Five Days Later
The time had finally come.
The week of celebrations in the Empire came to an end, and the Imperial Palace became busy once more. Servants hurried through the hallways carrying heavy luggage, while Imperial knights inspected the royal carriages one last time. In the palace courtyard, the royal envoy assembled in neat formation, ready to escort the Imperial Family to the Eastern Continent for the long-awaited wedding.
Inside his private study, Emperor Cedric quietly dismissed his ministers and guards.
"Leave us,"
Cedric instructed gently. The heavy oak doors closed with a soft thud and only the Emperor and Lucien remained inside the quiet room.
Cedric looked at the tall knight for a long moment before speaking.
"Sir Arden."
Lucien bowed respectfully, placing his right hand over his heart.
"Your Majesty."
The Emperor smiled faintly, though his eyes showed his tiredness.
"This Emperor wishes to trouble you once again."
Lucien immediately raised his head, his face steady.
"You need only give the order, Sire."
Cedric let out a quiet sigh and stepped around his heavy desk.
"I know very well that you have already retired from serving as Cassian's personal guard. And I know I have already asked too much of you over the years." His expression softened. "But I have one final assignment for you even though you have retired."
He looked directly into Lucien's calm eyes.
"As we travel to the Eastern Continent..." Cedric continued,
"...I would like my family's safety to be entrusted to you once more."
"It would be my honor, Your Majesty."
Lucien answered without a single moment of hesitation. Cedric nodded, relieved.
"I am glad Sir Arden. As you know... Sir Phillip will remain directly by my side. He will protect both the Empress and me throughout the entire journey." He paused, his gaze drifting toward the window that faced the courtyard. "But my son... Cassian..."
The Emperor's voice carried unmistakable concern.
"He has no personal guard anymore," Cedric said softly.
"And although he would never admit that he needs assistance... I still worry about him deeply." Cedric smiled sadly.
"You once protected him every single day. You know his habits. You know his strengths... and his weaknesses."
He took one slow, deep breath.
"So I ask you... Please protect Cassian. Just one last time. At least until we safely return to Edrath."
Lucien lowered his head. There was no doubt in his mind, nor any hesitation in his chest.
"Very well, Sire," Lucien said softly, tightening his hand against his chest. "Please leave it to me and I will protect His Highness with my life."
Cedric smiled with quiet relief.
"I expected nothing less from you, Lucien."
Several hours later, the Imperial procession finally departed from the capital.
Dozens of grand, decorated carriages rolled slowly through the palace gates, surrounded by hundreds of knights whose armor gleamed in the sun. Royal banners fluttered proudly in the wind as the convoy made its way toward the southern harbor.
Inside one of the grandest royal carriages, the air was heavy and still.
Only two people sat inside.
And it was Cssian. And Lucien.
The silence settled almost immediately after the carriage doors were shut. Cassian sat beside the window, his chin resting lightly against his hand as he stared outside. He watched the passing scenery—villages, green forests, open dirt roads and he looked at anything and everything, as long as it wasn't the man sitting directly across from him.
Sora had already returned to the Verdant Alliance several days earlier to fulfill his duties as the divine elf. And Ruby would only attend the wedding itself once they reached the Eastern Continent. There was no one left to break the silence or ease the heavy tension in the small space.
It was just the two of them. Alone.
Cassian quietly tightened his fingers against the wooden window frame. Whenever Lucien's presence became too noticeable, Cassian forced himself to think of Earth.
He thought of his parents' faces. His annoying sister, his old room. His ordinary, simple university life before all of this. The people who were still waiting for his return.
'Two months,' he reminded himself, gripping his own wrist under his long sleeves.
'Just two more months. Don't forget why you are here. Don't get soft now.*
He repeated those words over and over in his head like a quiet prayer. Like a punishment.
Across from him, Lucien sat perfectly still.
His eyes were closed, his long arms rested calmly across his chest, and his back remained straight against the seat cushions. He no longer watched Cassian's every movement. He no longer smiled at him. He no longer tried to start small, warm conversations to pass the time.
There were no playful remarks. No gentle reminders to eat his meals. No quiet, worried looks whenever Cassian looked tired or pale.
Nothing.
Lucien had truly kept his promise. Cassian had told him to stay away, and so Lucien stayed away—perfectly, professionally, and completely.
Whenever Cassian was forced to speak to him, Lucien answered only with what was strictly necessary.
*"Your Highness."*
*"Your orders."*
*"As you wish."*
Nothing more. Nothing less. There was no warmth, no hesitation, and no trace of the man who used to fuss over Cassian during every waking hour.
Ironically... Cassian was the first one to notice the change. And he was the first one bothered by it.
Cassian stared out the window, his jaw tight. He didn't understand why he felt so irritated. This was exactly what he had wanted, wasn't it? He had asked for distance, and he got it.
So why... why did this silence feel so unbearably loud?
His eyes drifted away from the passing trees toward Lucien. Just for a second.
He waited. Maybe Lucien would say something now. Anything. A silly joke. A complaint about the bumpy road. A nag about how he had skipped his morning training. Anything at all to break the cold wall between them.
But nothing came.
Lucien remained perfectly still, his breathing steady, his expression completely peaceful.
