Cass was actually thankful for this moment of peace. He was in a rather opulent room, no one else was around him, and he could just...push everything to the side and be at peace. It was interrupted by the shaking he could feel from the other side of the couch. Lord Ridgewood was tapping his foot on the floor as he waited. He was rather impatient for someone who tried not to make this situation about him.
Cass glanced at the man next to him who was sitting a respectful distance away from him, his arms crossed, his body tense, and his left leg bouncing with anxiety. His outfit made his reaction even more ridiculous. He looked like a bitchy knight doll and Cass did his best not to smile.
He did not think that Lord Ridgewood would find this moment as funny as Cass was finding it.
"Byron, can you hear anything?" Cass asked, turning towards the man who was doing his best to blend in. Byron stepped forward until he was at the back of the couch. He raised his head slightly, blinked a few times, and then glanced down towards Cass.
"There are a lot of voices in this place. I think whatever magic they are using, it makes everything sound layered. Complex. It’s hard to listen in on others." Cass honestly had expected that in a sense. The Temple shouldn’t have an easy to understand magical shield. It was the seat of the gods in this world. All temples should be hard to interfere with. He was sure that the demons were the same.
"Alright. Are you able to see if anyone is passing by the door in the hall? Is that easier to focus on?" Cass asked and Byron shifted, moving closer to the door. After a moment, he nodded.
"It sounds like there isn’t a lot of movement past this part of the temple." Byron said and Lord Ridgewood exhaled slowly. He sounded pissed, and as Cass slid his gaze from Byron to Lord Ridgewood, Cass could see how his face was darker, angrier.
"If I could lay my hands on the High Priest..." He muttered angrily and Cass blinked, before he laughed. Lord Ridgewood jerked his head towards Cass, surprised. Cass leaned against the armrest, smiling as he looked over at Lord Ridgewood.
"It’s kind of amazing to see this turn around, Gideon. Are you getting this upset for me?" Cass asked and watched Lord Ridgewood’s eyes widen and his mouth open slightly. He blinked, before Lord Ridgewood’s face flushed and he looked away from Cass.
"I...I am. I...This is the right thing to do." Lord Ridgewood said and Cass gave a soft chuckle.
"The right thing to do? Or just the right thing to do now?" Cass asked and watched him squirm. He looked guilty immediately, and Cass chuckled. "I’m just teasing. If they don’t show up in the next 10 minutes, we’ll go to the main temple and then we’ll leave. While it’s important for me to tell Duke Vespertine what is going on, he can find out like the rest if he doesn’t make time for me." Cass told him and watched as Lord Ridgewood relaxed slightly at that. He looked relieved.
"That sounds reasonable." He told him and Cass chuckled.
"You don’t like when the heroes are slighted, do you?" Cass teased and Lord Ridgewood looked stricken.
"It’s not that. I don’t like it when people who are doing good are looked down upon and passed over." Lord Ridgewood said, which surprised Cass. That was not what he expected the other man to say. Especially given his silence thus far. Cass shifted in his seat, settling in as he grew curious.
"Really? I had no idea that you felt that way." Cass said and Lord Ridgewood looked awkward.
"I...tend to not see eye to eye with most of the other holy knights who are granted the title." He told him, and that surprised Cass more. It shouldn’t surprise him that they had a code, everyone had something that they lived by. A knight order should have one, and especially a holy knight order.
"Oh? What is it that you disagree with them on?" Cass asked and watched as Lord Ridgewood shifted uncomfortably on the couch next to him.
"I...don’t think that the Saintess and the High Priest are always right." He told him, and then flinched. "I know it sounds ridiculous coming from my mouth, given how I have hurt you, but..." Cass honestly felt vindicated hearing that. It might be strange, considering that Lord Ridgewood was right.
He had hurt him, and Cass, by observing him, being rude, and trying to out him to the Temple. That was essentially what he had done, and Cass had every right to be upset at him about that. What made Cass feel better was the fact that...his gut feeling and the interpretation that Cass had of Lord Ridgewood wasn’t wrong. It had just been used against him.
Lord Ridgewood was honour bound, just in a way that confused Cass, and apparently, made him fuck up sometimes. It also made a little bit of sense that he had never outed Cassian in the original story as well since Cassian hadn’t left the hero party or made any of the moves that Cass had been making, and would continue to make.
Cass was stirring the pot obviously, while Cassian had been acting in a way that Lord Ridgewood wouldn’t have been able to witness. He had been doing it behind closed doors until he had to bring it out into the open.
"Then why did you bring me to the High Priest to tell him I was a demon?" Cass asked. It was obvious that would be what he asked next, but Lord Ridgewood still flinched.
"Well, I..." He trailed off. He dropped his head, his shoulders slumping as the weight of the words inside of him filled him. He let out a heavy sigh, and Cass watched as his arms that were still crossed tensed. His hand closest to him was clenched into a fist, and Cass had no doubt that the other hand was clenched as well. "I follow the doctrine pretty closely." Lord Ridgewood admitted.
