Sam came back, his face a little puffy, but he looked calmer and better. Byron was glowing, and Cass had a feeling that there was a deeper story behind that, but Lucian decided to come out with a trail of maids carrying the meal.
Byron basically bullied Sam back into a seat and then was pushed down by Lucian as he passed with a firm look from the older dragon, and a chin motion that implied he needed to sit down too. It was honestly rather endearing, but Cass made sure that Lucian didn’t catch on that he was watching.
Lucian made sure that food went down in front of Sam first, and then pivoted to turn towards Cass. Cass felt his chest tighten as he realised that Lucian had taken his words to heart. He made sure that Sam and Cass, the two members of the group that could be affected severely by the food in front of them, were personally taken care of by him.
Lucian could tell that Cass was quite happy with what he’d done, and his chest puffed out, a glow on his face and aura as he had his own plate placed down next to Cass on the other side of him and he slid into his own seat.
"Does it look good?" He asked and Cass stared down at the large, warm meat slab along with potatoes and veggies that looked vaguely like food he knew from his world but he was slowly acclimatizing to, and nodded.
"Yes, thank you." Cass said, knowing that he was capable of eating the food. Cass watched Sam, checking his reaction and Sam seemed mildly impressed as well.
Cass looked around the table, checking to see that everyone was okay. Even Ser Hune seemed interested in her food, which to Cass, was a miracle. He knew how picky his sister had been when she was pregnant, but Ser Hune didn’t seem to have the same problem. Or, at the very least, not yet.
The room was quiet for a little bit as everyone dug into their food. Cass was impressed by everyone’s table manners, including Sam and Byron’s, while Lucian was very much a dragon in human skin. He always was a bit of a messy eater, but he made sure it never went past what he considered his area.
Cass, a little embarrassed, reached out with his napkin and wiped at some of the spots he’d made on his face, neck and hands. Lucian paused as soon as Cass touched him with the soft fabric, his eyes narrowing as Cass worked. Cass thought maybe he was upset, but instead, Cass swore he heard a purr come from the other man.
Startled, Cass pulled away, and Lucian gave him a wink. Cass, flustered, put his napkin back on his lap and turned back to his food but caught the way that Edgar and Lord Ridgewood were looking at him. Edgar was looking at him, smirking, like he’d caught Cass doing something naughty.
Oddly, it reminded Cass of this morning and damn it, that made Cass blush more. Lord Ridgewood was looking at him with a rather calculating look on his face. However, Cass didn’t find that it was negative, but more that he was fiercely observing Cass. Maybe he was trying to catch everything that Cass was doing? Trying to gauge who Cass actually was? Or maybe he was trying to find something that made him look bad? Cass wasn’t sure.
Speaking of things he wasn’t sure about, he still hadn’t seen or heard anything from Fiona and Lady Ava. Not a peep. By now he would have at least had word from her, or something along those lines. The fact that he hadn’t made Cass a little worried. Should he go check on them?
"So, when are you planning to go back to the mansion?" Ser Hune’s question shook Cass from his thoughts and he raised his head from the plate of food he’d been staring at and up to meet Ser Hune’s gaze. She was smiling at him while Sir Sanders cut up her food, rolling her eyes.
"I’m not quite sure. I was going to speak to Fiona about that. We’ve left quite a mess in our wake since Lucian ate a bad demon at the ball recently. The nobles are all quite shaken up, so I wasn’t quite sure if we should leave right away because we don’t want them to spread stupid rumours. Like we’re fleeing because we did something bad versus that we saved people from a demon." Cass said and Edgar gave a soft, annoyed sigh from next to him.
"That is exactly something that they would do. The only benefit we have right now is that we have my father on our side for this situation. He would not, will not let them get away with trying to sell his future High Priestess to another country. They will not get away with disparaging the Hero either." Edgar said, sounding confident. Lord Ridgewood gave a bitter smile.
"I would not have such faith in your father." Lord Ridgewood warned and Edgar glanced at him, his eyes curling up at the corners into a rather handsome smile as he looked at the other man.
"I’ve never had faith in him. I’ve always had faith in the power he desires." Edgar said and Cass was actually slightly envious. He didn’t have that kind of faith in his grandfather or anyone else who was jerking his chain. Must be nice to have at least one thing to be sure about.
"So, as per Edgar’s confidence, we’ll probably stay for a little bit longer and probably try to get some publicity done. I don’t know. Help a few more orphanages? Feed the poor? Things like that?" Cass suggested mildly and watched as Lucian, Lord Ridgewood, and Sam stared at him.
"What?" Sam questioned, before his eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth. Cass glanced at Edgar, who was a little less surprised, but had a silly grin on his face.
"You’re going to do the work that Avie does?" He asked and Cass curled his lip up at the implication.
"What? No! These are just, uh, common things politicians, er, nobles from my time would do to build rapport with the common people. The difference is, I actually mean it." Cass said firmly, defending himself. Lucian chuckled, smiling at Cass.
