The following morning, Aurelian stood outside Cassian's chamber for nearly ten minutes.
He raised his hand to knock.
Then he stopped and lowered his hand.
He raised it again, then stopped once more.
His heart was beating far too quickly against his chest.
This is ridiculous, he thought to himself.
He had faced magical beasts in the forest without fear. He had sparred with veteran knights twice his size without flinching. Yet standing outside this simple wooden door terrified him more than any duel ever had.
Because behind it was the man he had spent nineteen years wondering about.
His father.
Aurelian finally forced himself to knock.
*Knock. Knock.*
Then silence followed for a few long seconds.
Suddenly, a voice called out softly from inside—
"Come in."
Aurelian pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Cassian was sitting in a high-backed armchair beside the window. Morning sunlight spilled across his dark hair, illuminating the faint crimson in his eyes. He had an open book resting in his lap, but the moment he saw Aurelian, he closed it and set it aside.
Neither of them spoke as they locked eyes. Cassian smiled gently at him.
"Oh Aurelian... Good morning."
Aurelian swallowed hard. "Morning."
Cassian gestured toward the empty chair opposite him, his movement light and welcoming. Aurelian's eyes followed his hand.
"You can sit."
Aurelian hesitated for a second before taking the seat.
The silence returned, stretching between them like a tight string. Cassian didn't rush him. He simply sat back and waited patiently.
Eventually, Aurelian broke the quiet.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to say."
Cassian's expression softened into an understanding look. "Neither do I."
Aurelian looked directly at him, his brow furrowing slightly.
"You don't?"
"No," Cassian gave a quiet laugh, shaking his head. "Even my heart is racing right now."
Cassian looked at his son's face, his tone turning reflective.
"Seeing the child I left while an unborn baby is truly surprising, not to mention that I've only spent fifteen months imagining this moment between my child and I... just not for you to be so tall and grown up already. And a boy."
He smiled warmly.
"Sora and I were truly convinced that you would be a girl."
Cassian looked down at his own hands, then chuckled softly under his breath. "But ever since yesterday, I have been trying to adjust to my return back home. I don't want to lie—I had mixed emotions about returning. Even my dreams reflected those emotions last night."
Cassian let out a low sigh, putting the book completely aside and looking up at Aurelian.
"In some of those dreams, you ran into my arms."
Aurelian's eyes flickered with a quiet light.
"In others," Cassian continued with a small shrug, "you just slapped me square on the face."
Aurelian almost gasped, caught off guard.
"Why would I slap you?"
Cassian looked at him, his gaze honest. "Because I disappeared. And perhaps because you would have every right to."
Aurelian lowered his gaze to the floor, his tone shifting.
"Did you intentionally leave us?"
Cassian's heart sank at the direct question. Yet, above all else, he chose to be truthful with the boy.
"Yes."
"But why?" Aurelian's fingers tightened around the fabric of his trousers. "You were gone for too long. Why did you leave us?"
Cassian stayed quiet, listening.
"For fifteen years," Aurelian said, his voice rising slightly as he pressed on. Aurelian's voice finally cracked with raw emotion
"And you missed everything."
"You missed my first time walking and talking."
Cassian remained completely silent, bearing the weight of those words.
"My first sword lessons, and you missed when I broke my arm, when I won my first tournament."
Cassian's lips trembled as he stared at his son.
"And you missed my birthday every year until I was this old. And every time I was asked about my other father, I wondered whether you even considered me as your child."
"I did," Cassian said firmly. "And I still do."
Aurelian froze, blinking through his anger.
"What?"
"First of all, the reason why I left was not only because of what happened between Lucien and I, but because I had a home and a family to return to on Earth," Cassian explained softly. "I'm sure Lucien explained everything on my behalf, and seeing those two women who arrived before me should be proof enough."
Aurelian stared at him.
"So you are really a possessor?"
"Yes," Cassian answered calmly. "And only a few know that. I would appreciate it if it remained that way."
A quiet silence hovered over the room for a few moments. Then Cassian sighed softly, leaning slightly closer to Aurelian.
"But I do have to admit that the nature in which I left was not something I should have done," Cassian said, his voice thick with sincere regret. "And for that, I am truly sorry."
He pressed a trembling hand against his own chest.
"I don't know the date of your birthday. I don't know your favorite hobbies or your favorite food. But I hope that I will get to know everything about you from now on and make up for the lost time, my son."
Aurelian stared at him in complete silence. Cassian offered him a soft, broken smile.
"I don't want to see you grow any older than now without me,"
"So what do you say, Aurelian?"
Aurelian looked down at his boots, and his broad shoulders began to shake, chomping down on his lower lip.
