Chapter 235: v2 - 54: a father’s concern II

Chapter 235: v2 Chapter 54: a father’s concern II

The Duke did not sleep particularly well that night.

Marian’s letter remained on his desk long after the household had gone quiet.

He had read it several times.

Not because he doubted the words.

Because he was trying to understand them.

His Majesty asked me to marry him last night.

And beneath that—

I am very happy.

The Duke had spent years believing that Adrian’s feelings for Marian had either disappeared or changed into something far less gentle.

Perhaps he had been wrong.

Perhaps Adrian had loved her all along.

But that possibility brought little comfort.

Because love did not always remain the same after it had been wounded.

The Duke knew that much from being an old man.

Love could survive rejection.

It could survive distance.

It could even survive years apart.

But it rarely survived unchanged.

And Adrian had not merely been separated from Marian.

He had watched her choose another man.

That was different.

The Duke sat back in his chair.

If Adrian wanted Marian, that was one thing.

If Adrian still loved her, that was another.

But what had those years done to that love?

That was what concerned him.

He could not answer the question from a letter.

He needed to see Marian.

He needed to hear her voice.

He needed to know whether the happiness she had written about was truly as simple as it sounded.

And then—

what?

The Duke did not know.

He could not simply tell his daughter not to marry the Emperor.

Not when she had accepted willingly.

Not when she had written that she was happy.

Not when the entire Empire would soon know of the marriage.

And yet the thought of simply standing aside did not sit easily with him either.

He rubbed his temple.

What was he supposed to do?

He had no accusation he could make.

No proof.

No authority to command an adult daughter who had made her own choice.

And even if he did—

Adrian was Emperor.

The Duke exhaled.

There was nothing to be decided tonight.

He would go to the capital.

He would see Marian.

Then he would determine what came next.

--

By morning, the household was already preparing for his departure.

There were matters that required his attention before he could leave—documents to sign, instructions to give, arrangements to make for the duchy in his absence.

The Duke dealt with each efficiently.

His mind, however, kept returning to the same thought.

What has happened between them?

He had known Marian.

He had known Adrian.

And yet somehow, in the years since he had last seen them together, the two had arrived at this.

An imperial wedding.

The Duke still found it difficult to believe.

By midday, everything necessary had been arranged.

His carriage was waiting.

The Duke took Marian’s letter with him.

He placed it carefully inside his coat.

Then he left Valmont.

--

The first congratulations came before he had even travelled halfway to the capital.

At a posting station, the Duke had barely stepped out of the carriage when an acquaintance approached him with a delighted expression.

"Your Grace."

The Duke turned.

"Congratulations."

The Duke paused.

"For what?"

The man looked genuinely surprised.

"Your daughter, of course."

Ah.

So the news had already travelled this far.

The Duke managed a polite smile.

"Thank you."

"The future Empress."

The words sounded strange coming from someone else.

The Duke nodded.

"Yes."

He returned to his carriage soon afterward.

But the matter stayed with him.

Why were people already congratulating him?

Marian’s letter had said nothing about an announcement.

Nor had she mentioned a date.

Perhaps the news had simply reached the capital before her letter had reached Valmont.

Still, the Duke found himself uneasy.

He frowned.

"Have someone find out what has been announced," he told his aide.

"Yes, Your Grace."

The answer came several hours later.

--

His aide returned with an older newspaper.

The Duke accepted it without a word.

He unfolded the paper.

Then his eyes settled on the date printed at the top.

August 23.

His expression changed.

He read the announcement.

Then read it again.

The imperial wedding had already been made public.

Not merely the engagement.

The wedding date had been set.

September 10.

The Duke stared at the page.

For several moments, he did not move.

Then he slowly lowered the newspaper.

His daughter’s letter had been written on the twentieth.

By the time it had reached him, the Empire had already been informed.

The date had already been chosen.

Invitations were already travelling.

The Church had already begun the banns.

And now, three days into his journey, the Duke was finally learning what everyone else already knew.

He folded the newspaper carefully.

A sinking sensation settled in his chest.

He had been thinking about what he might do when he reached the capital.

Now he was beginning to understand that there might be very little left to do.

--

As the carriage continued toward the capital, the evidence became impossible to ignore.

At every stop, someone recognized him.

At every town, there were congratulations.

People spoke of the imperial wedding as though it were already an established fact.

Foreign carriages began appearing on the roads.

Messengers bearing imperial seals passed them in the opposite direction.

The closer they came to the capital, the more preparations they encountered.

By the time the capital came into view, the Duke no longer needed anyone to tell him what was happening.

He could see it.

Imperial banners had been raised throughout the main avenues.

Decorations were already being installed.

The city was preparing to celebrate.

The wedding was not merely being planned.

It was already in motion.

The Duke sat silently as the carriage entered the capital.

For the first time, the full weight of his situation settled upon him.

He had left Valmont wondering what he might still be able to do.

Now he understood.

Very little.

He could not stand before the court and declare that his daughter would not marry the Emperor.

He could not undo an announcement that had already been made throughout the Empire.

He could not ask Adrian to reconsider as though he were still speaking to the Crown Prince who had once stood before him and asked him to reconsider Marian’s choice.

That man was gone.

The sovereign now sat in his place.

And the Duke was no longer approaching the palace as the father of a young woman whose marriage could still be negotiated.

He was approaching it as the father of the woman who was about to become Empress.

Then, as the carriage approached the Valmont residence, he learned something that unsettled him even further.

Marian was not there.

She was already at the Imperial Palace.

The Duke stared at the servant who had delivered the information.

"She is staying at the palace?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

He said nothing.

Of course she was.

He looked toward the palace in the distance.

His daughter was already there.

Not yet an Empress.

Not yet married.

And yet already living within the Emperor’s world.

The Duke slowly exhaled.

There was nothing left to do but see her.

So he would.

He wanted to see her smile.

He wanted to hear, from her own lips, that she was happy.

And then—

he would speak to Adrian.

Because whatever else was true, Adrian was no longer the Crown Prince who had once asked him to reconsider.

He was the Emperor.

And the Duke needed to know what kind of Emperor he intended to be to his daughter.

--

Tbc