Chapter 278: v3 - 39: a way forward III

Chapter 278: v3 Chapter 39: a way forward III

"Why did you choose to show me what you could really do?"

Cassian was silent for a moment.

He looked at Lorenz.

Then he answered simply.

"Because I was taking a gamble."

Lorenz did not interrupt.

Cassian continued.

"I have spent a long time hiding what I could do."

His voice remained quiet.

"It was safer that way."

A pause.

"But when I saw the man you sent into the Arena, I realized that whoever stood behind him was not an ordinary patron."

His eyes remained on Lorenz.

"And I thought perhaps it was time to take a chance."

He paused.

"I could have continued hiding."

"Yes."

"But then I would have remained where I was."

Cassian’s gaze lowered briefly.

"So I showed you."

He looked back at him.

"I am giving you a reason to trust me while asking you to take a chance on me."

The words were blunt.

There was no attempt to make them sound more noble than they were.

Cassian knew exactly what he had done.

He had exposed something that could have been dangerous to him.

He had done it because he needed someone powerful enough to change the direction of his life.

And he had no other way of proving his worth.

Lorenz remained silent.

For several moments, he simply studied him.

Then he nodded.

"Good."

Cassian waited.

"I appreciate honesty."

Lorenz’s expression became thoughtful.

"And since you have been honest with me..."

He rose from his chair.

"...I will be honest with you."

Cassian watched him.

"You took a gamble with your life."

Lorenz stepped around the desk.

"Not merely with your future."

He stopped a few steps away.

"With your life."

Cassian said nothing.

"By revealing that stance, you revealed that you are Imperial."

Lorenz’s gaze remained fixed on him.

"Had the wrong person recognized it, you might not have walked out of that Arena alive."

Cassian’s expression did not change.

He knew.

That had been the gamble.

Lorenz continued.

"Yet you showed it anyway."

He paused.

"Then, at the very least, you deserve to understand exactly what you have gambled on."

Cassian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Lorenz looked at him directly.

"I am Lorenz of Milicia."

A beat.

"My father is the King."

Then, without embellishment,

"And I am his heir. The Crown Prince."

The meaning struck Cassian immediately.

The room seemed to become quieter.

Everything fell into place.

Marcus.

The challengers.

The resources behind them.

The authority with which they had entered the Arena.

The caliber of men they had brought.

Cassian had known he was speaking to someone important.

He had not realized just how important.

Lorenz continued.

"My father is showing signs of deterioration."

His voice remained controlled, but there was no mistaking the urgency beneath it.

"And the struggle for the throne has already begun."

Cassian listened.

"I have brothers."

A pause.

"There are factions within the court that would prefer one of them on the throne."

His eyes hardened.

"Others are waiting to see which side will prevail."

He took a slow breath.

"This is no longer a matter of preparing for what might happen."

Lorenz’s gaze remained on Cassian.

"It is happening now."

The weight of the words settled between them.

"I am looking for men who can stand beside me."

He paused.

"Men who can fight."

Another.

"Men I can trust."

His expression hardened.

"And men who are willing to die for my cause."

Cassian remained silent.

Lorenz studied him.

"That is the chance you have gambled your life on."

A brief silence.

"You wanted a patron powerful enough to give you a path back to the Empire."

Lorenz’s voice softened slightly.

"If I become King, I may be able to give you one."

Cassian said nothing.

Lorenz continued.

"I can grant you a title."

Cassian’s eyes shifted slightly.

"A title?"

"If you prove yourself worthy, yes."

Lorenz’s tone was matter-of-fact.

"I could make you a count."

Cassian remained still.

"You would not have to return to the Empire as a nameless man."

Lorenz continued.

"You would return as a man under the protection of the King of Milicia."

Cassian absorbed that.

It was more than he had expected.

Not because he needed a title.

But because a title from a foreign king carried weight.

It could give him standing.

Protection.

A reason for the Imperial authorities to hesitate before treating him as a wandering nobody.

Lorenz continued.

"And when the time comes, I can have you escorted to the border."

His voice remained calm.

"With my men."

Cassian’s eyes sharpened.

"Beyond that, I can send envoys ahead of you."

A pause.

"If necessary, I can negotiate your passage."

Lorenz looked at him.

"You will not have to cross into the Empire alone."

Cassian was silent.

The road before him no longer seemed impossible.

Not easy.

Never easy.

But possible.

A title.

An escort.

A royal guarantee.

Perhaps even the influence necessary to cross safely into the Empire.

It was more than he had expected.

Not simply because of what Lorenz was offering him, but because of what it meant that Lorenz was willing to offer it at all.