"I hate you so much, Cassian Valemont," Aurelian choked out, his voice sharp and bitter. "I don't care about what reason you have for leaving us. I don't care about how valid it is or how much you are planning to apologize for my forgiveness. The fact remains that you are merely a stranger to me."
Cassian slowly nodded, clenching his fingers tightly together in his lap.
"I understand."
"No, you don't understand," Aurelian snapped, looking up with fierce eyes. "My hatred for you runs deep. Even I prefer for my father to end up with Uncle Lucien instead of you."
Cassian's eyes widened in shock, but Aurelian steadily continued without backing down.
"If you had never truly existed, our lives would have been much easier, it would have been better even if you had truly died." Aurelian said coldly. "But instead, you chose to show up again and turn our lives upside down. And for that, I hate you even more."
Cassian looked immediately devastated, his face turning pale.
"Aurelian–..."
"I know it partly wasn't your fault that you left us abruptly," Aurelian wiped his wet eyes angrily with the back of his hand. "But the rest of it was entirely your fault—including the reason why Aunt Ruby became part of your lives and did what she did."
"You even know about that?" Cassian asked softly.
"Of course I do," Aurelian gritted his teeth, his jaw tight.
"If you had as much transparency as Uncle Lucien did, then we wouldn't have reached this point right now. Even if you had to travel to Earth, it should have been in a dignified way that did not hurt your family and the people that cared about you."
He looked directly at Cassian, his eyes burning. "But just as I thought... you are merely a selfish man who thinks the world revolves around him."
That statement immediately stung Cassian into silence. He could not offer a defense, because deep down, he knew the criticism held weight. Aurelian's fierce reaction was what he had prepared himself to face from everyone he left behind. But experiencing it at first hand was truly painful.
Aurelian paused, taking a harsh breath. "Cassian, can I ask you something?"
Cassian nodded slowly, lost for words. Aurelian shifted in his seat, leaning closer to him.
"Why did you even come back?"
Aurelian asked bitterly.
"My father and Uncle Lucien already had a good thing going on between them, but with you back, you will ruin everything. Not only for them, but for us as well."
"Aurelian, don't say things you will regret in the future, son—"
"I doubt it, because I mean every word that I am saying right now," Aurelian interrupted with a cold drawl.
"After all, I am merely talking to a stranger. Your feelings don't mean anything to me, Crown Prince Cassian Valemont."
That cold tone instinctively made Cassian lean back against his chair. For a second, looking at the sharp intensity in his son's crimson eyes, Cassian saw a mirror of the villainous prince he used to be.
Aurelian stared at him coldly. Cassian let out a tired sigh, raising a hand to rub his temples.
"I'll let you be, since you are venting your anger," Cassian said softly. "But I will let you know that I came back home because there are people I love here."
His gaze softened as he looked at the boy. "And apparently, one of them grew into a very handsome young man, but is oddly disrespectful to his own father."
Aurelian's lips twitched slightly, and Cassian offered a faint, tired smirk that caused Aurelian to hiss in disdain.
"You are nothing but a terrible father," Aurelian muttered, turning his face away.
"I've been told," Cassian replied quietly.
A heavy, lingering silence fell over the room once more.
Then, Aurelian whispered coldly,
"From now on, you stay away from me and my father. We seriously don't need you around. And if my father ever needs some comfort, I will make sure him and Uncle Lucien continue from where they left off. You stay away, along with that witch you brought along into your lives named Ruby Thompson."
"Boy, that's enough!"
A stern, commanding voice cut through the air from the doorway. Both Cassian and Aurelian turned instantly.
Sora was standing in the open entrance, his face filled with anger as he stepped inside.
"You are angry and you have every right to be," Sora said, pointing a finger directly at his son. "Stay angry if you want to, but don't ever talk to my man like that, do you hear me? He is still your father!"
Aurelian pulled back slightly in his seat, caught completely off guard by Sora's anger. Cassian looked directly into his son's eyes, seeing the sudden shock in them.
Yet despite Sora's clear warning, Aurelian glared back down at Cassian. His face crumpled with deep betrayal and confusion.
"Father..." Aurelian's voice shook.
"Even after everything that happened, why do you still choose him? Uncle Lucien cares about you and he—"
"AURELIAN!" Sora shouted, his voice ringing across the room.
Aurelian flinched violently, taking a rapid step backward. Sora snarled down at him with dark eyes.
"Know your place, and I won't repeat myself to you again!"
Neither of them noticed Lucien standing silently outside the partially opened door in the hallway.
Lucien had come looking for Cassian together with Sora. But when they saw the heated exchange between father and son through the crack in the door, they had stopped to watch. The conversation had spiraled so badly that Sora could no longer stand by and he intervened. Indeed, no matter how deeply hurt the boy felt, his words had gone far overboard.
