Chapter 247: Petty in so many ways
The talks went on for quite a while, and Cass ended up with a few contenders for his own home. One was actually right next door to the Blackburn estate, and Cass was really leaning towards that one.
Why?
Well, there were a few reasons, all of them incredibly petty.
The first reason? The simple fact that the house was bigger. Cass knew he said that he didn’t want a bigger house, but let’s be honest with ourselves here. He wasn’t trying to repair any bridges with his grandfather and the Blackburn family, he was just getting what was rightfully owed to Lord Blackburn which his grandfather had been withholding from him.
The second fact, how much of a damn power move would it be to show up in the middle of the night like they had, avoid the regular mansion and go stay at an inn, and then roll up in a carriage and stay in the vacant manor that was next door?
The third reason? The Blackburn family, not Lord Blackburn, had been quietly trying to buy the estate next door for a very long time. They didn’t even know that it was Lord Blackburn’s property because he’d bought it under a fake name.
It was juicy. It was delicious, and Cass was living for the drama of it all. So was Mr. Collins. He was very clear about where he wanted Cass to choose, the glimmer in his eye giving him away.
The second option was a house similar to the one that they were in now, near where Fiona lived actually, just a few houses down. It was around the same size, but hadn’t been taken care of as much as the other house. It was a character house, and had a lot of charm. Apparently that was why Lord Blackburn had bought it in the first place.
The third place? Well, that was also a flex.
It was the mansion next to the Vespertine family.
Honestly, it was just seeing who he wanted to pick a fight with, and currently, it was the Blackburn family. He’d already picked a fight with the Vespertine family, and probably the Ridgewood family as well. Why not make it a full combo?
Cass was chuckling to himself, and to Mr. Collins when he heard a carriage pull up to the house, the sound of several people chatting to each other, and then a knock on the front door. The voices were familiar, so Cass knew exactly who had come. That was why he fully expected the knock on the office door, while Mr. Collins, who Cass was assuming was rudely just a human, jumped.
"Cass, your crew has arrived with lunch. Are you done with your business?" Lucian asked through the door and Cass glanced down at the papers on the desk.
"Almost. Do you want to help them get it set up and by then I should be done?" Cass asked and heard Lucian chuckle.
"Ask and you shall receive." He said, and Cass felt his face turn down in a frown, fighting off the blush. Mr. Collins wasn’t paying attention to Cass’ expression, instead looking over his papers on the desk.
"So that sounds like you’ve made your decision already, my Lord. Which property did you decide on?" Mr. Collins asked, his eyes hopeful. Cass smirked.
"You and I both know what I decided on, Mr. Collins. I’m assuming once you leave here, you’ll be able to get the place at least staffed if I haven’t already and hand over the keys?" Mr. Collins nodded at Cass’ question.
"You could also send someone with me that you trust who I could hand the key over to, and then I can work on the staffing issue. There are only maids and gardeners staffed there to upkeep the mansion, not to serve you personally yet." Cass nodded.
"I’ll send them to your office once we finish lunch then. Did you care to join?" Cass offered, feeling that was the polite thing to do. Mr. Collins turned a shade of red Cass hadn’t been aware existed. He grew incredibly flustered.
"N-No sir. Thank you, my lord, for your kind offer, but I fear that would just give me indigestion. Eating with the heroes? I can barely handle working with one of you, no, two of you." He shuddered. Cass had to hold back his laughter in the face of the man’s genuine feelings.
Mr. Collins should have been a jokester in a different life.
"Ah. A shame then. Sir Forsythe will be the knight that I’ll send to visit you then. Are you going to be working out of your office for the next little bit?" Mr. Collins stared at Cass.
"Of course I will be if you are sending someone to fetch the keys, my Lord." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world and Cass realised he’d fucked up again. He was a Lord. They were not considerate of others. Right.
Cass let out a nervous laugh, before sighing.
"Yes, of course. I meant more if you were visiting the Vespertine manor after this." Cass tried to cover it up and Mr. Collins adjusted.
"Ah. No. Lord Vespertine told me that he only summoned me to speak with you, so I’ll be heading back to my offices. Has...Sir Forsythe been to my offices before?" Cass shrugged. He didn’t remember. He wasn’t even sure if he knew that.
