Soo-ah—now Cassianne—leaned against the dressing table, drawing a deep breath. Her reflection seemed to watch her with the same silent apprehension she felt within.
She did not love the Prince.
She did not know him.
She shared nothing with him.
The betrothal meant nothing to her true soul.
But to be publicly rejected… to be displaced as the official fiancée… or worse, for Alistair to successfully annul the marriage… In an aristocratic world, that was not mere gossip.
It would be a social death sentence.
Cassianne frowned, crossing her arms as her mind, accustomed to the quick-fire triage of the shelter, began to work.
"If he breaks the engagement… I become politically useless," she murmured to the silent, opulent room. "A burden to everyone. Easy to discard."
She was acutely aware of what that meant in noble courts: a woman without a husband, without power, and with a ruined reputation was little more than carrion for wolves.
"I cannot depend on him. I do not want to," she whispered, the words a vow.
She looked into the mirror again, this time with a flicker of defiance in her amethyst eyes.
"What if I just… lived quietly… away from all this?"
Was that even possible?
A noblewoman, renouncing her station?
Abandoning the palace?
Disappearing into some forgotten corner of the empire?
Perhaps she could open a shelter.
Did they even have veterinarians here?
Was there any concept of animal medicine?
Cassianne's inherited memories showed her nothing of the sort.
"Maybe this world needs something like that…" she whispered, a spark of genuine excitement flaring in her chest.
But she also knew nothing was ever that simple. Her family name was a chain of gold and iron. She was far too visible. And she was already in the eye of the storm.
Too many questions.
Too many uncertain paths.
She sighed deeply, letting her shoulders slump for just a moment, allowing herself a sliver of vulnerability.
What in the hell am I supposed to do now?
Knock. Knock.
The sound jolted her from her thoughts.
She straightened immediately, her expression smoothing into one of cold elegance—an automatic response inherited from the original Cassianne.
"Enter," she said, her voice firm.
The door opened to reveal a tall man in polished armor and a dark blue cloak: Sir Aldren Helvar, one of the trusted knights of House Verelith.
He offered a shallow, respectful bow.
"My lady. I am glad to see you have awoken unharmed."
Cassianne nodded, though she noted the slight furrow of the knight's brow. He was analyzing her, detecting something altered in her bearing.
But he kept his doubts to himself.
"My lady," he continued, "your father, Duke Verelith, requests your presence. He wishes to know how you fare after the… episode this morning."
A knot of unease tightened in Cassianne's stomach. The "episode" referred to her fainting spell. Or, more accurately, the hysterical fit the original Cassianne had thrown just before Soo-ah had awoken in her body.
"Is my father in his study?" she asked, adopting the refined, slightly imperious tone she recalled from the memories.
"Yes, my lady. The Duke is attending to matters of the Imperial Council, but he will make time to receive you."
Duke Verelith was not a simple noble, according to Cassianne's memories. He was one of the most politically powerful men in the empire. A direct advisor to the Emperor. Feared. Intelligent. And exacting to the point of cruelty with his only daughter.
Cassianne drew a steadying breath.
Well. This was inevitable.
She draped a light shawl over her shoulders and followed the knight toward the door.
But as she crossed the threshold, Sir Aldren paused for a heartbeat, as if something had genuinely disconcerted him.
"My lady…" he murmured, his voice low. "I must remark… you seem… different."
Cassianne met his gaze with unnerving serenity.
"What are you talking about? I am the same as I have always been," she replied, and continued walking without waiting for his reaction.
Behind her, the knight took half a second to recover his composure before following her down the gilded hallway.
The walk to Duke Verelith's office was long, silent… and filled with eyes.
With every step she took, Cassianne felt their gazes drilling into her back. They were not neutral stares:
Some servants watched her with sincere hatred, as if the mere sight of her ruined their day.
Others looked upon her with fear, remembering the original Cassianne's reputation for being capricious, cruel, and violent with those who crossed her.
And others—these were the worst—regarded her with thinly-veiled mockery, knowing the Prince's fiancée was nothing more than an unwanted ornament.
Ah, Cassianne… what a legacy of enmity you left behind, Soo-ah thought with an internal sigh.
But her walk was impeccable.
Elegant.
Silent.
Her back was straight, her chin elevated. There was no trace of the insecure veterinarian she had once been.
Only a noblewoman…
with a soul entirely new.
When she arrived before the great door of dark-stained wood, she drew a deep breath.
The Verelith family crest—a white wolf on a dark field—gleamed from its center. It was as intimidating as the man who waited within.
Cassianne raised a hand and knocked softly.
"Enter," a deep, dry voice responded.
A voice that did not request… it commanded.
She entered.
The Duke's study was majestic. Tall shelves were laden with ancient books, maps hung on the walls, a fire crackled in the hearth, and an enormous mahogany desk was littered with imperial documents.
And behind that desk sat he.
Duke Elion Verelith.
Her father.
A tall man, his hair a steely silver, his eyes a blue so glacial they seemed to pierce right through her. His presence alone filled the room with an overwhelming authority.
When Cassianne entered, he did not look up.
He continued signing documents as if she did not exist.
Soo-ah felt a small, sharp prick in her chest.
It wasn't pain…
It was recognition.
Cassianne had always been invisible to him.
"You look less dead than I expected," the Duke said finally, without a shred of emotion. "I suppose the fainting spell was another of your ridiculous exaggerations."
Cassianne blinked slowly.
In the original's memories… she would have cried.
Or pleaded.
Or tried to call him "Father" with a trembling voice.
She did not.
"I am glad my mere survival does not inconvenience your schedule, Duke," she replied, her tone polite, controlled… and lethally cold.
The sound of the pen stopping was almost a gunshot.
The Duke lifted his gaze for the first time.
His eyes were sharp.
Dangerous.
A predator recognizing something unusual in its prey.
"Repeat that," he ordered, his voice a low murmur laden with threat.
Cassianne felt her body react on instinct: tension, a chill down her spine, an impulse to lower her eyes.
But she took a steadying breath.
"I said," she repeated, holding his gaze, "that I do not wish to be a burden to your duties. I merely came because you summoned me."
The silence that followed was so dense it felt painful.
The temperature seemed to drop several degrees. The Duke tilted his head slightly, assessing her as if she were a strange creature newly discovered.
"Your tone…" he said slowly, "is not your own."
"Perhaps I have changed," she responded.
The Duke's eyes narrowed.
"Cassianne, if this is some manner of… delirium from the shock, I recommend you visit the Imperial Mage to have your head examined." His voice was calm, but the threat was crystalline: Speak to me like that again, and it may cost you everything.
He was not shouting.
He had no need to.
His aura was so powerful it seemed to press down on the very air around them.
Cassianne felt her knees tremble faintly. Soo-ah had never confronted anyone like this. Animals were not intimidating in this way. But this man… this man looked at her as if he could shatter her with a single breath.
For an instant, she doubted. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
But something inside her—perhaps the ghost of the original Cassianne, perhaps the part of Soo-ah that had never had anyone to defend her—refused to yield.
She held his gaze.
"I appreciate your… concern, Duke," she uttered, her words measured. "But my mind is clearer than it has ever been."
For the first time, the Duke seemed genuinely surprised.
Subtly.
Barely visible.
But surprised.
Then, he reclined in his chair.
"Very well," he said, his brow furrowing. "If you are so 'clear,' then sit. We have matters to discuss."
Cassianne tensed her shoulders, breathed deep, and walked to the chair in front of his desk.