Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 418: Chapter 418: You Honor Me, Lord

Chapter 418 – You Honor Me, Lord

The Museum of Legends had no choice but to accept defeat.

After what happened yesterday with the Burning Church, and the fact that the Deathless Prison itself had been attacked by intruders, the Widow of the Goddess was in a terrible mood.

And a Knight Seat in a bad mood was never good news.

Unfortunately for them, that was not all.

Clover Wealth had personally contacted the Museum, demanding an explanation as to how their minds could possibly have reached the conclusion that his own sister would — or even could — steal from them.

He went on to explain everything Meadow possessed, and even the Museum itself was shocked to discover that Meadow was far wealthier than anyone had imagined.

In fact, the Wealth Family had reached a level of wealth where they could finance an entire Empire — not a Kingdom, but an Empire — without breaking a sweat.

How Willow Wealth had achieved this was a secret that would probably haunt the world forever.

The Council Elders understood then that going against Meadow might be even more dangerous than going against Cassius.

Yet going against Cassius meant going against Meadow.

They were walking a tightrope.

All of this, added to the fact that the Queen of the Kingdom was supporting her grandson with the resolve of a bloody soldier on a battlefield, left the Museum with little choice but to bow its head in defeat before the Call of Justice could even properly resume.

They knew they would lose far more than they could ever gain by refusing to take a step back.

No one could guess the amount of shame they were experiencing at that moment, standing inside the Deathless Prison and admitting their wrongs before Cassius, a boy.

And the entire Kingdom was watching.

Journalists recorded everything, making the humiliation even worse.

Across the Kingdom, people began to celebrate, especially the women who had never wanted anything to happen to their beautiful Cassius.

Others were incredibly disappointed, wondering just when people like Cassius, Emrys, Raven, and that arrogant bastard Klaus would finally suffer some losses and difficulties.

These poor men and women raised their heads toward the sky, shouting and cursing at the gods.

Why was there so much injustice in this world? Why did these privileged bastards have everything so easy?

Yet the funniest thing, or perhaps the most disturbing, was that almost none of those complaining, envying, and cursing would have lasted a single day in the lives of those they called privileged.

No ordinary man would survive Raven’s condition. Even Cassius and Emrys would probably need years merely to grow accustomed to living inside his body.

No ordinary man could easily bear the sight of his own mother looking at him as though he were the greatest monster ever spawned upon the earth, while almost everyone around him saw him as a weapon before they saw him as a person.

And certainly, without any doubt, few men could bear thousands of years of a family’s history and future crashing down upon their shoulders the way Cassius did.

Yet many men and women looked at these same people and saw nothing but privileged bastards.

Cassius did not deny that privilege.

But on that day, inside the Museum, he showed them something else.

After the Museum of Legends willingly chose to step down, Cassius was given the opportunity to demand compensation for the humiliation he had suffered.

The Last Born was tempted to ask for one of the remaining six Artifacts.

But that would have been a terrible idea. A far better was to ask for something that might eventually help him obtain those very Artifacts.

And so, Cassius Desdemona publicly chose to forgive the Museum of Legends.

The entire Kingdom froze at the decision. Even his own family wondered what the hell was going through his head.

But Cassius was already thinking several steps ahead.

He told the Museum that he understood why they had doubted him, especially after the recent heist had left them agitated and suspicious.

Then Cassius himself apologized, admitting that he had been in a volatile mood after being subjected to such danger. His expression was entirely genuine, and even the High Priestess, Helene Mars, confirmed the truthfulness of his words.

That changed the atmosphere almost immediately.

The Council Elders realized they would not have to surrender anything as compensation, which greatly eased their minds. Better still, Cassius’s words had given them a way to preserve what remained of their dignity.

Slowly, the Last Born became more appealing to them, though some remained skeptical.

And that was when Cassius decided to use his One Lie Made Truth Ticket.

He chose the Lie:

’The Museum and I are very good friends. They invite me often to the Museum and share many of their secrets with me. They do not doubt me.’

Under normal circumstances, it would have been a rather enormous lie. But after everything Cassius had just done, it was no longer impossible.

And by applying the Ticket to the present, the consequences were barely worth mentioning.

