Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 488: Chapter 488: Uncomfortable Truth [Bonus Chapter]

Chapter 488 – Uncomfortable Truth

[...Oh my.]

Cassius stood frozen on the spot. People walked all around him, some sparing him a glance or two, others wanting to come closer but too afraid to under Isolde’s icy glare.

Many thoughts crossed his mind at that moment, and all of them led, inevitably, to one single, dreadful question: How?

How had this come to be?

How had Esmeray and Dorian gotten together?

And most importantly, how in the Queen’s name had he not realized this sooner?

’Oh, Queen,’ Cassius whispered, his eyes blank. ’Is this really the truth, or am I just reaching for a very unlikely outcome?’

He would have loved for it to be the second case, but Cassius was not stupid.

Recalling how the scent lingering on Esmeray had been so similar to that of Dorian’s cigarettes, and how she had reacted when he asked whether she had seen his brother, coupled with the additional information Persephone had just given him... if Cassius still failed to conclude that Esmeray and Dorian were involved in that kind of relationship, then he would be a fool and more.

"Are you okay, Cass?" Isolde asked, worried at the sight of her husband’s shocked expression. An expression she most certainly shared, now understanding the relationship between Esmeray and Dorian.

"Okay?" Cassius muttered, blinking. "I don’t know, Isolde. Is there any way I can be okay, knowing that my brother is in a... relationship?"

"You don’t know for sure." Isolde shook her head, trying to give him a sliver of hope. "Maybe we are all misunderstanding something here. Maybe there is more to this situation. You don’t know the full effects of Cupid’s Curse, Cass."

"I know," he replied, his right hand running back through his white hair. "But what are the odds that we are wrong?"

[Close to zero,] Persephone chimed in again. [If we are being realistic.]

Cassius and Isolde looked at each other, the situation fully settling in their minds. They were supposed to hurry and board the flying carriage, but the discovery they had just stumbled upon made it hard to go on.

Contrary to what most would believe, given how well he got along with the Hoods, Cassius didn’t fancy that kind of relationship at all.

And he knew that his siblings hated it even more.

That was one reason they had never been close to the Hoods. They had seen what that kind of relationship had done to their mother, how it had hurt her in a way few could ever manage, and that was crossing a very dangerous line for the Desdemona.

So the very fact that Dorian was doing the same thing that had wounded their mother was incomprehensible to Cassius. Just what could make the man choose to cast that aside?

Arriving at that question, the Last Born realized that, contrary to what he had always believed, he knew little to nothing about his siblings’ true motives.

’Lucian and Lilien are never around, always somewhere outside. But doing what? I don’t know, and I’ve never even tried to find out. The same goes for Morgan. I know she’s an assassin, but what exactly is she pursuing? Strength? It can’t possibly be just that. And then there’s Dorian. He’s the most ambitious among us, that much I know. He owns inns in the Kruppe Kingdom and brothels in both kingdoms. But for what purpose? Again, I don’t know. And most importantly... just how far are my siblings willing to go to achieve their goals?’

Because Cassius was fighting for them, in a way.

But then a dangerous question crept into his mind, one he had never truly considered before: what if the very people he was fighting so desperately to save were willing to discard their own family, and even the feelings binding them together, if that was what it took to achieve their ambitions?

’No.’ Cassius shook his head. ’The Desdemona are not like that. We... are not like that.’

However, one problem still remained: he didn’t know his siblings as well as he thought he did.

’All this time, I have been interacting with them based on what I knew from the Game,’ he thought, his lips pressed tight. ’I have taken their love for granted, and believed that I was reciprocating it. But I was mainly responding to their love, not cultivating my own by going beyond what I knew from the Game.’

Again, how come he had only realized all of this now?

Cassius let out a long breath, his heart tightening in pain. He turned and looked at Isolde, who was still silently waiting for him to collect himself.

When she noticed his gaze, she smiled gently, holding his hand. "You are back. I thought I was going to be waiting for an hour."

"I don’t know my siblings, Isolde," he said immediately. "I thought I did, but I don’t. How come I never thought Dorian could do something like this?"

"Why would you believe you could know?" Isolde arched an eyebrow, then pushed him forward, guiding him towards the flying carriage that was about to depart. "Your siblings are just like any other people. Do you really believe you can know every facet of a person? You can’t, darling."

