Chapter 130

Chapter 130

I woke up the next morning to a rustling sound in my room. Just as I opened my eyes, light flooded my vision. Cassis was already awake and standing with his back to me. As sunshine surrounded him, it appeared to almost form a halo over his beautiful silver mane until it was all aglitter.

He was in the process of getting dressed, but he hadn’t yet put his shirt on, so I enjoyed the privilege of getting to look at his bare back in a way I never could when he was my toy years ago. Since becoming lovers, I found myself always marveling at how gorgeously defined his back muscles were every single time I saw them.

I was always of the mind that he was exceedingly handsome, even when we had first met at the Black mansion, but he had grown into a man that unceremoniously trampled that image. He was closer to a flawless marble sculpture than a human. The only minor flaw that stood out on that glorious back of his was the deep scratch I had made on it from the previous night. Before I could scrutinize it any further, he put on his white shirt.

“Can’t you get rid of that scratch mark?” Truth be told, I already knew the answer.

“Oh, you’re up?” He turned around to come sit down beside me on the bed. “Did I wake you? You should sleep more if you’re still tired.”

He gently tucked my stray hairs behind my ear as he spoke and gazed down at me with a soft warmth in his eyes. It was as if his golden orbs had absorbed the morning sunlight while he faced the window. He lowered his head to kiss my bare shoulder, but only with enough pressure to leave a hint of the tender warmth I felt from his stare.

“But doesn’t it sting? You really should have it looked at.”

I had almost forgotten what I had been trying to say, which I now suspect may have been his intention. The fact was that hadn’t been the first time I had scarred him in such a way. And I knew better than anyone that he could make such marks disappear right away if he wished to.

However, he insisted on keeping them for some reason. He didn’t just wait a day or two before healing them. He would carry them like trophies for so long that in that moment I could spot traces of the much older scratches I had given him. He looked at me with an innocent smile.

“I prefer it this way since they are each something you gave me.”

His tone was so calm without a trace of jest. I had suspected as much, but hearing him admit to it aloud made me quite happy. Then again, it also surprised me that such a normally serious man could actually voice such a sappy sentiment. Of course, I was rather openly fawning over him for that very same reason.

“Cassis, come here.” I raised myself about halfway off the bed, then reached out my hand to him in order to emphasize that I wanted him to come toward me. Once he was within arm’s reach, I yanked him in by the neck for a deep kiss. It definitely wasn’t one of our more tame and quick morning pecks.

“Good morning, by the way.” I smiled after finally releasing him.

The gold color of his eyes suddenly deepened as he wrapped his hand around mine. Within moments I could feel the heat from his hand spread over my palm and wrist, but at the same time, I could also sense that he was feeling increasingly conflicted. Before he could try anything reckless, I sat up and hopped off the bed.

“I’m going to go bathe.”

As my feet met the floor, my loose hair tumbled over my shoulders to surround my bareness. Since I had nothing else on, the feeling of my locks draped over my exposed chest and back was quite impossible to ignore. My gown, which Cassis had tossed aside the previous night, was still under the table. I walked toward it while feeling his gaze on my back. After I retrieved the abandoned garment and was on the verge of pulling it over my head, I felt his arm wrap around my waist.

“I’ll give you a lift.”

And just like that, I was airborne yet again.

“I can walk, you know.”

“I know, but I’m heading that way anyway.”

Since he was already in motion, I couldn’t really protest any further. It seemed I had unintentionally lit the fire within him. Or perhaps he had an ulterior motive that I had yet to realize. Nevertheless, I nuzzled into his chest and let him carry me away.

That particular morning went by rather quickly.

* * *

After a good deal of time, Cassis and I eventually left the annex. We decided to stop by the dungeon after receiving word that Nix had finally awoken.

“He may be calm now, but he was acting as if he would break down the walls earlier.” Isidore felt it prudent to warn us as we neared the holding cell.

Olin had also decided to accompany us from the annex. “He may be made from human flesh, but he seems to be immune to drugs since none of the sedatives we gave him had any effect.”

It seemed that Noel’s puppetism sorcery made Nix different from both other puppets and humans in fundamental ways. Thus, it was especially important that we not mistake him for a regular human going forward.

