Chapter 169 – Crazy
"Jokes aside," Cassius said, "are you sure you are alright? It cannot be easy learning sothing like this about your own father."
Isolde smiled gently at his concern. After their little exchange just now, the embarrassnt and anger she had been feeling had eased sowhat.
She was beginning to think that had been his intention all along. Because she doubted she would have been this composed if he had gone straight to the questions that would inevitably hurt.
Once more, Isolde felt the quiet warmth of having soone as perceptive as Cassius.
After a mont she nodded slowly. "I am fine." She said. "There are worse things in life, as you know. Like a father who ignores his own daughter, for example. With that, I feel like the cheating should not have co as a surprise. And honestly, Cass, I must thank him for it."
"Thank him?"
"Aye." She nodded. "With this, the last sliver of longing I had to be loved and accepted by him, one I did not even know I still carried, has disappeared completely. I have no desire to be loved or accepted by soone who cannot stay loyal to a wife who gave him two children."
"Fair point. If the love he had at the beginning was gone, being honest about it would have been the better choice. However," he chuckled, "in noble circles it is far easier to take a mistress than to seek a divorce. Politics are complicated, darling."
"That they are." She admitted. "Anyway, I am sure you were in the middle of sothing. Training?"
"Aye. The Academy is coming. I do not want to embarrass myself in front of you and my family."
"Hahah, how could you ever embarrass ? You genuinely cannot do anything that would embarrass , Cass. I trust you. I know you will do well." Isolde said warmly, then continued more quietly. "As for , I had planned to go to that Fractured Land in the Damned Village before the Academy starts, but I think I will change that plan. I will deal with this situation first and take whatever benefit I can from it."
"Why not." Cassius replied. "There will be opportunities inside the Academy to take it on as a mission anyway. You just need to claim it first and complete it quickly."
"I shall."
The couple talked a while longer, with Aissatou remaining entirely silent beside them. She could not even listen, Isolde’s power had killed the sound before it could spread.
And besides, Aissatou’s mind was elsewhere entirely.
She was busy regretting that she would not be allowed to kill Veronica herself.
Oh, how she wanted that woman to see her — an old woman by any asure — riding Leo in the way only she knew how. And afterward, once she had seen the horror and pain break across Veronica’s face, to kill her slowly and deliberately. Preferably by stripping the skin from her face and breaking her bones one by one.
The more she lingered on it, the hotter Aissatou’s body beca, her wrinkled face flushing red, ecstasy and a deep hatred that had no business coexisting colliding violently inside her chest.
’Oh... oh... Aissatou. Calm yourself. Do not let your impulse win. Do not. Rember what happened the last ti. Rember the consequences you are still living with.’
At that thought, her cold green eyes settled on Isolde.
For a mont — too brief and too fleeting — a flash of resentnt crept through the depths of those monstrous eyes.
Only a mont. Then Aissatou buried all of it deep within herself, restoring the face of a useful old maid with an unfortunate attachnt to a young man.
’Slowly... slowly...’ She repeated inwardly, drawing a quiet breath. ’As the Fool said in the Tales of the Fool: the Ark of patience was not built overnight, but once built, only it could withstand the Great Flood.’
She must remain patient.
With those thoughts settled, Aissatou let a gentle, motherly smile settle on her face, looking toward her Lady, who was nearly done with her call.
And indeed...
"By the way," Isolde said at last, her purple eyes drifting toward Cassie sleeping soundlessly on the bed. "I think I have found myself a new little sister."
"...What? What do you an?"
"You rember the daughter of that woman we used during the Royal Event?"
"Be specific. We used quite a few people in that event."
"The mber who worshipped the Red Moon."
"Emily Stone?" Cassius said, his voice carrying open incredulity. "What do you an by her daughter?"
"Well," Isolde smiled so sheepishly that Cassius could hear it, "I adopted her as my little sister. She is now Cassie Isolde. What do you think of the na? Cassie is from you, and Isolde, obviously, from . Heheheh. Good naming sense, no?"
A short silence followed, then Cassius’s completely baffled voice broke it.
