Chapter 5: The Duke's Warning
691 Words
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because the bed was uncomfortable.
It was the opposite.
The bed was too comfortable.
Too large.
Too quiet.
And far too far away from the reality of what had happened at dinner.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again.
The nobles staring.
The pastries disappearing one by one.
The Crown Prince’s curious smile.
And Cassian’s voice—
She began taking interest in them recently.
That sentence alone should have been illegal.
I rolled over for the tenth time, pulling the blanket over my head.
“This is fine,” I whispered to myself. “Everything is fine.”
It was not fine.
Not even a little.
Somewhere in this mansion, I was certain a group of nobles were already discussing whether Duchess Blackthrone had lost her mind on her wedding day.
Or worse.
Whether she had been replaced.
I groaned into the pillow.
“I just wanted to eat in peace…”
A soft knock suddenly came from the door.
I froze.
Knock. Knock.
My entire body went rigid.
No one visits a duchess’s room at this hour unless it is one of three things:
Death.
Danger.
Or both.
“…Yes?” I called cautiously.
The door opened without waiting for permission.
Of course it did.
Because this was Cassian Blackthrone’s residence, and apparently personal boundaries did not exist here.
A figure stepped inside.
Tall.
Calm.
Infuriatingly composed.
Cassian.
He didn’t bother lighting a candle. He didn’t need to. The moonlight spilling through the windows carved his silhouette sharply enough to make him look like something out of a painting.
Something dangerous.
Something untouchable.
I sat up immediately.
“My lord?” I asked carefully. “Is something wrong?”
He didn’t answer at first.
Instead, he closed the door behind him.
Click.
The sound felt louder than it should have.
Then he finally spoke.
“You were loud at dinner.”
I blinked.
“…Excuse me?”
Cassian’s gaze settled on me.
Flat. Unamused.
“You ate as if you hadn’t seen food in years.”
My face burned instantly.
“I— I was hungry,” I said defensively. “Very hungry.”
A pause.
“That much was obvious.”
I stared at him.
Was that… criticism?
Or observation?
Or both?
Cassian moved further into the room, stopping near the edge of my bed. He didn’t sit. He didn’t relax. He simply stood there like he belonged in every space he entered.
Which, infuriatingly, he probably did.
Then he said something I was not prepared for.
“Do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself again.”
Silence.
I frowned slightly.
“Was I… causing trouble?”
“You were interesting.”
That was worse.
I blinked again.
“I don’t understand.”
Cassian’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if deciding whether or not I was pretending.
Then he added, almost lazily:
“Interesting people get watched.”
That sent a chill down my spine.
“Oh,” I said quietly.
So that was it.
Not embarrassment.
Not scandal.
Attention.
In this world, attention was not harmless.
It was dangerous.
I swallowed.
“…Then what should I do?”
For the first time, something flickered across Cassian’s expression.
Not softness.
Not kindness.
Something closer to calculation.
Then he turned away slightly.
“Learn how to be boring.”
I stared at him.
“That’s your advice?”
“Yes.”
“…That’s terrible advice.”
He didn’t respond.
Of course he didn’t.
Cassian Blackthrone didn’t explain himself twice.
He turned toward the door, already done with the conversation.
But just before leaving, he paused.
Without looking back, he added:
“And stop eating like you’re afraid someone will take your food.”
Then he left.
The door clicked shut behind him.
I sat there in silence.
“…He came here to insult my eating habits,” I whispered.
I fell back onto the bed.
Staring at the ceiling.
“Unbelievable.”
But even as I said it, something uncomfortable lingered in my chest.
Because buried under all that coldness…
Was something else.
A warning.
And maybe—just maybe—
Protection.
- Writer
