Last Chance [Extra #2]

Part 34

Celosia was mad. Actually, mad was an understatement. She was enraged. The audacity of the Herouxes was astounding. After treating her like a bank then ignoring her for weeks, they shamelessly showed up at Cassian's doorstep, demanding to see her? It was so ridiculous Celi could only laugh.

It was shocking to not only her, but also her fiancé. Cassian didn't know the reason for the Count's visit, but he had a bad feeling about it. There must have been a reason for his sudden visit right before he and Celi were supposed to go to the Imperial palace.

He also didn't like the ominous look on Celi's face. She was clearly unhappy.

That was why he quickly took her hand in his and pressed a small kiss to her cheek in an attempt to calm her down. Much to his surprise, it worked. Celi's angry scowl quickly turned into a small smile.

It looked like she had a soft spot for him, and that warmed his heart.

"Let's see what they want and send them away," Cassian smiled reassuringly, getting a short nod from Celi before they went downstairs, still in their sleepwear, as they deemed it redundant to dress up for the intruders who disturbed their cuddling.

While they were on their way, the Count reminded his wife to be on her best behavior around Celosia, "My love, please don't agitate her anymore. We need to get on her good side. She's our ticket back to the capital," he tried to persuade her to not say anything that could get Celosia angry. The woman had incomprehensible power that could help them get back to where they used to be. With her help, they could be the richest, most influential nobles in the Empire.

The possibilities were endless, so they needed to be on their best behavior around Celosia.

"I know, how many times are you going to remind me? But whenever I see her, I'm reminded of my baby, who is no longer by my side. That impostor is enjoying her life here while living in my daughter's body, so don't tell me to be nice to her!"

"Then why don't you just leave me alone?" Celosia cut in as she entered the drawing room with Cassian. "If I get on your nerves so much, just forget about me. Elena is dead and your whining won't bring her back to life."

"Besides, you antagonizing Celi won't do you any good. Be more mindful of your comportment, Countess, especially when you're speaking about the Grand Duchess."

"Grand Duchess?!" the Countess shrieked, completely forgetting about greeting the Duke. She was more appalled by his statement than his appearance. He clearly looked down on the Herouxes, seeing how he came to see them in his sleepwear, which consisted of a loose shirt, pants and a robe.

"Celi is going to be my wife, so it of course makes her the Grand Duchess, doesn't it?" Cassian smirked, nonchalantly pulling Celi to sit as close to him as possible. He then wrapped his arm around her waist and held her snuggly by his side. It was quite entertaining to see the shock on the Count and Countess's faces, who were clearly not used to such public displays of affection.

Truth be told, the nobles from the capital were extremely reserved when it came to relationships. Or rather, they pretended to be to keep up the noble, sophisticated appearance in public. As conservatists, the Count and his wife couldn't get over how casual the Grand Duke was being with them. Celosia was one thing, as she had lived for many years and experienced a lot of relationships before, but the Grand Duke was a noble and yet he acted exactly the same as the foreign woman.

It was baffling to the older couple.

The first one to snap out of his shock was the Count. "We have come to see our daughter, and yet we're witnessing her being intimate with a man that's not yet her husband," he sighed. "I must say I'm disappointed."