Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble! Chapter 610: Wisp Of The Goddess

It was already well past midnight by the ti the mansion finally quieted down.

The music had faded, the lanterns dimd one by one, and the laughter that had filled the garden only a few hours ago now lingered as a warm mory.

The fashion show was officially over.

The sisters and maids who had spent the evening screaming their lungs out were now fast asleep, sprawled across guest rooms and couches, still half-dressed in glittering gowns.

So of them were even clutching snacks or ribbons they’d taken as ’souvenirs,’ smiling in their sleep like children after a festival.

Aqua, on the other hand, was not sleeping in her room tonight.

She had decided that, for tonight, she wanted to sleep with Isabelle and the other wives.

"It’s ti for a girls’ night." She’d declared proudly before dragging her pillows along the corridor.

And now, tucked in between Isabelle and Vivi, she and the others were whispering and giggling under the covers, telling spooky stories and teasing each other like mischievous schoolgirls instead of noble ladies.

"Oh, and then..." Aqua said, her voice hushed yet dramatic. "...the spirit looked right into her eyes and whispered...’Your hair looks awful tonight.’"

A shriek of laughter filled the room, followed by Nala swatting her playfully with a pillow.

"Aqua, that’s not scary, that’s petty!"

"Petty ghosts are the worst kind!" Aqua countered, giggling.

anwhile, in a quieter part of the mansion, another scene was unfolding.

Carla and Joy, bound by their flow of mana, had no choice but to remain close.

The magic that connected them—the channel of healing energy established earlier—required constant proximity to remain active.

If either of them separated for too long, the flow would break, forcing them to rebuild it from scratch, which would severely delay their recovery.

Even during the fashion show, when Joy had walked the platform in that cursed wedding gown, Carla had followed quietly through the crowd, keeping within arm’s reach, while Joy did the sa as well.

So now, when it ca ti for sleep, there was no question: they would share the sa room.

Maria had been thrilled by the idea.

"Oh, this will be so much fun!" She had said brightly, clapping her hands. "To sleep beside both of my daughters—what more could a mother ask for?"

Carla had only blushed in response, though deep inside, she was secretly moved.

It had been so long since she had slept beside anyone, much less soone who held her with affection.

Her nights had always been spent alone—cold, silent, haunted by mories of the past.

But tonight felt different. Warm. Familiar. Almost like the nights she used to fall asleep beside her real mother, long ago.

Now, Maria was in the bathroom preparing for bed, humming a soft tune, while Joy was busily fixing up the pillows and straightening the sheets.

Carla watched her quietly from the bedside, unsure of how to start a conversation. Finally, she cleared her throat softly.

"Hey." She began quietly. "I...apologize if I’ll be a disturbance tonight."

Joy glanced up.

"I an." Carla continued hesitantly, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "it must feel strange, the three of us sharing a bed. If it’s uncomfortable, I can sleep on the floor instead."

Joy didn’t even pause what she was doing as she said,

"Don’t worry about it."

Carla blinked. "Huh?"

Joy fluffed a pillow and placed it down before speaking, her tone perfectly casual.

"I’m already used to sleeping with three people in a bed. Aqua always cos sneaking in at night to sleep beside us. It’s really no big deal."

She glanced over her shoulder with a small sigh.

"And besides, my mother has this habit of hugging whoever’s next to her when she sleeps. Once she grabs you, she doesn’t let go until morning. Think of it as...protection."

Carla couldn’t help a soft chuckle at that.

"So I’m her replacent shield, then?"

Joy tilted her head and corrected.

"Not exactly a shield. More like...a pillow."

"A...pillow?" Carla repeated, deadpan.

"Yeah." Joy said, pointing at the center of the bed. "I sotis puts a pillow between us when she sleeps to stop her from hugging . But tonight..." She gestured to Carla. "You’re the pillow."

Carla sighed, shaking her head with a helpless smile.

"I’ve faced monsters and assassins...but being used as a vampire pillow might be my greatest challenge yet."

