Chapter 74: Does this make me look like a Villain?
Cass checked himself out in the full length mirror in Lord Blackburn’s closet and sighed. Well, he certainly looked the part.
The ensemble that Sam had picked out for him certainly screamed villain. Honestly, Sam was uncannily good at selecting outfits that would make a regular bad guy weep. He took Lord Blackburn’s already questionable looks and was able to transform them into true villainy. The black lace was a very nice touch.
He had a talent, but Cass wasn’t sure how useful it was going to be to him.
Thankfully, Sam had other talents, so Cass wasn’t too worried, but it did come in handy sometimes.
"You’ve outdone yourself, Sam. I look like I own a slave market." Cass told him and Sam chuckled.
"There is no need to compliment me, my Lord, but thank you." Sam’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes warm as he looked over his work. "You don’t...own any slave markets, do you my Lord?" Sam asked carefully and Cass shrugged.
"I don’t believe that I do, but who is to say what my dear grandfather does while I am not around, hmm?" Cass joked, adjusting the collar on his jacket. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to pop it or not. Well, it didn’t matter too much. He looked plenty intimidating both ways. "Sam? Should I put up the collar or not?" Cass asked, turning to his favoured henchman and Sam put his hand under his chin, circling him before he nodded.
"I think I prefer it down, my Lord. Then you could put it up while in a serious moment." Cass couldn’t see him doing that, but he appreciated the opinion. He had a feeling it would suck the tension out of the moment.
"Alright. I think we are ready. Shall we head to the study?" Cass suggested and Sam nodded, moving towards the door and opening it. Byron was waiting, pressed against the other side of the wall while still holding onto the basket. He smiled at the sight of Sam, and his grin shifted slightly when he noticed how Cass was dressed. He glanced nervously at Sam.
Cass breezed past them, heading for his study but he could still hear them when Byron asked Sam a question quietly behind him.
"Is...someone dying today?" He sounded very concerned and Sam giggled.
"No! But we might have to clean blood out of the carpets." Sam whispered to him excitedly. Cass should have been worried about how excited he sounded, but he couldn’t for the life of him be upset at Sam fully supporting whatever actions he was about to take.
No doubt Sam and Sir Forsythe had been upset with the way Lord Blackburn was letting everything unfold. Cass could understand it too.
Now that he had time to look over all the papers, the reports, the details and the partial breakdown of everything that Lord Blackburn was responsible for, what he owned, and what his family owned, he was pissed that Lord Blackburn hadn’t snapped earlier.
The man was being taken advantage of.
His family didn’t appreciate him, and he was the one who was personally bankrolling this damn hero party while the other sons of Dukes just sat back and twiddle their thumbs when it came to offering any kind of financial support. Lord Blackburn hadn’t even been able to use his family’s fortune because his grandfather had full custody of that and had denied him, even as he reaped the rewards of Lord Blackburn risking his life to save the common folk. It had rebuilt some of the family’s name while Lord Blackburn saw none of the benefits.
As of now, that was going to end. It was clear to Cass that many of the people Lord Blackburn had hired had been at the request of his grandfather. That, or he hadn’t been given a choice and was handed a list of people he had to hire. There was a reason that Lord Blackburn had them do a test of loyalty before he let anyone step into his bedchamber.
Fuck everything. The man was a ’secret’ villain, but it felt more like he was a tragic villain. Once who was forced into villainy against his will. Cass was angry for him, and he hoped that Lord Blackburn could feel that from him too.
He should inform Lady Fiona what was going on, but honestly, he just didn’t care to do so. Maybe he would let her know once he had fired half of the staff, or threatened them into compliance, but for now, it would save him one headache. He was sure he would just get questioned or yelled at if he let her know right now, and he didn’t want to deal with that. Lady Ava might even say that she had grown close to them and that would make Lady Fiona hesitate more.
