Chapter 302: Alright, so maybe the fashion choices weren’t Lord Blackburn
With that weirdness sorted, Ser Hune went back to her meal down the hall, while Edgar remained behind. Finally, finally the door was closed and Cass could suffer in embarrassment and confusion alone.
Sam didn’t seem embarrassed in the slightest from his outburst, and Cass felt like he was being embarrassed for the both of them.
Edgar, for his part, was holding his tongue. Especially after Cass got mad at him. He was, however, grinning like a damn fool. Cass could practically see how excited he was to tell Lucian about this. Hell, probably Fiona too.
Cass forced Sam to sit down on the couch across from him, Byron behind Sam, while Edgar sat down with Cass and Cass gave him a play by play about what had happened, sans a lot of the stuff that happened in the dungeon.
One, most of it wasn’t important to what was going on right now, and two, Cass wanted to speak to him in private about most of the things that happened in the dungeon. He also knew that Lucian was suspicious of Sam, and Cass couldn’t exactly say that he wasn’t suspicious of Sam until he’d spoken to him about it either.
There were just too many things that needed to be cleared up before Cass could even touch half of the things that happened in the dungeon. So, he didn’t.
Cass watched as Sam’s face twisted with each word out of his mouth. About Lord Ridgewood and Vespertine’s Father, the ambush, the permission granted by the gods, the forced engagement, the revenge. The whole thing.
Sam looked genuinely horrified and had his hand placed against his chest the whole time Cass was talking, before a look of understanding crossed his face, and his expression relaxed. He swallowed thickly, glancing between Edgar and Cass, before he glanced back at Byron.
"You really...don’t need to take your anger out on me. Thank goodness." Cass was even more confused. Was this not a kink thing? No. You know what? Cass didn’t need to know.
He was done caring. That part of his brain was shutting the fuck off. He’d explained what was going to happen moving forward with Sam, that’s all he needed to remember.
"So we have about three days before this ball." Cass said and watched as Sam’s expression turned thoughtful, before it grew tentative.
"You...You’re time is-"
"-I am aware." Cass said, subtly glancing at Edgar. Sam slid his gaze to him before he gulped. Thankfully, he wasn’t an idiot, and was able to understand that Edgar didn’t really know. Lucian was the only one so far who did.
"W-Where is Lord Draken?" Sam asked, and Cass felt his lips twitch. It was a subtle disrespect, and Cass kind of enjoyed it. Edgar shifted on the couch next to him.
"He’s out doing another task for me. He’s kidnapping Lady Ava’s real family." Edgar stiffened next to Cass on the loveseat. Sam just nodded in understanding.
"Did she push your buttons too far, my Lord?" Sam asked and Cass closed his eyes, sighing.
"No. It’s to prevent someone else from using them as blackmail." Cass said, opening his eyes. Sam looked thoughtful, and impressed.
"Ah. Wonderful news, my Lord. You’re so smart." Sam said, gushing, and Cass wondered if there were lessons in kissing ass when you became a villain’s servant. Sam had apparently gotten a refresher while he’d been away from Cass’ side.
"Not smarter than the next person. I just want to control the situation." Cass told him. Sam nodded, and Cass just stared at him for a long, long moment before he continued explaining the situation.Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on
Sam listened intently as Cass finished up, and then Sam sat back, letting out a deep sigh of his own.
"Do we really need to let Lord Ridgewood move into this mansion?" He asked, skeptical. Cass clenched his hands on his lap, and Edgar shifted awkwardly next to him.
"I would rather have him under our roof than someone else’s." Cass said and Sam made a face at that.
"I would rather he not be within 10 meters of you, my Lord, but it’s your choice and your home. I will make sure to poison him if he bothers you too much. Something that will make him...not dead, but wish he was dead." Sam said rather ominously, and Cass shared a look with Edgar.
Sam didn’t know how that implicated him when it came to the medication issue, but Cass wasn’t going to point that out.
"Either way, he’s not allowed into the building until Lucian gets back from his mission." Cass said. Cass paused. "That should be relatively soon. It has been a day since he’s left." Cass said carefully and Edgar nodded.
"He’ll probably be home in the morning. Speaking of, you should head to bed once this conversation is over, Cass. You need to be at your best to deal with these fools." Edgar told him and Cass blinked, before he felt his shoulders relax.
