Chapter 272: A man on his knees
Cass finished up the last of the nobles for the day. He wondered if anymore were going to dare show their faces tomorrow after word got out what he did to the last of them.
All of them left shivering, sweating, staring at Cass like they had never seen him before. One had even said that he thought that Cass was better than his grandfather, and it appeared that he was wrong. That part stung.
He wasn’t like his grandfather. He wasn’t a bigot, and wasn’t trying to kill anyone. He was trying to save people, he was a fucking hero. They didn’t know that, and it was mean and rude of them to say that he was like a true monster all because they weren’t getting what they wanted from him.
He also knew that people in the kind of trouble that they were in were never going to be rational. It wasn’t his fault that they had gotten used to relying on Fiona, the money that Lord Blackburn gave, and the fact that the group wasn’t speaking to each other about their personal issues. So what if the group was talking now?
That should be a good thing, and instead they were throwing a damn tantrum and not doing the most basic thing in the situation.
Not fucking once had he heard an actual apology for what they had done. It was like it wasn’t even in their vocabulary. Cass had to take a moment, think about the differences between his time and this time, and wondered if apologising wasn’t actually in their vocabulary. Was he being too harsh? Was that only a poor person thing?
He knew that Lord Blackburn hadn’t done it a lot, but he was villain coded so he had a little bit of leeway compared to the others. He also wasn’t sure who to ask about this either.
Cass was mulling over those thoughts, moving through the foyer with Sir Forsythe at his side, moving from the side of the mansion that had all of the meeting rooms and going to the side that had his new office when a knock sounded on the main doors.
Cass had dismissed Ser Hune from manning the door a while ago, letting her have a little moment of rest with Sir Sanders. She’d even asked permission to go see the nursery tree, and Cass had given it to her. She had been so excited, and told him that the trees would keep an eye out.
Which was why Cass was so confused. One, he didn’t really know how trees kept an eye out, and two, who the hell would be dumb enough to come to Cass’ door right now?
He was sure what he was doing was going to spread through the nobles in the capital. He didn’t think it would be a commoner. He didn’t know any, and there was a distinct level of fear between him and the commonfolk.
Though, someone could be looking for Fiona.
Still, Cass glanced at Sir Forsythe, who had gone on full alert as another three knocks sounded out. Cass couldn’t place it, but they did sound familiar.
"Should we answer it?" Cass asked out loud, thinking, and Sir Forsythe let out a sharp exhale.
"My Lord, I’m at your side, but we don’t know who is there." Sir Forsythe said and Cass let out a chuckle.
"We won’t know until we open the door, Sir Forsythe. That’s why I asked." Sir Forsythe made a face at the logic that Cass was spitting, but then just sighed and stepped back. That was about as clear of a sign as any that he would defer to whatever choice Cass made.
Cass let his curiousity get the better of him. He was tired, yes, but he also liked to know things. So, he went for the door as a third round of knocks sounded. Cass’ hand slid into the doorhandle, feeling the metal there, before he opened the door.
He was not expecting who was on the other side.
A man was there. A man he was familiar with. Cass almost slammed the door in his face, but the downcast look, the way the man was somehow soaked to the bone even though there was no rain around, and the true despair in his gaze when he raised his eyes to meet Cass’ had him pausing.
"Lord Ridgewood, what are you doing here? And why are you soaked?" Cass asked, his tone sharp, and Lord Ridgewood flinched.
"I...I came to apologise, but as I was walking through the trees they dumped water on me." So this was the alert that Ser Hune was speaking of. Well, Cass couldn’t exactly deny that it was somewhat efficient. It did tell him someone was here, and it also made him feel like an ass if he turned him away.
Cass’ grip tightened on the door and Cass heard Sir Forsythe unsheathed his blade behind him.
"Sir Forsythe." Cass warned and heard the man growl behind him.
"He tried to have you outed, my lord, as a fucking demon. To the high priest. That basically says that the man wanted you dead!" Sir Forsythe, a man who normally held his tongue, wasn’t able to do so at the moment. "I can’t believe I dared to ever look up to his form. What a-" Cass watched as Sir Forsythe’s words made Lord Ridgewood flinch. There was something to that that had Cass’ body on high alert.
"Sir Forsythe." Cass chastised, cutting the man off from rambling. "Enough. We are all aware of what he did." Cass said, his voice cold. Lord Ridgewood flinched again, sucking in a deep breath before Cass watched on in silence as the man, not even in the door, fell to his knees before Cass. He was illuminated by the light from the foyer pouring in, catching the glittering red of his hair.
