Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 343: Chapter 343: Buried Pain

Chapter 343 – Buried Pain

"Ha-hahah, Master." Cassius said sheepishly, slowly getting up to sit more comfortably on the bed. "How have you been? It feels like ages since I last saw you. I truly—!"

"You see, I noticed something about you, dear disciple." Mallory cut in directly, a cold smile spreading across her lips. "Every time you start getting talkative, you either want to hide something or want something."

Cassius snapped his mouth shut, trying his best not to let anything show on his face, ignoring both Ananke and Marvela enjoying his misery.

"So tell me?" Mallory continued, leaning closer to him. "Which one is it this time?"

"I don’t know what you mean, Master."

"Are you openly lying to me now?"

Cassius paused, looking deeply into her silver draconic eyes before sighing in defeat. "You will know sooner or later anyway. So why not?"

"About the fact that you received another Blessing?" Mallory replied lazily, making Cassius’s eyes widen slightly. "Yes, I would have known sooner or later. Though I already knew."

"How...how did you know?" He asked, more curious than surprised after a second.

"I think you still underestimate me, dear disciple." The Dean’s eyes narrowed. "I can very well recognize the feeling of someone entering a Gate. That’s exactly what I felt a moment ago. And now there is something ’more’ about you, so it’s not hard to guess why."

Those words made Cassius even more curious, only realizing now that he basically knew nothing about his own master.

Nothing except the fact that she was a dragon, and that she had once known one of the dragons his eye was made from.

So he focused, and Mallory knew exactly what was going to happen before he even parted his lips:

"Can I ask you some questions, Master?" He said, his tone a bit more serious. "I just realized that I don’t know you enough despite all the time we have spent together."

"You don’t need to know me more than you already do."

"I might not need to." He nodded. "But I want to."

Mallory stared at him for a couple of seconds, looking at his magnificent beauty and eyes that seemed to pull her in.

Her disciple had truly become beautiful, and she didn’t need anyone to tell her why. It was obvious if one had lived long enough in this world.

’Adonis, huh.’ Mallory chuckled hollowly, not even knowing what to do with this situation. ’To think the husband of my daughter...the one who killed her after seducing her all for power...to think that my disciple now holds something of that very man.’

It was the greatest possible irony in a long time, and Mallory was not amused in the slightest.

Looking into Cassius’s eyes reminded her of that disgusting man, and she was exerting a considerable amount of self-control to force herself to differentiate the two.

It was hard. Incredibly hard, even for her.

’Why? And how is it possible?’ Mallory frowned while still looking at Cassius, who was beginning to feel something wrong in the air. ’I thought Adonis was among the Privileged Ones? I thought no one could use parts of his body as Characteristics except himself?’

If that was the case, why did her disciple now possess something from him?

There were many explanations, and Mallory hated each one of them.

And so one full minute passed in that tense, uncomfortable silence before Mallory sighed inwardly, finally answering:

"Tell me first, who is the god who blessed you this time?"

Cassius’s bad feeling was rising, slowly and dreadfully, like a snake slithering toward its prey. "Sleeping Beauty of the Eternal Kingdom." He answered. "Do you know her?"

Mallory frowned slightly before shaking her head, truly unaware of Marvela’s existence. However, considering that he had obtained this Blessing just after gaining, from who knew where, Adonis’s Eyes...

’...Maybe she is one of the numerous goddesses obsessed with Adonis in the past.’

"I don’t know her." She finally replied. "But I know rather well where your eyes came from. At least," her face turned slightly cold, "I know who they originally belonged to."

’Queen’s skirt, please no. What did Adonis do again, goddammit?’

"First," Cassius began, his lips twitching, "I would like to clarify that I am not Adonis, and I have nothing to do with him."

Then he lifted his hands in surrender.

"So if you, Master, were among the millions of women who fell in love with him in the distant past, then I am sorry to say that I cannot accept your love!"

Mallory’s face froze, and immediately all her worries evaporated.

"...What?"

"Please, Master, just understand me!" Cassius screamed out, half serious and half theatrical. "I have a wife! A wife!"

He raised his hand and showed her the ring where the name ’Isolde’ was proudly engraved.

