Chapter 116: An unaware, injured man
"Well my Lord, while you were away Lady Fiona spent most of her time in her study. A few visitors came by for her, including a messenger from the royal family, but no one knows what was exchanged." Cass nodded. "Lord Ridgewood remained mostly to himself, visiting the library and the training area as he normally does. Draken...had his spar with me, and then took off into the forest. He only arrived back into civilization the day you awoke." That also made sense, and matched with what Draken had told him himself.
"So he picked a fight with you as soon as I was unable to argue with him about it?" Cass asked and Sir Forsythe laughed weakly, but Cass knew that was the case. He grumbled. "That damn man." Byron snorted, slamming his hand over his mouth while Sam remained beside him.
"Would you like a sip of your tea, my Lord?" Sam offered and Cass nodded. Sir Forsythe paused, waiting for Cass to take his sip of tea, and Cass almost wanted to laugh. This was so much easier compared to when Draken tried to help him drink tea. Sam was an expert, after all.
Sam was even a little proud, and Cass could tell that they were having a similar, if not exactly the same kind of thought. Draken would have thrown a fit if he knew that both of them were criticizing him.
"Thank you, Sam." Cass thanked him, and Sam smiled, dipping his head while Cass turned his attention back to Sir Forsythe. He inclined his head, before speaking again.
"While it wasn’t right after you went into seclusion, it was a rather quick time after that. I...saved the most interesting news for last." Sir Forsythe hesitated, before he began. "Lord Vespertine and Lady Ava have been arguing non stop since you’ve gone into seclusion. The arguments have sometimes been behind closed doors, while it appears that Lady Ava for the most part likes to have these elaborate arguments where everyone can hear her." That appeared to be a personal opinion, but Cass didn’t mind.
So far, most of his people have been able to keep their biases from their reports. Once or twice wasn’t an issue for Cass, and given the stakes that were probably involved, Sir Forsythe had a reason to express himself.
Cass could feel his eyes sparkling at Sir Forsythe’s words. Damn it, he loved drama.
"Is that true? What have they been arguing about?" Cass was so excited. More about the gossip then the actual repercussions this could have on the hero party.
Fuck, wait a minute. Would he have to make sure that their little saintess wasn’t a total cocksucker? Because that wasn’t what he signed up for. He wasn’t about to rehabilitate two people if he didn’t have to.
"It appears that it has a wide range of topics, but for the most part they appear to be arguing about scripture and the meaning behind it." Sir Forsythe sighed. "I didn’t hate Lady Ava before, but...she’s said some rather awful things about non-humans." Sir Forsythe looked a little torn. "As you know, my Lord, I have friends I attended the academy with who are non-humans. It was hard not to react to her words and remain silent." Sir Forsythe said, and it was clear he was regretting remaining quiet.
Cass let out a deep sigh.
"Sir Forsythe." He looked up at Cass’ call and met his gaze. "You have my full permission to react if she does so around you again. I would be livid if she spoke like that around me, as we have several non-humans in my employ, and I am not my grandfather. I will not, and cannot let talk like that stand." Sir Forsythe seemed relieved to hear that, and Cass wanted to react poorly, but at the same time, who knew what Lord Blackburn’s official stance on non-humans was.
He clearly didn’t mind them, but had a problem with spies.
That made sense, given the fucking secret staircase up to his study. He had almost forgotten about that, but even now he couldn’t deal with it. He needed his hands to be able to go down the stairwell, and he didn’t trust anyone else to do it for him.
Plus, if there was one staircase, there had to be more surprises lying around here. Cass was itching to be able to investigate, now that it felt like he had some kind of a green light from Lord Blackburn, but he couldn’t.
His legs barely responded to him, his hands were bandaged, along with some rather important parts of his body. Cass couldn’t do anything at the moment, and he didn’t even know how long he would have his hands wrapped for. He was pretty sure he forgot to get that tidbit from the Doctor.
"Thank you, my Lord. I will keep that in mind." That made Cass think. If Vespertine and Lady Ava were fighting so much, why had he been there last night? Wouldn’t he have tried to avoid her if every time he met with her it ended with an argument? So why would he be outside of his rooms last night?
Cass couldn’t wrap his head around that, and he shook his head, dismissing his thoughts.
"Is there anything else I need to know?" Cass asked, not just to Sir Forsythe, but to the rest of the room. Sam made a soft noise in his throat, and Cass turned his attention to his lead henchman.
"Um, my Lord, there are rumours that another dungeon has manifested. It’s...quite a ways away, if the rumours are to be believed." Sam started and Sir Forsythe sighed. Cass spun his attention towards the other man, whose bruised face appeared stoic.
