From there, Cass cut across town to a piano showroom that treated instruments like living things. The manager recognised him from the papers but did not act as if that mattered. Cass appreciated that.
"I want a concert grand for a home with a room that likes to listen," Cass said. "Responsive, not theatrical. Dark voice. Capable of thunder."
The manager led him to three instruments in a row and stepped back. Cass played each with the same phrase. He felt where the sound touched his chest. He chose the one that answered him without needing to be told how.
"That one," he said. "Deliver tonight."
The manager blinked.
"Tonight," he said.
"Tonight," Cass repeated. "And a smaller grand for the rehearsal hall Rowena is using. On loan until after her recital. I will pay for tuning and transport."
The manager recovered and began making calls. When Cass left, the first truck was already on its way.
He sent a message to Rowena.
piano inbound. do not scream. Save that for the cadenza
Her reply arrived quickly.
I will scream at you now and save art for later
He laughed and let the city pull him toward the rehearsal hall. He arrived before the truck and stood with Rowena in the corridor while she tried to scold him and failed.
"You cannot just buy pianos for people," she said.
"I can," Cass said. "And I did."
The delivery crew wheeled the instrument in with careful hands. When the lid lifted, the room changed shape.
Rowena sat as if claiming a throne she had forgotten was hers, and when she played the first chord, she closed her eyes because nothing else would have been honest.
"Again," Cass said softly.
She played. He watched her shoulders and the way confidence replaced caution note by note. When she stopped, she remained silent. She just looked at him with the kind of gratitude that rang louder than any note she had played.
"Thank you," she said.
"Play for me at Wigmore," Cass said. "Thank me then."
He left her with that and followed the second truck back to the mansion. The concert grand fit the music room as if it had been sketched there first.
He sat alone for a moment and let his hands decide what the house needed to hear. The sound poured through the corridor and found his parents in the sitting room.
Elaine stood in the doorway with her hand over her heart. Thomas leaned on the frame and pretended he had just been passing.
"Keep it," Elaine said, as if he had asked.
"I will," Cass said.
Dinner was simple again because simplicity tasted like control. They spoke of small things and laughed at older stories now turned harmless by distance.
After, Cass took two boxes from a drawer and placed them on the table.
Elaine opened hers to find earrings that matched the pearls. Thomas opened his to find cufflinks that had weight without noise.
"People will stare if I wear these in the village."
Then Cass: "Good. Let them."
Thomas rolled one cufflink between finger and thumb and nodded as if the metal had answered something he had not asked aloud.
When the plates were cleared, Cass went to the study and opened the Hidden Ledger. Sienna's debt had risen on its own by the smallest amount, as if pride had a tax.
Trent's line flickered dimly, debt climbing with no effort on his part. The ledger did not care whether he sulked or shouted.
He closed it and looked out at the lawn, which was silvered by the moon. The system stirred once more, …not a chime this time but a deeper tone, like a room leaning in for a speech.
[System Mission Chain Triggered: Crown Protocol]
[Objective Set: Establish dominance across the three pillars of England's elite.]
[Pillar One: Finance]
[Pillar Two: Culture]
[Pillar Three: Power]
[Completion Reward: System Evolution. Tier Upgrade. Unique Authority Feature.]
Cass breathed out once, a sound almost like a laugh.
'Good. Make the crown come to me. I will just hold still and let them orbit.'
He sent a final message to Rowena.
Sleep. Tomorrow we will build the programme
Her reply came back at once.
I will sleep when you play me the first movement
He set the phone down and rested his palms on the cool edge of the piano. The house listened. The city turned.
The first pillar had already started to bend. The second was tuning itself in the next room. The third would arrive when he called it by its proper name.
'Let the mission begin. I have been acting like a king. Now I will give them the paperwork.'