Chapter 7: A skinny, sickly twink? Really?
Bathroom related issues were not forgotten, but Cass had to take a moment to gather himself. Sam noticed that something was wrong, but held his tongue.
It was one of the few times that he did, and Cass was surprised. Another point in the good henchmen category. He had a semi reasonable ability to read the room.
"I will manage from here, Sam. I'll call for you when I need you again." Cass told him. Sam hesitated for a minute, before he released the hold he had on Cass. Even Cass could understand why he was hesitating.
Lord Blackburn's already pale features had gone paler when Cass had realised who he was. Fucking hell.
Cass watched Sam leave through the mirror before his gaze turned back to the haunted looking face staring back at him. No wonder he looked haunted. He was. By the reality that he was the villain. Did the "gods" want him to prevent his death at the end of the story? Or him stealing the holy item?
Cass didn't know. He wasn't even fully sure if he was remembering the story correctly. Whatever power the "god" said he would give him hadn't kicked in yet. Did he need to remember the title of the story? If that was the case, he was fucked.
Genuinely.
He could kiss any help goodbye. He was awful at titles, but he could tell you major character names and events that happened in the story. But he never cared about what a book was called.
Plus, at some point, all the books his sister forced him to read all blurred together. She had a type, the same way he did, but she hadn't ever changed hers. At least when she'd thrusted the reverse harem novel into his hands he had enjoyed it. Up until the last ark.
He'd gotten pretty fed up with how forgiving the heroine was of all the awful shit one of her husbands had pulled. Betraying villains are supposed to be secret. He was so blatant it wasn't even funny. All of the other characters knew he was a bad guy.
For fucks sake, he had red eyes! That was the most classic 'I'm evil' look available. The flip was that he had white hair instead of black hair. Being built like a stick wasn't anything new or unique, but it did worry Cass since he was now in this body. Why was he so thin? What was wrong with him?
Cass pulled up the long shirt he was wearing to look at his body and noticed he could see his ribs. That wasn't something he'd experienced in a long time. He frowned, and when he looked up and saw his expression, he nearly jumped.
For a man who was so pretty, why the fuck did he have the ability to look so fucking evil so easily? Did he train? Or was this a natural trait from the Blackburn Duchy? If he never smiled he would at least look porcelain doll pretty. A little creepy? Sure, but people would probably whisper about him in darkened rooms after he had passed.
Fuck. This was awful.
He was a sicky villain. If the group didn't kill him, whatever was eating away at him would get the job done after. He was hoping that Lord Blackburn was a dumb villain and wrote down his crimes. That would at least help him recall everything. But, even if Lord Blackburn had been obvious, he hadn't been stupid. Not if he was remembering the story correctly.
The heroine had killed him by accident. They didn't collect enough information on him to prosecute him.
No...they had...hmm...what had they done again?
Cass' stomach gave a warning rumble again and Cass groaned. Fuck. He could stare at his new body and mope later. There were more urgent issues to deal with.
~
After washing his hands, completely perplexed by how toilets worked in this world, Cass turned back to the mirror.
He'd gotten some of his colour back in what was now...his face. Lord Blackburn's face even made the same sour expression that Cass often sported in his...old body? His body? Fuck, if he thought about it too long he felt like his head would explode.
Damn it! If those fuckers hadn't killed him, he wouldn't even be here in the first place! Those "gods" better hope they didn't have a physical body that Cass could get to. Otherwise, they would have to prepare for Cass to come and torture them for their crimes.
He was a petty man. He would do it if he found out that there was a way to do so.
Cass examined his new self once more. He'd read in some stories that the original host sometimes died, gave up, or relinquished the body to live somewhere else. Cass wondered if any of that applied to Lord Blackburn.
Did he want to run away from being a villain? Did he like being one? From what Cass remembered from the novel, he seemed to genuinely care for the heroine. Maybe not in the same way as the others had, since he was pretty sure they never did anything but share one super awkward kiss, but he did care for her.
His betrayal had been predictable to everyone else but her. She had cried endlessly after she had killed him. The book had ended rather abruptly after that as well. It had felt unfinished, and he guessed, in a way, it was. It wasn't the ending that the creatures had wanted. Therefore, here he was.
Fuck.
He took in a shuddering breath, watching the reaction on his foreign face. This was him. This was the new him. He'd lost all semblance of himself. He didn't look like the heroine. He looked like...like someone he didn't know.
He should avoid mirrors from now on.
