Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble! Chapter 14 He Needs Some Salt

"You know..." Cassius suddenly began casually, turning his attention to Edmund. "...I distinctly recall you telling that you enjoy a little extra salt in your als."

Edmund blinked in confusion, his mouth opening to protest, only to falter when he caught the eerily pleasant smile on Cassius's face. The smile promised nothing good. He swallowed hard, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

"Ah...Yes! Yes, I do like...a lot of salt." He stamred, nodding quickly as if his life depended on it.

Cassius chuckled softly, as though he'd expected that response.

"Well then." He said, turning to Isabelle with a relaxed wave of his hand. "Be a dear and add a little more salt to Edmund's plate...We wouldn't want him to feel unsatisfied, would we?"

Isabelle, who had been standing nearby, sighed inwardly. She wasn't oblivious. She knew Cassius was playing with Edmund for his own amusent.

Still, she obediently picked up the salt shaker and approached the plate. With careful precision, she sprinkled a light dusting of salt over the food as she said,

"This should be enough, surely-"

"No, no." Cassius interrupted, his tone light but firm. "More...He likes a lot of salt, rember?"

Edmund's face was covered in indignation, but under Cassius's sharp gaze, he forced a stiff nod.

"Yes...more." He grumbled, though his voice barely concealed his growing dread.

Isabelle hesitated but complied, adding another generous sprinkle.

"This really should be plenty-"

"Still not enough." Cassius said smoothly, leaning forward with a gleam in his eyes. "Sprinkling won't do...I think spoonfuls would be more appropriate, don't you think?"

Both Edmund and Isabelle froze, their faces a picture of shock.

"Spoonfuls?" Isabelle repeated, her voice faint, unsure if she'd heard him correctly.

"Yes." Cassius replied, utterly unbothered. "He's a man of refined taste. Let's indulge him."

Edmund's mouth opened in protest, but he snapped it shut when Cassius cast him a warning glance. Isabelle, biting the inside of her cheek, reluctantly reached for a spoon and began scooping salt onto Edmund's plate.

One spoonful...Two...Three...Each clump of salt made the once-edible dish look more like a snow-covered wasteland.

"Keep going." Cassius encouraged, his grin widening as Edmund's expression grew increasingly horrified. Isabelle glanced at him uncertainly, but he rely gestured for her to continue. "He's the one who loves salt, after all."

By the ti Cassius finally told her to stop, the plate was a grotesque mountain of salt, the actual food buried beneath the white crystals. Edmund stared at it in disbelief, his face pale and drenched in sweat.

Cassius clapped his hands together, his tone as bright as ever, and said,

"There we go. The perfect al for soone with such...unique tastes."

Isabelle stepped back, biting her lip to stifle the laugh threatening to escape.

Despite the absurdity of the situation, she couldn't help but marvel at how Cassius managed to reduce soone like Edmund to a trembling ss without lifting a finger.

Cassius leaned back, his crimson eyes glinting with amusent as he gestured toward Edmund.

"Go on." He said with a lazy smile. "Have the first bite...You've been sitting there so patiently."

Edmund froze, his hands trembling slightly as he stared at the mountain of salt that used to be his al. His gaze flickered to Isabelle, whose wide, expectant eyes made it clear she was waiting to see if he'd actually go through with it.

He clenched his jaw, realising he had no other choice. Cassius wasn't the type to let him off easily.

With visible reluctance, Edmund picked up his spoon and dug into the salted monstrosity before him. The food underneath the salt was barely recognisable, but he managed to scoop up a bite. His hand shook as he brought it to his mouth, and the mont the overly salted food hit his tongue, his face twisted in pure agony.

"Ahh!~ Gahh!~ Ehhh!~"

It was a struggle not to gag. The salt burnt his mouth, the flavour so overpowering it made his eyes water. He glanced at Cassius, hoping for rcy, but the young master's cold, expectant gaze made it clear: he was to finish the bite.

Summoning every ounce of willpower, Edmund forced himself to swallow. The sensation was unbearable, and he coughed slightly, his throat raw from the onslaught of salt.

Just when he thought he could stop, he noticed Cassius's raised brow and the subtle nod toward the plate. The unspoken command was clear.

Edmund gritted his teeth, his pride and dignity shattered as he took another spoonful. His hands shook with every bite, but he continued to eat in silence, his body trembling as he endured the tornt.

