Chapter 89

Sep 05, 2023

Cassis had scooped me up so quickly I could swear I saw the top of his head for a moment.

“I-I never said I was too tired to walk!” Honestly, I could never work out what was going through that man’s head!

Upon hearing my protest, Cassis glanced down at me. “Didn’t you? Then it seems I misunderstood. Though you weren’t being very clear.”

Nonsense! What wasn’t I clear about?! “Well, now that you know, why don’t you set me back down?”

“The thing is, it already took you about five minutes to walk from the castle back to the annex with me, so this way—my way to be precise—is faster.”

And with that, he continued to walk back while carrying me in his arms. I was beside myself, but his explanation concerning our travel time had been so dry and clinical that I figured it wasn’t worth arguing with him any further. Besides, he’d just ignore me and claim it was for my own sake.

“Haa... whatever.” It really wasn’t worth getting worked up over, so I just rested my chin on his shoulder. As soon as I did, I spotted the two Fipellions we had left behind in the distance. I was sure they had watched the entire scene. They looked so shocked that I honestly thought their eyes would pop out of their skulls if it were physically possible. But that was understandable since Cassis had taken me by surprise as well.

“You really don’t care what others think, do you?” I asked. I knew the answer but wanted to voice my annoyance all the same.

“I never realized that about myself, but now that you mention it I suppose I don’t.”

“Then I guess it won’t do me any good to tell you that I do care, huh?”

“My advice is to just go with it.”

Just go with it. I really couldn’t fathom just how long he intended to continue in that ridiculously carefree fashion. I returned my chin to its resting place on his shoulder, then turned to face the blue sky where gawking eyes couldn’t find mine. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the sky seemed much clearer and brighter than it had earlier that day when I was going in the opposite direction toward his father’s office.

When I finally looked down again, I was met by various people standing around who were either gawking at us or rooted to the ground like statues. Even Sylvia who had evidently just arrived to meet us appeared a bit shocked. But then a huge smile stretched across her face just before she disappeared back into the gathering of onlookers and out of our view.

Good grief...

There really was no way to describe what I was feeling at the moment. All I could do was bury my face in Cassis’ shoulder in an effort to hide from the spectacle I’d become.

* * *

Later that night, I stepped out onto the terrace to get some fresh air and was met by someone I hadn’t expected to see. The olive hair was like camouflage among the trees and plants filling the garden. Olin must have sensed my presence because she was already looking up in my direction.

“Oh! Good evening, Miss!”

Her greeting was as courteous as ever. Although she tried to sound casual, I could tell she wasn’t just in the area.

“I’m well. Thank you for asking. But what are you doing here?” I felt the need to ask as I hadn’t seen her since my arrival to the Blue fortress.

Apart from when I went to meet Roussel, I had mostly only been in and around the annex building, so it made sense that I hadn’t run into her until that night. The only odd thing to me was that she didn’t seem to just be passing by but was there on purpose.

“We’ve been ordered to tighten security in and around the annex, Miss.”

I figured it was because of Orka, then nodded to indicate my full understanding.

“Our perimeter watch wasn’t enough, so we’ve initiated a three-tier security plan, which is why I’ve been posted here.” Olin frowned as she explained everything as if she could see the very scoundrel responsible for all the precautions.

I assumed she must be thinking about Orka. According to Olin, she and her unit had been on security duty the night before when he had snuck over to the annex. It was clear from her expression that the fact he had gotten past all of them so easily wasn’t sitting well with anyone. But honestly, what could they have done?

After all, not only is Orka Fipellion one of the novel’s male protagonists, he is renowned throughout this fictional world as the White Demon Tamer. As he was someone who had survived countless close calls with demon monsters, there was no denying his physical prowess. Quite frankly, I’m sure he eclipsed the other three male leads when it came to stealth and agility especially. In other words, he wasn’t someone to wind up captured if he didn’t want to be.

As I was thinking, there was a sudden commotion far off in the distance. Something was happening at the back of the annex. I wondered if Orka was up to something again. He had apparently attempted to sneak into the building earlier that day before getting nabbed, so I had to wonder why he was so set on coming inside. Admittedly, the thought that he might have tried to force his way in through the back entrance this time made me uneasy.

That side wasn’t far from Cassis’ terrace where I had first spotted him. So if that was where he was trying to get to, then he had likely mistaken it for my room. All I could wonder was if he was so hell-bent on getting inside that building because he suspected I was the master of the poison butterflies. As I pondered his motives, I turned toward the source of the noise again.

“Do not worry, Miss. We’ll keep you safe.” Olin spoke with such determination in her eyes that it was clear even in the darkness that her sense of duty had bubbled up to the surface. What a trustworthy soul she was.

It seemed Olin had made it her personal responsibility to defend me not only from Orka but from all foreign dangers. I supposed since she had really only seen me during the journey from the Agrece compound, she was likely under the impression that I was some helpless damsel in distress.

It was either that or likely because Cassis was always treating me like I was infirm. I wasn’t really sure what to think or say in response to her resolve, so I just smiled and said a simple thank you before returning inside.

* * *

Before we had been interrupted, I made another discovery. Olin was indeed her name. Or at least sort of. Her full name was Olivia Olin, but since the two sounded so similar, she had been called Ollie or Olin all her life. At some point, she just decided to go by her surname and found it was better that way for everyone.

Olin told me a great number of things like that while standing guard from below my terrace every night. According to her, Cassis referred to all his knights by their given names rather than follow the common practice of addressing his subordinates by their surnames. Truth be told, our conversations were more like gossip sessions, but to me, that was fine in its own way.

Olin seemed a little surprised whenever I addressed her, but she never hesitated to answer me. Not that I talked to her all the time, but it was difficult to pretend there wasn’t anyone there whenever I decided to go out on my terrace. That’s how we ended up having small chats here and there. Besides, it wasn’t unpleasant talking to her, and it kept my mind free of the idle thoughts which had increased since my meeting with Roussel.

“Although I think I should let you know one thing. It’s about what became of the Agreces.”

His words seemed to rattle around in my head several times a day.

“Cassis said I should first ask whether you wished to hear about them. Well? Do you?”

I thought if I had given him a different answer, my heart might not feel as heavy as it ended up feeling, but deep down I knew if I were to go back in time I would make the same choice. Thus, the anguish was mine alone to digest.

Whether I sat in my room or out on the terrace, mulling over the matter seemed to keep me permanently lost in my thoughts. One late afternoon, I decided to go to Cassis’ room. I hadn’t seen him anywhere else in the annex. Even now, I’m not quite sure how else to describe what he was doing to me, but...

Every day we were together, Cassis transferred his life force into me. Whenever he put his lips to mine and let his pure energy flow over, my body would become warm, and my head would become clear as if the filth trapped inside me was being cleansed.

Earlier that day, he had dropped by my room again to do exactly that. However, during that particular visit, he continued to press his lips to mine even after the transfer had stopped. Even so, things had yet to go much further than that.