Cassian quietly looked back out the window, clicking his tongue in frustration.
The carriage continued to rock gently down the dirt road. Minutes stretched into an hour.
Then... without opening his eyes, Lucien finally broke the silence.
"If you knew..." Lucien's voice was calm and smooth, "...—that it would hurt this much... Then why did you do it?"
Cassian's fingers stiffened against his knee. He slowly turned his head to look across the small space.
"Sir Arden..." Cassian's voice remained steady.
"What exactly are you talking about?"
Lucien didn't open his eyes, nor did he move an inch.
"You know exactly what I am talking about, My Lord."
Silence filled the carriage once again, heavy and thick. Outside, the steady rhythm of horses' hooves and rolling wheels echoed through the wood.
Cassian forced out a small, dry laugh.
"I'm afraid I don't."
Lucien let out a quiet, slow breath through his nose.
"Are you still planning to deny it right until the end?"
Cassian met his words without shrinking back.
"I truly don't understand what 'hurt' you are referring to, Sir Arden." He folded his hands neatly on his lap, sitting up straight. "As you can plainly see... I am fine. Perfectly fine."
Lucien slowly opened his eyes. His dark, clear gaze met Cassian's.
"Is that so?"
"Yes,"
Lucien studied him quietly for a long moment.
"Then why have you looked at me nine times since we left the palace gates?"
Cassian blinked, caught completely off guard. "...I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me," Lucien said, his tone plain and unhurried.
"You have looked at me nine times. The first was when we passed through the southern gate. The second was after we crossed the stone river bridge. The third was when the carriage stopped to let the baggage convoy pass."
Cassian's brows furrowed into a sharp frown.
"I was not aware."
"But I was," Lucien replied simply.
Cassian turned his head back toward the window, his cheeks growing faint pink with irritation.
"I merely happened to look in your direction while watching the road."
"I see," Lucien nodded once. "Then I also merely happened to notice."
Cassian clicked his tongue, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.
"...You are overthinking things, as usual."
"No. I stopped doing that."
Cassian's breath caught in his throat, and he found himself unable to reply.
Lucien quietly turned his gaze toward his own window, looking out at the passing fields.
"You told me to stop following you, so I did. And you told me to leave your side, so I did that as well. You told me not to trouble you with my presence anymore and I haven't."
His voice carried no anger. There was no bitterness, no hidden resentment, and no demand for pity. There was only quiet, complete acceptance.
"I have respected every single wish you have given me, Your Highness and I will follow it until the end."
Cassian swallowed quietly, his throat feeling unusually dry.
"...Good," he forced out. "That was the point of my orders."
Lucien nodded softly. "I know."
Silence returned to the carriage, heavier than before. Cassian hated it. He hated how vast and empty the seat next to him felt, even though Lucien was sitting right across from him.
Finally, unable to bear the quiet any longer, Cassian spoke again.
"...You don't have to be so quiet around me."
Lucien looked back at him, his sharp eyes clear as ice.
"You ordered me to keep my distance."
"Yet I didn't say that you shouldn't speak like a normal human being," Cassian retorted, his voice slipping into defensive annoyance.
"I never told you to act like a total stranger."
Lucien's eyes remained steady and calm. "No... You only told me... that my place beside you had come to an end."
Cassian shifted uncomfortably in his seat, leaning forward slightly.
"I merely reassigned your official duties. You are still a knight of this Empire even if you retire."
A faint, sad smile touched the corner of Lucien's lips.
"Isn't that a polite way of saying farewell."
"It was not a farewell," Cassian insisted, his voice rising just a fraction.
"Just like I said, it was merely reassignment."
"But to me it felt like one.... A farewell I mean."
"It shouldn't have!"
"But it did."
Cassian looked away again, his fingers digging into his own velvet sleeve.
"...You are reading far too much into a simple administrative change."
Lucien shook his head slowly.
"No. For the very first time... I am reading exactly what you wanted me to read. And I am not making assumptions. You are. I am simply accepting reality as it is, Cassian."
Hearing his actual name fall from Lucien's lips—spoken not with warmth, but with quiet resignation—made Cassian let out a frustrated breath that even his frown deepened.
"You always make everything more dramatic than it actually is," Cassian growled, turning his head back to glare at him and Lucien almost let out a small, dry laugh.
"I used to. But not anymore."
He looked at Cassian one last time, his gaze soft, distant, and completely devoid of the desperate devotion that used to burn inside of him.
"You have made yourself perfectly clear," Lucien said softly.
"And I finally understand my place."
Cassian opened his mouth to argue, to snap back, but then he closed his mouth again.
There was nothing left to say. There was nothing left to argue about.
Because this... this exact distance, this cold professionalism, this complete emotional wall—this was precisely what he had fought so hard to push Lucien into accepting.
So why... why did achieving his goal feel so much like losing everything?
"I see.."
Cassian eventually resigned and the carriage continued its steady journey toward the port, rocking gently over the uneven dirt road. Neither man spoke another word for the rest of the trip.
The silence between them no longer felt like a temporary argument or a tense misunderstanding. But it felt like two people standing on opposite sides of a vast, widening river... each convinced they were doing the right thing for the other, while quietly giving up on ever bridging the gap between them ever again.
*****