Chapter 237: v2 - 56: a father’s concern IV

Chapter 237: v2 Chapter 56: a father’s concern IV

A knock sounded at the door.

They both looked up.

The door opened.

An imperial attendant stepped inside and bowed.

"His Majesty."

Marian immediately straightened.

The Duke rose.

Adrian entered.

His gaze went first to Marian.

Something in his expression softened.

Then he looked toward the Duke.

"Duke Valmont."

"Your Majesty."

The Duke bowed.

Adrian inclined his head.

Marian smiled.

She crossed the room and went directly to him.

Her hand slipped naturally into his.

The Duke noticed.

Adrian looked down briefly at their joined hands.

Marian looked between them.

"Father was just giving us his blessing."

Adrian’s gaze settled on the Duke.

"Was he?"

"Of course."

Marian smiled.

"He approves."

The Duke almost smiled at the satisfaction in her voice.

Adrian looked at him for another moment.

Then back at Marian.

The Duke cleared his throat.

"Your Majesty, if I may..."

Adrian’s attention returned to him.

"I would like to speak with Your Majesty privately."

Marian glanced between them.

For a moment, Adrian said nothing.

Then he nodded.

"Of course."

Marian smiled knowingly.

"It is a father thing."

The Duke gave her a look.

Marian ignored it.

She turned to Adrian and squeezed his hand lightly.

"Don’t worry."

Adrian looked at her.

"I won’t be far."

Something almost amused passed through his eyes.

"I know."

Marian released his hand.

"I’ll see you later."

She gave her father one last smile before leaving.

The door closed behind her.

The room became quiet.

The change was subtle.

Nothing in Adrian’s expression had altered.

He simply turned toward the Duke.

"How was your journey, Duke Valmont?"

The Duke stared at him for half a second.

There it was.

The ordinary question.

The calm voice.

As though the two of them were simply catching up after a long journey.

As though the Duke had not spent the entire road to the capital wondering what Adrian had truly intended.

"As well as it could be," he answered.

"I imagine the distance was unpleasant."

"It was."

Adrian gestured toward the chairs.

"Then sit. You have travelled a long way."

The Duke sat.

Adrian took the chair opposite him.

For a moment, there was nothing remarkable about the scene.

And perhaps that was what unsettled the Duke most.

Adrian looked exactly as he always had when he was composed.

Except he was no longer the Crown Prince.

He was the Emperor.

And the Duke had learned, in the time since their last private conversation, that Adrian’s silence did not necessarily mean acceptance.

Adrian waited.

The Duke looked at him.

"I think we can dispense with the niceties, Your Majesty."

Adrian’s expression remained calm.

"If that is what you prefer."

The Duke folded his hands.

"I came here because there are things I need to say."

Adrian gave him his full attention.

"I am listening."

And he was.

Quietly.

Patiently.

Without the slightest indication of what he thought about any of it.

The Duke drew a slow breath.

"A great deal has changed since we last had a private conversation."

Adrian gave a small nod.

"It has."

The Duke studied him.

Once, this man had been the Crown Prince who had asked him to reconsider Marian’s choice.

Now he sat across from the Emperor.

And somehow, despite everything that had changed, Adrian looked almost the same.

That was the unsettling part.

The Duke began carefully.

"There are things I understand."

A pause.

"And things I do not."

Adrian waited.

"There are matters I have suspected for some time. Circumstances that have never quite made sense to me."

No reaction.

"But suspicion is not proof."

The Duke’s voice remained measured.

"I have never forgotten that."

Adrian continued to listen.

"I have never spoken of those suspicions to Marian."

This time, the Duke watched him carefully.

Adrian did not react.

No surprise.

No question.

Nothing.

The Duke understood.

He had already known.

Perhaps he had always known.

And somehow, that was more unsettling than any denial could have been.

The Duke continued.

"I could not place such a burden upon her without knowing the truth."

A pause.

"She would only blame herself."

Adrian remained silent.

"And whatever happened in the past cannot be changed now."

The Duke looked at him.

"Nor can I change what Your Majesty has decided."

Still, Adrian said nothing.

The Duke lowered his gaze briefly.

"I came because I needed to see Marian for myself."

A beat.

"I have."

His voice softened.

"She is happy."

"Yes."

The answer came quietly.

Certain.

The Duke looked at him.

And there it was again.

That absolute calm.

No attempt to persuade him.

No need for reassurance.

Adrian simply knew what he had decided.

The Duke drew a slow breath.

"Then there is only one thing left for me to say."

Adrian waited.

"I know she hurt you."

Silence.

"She made her choice. And I have never taught her that choices come without consequences."

The Duke’s gaze remained steady.

"But she is my daughter."

A pause.

"My only daughter."

Adrian’s expression did not change.

"I cannot tell Your Majesty what to feel."

The Duke’s voice lowered.

"And I will not ask you to forget what happened."

He paused.

"I only hope that whatever remains from that time would not become the measure of the rest of her life."

Adrian regarded him.

For several moments, he said nothing.

Then:

"Then tell me, Duke Valmont."

His voice remained quiet.

"What do you expect to hear from me?"

The Duke was silent.

Because there was no answer he could give without overstepping.

Finally, he said,

"Nothing that Your Majesty is obligated to promise."

A pause.

"I only needed you to hear it."

Adrian’s gaze remained on him.

"I heard you."

No promise.

No reassurance.

Nothing more.

And the Duke realized that this was perhaps the only answer Adrian had ever intended to give.

He had heard him.

What he did with those words was his own decision.

The Duke rose.

Adrian stood as well.

The Duke turned toward the door.

Then stopped.

"Your Majesty."

Adrian looked at him.

"If there ever comes a time when I must choose between my duty to the Crown and my duty to my daughter..."

He paused.

"I will choose her."

Adrian’s expression remained perfectly composed.

"Is that a threat?"

"No, Your Majesty."

The Duke held his gaze.

"It is a promise."

A long silence.

Then Adrian gave the smallest nod.

"I see."

The Duke bowed.

"Your Majesty."

"Duke Valmont."

The Duke left.

The door closed quietly behind him.

And Adrian remained alone.

Still calm.

Still unreadable.

As though nothing particularly significant had just happened.

--

To be continued