Dear Cassian, I know you must be feeling confused.
Cassian scoffed. "No shit," he grumbled. "I died and now I'm alive. Of course I'm confused!"
But don't worry. From here on out, your life will be getting much better. If you do as this book says, no one will dare mock you anymore.
Cassian's interest was piqued. He'd never known anything resembling respect. The maids and servants assigned to him barely bothered to say "my lord." Other palace staff glowered at him as he passed. But this book was claiming that there was a way to change that.
I know what your life is like. I know how awful it is to be you. The book flipped back to its cover--and for the first time, Cassian realised what was beneath the title.
Written by Cassian Vanderbilt, the 25th emperor of the Vanderbilt Empire.
Cassian's eyes widened. The fact that it was written by himself didn't matter to him--but he was alarmed to realize it was basically confirmation of the prophecy.
His father, Orenius Vanderbilt, was the 23rd emperor. If Phyllis succeeded him and became the 24th… that meant at some point, Cassian would take over the throne from him to become the 25th.
The book went back to the first page. Cassian decided to take it off his bed. For reasons he couldn't describe, the book was unnerving.
When he picked it up, he found it was much heavier than it looked. The book itself was quite thick--he guessed it had about five hundred pages. But it weighed as much as one of the palace's ceremonial golden swords.
He threw it onto a nearby table and continued reading.
I know you genuinely never wanted to be emperor. But what if I told you that if you ascended the throne, the empire would become far more powerful?
Right now, the biggest threat to Vanderbilt is the Colleano Kingdom. They have a stronger military than us. They have dozens of swordmasters at their disposal, while we have less than ten. The nobles and our parents don't want to admit it, but the peace that has lasted between our nations for generations is declining rapidly.
"That's true…" Cassian had heard rumors and whisperings that the Royal Commander, Theora Daizels, was advising the Emperor on the worsening state of treaty negotiations.
Apparently, they would need to prepare for battle soon.
You don't know it yet, but there is growing turmoil among the common people. If this is not resolved within the next few years, there will be a civil war, in which the palace will be stormed, and you will die.
Cassian stared at the words. I'm going to die, again?
He didn't believe it. "Surely not. I mean, I've never heard of any civil unrest. But then again, nobody ever tells me anything--"
Another sharp knock interrupted his thinking.
"MY LORD. I told you to get ready quickly. What are you doing in there?!" Eneta's voice demanded from behind his door.
Shit, I forgot about that.
"Do I have to go?" Cassian asked tentatively. "Mother and Father don't like me, so why are they asking to see me now?"
Of course, he fully knew why. He was just hoping Eneta would say no, she didn't know why, and then he wouldn't have to do anything.
"You do. The messenger explicitly told me Their Majesties want to see you now. I don't know why, but I would advise you to comply." She left without another word.
Fuck. God knows what they'll do if I just ignore them. I really do have to see them after all.
He glanced back at the book. I'll have to hide this.
But there wasn't really any place to hide it. His room was miserable. All he had was a bed, table, a couple of wardrobes… and that was it, really.
It was nothing compared to the grand guest rooms of the palace.
He didn't mind it too much. He preferred hanging around in the palace gardens, anyway. All he did in this room was sleep.
Cassian picked one of the wardrobes, and shoved the book into a pile of clothes at the bottom of it. He took a quick shower in the tiny bathroom, and picked out some decent clothes to wear.
A short while later, he emerged from his room and began making his way to the throne room, where he knew his parents would be waiting impatiently.
The walk was long--his room was at the bottom level of the palace, near to where most staff lived. He supposed that was supposed to add insult to injury, but really, he hardly considered himself a royal at all most of the time.
Minutes later, he finally arrived at the grand double-door entrance to the room. A few guards were lined up outside.
His stomach twisted as he realised one of them was one of the two who had kept him in place while he was executed.
Nobody remembers anything except me… I think. Just act cool.