They both chuckled quietly—a rare, peaceful sound between two people who had once stood on opposite sides.

After a few monts of silence, Carla’s expression softened again.

"Hey." She said quietly, her voice sincere. "I also wanted to thank you, Joy."

Joy blinked. "Thank ? For what?"

"For...letting be close to your mother."

Carla said, looking down at her hands.

"I know our first eting wasn’t exactly friendly. We were practically out for each other’s throats. And knowing how much you treasure your mother—how protective you are of her—it must’ve been hard for you to accept soone else calling her ’mother’ too..."

"...Yet you did."

She looked up, eting Joy’s eyes earnestly.

"So, thank you. For not pushing away."

Joy was quiet for a mont, then she sighed softly.

"Don’t ntion it. After hearing your story, I’d be the real villain if I tried to keep you apart."

"And besides." Joy continued dryly, climbing onto the bed. "If you think I could stop my mother once she makes up her mind, you’re dreaming. She’s even more stubborn than I am. When she decides sothing, that’s it. It’s fate."

She lay down down on the bed.

"You might as well accept it."

Carla smiled faintly and sat at the edge of the bed, watching her for a mont before murmuring.

"Fate, huh..." She tilted her gaze up to the ceiling. "I wonder what plans fate has for people like us."

But before Joy could answer, Carla noticed sothing—Joy had suddenly shifted position and she was kneeling quietly on the bed.

Her hands were clasped together, her head bowed slightly, her pink hair falling gently over her shoulders.

"...What are you doing?" Carla asked, hesitant to interrupt. "So kind of nightly prayer? Should I stay silent?"

"No. It’s fine." Joy shook her head without opening her eyes. "I’m not saying a prayer to the Goddess tonight..."

"...I’m speaking to her. Directly."

Carla tilted her head, intrigued. "You can...do that?"

"I can try." Joy murmured. "Whether she listens is another matter."

Then, in a whisper that was both reverent and weary, Joy began to pray.

"Goddess." She breathed, her eyes closed. "I’m confused. More than I’ve ever been. You were the one who guided toward Cassius. The one who told his existence was sinful. That his actions would bring ruin. And yet..."

She hesitated, her fingers tightening slightly.

"Yet everything I’ve seen, everything I’ve felt—it doesn’t match what you told ."

Carla remained silent, listening.

Joy’s voice trembled faintly as she went on.

"So please...give a sign. Anything. Tell whether I’ve misunderstood you. Tell whether I should keep believing what I’ve been taught, or whether I should start questioning everything I thought was divine truth."

Her head bowed even lower.

"If he truly is a devil." She whispered. "Show the sin in his eyes. If he’s not, then show why you led to him."

"Give sothing...anything...so I can stop feeling lost."

Even though Carla listened to Joy’s quiet prayer with patience, she couldn’t help but remain skeptical.

She had never been much of a believer—not in divine will, not in prophecies, and certainly not in the notion that a goddess would descend rely to answer questions about a man.

In her mind, deities were distant, aloof beings.

They did not ddle in mortal matters of affection or doubt.

So even as Joy finished whispering her plea, Carla thought silently to herself, ’This won’t work. The Goddess won’t answer for sothing like this.’

But to her utter shock, the mont Joy’s final word left her lips, every single light in the room flickered and went out.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the room was swallowed by pitch-black darkness.

The glow of the lamps, the gentle shimr of moonlight seeping through the curtains—all gone.

Carla imdiately stiffened, her hand going to the dagger at her belt as her instincts scread danger.

"What—?!" She started, ready to stand.

"Calm down." Joy’s composed voice ca from the darkness. "It’s fine. This is the Goddess’s answer."

Her tone was calm, as if this was nothing unusual.

And then, as if on cue, a faint spark of light appeared right in front of Joy’s face.

Small at first—like a single glowing firefly hovering in the air—then growing brighter, blooming wider until the entire room shimred with pale, heavenly light.

The orb pulsed gently, humming faintly like a living thing.

