Awakening Love Reborn to Be His Duchess (Elowen Hale) novel Chapter 690

Chapter 690 If You Wanted the Throne

The moment Cassian sat beside her, Elowen caught the familiar scent of cold air and sun-warmed wool clinging to him from outside.

The tightness wound through her chest all afternoon finally loosened.

Even her eyes began to sting slightly.

“Cassian…”

“I’m here.” His hand settled gently against her back. “The moment I heard Phoenix had a fever, I left the palace and came straight home.”

His voice softened further as he rubbed slow circles between her shoulders.

“Don’t frighten yourself, Ella. You know Hugh’s skill better than anyone. If he says the fever will break, then it will.”

Elowen drew in a slow breath.

“But this isn’t only about the fever.”

Cassian turned toward her immediately.

“What happened?”

So Elowen told him everything Cora had discovered, carefully recounting every detail from beginning to end.

The longer Cassian listened, the darker his expression became.

By the time she finished, his fingers were tapping lightly against his knee.

“Ella,” he said quietly, “while you stayed here with Phoenix, someone also caused trouble at Silverloom Exchange today.”

Elowen looked startled.

“At the exchange too?”

Cassian nodded once.

“Scarlet handled it well, which is why word wasn’t immediately sent back to the manor

Elowen’s brows pulled together tightly.

Trouble at Silverloom Exchange on its opening day.

Phoenix suddenly poisoned at the same tine

This was no coincidence. Someone had deliberately struck both places

gorapter by You Wanted the Throne

Cassian continued evenly.

“The Minister of the King’s Works is Elira’s younger brother, and the Royal Weaving Bureau has been one of the Jones family’s biggest sources of profit for years.” His gaze settled on her calmly. “Now that you’ve opened Silverloom Exchange, if your fabrics start making their way into the royal court, it cuts directly into the Jones family’s business.”

A faint edge entered his voice.

“You and I both know how much wealth they’ve pulled from that arrangement over the years. The moment you threatened their profits, retaliation became inevitable.”

Then he continued.

“And there’s also Nordia.”

He leaned back slightly.

“From the court’s perspective, the Nordian envoys are cooperating because of me. In reality, they’re cooperating because of you and your status as their Oracle.” His tone remained calm. “But nobody else knows that. All they see is Nordia treating the Duke of Duskmoor carefully, so naturally they assume it’s my reputation keeping them in line.”

His gaze darkened faintly.

“Now that Alaric’s gone, the succession is open again. The strongest candidates are Caelan and me.” He spoke as calmly as though discussing the weather. “The Jones family intends to support their grandson, which means they’ll naturally see me as a threat. And once they find an opportunity, they’ll move against

me.”

The more Elowen listened, the angrier she became.

Her anger was not directed at Cassian himself, but at the endless schemes crashing into their lives one after another, and even more at a court consumed by constant political warfare where peace never seemed to last.

She had gone after Alaric because he had caused Ember’s death, and she would never how that debt to go unpaid.

But what grievance did the Jones family truly have against them?

Cassian had never fought to seize power for himself

And if anyone cared to trace family ties closely enough, Elowen’s own sister-in-law was born into the Jones family as well, which meant she and the Jones family were connected by marriage.

Yet despite all that, they had still chosen to target an infant barely out of the cradle.

The struggle for influence and authority had become so ruthless that it no longer carried even a shred of humanity.

“Cassian,” she asked quietly, “do you want to become emperor

we π You Wanted the Throne

Cassian blinked once, visibly surprised by the question.

Elowen held his gaze steadily.

“Because if you do,” she said slowly, “it’s not like we couldn’t take the throne ourselves.”

Cassian fell silent for a moment.

Then his fingers slowly rubbed together against his knee, thumb brushing absently against forefinger.

It was one of Elowen’s habits whenever she was deep in thought, and after spending so many years together, he had unconsciously started doing it too.

As he considered the idea seriously, he finally spoke.

“Well…” His tone remained thoughtful. “It’s not impossible.”

Elowen stared at him.

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Cassian’s expression turned unexpectedly serious.

“You know, Ella, if someone wants power, the first thing they need is military support.” He sounded entirely sincere discussing treason beside their sleeping child. “I’ve spent enough years in the army that people still listen to me, and fortunately I’m reasonably good at war.”

A trace of amusement flickered through his eyes.

“Take Draven, for example. That man’s hopelessly in love with Scarlet now. Scarlet adores you because you saved her and gave her a home, which means Draven would naturally side with Duskmoor Manor too.”

He continued with complete composure.

“If we told him we planned to seize the throne, he’d probably wrestle with the idea for half a minute before helping us anyway.”

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