Each mouthful felt like torture, the salt scorching his taste buds and leaving a bitter sting in his throat. Isabelle watched, caught between pity and amusent at the ridiculous scene.

Satisfied that Edmund was sufficiently preoccupied, Cassius turned his attention back to Isabelle, his sharp gaze softening ever so slightly.

The sudden shift in his focus caught Isabelle off guard, and she suddenly felt embarrassed.

She looked down, fidgeting with the hem of her apron as she tried to compose herself. Her heart raced as she wondered what he was about to ask of her.

'Would it be sothing as absurd as Edmund's task? Or sothing even more daunting?'

Cassius leaned forward slightly, his sharp gaze making her feel like he could see right through her. The intensity of his attention made her blush even deeper, and she bit her lip nervously, waiting for his next command.

"Isabelle..." Cassius called, making her jump in her place and making Edmund wonder what he wanted from his fiancee.

But to both of their surprises, he simply looked at the fireplace that was starting to simr down and said, "Could you please add so firewood to the fireplace?...It's getting quite chilly in here, and I don't want to catch a cold with this weak body of mine that mostly consists of alcohol."

Edmund scoffed under his breath when he heard Cassius so shalessly call himself weak when he could still feel his solid grip around his neck, where the hand marks still resided. Isabelle also rolled her eyes and gave a reluctant smile at her young master, who liked to joke a lot.

"Yes, young master...I apologise for not noticing that the fire was slowly starting to go out earlier. I'll add so right now and make this room feel toasty in no ti." Isabelle bowed and went over to the brick fireplace to add so fuel to it.

Actually, in modern Eleanor, a lot of the new houses that were being built by the upper class or the upper middle class have internal heaters that run on Eather. But because this was a servant quarter built long ago in the past, it had no such function and had to be heated through the old-fashioned way.

When Isabelle went over to the iron rack where all the firewood should be, she found that there wasn't any more, to her surprise. She looked around the room and the other, but she still didn't find any of the fuel.

"Edmund, where have you kept all the firewood?" She went over and whispered to Edmund who was slowly eating salt as his ears teared up and his nose turned red. "I can't find it anywhere."

"I've forgot to restock it, Isabelle...I've already had a lot on my hands recently, so it just slipped my mind." Edmund replied in an irritated manner since she was basically asking sothing for Cassius, whom he hated with all his heart.

"But Edmund! What will young master do now!" Isabelle couldn't help but whisper in a hurry while glancing at Cassius, who still hadn't touched his plate like he were waiting for sothing. "If he were to get a cold, it would be on both of our heads when we're trying to make up for what we did."

"Hmph! Who cares about that vile man!" Edmund cursed silently, making sure that only Isabelle heard him. "I hope he dies after getting an illness and a painful death as well."

"Edmund!" Isabelle couldn't help but say in a frustrated manner, unable to believe that she was going to marry such a childish and stubborn man, who couldn't realise the dangerous situation he was in.

"Isabelle...I asked you to warm up the room, not to have a little lover's conversation with your fiancee...What's taking you so long?" Cassius asked while impatiently tapping his finger on the table.

Isabelle quickly spun around, her cheeks afla as she stamred.

"Young master, I wasn't flirting with my fiancee! I was simply...S-Simply-" She faltered, realising too late that she had rushed to clarify sothing that didn't truly matter.

Why had she been so eager to erase that implication first? The thought unsettled her, but she quickly pushed it aside.

"I...I apologize for the delay, young master." She said with a bow, desperate to shift the focus. "It seems the firewood has run out. I'll go out imdiately to fetch so more."

Cassius raised an eyebrow, his finger pausing mid-tap on the table. His eyes glead with a mischievous light as his lips curved into an all-too-knowing smile.

"Now, now, Isabelle." He said lazily, leaning back in his chair as though settling in for a leisurely ga. "There's no need for you to venture out into the cold night over sothing so trivial. After all, the room can still be ward...and I can think of a very practical alternative."

His gaze slid down from her flustered face to her figure, finally landing on her rotund bottom with a look so pointed it felt almost tangible.

Isabelle stiffened as she registered the direction of his gaze. Her heart skipped a beat, and her blush deepened into a vivid crimson.