Chapter 129: How Did This Happen?

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: How Did This Happen?

"When did it begin?"

Silence.

Cassian stared at the Emperor.

For the first time that afternoon, he looked genuinely unprepared.

The Emperor appeared deeply satisfied by this.

"Well?"

Cassian considered the question.

Then frowned.

"I don’t know."

The Emperor’s expression immediately soured.

"That is a terrible answer."

"It is also the truth."

The Emperor folded his arms.

"You expect me to believe that?"

Cassian nodded.

Because he did.

There had been no singular moment.

No dramatic realization.

No lightning strike.

Only a great many small things.

The Emperor sighed.

"Fine."

A pause.

"Then let us begin with an easier question."

Cassian immediately became suspicious.

That tone never led anywhere good.

The Emperor leaned back.

"Who approached whom?"

Silence.

Cassian’s expression froze.

Only briefly.

But it was enough.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes.

"Ah."

Cassian closed his eyes.

"There is no reason to look so pleased."

"There is every reason."

The Emperor folded his arms.

"There is clearly a story here."

"There isn’t."

"There absolutely is."

Cassian already regretted sitting back down.

Eventually he sighed.

"Marian spoke to me first."

The Emperor’s eyebrows rose.

Now that was interesting.

"About what?"

Cassian looked away.

The Emperor smiled.

Slowly.

Dangerously.

"About what?"

"She was frustrated."

"With Adrian?"

"Yes."

The Emperor nodded.

That part was hardly surprising.

"And?"

Cassian sighed.

"She suggested something foolish."

The Emperor waited.

Cassian waited.

The Emperor continued waiting.

Eventually:

"I refused."

The Emperor studied him.

Then nodded once.

He believed that.

For some reason, that irritated him.

"And then?"

"We kept talking."

The Emperor stared.

"That cannot possibly be the entire story."

"Perhaps not."

The Emperor looked satisfied.

"I knew it."

Cassian ignored him.

For a moment he searched for the right words.

Then:

"We kept encountering each other."

"Encountering."

"A remarkable number of accidents."

The Emperor looked deeply skeptical.

Cassian laughed quietly.

"They were genuine accidents."

"Mm."

The Emperor clearly believed nothing of the sort.

"There was a hunting excursion."

The Emperor’s gaze sharpened.

"The forest."

Cassian nodded.

The Emperor remembered hearing about it.

At the time it had seemed insignificant.

A minor inconvenience.

Nothing more.

Now, suddenly, it seemed very significant indeed.

"You were trapped together."

"Yes."

"For how long?"

Cassian hesitated.

The Emperor noticed immediately.

"How long?"

"Three days."

Silence.

The Emperor stared.

"Three days."

"Yes."

"Alone."

"Yes."

Neither spoke.

Then:

"Your Majesty."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were thinking it."

"I was."

Cassian rubbed his forehead.

For some reason, that seemed to amuse the Emperor greatly.

"Nothing happened."

The answer came immediately.

The Emperor looked at him.

Cassian looked back.

Then the Emperor said:

"That wasn’t the surprising part."

Silence.

Cassian blinked.

The Emperor leaned back.

"The surprising part is that after three days together, you both apparently returned determined to continue making responsible decisions."

Against his will, Cassian laughed.

"That didn’t last."

"No."

"It clearly didn’t."

For a moment both men were smiling.

Then the Emperor gestured.

"Continue."

Cassian exhaled.

"We talked."

"About?"

"Everything."

The Emperor waited.

Cassian sighed.

"Politics."

A pause.

"History."

Another.

"Books."

Another.

"The future."

The Emperor nodded.

"And?"

Cassian looked toward the window.

Searching for words.

Then:

"At some point she stopped feeling like Adrian’s fiancée."

The room grew quiet.

"And became Marian."

A long silence followed.

The Emperor understood.

Unfortunately.

Not a title.

Not a future Empress.

Not an obligation.

A person.

Cassian continued quietly.

"We spoke because we enjoyed speaking."

A pause.

"Then we started looking for each other."

Another.

"And eventually..."

He stopped.

The Emperor waited.

Then:

"We forgot we weren’t supposed to."

Silence.

For a long moment neither spoke.

Then the Emperor asked:

"When did you realize?"

Cassian smiled faintly.

"One day I found myself measuring every room by whether she was in it."

The Emperor said nothing.

Because there was no easy response to that.

Then:

"And Marian?"

This time Cassian answered immediately.

"She fought."

No hesitation.

No uncertainty.

"More than I did."

The room became quiet.

Cassian continued.

"She defended Adrian."

A pause.

"Defended the engagement."

Another.

"Defended every reason she should stay."

Silence.

"And lost."

The Emperor looked away.

Toward the window.

Toward the fading afternoon light.

"She tried."

It wasn’t a question.

"No."

The answer surprised him.

The Emperor looked back.

Cassian met his gaze.

"She didn’t try."

A pause.

"She fought."

The words landed heavily.

For a long moment neither spoke.

Then the Emperor leaned back slowly.

"So that was it."

Cassian looked at him.

The Emperor shook his head.

"Not ambition."

A pause.

"Not manipulation."

Another.

"Not conspiracy."

Silence.

Then:

"Just two fools."

Against his will, Cassian laughed.

The Emperor pointed at him.

"Do not look pleased."

"I’m not."

"You are."

"I’m really not."

The Emperor ignored him.

Then, after a moment of thought, pointed again.

"I have reached another conclusion."

Cassian immediately became wary.

"It’s your face."

Silence.

Cassian closed his eyes.

The Emperor nodded firmly.

"That is the answer."

"To what?"

"Everything."

Cassian groaned.

The Emperor folded his arms.

"My son is handsome."

"Of course."

"Very handsome."

"Yes."

The Emperor pointed at him.

"But you."

A pause.

"You are a menace."

Cassian laughed despite himself.

"For years you wandered around the capital looking perfectly harmless."

"I was harmless."

"Clearly not."

The Emperor looked genuinely offended.

"You waited until adulthood."

"That is not how faces work."

"How convenient for you."

Silence.

Then the Emperor muttered:

"If there had been a war, songs would have been written about this."

Cassian immediately looked alarmed.

"What?"

The Emperor ignored him.

"Kingdoms ruined."

"Your Majesty."

"Families divided."

"That one actually happened."

The Emperor pointed triumphantly.

"Exactly."

Then:

"Cassian of Ashford."

Cassian immediately disliked where this was going.

"The face that launched a constitutional crisis."

"That is not a title."

"It should be."

"Please don’t make it one."

The Emperor appeared entirely unconvinced.

"My son loses a fiancée."

A gesture.

"The Empire develops a collective headache."

Another.

"Valmort argues with the Crown."

Another.

"And somehow I am expected to believe your face is unrelated."

For several moments neither spoke.

Then, to his immense annoyance, the Emperor started laughing.

Actually laughing.

The sound echoed through the room.

Cassian stared.

"You’re enjoying this."

"A little."

"A little?"

The Emperor waved a hand.

"You have caused me weeks of trouble."

A pause.

"I am entitled to at least one joke."

The laughter gradually faded.

Silence settled once more.

Then the Emperor looked at him.

Really looked at him.

His nephew.

His brother’s son.

The amusement disappeared.

Something older replaced it.

Something quieter.

"Stay seated."

Cassian blinked.

The Emperor leaned back.

Because there was still one conversation left to have.