Turning, he made his way towards the bathroom door. The shock that this had caused him had weirdly strengthened his resolve, and that had somehow translated to his own strength. For now, he knew it was rather quick, but he needed answers.
Especially in regard to him not getting what was promised. If they were already going back on their word, why wouldn't he do the same? After all, it would mean that he couldn't trust them to keep his family safe, so why continue to do something that was probably going to be hard?
He wasn't an idiot. He didn't work for free.
Cursing and panting, he made his way towards the doorway. Sam flung the door open before he could get to it, his expression full of concern.
"You didn't call for me, my Lord. You said that you would." Byron was giving Sam a worried, 'what the fuck are you doing?' look, but Cass didn't chastise him.
"Sam, is there a temple nearby?" He asked, ignoring Sam's concern. Sam's brows furrowed even more.
"Of course. We had one built and blessed for Lady Ava. Why?" He asked. "You've never gone before now. Not, at least, with me around." Sam added, trying his best not to assume what he lord got up to when he wasn't around. Cass chuckled.
"Well, I am going to go for a visit if I can." Cass said, and looked him over.
"I really would recommend against it, my Lord. You are clearly not at your best, and you're in your bed clothes. It would be improper for you-"
"-I will wear a cloak over my bed clothes. Will that make you stop pestering me?" He'd meant it as a joke, but Sam did not take it that way. He went white, and Byron in the background turned away from them. Cass wanted to kick himself as Sam deflated. He'd felt like he'd beaten a puppy.
"That would work, my Lord." Sam agreed, clearly not as enthused as before. Cass didn't know what to say. He was sorry? He had a feeling that would only freak him out more.
"Then grab it for me, please." He said, and Sam flinched. He rushed off, and Cass was left wondering what the hell he could do in this situation. Sam left the room and Byron was busy doing anything but look at him. Cass couldn't blame him.
The man had just gone through a test that could have ended up with him being punished by Cass. He was probably not going to help him comfort Sam. Hell, Cass didn't even know if Sam would let him comfort him. He'd probably react badly to it like he'd reacted badly to his joke.
Sam came back in a flurry. He'd had to leave the main bedroom, but came back with the most villain coded cloak he could find. All black, floor length, red, velvet lining inside, and a deep, dark hood.
Yup. Suited how he was feeling right now perfectly.
Sam helped him put it on, and then hesitated in offering his arm to him.
"The others might make fun of you. Should I grab one of your guards?" He asked and Cass chuckled.
"Well, maybe we should grab someone. Just in case. I have a feeling not having a guard nearby is how I fell in the first place." Sam didn't confirm it with his words, but his expression spoke volumes.
"Then I'll have one of the guards at the door follow us. Byron, are you okay staying here?" He asked the younger man and Byron turned. He stared at the two of them before he blinked slowly.
"Is it alright if I join you?" He pondered, and Cass rolled his eyes. The hood covered his expression, so thankfully the two men didn't notice.
"What is one more? Come with us, Byron." He also didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone in Lord Blackburn's bedroom without him here. Especially since he didn't even know the secrets of this room yet.
Byron shuffled closer, now nervous as Sam helped Cass out of the room. Honestly, Cass was pretty proud of himself. He thought he was adjusting quite well to the weird shit he'd been thrown into. He was keeping a calm head. He hadn't thrown a tantrum.
Granted, his body wasn't well enough to throw a tantrum, but hey, he was still doing well!
A win's a win.
He didn't freak out when Sam led him out of the bedroom into what could only be described as an antechamber. It was a small room that had doors on each side. Sam led him through the one across from them and took them into another antechamber. This one also had four doors, but this time he turned to the...right and they exited from the gaudy, gothic rooms and into what appeared to be a giant, but regular-looking hallway.
Outside of the door stood two guards dressed in a black and red uniform with silver accents. Cass would have shivered, but he maintained some form of dignity. Even as disgust filled him. He was a neutral shade kind of guy. All of this...red, black, silver and other shades really was grossing him out.
He doubted if he told anyone that they would believe him. Especially given how he dressed, looked, and behaved for the whole time prior to Cass taking over. This was so frustrating. Why hadn't they put him in a body as a baby? Even this body as a baby! That way he could have slowly adjusted. Gotten used to a world he wasn't familiar with. You know, learn things.
Instead, they were going to make him go around a fucking read and shit. But in secret so that others didn't realise that he didn't know any basic information of this world.
Like magic. The stuff he was supposed to be prolific at.
Those damn "gods" better be ready for him.