Julie, still entranced by the dessert, hummed in agreement—then suddenly froze.
She blinked and then slowly, very slowly, she turned to look at Isabelle.
"…Wait." She said, dread creeping into her voice. "Why do you have to tell him?"
And, Isabelle, in a matter-of-fact manner, responded casually—
"Because my Young Master was the one who made them, of course."
Julie choked.
Literally choked on the dessert.
"WHAT?!"
She coughed violently, nearly dropping the half-eaten cake as she pounded her chest to recover. Isabelle, completely unbothered, calmly reached for a glass of water and handed it to her.
Julie took it without question, still sputtering in disbelief.
"Cassius made this?" She demanded once she had regained the ability to speak.
Isabelle nodded. "Yes."
"Cassius made the best dessert I have ever tasted in my life?"
Another nod. "Yes."
Julie stared at her, horrified.
"…You’re lying."
Isabelle chuckled. "I wouldn’t lie about something like this, Miss Julie."
Julie gripped the edge of the table tighter, as if it were the only thing keeping her tethered to reality. She exhaled sharply, trying to process everything.
"Alright." She muttered, rubbing her temple. "Fine. Fine. I’ve already accepted the fact that Cassius is some kind of genius when it comes to making games. I’ve accepted the fact that he just casually invented a new form of music, like it was nothing. But this—" She gestured wildly at the beautiful display of desserts in front of her. "—this doesn’t make sense!"
Isabelle tilted her head, amused. "What about it doesn’t make sense, Miss Julie?"
Julie waved a hand dramatically. "Look at them! They’re adorable! They look like they were made by the delicate hands of a girl! How in the world did he..." She jabbed a finger in the vague direction of wherever Cassius might be. "...create something this pretty?!"
Isabelle let out a soft laugh. "Well, technically, these particular desserts weren’t made by him."
Julie blinked, still frazzled. "Huh?"
"They were made by me and the kitchen staff." Isabelle clarified. "But..." She smirked, watching Julie’s expression. "...we were taught how to make them by our Young Master."
Julie’s brain short-circuited. "Excuse me?"
"Yes." Isabelle continued cheerfully. "One day, he decided to have a cooking class for all of us maids. He made an entire batch of cute desserts and said that they’d be perfect if we ever needed to host a tea party." She chuckled. "He taught us how to make several different sweets, down to the finest details. Every dessert you see here comes from the recipes he provided."
Julie stared at her, open-mouthed, as if she had just been told Cassius could breathe fire.
She slowly turned back to the desserts.
She then turned back to Isabelle.
Then back to the desserts.
Then back to Isabelle.
Her eye twitched.
And then, in the quietest, most exasperated whisper, she muttered—
"He’s more womanly than me."
Isabelle blinked. "Excuse me?"
Julie immediately straightened up. "Nothing."
Isabelle squinted at her, suspicious, but Julie refused to elaborate. Instead, she sighed heavily, looking like she had just lost a battle that she was supposed to win.
She dragged a hand down her face. "Just what kind of monster is your Young Master?" She muttered.
Isabelle tilted her head thoughtfully, then, after a moment, smiled brightly.n"Well, he may be a monster, who’s capable of doing impossible feats." She said cheerfully. "But he’s a very kind and merciful monster."
Julie raised a brow. "Merciful?"
Isabelle nodded, a strange fondness in her voice. "After all, he even forgave someone like me—someone who tried to kill him."
Julie stiffened slightly at the reminder.
That was...true.
Her squad had also been spared.
For all of Cassius’ arrogance, his apathy, his irritatingly effortless genius—he had never been needlessly cruel. He could have wiped them all out after their failure, but he didn’t. Instead, they were all here, alive, eating fancy desserts and playing ridiculous games.
Julie hummed, crossing her arms. "I suppose we’re in the same boat, then—"
But before she could finish her sentence—
"OH SHIT, THEY RESTOCKED THE DESSERTS!" Your journey continues with freewebnovel
Julie’s head snapped toward the sudden, thunderous voice.
Her heart dropped.
The horde of knights—who had somehow become aware that the dessert table had been refilled—roared in excitement.
"GET THEM BEFORE THEY’RE GONE!"
Julie’s eyes widened in pure horror as she saw a mass of hungry, gluttonous fools charging toward the table.
She knew her knights.
She knew how terrifyingly fast they could be when food was on the line.
And if she didn’t act now—
She would get nothing.
"Isabelle!" Julie shouted, already grabbing a plate. "Help me! Quick!"
Isabelle, utterly bewildered, blinked. "H-Huh? What’s happening?"
"Just grab the desserts, now!"
Isabelle, still confused but utterly devoted to helping her beloved idol, immediately grabbed a plate and started rapidly stacking desserts.
Julie was moving fast, grabbing pastries with the efficiency of a seasoned soldier looting supplies in enemy territory.
She had no shame.
She took the mousse cakes. She took the éclairs. She swiped an entire stack of macarons and threw them onto her plate.
Meanwhile, the incoming mob was seconds away.
