Sold to My Killer Husband: His Concubine's Dilemma
Chapter 165: who did cassien?

Chapter 165: who did cassien?

The forest was no longer quiet. Shouts echoed behind them, steel clashed with steel, and the haunting call of horns broke through the night air. Rowan was bleeding from a gash at his side, Norra’s cloak was half burnt, and Liora’s heart thudded with every step she took, half-carrying Scarlet through the trees.

They had barely escaped.

"They’ll follow," Rowan said, panting. "Cassien doesn’t let things slip through his grip."

"We head east," Norra said, glancing at the stars. "There’s a hunter’s trail that curves back toward the abandoned chapel."

"It’s two days out," Liora reminded, tightening her grip on Scarlet’s trembling form. "She might not last that long."

"I’ll last," Scarlet murmured weakly, though her lips were cracked. "Just... don’t take me to the palace."

They all paused.

Rowan narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"If I show up alive, Cassien won’t be the only one who reacts," she said, voice strained. "The queen dowager... she knew. She knew I was still breathing when they dragged me from the fire."

Liora felt her blood freeze.

Lucien stood before the fire, silent, eyes fixed on the clearing as hoofbeats approached. A bird had arrived earlier with a brief, unsigned note unmistakably from Rowan.

He turned as the group emerged.

Rowan dismounted first, with Norra behind him. And then Liora, atop a horse, holding the reins of another.

And slumped against that second horse... was a woman.

Lucien’s expression didn’t change.

Not until she lifted her head. Not until he saw her face.

He took one slow step forward. "Scarlet..."

She looked up at him, lips chapped, skin bruised.

And she whispered, "You weren’t supposed to see me again."

Lucien stood like stone, jaw clenched, fists trembling. Everyone around them held their breath.

Liora didn’t speak. She watched.

Watched his face. Watched Scarlet’s.

Watched the years crash into both of them.

Then he moved.

Striding to her, gripping her arms. Not with rage but something just short of panic. "Where have you been? Who did Cassien ?"

"I begged them to kill me," she said. "It would’ve been easier than remembering what they made me forget."

Lucien looked like a man unraveling.

Liora turned away, eyes stinging.

Later That Night

Liora sat alone outside the tent. Rowan approached quietly, handing her a cup of water.

"She’s resting," he said. "Lucien hasn’t left her side."

"I didn’t bring her back for him," Liora said quietly. "I brought her back because she deserves her life. And because I need the truth she carries."

Rowan sat beside her. "But?"

"But now I’m scared. Because maybe... maybe a part of him never stopped waiting for her."

Rowan didn’t answer.

They both stared at the tent.

And behind the canvas walls, Lucien knelt by Scarlet, gripping her hand as if afraid she’d disappear again.

But outside, Liora sat in the dark, alone with a thousand questions and the first true ache of jealousy she’d ever known.

Lucien didn’t move.

His eyes were fixed on the woman in front of him, unblinking. His grip on the map he’d been holding slackened, parchment curling between his fingers.

"...Scarlet?"

The name fell from his lips as if dragged from a grave.

The woman standing at the threshold was frail, bruised, and with matted hair, but unmistakably she looked back at him with hollow eyes. She didn’t cry. Neither did he.

No one dared speak. Not Rowan. Not Norra. Not even Liora.

Scarlet stepped forward, but her body wavered.

Lucien caught her before she could collapse.

It felt like catching a memory. One that should’ve never returned.

Norra found Liora sitting by the fire, staring at the flames.

"You alright?"

"I’m not the one he thought was dead," Liora said flatly.

"Mm." Norra handed her a flask. "Still hurts though, doesn’t it?"

Liora didn’t answer.

Norra sat beside her. "You know what hurts worse than being second choice? Not giving yourself a chance to be first."

Liora turned. "That wasn’t some sweet line, was it?"

Norra grinned. "Maybe a little."

They sat in silence, listening to the night.

Later that night at Lucien’s study, Scarlet lay resting in one of the old armchairs, wrapped in a blanket. Her wrists bore the raw marks of iron. Rowan stood by the window, sharp-eyed, watching the courtyard below. Norra paced, hands twitching for her knives.

Liora stood behind Lucien. She hadn’t spoken much since they brought Scarlet in. Neither had he. And finally, Scarlet stirred.