"It’s near the Blackburn manor, my Lord." Ah. Cass knew what dungeon they were speaking of then, and thankfully that meant that the flow of the story hadn’t been interrupted as he dealt with all of the things that he was going through. The injury after injury was quite annoying, but at least he knew he wasn’t needed much in this next dungeon. The fools that were going to work themselves to the bone were the heavy hitters, not Cass, nor Vespertine.
"Ah. Well, it has been quite a while since one manifested. I would expect nothing less from the Demon King." Cass muttered quietly, while all three of them stared at him. It was Sam who spoke up.
"You aren’t thinking of going, are you?" Sam blurted out, concern etched into his face, his hands shaking. Cass gave him a blank look as he sat in his comfy chair.
"I have to go, Sam. Unlike the other times I have turned them away, I can attend." Sam’s face scrunched up.
"My Lord, you aren’t letting what Lady Ava said yesterday get to you to make this decision, are you?" Sam asked. Cass was actually stunned that he even considered that as an option. Cass truly didn’t care what that woman had rambled on about, even if she had been right in some regard.
Cass turned to him fully, leaning back in his chair to smile at Sam, trying to comfort him.
"No, Sam, or any of you really, I am not making this decision to go into the dungeon if it is real, lightly. I should go, because I am able. I should be healed enough by then to go, and getting there will also give me more time to heal. I appreciate your concern, but I am a member of this hero party, and there are just some things I must do to fulfil that role." Hopefully he wouldn’t have to do this for much longer, but he would keep that part to himself.
The three of them looked quite upset. Sam was the most outward with it, but even Byron and Sir Forsythe seemed upset at his words. Byron was frowning, while Sir Forsythe let out a deep sigh.
"I will trust in my Lord’s words. I should take my leave. I believe you agreed to meet with Lady Fiona later today, correct? I shall keep watch near the doors until she arrives, and let you know of it." Sir Forsythe bowed, before disappearing and then it was just Sam and Byron. Sam let out a sigh of his own.
"I shall go fetch some food for you to ingest. You should eat as much as you can." He muttered, and Cass felt like he was trying to flee the room. Was he that upset? Cass had no idea why, but let the man leave.
Byron remained at his side, his face still frowning, and when he noticed that Cass was staring at him, he jerked.
"Can I help you, my Lord?" He asked carefully as Cass smirked. He couldn’t rest on his hands, so he was a little awkward, but now that he was alone with the man, he couldn’t help but ask.
"How is it going with Sam?" Byron’s face heated, and he turned his gaze away, covering his mouth. It was almost an instantaneous response, and Cass hoped that meant that there was some development. He loved romance novels, after all. It was nice to be able to watch a romance bloom around him.
"I-I don’t know what the Lord is talking about." Byron mumbled around his hand, and Cass grinned, chuckling.
"Oh, is someone embarrassed? That’s adorable." Cass teased, meaning the words. His smile was genuine as he looked up at Byron. Byron suddenly stiffened, before a knock was heard on the other side of the study door. Cass blinked in surprise, not expecting anyone to arrive at this time, nor did he hear Sir Forsythe’s voice on the other side. He wasn’t given any more time to respond, before the door was opened and the man stormed in, his expression dark.
Of course it was Draken, but why did he seem so angry so early in the-morning? Afternoon? Time meant nothing to Cass right now. What did matter was the angry dragon storming towards them.
He was wearing his usual billowy white top and tight black pants. His dark hair was flowing around his shoulders, and Cass would admit, he looked good. But his face was tense, his orange gaze only on Byron. Byron looked like he was going to be ill.
"Why are you finding another man adorable, Cassian? What is he doing that is so cute? I can do it too." Draken said, coming to a stop in front of his desk and slamming his hand against his chest. Cass stared in surprise while Draken continued on. "Look! I even went out this morning and caught you some fresh meat! I ran into Sam on the way in, and told him about it." Draken gestured to the gardens below. "I’ve kept it there until Sam is able to process it. Very fresh. I can be adorable too! Don’t compliment other dragons!" Draken was practically yelling, before he realised what he was doing and his face went red.
Cass sat in shock, staring at the man who now looked incredibly embarrassed. Draken coughed, clearing his throat before the ridiculousness of the whole situation took over and Cass started laughing. Both Draken and Byron turned their inhuman gazes to him as he continued to laugh. It was so funny to him that he could barely breathe, and Draken flushed an even darker shade.
"You don’t need to laugh that hard." He muttered, but that was it. He didn’t get mad, he didn’t throw a fit, he just...flushed and took it. Cass knew now that the feeling in his chest was from Lord Blackburn, and that confidence made him chuckle.
"You got jealous because I told Byron he was adorable?" Cass teased, before he laughed more. "Byron doesn’t even like me, Draken. He has another in his heart." Draken looked even more embarrassed as Cass spelled it out for him, and that only made Cass laugh harder. He wasn’t going to admit it now, but the way the man looked at this moment was extremely adorable, the damn goofy dragon.