Fated Hearts: Reborn to be His Duchess

Chapter 107: Chapter 107: An Age-Old Concern

The tactic worked on Cassiel just as effortlessly as it had on everyone else.

One look at her soft, pleading expression, and the last trace of his irritation dissolved.

Instead, regret settled heavily in its place.

I was being a fool.

His voice lost its earlier coolness.

"I wasn’t ignoring you. Nor was I deliberately refusing to look at you. I simply..."

The rest caught in his throat.

I simply thought you were too young for me.

That you should have married someone closer to your own age.

He could not bring himself to say it.

Elysia waited patiently.

"Simply what?"

Cassiel’s gaze shifted away.

"I just thought..."

He searched for a gentler way to put it.

"That marrying me might be a hardship for you."

"How could it be?"

The answer came so quickly that Cassiel looked back at her.

Elysia’s expression was completely sincere.

"After my family fell in battle, I was left alone. A great many people began treating me differently. Some were openly unkind, while others found subtler ways to make things difficult."

She lowered her eyes.

"If His Majesty had not made it clear that the Hartwell orphan was to be treated with kindness, I might not even have been able to remain in Caelvyr."

Cassiel’s brow tightened.

He had spent years away at war.

He knew the Hartwell family had suffered devastating losses, but he had never realised how vulnerable Elysia had been left in their aftermath.

He had simply assumed that because she had once cared for Vaelen—and because Vaelen had remained by her side—she would have someone to rely upon.

He had never imagined that things had been quite so difficult.

"Perhaps our family’s former glory made people resent us," Elysia continued quietly. "When everything fell apart, they finally had the chance to take their grievances out on me."

A faint sadness touched her voice.

"But those things happened a long time ago. Given enough time, I suppose one learns how to live with them."

She let out a small breath before looking up again.

"Besides, there have really only been two people who have treated me with genuine kindness."

Her gaze settled on him.

"His Majesty..."

Then she smiled.

"And you."

Cassiel’s expression shifted.

"So marrying you isn’t a hardship at all."

She seemed worried he might still doubt her, so she added with complete seriousness,

"Truly."

For a moment, Cassiel said nothing.

Then the hardness in his eyes gave way entirely.

"All right."

His hand rose, and his thumb brushed gently across her cheek.

"Shall we go to bed?"

Elysia’s expression immediately turned troubled.

"But I haven’t washed yet."

She looked towards the washstand as though it were an insurmountable obstacle.

"I’m so tired. I’ve never stayed awake this late before, and I really don’t want to wash."

Cassiel gave in without hesitation.

"My fault."

Then, seeing the faint pout on her lips, he indulged her.

"If you’re tired, you can skip it tonight."

Her eyes brightened.

"Really?"

A smile touched his voice.

"Really."

Elysia hesitated.

"But... is that truly all right?"

Her hesitation was understandable.

Her mother had instilled the habit of cleanliness in her from childhood. She had been taught to wash before bed and rinse after every meal. Even when sleep had nearly overcome her, her mother would still coax her towards the basin before allowing her to retire.

The lesson had become almost instinctive.

Yet tonight, for the first time, Elysia wanted to be a little wilful.

Cassiel’s voice came quietly through the hesitation.

"Just this once. It won’t hurt."

There was something about his calm, reassuring tone that made the decision seem perfectly reasonable.

Elysia smiled in satisfaction.

"Then let’s go to sleep!"

She lifted her head and rose at once.

Neither of them made much ceremony of it.

They removed their outer robes and settled beneath the covers.

For Elysia, the day had already taken everything out of her.

Cassiel, however, remained awake.

He lay quietly on his back, his thoughts turning over what she had said.

After some time, he finally broke the silence.

"Do you really not think I’m too old for you?"

No answer came.

Cassiel waited.

Still nothing.

He turned his head.

Elysia was already asleep.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

The resilience of youth.

She could fall asleep almost the instant her head touched the pillow.

His gaze lingered on her sleeping face.

It eventually settled upon her jaw.

His expression softened.

There, faint against her delicate skin, was a reddish mark in the shape of his palm.

Her skin was so sensitive that even resting against his hand had left its impression behind.

Cassiel looked at it for a long while.

Then he reached out and gently traced the mark with his fingertips.

Perhaps sensing the familiar warmth even in sleep, Elysia shifted.

Instead of pulling away, she instinctively turned her face towards his hand and nestled her cheek into his palm.

Cassiel went utterly still.

A warm sweetness slowly spread through his chest.

She had taken his hand for a pillow without even waking.

And, apparently, found it perfectly comfortable.

Cassiel remained exactly where he was.

He did not dare move.

For the rest of the night, he kept his hand beneath her cheek while she slept peacefully, entirely unaware of the effect she had on him.

The following morning, the first pale light of dawn slipped through the curtains.

Elysia stirred.

She was still half lost in sleep when something hard and distinctly uncomfortable pressed against her.

Her brows knitted.

What was that?

She shifted slightly, only to encounter the same unpleasant obstruction.

Then she realised what it was.

Her eyes opened at once.

Sleep vanished.

Slowly, she slipped a hand beneath the covers and began searching for the offending object.

"What is it?"

Cassiel’s low, sleep-roughened voice sounded beside her ear.

Her movements had woken him.

Elysia kept her face lowered.

"I forgot to remove my hairpins before going to bed..."

Her fingers finally found the culprit near the small of her back.

She carefully pulled it free.

The moment she held the hairpin in her hand, fragments of the previous night began returning to her.

She remembered asking Cassiel why he had been upset.

She remembered complaining about being too tired to wash.

She remembered the conversation before they had gone to bed.

But everything after that was hazy.

A faint embarrassment crept over her.

After a moment, she ventured,

"Before I fell asleep..."

She glanced at him from beneath her lashes.

"Did I say anything... strange?"

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