I guessed that another possible explanation as to why he was so different was that since he was made from Achille’s corpse, he had retained its immunity to drugs and poisons like every other Agrece child. There was a chance that ability may have been reactivated during his reanimation.

Cassis looked directly at me after hearing the update. I simply answered him with a slight nod.

“Best I see for myself.”

“Then I shall go with you.”

His tone made it clear that there was no room for debate, but I hadn’t thought about it anyhow. So we proceeded into Nix’s dungeon cell together.

* * *

Creeeak.

The sharp, grating noise of the cell door seemed to claw at our ears. It was my first time setting foot in a Pedelian dungeon. In some ways, it didn’t feel all that different from the one in the Black mansion, but then in many other ways, it did.

One glaring difference was that there were no torture devices anywhere in sight. It was also much less dirty and appeared fairly well-maintained. That was probably why I thought in that moment how out of place the puppet’s bloody and haggard appearance was down there.

“You...!” Nix bolted up from the wall he had been leaning against the moment he laid eyes on me. His sudden movement caused the shackles around his ankles and wrists to jangle wildly in a cacophony of clanging metal.

“Good day, Nix. Do you recall our brief exchange from yesterday? Even so, I’d say it’s been a while since we greeted each other properly.” I chose to speak as if we were old friends who were meeting again after so many years. He, however, scowled back at me.

“I hardly think this is the time for you and me to chitchat.” His eyes were ablaze, yet his voice remained calm. I presumed he was taking stock of the situation. For one thing, he could see I wasn’t alone. He quickly looked around at everyone else who had come into his cell as well, before returning his gaze to me.

I decided to continue with my cordial tone. “Well, I’m so glad to see that you’re looking better. I was worried that you might have been damaged beyond repair.”

Of course, I had done no such thing.

“As you know, you were hurt quite badly before coming here.”

He immediately clamped his lips together at hearing my gentle reminder of his greatest disgrace. He glared at me with even more hatred in his eyes as he seemed to catch on that my true intention was to get under his skin. But I continued to play innocent and even threw him a concerned smile.

I lowered my voice as if I was lost in the memories of our shared past. “Why, I swear I can still hear your screams as I clawed into your skull and dug out your left eye clean from its socket. Wasn’t that something?”

“Shut the hell up!” He ground his teeth from what I assumed was the memory of the cluster of chaos that had broken out at the Gold manor, which had rendered him helpless and all alone during our battle.

“You, Vertium puppet.” Cassis’ gaze was visibly chilly and seemed to pierce through Nix. “Watch what you say if you value your pathetic life. You’ve been warned.”

It wasn’t like the Blue Heir of all people to make such open threats, but he stopped himself there and did not come in any further. We had already discussed our strategy for dealing with the puppet before going down to the dungeon.

“Just what is it you’re after?” Nix had regained his cool somewhat.

It was hard for me to believe that just an hour prior to our arrival he had been ranting and thrashing about like a wild beast.

“Why did you bring me here? And why have you locked me up in this place?!”

Despite his best efforts, he could not hide the emotions clouding his eyes. His calm act was giving way to his obvious agitation and confusion by the minute. That was when I realized something.

Since he had been unconscious since long before we left Vertium, it was only natural that he had no idea why we had brought him to Pedelian. Thus, he also had zero knowledge of the conversation we had with Noel before abandoning him to his rioting kinsmen.

The last thing he could have possibly remembered was Dante knocking him out. I peered into his face carefully, and the longer I stared, the more his blue eyes seemed to waver.

“‘Why’? Hmm... That’s rather hard to explain.”

The uncertainty in my tone infuriated the blond boy even more. “Quit playing games and tell me the truth!”

I gazed at him before continuing. “Just what are you so afraid of?” But immediately after asking I nodded knowingly. “Then again, maybe you should be afraid. That’s only natural after all the dirty tricks you tried to play on me back in the Gold lands.”

He frowned at my accusatory tone.

I, in turn, smiled mischievously.

“Well, now the tables have turned. Not that I would ever stoop so low as to feed you poison as you did to me. Besides... I know that won’t cause you any harm.”