Cass realised that it might have been silly of him to wait for Lord Ridgewood to check on the windows from the other side. He knew that outwardly, he could just open the door. It was his fucking house, he had every right to do so.
He didn’t need to wait to see if someone had broken in. He could just...open it. However, he really, really didn’t want to walk in on the girls.
Really didn’t want to do that at all.
If there was even the slightest sign that something was wrong from the outside, he’d feel better about opening the door. He’d even thought about how he was going to open the door too. He was going to use magic.
He was pretty excited about that. Not about having to open the door, but being able to use magic to do so. He kept forgetting that he had an excess ability that was always in his back pocket. He was going to blame the fact he came from another world, and he meant it too.
However, it took not as long as Cass was expecting for Lord Ridgewood to do the task of checking the outside and to come back. He also looked shaken, even from a distance, and Cass didn’t hesitate to turn towards the door and begin to magically mess with the locked door.
By the time that Lord Ridgewood reached the door and Cass, the door was unlocked. Cass had heard it click.
"What did you see?" Cass asked, his hand on the handle. Lord Ridgewood let out a labored breath, huffing, placing his hands on his hips.
"Ropes. Leading out of the room and down the side of the building." He confirmed and Cass grimly nodded. Alright. He had complete justified reasons to do this then.
Nervously, Cass turned the knob of the door and winced as the door creaked open. However, he shouldn’t have been so worried about the sound of the door disturbing anything.
No one was there.
The bed was made, there wasn’t an article of clothing displaced. It looked like...someone had just gotten the room cleaned and that they were going to be right back. Cass didn’t trust it.
He went to the dresser closest to him and opened the drawers. Empty. Nothing was there. Cass’ heart was pounding in his chest as Lord Ridgewood went to the window where he’d found the ropes and let out a heavy sigh.
"Clearly tied from the inside. These look like Fiona’s work." He told Cass, confirming his worst fears. He really hoped they were just doing someone to ’spice it up’. He really, really hoped so. But to do that in someone else’s house? That seemed like something neither of them would do.
He hoped it was something neither one of them would do.
Cass closed the dresser drawer maybe a little too hard before he turned and scanned the room. It was a little bit smaller than Cass’ upstairs, but was done in the same style. Just one big room with only two doors in the room. One they had just entered through, and the other was, presumably, a bathroom.
However, unlike Cass’ room, this room had a little desk setup next to the nice couch that was set up in the middle of the space, making it feel more comfy and cozy.
Cass made a beeline for the desk.
On top of the desk were four letters, each with the men’s names on it. The one for Cass was on top, and swallowing, Cass grabbed the letter and tore it open.
What he read left him laughing in disbelief.
Dear Cass,
I apologise that I wasn’t there to give this to you in person, but I feared if we told you our plans, you would attempt to prevent us from going. You see, after what the King attempted to do to Avie and I, I just couldn’t stand there and take it.
You were a great inspiration for my actions, actually. Watching you grow, change and become a better person has made me realise I’ve let those I thought I should trust push me in directions I never would have allowed before I got this mark on my body.
Ava is mine, and I am tired of having to hide that and not live authentically like myself. Like you’ve said, or at least meant to say, it’s not safe for people like us in our own country. It won’t be safe until something changes.
However, I don’t think I have enough power to do so. I needed your help to save the woman I love, and that...
Either way, I spoke to the gods. I told them I was torn. I told them of our plight and they gave us a suggestion to do in the meantime. Avie and I are going to go traveling around the world, spreading the word of the gods and dealing with dungeons as they come. We were originally worried for you four, not wanting to make this harder for you, but the gods assured us that they would protect you and give you the necessary powers to clear dungeons on your own.
After all, you are a hero as well.
Cass, I truly appreciate everything you’ve done. For me, for us, for everyone. Without your words of encouragement, without your insight, I doubt I would have been able to make this tough choice.
I hope you can understand why I’ve done this, and forgive me for it.
