Chapter 265 – You are Tired of Living
Meadow looked at Cassius, surprised. Of all the people she might have expected, William Castria was certainly not one of them.
Yet, taking a moment to think it over, it didn’t actually feel strange at all.
William was the Heir of the Tier Two Castria family, a swordsman family that cared about nothing except fighting and perfecting their swordsmanship.
Because of that, no one ever paid him much attention. He was always silent and stoic, as indifferent as a blade.
And with that personality of his...
"...it’ll be hard to recruit him." Meadow said to Cassius.
He nodded, "It will be. But I need to try. I want William with me. In terms of raw attack power, he’s honestly only below me and Emrys."
’And once he bees the Blessed of {Sword of Horizon} in the future, he’ll reach a level of power never seen before. Besides...’
His lips twitched slightly.
’...I need another man in my sect at this point. Being the only one is starting to stress me out.’
[That’s most men’s dream, you know, Cassius.]
’I’m not most men.’
[....]
"Alright, then." Meadow said, smiling faintly, "I wonder what his codename will be. I can’t think of anything that fits his personality."
"Neither can I. Guess we’ll find out once I convince him." He turned, ready to leave. "In any case, I’ll keep you all updated."
"Alright. And before you go, here."
Meadow pulled a box from her space ring and tossed it to Cassius.
He caught it just in time, and saw it was...
"...glasses?" Cassius muttered, mildly surprised.
"The first time we met, you asked me for a pair of glasses to look the part of the Great Editor you are." She chuckled, "Well, here you go, Mr. Great Editor. I had these missioned just for you. Hope you like them."
Without waiting for a response, she waved and walked off,
"Let’s talk by message later."
She was clearly eager to try out her pen.
Cassius looked at the box, then smiled softly.
"That’s really sweet of her." He murmured, then tucked the box away, planning to look at it properly later.
Smiling, he hailed a carriage, climbed in, and headed toward the Inner Ring, intending to visit his dear maid.
Once inside the carriage, thoughts began flashing through his mind.
’The only one who can help Océane is the Vice Dean. Only his faction has deep knowledge of monsters, Characteristics, and things like that.’
But the Vice Dean belonged to a rival faction.
His master had a solution, but it required him to go hunting for ingredients and find an Apothecary skilled enough to brew the right pill.
That was far too much trouble, especially given everything else on his plate.
’How do I solve this? Do I need to blackmail them? But for that I’d need something to blackmail them with.’ Cassius frowned, knowing next to nothing about the Vice Dean or his faction, ’Annoying.’
In the end, he decided to set the matter aside for now.
He’d try to gather the ingredients with Meadow’s help, where possible, while keeping an eye on the Vice Dean’s faction.
That was the best he could manage for now.
Settling that plan in his mind, he sat back more fortably and pulled out his book, Still Alive.
His expression gradually eased into peace as he read, his mind quieting.
Yet, somehow, at the back of his thoughts, an unwele question surfaced uninvited.
A thought that made him pause his reading.
’Where in the Queen’s name is Esmeray?’
...
"Can you get off me, Esmeray?" Dorian ground out, his voice thick with irritation, dangerously close to losing what little patience he had left.
He was in a hotel room on the edge of Vorn City, the room far too plain for his taste.
He lowered his head slightly, watching Esmeray cling to him tightly, sniffing at his scent like a dog.
Her expression was one of pure contentment, like dry soil finally soaking in rain after a long drought.
"Esmeray—!"
"Can’t you just let me have this in peace?" She grumbled, annoyed.
Dorian’s lips twitched, angry veins bulging along his forehead.
"You think I have nothing better to do than be your personal hugging toy?" He hissed, shoving her away, though Esmeray refused to let go, clinging to him tighter, "Get off me before I use force."
"You’d use force on your own family? Your lovely, beautiful aunt?" She said, feigning a sad expression, gazing at him with puppy eyes.
Dorian wasn’t moved in the slightest. He’d met enough women to be pletely immune to that kind of thing.
"It’s exactly because we share blood that I can’t do this anymore."
"You already refused to sleep with me, even after I told you I needed it to feel better." Esmeray said, this time genuinely dejected, "So the least you can do is allow me this."
"Why in hell are you talking like I owe you something?" Dorian replied, "Have you lost your mind? I’m only doing any of this because you’re my mother’s sister or niece, whatever. Fuck it, Esmeray, your Hood family’s tangled bloodline just makes this whole situation more unbearable. I’m losing my damn patience."
Esmeray finally released Dorian. But before he could even sigh in relief, she shoved him back, sending him sprawling onto the bed.
Without giving him time to react, she straddled him, leaning her face close to his.
Esmeray took in Dorian’s all-crimson eyes, devoid of white irises, and instinctively thought of her mother’s all-black ones.
They were beautiful. Yet piercing and cold. Esmeray could find nothing resembling love in those bloody eyes.
Not love for her, at least.
"You talk like I do this on purpose. Like I actually want to be close to you." She snapped, worn down by constant rejection, "if it weren’t for my situation, I’d never e near you, you heartless bastard."
"That heartless bastard put his affairs on hold to e here." Dorian replied, eyes narrowing, "And this is how you thank him?"
"We’re family, Dorian! This is normal!"
"My family is the Desdemona." He said mercilessly, and Esmeray shuddered at the coldness in his voice.
He continued without pause.
"And the only reason I’m here at all is to save face for my mother’s family. But I don’t care about any of you. Now get the fuck off me, or should I use force? Last time I’m asking, Esmeray."
He meant it, and Esmeray knew it.
So she swallowed her feelings and got off him, sitting on the edge of the bed, heart pounding, body trembling.
Dorian watched her and noticed her eyes growing wet. He cursed under his breath.
’I’m losing control of my emotions far too easily. Calm down, Dorian. There has to be a way out of this nightmare.’
He took a deep breath, pushed himself upright, and sat on the bed.
After a tense moment of silence, he spoke:
"Look, Esmeray," he began, as calm as he could manage, burying his face in his hands with a sigh, "I don’t mind helping you. But first I need to know, what’s actually wrong with you?"
Esmeray gritted her teeth and turned toward him, her face twisted into an angry grimace.
"You don’t care about us? Fine. You know what, Dorian? Fuck you. I’ll make sure your brothel gets shut down." She spat, pure spite in her voice, "And I’ll tell both our families exactly how you fucked me! Yes, you, Dorian! You fucked me, dozens of times! And you know who I’ll tell first?"
Her face split into a cold, angry smile.
"My lovely nephew, Cassius Desdemona."
A pregnant silence blanketed the room instantly. A silence in which Dorian turned his head mechanically toward Esmeray, taking in her expression fully.
Then, slowly — extremely slowly — blood began to pour from his eyes, a cold smile spreading across his lips.
As the first drop of his bloody tears fell onto the bed...
"I guess you’re tired of living, Esmeray."
...the bed dissolved into a puddle of blood.
—End of Chapter 265—
User Comments
0 comments from readers