Cass was surprised to hear that, especially as Lord Ridgewood raised his gaze, looking a little embarrassed.
"I had no idea." Cass told him and Lord Ridgewood looked even more uncomfortable than usual.
"I try to not let it get in the way of my day to day living." He admitted, before something soft lit behind his green eyes. "Did you know that the actual doctrine, not what the temple teaches, is actually very welcoming? They mention nothing about gender, sex, anything like that. They just want the people to live righteous, helpful lives that benefit the whole society." Lord Ridgewood said, before the spark faded and he dropped his head again. "Unless...you’re a demon." He admitted quietly.
"Ah. So I was violating the only rule you had?" Cass asked and Lord Ridgewood looked even more uncomfortable. "What about Edgar?" Cass asked and watched something dark cross the normally expressionless man’s face.
"Edgar didn’t have a choice in the matter, and unfortunately, it was something I had no say in either. I would never do something so disgraceful to another, but I am not the High Priest. I am just...a holy knight." He said, but Cass could feel the anger in his voice.
"Do you not like the High Priest?" Cass asked and was surprised at the speed in which Lord Ridgewood expressed his disgust. That’s what it was. Not even dislike, disgust.
"I would never choose something like that to lead the common people." Cass was getting revelation after revelation.
"Then why did you tell him about me?" Cass asked, and Lord Ridgewood looked lost.
"Who else was I supposed to tell? The High Priest outside of the Saintess and the Hero is supposed to be the one closest to the gods. I am supposed to report if there is something amiss with the hero party or those in it. I had no idea that the gods had done a similar thing as they had done to Edgar as they had done to you." Lord Ridgewood said and Cass felt something wash over him.
Was it sympathy for the weak-sounding man? Was it apathy? He wasn’t quite sure, but it did make him feel...something in his chest.
"Why did you not trust Fiona or Ava?" Cass asked and Lord Ridgewood let out a heavy sigh.
"Ava has been going down a path that is so far from the doctrine that I barely acknowledged her actions at the time, and Fiona...She had a lot on her plate. I tried not to bother her when I knew that she had so many other worries that were much bigger than my own." Cass sat with his words, trying to process what he was hearing.
"Wait, were you just trying to consult the High Priest initially?" Cass asked, wondering if he was understanding what he was saying. Lord Ridgewood nodded miserably.
"I was. I didn’t plan to make myself an enemy to the rest of the party until Edgar spoke up and I realised that what the High Priest had planned and what I had planned were two completely different things. I was not wanting to get you kicked out or killed. I just..." Cass did feel bad for the man then. Carefully, he spoke up.
"Gideon, that’s the only result that could come from that. You know that, right?" Lord Ridgewood stiffened.
"I...I was telling myself that at the very least we would speak to the gods and see why they hadn’t revealed this truth until now. Maybe you would be put on house arrest. I really..." He let out a shaky breath. "I didn’t really think beyond telling someone of higher authority that I had found out the truth." He admitted and slid a glance towards Cass. He looked awkward, uncomfortable, and apologetic. It was a strange sight to see.
"I just want to make something clear. Do you hate me, or did you hate me because I am a demon?" Cass asked. Lord Ridgewood looked like Cass had struck him.
"No! I didn’t like you because you never went to the Temple!" Lord Ridgewood admitted, and then looked horrified that he’d told the truth. Cass blinked and then sat with the information he had gathered.
Lord Ridgewood hadn’t hated Cass because he was a demon and he had no issues with gay things or anything of that nature. He didn’t support the actions of the Saintess or the High Priest and stuck strictly to the doctrine of the Temple. He hadn’t disliked Cass because of his blood, at least that was what he was saying. He just disliked him because he didn’t go to the temple, which he couldn’t do because of his blood.
It was strange to realise all of this in the temple that he had had to avoid most of his life until this point. Cass let out a chuckle, this whole situation feeling rather surreal and ridiculous.
"Is this you trying to appeal to me so that you don’t get kicked out of the hero party?" Cass asked, being blunt, and Lord Ridgewood nearly snapped his neck with how quickly he turned towards Cass.
"I would never try to do something so horrific." He told him, before glancing away from Cass. "Though, I wouldn’t be upset if this did appeal to you in some regard." He admitted honestly, glancing back at Cass.
"Is that why you’ve always been so cold to me?" Cass asked, curious, and Lord Ridgewood nodded, looking miserable.
"It says in the doctrine to limit your interactions with those who do not consort with the gods and their good teachings. With Lucian being one of the creatures of legend, I was unable to limit my interactions with him, but..." He trailed off, and Cass understood.
Cassian had been a ’human’. He might have been a Duke’s son, but he was still human. It was actually fascinating how things were...making some kind of sense.
A knock sounded at the door.