One of the knights, wide-eyed, pointed at her. "HEY! THE CAPTAIN’S STEALING EVERYTHING!"
"No, I’m securing supplies!" Julie shot back, shoving another dessert into her growing collection.
"CAPTAIN, HAVE MERCY!"
"NO!"
The second the horde reached them, the table descended into chaos.
Knights were fighting over desserts like it was the last meal on earth.
One poor fool reached for a cupcake, only for another knight to smack his hand away.
"THAT ONE’S MINE, YOU BITCH!"
"YOU DON’T EVEN LIKE CUPCAKES!"
"I DO NOW!"
In the background, a completely separate battle was occurring—
Someone had just been slammed in the face by a rogue volleyball while a table had flipped, scattering game pieces everywhere as someone shouted in frustration over a lost match.
Meanwhile, Julie and Isabelle had successfully retreated from the mob, plates full of desserts, standing on the sidelines like victorious warriors.
Julie exhaled, looking down at her bounty.
She smirked.
"Mission successful."
Isabelle, still holding her own plate, gave her a hesitant glance. "Miss Julie...was that really necessary?"
Julie gave her a dead serious look.
"Isabelle." She said gravely. "You don’t understand what my knights are capable of. If we didn’t act fast, we would’ve been empty-handed."
As if on cue, one of the knights wailed dramatically.
"WHO ATE THE LAST ÉCLAIR?!"
Julie grinned smugly and took a bite of her éclair.
The party raged onwith knights fighting over sweets, others getting taken down by volleyballs, and some punching boards in pure frustration.
And through it all, not a single one of them remembered that tonight was their deadline to save their own lives...
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
The party had finally come to an end.
Well—at least, it was supposed to end.
The knights, however, were not ready to accept that reality.
Several of them, completely drunk out of their minds, were yelling about how they still wanted to drink.
"NO! MORE! ROUNDS!" One knight bellowed, slamming her empty mug on a table.
"This was the best damn party we’ve ever had!" Another slurred, waving his arms dramatically. "We can’t just end it now!"
A third knight, draped over a fellow comrade, blinked blearily and muttered. "Where’s my shoe?"
The maids, who had clearly anticipated this level of nonsense, had already begun their cleanup efforts. Some were gently guiding the more cooperative knights back toward the mansion, while others were dragging the particularly stubborn ones across the courtyard with surprising strength.
One unfortunate maid had a knight clinging to her waist, whining. "Don’t leave meeeee! I can still fight! I—" before her words dissolved into incoherent mumbling.
Julie, Aisha, and Skadi, the only three who had remained completely sober, sat at a table in the corner of the courtyard, watching their rowdy subordinates get hauled away one by one.
Aisha let out a small huff, arms crossed. "They really got drunk, huh?" She muttered. "It’s been a while since I’ve seen them like this."
Julie smiled as she leaned back slightly in her chair. "That just means they enjoyed the party that much."
Aisha glanced at her, one brow raised.
Julie exhaled, her gaze drifting over the courtyard as she continued. "You know how it is. We’ve been to our fair share of noble-hosted parties before, but they never felt...right. They always made us feel out of place—too formal, too stiff, too congested."
Aisha didn’t reply immediately. She knew exactly what Julie meant.
The parties they had attended in the past had been luxurious, sure. But there were always unspoken rules, suffocating expectations. They weren’t there to enjoy themselves—they were there to play a role, to maintain appearances.
But this party?
This one had been different.
Julie smiled softly, watching as the last of the knights were dragged away. "Cassius’ party let them be free. It let them be themselves—the rowdy, ridiculous bunch that they are."
Aisha narrowed her eyes slightly, her lips pressing into a thin line as if she were reluctant to acknowledge something.
Finally, with a slow exhale, she muttered. "I really don’t want to compliment that man…"
Julie smirked. "But?"
Aisha sighed. "But…" She admitted. "He really does know how to throw a damn good party."
Julie chuckled, while Aisha then leaned back, her amber eyes gleaming with a strange excitement. "And I have to admit…" She added. "..his games were pretty interesting too."
Julie tilted her head. "You seemed to really enjoy them by the end."
Aisha smirked, her gaze distant as she recalled the night’s events. "I did." She said. "Even the luck-based ones."
Julie raised a brow. "You? Enjoying a game based on luck?"
Aisha’s smirk widened. "Oh, it wasn’t just luck."
She let out a small chuckle, remembering how she had somehow strategized her way through even the games that were supposed to be pure chance. She had tricked, manipulated, and outplayed her opponents, forcing them into bad rolls, making them take risks they shouldn’t have taken.
And in the end?
She had won.
And, of course—
She grinned wickedly. "I did make all those knights do headstands for losing."
Julie snorted. "You really enjoy making them suffer, don’t you?"
"They deserved it." Aisha said smugly, reaching for a pastry.
Skadi, who had been casually munching on cakes throughout the conversation, finally chimed in. "Volleyball was amazing!" She declared. "I wanna play it again with everyone!"