Sora took a deep breath and looked sharply at his son.
"Aurelian, excuse us for a moment, and go catch some air outside. Your father and I need to talk."
Aurelian clicked his tongue angrily, shoving his chair aside so hard it rattled against the floor. He stormed out of the room, slammed the heavy wooden door behind him, and left a dead silence in his wake.
Sora let out a long, heavy sigh. He turned to look at Cassian, but Cassian silently looked away, staring out the window at the morning light.
"That's some temper..." Sora murmured softly, his voice softening. "I'm sorry, Cassian. Aurelian has been–..."
"I would like to be alone for a while," Cassian said quietly, his voice hollow.
Sora gasped, taking a quick step closer to him.
"Are you kicking me out of the room as well?"
"I am not kicking you out," Cassian replied gently, still looking toward the window.
"I just want to be alone and clear my head. After all, I have things to reflect on."
"Cassi—"
"Sora, let's go for now," Lucien's deep voice interrupted from the doorway.
Lucien stepped into the room briefly, tapping Sora gently on the shoulder to lead the way out. Sora sighed, looking at Cassian one last time before following Lucien into the corridor. Lucien closed the door quietly behind them.
As they walked down the hallway, Lucien spoke up softly.
"Out of all people, you should know that he feels really offended right now. He won't be able to face you and Aurelian just yet."
Sora stopped and looked at Lucien.
"Are you sure that he is not angry at me because I betrayed him and slept with you?"
"No," Lucien replied calmly. "I already told him about us and he understood. He even laughed at it."
Lucien looked down the quiet corridor. "Aurelian is the cause of it. After all, you heard him yourself. So let's give him the space he needs and wait for him to calm down."
The heavy footsteps of Sora and Lucien echoed down the quiet corridor.
Sora walked with his arms folded tightly inside his long sleeves, his lips pressed into a thin line. His silver-and-emerald robes brushed against the floorboards as he marched toward the inner courtyard.
"He sounded so distant, Lucien," Sora said, his voice laced with concern as he turned to look at the taller man beside him.
"Cassian didn't even look at me when he asked us to leave."
"Give him time, Sora," Lucien replied calmly, his boots clicking rhythmically against the stone.
"He just returned to a world that moved on without him for fifteen years. He found out his son harbors years of resentment, and he's processing it the only way he knows how—by withdrawing."
Sora paused at the edge of the courtyard archway, looking out over the open training grounds where Aurelian was furiously slashing a practice sword against a wooden dummy.
"I shouldn't have yelled at the boy," Sora murmured softly, watching Aurelian's harsh, unrefined swings.
"Bedsides he is hurting too."
"He is,"
Lucien agreed, stopping beside him. "Aurelian grew up listening to rumors about a Crown Prince who abandoned his realm. Even with everything we taught him, deep down, he built up a fortress to protect himself from being disappointed. Seeing Cassian sitting in that chair made all those years of waiting turn into anger."
Sora sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And what about you, Lucien? How are you handling all of this?"
Lucien leaned against the stone pillar, looking out toward the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
"I am right where I need to be, and I feel content." Lucien said quietly.
"My duty was to protect this family until Cassian returned. Now that he is back, we have to piece this home back together—no matter how long it takes."
Inside the guest chamber, Cassian remained by the windowsill. He looked down at the closed book resting on his lap, his fingers still tracing the worn leather edge. The silence in the room felt heavy now—no longer peaceful, but thick with the sting of Aurelian's words.
*"You're nothing but a terrible father."*
Cassian closed his eyes and let out a long, quiet breath.
'He isn't wrong,' Cassian thought to himself. 'I missed nineteen years of his life. To him, I really am just a ghost who walked back into the room.'
Cassian finally set the book down on the side table. He slowly forced his legs to swing over the edge of the bed, feeling the dull ache in his uncooperative muscles as his feet touched the cool floor.
He stood up carefully, leaning his hand against the wall for support until his balance caught.
He walked over to the tall glass mirror hanging near the wardrobe.
The reflection looking back at him was undeniable: Crown Prince Cassian Valemont. The black hair framing his pale face, the crimson eyes that once made whole courtrooms tremble, and the fine silk robes of the royal house.
He raised a trembling hand, touching his own cheek.
"Kagen Walker on Earth... Cassian Valemont in Edrath..." he whispered to the empty room.
"You really left a mess behind in both worlds, didn't you?"
He looked toward the closed door leading out into the hall. He knew he couldn't stay locked in this room forever. His mother and Mellisa were somewhere in the estate, Sora was waiting, and his son was out there carrying a decade of bitter hatred.
Cassian straightened his back, taking a deep, real breath of the mountain air.
"Time to start fixing it. I can't let Aurelian go like that."
*****