With a single Ticket, Cassius became the beloved junior of the Elders, who began thanking him, asking for his forgiveness, and even inviting him to the Museum for tea and small discussions about the Heroes of the Past.

Cassius was tempted. He even promised to visit after his wedding.

And just like that, in front of the entire Kingdom, Cassius Desdemona gained himself another group of reliable friends.

Morenna Hood, Morgan, Dorian, and Helene watched the scene without knowing whether to laugh or cry.

They knew what Cassius had done. They knew the deaths his actions had caused.

And, most importantly, they knew that Cassius rarely did anything without a reason behind it.

So seeing him standing there, harmless and innocent, graciously forgiving the people who had wronged him, was such a stark contrast to what they knew that none of them quite knew what to make of it.

But it hardly mattered anymore. Everything was over.

Cassius had won.

And in the eyes of the Kingdom, he had chosen forgiveness over the justice he rightfully deserved.

His title, Angel, spread even farther, and travelers from the Kruppe Kingdom and the Holy Empire of Nuur watched everything with fascination, eager to return home and spread word of the Angel born in the Land of Death.

Especially the citizens of the Holy Empire of Nuur.

After all, Cassius Desdemona looked eerily similar to the person the Saintess of Nuur had once prophesied would come to the Empire and make the Church of Nuur exactly what it was always supposed to be.

Not a Church existing within the Empire. But a church as the Empire itself.

The whispers spread.

The Angel’s wings unfurled wider.

And somewhere within a Gate, a certain god found himself wondering who, then, might be the Fallen.

...

"I am sorry," Cassius said, looking at the wounds covering Helene’s body as a piece of him twisted with guilt. "I didn’t want to see you like this."

The Call of Justice was over, and the two were now inside a completely empty room provided by the Widow for the meeting the High Priestess had arranged.

Helene Mars stood a few steps away from Cassius, her entire body continuing to drip blood. She had needed to bandage herself almost completely to stop it from trickling down, leaving the bandages themselves soaked red.

Her black eyes were exhausted, yet a light of love and devotion still burned within them as she looked at Cassius.

That only made him feel worse. He had never expected Vorn to do this to his own. Or rather, the God Beast.

"It’s fine, Lord Seraph," Helene replied with a small smile, blood slipping from the corner of her mouth. She was simply happy that her Lord cared about her. "You must have had your reasons for doing this. I hope you achieved what you wanted."

"I did."

"Then I am glad. This pain will pass once the Lord of Death is no longer angry. I can bear it."

Cassius didn’t know what else to say. So he simply sighed, closed the distance between them, and pulled Helene into a hug.

Helene’s eyes widened. For a moment, her mind struggled to comprehend what was happening. Was her Lord, her very Angel, actually hugging her?

A shiver ran down her spine, and she immediately tried to pull away. "Please, no! Don’t touch me, my Lord! I am...I am tainted! I am sinful! You can’t—!"

"Thank you for your loyalty and devotion, Helene," Cassius interrupted, hugging her tighter. "I don’t believe I deserve this much simply because I didn’t scorn you when you confessed your sins to me, but I am grateful for everything."

Helene went completely silent. She tried to force out some words, but the warmth of Cassius’s body was strangely soothing, almost refreshing.

How could her Lord Seraph’s presence be this peaceful?

"I want you to be the one who seals my wedding on September 1st," Cassius said. "And stop saying you are sinful as though that makes you something separate from everyone else, Helene. We are all sinners. I have no right to condemn you when I sin too."

His voice lowered.

"But I do have the right to tell you when what you are doing will destroy you. And I don’t want you to die that way."

He remained silent for a moment before asking gently,

"So tell me. How are you doing? How are you managing your urges?"

"It’s hard, Lord," Helene breathed.

She still hadn’t hugged him back. Whenever she looked at her bandaged, bloody hands, she remembered those very hands doing things she despised yet loved.

She could not bring herself to touch her Lord with them. Even her body felt filthy to her, but neither could she anger her Angel by pulling away.

So the High Priestess simply endured the embrace, silently praying that her Lord might forgive her for allowing such a body to touch him.

