Chapter 569: Pretty plants are often the most deadly
The crown was stunning. A twist of metal that was shaped into leaves and flowers with a gem at each heart of the flowers, making it look like the flowers were living, breathing crystals. It was the prettiest war crown Cass had ever seen.
It was the only war crown that Cass had ever seen, but he didn’t think that mattered.
Like she had said, she was in a stunning, flowy outfit that looked like they had plucked the clouds from the sky, shook some shimmer into the clouds and then decided to make clothes out of it. They draped over her skin, highlighting her brown skin in a way that was completely flattering.
In fact, everyone looked ethereal, especially Ailia who had thrown off her usual mercenary outfit to match her mother. Unlike her mom, she was wearing a necklace made out of Taniora’s tears, the shimmering flowers and vines showing off her own dedication to what had happened.
As Cass looked around at the fairies as they came to a halt, each and every one had at least one of Taniora’s tears. The people watching all thought that this was a stunning procession of fairies coming to greet one of the human kings after years of conflict. They had no idea that this was actually a declaration of intent.
Cass laughed to himself. It was their own ignorance that they didn’t know what they were walking into. In fact, when Cass glanced back at the nobles, the King, and the Dukes, he could see the greed in their eyes. They saw the gems and thought they were beautiful. They did not know the meaning behind them, nor the pain.
The procession came to a halt, the final drum beat sounding and the air felt heated with the festivities. The humans remained silent as his Aunt bowed her head slightly. It wasn’t an admission that the King was more powerful than her, it was just a simple acknowledgement that two powers were meeting.
The King, in his ignorance, thought that wasn’t the case. Cass could see the gleam in his eye. He was clearly thinking that the fairies were coming to beg him for attention or affection. That was not the case in the slightest. The man was aware that he was letting a beast into his den, but he was forgetting because they were so shiny that they had fangs.
When his Aunt raised her head, and the other fairies had done the same, she scanned the area. When her eyes found Cass’, her expression lit up. She’d been keeping a rather neutral smile on her face, but it changed completely because she caught sight of him.
"Cass!" She called, before the King had even greeted her. Cass felt his face warm, his body stiffen. It was a blatant act of disrespect and Cass could feel how the nobles reacted behind them. It would do her no good if the nobles had a terrible first impression of her.
His Aunt made a loud, fake gasp, her hand flying to her mouth in shock as she slid her gaze towards the King. She blinked several times, looking well and truly shocked.
"My sincerest apologies, your Royal Highness. It’s just been so long since I’ve seen my wonderful nephew, I simply couldn’t help myself." She lowered her hand, giving a bright, real smile. Cass could feel the ripple that went through the whole crowd.
Cass’ bloodline had always been questioned amongst the nobles. He knew it had probably been spurred on by his grandfather, since it worked in his favor if they questioned if Cassian was a Blackburn. It made the general society not question if the former Duke took control of the Dukedom for as long as he had, even if Cassian was now of an appropriate age to take over the title.
However, with his Aunt’s outburst, one half of that bloodline was no longer questioned. If she, a very important fairy, recognized Cassian as not only a fairy, but her kin, things might shift for Cassian’s reputation.
Cass knew that his grandfather would easily just turn back to the rumours about how his Mother was a bad person who slept around which would bring doubt to if Cassian was even a Blackburn. It was tragic that Cass couldn’t even rub it in his face that he was not only his grandson, but also a demon at the same time. He couldn’t reveal one fact without revealing the other right now.
He wouldn’t have been able to be made into a demon without the blood of the Blackburn family.
"You are easily forgiven." The King said, as if he was bestowing something great on Cass’ Aunt. Cass could see how she twitched, and how the other fairies reacted. It was clear that was the wrong answer in the face of her open delight at seeing Cass. The King noticed, and quickly shifted. "Welcome to the Capital, Matron. We thank you for coming to visit." His Aunt smiled.
"Thank you, your Royal Highness. We appreciate the warm welcome. Especially since you sent Lord Ridgewood to escort us." More murmuring, a slight disturbance amongst the nobles and people. His Aunt was pointing out that he had sent a Ridgewood to escort her, instead of her own nephew. Who she had called out to immediately, before even greeting the King.
Cass could feel how angry and uncomfortable he must be. Someone probably suggested that he should do it, and now it was coming to bite him in the ass. Cass did his best not to smile.
"Of course. What better way to show our acknowledgement of your status than sending the very own family that guards our royal family?" Cass coughed. So that was how he was going to spin it? Good for him. His Aunt smiled.
"How generous of you." Silence hung between them, awkward and thick.