Then it began to move—slowly, gracefully toward the door.

Joy imdiately got off the bed, her expression alight with dignified grace.

"Co." She said, throwing on her cloak. "Follow ."

Carla hesitated for only a second before doing the sa, her curiosity overriding her doubts.

The two slipped out of the room quietly and hurried after the moving light.

It floated through the corridors of the mansion, then out into the night, moving steadily toward the back gardens.

As they ran, Joy spoke quickly, her tone firm but amazed.

"The Goddess...she’s manifested herself like this before. Only once, when she protected from the guardian spirit that shielded Cassius’s soul. Since then, nothing. And this—" She gestured at the glowing orb ahead. "—this is only the second ti she’s appeared in such a physical form."

Carla frowned, running beside her.

"And both tis...it was about Cassius?"

Joy nodded. "Yes. You can say whatever you want but the Goddess most definitely has an interest in Cassius. For reasons I still can’t comprehend."

Carla wanted to argue, to say it was all coincidence, or a fabrication born of belief—but the chilling aura she felt surrounding that orb silenced her tongue.

It wasn’t human. It wasn’t magic she recognized either.

It was sothing higher—a calm, commanding presence that made her instincts scream.

She exhaled slowly. "Alright...fine. You have my attention. But tell —did she ever say why she’s so interested in Cassius?"

Joy’s gaze was still fixed on the glowing orb ahead as they ran deeper into the estate’s forested outskirts.

"Her words were...vague." She admitted. "She said sothing about conversion. About how Cassius was walking the wrong path and it was my duty to guide him back to the light."

Carla narrowed her eyes. "Conversion...?"

"Yes." Joy continued, voice solemn. "She said he was a soul that didn’t belong in this world, that he’d been tainted by sothing he brought from beyond. That it was my divine responsibility to judge him, to...’redeem’ him."

"I don’t if that sounds like you’re supposed to bring him ’punishnt’ or ’salvation’." Carla muttered.

"I don’t know either." Joy admitted. "Maybe judgnt, maybe redemption. But whatever it is...we’ll know soon."

The light suddenly sped up, weaving through the overgrown trees. The two won quickened their pace until the forest cleared—revealing an old, half-buried well at the edge of the property.

The orb hovered above it for a mont, glowing brighter—then descended slowly into the darkness below and vanished.

Carla blinked. "...A well?"

She walked closer and peered into it. It was impossibly dark; she couldn’t see the bottom at all.

"Maybe the Goddess wants us to...hydrate?"

She said dryly, half-joking to ease her nerves as even soone like her was on edge when it ca to Cassius’s secrets.

Joy, however, was already climbing onto the edge.

Carla blinked. "Wait. Don’t tell you’re actually—"

Before she could finish, Joy jumped.

Carla clicked her tongue and ran to the edge, bracing for the sound of a splash—but none ca.

The silence was eerie.

"Joy?!" She called down.

"I’m fine." Ca Joy’s voice from below, echoing faintly up the shaft. "There’s no water. There’s...a path down here!"

"A path?"

"Yes. Co down."

Muttering sothing under her breath, she jumped too.

She landed beside Joy—and indeed, there was no water at the bottom.

Instead, there was a narrow stone passage leading deeper underground, faintly illuminated by strange, bluish moss that clung to the walls.

They exchanged glances, neither of them speaking for a mont. Then Joy summoned a small orb of holy light in her hand, its glow cutting through the darkness.

"Let’s go." She said quietly.

As they began walking, Carla couldn’t help but ask,

"Do you have any idea what’s down here?"

Joy shook her head, her tone grim.

"No. But whatever it is, it’s been sealed for a reason. Sothing this well-hidden is never good."

Carla’s eyes flicked ahead into the dark tunnel.

"No." She murmured, her voice steady but cold. "It never really is."

And with that, the two won disappeared into the shadows—their footsteps fading as the light from Joy’s hand illuminated the unknown path below that was supposedly going to lead them to Cassius’s true self.