Cassius did not see her that way. But he also knew he could not simply erase Helene’s perception of herself.

Not now. Not so easily.

"Hard, you say?"

"Yes. I am...I am used to it. I have been like this since I was young, barely ten years old. I can’t let go of it. Sometimes I feel like I will die if I do."

"You love it that much?"

"I need it that much," Helene corrected gently. "I don’t feel like myself without it. And when I decide to stop, sometimes all it takes is one look at a woman, or a man, and my mind begins struggling against itself. And when my mind fails, my body follows."

Her voice trembled.

"Then, when it is over, when that beast inside me is finally satisfied, I can think properly again. And I regret it, my Lord. I regret it deeply. I promise myself I will never do it again. Sometimes I last one day. Sometimes two. Sometimes three. Then I fall back into it."

Her tears began to fall.

"Then I regret it again. Over and over. It is a cycle I feel I will never escape from. I am tired, Lord. Tired of myself. Tired of disappointing you and disappointing myself. And sometimes, because I rarely have the courage to do it anymore, I look at myself in the mirror and all I see is a woman of faith who cannot even control her own desires."

Her voice broke.

"I am nothing but a stain. I can’t touch—!"

"You have been stacking far too many things inside yourself, Helene," Cassius sighed. "So many that you can’t even hug me back because of what you believe yourself to be."

His arms tightened slightly around her.

"That’s dangerous."

"I am sorry, Lord Seraph," Helene whispered, her eyes blurred with tears. "I am a sinner, and I will die a sinner. As long as you accept me, I can live with that knowledge."

"I didn’t mind accepting you as you were in the beginning."

Cassius finally broke the hug and looked directly into her eyes.

"But now I want you to change, Helene."

Helene shuddered as though his words had struck her.

"I am not asking you to wake up tomorrow and suddenly become someone else. I am asking you not to abandon the battle between you and your desires."

Cassius looked at her seriously.

"As long as you fight them, even if you lose over and over, I will be satisfied." He continued, "At least I will know that you didn’t surrender. That you are still trying not to let that part of you overwhelm everything else. So fight it, Helene. Every single day. And whenever you fall, get back up and fight yourself again."

Then Cassius remembered something.

"Just like the Fool once wrote in Tales of the Fool..." He smiled. "An unending battle between you and your inner desires, that’s what life is. And that’s exactly why it’s so difficult."

Helene smiled back through her tears.

"My unbounded love for lust will kill me."

"Eventually," Cassius agreed. "And mind you, death does not necessarily mean entering the Kingdom of Death. Sometimes you remain alive while something inside you dies instead."

He looked at her.

"So, will you fight yourself every day?"

"I...will try, my Lord."

"Even if you fail every day?"

"I hope I have the strength, Lord Seraph."

"You are stronger than you think."

"I hope I am. For you, and for me."

Cassius chuckled and nodded.

Helene’s mood had lifted considerably, and somehow, even the pain throughout her body felt lighter.

Afterward, Cassius asked her how life had been going lately and whether there was anything she wanted to tell him.

Helene’s world was rather monotonous, but once she began talking, she did so excitedly, happy that for once she was the one being listened to.

Cassius listened to every word with genuine attention, sometimes chiming in and occasionally asking for more information when the drama became interesting enough.

He even told her that he was writing a short story and asked whether she wanted to be one of his beta readers.

Helene was overjoyed.

Of course her Lord was talented enough to write stories too. So perfectly normal!

They talked for nearly forty-five minutes before Cassius finally decided it was time to leave.

"It was nice catching up with you, Helene," he said, looking once more at her condition. "If I ever meet the Lord of Death, I’ll make sure to pay him back for all this pain."

Helene chuckled. "You honor me, Lord. Your concern is already plenty. I no longer feel the pain, I assure you."

The Last Born smiled. "Nah, I insist."

Then he turned and began walking toward the door.

"Do your best, Helene. Now, if you’ll excuse me..."

He chuckled as a golden coin appeared between his fingers. Cassius flipped it, and the coin rose into the air turning, turning, and turning.

"I have some gamblers to bully."

[FINALLY!] Tysche shouted. [LET’S SCAM THEM ALL!]

—End of Chapter 418—