This man knew nothing of him beyond what he had seen in the Arena.

And yet he was willing to place that much worth on him.

Cassian lowered his gaze.

"I will not take what you are offering lightly."

Lorenz watched him.

"I know what it means for you to make such a promise."

A pause.

"And I know that I must prove myself worthy of it."

His eyes returned to Lorenz.

"I will."

His voice was quiet, but firm.

"You will have my sword."

A beat.

"My service."

And then, with complete certainty—

"My loyalty."

Lorenz nodded.

"I will hold you to that."

"You may."

Cassian fell silent for a moment.

There was still something he needed to clarify.

Not because he doubted Lorenz.

Because he understood that promises concerning kings and kingdoms could stretch far beyond the moment in which they were made.

"You said that once you take the throne, you will help me return."

"Yes."

Cassian nodded.

"I understand that you will have matters to settle first."

He paused.

"Your kingdom will need stability. You will need to secure your position. I would not expect you to send me across the border the moment the crown is placed upon your head."

Lorenz’s expression softened slightly.

"But once your position is secure..."

Cassian held his gaze.

"When the kingdom has settled, I ask that you remember your promise."

There was no accusation in his voice.

Only a request for certainty.

"I do not know how long it will take me to return."

He glanced away briefly.

"Perhaps a year. Perhaps several."

A pause.

"I only ask that my release not become something endlessly postponed."

Lorenz regarded him.

Then a faint smile appeared.

"You really are determined to see this woman again."

Cassian’s expression softened.

"Yes."

Lorenz shook his head slightly, amused.

"Very well."

His expression settled.

"Once I have secured the throne and the kingdom is stable, I will honor my promise."

Cassian remained still.

"You will be released from my service."

A pause.

"And I will see to it that you have safe passage into the Empire."

Something in Cassian eased.

Almost imperceptibly.

That was what he needed to hear.

Not tomorrow.

Not next year.

Perhaps not even several years from now.

Neither of them could know how long the struggle for the throne would last.

But there would be an end to his service.

And when that end came, there would be a road home.

Lorenz’s mouth curved again.

"And if you serve me well enough..."

He paused.

"Perhaps I will escort you there myself."

Cassian looked at him.

There was enough amusement in Lorenz’s expression that Cassian understood the remark for what it was.

The Crown Prince still believed this entire determination to return was just for the sake of a woman.

He was not entirely wrong.

"I would be honored."

"Good."

Lorenz extended his hand.

"Then serve me well."

Cassian looked at the offered hand.

Then he took it.

But instead of shaking it, he lowered himself to one knee.

The movement came almost without thought.

Lorenz’s expression changed.

So did Marcus’s.

Cassian bowed his head over the Crown Prince’s hand.

It was an old gesture.

Formal.

Instinctive.

One Cassian had known long before the Arena had reduced him to a number.

"You will have my sword."

His voice was steady.

"My service."

A pause.

"And my loyalty."

The room had gone very quiet.

Lorenz stared down at him.

He had expected a handshake.

Perhaps a few words of gratitude.

Not this.

There was something unmistakable in the ease with which Carlo had performed the gesture.

No uncertainty.

No awkward imitation.

He had not watched Lorenz first to determine what was expected of him.

He simply knew.

Marcus noticed it too.

His eyes met Lorenz’s briefly.

Another question.

Another small piece that did not quite fit the man they had been presented with.

Cassian, however, seemed unaware that he had done anything remarkable.

To him, there was nothing remarkable about it.

A prince had given him his word.

Cassian had given his in return.

And words such as these deserved more than a handshake.

He lifted his head.

"Until the day you release me from your service, I will serve you faithfully, Your Highness."

Lorenz held his gaze for a moment.

Then something in his expression settled.

The amusement was gone now.

"I accept your service."

Cassian bowed his head once more.

Only then did he rise.

For the first time in nearly two years, he was no longer simply Three Hundred and Nineteen.

He belonged to something beyond the Arena.

And somewhere beyond the walls of Milicia, impossibly far away, was the reason he intended to survive long enough to see this promise fulfilled.

--

Tbc

AN: finally! I want to cry!!!! And like cassian has been humbled enough i mean everything he went through and will be going through just to return... and at this time Marian was already married. Awwwww i know just want to say. Haha i am so much tempted to just fast forward EVERYTHING until he is back to the empire. It will take some Chapters, but we now have a clear direction. I dont think we need to see everything he has to go through, bec we already have a general idea. Right? RIGHT!!!??? Hahahaha ok see you in the next Chapter!