Ava has told me to tell you we will come back once the country is safer, but currently there are too many bigots and demons for either of us to feel safe remaining in the country. Too much power is out of our hands, and roaming around the roads means I can just kill someone if the offend me instead of speaking pleasantly to them to pacify them.
Thank you for everything,
We’ll send you letters, promise,
Fiona Adderberry
Cass threw the letter on the ground in frustration, letting out a shout of annoyance as he did so. Lord Ridgewood, who was unaware of what kind of betrayal Cass was feeling right now, jerked and came running to his side. He scanned Cass, checking to see if he was physically safe, before turning to the tossed letter on the floor and the letter that was on the desk labeled with his name.
He didn’t have to wait long before Cass spoke, pushing his hair out of his face with a jerky hand.
"They fucking left." Cass growled. "They fled! All because of one fucking little marriage proposal!" Cass roared. He was pissed. He knew there was fucking nuance to this situation, but he didn’t give a fucking fuck!
"What?" Lord Ridgewood asked, confused, and Cass swallowed and turned, not able to stand still as anger rocked through him. Fuck.
Lucian had to be on his damn way given how violently he was reacting to everything.
Cass gave a harsh laugh, running his fingers through his hair, wanting to pull it all out as he paced the floor. Lord Ridgewood, the fucking gentleman, didn’t read the letter that Cass had tossed to the floor and instead read the one addressed to him.
Cass could hear him tearing the envelope open, and presumably, reading. Cass was frustrated as each second ticked by. His feet made quick work of the floor of the room and Cass realised that this space wasn’t as big as he thought it was. He could barely move a few feet before he had to turn and walk back towards Lord Ridgewood, and then repeat.
He felt a sick sense of satisfaction as he heard Lord Ridgewood give a rather loud exhale, the paper crunching in his hands.
"They’ve left?" He asked, his voice deceptively calm. Cass let out a loud, harsh laugh.
"More like fucking fled." Cass said. The anger inside of him was twofold. First, he was angry that they couldn’t have been fucking adults and spoke to them, to him about their fucking concerns. It was clear that they were willing to speak about everything else with him, but this? This they had decided to keep from him?
Those fucking fuckers!
The second reason? They had gone to the gods and the gods had given them what he was supposed to do. They had favoured Fiona and Ava so much that they had given them his job! Cass was the one who was supposed to leave! Cass was the one who was supposed to get out of this fucking country and leave everything behind! He was supposed to be the one who cut all ties, moved somewhere far away and kept the demon king at bay!
Instead, they had given all of the fucking work to Cass! Put it at his fucking feet and told him to deal with it! And, on top of fucking everything, Fiona hadn’t even fucking divorced him! Or the others!
Fat fucking chance that ’Ava was hers’ when she was still married to four fucking men! What a fucking hypocrite!
Cass hadn’t felt this angry since before Lucian had bit him, and fucking hell, he was ready to explode.
Those bitches! That’s what this was, bitch behaviour. Gender had fucking nothing to do with his feelings on this. Bitches were bitches, and this was bitch behaviour.
Cass had even asked her to divorce him and she’d shot it down. Had she been thinking about this the whole time? Had she heard his request, laughed, and then turned around and stabbed him in the fucking back?
With the help of the fucking gods, no less?
Who the fuck was he supposed to trust? The gods? Absolutely not. The demons? Fuck them too. The humans of this world? Cass laughed even thinking about it.
What the fuck was Cass supposed to do? This was so fucking unfair that he just wanted to-he wanted to run away too!
Fuck this world! Why the hell should he be helping them? Why the fuck should he be helping anyone when they were just going to continue stabbing him in the back?
The door hit the doorframe as Lucian came rushing in, his chest bare and his hair wet.
"What’s going on here?" He demanded, his voice low as he scanned the room with a bright, reptilian gaze. Edgar was behind him, equally as wet. They looked shocked and worried, and Cass just wanted to laugh.
They looked fucking ridiculous.