucien replied, finally turning his cold, weary gaze up to meet hers,
"then you may leave. I have no head for this today."
Ruby clenched her fists so hard her gloves strained. She stared at him, seeing clearly that despite her presence, his mind was still miles away—anxiously waiting for a single word, a message, or a sign from the imperial palace.
"You are waiting for him to write to you, aren't you?"
Ruby whispered, her voice laced with venom.
"You think he is going to send for you today?"
Lucien didn't answer. He simply looked back toward the window.
And a cold, triumphant smirk slowly spread across Ruby's lips. She reached into her dark cloak, pulling out a heavy, parchment letter sealed with the official gold wax of the Emperor himself.
"Well, you can stop waiting,"
Ruby said smoothly, dropping the document onto the center of his desk.
"No guard is coming from Prince Cassian. But this arrived at your doorstep through my carriage."
Lucien looked down at the imperial seal.
"What is this?"
"An imperial decree from Emperor Cedric,"
Ruby announced proudly, folding her arms over her chest.
"His Imperial Majesty has explicitly ordered for you to halt all official duties immediately. You are to remain inside your castle alongside me to focus entirely on preparing for our wedding until the ceremony takes place."
Lucien frowned, picking up the heavy paper and breaking the seal. The Emperor's harsh handwriting confirmed every word: Lucien was confined to his estate with Ruby, strictly barred from leaving or receiving private audiences until their union was finalized.
What Lucien did not know—what he could never have guessed—was that deep inside the inner lining of Ruby's dark coat lay another folded letter. A letter written in Cassian's trembling handwriting, bearing the Crown Prince's personal crest, which Ruby had intercepted from an imperial messenger at the estate gates hours earlier and hidden away to burn.
*****
On the other side of the capital, inside the sunlit, quiet chambers of the Crown Prince, Cassian sat by his open window.
He wore a loose, simple robe, his hands resting gently over his lower stomach. Every sound in the corridor made his heart leap. Every footstep outside his door made him turn his head in anticipation.
"Elias,"
Cassian called out softly for the tenth time that afternoon.
Elias stepped into the room, carrying a fresh tray of warm tea.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"Has... has any messenger arrived from the West yet?"
Cassian asked, his voice filled with a quiet, fragile hope.
"Is there any reply from Lucien?"
Elias looked down, his heart aching for his master.
"No, Your Highness. No messenger has arrived from the Arden Dukedom today."
Cassian swallowed the lump in his throat, offering a faint, strained smile.
"I see... Well, he is probably busy with estate matters. Or perhaps he needs time to process the letter. He will write back tomorrow. He always does."
"Of course, My Lord,"
Elias murmured gently, placing the tea on the table.
"Please, try to drink some tea and rest."
But tomorrow came, and no letter arrived.
Two days passed. Then three. Then five.
A full week bled away into excruciating silence. Cassian barely ate, his eyes growing hollow as he spent his days staring at the empty desk where no reply sat. Every hour that passed felt like a slow, agonizing poison seeping into his chest.
On the seventh day, as the afternoon rain beat heavily against the glass windows, Elias burst into the private study, his breathing ragged. In his hands, he held a tightly rolled parchment bearing the black wax seal of the Arden Dukedom.
"Your Highness!"
Elias gasped out.
"A dispatch from the Arden Dukedom! It was just delivered by a knight!"
Cassian practically leaped from his seat, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. His heart hammered violently against his ribs.
"Give it to me!"
Cassian gasped, his shaking fingers snatching the scroll from Elias's hands.
With high, desperate hopes, Cassian tore open the black seal, unrolling the parchment so fast the edges ripped slightly. He wiped a stray tear from his eye, leaning close to read the sharp, dark ink written in Lucien's familiar hand.
>*"My Lord Cassian,"
the letter began, cold and formal.
"My marriage to Lady Thompson takes precedence. I have finally opened my eyes, Your Highness, and I refuse to be a victim of your schemes any longer. You brought Lady Thompson to my doorstep, and now I will welcome her inside my castle just as you intended."*<
Cassian froze, his breathing stopping entirely. His eyes slowly scanned the lines again and again, refusing to process the cruel words staring back at him.
>*"From now on, let us not ever see each other or write to each other, and please do not show up to my wedding either. Since you are already unwell, it will be best if you remain in bed that day as well and rest your body."*<
A sharp, violent pain stabbed directly through Cassian's chest. The paper trembled violently in his hand as he read the final, devastating paragraph:
>*"As for *your* child... I am sorry, but it will be difficult to raise it together. Since you are to marry Sora as well, you can hasten your marriage that way everyone will not even know that the child is not his. I am sorry that we had to end things this way, but you left me no choice either because you schemes has bled us to this point.*<
The world around Cassian shattered into absolute, terrifying darkness.
Suddenly a scream—
A raw, agonizing, blood-curdling scream tore from Cassian's throat, echoing wildly off the high stone walls of his chambers.
"AAAHHHHHHHH!"
Cassian violently ripped the letter in two, tearing the parchment into tiny, frantic shreds.
Elias's eyes widened in horror.
"Your Highness?!"
he shouted, rushing forward in alarm.
"My Lord, what has happened?!"
Before Elias could reach him, Cassian went completely wild. Fueled by a wave of pure, hysterical grief, he grabbed a heavy crystal vase from the table and hurled it with all his strength against the far stone wall.
*CRASH!*
Shards of glass and water exploded across the room.
"Your Highness, stop! Please!"
Elias cried out, taking a frantic step back as Cassian grabbed the heavy oak chair, shoving it over with a deafening thud. He began thrashing at everything within reach—knocking stacks of official documents off the desk, sweeping glass cups onto the floor, and tearing down the silk drapes near the window.
"How can he?!"
Cassian shrieked, his voice breaking into terrible, desperate sobs as tears streamed down his flushed cheeks. He grabbed his chest, his hands clawing wildly at his own robes as if trying to rip out his aching heart.
"HOW CAN HE DO THIS TO ME?!"
"My Lord!"
Elias choked out, his own tears brimming as he watched his proud, brilliant master completely break apart before his eyes. He stopped moving forward, knowing that trying to physically restrain the frantic prince right now would only cause more harm.
Cassian collapsed onto his knees amidst the ruined papers and shattered glass, his hands digging into the plush rug as he doubled over, shaking violently from head to toe.
"How can Lucien do this to me?!"
Cassian wept hysterically, his voice raw, hollow, and echoing in the ruined room.
"How can he... after everything... how can he say those things to me?!"
He pressed his forehead against the floor, his painful, broken sobs filling the silent, ruined palace chambers, while outside, the rain poured down without any mercy.
*****