Last Born Of The Desdemona-Chapter 38: Screw that

Chapter 38 – Screw that

’Oh, Queen above, what in hell are they doing here?’

Cassius asked himself, looking at Anesthesia and Emrys, his heart refusing to stay steady despite his face showing nothing but absolute calm.

He was not supposed to meet these two Main Characters on the second day. Just like Isolde’s mother, everything was meant to happen on the third and final day, where Cassius’s fate would be completely sealed.

Yet here they were, at the second day, dragging him into a moment he wasn’t fully ready for.

’Ah, damn it all.’ He cursed, just as Isolde parted her lips.

"Anesthesia. Emrys." She nodded in respect, her face now carrying a gentle expression, completely different from the one she had been giving Cassius.

Cassius frowned subtly, said nothing, and watched.

"Not that I mind, but why are you both here?" Isolde continued, hands tight behind her back. "The meeting was—!"

"Ah, we were just bored, sister." Anesthesia didn’t even let her finish, still smiling. "So we gently asked mother to let us see you."

"Don’t involve me, Thesia." Emrys grumbled, stroking his clothed sword, clearly not wanting to be there. "I was not bored. You interrupted my training to drag me here."

He lifted his head and stared at Cassius, frowning. His Innate was reacting. Harder and more aggressively than it had with Isolde.

’How?’ He wondered inwardly.

"Don’t listen to him." Anesthesia waved a lazy hand, her purple eyes fixed not on her sister but on Cassius. "I was dying to see the Last Born of the Desdemona. And I have to admit, you are nothing like I expected."

Her smile widened, a strange aura settled over her, the kind that made people inexplicably willing to please her, or at the very least, instinctively well-disposed toward her.

Something uniquely her own.

That was why, the instant she appeared, Cassius heard the Snake of Adaptability hiss inside his head. It wanted to stir, but the conditions weren’t yet met.

It didn’t matter to him right now.

Cassius stepped forward confidently, standing beside Isolde. "Nothing like you expected, you say?" He echoed, tilting his head. "That’s true enough. I am certainly more handsome than whatever these bastards have been whispering about me, aren’t I?"

Anesthesia’s eyes lit up. "Oh, but of course. And—!"

"Tut tut tut not ’and’, let’s stop there, shall we?" Cassius cut in, interrupting her with a sharp grin.

The garden went completely still with choking and unexpected silence.

Isolde and Emrys’s eyes both went wide, staring at Cassius as if unable to process what had just happened.

’Someone... interrupted Anesthesia?’

They both thought it at the same time.

It seemed like a small thing. But never in their lives had either of them seen it happen.

Anesthesia was never interrupted. Not even their parents did it. Hell, she had barely heard in her whole life the word ’no’ directed at her.

All thanks to her Aspect — Resonance — which gave her the natural ability to amplify her presence so that those around her felt too ashamed, too shy, too overwhelmed to deny her anything.

Her power resonated with people, giving them the false impression that she simply deserved everything.

That explained the wide eyes she was currently wearing. "I beg your pardon?" She finally managed, surprise coating every syllable.

She lifted one leg and stepped off the wall. Gravity took her the rest of the way, her feet slamming into the ground sharply.

Dust rose briefly before the wind scattered it. The Chosen Heiress was completely unharmed.

Emrys sighed, grabbed his sword with one hand, and dropped down after her. He could already feel something irritating about to unfold.

Cassius said nothing at first, feeling Isolde shifting restlessly beside him at her sister’s approach — like a rat watching a cat close in with its teeth bared.

Isolde didn’t even notice herself doing it. It was too natural, too ingrained in her. She didn’t know it, but she was genuinely afraid of her own little sister.

A surge of dissatisfaction moved through Cassius’s chest.

This was exactly why he had said Isolde couldn’t touch Anesthesia. The proof was right in front of him. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

She had been so thoroughly beaten down, humiliated and overlooked by both of them that her mind had learned to fear them instinctively, and her body followed.

The Villainess was fighting hard not to tremble. It was useless. She was trembling.

And Anesthesia noticed immediately. Even so, the little sister didn’t even spare it a second glance, as if it was simply normal. She kept her curving eyes fixed on Cassius.

"I beg your pardon?" She repeated, stopping a couple of paces away. Emrys stood at her side, his eyes also not even passing over Isolde.

Isolde’s heart shattered further. In that instant she wanted nothing more than for the ground to open and swallow her entirely.

That was usually what she did by finding an excuse to disappear, retreat to her room, and smoke away the cowardice and self-loathing until the feeling passed.

But she couldn’t do that today. And she became even more aware of that when she caught a glimpse of Cassius’s smile.

A smile...and yet Isolde had this instinctive feeling that he was furious.

"I said," Cassius began, looking at Anesthesia without flinching, "that we stop here. You are interrupting something. As you can see..."

He raised his right hand and draped it across Isolde’s shoulder.

"...I was getting to know my wife."

"Oh my." Anesthesia’s smile didn’t move. "If that’s all it is, then isn’t this perfect? I know my sister better than you can imagine. I can tell you everything you want to know."

She paused, then continued. "All I want is to spend a little time with my brother-in-law and get to know him better. After all, we will be family, won’t we?"

"Shame." Cassius shook his head with mock regret. "The feeling isn’t mutual, I’m afraid."

All three of them twitched at the words.

"But I see you are not going to leave us alone easily." He pressed on, eyes moving between Anesthesia and Emrys. "Then let’s make this quick. Tell me, dear sister-in-law, what kind of game do you want to play to entertain yourself and your puppy?"

Emrys’s eyebrows climbed, wondering briefly if he was the puppy. He found it funny. Almost.

"You—!"

"Ah, screw that." Cassius scoffed, cutting Anesthesia off again, this time earning a genuinely annoyed look, the smile finally beginning to wear thin.

"I, Cassius Desdemona, will choose the game." He declared, and without letting any of them recover from that.

"No need for anything complicated, is there, friends?" His cane appeared in his hand and he swung it smoothly onto his left shoulder. "One attack. Only one. Whoever lands a hit first wins."

"And I bet my space ring and everything inside on us winning." He paused as if briefly reconsidering. "Don’t let my wealth intimidate you into backing down, though, I’m a merciful man. Bet whatever your pocket can manage."

Three pairs of eyes narrowed slightly. Anesthesia and Emrys both feeling insulted in a way they hadn’t anticipated.

Cassius wasn’t finished.

"Only two people will fight." He looked at them. "So sort it out between yourselves and decide who steps forward and what you’re wagering. As for us..."

He stepped closer to Isolde, who was still dazed by the absurdity of everything, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I choose my lovely, beautiful and utterly sweet wife right here."

Isolde snapped her head toward him, eyes wide with disbelief. She opened her mouth, then shut it immediately as Cassius leaned close, his voice low and firm against her ear.

"Now, darling, I’ve just bet an entire fortune. Not that I mind losing it, I am embarrassingly rich, but..." He whispered. "You won’t lose, will you?"

Isolde Amaris went rigid at his voice against her ear. She looked past his shoulder at the irritated expression on her sister’s face and the exasperated look on Emrys’s.

Her lips trembled, fighting back a wide smile at the sight of those expressions — expressions she had never once caused herself — as she whispered back to her fiancé.

"You are fucking crazy, Cassius."

He grinned.

"Don’t disappoint me, darling."

And right at that instant...

DING!

[You have received a Fated Quest: Well, then, Why Not?.]

[Description: As expected of you, already provoking these lovely children chosen by many on your very first encounter. Wonderful.

But now that you’ve started, do it thoroughly.]

[Rewards: 10,000 VP]

—End of Chapter 38—