the Villainess they took for granted

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: the letter

Adrian had barely slept since his father collapsed.

The palace had become a world of physicians, guards, officials, and whispered conversations.

Every corridor was occupied.

Every door was watched.

Every person who entered the Emperor’s apartments was recorded.

The physicians still had no definitive answer.

His father’s condition had stabilized enough that they could keep him alive, but there were moments when even that seemed uncertain.

Adrian had spent most of his waking hours at his father’s side.

When he wasn’t there, he was working.

The Empire could not simply stop because the Emperor had fallen ill.

Petitions still arrived.

Ministers still required decisions.

Foreign representatives still waited for responses.

And the capital remained sealed.

No one entered.

No one left.

Every movement was scrutinized.

Adrian had ordered the restrictions himself.

Not because he expected an attack.

Because he did not know whether one had already occurred.

Until the physicians understood what had happened to his father, he would assume nothing.

His father had been standing one moment.

Then he had collapsed.

There was no explanation.

No warning.

No certainty that it had been natural.

Adrian could not afford to take chances.

"Your Highness."

Adrian looked up.

His private secretary stood at the doorway.

"What is it?"

"There has been an update from the eastern gate."

Adrian waited.

"The Duke of Ashford has arrived."

The words took a moment to register.

Cassian.

Adrian leaned back.

For days, he had scarcely thought of him.

Not because he had forgotten what he wanted.

He hadn’t.

Not for a moment.

But his father’s collapse had consumed everything else.

Now, suddenly, Cassian had returned to the edge of the capital.

"Has he been admitted?"

"No, Your Highness."

Adrian’s expression remained calm.

"Good."

"The Duke did not protest."

"I wouldn’t expect him to."

Cassian knew exactly what the lockdown meant.

His father was the Emperor’s brother.

He himself was next in line after Adrian.

If the Emperor’s illness proved to be an assassination attempt, Cassian would have to be treated as a potential suspect like anyone else.

Adrian looked down at the report.

"Keep him outside."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The secretary hesitated.

"There is another matter."

Adrian looked up.

"The Duke sent correspondence into the capital."

"To whom?"

"Lady Marian Valmont."

Adrian went still.

The secretary placed the letter on his desk.

It had been opened for inspection.

Adrian recognized the handwriting immediately.

Cassian.

He reached for it.

For a moment, he simply held the page.

Then he read.

Cassian had arrived safely.

He knew the Emperor was ill.

He understood why the gates were closed.

He was waiting outside.

And then Adrian reached the final lines.

I am here. Don’t worry. As soon as they allow me through, I will come to you.

Adrian read the sentence twice.

Something inside him shifted.

Not surprise.

Not anger.

Something quieter.

Something he had deliberately set aside while his father lay fighting for his life.

Marian.

His desire for her had not disappeared because his father had become ill.

If anything, the letter brought the thought back with startling clarity.

He wanted her.

He had already decided that.

He had already accepted that she would never return to him willingly.

That was why he had begun moving circumstances around her.

Cassian’s departure had been the first step.

The difficulties surrounding Valmont had been another.

And now Cassian had arrived at the gates just as the capital had been sealed.

Adrian looked at the letter again.

He was outside.

Marian was inside.

The wedding was only days away.

And Adrian was no longer merely the Crown Prince waiting for his father’s permission.

For the first time, he was effectively governing the Empire while the Emperor lay incapacitated.

He had greater authority.

Greater access.

Greater control.

The circumstances had changed.

And, inconveniently, they had changed in his favor.

Adrian folded the letter.

For one brief moment, he allowed himself to think about what that meant.

Cassian could not enter the capital.

The wedding could not proceed while the Emperor remained gravely ill.

And if his father’s condition worsened—

Adrian stopped the thought.

Not because it was impossible.

Because he refused to think about it.

Not now.

His father was still alive.

That mattered more than anything else.

He placed the letter inside the drawer of his desk and locked it.

Later.

He would think about Marian later.

He would think about Cassian later.

He would decide what came next when he knew whether his father would recover.

For now, there were more immediate responsibilities.

"Has the physician sent the latest report?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Bring it."

The secretary handed it to him.

Adrian read the first page.

His expression hardened with concentration.

"Also inform the council that there will be no public ceremonies until further notice."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"The palace physicians are to have whatever they require."

"Of course."

"And continue the restrictions at the gates."

The secretary nodded.

"No one enters without authorization."

"No one."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The secretary bowed and left.

Adrian remained at his desk.

For several seconds, his hand rested over the drawer where Cassian’s letter now lay.

He could still remember the words.

I am here.

And then:

I will come to you.

Adrian’s expression tightened.

No.

He wouldn’t.

Not now.

Not while the capital remained sealed.

Cassian could wait outside the gates for as long as necessary. Adrian had already made certain that no one entered without authorization, and Cassian’s position gave him no grounds to make an exception.

The wedding was only days away.

It would not happen.

Adrian didn’t need to interfere with anything else.

The circumstances had already done it for him.

He had wanted Cassian away from Marian.

Now Cassian was outside the capital, while Marian remained inside.

And for the first time, the distance between them was no longer measured in miles.

It was measured in a locked gate.

Adrian closed the drawer.

He would deal with Marian later.

For now, his father came first.

He rose and returned to the Emperor’s apartments.

Behind him, Cassian’s letter remained locked inside his desk.

Adrian already knew what would happen to it.

Nothing.

It would never reach Marian.

And Cassian would remain outside until Adrian decided otherwise.

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Tbc

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