"I know that," he grumbled. "But there are facets I should know. Like in this situation, I should have known that Dorian was capable of doing something that had once hurt our mother, for... I don’t know, for what even? Power? Pleasure? No, he can’t be that horny. And even if it were that, why Esmeray, goddamnit?"

"Calm down," Isolde whispered to him as they neared their destination. "There is no need to think about all of this. There is a simpler way: ask him."

"Ask him?"

"Yes. Call him or text him, and say you want to meet. Then talk to him. He’s your brother, and the one thing you can’t doubt is his love for you."

Cassius fell silent at that, just in time for them to arrive in front of the wide, white-and-blue carriage. The flying carriage had no driver; it would depart automatically once the time came.

And there were less than two minutes left.

"Alright," Cassius replied, his voice low. "I will send him a text. I believe if I ask Master to let him into the Academy, she might allow it."

"Then it’s settled," Isolde replied. "But before the meeting, you had better have at least an initial answer."

"To what?"

"What will you do, for example, if it truly is that kind of relationship? Will you accept it, or will you refuse it?"

Cassius didn’t reply.

He sincerely didn’t know, and right now his mind was so exhausted by so many things that all he wanted was to take a break and sleep.

So he sighed, opened the door of the carriage, and stepped inside. Isolde followed closely behind.

However, once inside, Cassius halted abruptly, looking at the people sitting in the carriage with surprised eyes.

Soon, a dry, humorless chuckle escaped his lips.

"Coincidence?" he said.

"Why am I not even surprised? You are always late, bastard," Klaus said, sitting on the left side of the carriage in his uniform, looking at him with a smile.

"Careful now," Love, sitting beside him, added. "Cassius is a married man now. Hi, Isolde! I have missed you so much!"

Isolde rolled her eyes. "And yet you haven’t texted me once."

"To give you some personal space with your husband, of course. What else?"

"Don’t trust her. She is lying. She doesn’t care about you, Isolde." Klaus grinned mockingly. "But I do. Call me brother-in-la—!"

"Shut up!"

Klaus’s mouth was shut by Love’s punch straight to his stomach. He cursed her, and Love returned it with a worse curse.

"Tsk." Emrys Stormblessed, sitting directly facing the carriage’s door, clicked his tongue. At his side was a cat girl Cassius recognized from his wedding. "I truly regret missing the earlier carriage. Now I am stuck here with these people."

"I... am sorry. It’s all my fault," the girl said, her accent strange, showing she had only just learned, or was still learning, the language.

"What?" Emrys shook his head. "It’s obviously not your fault. It’s these people’s fault! And don’t be afraid of them, Naia. I told you, they won’t dare touch you with me here."

"Is that an invitation, storm cuck?" Klaus arched an eyebrow.

"Not like I want to touch this toy of yours, but is it wise to tempt me?" Love added.

"I dare you," Emrys said coldly, looking at the two of them. Naia began to snuggle closer to the Chosen One, still not used to these people.

Cassius wanted to smile, but his face was strangely stiff.

He looked to the right side and saw Omm Min Jambar sitting with a peaceful but awkward smile.

At his side was Jeanne, her head leaning on Omm’s shoulder, her eyes closed as if none of this noise reached her.

"Well, my dear boy Omm," Cassius said, "I have underestimated your game."

’This sight would have made Meadow thirsty for blood. Oh, Queen...’

"It’s... it’s not what you think, Cassius," Omm whispered.

Jeanne chose that moment to open her eyes. She glared at Cassius, then at Isolde, before closing her eyes again as if she didn’t care about any of them.

"What a rude girl," Isolde commented.

"Ruder than you people entering without a greeting?" Emrys added.

Isolde stared at her past childhood friend and, cocking her head, said, "Sorry, who are you again?"

"You—!"

Emrys’s next words were cut off as the carriage took flight.

Cassius and Isolde took the opportunity to sit down next to Klaus and Love, not sparing a glance at Emrys and his new woman.

The Last Born in particular was not in a joking, provocative mood. He was busy sending his brother a message asking for a meeting, ignoring Love and Klaus bickering with each other the whole way.

And just like that, Cassius returned to the Academy.

—End of Chapter 488—