Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Cassis had yet to return by the time I arrived at the annex. Orka had mentioned going to bid farewell to the Blue Master, but if Cassis was still in a meeting with his father, that would likely deter the White Demon Tamer from his purpose.

“Miss Roxana, may I come in?”

“Yes.”

The attendant who was at my door was holding up a tray with a red envelope on top of it. “A letter for you, Miss. It is from the Gold Vertium clan.”

I frowned in surprise. I couldn’t fathom who among the Vertiums would send me a letter. Or for that matter, how they could have possibly learned of my whereabouts. Not that it was any sort of secret, but I still found their sudden interest in me strange. “Has anyone seen this letter?”

“No, Miss. Only the most basic precautions were taken.” In other words, they inspected it to ensure there weren’t any dangerous substances or spells on it that could pose a threat to me.

Knowing it was safe, I picked the envelope up from the tray. After sending the woman away, I sat down on my sofa to open it. At a glance, I could see there were only four or five lines written in the letter. And sure enough, it was surprisingly straightforward. There wasn’t a superfluous greeting or anything like that, so it was a quick read.

To Miss Roxana Agrece.

Desperately missing you. I have included something in this letter I believe you have missed dearly.

All I could think after reading those words was, What?

I shook the envelope and a small lock of golden hair fell out, then frowned as I continued to read.

A memento from a family member is special in that it can thaw one’s heart and leave them reminiscent of the past. Hoping you are pleased with your gift, I extend this invitation for you to visit the Vertium compound.

The more I read, the worse I began to feel.

Awaiting your arrival with the person dearest to your heart.

Yours truly,

Noel Vertium

I couldn’t help but think that he was playing silly games as I offered a crooked smile to Noel’s letter. It was obvious who he was referring to with the talk of family and the lock of hair. A memento from the one dearest to my heart? There was only one person who could fit that description. Claiming that he had my mother was textbook coercion.

“Well, this isn’t very nice.”

What was even more irritating was the high likelihood that the golden strands didn’t belong to her, which meant I wouldn’t see her at the Gold castle even if I did go. On my last day at the Agrece mansion, my final order to Emily was to get my mother to safety. Even if she insisted on staying, she was to be removed by force. But in the event that she left willingly, I had made arrangements for them to make it to a safe area.

The Gold clan definitely wasn’t part of those arrangements. Besides, I had set up emergency contacts for such situations and hadn’t heard anything. Moreover, my sixth sense was telling me the lock of hair was an obvious duplicate made to look like my mother’s.

I had always thought Noel was a fairly clueless but innocent character. Especially after seeing him get a bloody nose back in Yggdrasil. Not to mention his idiotic behavior in general, but he clearly had an underhanded side as well. Then again, I should have known since he was even described as someone with the face of an angel that hid the true devil inside of him in the novel.

I stood and tossed the letter onto my table. I’m sure he was counting on me to drop everything and race to their territory, but I had more than my fair share of doubts. I tapped on one of the chairs as I considered my next move. The conclusion I landed on was that it probably wouldn’t hurt for me to find out more.

My first obvious choice was to use my butterflies, but their effectiveness dropped the further they traveled from me. Sending them all the way to the Gold territory from the Blue fortress simply wasn’t an option. Thus, I decided to enlist Grizelda’s help instead. The last time I had seen her, she told me that her plan was to most likely travel around the neutral territory.

It was at least near enough for me to send her a message with my little monsters. Grizelda was the first Agrece I had contacted since leaving the mansion, but I knew I could count on her.

* * *

“I’m going to be away for some time.”

“Is that so?”

Almost as soon as he opened my door, Cassis announced his upcoming departure. I had switched to lazing about in my bed while thinking on and off about Noel’s letter. He came over and sat beside me, and I, in turn, moved closer to him.

Once I placed my head onto his lap, he began to slowly stroke my hair. Apparently, he needed to attend the upcoming meeting between the clans. He claimed there was no avoiding it since he had been one of the main instigators of the Agreces’ downfall.

I quickly worked out that his long meeting with his father had been about that, then looked up at him. The truth remained that almost everything that had happened to my clan was by my design. The number of people who knew that truth, however, was limited. Furthermore, most of them had no intention of mentioning my involvement to others.

Since the destruction of our clan had been my final mission, I really hadn’t made any plans or arrangements for my future. After all, I had been consistently of the mind that my life would come to an end at almost the same time as their downfall. Of course, given all the new developments in my life while staying with the Pedelians, my situation had become vastly different. And although no one was blaming me or anything, I couldn’t just stay there acting oblivious and doing nothing.

In between my ruminations, I gazed up at Cassis and smiled, which caused him to smile back down at me. Even if Noel Vertium’s letter had been addressed to me, it had been officially delivered, so there was no doubt in my mind that he already knew about it. Still, he had yet to let on. It was similar to how he didn’t show any sign of knowing everything his father had told me about the state of affairs with the Agreces. Thus, I felt no need to explain the matter to him. Honestly, I was glad to not have to. Had he asked, I don’t think I would have been able to answer him truthfully.

“Your mother is... such a kind person,” I said and watched the look in his eyes change at the mention of his mother. He stared down at me more closely. It felt as if he was trying to glean what his mother and I had discussed.

“I think Sylvia bears a striking resemblance to her.”

“Y-Yes... They share quite a few features, but their personalities couldn’t be more different.” His expression appeared to relax a bit, which I assumed was due to my own expression looking untroubled.

“Right, I think you’re more like your mother in that sense.”

“Really? That’s the first I’ve ever heard such a thing.” He then stopped stroking my hair and slid his fingers toward my face. He started at my forehead, then moved to my temple, then down the side of my cheek, before finally curling them underneath my chin. While raising my chin up slightly, he bent down to give me the most tender kiss we had shared yet.

Unlike the rushed and rough kisses we often enjoyed, which were borderline painful, this kiss felt like he was tickling me with a feather. It was oh-so-tantalizing. He then raised his head but continued to stare down at me. Within a moment, his hand was back at my chin, then on my lips. He slowly encircled them with his fingers.

I nipped at one of them softly, then proceeded to lick it just as gently. His golden eyes suddenly fell under a menacing shadow, just as they had earlier that morning, and then before I knew it, his lips were over mine again. His tongue roamed about greedily, and before I could take my next breath, I found myself pinned under Cassis Pedelian yet again.