The King then welcomed them properly into the Kingdom and ushered them into the palace. Cass almost wanted to laugh. It was clear that he had no idea how to handle the fairies, and the fairies knew this. The nobles were also realising that the fairies were far more pretty then they had given them credit for.
Cass could already tell that many nobles were about to get a taste for fairies, and for their blades. Cass was just glad that while Ailia was here, Sir Sanders was not far away either. Nor was Byron.
Both men had been insistent that they would either join the procession, or be nearby. Sir Sanders was allowed to be in the procession since he had gone through the official marriage ceremony with Ailia, and Byron was a major fairies’ son. Both men might not fit in properly, but they were near the front of the procession.
That meant that everyone was nearby, except for Sam.
Cass did feel bad for that, but Sam was fine with it. He was happy to be able to guard the home for everyone, and he could make sure that they had comforting snacks and drinks prepared for them when they got home. It was a sweet notion, made even sweeter because Sam wasn’t speaking to just Byron and Cass.
He had included Gideon and Edgar in that explanation as well.
So Cass didn’t feel as guilty as he followed everyone back into the palace.
After his Aunt’s letter, the welcome ball was back to being on the proper day and at the proper time. It was tonight, which was why Cass and the others were so dressed up. While the fairies were given a moment to freshen up, the other nobles were moved to the ballroom.
It had apparently been repaired in the time since Cass and the others had been there, and Cass also knew it was a sore subject. Cass realised that there might have been a chance that he had tried to delay the ball because the room needed more repairs. He was trying to be cheap, and that characteristic wasn’t something Cass had expected from the King.
Well, it was a good excuse, until his Aunt flew into a rage at the disrespect.
Now Cass watched as everyone navigated their own excitement about being able to attend such a grand event, the awkwardness of the hero party also being there, and their own personal reactions when it came to the fairies themselves.
Cass felt like he was in a strange position. He wanted to go with his Aunt and the other fairies to greet them privately, but he also knew he had a lot of work he needed to do with the nobles. For one, he had to subtly confirm the rumours that were going about. That Fiona had tragically miscarried, why they had gone to complete the dungeon alone, and where half of the party was at the moment.
However, everything could change if either Duke Ridgewood or Duke Vespertine said anything to counter him. If Duke Ridgewood revealed that his son was a new saint, things could get complicated. If Duke Vespertine revealed that Cass was a hero, things could get complicated.
Cass just needed to hope that everyone played their roles well.
~
Cass wondered how much he had drunk? Certainly not enough was the only answer he could come up with. Especially not if he was seeing the sight before his eyes.
Gideon was dancing with a woman. In public, and it wasn’t Fiona, Ava, or Ailia. Cass was surprised the man even knew how to dance, if Cass was honest. He didn’t think father would have given him the proper education to do that, given that he had some idea of who his son was.
Gideon was dancing with the Queen.
Cass tried to rewind back through the night to figure out where this turn of events could even come from. Cass had thought things had been going smoothly. They’d entered the room with ease, not strangeness as everyone knew who he was. They’d gotten drinks as a unit, and then had spread out to speak to others.
At least, Edgar had. The more openly social of them, Edgar had said he would come back once the fairies had arrived and had disappeared. He had the look about him as if he was going to meet up with a lover, but that wasn’t the case. Of course, he’d sent some letters before the ball tonight, but he had Cass read them over so he knew exactly what he was saying before he sent them.
Edgar did not want them to think for a moment that he was actually cheating on either of them. Gideon trusted him, and so did Cass. Especially since he was so flustered when he’d asked if he could reach out to former contacts for work reasons.
So Cass knew that Edgar was just doing what he needed to. That left awkward Cass and awkward Gideon. Gideon was stiff, awkward, and his eyes had a slight glow to them. He was sure that Gideon wasn’t aware of it, and it was the first time that Cass had seen him like this too.
Cass had asked him what was going on, and Gideon admitted he was just overwhelmed by the amount of...vermin around. He had no idea how Ava had survived it. That had surprised Cass, while also confirming that the demon rot ran deeper than Cass knew.
That did not explain how Gideon was now dancing with the Queen when only a few minutes ago Gideon had moved as if he was possessed to go speak to the Queen who had descended down from her throne.
It was such a strange behaviour that Cass had no idea what to make of it. Even Edgar, across the room, was stunned as Gideon gracefully guided not just anyone, but the fucking Queen across the dance floor like it was nothing.
Cass was honestly offended. He had a huge ass ballroom in his home, and this was where Gideon decided to show off his physical prowess? Cass was pissed.
He should dance with him next.
