Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess Chapter 292: Stare

Elowen stared at her, her gaze sharp and cold. "Vivian. You know what I'm asking. Think carefully before you answer."

Vivian's spine went cold beneath that look, cold in a way she could not explain.

It feels familiar. Like Cassian.

Vivian's pupils widened as realization hit. Somewhere along the way, Elowen had started to carry Cassian's shadow.

Elowen's patience ran out. She turned her head slightly. "Someone..."

"I'll talk!" Vivian blurted. "I'll talk, okay!"

Elowen looked back at her.

Vivian clenched her jaw. "It was the Baker family. Someone from the Baker family helped me."

Elowen's eyes deepened.

The Baker family.

Is it Laurent, still holding a grudge over Cassian throwing him in prison?

Clarisse—angry because Cassian's methods ruin Geoffrey?

Or... Her Majesty?

Vivian took Elowen's silence for disbelief and poured the rest out in a rush. "They told me the court isn't peaceful right now. A lot of officials are impeaching Cassian. They said the realm is stable now, and he should follow the old rules and leave Vanelle for his lands instead of staying here. They said he has too much power in the Vanelle. That it's improper."

Vivian kept going, as if she couldn't stop once she'd started. "They even said Cassian and you are too far apart in age. That it's wrong. That you're a lone general's daughter and you should've married a noble son your own age. That marrying Cassian is beneath you, like you're being wronged."

Elowen's brow tightened.

So this was Alaric's play, having his people push attacks against Cassian in court.

Vivian swallowed. "They said all of it. I wasn't going to come, but when they said that, I thought... maybe it was safe."

Elowen didn't answer.

Vivian looked at her. "So now you'll let me go?"

Elowen's voice cooled further. "Not yet. Once Sylvia is settled safely in Falconcrest Manor, you can leave."

She needed the day to end cleanly.

Vivian opened her mouth to argue.

Elowen turned away.

The door shut again, and the lock dropped into place.

Vivian's screaming started up immediately.

Elowen ignored it and began walking back, only to run into someone she hadn't expected.

Kaelan.

He wore a dark robe and looked thin, thinner than he'd been at the autumn hunt. He stood still, brows faintly drawn, eyes complicated as he looked at Elowen.

Only then did Elowen realize how long it had been since she'd seen him.

Back when Alaric had snapped and caused a scene, Kaelan was one of the few who'd spoken up for her.

After that, Elowen had been unconscious for days. Then depressed. Then slowly healed by Cassian. Somewhere in all of that, she hadn't checked on Kaelan once.

Guilt rose again.

Kaelan spoke first, quietly, as if offering an explanation. "After the hunt, I got sick. Then I stayed home studying. I'm preparing for the civil examinations next spring. My mother has high expectations. She's strict, so... I haven't had time to come see you."

Elowen blinked.

He sounded apologetic.

That was unusual enough to put a sour feeling in her stomach.

She let a small, polite smile show. "It's fine. Then I'll wish you success."

Kaelan nodded once. "Mm."

Elowen felt the air between them turning strange, uneven. She wanted to leave.

Kaelan spoke again, lower. "What Marchioness of Richardson said just now... I heard it too."

He meant the court talk, the impeachments.

Elowen didn't know how to respond, so she didn't.

Kaelan continued. "I've heard similar things from my mother. More than once. She said the attacks against Cassian are getting louder. His Majesty has protected him out of brotherly affection, but when enough people repeat something... eventually it can affect anyone. Even His Majesty."

Elowen managed a soft sound. "Mm."

Kaelan wet his dry lips. Then, as if he'd gathered every ounce of courage he'd ever had, he stepped closer.

"I wanted to say... Your Grace," he said, voice strained with sincerity, "if one day Cassian truly loses power, you can leave him. You don't have to be trapped. You won't have nowhere to go. You... you can come to me."

Elowen froze.

Kaelan rushed to add, "I'm serious. And I'll pass the examinations next year. I will. I'll be able to protect you. And we're close in age. We can, "