"...you have gone completely insane, Isolde. I swear to the Queen, you are genuinely crazy."
"Thank you for the complint. But what about my naming sense?"
"Fuck you and your naming sense both."
"Jokes on you, I cannot fuck myself, husband."
"Queen’s skirt..."
"Hahahah."
The next several minutes were spent with Cassius trying to understand what had possessed Isolde to do this, receiving no concrete answer beyond:
’Just a feeling that it was the right thing.’
Cassius did not trust her ’just a feeling’ in the slightest. But there was little he could do about it. Isolde was her own person and made her own decisions.
He just hoped her decisions would not lead her — and by extension him — into danger.
So after warning her a couple of tis, and not forgetting to ntion that he had beco considerably more handso and had a new look that put every young master in the Kingdom to sha, the call finally ended with him telling her to bring Cassie when she ca to visit.
Isolde did not waste any ti after that.
She glanced at Aissatou, who was looking back at her with a gentle smile, and walked straight toward her.
Arriving an inch away, Isolde leaned even closer, looking deep into the old woman’s eyes. Aissatou almost shivered and tried to step back, but Isolde’s hand snapped out and seized her by the neck, pulling her forward until their foreheads were nearly touching.
"You are losing control, Aissatou." Isolde said, her voice cold and flat. "I can feel a direct threat coming from you. What did I tell you about this?"
"I am sorry, my Lady." The old maid stamred. "I did not an it."
"This is also why I was reluctant about you developing feelings for soone. No, not feelings. You do not feel. You possess and obsess in unhealthy ways." Isolde continued. "The last ti you did this, you tortured an entire family. You killed both his wife and his children after enjoying the man in front of them. Do you know what was the worst part of it?"
Aissatou’s eyes shook but said nothing.
"You did it to an agent of the Fangs under Bony and Clyde." Isolde smiled coldly. "You know full well they are worse than Constantine when it cos to cruelty. And I protected you from their wrath by framing another agent for the whole incident."
"I know, my Lady." Aissatou breathed shallowly, Isolde’s grip tightening around her throat. "I am sorry. I am truly sorry. I will not do it again. It was just a montary loss of control because of Veronica. Yes, it is all because of her. It is all—!"
"Shut up." Isolde cut in, her tone razor-sharp. "I want honesty from you, Aissatou. Will you make the sa mistake as last ti? If yes, tell now, so I can kill you here."
"I will not, my Lady." She replied. "I will not do it again. I have sworn it on my soul."
"Then tell , how much longer do you have before you lose control entirely?"
Aissatou smiled crookedly, her face flushed, barely any breath reaching her. "Not... not much longer."
Isolde held her there a mont, then...
"There are criminals being held in our prisons for various reasons." Isolde said. "Go and satisfy your murderous thirst there. And from now on you will take more assassination missions. I do not want to be dealing with this again."
Isolde let go of Aissatou’s neck. The old woman collapsed to the floor, coughing hard.
Isolde did not spare her a second glance. She exited the room calmly and walked toward her mother’s office, leaving behind one last word.
"If Cassie wakes up because of your coughing, I will kill you myself."
Aissatou swallowed the cough imdiately, her face splitting into a wide and bloodthirsty smile.
’Ah, I love this side of my Lady so much! Perfect, absolutely perfect!’ Her green eyes bled red, her canines lengthened and sharpened. ’As long as I can have the prisoners for myself, I will kneel and kiss your feet, my Lady. Who am I even kidding? I would do so regardless. I owe you everything and you hold my soul.’
Aissatou threw her head back and laughed in complete silence.
Her eyes returned to green afterward. Her teeth beca ordinary again.
She continued laughing for a while before finally stopping, then stood from the floor and dusted off her clothes.
She spared one brief glance at the sleeping Cassie, smiled and walked away.
’Another one for my Lady’s collection. How wonderful.’
The old maid shook her head and made her way toward the prisons.
For a mont, her wrinkled face beca young and smooth again.
Only for a mont.
’Ti for a taste.’
—End of Chapter 169—
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