Chapter 332: v4 - 33: suspicion

Chapter 332: v4 Chapter 33: suspicion

The next few days passed without anything changing.

The afternoon gathering on the third day had given Cassian his first real chance.

Marian had moved away from Adrian and stood alone at the buffet for several minutes. She had been close enough that he could have approached her with little difficulty.

But Adrian had been watching her.

Cassian had hesitated.

By the time he decided against it, Marian had returned to her husband.

He told himself there would be another opportunity.

There was one that evening.

Marian was briefly separated from Adrian again, and Cassian noticed her almost immediately.

He considered approaching.

Then he saw Adrian’s attention shift toward her.

Again, Cassian stayed where he was.

It was becoming increasingly frustrating.

Adrian did not seem suspicious.

At least, Cassian did not think so.

The Emperor simply seemed to have an irritating awareness of his wife’s whereabouts.

Cassian could not walk up to the Emperor’s wife while the Emperor himself was watching.

Not without risking questions.

Not without risking everything.

The following day brought two more occasions.

An afternoon luncheon, then another gathering that evening.

Both times, Cassian found himself with what should have been an opportunity.

Both times, Marian was briefly alone.

And both times, Adrian’s attention remained close enough to make Cassian reconsider.

He began to wonder whether there would ever be a moment when Adrian was not watching.

In any case, there should be another chance. Marian was not expected to remain beside Adrian every moment of the day, after all. It was perfectly natural for her to move about the room, speak with other guests, or find herself separated from him during a gathering.

--

By the fifth day, Cassian had grown tired of waiting.

That morning, he made a decision.

If another opportunity presented itself, he would take it.

No more waiting for the perfect moment.

No more convincing himself that there would always be another chance.

He would speak to her.

Even if Adrian was watching.

He would find some harmless excuse to approach, and he would take whatever risk came with it.

He had already lost six years.

He could not allow fear to make him lose this entire visit as well.

That afternoon, he attended another social gathering.

His eyes searched the room almost immediately.

Marian was not there.

Cassian waited.

Perhaps she would arrive later.

He remained among the other guests, listening to the conversations around him and answering when spoken to, while occasionally glancing toward the entrance.

Nothing.

The gathering continued.

Still, she did not appear.

By the time the afternoon began drawing to a close, Cassian had no choice but to accept that she was not coming.

Perhaps she had simply decided not to attend.

There would be another event that evening.

He could wait until then.

So he did.

When the evening gathering began, Cassian found himself looking toward the entrance again.

Once.

Then again.

Marian never appeared.

The realization settled slowly.

She was not coming.

Not tonight.

Cassian remained until the gathering began to wind down, though he was barely aware of the conversations around him.

For days, he had been waiting for an opportunity.

Now, when he had finally decided to stop waiting, there was no opportunity at all.

He returned to his room with a growing sense of frustration.

Tomorrow was the sixth day.

The delegation would leave the day after.

He was running out of time.

--

The sixth day arrived.

Tomorrow, the delegation would leave.

Cassian attended the morning activities with the others, but Marian was nowhere to be seen.

He waited for some sign that she might appear later.

Nothing.

By the time the Imperial delegation had moved on to their negotiations, Cassian had reached the point where waiting no longer felt reasonable.

He left the others behind.

He made his way toward the eastern side of the palace.

Toward the Emperor’s private apartments.

He did not intend to enter.

Not yet.

He only wanted to see whether there was some possible way.

Some opening he had overlooked.

Some corridor that was less guarded.

Some moment when he could approach without being seen.

But the closer he came, the clearer the problem became.

The Emperor’s private apartments were heavily guarded.

There were men stationed near the entrances, with others positioned farther along the corridors.

There was no obvious weakness.

No convenient opportunity.

Cassian remained at a distance, studying the guards.

He could probably get past one.

Perhaps even two.

But that was not the real problem.

If he were caught, it would not simply be Cassian Ashford who had to answer for his actions.

It would be Carlo of Valmere.

A Milician marquess.

A member of the delegation.

A man supposedly acting under the protection of the King of Milicia.

The consequences would extend far beyond him.

The entire Milician delegation would come under scrutiny.

Lorenz would have to answer for his presence.

The treaty negotiations could be jeopardized.

And if anyone began investigating why a Milician nobleman had been attempting to enter the Emperor’s private apartments—

Cassian could lose far more than his chance to speak to Marian.

He stepped back.

No.

Not like this.

He could not risk dragging Milicia into his personal affairs.

Perhaps there would be another way.

There had to be.

Cassian returned to the delegation and waited for the evening.

The final banquet was tonight.

If Marian attended, it would be his last respectable chance to speak to her before the delegation departed.

When the banquet began, his eyes searched the room almost immediately.

Once.

Twice.

Then again.

She was not there.

Cassian tried not to let the disappointment show.

Perhaps she would arrive later.

He remained where he was.

He listened to the conversations around him, answered when spoken to, and made a reasonable effort to appear interested in the evening.

But thirty minutes passed.

Marian still had not appeared.

Cassian’s attention drifted toward the entrance once more.

Nothing.

Perhaps she was not coming at all.

He exhaled quietly.

There was no point in waiting for her here.

If she had not come by now, she probably would not.

And yet, leaving the banquet did not feel quite like giving up.

It gave him another possibility.

If Marian was not here, perhaps she was somewhere else.

Perhaps he could find her.

The thought was reckless.

But he had very little left to lose.

Cassian rose from his place and excused himself from the conversation with a polite remark about needing some rest.

He left the banquet hall while the evening was still in full swing.

As he walked back toward the rooms assigned to the Milician delegation, his thoughts returned to the Emperor’s private apartments.

The idea of going there again was absurd.

They had been heavily guarded that morning.

At night, they would almost certainly be worse.

And if he were caught—

No.

He could not risk it.

But tomorrow was not necessarily the end.

The delegation would leave.

He did not have to leave with them.

He could remain in the Empire.

He could find another reason to stay.

Another opportunity.

Another way to reach Marian.

He had no idea how he would accomplish any of it.

But he had spent six years finding ways to survive in a world that had once seemed impossible.

Surely he could find a way to remain a little longer.

Cassian continued down the corridor toward his room.

He had been gone for perhaps an hour.

The palace had grown quieter in the meantime.

He reached his door.

He took out his key and inserted it into the lock.

It turned without resistance.

Cassian stopped.

He looked down at the handle.

The door was unlocked.

He was certain he had locked it before leaving.

Slowly, his expression changed.

Someone had been inside.

Or someone was still inside.

Cassian did not enter.

He stood perfectly still, suddenly alert to every sound beyond the doorway.

There was nothing.

No movement.

No voice.

His hand remained on the handle.

For the first time that evening, Cassian felt something other than frustration.

Suspicion.

He pushed the door open another inch.

--

Tbc