Cass had to have a firm hand here. He’d always been the one in his time to deal with someone if they were a problem, whether it was at work, or at school. Anyone who had been put into a group project with him knew better than to try to slack off. Cass didn’t let shit like that fly.
The first to go? The embezzling, lying, piece of shit stablebitch. How dare he, a person who was blessed to work in a stable run by Lord Blackburn and the rest of the heroes, think he could treat the man who paid him like this? When anywhere else, he would be making half of the salary?
All because his loyalties were misplaced?
He was the whole fucking reason he’d even gotten into the situation with Vespertine, Draken, and the fucking dire wolf today!
Cass was not going to forgive him, especially for thinking a fucking aide who Cass hadn’t even seen face to face since he’d arrived nearly a month ago, was more important then the next heir apparent for the Duke position.
Everyone else was replaceable, except Lord Blackburn. His own fucking grandfather knew that, and had stopped attempting to kill him because he valued bloodlines so much.
Already angry, Cass yanked the door open to his study, not waiting for the others to catch up to him before he strolled inside. A strange, eerie feeling filled him as he took a few steps into the room and he froze in place. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it in his bones.
"Sam." He called, and Sam froze.
"Yes, my Lord?"
"You did not permit anyone to enter my chambers, correct?" Cass confirmed and Sam’s response was filled with confusion.
"Of course my Lord. I would never allow something so awful without your consent. Does something appear...amiss?" Sam asked carefully. Both men froze as they heard a loud, long sniff and Cass turned to find Byron, his nose slightly raised, sniffing the area.
"Ah. There has been someone in here, my Lord." Byron told him, his gaze narrowed as he looked around the room. "Am I permitted to find the trail?" He asked, glancing towards Cass, waiting for permission. Cass blinked, before he nodded.
Damn, he’d been joking when he called Draken a dog, but maybe he was right? Was this...normal? Or was this just a Byron thing?
Byron, for his part, didn’t pay attention to Cass or Sam and instead, closed the door behind him, putting the basket down gently on the ground and began to sniff around the room. Sam and Cass watched in amazement as he slowly began to narrow down the scent’s location. He pointed out a few key spots, a book, a few papers, a drawer on Lord Blackburn’s desk that Cass kept locked, and then finally, he found a panel on one of the walls on the far left side, away from the window, and when he pressed it, a doorway was revealed. A winding staircase was revealed going down into darkness.
Cass felt his whole demeanour shift while Sam gasped. Byron looked ill.
"The scent, my Lord, is of the aide your grandfather sent." Cass had a sneaking suspicion that was going to be the case.
"Close the pathway, Byron, but remember the panel. We will explore it after we deal with the first issue at hand. I have no problems chasing bleeding animals." Cass stated coolly, and Byron’s gaze widened, before he nodded.
"Of course my Lord. I won’t be able to forget it, especially since it deals with shadows." Byron told him, seeming a little proud of himself. Cass stared at him, wondering what the hell that meant. It wasn’t as if there was a book that explained different types of dragons, and if there was one, it had been destroyed or lost several hundred years ago.
"Perfect. Now, bring the basket behind the desk, and then the two of you are to wait outside the doors. Sam can brief you on the plan." Byron nodded, glancing at Sam who appeared to be quite concerned about this new development.
"How long do you think this has been going on?" Sam asked and Cass sighed, staring as the door slid back into place.
"Well, my only answer is as long as we’ve been building this mansion." Cass stated calmly, his blood boiling. That fucking old geezer.
He was going to make him regret messing with him. He hadn’t met Cass yet, and he was going to regret messing with his Lord Blackburn, and his only safe space in this whole fucking castle.
Thank fuck he hadn’t started the renovation plans yet. He would have never found out about this otherwise. Cass had a feeling that they only did this when Lord Blackburn was out of the castle, which he never was. Which was strange, since the stablebitch said that the carriage had been used by the fucking aide to go back to the Duke’s residence.
Oo, Sam might have to clean blood out of the carpet after all.