Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 487: Chapter 487: Truth Revealed

Chapter 487 – Truth Revealed

"W-What?" Esmeray exclaimed, her voice unconsciously shaking and dripping with shock.

She staggered a step back, then another, managing to stop herself from falling only by sheer luck.

Silence immediately reigned in the room, blanketing them, more uncomfortable than any silence Esmeray had ever known.

Cassius was looking at her, confused by her seemingly out-of-place reaction, while Isolde’s face was neutral, though there was a small crease between her eyebrows.

Behind them, Esmeray’s mother, Morenna Hood, watched the scene unfold with a sense of exasperation and worry.

"Why are you asking me this question?" Esmeray said immediately after, her voice growing steadier. "It was so strange and unexpected that I almost tripped. Ha-haha."

To Cassius, who was used to dealing with people, it was clear that Esmeray was simply trying to act as if nothing had happened.

Somehow, the question he had asked had surprised her enough to make her react this strongly.

’But why?’ the Last Born mused. ’Why would she react so strongly when I have only asked a simple question? Is it because they have indeed seen each other, as the scent confirms?’

But even then, why would Esmeray act as if he had asked a taboo question, if that was all it was?

The two of them meeting was not something shocking – surprising, yes, since Dorian and Esmeray had never really gotten along – so why?

’This is strange. Something is going on.’

"I was just—!"

"Aren’t you going to be late, darlings?" Morenna chimed in, gently interrupting Cassius. "If you stay and entertain my foolish daughter here, you will never make it to the Flying Carriage."

Her words made both husband and wife glance at the time on their wrists. Their eyes widened soon after.

"We are so late for the flying carriage. It departs in 20 minutes!" Cassius said in alarm.

"Then why are you still talking?" Isolde hissed.

Her left hand snapped out and grabbed Cassius’s right one. With a last glance and a few parting words to her in-laws, she dragged her husband away in complete haste, their bodies blurring out of the room.

"Goodbye, Queen Morenna and Esmeray! Let’s meet again!"

"Yeah! See you!"

And they were gone, leaving mother and daughter behind.

Esmeray let out a long sigh of relief before dropping to the floor, her heart still pounding against her chest. "Vorn take my soul," she cursed, placing her right hand over her heart, feeling the turmoil. "My heart literally dropped, mother. I swear."

Morenna was looking at her daughter with a heavy frown. "Just what exactly made Cassius think of asking that question? Did you have something belonging to Dorian on you?"

"What? Of course not." She shook her head. "I mean, I do have some of his things, but I would never wear them. Let alone when I know I will be meeting his brother. I am not a fool, mother."

"Oh, really?" Morenna scoffed. "Then what was that just now? You know Cassius, Esmeray. He is sharp, and he has certainly noticed something amiss."

"But that’s all," Esmeray said, standing up. "He will never figure out that I am sleeping with his brother."

"You don’t need to say the word in front of me."

"Why? You did the same thing," the Princess retorted, her mood now dampened by her mother’s lecture and what had just happened. "I, myself, am a child of incest. Why would you be uncomfortable if I say the word sleeping?"

"That’s called basic respect for your mother, Esmeray." Morenna’s black eyes hardened, and a subtle pressure began to spill out of her body. "I might have neglected to teach you that when you were young, but I suppose, dear daughter, that it’s not too late."

Esmeray’s soul began to tighten strangely, as if her mother’s gaze alone was enough.

"Do you think I am your equal? I am your mother, Esmeray. And you will start minding how you speak to me, or I shall show you how," the Queen continued, stepping closer to her daughter.

Esmeray said nothing, closing her mouth, which had suddenly gone dry as cotton. She had almost forgotten how scary her mother could be when she wanted to.

"Do you understand me?"

"I do, mother," she replied.

"Perfect." Morenna’s smile returned, and all the pressure vanished. Esmeray breathed normally again, her back damp with sweat. "Now, do me proud and tell me, when do you plan to tell your brother?"

Esmeray tensed, her lips pressed tight. "I... don’t know. When I am ready."

"And when will that be?"

"I don’t know, mother."

"I’ll give you three days," Morenna said, raising three fingers, all of them ringed.

Esmeray’s crimson eyes widened. "Three what?"

"Three days," Morenna repeated. "Three days to tell your brother about your relationship. If you don’t, I will take on the burden of being annoying and meddlesome, and tell him myself."

"But why?" the princess almost shouted. Well, not almost. She shouted. "Why would you do that, mother? I will tell him myself, I just need time to figure out how!"

"That’s what the three days are for," the Queen said, her tone unwavering. "If you want to hide it from Cassius, that’s your decision. But Raven is your brother, and the one who has been looking out for you since the beginning. You will tell him, Esmeray, or I will. And I am not negotiating with you today."