"No idea. I’ll introduce you two once we leave the office." Mr. Collins nodded, and Cass got up and helped him put the papers away. Mr. Collins looked like he was going to faint because Cass was helping him, but Cass wouldn’t let him take no for an answer.
They were all of his damn properties, the least he could do was help the other man.
It was while he was picking up the papers that Cass realised that his hands were completely healed. No aches, tension, nothing. They were perfectly fine now. It was an odd thing to realise, and there was a grim part of himself that thought, ’ah yes, just in time for the next round’.
He tried to push that voice down, hoping that it wasn’t Lord Blackburn.
Mr. Collins opened the door to the office, Cass behind him, and Mr. Collins almost ran directly into Lucian’s chest. The man seemed surprised by the smaller man, as if they had both caught each other in an unexpected situation. Mr. Collins let out a small squeak, and Cass had to hold in his smile and laughter again.
"D-Dear heavens! My apologies, Sir Draken." Mr. Collins apologised immediately and Lucian waved it off.
"No worries. All done with your business?" Lucian asked, his gaze sliding from Cass to the smaller man.
"We’re done." Cass confirmed. "He just needs to meet Sir Forsythe for a moment since after lunch he’s going out for another task." Lucian nodded.
"I’ll show him to Forsythe, you head on out into the garden. Fiona and Ava set up lunch out there. Edgar isn’t going to be too happy once he arrives, but whatever." Lucian gave a dismissive shrug and turned, assuming Mr. Collins would follow him. Mr. Collins gave Cass a bow before he headed off.
Cass finally let a smile touch his lips as he shook his head slightly. What a chaotic gay.
Well, he was someone’s type. Hope he found who that was sooner rather than later. He deserved it.
Cass headed down the hallway, past the stairs and he could smell the flowers through the open doorway. He could also hear the girls laughing outside, and it almost felt like he was in a weird period piece. Like there was a camera following him or something.
Cass stepped out into the light, blinking a few times as his eyes adjusted from the dark office and found a pretty wrought iron table in white was set up for lunch. Cass came to a screeching halt upon seeing it.
It was the exact same table that he had sat at with Lord Blackburn. In fact...Cass looked around the garden, a sinking feeling of warped understanding filling him. This garden, this place...it was the exact same place that he’d met with Lord Blackburn after his week from hell.
The girls were still laughing, noticing that Cass was there but hadn’t called out to him yet. They only grew concerned when Cass didn’t approach at all, and instead stood there like a deer in headlights, colour draining from his face.
Fiona got up first, approaching him and placing a hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. Or, a gentle squeeze for Fiona. It was probably much stronger than she intended.
"Cass? Are you alright? You look as if someone just walked over your grave." Not the best words for what Cass was currently grappling with, but she didn’t know.
Cass was wondering if Lord Blackburn had been here before, or if the gods had taken that spot and given it to them. If so, why was he only able to speak to Lord Blackburn after he’d gone through hell? Why couldn’t he sit down like that with him more? What was going on?
"Have I been here before?" Cass asked quietly, and Fiona’s expression grew concerned concerned. It sharpened her features, making her lean forward.
"You’ve been to the front door before." Fiona told him quietly and Cass shuddered.
"Not here? Not outside in the garden before?" Cass confirmed and Fiona shook her head.
"No. Not at all." She said and Cass let out a shaky breath.
"Okay. Alright." Cass said, trying to grapple with what that meant for him. What it meant for Lord Blackburn. Those damn cunts of gods. He wanted to strangle them. "On a completely unrelated note, does the demon king have a shrine in town?" Cass asked the hero who was supposed to defeat said demon king and she stared at him blankly.
"What are you asking me?" She asked and Cass shook his head.
"Right. Sorry. I’m just boiling with rage right now and that was the first thing that came to mind." Cass told her, not soothing her worries in the slightest.
"Should I be...worried?" Fiona asked and Cass shook his head. He couldn’t kill a god. He was just a soul. He did want to cause them harm though.
"No. Not worried. Sorry, I know that was strange. Let’s just...sit down and eat." Cass mumbled and Fiona nodded, scanning his face, trying to make sure that he was actually okay.