"So you were actually supporting the orphanage near our human den?" He asked and Cass nodded, not needing a long time to translate what he was saying.
"Yeah. Why wouldn’t I? Kids are innocent in all of the hell that adults put them through." Cass said. "Why should they suffer? I was honestly worried that the people in charge of the orphanage were bad people. I’m glad that wasn’t the case." Cass said. He slid his gaze to Sam, who perked up.
"Do you need me to look into it?" He asked, excited, and Cass shook his head.
"Not for two days, remember? You’re taking time off. I’ll ask Mr. Collins first, especially since I need to speak to him anyways." Cass realised his folly as soon as he watched Sam stiffen and the smile dropped from his face. "Sam, I’m not replacing you, he just has more knowledge of this city. Plus, I’ve spoken to Byron already about that incident, and now I need to speak to him about it. Plus, other properties I have that are similar to this one." Cass said, and watched as Sam swallowed, nodded, but didn’t seem convinced. Cass was kicking himself internally.
Damn it. Shit. That was the one person he should not bring up around him.
Edgar’s soft snort beside him had Cass instinctively reaching out and smacking his arm. That made Edgar turn towards Cass to muffle his laughter more.
"I apologise on Cass’ behalf that he dared to bring up the mere name of that hussy around you." Lucian said, sounding so damn sincere that Cass jerked his head in his direction. Outwardly, it looked like Lucian was completely sincere. Truly apologising in place of Cass, but it was the eyes that gave him away.
There was a small sparkle in them that Cass was sure Sam couldn’t see from his spot at the table. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be nodding slowly, glancing between the trio as if he wasn’t quite sure what to believe. He was also the colour of a tomato, so it was clear he was embarrassed. Cass kicked at Lucian’s leg under the table and Lucian’s expression didn’t waver.
"Hussy?" Ser Hune repeated slowly, glancing at Sam before swinging her gaze to Cass. "Who in the world was called that title? Was it by Byron?" She asked and Sam looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. Cass deeply sympathized with the man.
"It wasn’t me." Byron admitted, looking pretty embarrassed himself. "Sam and I have talked about it. He’s regretful of the words he used." Byron spoke for Sam who couldn’t speak for himself at the moment. He was too embarrassed.
"It’s a pretty fun word. He shouldn’t apologise. I just feel it was used on the wrong person. If anyone is a hussy here, it’s probably Eddie." Lucian said and Edgar gasped.
"I am not a hussy! I’ve been loyal to my people!" Edgar protested and Lucian raised an eyebrow at him.
"’Your people’? How many people is that?" Lucian asked and Cass watched as Edgar’s jaw dropped. Cass loudly cleared his throat.
"The pot is attempting to call the kettle black, are we?" Cass asked, sliding a pointed look towards Lucian. "I’m sure I remember you telling me about the parties you used to attend? How many people have you slept with? I think you should watch what you say, before you’ll get labels that will not only be accurate, but hurt." Cass warned and Lucian slammed his mouth closed, looking sufficiently chastised. Cass turned to Sam. "It’s alright Sam. People tend to get a little more dramatic when angry. I’m not taking that as a mark against you. Hell, I’ve said way worse." Cass said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Ser Hune grinned.
"Cass has a potty mouth." She agreed and Cass nodded in agreement.
"I do. A rather serious one. I have to tone down what I really want to say, a lot." Cass admitted.
"If our Lord is saying you can relax, Sam, you should take it." Byron spoke to his partner softly and Sam let out a very dramatic sigh.
"I just...I cannot hold myself to the same standards as our lord. He’s better than I am." Sam sounded so serious, it was actually quite cute. Cass chuckled.
"Why not? We’re practically the same." Cass said and Sam’s eyes widened. He looked horrified at the comparison.
"There is no way we are even remotely similar! I am made of a completely different-"
"You were made by the demon king, I was made by the demon king. How does that make us any different?" Cass was half teasing, half serious. Sam was sputtering, flustered. He was actually pretty upset.
"How is that different?! It’s incredibly different! I was not made from the demon lord’s seed! I was made from his demonic powers. His essence. You were made to be sustained by a completely different entity. I-I am a leech." Sam admitted. "If I don’t have a stronger demon around me, I will not survive." Now Sam’s statement, which had sounded a bit like a threat before, made sense.
He needed stronger demonic energy to survive.
Cass wasn’t even that surprised to hear it. Instead, he just shrugged.
"So, does that make us cousins or something?" Cass asked, teasing the other man and watched as Sam grew frustrated, but he couldn’t get fully upset at Cass. It was cute how he was struggling between being respectful and his anger. It was clear how someone like Mr. Collins got called a hussy if this was how he reacted.
This was probably the most ’demonic’ thing about Sam, how his anger overwhelmed him. Byron was staring at the man lovingly as Sam struggled against his inner demons.