Esmeray was speechless. She hadn’t expected this at all, and her heart was in her throat, about to claw its way out of her.

She looked at her mother and recognized the seriousness on her face.

Slowly, the princess began to tremble. "But... mother, what if... what if he isn’t okay with it? You know brother! You know he hates this!"

"Esmeray, you chose this," Morenna said in a cold, factual tone. "I warned you. Your father warned you. And you decided to continue this whole relationship. Good, that’s your choice, and we will not stop you. But just as we said..."

The Queen pointed at her daughter.

"...you shall bear the consequences."

BADUM!

Esmeray’s heart skipped a beat.

"If your brother is unhappy or doesn’t accept it, find a way. I do not want my children turning against each other or no longer speaking to each other." Her voice dropped. "I have enough of that already."

Morenna didn’t say anything else.

She turned and walked towards the door. Reaching it, the Queen halted for a heartbeat and spoke her last words to her daughter.

"And get ready to go back to the Academy."

Then she stepped out of the room, leaving Esmeray alone with her dark thoughts.

She raised both hands and clutched her head like a woman touched by madness, her eyes wide and pulsing with panic. "This... this is too soon. I need time. Time to deal with that bitch by Dorian’s side. Time to develop my relationship with him. Time... time to figure out what I’m going to say to my brother. Time. I need time."

Yet her mother refused to give her that time, and Esmeray Hood’s mind was already teetering on the edge of a shattered abyss, the stressful events she had endured lately piling up one after another, each threatening to deliver that final push that would send her plunging into the darkness below.

But she must not.

She must not give in to the stress, to the anxiety threatening to swallow her whole.

’Breathe, Esmeray. Breathe. Raven loves you. He really does.’ She forced a smile onto her face, but even that failed her, twisting into something almost deranged. ’He won’t despise you. I’m sure of it. I just need to explain everything to him, and he’ll understand. Yes. Yes, of course he will.’

Esmeray kept repeating these words over and over. Yet the more she did, the more her fear grew, and her breathing became labored.

Because she didn’t know.

She didn’t know how Raven would react.

And worse, she didn’t know what she would do if he refused to accept her relationship.

’Vorn take me...’

...

Cassius and Isolde had almost reached the flying carriage that would finally take them back to the Academy.

On their way, despite how much of a hurry they were in, Cassius still took the time to think about what had happened with Esmeray earlier.

"It’s strange, isn’t it?" he said, his voice muffled by the wind and the noise of the throng around them.

"You mean Esmeray’s reaction?" Isolde replied, walking as fast as he was.

"Yes."

"Yes, quite strange. But I still can’t understand why."

"Have you noticed anything different about Esmeray lately?" the Last Born asked. "Like a less volatile attitude, and the fact that she doesn’t flirt with just anyone anymore?"

"There’s also the fact that she doesn’t look constantly restless and, well, in need," Isolde added. "It’s as if the curse you said she had was... gone?"

"That’s exactly what I was thinking." He nodded. "What I’m wondering now is how? I thought Cupid’s Curse was harder to heal than this. What is going on?"

[Cupid’s Curse?] Persephone suddenly chimed in, hearing a very familiar term. [Did you just say Cupid’s Curse?]

Her voice was heard even by Isolde, who focused on the new goddess’s words.

’Yes? Do you know anything about it?’ Cassius replied, glad that Persephone had dropped the matter of meeting him for now, after Ananke and Marvela’s lengthy talks with her.

[Of course I do. I know Cupid, or rather, I knew him before he went mad.]

’Mad? Cupid is a Mad God?’ he exclaimed. ’How so?’

[Very long story. What interests me right now, my dear...]

Isolde’s eyes hardened. ’You can talk to him without saying dear.’

[...is the fact that your cousin, or aunt, doesn’t have Cupid’s Curse. Or at least, no longer.]

’We guessed that already. I am asking how.’

[Cupid’s blood can produce such an effect, but it’s highly unlikely that she managed to obtain any. The next possibility is that she found someone possessing Cupid’s Characteristic and engaged in what Cupid so gloriously calls Dual Cultivation.]

’Wait,’ Cassius muttered, his eyes widening as he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

As it happened, he was already quite close to his destination, the flying carriage looming just ahead of him.

But at that moment, he couldn’t have cared less about it.

’Did you just say Cupid’s Characteristic?’

[Yes. Do you know someone who possesses Cupid’s Characteristic?]

’I do,’ Cassius whispered, and suddenly, everything began to make sense, the scattered clues falling into place one after another until they formed a picture he desperately wished he hadn’t seen.

His heart sank.

’My brother has Cupid’s Characteristic.’

For a moment, the world itself seemed to stand still.

Persephone blinked in surprise, and then, slowly...

[...Oh my.]

—End of Chapter 487—