Chapter 314: v4 - 15: final preparations II

Chapter 314: v4 Chapter 15: final preparations II

Adrian descended the grand staircase and crossed the entrance hall, where the Imperial Guard awaited him.

Outside, a closed Imperial carriage stood ready.

Adrian entered, and the carriage departed beneath a discreet escort.

Through the window, he could see the capital preparing for the day’s occasion.

Imperial banners hung from the buildings along the principal avenue, their colors bright beneath the morning sky.

The streets surrounding the designated route remained open, but barriers had already been placed along the road reserved for the procession.

People were beginning to gather behind them.

Some had arrived early enough to secure a good position.

Others watched from shopfronts and balconies as the preparations continued around them.

The city itself remained busy.

Merchants opened their doors.

Carriages moved along the neighboring streets.

Servants hurried through their morning duties.

Yet beneath the ordinary rhythm of the capital was a growing sense of anticipation.

Everyone knew what was coming.

The King of Milicia was entering the Imperial capital.

Adrian watched the passing streets without comment.

The preparations had begun hours ago.

There was little left for him to oversee.

His officials had handled everything precisely as expected.

The carriage continued south.

As they drew nearer to the gates, the crowds became thicker.

More Imperial standards appeared along the avenue.

The barriers extended farther.

Guards stood at measured intervals, keeping the designated route clear while allowing the rest of the city to continue around it.

The southern gates eventually came into view.

Adrian’s carriage passed through the outer approach and came to a stop at the appointed position.

He remained inside.

There was still time before the formal reception.

Outside, the ceremonial guard stood ready.

His horse had already been brought forward, waiting beneath the Imperial standard.

Senior officials of the court gathered nearby.

The Foreign Minister held the final documents.

Everything was in place.

Adrian glanced once toward the road beyond the gates.

The Milician delegation had not yet appeared.

So he waited.

For now, the Emperor remained inside the carriage.

The public reception would begin only when the delegation came into sight.

And when it did, Adrian would step out.

He would mount his ceremonial horse.

And the capital would finally see him receive the King of Milicia.

--

The Milician delegation had been awake long before the appointed hour.

The inn had become a temporary royal residence for the morning.

Servants moved between the rooms.

Grooms prepared the horses outside.

Officials checked documents for the final time.

Guards inspected weapons and equipment.

Every member of the delegation knew what was expected of them.

They had come to the Empire under peaceful banners.

Today, they would enter its capital.

King Lorenz’s carriage was prepared first.

His royal standard was fixed beside it, while the Milician guards assembled around the vehicles and horses.

The delegation itself was considerable.

Nearly one hundred and seventy people would enter the capital that morning.

Nobles.

Diplomats.

Foreign Ministry officials.

Advisers.

Secretaries.

Servants.

Guards.

Men who had spent weeks preparing for the journey.

Men who would now have to represent an entire kingdom before the Imperial court.

Marcus was among the first to emerge.

He was already dressed in formal Milician attire, his expression composed as he spoke briefly with one of the officials.

Robert arrived shortly afterward.

Alex and Gary followed.

The others gathered around them as the final arrangements were made.

Then Cassian stepped from his room.

He was dressed as Marquess Carlo of Valmere.

The dark formal coat fit him precisely, its details appropriate for a nobleman traveling in the company of a king.

His hair had been arranged differently from the way he had worn it in the Empire.

It was shorter at the sides and brushed back from his face, revealing more of his forehead and changing the shape of his features.

The facial hair he had allowed to grow during the journey remained, adding further distinction to his appearance.

Nothing about the changes was dramatic.

Yet together, they altered the impression he gave.

The young duke who had once lived in the Empire had possessed a softer, more familiar appearance.

This man looked older.

More guarded.

More deliberate.

His posture was straighter, his expression more controlled, and the years had sharpened the lines of his face.

He was still unmistakably handsome.

But he no longer looked like the Cassian people in the Empire remembered.

He looked like a foreign nobleman who had spent years building a life far from home.

He looked like Carlo.

Cassian paused near the entrance.

For a moment, he looked back toward the room he had occupied for the final night.

There was nothing left to prepare.

He had checked everything twice.

His documents were in order.

His identity as Marquess Carlo of Valmere was established.

His place in the delegation was secure.

He was ready.

Or as ready as he could be.

Lorenz approached him.

"Carlo."

Cassian turned.

"Your Majesty."

Lorenz studied him briefly.

Then his expression softened.

"Ready?"

Cassian looked toward the road outside.

"Yes."

Lorenz nodded.

"Then let’s get you home."

Cassian gave him a faint smile.

The delegation began moving.

The carriages rolled forward first.

The mounted guards followed.

Nobles and officials took their appointed positions.

The royal carriage moved near the center of the formation, surrounded by its escort.

Cassian rode among the mounted members of the delegation.

The road to the capital was already familiar.

They had traveled it yesterday.

But today it felt entirely different.

Yesterday, the capital had been something waiting at the end of the journey.

Now it was almost within reach.

The closer they came, the heavier the traffic became.

More people appeared along the roads.

More Imperial banners rose above the buildings.

The signs of the capital multiplied.

Cassian barely spoke.

He watched.

Every familiar feature tightened something inside his chest.

The language around him.

The architecture.

The Imperial standards.

The people.

He had spent years imagining this.

Yet nothing he had imagined quite captured the feeling of seeing it again.

Then the road rose slightly.

And beyond the buildings ahead—

the capital appeared.

Cassian’s breath caught.

There it was.

The city.

The place he had once called home.

The walls rose ahead of them.

The southern gates stood open.

And beyond them, he could already see the gathering crowd.

Imperial banners stretched above the avenue.

The road ahead had been cleared.

People stood behind the barriers, waiting.

Even from this distance, Cassian could feel the anticipation in the city.

They were almost there.

Lorenz’s carriage moved ahead of him.

Marcus turned slightly in his saddle.

"That’s the capital."

Cassian said nothing.

He had no words for it.

He simply stared.

Almost six years.

And now the gates were in sight.

His heart began beating harder.

Beyond those walls was the palace.

And somewhere inside it—

Marian.

Cassian tightened his hand around the reins.

For years, he had dreamed of returning.

Now there was no dream between him and the city.

Only a road.

Only a few minutes.

Only the gates.

And beyond them, everything he had spent nearly six years surviving to find.

--

Tbc

AN: i can’ttt I want to cry, my heart has already dropped in my stomach and the anticipation of him seeing marian again is killing me!