the Villainess they took for granted

The first season after Adrian’s coronation had been subdued.

There had still been dinners, receptions, and gatherings at court, but no one had expected the new Emperor to throw himself into the marriage market while his father’s death was still fresh.

Adrian had been given time to mourn.

He had taken it.

The court had understood.

For a year, there had been little more than quiet suggestions.

Names placed before him.

Families making discreet inquiries.

A few eligible women appearing at formal occasions.

Adrian had acknowledged them all with courtesy.

Nothing more.

There had been no reason to rush.

Now there was.

Adrian sat behind his desk, reading the morning reports, when his secretary entered carrying a sealed document.

"Your Majesty."

Adrian looked up.

"The Imperial Council has sent the latest memorandum concerning the succession."

"Leave it."

The secretary placed it on the desk.

"There is also a preliminary list of eligible ladies."

Adrian glanced at the second document.

"Leave that as well."

The secretary bowed and withdrew.

Adrian waited until the door closed before opening the memorandum.

He already knew what it would say.

The Empire needed an heir.

He was twenty-five.

His father’s mourning period had passed.

The court was no longer willing to accept delay as an answer.

Neither were the ministers.

The Empire needed stability.

The succession needed certainty.

Foreign courts were watching.

The great houses were watching even more closely.

Adrian set the memorandum aside.

He had known this day would come.

There was no reason to resist it.

He would attend the season.

He would meet the women presented to him.

Eventually, he would choose an Empress.

That was his duty.

But duty had never been the only thing on Adrian’s mind.

His gaze shifted toward the second document.

The list of eligible ladies could wait.

There was another name that mattered more.

Marian.

He had learned of her return yesterday.

She had arrived safely.

She was staying at the Valmont residence.

After a year and a half away, she was back in the capital.

Adrian leaned back in his chair.

He had known she would return.

He had never doubted it.

The capital had been Marian’s home for most of her life.

She loved it.

She had spent her childhood here.

Her adolescence.

Most of the years before her marriage had been meant to begin.

Valmont had only ever been a place she could retreat to.

And after Cassian’s disappearance, retreat was exactly what she had needed.

So Adrian had let her go.

He had not summoned her.

He had not sent letters.

He had not sent anyone to bring her back.

She had been grieving.

He had been mourning his father.

The Empire itself had been in mourning.

There had been no reason to interfere.

He had waited.

Eighteen months was a long time.

Long enough for grief to change.

Long enough for Marian to recover.

Long enough for her to begin wanting her old life again.

And now she had returned.

Adrian’s fingers rested against the edge of the desk.

He wondered what she looked like now.

He remembered her as she had been before she left.

Not the woman who had stood silently at his coronation.

Not the girl who had cried after losing the man she loved.

But Marian as he had known her for most of his life.

Laughing.

Bright.

Always wanting to see what was happening.

Always interested in the next beautiful thing.

The girl who had once followed him through the palace without hesitation.

The young woman he had fallen in love with.

That Marian had disappeared for a while.

Perhaps she had found her way back.

The thought pleased him more than he allowed himself to acknowledge.

He looked down at the report concerning House Valmont.

Their financial position had not improved as much as it might have.

That was not an accident.

Adrian had been careful.

He had never issued an order against them.

He had never publicly punished the family.

There was nothing that could be traced to the Crown.

He had simply made certain that recovery remained difficult.

An opportunity here had gone elsewhere.

A favorable contract had not materialized.

A commercial arrangement had taken a different direction.

A request that might once have been approved quickly had required further consideration.

Nothing extraordinary.

Nothing that could be called persecution.

Just enough.

House Valmont was not collapsing.

Adrian had never intended that.

He only needed them to feel the weight of what they had lost.

And now Marian had returned to the capital.

That changed things.

Adrian closed the report.

He did not need to approach her.

He had no intention of doing so.

He would not ask her to come to him.

He would not remind her of their engagement.

He would not ask whether she still remembered loving him.

He would not plead.

He would not seduce her.

He would not chase her through the season like some young nobleman desperate for a woman’s attention.

He was Emperor.

And more importantly, he knew Marian.

If she wanted nothing to do with him, forcing himself into her life would only make her resist him.

There was another way.

A quieter way.

Adrian looked toward the list of eligible women.

He had no shortage of choices.

That was precisely the point.

Marian would see it.

Everyone would.

The season would bring daughters from the most powerful houses in the Empire.

Beautiful women.

Wealthy women.

Women whose families would consider an Imperial marriage the greatest opportunity of their lives.

They would surround him.

They would compete for his attention.

And Marian would be there to witness it.

Adrian had no need to tell her what he wanted.

She would understand the situation herself.

He only needed to wait.

The door opened.

His secretary entered again.

"Your Majesty. The Chancellor is ready for the council meeting."

"Very well."

The secretary hesitated.

"There is one matter concerning the season."

Adrian looked up.

"The council wishes to know whether Your Majesty intends to make a selection before the end of the season."

Adrian considered the question.

"I will make my decision when I am ready."

"Of course."

"And tell the Chancellor that I will attend the formal receptions."

The secretary bowed.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He left.

Adrian rose from his chair.

--

The Imperial Council assembled shortly afterward.

Adrian entered the chamber.

Every minister stood.

"Your Majesty."

"Sit."

They obeyed.

The Chancellor opened the first folder.

"The provincial reports are favorable."

Adrian listened.

The discussion moved from trade to military expenditure.

From military expenditure to foreign relations.

From foreign relations to the Imperial treasury.

Adrian asked questions.

Made decisions.

Rejected two proposals.

Approved another.

Nothing about his manner suggested that anything had changed.

He was Emperor.

This was what he did.

Eventually, the Chancellor reached the final matter.

"Your Majesty."

Adrian looked at him.

"The matter of the Imperial marriage."

The room became slightly quieter.

Adrian leaned back.

"I am aware."

"The council believes the matter can no longer be postponed."

"It cannot."

The Chancellor seemed relieved by the answer.

"The eligible families have been notified."

"Good."

"The first formal reception can be arranged within the week."

"Arrange it."

"The ladies currently under consideration include daughters from seven of the Empire’s principal houses, as well as several foreign candidates."

Adrian nodded.

"I will meet them."

"And Your Majesty will consider the matter of succession?"

"I will."

There was no further argument.

The council moved on.

But Adrian’s thoughts had already gone elsewhere.

Marian was back.

She would enter the season.

She would meet men.

He knew that.

And he knew what she was likely looking for.

House Valmont needed stability.

Marian would understand the importance of choosing well.

She would not simply fall into another marriage because someone made her laugh.

She had matured.

So had he.

That was why Adrian was willing to wait.

He had no intention of making Marian choose him because she was cornered.

He wanted her to look at the choices available to her.

He wanted her to consider the future.

And eventually—

to realize that the future he offered was the strongest one.

Not because he would tell her so.

Because it would be obvious.

Adrian looked toward the Chancellor.

"Continue."

The discussion resumed.

--

That evening, Adrian returned to his private study.

The capital glittered below the palace windows.

Somewhere in that city, Marian was settling into the residence she had once called home.

Perhaps she was meeting old friends.

Perhaps she was unpacking.

Perhaps she was already thinking about the season.

Adrian allowed himself one quiet thought.

Welcome back, Marian.

Then he turned toward the documents waiting on his desk.

There was no need to hurry.

He had waited eighteen months.

He could wait a little longer.

The season would bring them into the same rooms soon enough.

And when it did, Adrian would not go to her.

He would simply be there.

The Emperor.

Waiting.

And this time, he would make certain that every road Marian could take eventually led back to him.

--

Tbc

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