Chapter 16

Chapter 16

No matter how hard they try, people who pretend to be unconscious will somehow give themselves away, especially when their bodies are touched. They even breathe differently. But Cassis had concealed such signs so naturally that I hadn’t sincerely suspected him. He continued to lay quite still and breathe regularly.

I looked a little more closely but failed to detect anything out of the ordinary. It was rather puzzling. I mean, if he really had been awake, could he really remain so calm and not give himself away? Or perhaps I was being overly sensitive and was simply reading too much into an action as ordinary as someone stirring in their sleep. Still, I watched him carefully from where I sat.

Hmm...

Then I suddenly had the idea to explain the situation.

“It feels silly talking to an unconscious person, but...” I began speaking softly as if musing to myself. “I wish you knew how sorry I was about not being able to protect you earlier.”

If Cassis really was passed out, then no harm was done. But if he wasn’t, then he’d understand why things had played out the way they did.

“It just wasn’t the right time or place for me to act.” I was slowly hoping that he could hear me. “But you can rest assured now. That sort of thing won’t happen again. You belong to me now, which means no one else will dare abuse you.”

In this family, ownership is respected. So once he was handed over to me, even Lante Agrece could not treat Cassis like he had earlier that day. I began caressing his hair again.

“I’ll make sure you leave this place alive.”

It was both a promise to Cassis and a declaration of resolve to myself. But even as I said those words, the question that had dogged me ever since I first saw Cassis resurfaced. Could I really pull it off? The answer remained to be seen.

* * *

Just as Roxana had suspected, Cassis had been wide awake during her visit. But to be precise, he had never fainted. After decreeing that Cassis would belong to Roxana, Lante Agrece turned his attention to his guards.

“Wipe that off my shoe.”

“Yes, Master.”

A guard ran forward, kneeled down, then began using his own shirt to wipe away the blood from the toe of Lante’s shoe. He looked more like a frightened slave than a soldier. From where he was lying, Cassis watched the scene in disgust. When Lante finally left, Cassis pretended to faint from exhaustion.

“What would you like us to do with your toy, Lady Roxana?”

“Take him to an empty room in my wing of the house.”

It was a familiar voice, but before he had time to process anything, two burly men hoisted him up by his arms. He let himself slump against them as if he were completely knocked out.

“Just who is this new toy that the master would personally stomp it into a bloody pulp like this?”

The guard on Cassis’ left spoke in a low voice after they had all gone a few paces from the hall. If what the guard had just said was true, then it apparently wasn’t normal for Lante to involve himself personally in punishing the prey that fell into Agrece lair.

The other guard on his right scoffed before answering. “Forget about it. Lowly beings like us should not trouble ourselves with such matters. Besides, who cares who he is? Once these toys enter the Agrece compound, they never leave alive.”

The first guard nodded quietly. The guards seemed to believe Cassis’ act as they were less than attentive to him. Continuing to pretend he was unconscious, Cassis tried to gauge the distance between where he had been to where they were taking him. He needed to get a feel for the Agrece manor’s layout if he was to bolt at the first opportunity. He even considered making a run for it as they were hauling him away.

But he hesitated. Even in his infirm state, taking out the two guards wouldn’t have been a problem, but he wasn’t confident about being able to locate the exit and leave undiscovered afterward. What made it worse was his still weakened vision, thus he only had a narrow range of sight. Had the cause been poison instead of sorcery, he imagined his recovery might have been faster. Regardless, fleeing the compound at that moment would surely end in his recapture. Still, despite how rash an escape plan might be, he wavered as he was unsure he would get another chance.

“This is the first time Lady Roxana has owned a toy, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, and it’s probably the luckiest toy of them all. The other young masters and ladies would have torn him apart from the inside out, then had the pieces they deemed useless fed to the dogs within days.”

At the mention of Roxana’s name, Cassis’ ears perked up. Roxana Agrece. If he was being honest with himself, he had been quite surprised to learn that the girl who had been visiting him in the dungeon was none other than a daughter of Lante Agrece. However, that discovery also helped him to comprehend better what was going on.

It was neither betrayal nor deception that he felt. Such things would only matter if a trust had already been established between them. Instead, he felt as if he was finally seeing clear daylight after a long haze. To Cassis, it was better to be certain of a person’s identity than blindly suspect the worst. Of course, it gave rise to other questions. Such as whether or not the girl’s claim that her intentions were honorable was indeed true. Cassis was neither naïve nor foolish enough to take such words at face value.

“I promise I won’t let you down. I shall do my best to educate him.”

“I will make sure you are safe until you escape this place.”

Roxana had made both statements, but only she knew if there was any truth behind them. As the three continued to shuffle along, there seemed to be someone blocking their path. Cassis shut his eyes again and tried to heighten his other senses in turn.

“Oh! How do you do, My Lady?”

The guards had tensed up as they greeted the newcomer.

“My Lady”? Cassis pondered. His forehead creased ever so slightly at the sudden encounter. He recalled that Agreces were rumored to be a large clan. His father Roussel Pedelian had taken only one wife, but Lante Agrece supposedly possessed more than ten. It was clear this person in front of them was one of the Agrece lot.

“That child... he isn’t dead, is he?”

The woman spoke in a faint voice that seemed out of place amongst the rough and coarse nature of the Agreces. To Cassis, it sounded all the more out of place due to its audible quiver. She must have mistaken his limp pose for a cadaver. On top of that, he was splattered all over with blood. Lante had contributed to his sorry state not that long ago, but even before that scene, Cassis had been fairly haggard.

“No, My Lady. He’s just unconscious.”

“My Lady, may I ask why you are here away from the east wing? Were you perhaps on your way to see Lady Roxana?”

The guards were clearly trying to change the subject. It was almost as if they would have preferred for her not to see Cassis in his current state. Between her reaction and the guards’ attitudes, Cassis surmised that this woman must not be familiar with blood and gore.

Did they just mention Roxana to her?

At the mere mention of her name, his mind had done a double-take.

Then... could she be Roxana’s mother?

“I heard that Xana got a new toy, so I wondered if I could take a look at it.”

“This here is her toy, My Lady.”

“This child?!”

“A toy”? Repeatedly hearing the word did not make it any less distasteful to Cassis. Her voice had been so shrill that the woman’s genuine shock about the boy in front of her being her daughter’s new plaything was palpable.

“Then... did Xana do this to this poor boy?”

Her tone was full of disbelief.

“No, My Lady. This wasn’t Lady Roxana’s doing, but Master Agrece’s.”

The woman let out a quiet sigh as the guard explained. Just as Cassis began to relax slightly,

the sound of feather-light footsteps tickled his ear.