He strode up to the line of guards, and cleared his throat. "Mother and Father have requested to see me."
One of them smirked. "Ah, here's the little prince at last. You sure took your time."
Cassian ignored it. "Open the doors already."
"Fine, have it your way, kid." The guards made way for him, and he cautiously stepped inside.
The Emperor and Empress were both seated on their thrones at the far end of the massive, ornate room. As he drew closer, he could feel their sharp gazes.
He stopped in front of them, bowing politely. "Your humble son greets Your Majesties, the shining suns of our empire."
"Good," his mother, Empress Inassie, responded shortly. "You may be a stain on this bloodline, but at least you can act otherwise."
Cassian fought to keep an indifferent smile on his face. Yet another example of why she is a terrible mother.
"Stand up," Orenius said coldly. "Let's get to the point. Your brother's Oath of Succession ceremony will be held on Friday. Of course, you will not be invited."
Rub it in, why don't you, old man?
"However. You are hereby commanded to attend the celebratory banquet held the following day. Do I make myself clear?"
"You do," Cassian said, deciding to just let go, and stop with the polite tone. "And my answer to that is no."
His parents shifted back on their seats, looking at each other with pursed lips.
"What do you mean, no?" Inassie said sharply. "Are you intending to defy our direct orders?"
Cassian grinned. "Yep."
They don't seem that intimidating when I'm standing right here. I think I'll take whatever punishment I'll get this time. I better make myself scarce after this, just in case they send a few guards to toss me in the dungeon for a day or two.
His father's eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're doing, boy?"
"Making my own choices," Cassian replied sweetly.
"You have five seconds to take back your words."
"No."
"Or else."
"Or else what?"
His father finally snapped. "Guards!" he barked.
Immediately, the group of guards who had been standing outside the throne room rushed in, standing at attention.
"Take my son to the dungeon, and keep him locked up for the rest of the day. This brat needs discipline."
Damn, I was spot on, Cassian thought, impressed with himself. His first life had ended being dragged by guards--this time, there was no way he'd let himself be caught by a bunch of guys who were just trained thugs, really.
He felt highly gratified at the ugly look on both of his parent's faces. Clearly, they had been expecting him to just accept whatever they told him, like they had in his last life.
Serves them right. They almost definitely had a hand in my death. It feels good to see them when things don't go their way.
At once, all the guards dashed toward him. But they were all big and muscly--none of them were particularly agile, whereas Cassian was thin and wiry. He easily dodged all of their clumsy efforts to snatch him, but if they actually did get a proper hold on him, he wouldn't be able to escape.
Pfft, how did I even let those two guys get me at the banquet? If I was actually expecting it like now, I bet I could've escaped.
He slipped past them all, and made a run for it towards the unguarded double doors.
"After him!" Inassie yelled.
But Cassian was already too far ahead. Royal guards may be fast, but they were nowhere near superhuman. By the time they had actually realized he got away, Cassian already had a big lead.
God, this is hilarious!
As a young child, Cassian never had anyone to play games with. Normal children played games like tag all the time--but he'd been shunned all his life, so this was the first time anyone had truly chased him.
A memory tugged at the corners of his mind. He was four or five, playing with Phyllis in the gardens…
Nope, no thinking about that guy. He's on my lifetime despising list.
He flew out of the doors at lightning speed, roaring down the hallway.
Cassian ran past all kinds of people, not really knowing where he was going, as the guards still chased after him.
I've been running for a few minutes now. So far I've counted… five maids. Two visiting nobles. A butler. All looking at me with the usual disapproving glare.
A while later, he found himself at the gardens, guards still at his heel.
"Psst! Over here! This way, quick!"
All of a sudden, he heard a girl's voice coming out from the bushes.
"Huh?"
"To your left! Just dive into the bushes!"
A hand reached through the foliage.
I've got nothing to lose. Why not?
Cassian leapt into the green.