"I will rest once we’re done with this conversation. I’ve got most of the things that I need done when it comes to research. Now I just need to make sure I have the right outfit." Cass muttered, and watched as Sam’s eyes lit up.
"You need something villainous, don’t you? Something that screams power, wealth, and something a little extra? I can do that!" Sam said with a bit too much glee. Edgar let out a soft exhale through his nose, and Cass snapped his head in his direction.
Edgar was covering his mouth with his hand, his blue gaze fixated on Sam. There was something in his gaze that Cass couldn’t quite place. Cass didn’t like it though.
"You’re probably going to have to go shopping, Sam. Cass and I went shopping and bought relatively normal clothes." Edgar warned him and Cass watched as Sam practically pouted.
"Why would my Lord do that? He looks spectacular in fancy, elaborate clothing." Sam muttered, almost as if he was speaking more to himself then to Edgar or Cass.
Cass had thought that the clothing choice had been Lord Blackburn’s. He was learning that he was wrong. It was Sam. Sam was the one who was dressing him up like a discount villain.
Cass pressed his open palm against his forehead, rubbing it there as he shook his head. Fuck.
Well, at least he wasn’t slandering Lord Blackburn anymore. Or hell, they could have been in on it together. Cass just wasn’t going to allow him to do that to his bedroom again. He just started living in a space that didn’t give him a headache. Minus the dragon bathtub.
"I will leave the outfit to you, Sam, since we do want to make a big impact. Beyond that, there is something I do need to discuss with you, and with Lucian when he arrives." Cass said carefully and Sam nodded, a look of knowing passing in his eyes.
"Of course, my Lord. Now that we are finished with our talk, you should go to bed. Shall I escort you there?" Sam asked and Edgar got to his feet.
"We should all go. I believe that Lucy had the intention that Byron would stand watch over Cass while he was away since Sir Sanders and Ser Hune are busy with general security of the mansion." Edgar told them and Byron nodded, while Sam got to his feet. Cass was the last up, his body aching.
He really should have gone to bed a while ago, but he couldn’t stop himself. He had a lot of work on his plate, and it wasn’t like it was over now that Sam was here. He had something completely different to worry about.
It was part of the reason that he hadn’t gone to sleep.
The hell week was approaching. He could tell. It was obvious. The loss of feeling like himself in the carriage had really solidified that, as well as the fact that he was allowing the two men so close without protest.
So Cass had pushed through the night, not sleeping, to get the research-heavy portion of his threat down in case he wasn’t able to fight it like he wanted and someone else needed to take up the mantle.
Who was going to do that? Eh, Cass was feeling like Edgar wasn’t a bad choice, and worst case scenario, Cass was going to tell Lucian that he could eat the King. it would certainly make a fucking statement, and then Fiona wouldn’t have to worry about being the daughter of the King anymore.
Cass snorted.
That train of thought alone should tell him he was tired. He didn’t normally think that allowing Lucian to eat people was a good idea.
"It’s bedtime for Cass, I think." Cass muttered, and Edgar gave a tiny smile.
"Bedtime?" He mused, and Cass glared at him.
"Yeah. Bedtime. You got a problem with that?" Cass snapped, irritated at his tone, and Edgar chuckled. He gently placed his hand on Cass’ lower back, guiding him towards the door. With a wave of his fingers the lights went out in the room behind him.
"Not at all. I just thought it was a cute way to say it. I didn’t think you of all people would say it." Edgar told him and Cass huffed.
"That’s rude. It’s a normal statement." Cass muttered, and could feel how Sam and Byron were watching them interact.
"Hmm. Of course it’s normal. I don’t know what I was thinking, saying it was cute." Edgar teased, keeping his gaze ahead as they moved out of the office and down the hallway. Byron and Sam kept a few paces behind him, the same way that they did when they were back at the manor.
"You’re walking a thin line." Cass warned Edgar, and Edgar gave him a cheeky grin.
"Oh? Are you going to hit me? I’ll let you do whatever you want to me." Edgar said with a wink and Cass felt his face flush. It wasn’t his fault that his mind went to the nastiest, raunchiest things he could imagine. Cass turned his face away, blushing.
"Absolutely not." He said sharply, no bite to his words. Edgar chuckled, but kept his words to himself. Sort of.
"A pity." Cass hated how he sounded like he actually meant it. Damn pervert.