"And I am not a cheater!"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting now, little bastard?" Mallory hissed, annoyed yet unable to stop the amusement stirring inside her, pushing back the darker sentiments from earlier.

"I am just a married, suddenly dangerously handsome man gently refusing to inherit someone else’s love." Cassius sighed wearily, like an old man at the edge of death. "You can’t imagine just what I went through, Master. A nightmare, I tell you. A real nightmare. I almost had a heart attack a dozen times in not even 30 minutes. Mind you, I am a healthy 18-year-old young man. How is that even possible?"

[...Are you damn serious, darling?] Sleeping Beauty said in bewilderment.

Cassius ignored her completely.

"Well, tell me what you went through, then." Mallory said, suppressing a chuckle, leaning backward, legs crossed. "But first," she then imitated his tone, "I would like to clarify that I don’t love you, dear disciple."

"What? You hate me?"

"I don’t love you romantically." She clarified.

"Phew! You gave me a scare. I thought all of me acting cute during our training sessions was for nothing."

"...So you were indeed doing it on purpose?"

"Yeah, of course." Cassius smiled innocently. "Did it work?"

An angry vein pulsed across Mallory’s forehead as she smiled coldly. "...It worked perfectly, disciple. I understand why women can’t let you go. You are going to create a mutiny in my lovely Academy."

"Sounds like sarcasm to my ears."

"Because it is."

The master-and-disciple duo continued their banter. And without even realizing it, Mallory was able to clearly differentiate Cassius from Adonis.

They were completely different. So different, in fact, that she wondered how she could ever have believed the two were the same simply because of their eyes.

She smiled more naturally, burying deep within herself the painful memories of her dead daughter.

She had to.

Because by seeing Cassius as a being of his own and not one linked to Adonis despite the eyes, she also subtly decided to put aside the hatred and anger she held toward Adonis.

And doing that made Mallory feel as if she were betraying the memory of her daughter.

She clenched her jaw and continued talking with Cassius even more, urging him to speak, as if his voice might convince the dark whispers inside her, or at least...drown them out.

They talked about so many random things that the subject eventually came full circle, returning to what exactly Cassius had gone through inside the Gate.

"So will you tell me?" Mallory said.

"I want to." Cassius replied, making a difficult face. "The question is, can I? I am afraid my new goddess will send a lightning strike at my poor soul."

The Dean knew Cassius was exaggerating, being his usual drama queen. But that day, she was in the mood to humor him.

So humor him, she did.

"Well," she said with a suddenly warm smile, "don’t be worried. You can tell Master everything, and no one will touch you in this Academy."

Then she paused, tilted her head slightly, and grinned mischievously. "Or maybe you prefer Mother instead of Master?"

Cassius’s face immediately twisted, a grimace scarring his features. "What’s everyone’s problem with mothers lately?" He cried out. "And Mother System dared to say I have mommy issues? How is it my fault if everyone wants to be my mother, damn it!"

"Who else wants to be your mother?"

"A goddess, mind you!"

[This is slander, darling. You asked me! You think I want this role? I am still young!]

’Where is your proof? And if you are young, what am I? Tsk.’

[Lady Ananke—!]

[I have heard nothing, and I saw nothing.] Ananke cut her off, immediately receiving a dark glare from Marvela. She smiled at her.

’See? No proof, no claim.’

"A goddess, you say?" Mallory barely stopped herself from laughing. "Care to explain in more detail?"

"Well, why, of course. But first..." Cassius smiled widely. "Are you sure you are not in love—!"

"I will kill you if you finish that sentence, Cassius."

"...Well, ahem! Alright. Where was I again? Ah, yes, The Goddess Who Wants Me As Her Son!"

He suddenly paused, blinked, then chuckled to himself.

"That’s some ReadNovelFull bullshit title right there."

"What?"

"Nothing. Hm, I was saying the goddess wanted me..."

[...I don’t want to be your mother anymore.]

’Too late, Marvela.’

And the lies continued.

And Mallory listened to the lies and knew they were lies. And Cassius still continued despite knowing his master knew he was lying.

Why would he stop?

When you are caught in a lie, just roll with it.

—End of Chapter 343—