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the Villainess they took for granted

Chapter 117: And What of My Son? · Oct 27, 2026

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Chapter List (304)

Page number / 7

101 Chapter 101: I Missed You 2026-10-27
102 Chapter 102: A Moment of Peace 2026-10-27
103 Chapter 103: The End of Questions 2026-10-27
104 Chapter 104: Beside Her 2026-10-27
105 Chapter 105: The First Move 2026-10-27
106 Chapter 106: The First Ripple 2026-10-27
107 Chapter 107: The Crown Prince Moves 2026-10-27
108 Chapter 108: The Last Olive Branch 2026-10-27
109 Chapter 109: Between Storms 2026-10-27
110 Chapter 110: The Name 2026-10-27
111 Chapter 111: The distance between us 2026-10-27
112 Chapter 112: What do you want? 2026-10-27
113 Chapter 113: Just Cassian 2026-10-27
114 Chapter 114: Then What? 2026-10-27
115 Chapter 115: The Audience 2026-10-27
116 Chapter 116: A Father’s Argument 2026-10-27
117 Chapter 117: And What of My Son? 2026-10-27
118 Chapter 118: Why Him? 2026-10-27
119 Chapter 119: If I Refuse 2026-10-27
120 Chapter 120: The Future 2026-10-27
121 Chapter 121: The Weight of a Crown 2026-10-27
122 Chapter 122: My Son Deserves Better 2026-10-27
123 Chapter 123: For the Best 2026-10-27
124 Chapter 124: Good News 2026-10-27
125 Chapter 125: The Road Ahead 2026-10-27
126 Chapter 126: Letting Go 2026-10-27
127 Chapter 127: The Proceedings 2026-10-27
128 Chapter 128: His Nephew 2026-10-27
129 Chapter 129: How Did This Happen? 2026-10-27
130 Chapter 130: My Brother’s Son 2026-10-27
131 Chapter 131: The Price 2026-10-27
132 Chapter 132: The Cost 2026-10-27
133 Chapter 133: Ashford House 2026-10-27
134 Chapter 134: Patience 2026-10-27
135 Chapter 135: Yours 2026-10-27
136 Chapter 136: Spring 2026-10-27
137 Chapter 137: The Invitation 2026-10-27
138 Chapter 138: The Season 2026-10-27
139 Chapter 139: Afterward 2026-10-27
140 Chapter 140: Questions 2026-10-27
141 Chapter 141: Attention 2026-10-27
142 Chapter 142: Answers 2026-10-27
143 Chapter 143: Waiting 2026-10-27
144 Chapter 144: His Grace, Duke Ashford 2026-10-27
145 Chapter 145: Home 2026-10-27
146 Chapter 146: Welcome Home 2026-10-27
147 Chapter 147: The Space Between Them 2026-10-27
148 Chapter 148: This Dance 2026-10-27
149 Chapter 149: Reality Returns 2026-10-27
150 Chapter 150: The Ring 2026-10-27

Chapter 117: Chapter 117: And What of My Son?

Silence lingered after Duke Valmort’s final words.

My daughter asked me for her future.

How could I refuse her?

The room remained still.

Neither man spoke.

Neither looked away.

For a brief moment, the Emperor found himself understanding the Duke entirely.

That was the problem.

Understanding made things difficult.

The Emperor rose from his chair.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

He crossed the room toward the tall windows overlooking the capital.

His hands settled behind his back.

Below, the city continued its endless movement.

Unaware.

Unconcerned.

Life always continued.

Even when people’s worlds threatened to collapse.

The Emperor looked out over the rooftops.

Then spoke.

”And what of my son?”

The question hung between them.

Simple.

Quiet.

Unavoidable.

Duke Valmort’s expression tightened.

Only slightly.

But the Emperor noticed.

Of course he did.

The Duke had expected the question.

That did not make it easier to answer.

The Emperor continued before he could speak.

”Do you believe I do not understand your position?”

His gaze remained fixed on the city.

”I do.”

The answer came immediately.

Sincere.

The Emperor nodded once.

”I would hope so.”

A faint sigh escaped him.

Not quite frustration.

Not quite exhaustion.

Something between.

”You speak of your daughter.”

His voice remained calm.

Measured.

”I understand.”

The Emperor turned slightly.

Enough to look at the Duke.

”Had Adrian come to me and asked the same thing of me...”

The sentence trailed off.

Not because he lacked an ending.

Because both men already knew it.

The Emperor would have moved mountains.

The Duke knew it.

The Emperor knew it.

Every father in the Empire would know it.

The Emperor’s expression hardened slightly.

”Do not mistake my position for indifference.”

The Duke inclined his head.

”I never have, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor studied him for several moments.

Then nodded.

Accepting the answer.

