Chapter 285: v3 - 46: Count Carlo of Almery I

Chapter 285: v3 Chapter 46: Count Carlo of Almery I

The following morning, Marcus came for Cassian shortly after breakfast.

He stopped outside his quarters and held out a neatly folded set of clothes.

"We are leaving for my residence today. Gather your things and change into this."

Cassian looked at the clothes.

They were plainly made, but unmistakably those of a gentleman.

He understood immediately.

"Alright."

Marcus gave a brief nod.

"I will wait here."

Cassian turned back into the room.

There was very little to gather.

A few changes of clothing.

The small number of personal belongings he had managed to keep during his time in the Arena.

And the small box containing the money he had saved.

He secured everything carefully inside his bag.

Then he changed into the clothes Marcus had provided.

They fit reasonably well.

The cut was unfamiliar, as were several of the details, but there was no mistaking what they were meant to be.

The clothes of a Milician gentleman.

He looked around the room again, he only stayed there for one night. Anyway, Robert has left for his new duty much earlier so there was no one to say goodbye to.

When Cassian stepped back into the corridor, Marcus looked up.

For a moment, he said nothing.

The difference was more striking than he had expected.

Now, dressed properly, with his hair neatly kept and his face clean, he truly looked like someone who belonged in a noble household.

Marcus’s expression remained composed, but there was a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

"This will do."

Cassian inclined his head.

"Come."

They left together.

--

A carriage was waiting beyond the palace grounds.

Marcus entered first.

Cassian followed with his bag and took the seat opposite him.

The carriage began moving.

Marcus did not waste time.

"Before we arrive, there are several things you need to understand."

Cassian gave him his full attention.

"Your identity will be established through my family."

Cassian nodded.

"My father is the Duke of Kensington."

"I am the Marquess of Kensington and heir apparent to the duchy."

"One of the distant cadet branches of our family holds a small county called Almery."

"That is where your title will come from."

Marcus paused briefly.

"You will be Count Carlo of Almery."

Cassian repeated the name quietly.

"Count Carlo of Almery."

"Yes."

"The county itself is insignificant enough that no one will expect you to be particularly well known."

"That is deliberate."

Cassian understood.

"You will have a legitimate family connection without attracting unnecessary attention."

Marcus continued.

"My household has already been informed that I am bringing a distant relative into the family."

Cassian glanced at him.

"Who knows?"

"My father."

"A few trusted people handling the documentation."

"And the secretary overseeing the records."

Marcus’s tone remained matter-of-fact.

"No one else needs to know more than that."

"The household servants and even my younger sister has only

been informed that a distant cousin will be staying with us in the meantime."

Cassian nodded.

"That is safer."

"Much."

Marcus looked toward him.

"The fewer people who know there is anything unusual about your identity, the better."

Cassian agreed.

"The papers?"

"They are being prepared."

"Genealogy, records, the connection to the cadet branch, everything necessary."

Marcus’s gaze remained steady.

"By the time you are presented in society, the identity will already exist on paper."

Marcus continued.

"You already know how to conduct yourself."

Cassian watched him closely.

"You were raised as a nobleman."

It was not phrased as a question.

Cassian remained silent.

"Whatever your past may be, your bearing is not that of a common soldier."

"You understand restraint."

"You understand rank."

"You know when to speak and when to remain silent."

"And you know how to observe a room."

Cassian said nothing.

"What you lack is familiarity with ours."

"The language."

"The customs."

"The history."

"The families."

"The small differences that matter when dealing with people who have spent their entire lives among them."

Cassian nodded.

"I understand."

"You will have a tutor at Kensington."

"He will teach you formal Milician speech and the customs of the court."

Cassian considered that.

"I can learn."

"I expect you will."

Marcus’s expression remained calm.

"You will not need to become someone else."

"You only need to learn how this kingdom expects a nobleman to behave."

Cassian kept his attention on him.

"And when I enter society?"

"I will introduce you."

"As my distant cousin."

"That alone will carry considerable weight."

Cassian understood immediately.

Marcus was not merely giving him a name.

He was lending him his own credibility.

"If I acknowledge you as family," Marcus continued, "people will have little reason to question it."

"And if anyone does?"

"They will be questioning a member of my family."

Marcus’s tone made the implication clear.

Cassian inclined his head.

"I understand."

"Good."

Marcus continued without pause.

"There are other matters you will need to remember."

Cassian waited.

"You are not to discuss the Arena unless I give you permission."

Cassian’s expression did not change.

"Your time there is not part of Count Carlo’s history."

"Neither is your connection to the Empire."

"If anyone asks about your past, you will tell them that you were raised in Almery and educated privately before coming to the capital."

Cassian nodded.

"And if they ask why I have only appeared now?"

"You were kept away from society because of poor health and the distance of the county."

Marcus’s voice remained even.

"It is a simple explanation. Do not improve it."

Cassian understood.

"The more details you add, the more opportunities you create for someone to find a contradiction."

Marcus folded his hands.

"You will also need to remember your position."

Cassian looked at him.

"You are a count."

"Not a duke. Not a commoner."

"You will show proper respect to those above you, but you will not behave as though you are beneath everyone in the room."

Cassian absorbed the instruction.

"And those below me?"

"Treat them with courtesy."

"Courtesy is not weakness."

Marcus’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"But do not allow anyone to mistake courtesy for uncertainty."

Cassian nodded once.

"What about the court?"

"You will not approach the royal family unless introduced."

"You will not offer opinions on matters of state."

"You will listen more than you speak until you understand who holds influence and who merely pretends to."

Cassian inclined his head.

"I understand."

"Good."

The carriage continued toward the Kensington residence.

Marcus had given him the name, the title, and the rules he would need to survive beneath them.

For the first time, the name Carlo was beginning to acquire something more than a borrowed identity.

It was becoming a place he could stand in.

--

Tbc