"I’m sorry," she whispered hoarsely. "For coming back like this."

Lucien didn’t look at her. "You died."

"I was supposed to," she murmured.

Rowan turned slightly. "Tell us everything. Who kept you? Why?"

Scarlet’s eyes flickered toward Liora. There was no hatred in them. No jealousy. Just exhaustion.

"They needed something I had," she said, opening her palm. She still clutched the charred piece of tapestry. "This. It was part of my dowry... but it was never just embroidery."

Lucien’s brows drew low. "What is it?"

"A cipher. My family’s secret... It’s stitched in code. A lineage and ledger of every bribe, alliance, and betrayal we were part of. My father told me to burn it if I was ever in danger. I didn’t. I hid it in the lining of my wedding robes."

Liora’s breath caught. "And Cassien found out."

Scarlet nodded. "He tried to kill me. Staged the fire. When the body couldn’t be found, he ordered it buried anyway. And I was sent to that prison."

Silence.

Until Lucien spoke.

"Why didn’t you ever try to escape?"

"I did. Every year, I tried. They broke me a little more each time. Until I stopped hoping."

She turned to Liora.

"But you... you’re the one he trusts now, aren’t you?"

Lucien stiffened.

Liora swallowed. "We’re..." She stopped. The word together didn’t come out.

"I don’t care," Scarlet said. "I’m not here to take him back. I came to warn him. The ledger? It points to something far bigger than you realize. If Cassien finishes what he started... this kingdom won’t survive."

Lucien finally stood.

"Then let’s make sure he doesn’t."

By the time they reached the ridge beyond the outpost, Scarlet was barely conscious, her weight slung between Norra and Liora. Rowan led the way, eyes scanning for riders or flares, anything that signaled they’d been spotted.

They had one advantage.

The storm had softened the tracks behind them, and the woods were thick, the path winding and unpredictable.

But Liora’s mind wasn’t on escape.

It was on the piece of tapestry now tucked inside her satchel. And the woman beside her who smelled of smoke and secrets.

Lucien was already awake when they arrived. His coat was off, sleeves rolled, ink staining the edges of his fingers. Maps lay unfurled across the long oak table, chess pieces marking territories and alliances. Rowan entered first, but Lucien didn’t look up.

Until he heard the footsteps behind him. Three. Uneven.

His eyes lifted, then froze.

Liora stepped aside slowly.

And Scarlet, draped in Norra’s cloak and half-starved, looked up at him.

Lucien didn’t speak, Not for a full minute.

His eyes moved over her face, the curve of her jaw, and the old scar near her throat he once kissed before war councils.

"Lucien," she whispered.

His hand gripped the edge of the table.

"You were dead."

Scarlet smiled faintly. "Not for lack of trying."

Rowan cleared his throat. "She had the tapestry fragment. Cassien’s been keeping her in that outpost. For years."

Liora stepped forward. "We need to know why."

Lucien’s jaw clenched. "Leave us."

"Lucien..."

"I said leave."

The room emptied one by one, and only Liora lingered by the door.

Scarlet met her eyes and gave her a faint, understanding smile.

"You’re her," she said softly. "The new one."

Liora flinched. "I... I didn’t replace you."

"No," Scarlet said. "You survived him."

Inside the Room

When they were alone, Lucien sank into the chair across from her.

"I buried ashes."

"They weren’t mine."

"Cassien?"

Scarlet nodded. "He took me. He said he needed leverage. But it was the tapestry he wanted. He thought I knew what it meant. He believed I had a key."

Lucien exhaled. "And did you?"

Scarlet reached into her sleeve, pulling out something glimmering.

A pendant. Not gold, not silver, something older. Arcane.

"Not a key," she whispered. "A memory."

In the Hallway

Liora listened through the wooden door, her body still. Norra approached, holding two cups of warm broth.

"You alright?"

"She’s... beautiful," Liora whispered.

Norra snorted. "So are you. And not half as haunted."

"I saw the way he looked at her. Like something sacred. Like she was his past."

Norra leaned against the wall. "Then you better make sure you’re his future."

Liora glanced back at the door.

She wasn’t afraid of Scarlet.

She was afraid of the piece of Lucien that might never come back to her.