Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“My Lady!”

The guards gasped as they watched the woman suddenly reach for Cassis, who was supposed to have fainted. He almost flinched as her soft palms nestled his chin. Taking his drooped head into her hands, she lifted it carefully. Then she suddenly stopped midway.

“A... Achille!”

Her quiet muttering to no one drifted into the ether. What she was saying made no sense to Cassis, but the mere nearness of this new person made all three men very uncomfortable.

“My Lady, you’ll soil your hand.”

The guard who spoke seemed even more uneasy than Cassis was feeling. Then just as suddenly, the woman appeared roused back to her senses.

“Oh... What was I saying?”

After finally releasing Cassis’s head, she returned her attention to the guards.

“What of his treatment? Surely you won’t leave him like this.”

“Lady Roxana has ordered that a doctor come treat him, My Lady.”

“I see. Then please take him inside so he may get some rest.”

The woman gazed upon Cassis once more before continuing on her way. Evidently, just that short visit with Roxana’s new toy had been enough to satisfy her. As soon as the woman was gone, the guards shuffled Cassis toward a room that was only a few steps from where they’d been delayed. Rueful at the fact that they had arrived at their destination so soon, the boy frowned inwardly. The woman must have been waiting near the room knowing that he’d be taken there.

As he shelved his escape plan for the time being, Cassis carefully scanned what he could of his new surroundings. His vision was still blurry, but good enough to make out where the door was and what sort of lock was on it.

“Ugh! My shoulders are killing me.”

The guard grumbled after dumping Cassis rather unceremoniously onto the floor.

The doctor arrived shortly after and his immediate reaction was nothing short of annoyed. “What is this? He’s practically a corpse.”

“He’s still breathing, Doc. Could you please get to working on him?”

The guards seemed somewhat sheepish as they spoke. Once the doctor began to examine Cassis’ injuries, the guards yapped away about their recent encounter in the hallway.

“Did you hear how the fourth mistress mentioned Master Achille earlier?”

“Yeah, I was pretty shocked.”

“Does she really think that toy resembles the young master? I don’t see it.”

“Me neither, but maybe it does to them. Well, that would sort of explain why both Her Ladyship and Lady Roxana have taken an interest in him.”

As he eavesdropped on the guards’ prattle on, Cassis recalled what had happened in the hallway. It seemed the woman who was supposedly Roxana’s mother had been reminded of someone upon seeing Cassis’ face. She had muttered “Achille,” so was that who he resembled? A young master? Was this Achille someone important? Maybe even the woman’s son?

“Well, from this angle I guess there’s a slight resemblance since he looks so pale. But apart from that, I really don’t see it.”

“Wasn’t the young master around the same age as this boy when he died? Maybe that’s what made her think of him.”

“Oh, you might be on to something there.”

So Achille is dead.

The guards’ conversation trailed off as if they had reached an unsavory subject. Once his treatment was over, the guards secured his cuffs to the chains in the room, then left.

Clang, clang, click.

Silence followed. Once he was certain that he was alone, Cassis slowly opened his eyes. He listened until their footsteps had disappeared completely, then began to take in his new environment from the same prone position. Unlike the filthy dungeon, the room was large and clean. But like the dungeon, it also lacked any windows, and the only furniture was a bed in the corner. Although sparse, it could still function as a bedroom.

Cassis sat himself up. The chains now attaching his wrist and ankle cuffs to a pillar in another corner jangled away. Luckily, their length allowed him much more movement compared to how he had been propped up in the dungeon. Of course, not enough to reach the door to the room. He decided he would need to be patient and ruminate more before taking action. After all, a half-assed attempt to flee would most certainly not end well. Fortunately, if what he had overheard earlier was true, the Agreces had no intention of murdering him right away. Also, that doctor’s visit probably meant that they were not going to torture him like they had been anymore. Was it all thanks to him becoming Roxana’s plaything?

Cassis glanced toward the door while rubbing his wrist. The Agreces seemed unaware that the so-called magical cuffs were not as useful as they seemed to think. He’d been able to test them when the girl named Charlotte suddenly pounced on him while he was still in the dungeon. Yes, the restraining property of the magical cuffs did automatically increase from level one to five depending on a monster’s rage and aggressive behavior, but the opposite was also true. All one had to do was remain calm in order to minimize their effectiveness.

So Charlotte going down there that day to cause trouble truly had been fortunate. Had she not attacked him, Cassis wouldn’t have been able to gauge the strength of the cuffs with such ease. And since she had seemed a bit simple-minded, Charlotte had likely blamed her inexperience for being unable to overtake him. She had indeed assumed her tantrum had caused the mishap instead of realizing that the cuffs snapping off had been part of his careful scheme.

Cassis continued to fall into deeper thought. He supposed it was best to let his captors believe he was completely helpless, so until he was ready to escape, he needed to hide the fact that he could still wield some of his powers.

As he was mulling things over, there was a noise outside of the door. After glancing quickly toward it, he sprawled himself back onto the floor.

Click.

After unlocking the door, someone stepped into the room. Their footsteps were quiet, and the scent of their perfume was familiar. It was Roxana. As she drew nearer, she gazed down at him silently. Once again, he was alone with Roxana—the girl who held his fate in her hands.

Cassis continued with his unconscious façade in hopes that perhaps this time her true intentions would finally come to light. At that point she was very close, so he heightened his senses to their maximum. At the same time, he also had to brace himself in case she did anything malicious. Had she come close enough, he probably could have choked her with the chains until she fell unconscious, or even kill her if necessary, but that wasn’t a plan he wished to consider too deeply yet.

Moreover... Is it wise to react to violence with more violence?

Cassis’ eyes had remained shut, but he could feel the space between them closing. Oblivious to his internal turmoil, Roxana sidled right up to him. She was soon within striking distance. Before he could think about what to do next, he heard a quiet sigh followed by a voice tinged with indignation.

“So they barely treated him, huh?”

Then her soft hand was suddenly on him.

Clang.

A sound of metal rang through the room as Roxana lifted one of his chained arms. She seemed to be scanning him all over for injuries. Then she removed the gag from his mouth. After doing a few small things off to the side, she placed her hand over his wrist again.

Cassis’ breathing almost stopped as he was overcome with an inexplicable sensation. Roxana was applying balm and bandages to each wound the doctor had only cursorily treated earlier. She seemed to be taking extra care to tend to the scars left by the cuffs which had been grazing his wrists and ankles.

As she undid his shirt and began to treat his bare chest, the heat from her hands nearly made Cassis bolt up in shock. With each little cut and wound she touched, he felt a sting. However, the antiseptic she was applying was not the only sensation she felt ripple through his skin. He was unwilling to admit it, but he had to grit his teeth in order to keep himself from grinning as her tender fingers moved here and there over his skin.

After tending to all of his wounds, Roxana remained in the room. To his surprise, she sat down on the floor next to him. While he knew the room was clean, he hadn’t expected her to plop down like that onto the floor. Even his carefree sister Sylvia would have been more cautious.

But what Roxana did next really made him gasp. Those same soft hands that had treated him just moments ago suddenly took his head and gently placed it on her lap.