Chapter 47

Chapter 47

I soon realized that I had become less cautious around Cassis due to my sudden spell of sickness. It also occurred to me that I had never allowed myself to be sick properly since I was always so worried about being seen as weak. That had actually been the first time I let anyone see me in such a wretched state. Perhaps it was possible because it was Cassis and he was an outsider far removed from the evil world of Agreces. I imagine it was probably instinct that allowed me to lower my guard enough to reveal my weary self to him. On top of that, I felt very protected while being held in his arms. Having someone else’s warmth transferring over to my body was indeed unfamiliar, but I felt no pressing desire to stop him.

“So... warm...”

I happened to speak while breathing out softly. Just as I had done for him in the hallucination room, this time Cassis covered my eyes with his hand.

“You should sleep until you’ve fully recovered.”

Then almost like magic, his soothing voice really did make my entire body relax. It was the first time since childhood that I felt perfectly at peace having someone next to me as I fell asleep. As so often happened, I dreamt of Achille. However, unlike the recurring dreams I had of him in bloody tears, he was handing me a flower wreath he made in this one.

I usually feared Achille’s visits in my dreams, especially because I was often afraid I would see myself causing his death and wake up feeling that I deserved the blame for it. This time, however, I was at ease as he beamed back at me. Despite being his younger sister who was already as tall as he had been, the 15-year-old Achille placed the flower wreath on top of my head.

His beaming stretched into an even wider smile, so I tried to do the same... but I just couldn’t. Instead, I broke down in tears. Achille began to dab at my eyes while continuing to smile. I could almost hear him saying, “There, there.”

Upon waking up, I found myself still in tears. I felt a firm fingertip glide over my wet cheeks and eyelids. Feeling its warmth as it grazed my cheek a second and slightly firmer time, I closed my eyes again. In such a state, everything honestly felt like it was part of a dream. Although my eyes were shut, I couldn’t fall back to sleep, so I quietly lay there and let Cassis continue to wipe away my tears.

* * *

After that day, it was awkward whenever I went to see Cassis. But that was a given. How could it not be after he saw me like that? Luckily, neither of us ever mentioned the incident again. Cassis was evidently reluctant to discuss his special power, and I was just as reluctant—if not more so—to talk about how pathetic I had appeared in front of him. So it seemed we had made a silent pact to avoid and ignore the issue altogether.

“It’s a beautiful night.”

I managed to mutter the first lame thing I could think of as I stepped into his room, but it only served as further evidence of how awkward I still felt. I wanted to take the words back almost as soon as I said them, but it was too late. Haa... I still can’t explain why I felt the need back then to be so polite. That hadn’t even been my first visit to see him that day.

“So it seems. Although I can’t say I was aware of the time.”

As he spoke his eyes were scanning me calmly. I silently thanked the heavens that he kept his tone steady in order to make me feel a little less self-conscious. He was also wearing a new set of restraints that I had asked Emily to steal. How well they would work though remained uncertain since he had evidently had no problem breaking out of the other ones. Still, he had let me place the new ones on him without making a fuss. It was almost as if escape had become the furthest thing from his mind.

“Here. I came to give you this.”

I handed him a small piece of fabric with a secret code written on it. I had received it from one of the Pedelian scouts, but what it said was a mystery to me. Cassis, however, appeared to know what it meant almost immediately for I caught a glimmer of relief in his golden eyes. Then he suddenly directed his attention at me.

“Are those poison butterflies?”

I hadn’t realized it, but a few of my butterflies had been fluttering about. I winced internally as I hadn’t beckoned them. What I had found to be more strange, however, was that a few had chosen to alight on Cassis’ shoulder precisely on the spot where he had been injured. It was as if they were ravenous for his blood.

Upon noticing them I shooed them away. That hadn’t been the first time they behaved that way. They had suddenly appeared and gone to Cassis when I collapsed after coughing up blood as well. I couldn’t fathom why they would be seeking out his blood. Luckily, they weren’t the ones I had been raising to serve as killer butterflies, but the ones from my secret first batch which I used for various purposes.

Cassis quickly studied the creatures, then spoke without a hint of concern.

“I think they lust for my blood.”

He was indeed far too sharp, and far too... cute.

“I doubt it. They only drink mine.”

I saw no sense in pretending they weren’t poisonous, especially since Cassis had already revived me from my poison-induced state of illness while they had been overhead the whole time. He continued to eye my butterflies with that knowing look of his. I couldn’t help wondering how he knew anything about them since their very existence was supposed to be known only to those within wizarding circles. Then again, I had sent them out to the borders often enough that it was possible they had been spotted.

Feeling his gaze on me, I also turned my attention from the butterflies back to Cassis. It seemed he was looking at me with the same unwarranted concern and likely the same useless thoughts as before. When he did finally open his mouth, what he said was hardly of consequence.

“Your condition is... far too unstable,” he said, almost as if it were an aside. I was about to ask him what he meant, but he continued before I could.

“What will happen to you after I leave?”

Was he seriously worrying about ME?! I mean, sure, he had no idea that the entire escape plan was ultimately to save my own ass, but did he actually think I was planning to become a martyr for his sake?! Me? The same person who had been at the head of engineering every trouble he had faced since entering the Agrece mansion...? Suddenly, I felt something swell up inside me.

“Let me ask you a question of my own. You aren’t by any chance confusing me with your sister, are you?”

It had been difficult enough already always trying to ignore that concerned look on his face whenever we met. And admittedly, what I had really wanted to say was, “Stick to worrying about your own sister.” It had occurred to me at some point that Sylvia’s death in the novel might not end in just having my name dragged through the mud. Given the mature genre of the story, I would likely also be forced to perform in some bondage scenes myself with the biggest losers in this world.

“Is it wrong for me to worry about you?”

He had sidestepped my question entirely. Unable to come up with a proper retort, I just bit down on my lip. I had made a mistake. Not only should I have avoided his gaze, but his voice as well. But in the end, I silently met his gaze. His golden eyes bore into mine with laser precision, which caused me to turn away first. I eventually responded with much less annoyance in my voice.

“For your information, I’ve already made contingencies for myself.”

One thing I began to wonder was if Cassis didn’t already possess the ability to break out of the compound on his own. He was already clearly able to break free of the cuffs, and also seemed to have other special powers I hadn’t been aware of. Or perhaps he hadn’t been in a rush since he was confident that all it would take to escape was to set his mind to it. Recalling how he had saved Mother from danger, the idea wasn’t all that far-fetched.

At the thought of our roles somehow having reversed without my noticing so that he seemed to suddenly have the upper hand, I felt a vague unpleasantness creeping up my spine. I had even asked him the previous day about his special powers, but he hadn’t answered me. And as for why he hadn’t simply broken out of the cuffs sooner, he casually explained that the situation hadn’t allowed for it. Beyond that, I received no additional explanation.

“By the way, I don’t believe I’ve shared the full details of my plan with you yet, so let’s go over it now.”

I had somewhat peevishly changed the subject, but began to go over the plan with him in earnest. Cassis’ face had gone rigid for a moment. It was his turn to experience having his line of questioning thwarted, but it was obvious he had to focus on the escape plan as it was far more important.

“I’ve ensured that those scouts were guided to a safe location, so once you escape, you should go join them there.”