Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess Chapter 434: What It Costs

The moment the carriage door closed, Elowen leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Cassian, pressing her face into his chest as if she needed something solid to hold onto.

Through the fine layers of his coat, she could feel the firmness of him, the steady strength beneath the fabric, the quiet tension in his body that never fully left him. When she pressed closer, his chest tightened slightly under her cheek.

Cassian lowered his gaze to her, his voice softening.

"What's going on?"

Elowen didn't lift her head. Her voice came out muted against him.

"I just... feel awful."

His hand moved slowly along her back, steady and grounding. "Talk to me."

She shifted slightly, still holding onto him, then spoke in a low voice.

"Nikki's Patrick's daughter. Her father served under mine. He never made it back."

Cassian was quiet for a moment before answering.

"Theodric did order support for families like hers," he said, his tone even, "but once that kind of order moves through enough hands, things get lost. Funds disappear. Promises don't always reach the people they were meant for."

He didn't dress it up.

Elowen nodded faintly against him.

"And Scarlet... she grew up in that place. She doesn't even know who her father is. Her mother worked there and raised her with the other women. When her mother died, she just... stepped into that life like it was already waiting for her."

Her fingers tightened slightly against his clothes.

"We're the same age. I was out riding, going to festivals, doing whatever I wanted. She was pouring drinks for men old enough to be her father, smiling like she didn't have a choice."

Her voice grew tighter as she went on.

"And Nikki told me... before her, there was another girl. She worked in the back. One night they took her away."

Elowen finally lifted her head. Her eyes were red, her voice unsteady.

"She wasn't even thirteen."

A tear slipped free and landed against Cassian's hand.

His expression darkened, something restrained but unmistakable settling into his gaze.

He reached up and gently brushed the tear from her cheek with his thumb.

"That's on me."

Elowen blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

Cassian didn't look away.

"Stargazer Pavilion belongs to me. I knew what was happening behind the scenes. I didn't stop it."

He let out a quiet breath.

"It brings in money. A lot of it. Theodric needs that money. The army, disaster relief, keeping the whole system running... none of it happens without it."

There was no hesitation in his voice.

No excuse.

Just fact.

Elowen looked at him and shook her head.

"I'm not blaming you," she said softly. "I understand the position you're in. I understand His Majesty too."

Her voice dropped.

"I just... hate that it's like this. For her. For Scarlet. For all the others who don't get out."

Cassian watched her, something tightening in his chest.

She shouldn't be the one crying over something I let happen.

He leaned down and pressed a quiet kiss against her hair.

"Then it ends here," he said. "If I've said it, I'll follow through."

Elowen nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. "Thank you."

She hesitated, then added, more quietly, "But stopping one place won't change everything. There'll just be another somewhere else."

"There will."

Cassian considered it for a moment, then spoke again, his tone calm in a way that made the words carry more weight.

"Then I shut them all down. Every last one in Vanelle, and anywhere else I have the reach. Anyone who ignores it answers for it."

Elowen stilled.

He's serious. He would actually do it.

That realization hit her harder than anything else.

It wasn't just power. It was the fact that he would use it because of her.

For a moment, the thought pulled at her.

If everything like that could just disappear... If no one else had to go through it...

But reason pushed back just as quickly.

She shook her head.

"That won't work. You'd be making enemies everywhere. We just heard them. One change tonight and they were already furious. If you go further, you'll have half the court against you."

Cassian let out a quiet, almost amused breath. "You know I don't care about that."

Elowen leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips.

"I know," she said gently. "And I know you're saying it because you don't want me to feel like this."

She stayed close, her voice calm but firm.

"But I don't want you standing alone against everyone either. You and His Majesty are close, but even that has limits. He might feel sympathy, but when it comes down to it, he has to choose what keeps everything stable. A few people, or everyone else. And if you start changing things just for me, he won't see it the same way you do."