Because he believed it.

The Duke was many things.

Dishonest was not one of them.

The Emperor turned back toward the window.

”And yet.”

The words fell softly into the room.

”My son came to me as well.”

Silence followed.

The Emperor’s voice lowered.

Not weaker.

More personal.

More dangerous.

”He stood where you stand now.”

Duke Valmort remained silent.

Listening.

The Emperor continued.

”He told me everything.”

The audience request.

The conversations.

The meetings.

The name.

Cassian.

The Emperor’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

Even now, the situation irritated him.

Not because it was Cassian.

Because it was his son.

Because fathers were rarely objective where their children were concerned.

A truth he had no intention of denying.

”For eighteen years,” the Emperor said quietly, ”Adrian believed Marian would be his wife.”

The Duke did not interrupt.

The Emperor appreciated that.

”Not because he assumed it.”

A pause.

”Because everyone assumed it.”

The Emperor laughed once.

Without humor.

”The Empire assumed it.”

True.

Painfully true.

The engagement had existed for so long that people treated it less as a future event and more as an established fact.

Like the sunrise.

Like winter.

Like taxes.

Certain.

Unavoidable.

The Emperor folded his arms.

”He built his future around that certainty.”

The words landed heavily.

Because they were true.

The Duke knew they were true.

The Emperor knew they were true.

Neither man attempted to pretend otherwise.

”He did everything expected of him.”

The Emperor’s gaze drifted toward the horizon.

”He studied.”

”He trained.”

”He prepared.”

”He became the man he believed he needed to become.”

A brief silence.

”Not simply for the Empire.”

The Emperor’s expression softened.

Just slightly.

”For her.”

The room grew quiet.

The Emperor could still see Adrian standing before him.

The anger.

The frustration.

The hurt.

Most of all—

the certainty.

I don’t want to let her go.

The Emperor closed his eyes briefly.

Then opened them again.

”He is my son.”

The statement carried no force.

No authority.

No threat.

Only truth.

The Duke inclined his head.

”I know.”

The Emperor turned.

Fully this time.

His gaze met the Duke’s.

Steady.

Searching.

”And I am his father.”

The silence that followed felt almost tangible.

Neither man moved.

Neither looked away.

The Emperor exhaled slowly.

Then asked the question he had been circling since the audience began.

The question beneath all the others.

The question that truly mattered.

”Does she love him?”

No names.

None were necessary.

Both men understood.

The room seemed to still.

The Duke considered the question.

Not because he needed time.

Because the answer deserved respect.

Because once spoken, it could not be withdrawn.

The Emperor watched him carefully.

Waiting.

The Duke finally spoke.

”Yes.”

One word.

Nothing more.

No hesitation.

No uncertainty.

No qualification.

Just certainty.

The Emperor stared at him.

The answer struck harder than expected.

Not because he had not known.

He had.

Adrian had practically confirmed it himself.

She believes she does.

The Emperor remembered those exact words.

The distinction mattered.

At least to Adrian.

Perhaps because Adrian needed it to matter.

The Emperor understood that too.

But Duke Valmort offered no such distinction.

No room for doubt.

No space for hope.

Only certainty.

”Yes.”

The Emperor looked away.

Back toward the city.

His thoughts drifted briefly toward Cassian.

His nephew.

His brother’s son.

A good man.

An honorable man.

An inconvenient man.

The Emperor almost smiled.

Almost.

Life possessed a remarkably cruel sense of humor.

The Duke remained silent.

Allowing him his thoughts.

The Emperor appreciated that.

After several moments, he spoke again.

Quietly.

Thoughtfully.

”And you are certain.”

It wasn’t truly a question.

The Duke answered anyway.

”I am.”

The Emperor nodded once.

Slowly.

Absorbing the answer.

Accepting it.

Not agreeing.

Accepting.

A subtle but important difference.

The room fell silent once more.

Outside, the capital continued moving.

Unaware that two fathers were discussing the futures of their children.

Unaware that an engagement eighteen years old stood balanced on the edge of a decision.

The Emperor stared out at the city.

Thinking.

Behind him, Duke Valmort waited.

Patient.

Steady.

Neither man rushed the silence.

Because both understood something important.

This conversation had moved beyond politics.

Beyond engagements.

Beyond precedent.

The problem was no longer legal.

The problem was human.

And human problems were always the hardest.

The Emperor finally spoke.

His voice calm.

Measured.

Dangerously thoughtful.

”Then tell me about Cassian.”

The Duke looked up.

The Emperor did not turn around.

His gaze remained fixed upon the city.

Upon the Empire.

Upon the future.

And somewhere within that future stood a young man named Cassian.

The Emperor’s nephew.

Marian’s choice.

The center of the storm.

The next battle had begun.

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