The clothes Lord Ridgewood was wearing clung to him, and Cass realised he wasn’t wearing the normal thick layers that he normally did, nor was his sword by his side. He was practically naked in Lord Ridgewood terms as he folded in half, head pressed against the stone tiles just outside of the doorframe. His hands were above his head, his ass up, his face down as Cass stared at him.
"I know that what I’ve done can never be forgiven. I’ve spat in the face of not just your trust, but everyone’s trust. They warned me, everyone did, that if I did it that there would be no going back. I was so stuck in my own worries and concerns, my own backward thinking that I didn’t take the time to consider anything else. That was the very reason why no one let me know what was going on. Why you didn’t trust me with the truth." Cass heard Lord Ridgewood swallow. "I was a fool, an idiot, and I still am. I’ve...always tried to play it off like I’m smart, intelligent, but I’m a damn idiot. Sir Forsythe is right to spit and curse my name. I didn’t even protest when they came into the estate to punish us." Cass wondered if he wanted brownie points for that.
So he asked.
"Do you think you deserve a medal because you didn’t confront them?" Cass asked softly and Lord Ridgewood went rigid, before he shook his head. He didn’t raise his head and Cass watched on, mildly interested.
"No, no! I’m not-I didn’t bring it up for it to sound like that. I just...After you left me alone with the High Priest in the temple I just...I had to question everything I had ever known. Every little thing I had been taught. I feel like...I’ve always felt that you’ve known a lot more about the world than I do." Lord Ridgewood admitted, and Cass was surprised to hear that. "So when I saw what happened to you...when you started to behave strangely I thought that it was my time to catch you messing up. I didn’t know-how could anyone know that something else entirely had happened." Lord Ridgewood said quietly, before he exhaled. "It’s no excuse, none of it is a valid excuse. I still messed up, I just wanted to explain why I did what I did." Lord Ridgewood was shivering.
Cass felt his face harden.
For fucks sake.
"Why are you telling me all of this? I don’t need a damn sob story about why you betrayed me." Cass said and watched as the other man didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. Like he anticipated Cass being harsh. Fuck. The man was doing better than any other of the fucking nobles he’d spoken to today.
"I know. You don’t need to hear my sob story, I just...I thought you deserved an explanation as to why I did what I did. I still...Even I am still trying to understand the true depth, and what my purpose is anymore. I’ll probably...I’ll probably be by to apologise again once I figure out more. Again, I’m sorry Lord Blackburn. I shouldn’t...I don’t have the right to call you by your name." Lord Ridgewood said, before he let out a bitter laugh, still staring at the tile. Still face down. "I should have realised how much grace you had inside of you after everything that Lady Ava was putting you through. I’m a fucking fool." Lord Ridgewood.
Cass hadn’t anticipated that he would be by the next day. He had no idea that he’d see him at all. He thought...well, he thought that the man was truly done with him.
"You don’t want to see Fiona?" Cass asked carefully, and watched as Lord Ridgewood flinched again.
"She’ll kill me." He admitted. "Honestly, they all will, and I’ll deserve it. Fiona left...a note yesterday. Told me I was dead to her." Lord Ridgewood’s voice held some remorse to it. "I deserve it. I was wrong for what I did, to everyone, and to you. Especially to you. The gods haven’t even forgiven me, and I don’t blame them. I have a long line of repentance ahead of me." Cass couldn’t disagree with the man, but Cass’ own guilty conscience was getting to him.
The longer the man stayed there, the more he was shivering. He knew that he was a capable man, had always been a capable man, and had more muscle then Cass could currently ever dream to have, but fuck. He’d been a wet and shivering man before. This was not going to bode well for him.
"Fuck. It was the tree’s fault for getting you wet. The least I can do is make sure you don’t shiver to death on my property. Sir Forsythe, go get Lord Ridgewood a change of clothes, and no back talk." Cass warned, turning to give the man a look. He could see that Sir Forsythe disagreed with his behaviour, with his choice, but he held his tongue at Cass’ words.
Lord Ridgewood raised his head, shock on his face. He truly had not anticipated that Cass would do this. Honestly, Cass wasn’t sure why he was doing it either. Old feelings he had for the man?
How he had liked Lord Ridgewood the most when he’d read the book? He wasn’t sure, all he knew was that what he was doing felt like the right thing to do. And hell, it wasn’t like the trees couldn’t soak him again when he was leaving, right? At least this way Cass left the situation with a clear conscience.