Julie chuckled. "You did seem to have a lot of fun."
Skadi nodded enthusiastically, then grinned. "Oh, and the maids were really nice too! They even let me keep the ball!"
Julie smiled, feeling a quiet warmth settle in her chest. Seeing her two sisters—Aisha and Skadi—enjoy themselves like this after so long made her genuinely happy.
Skadi then tilted her head and looked at Julie. "What about you, Captain? What part did you like the most?"
Julie paused, thinking for a moment.
"Hmm...Well." She said, tapping a finger against the table. "The music was definitely something I enjoyed. I hope it becomes more common."
"Jazz, right?" Skadi said, tilting her head. "What a funny name."
Julie nodded. "Yeah. There’s something about it that’s just...different. Relaxing, but also lively."
Aisha hummed in agreement, still chewing on her pastry.
Julie then continued. "But if I had to pick the thing that really caught me off guard…"
She exhaled, shaking her head slightly.
"It’d have to be the desserts."
Skadi immediately perked up.
"YES!" She practically yelled, slamming a fist on the table in excitement. "They were so good! I could eat them every single day!"
Aisha scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You’d die from a stomach ache before that could happen."
Skadi shrugged, clearly willing to take that risk.
Meanwhile, Aisha casually plucked another pastry from her plate, took a bite, and then—after a brief moment of thoughtful chewing—muttered. "I still can’t believe that this treat was made by that Cassius."
Julie let out a dramatic sigh. "Believe me, I’m still struggling to accept it."
Aisha huffed. "Tch. It doesn’t make sense. First, he invents all those games. Then, he creates an entirely new genre of music. And now…" She scowled at the pastry in her hand. "He also makes perfect desserts?"
She took another bite—then glared at it, as if the sheer deliciousness was personally offensive to her. Skadi, meanwhile, was just happily munching away, completely unconcerned with the absurdity of it all.
Julie leaned back in her chair, exhaling. "This night was...something." She murmured.
Aisha and Skadi nodded in agreement.
The three of them sat there for a moment longer, letting the sounds of the distant, drunken knights fade into the background.
For the first time in a long while—
They had genuinely enjoyed themselves.
But then, Aisha, who was lazily chewing on her pastry, suddenly paused. She frowned slightly and glanced around, as if she had just realized something was off.
Then, narrowing her eyes, she asked. "Hey...Where exactly is Cassius?"
Julie, mid-sip of water, raised a brow at her. "What?"
Aisha crossed her arms. "I just realized—I haven’t seen him once during this entire party." She scowled. "I was waiting for the perfect moment to humiliate him by challenging him to a game and absolutely destroying him in it. But the bastard didn’t even show up."
Julie simply stared at her for a moment, expression unreadable. Then, dryly, she muttered, "You really think you’d win against the person who created all those games?"
Aisha clicked her tongue. "So what? Just because he made it doesn’t mean he’s good at it...I’m pretty sure I can beat him at any game with eyes closed."
Julie sighed. ’She’s so confident, yet so oblivious.’
Then, shaking her head, Julie answered. "He left before the party even started."
Aisha blinked. "He did?"
Julie nodded. "Yeah. He said he had some...’preparations’ to do to save us all."
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The words sank in quickly.
Aisha and Julie both stiffened.
It was as if reality had slammed into them all at once. The party had been so wild, so lively, so distracting, they had completely lost track of time.
And now?
Julie slowly looked toward the sky, her stomach twisting slightly.
There were probably only two hours left until midnight.
Two hours left before their mission had to be completed—or they would face a brutal hunt for their lives.
Aisha and Julie exchanged a solemn look, their carefree moods shifting into something far more serious.
They needed to find Cassius.
They needed to know exactly what he had planned.
Just as Julie was about to say it aloud—
Skadi suddenly perked up.
"Oh, he’s actually really close by." She said casually.
Julie and Aisha both snapped their heads toward her.
"What?" Aisha asked, confused.
Skadi nodded, looking oddly certain. "Yeah, I can smell him."
Aisha blinked. "You can smell him?"
Skadi gave her a ’duh’ expression. "I could always smell him. But now, for some reason, his scent is really strong."
Aisha narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by ’really strong’?"
Skadi tilted her head, sniffing the air slightly before continuing. "It’s weird. I actually couldn’t really pick up his scent before. It was always faint—like he wasn’t really doing anything to exert himself. But now…"
Her ears twitched.
"Now his odour is much stronger. Like he’s been doing some kind of intense labour or something that made him sweat a lot."
Julie and Aisha exchanged another look.
Aisha furrowed her brows. "Labour?"
Skadi nodded, then suddenly added. "And that’s not all. I can also smell a bunch of other familiar scents around him."
Julie felt her stomach twist again.
Cassius, working on something physically demanding.
Surrounded by others.
With only two hours left before their deadline.
Something about this felt...wrong.
Aisha straightened, her usual smugness gone. "Where is he?" She asked firmly.
Skadi took another deep inhale through her nose, then turned her head slightly, eyes locked on a particular direction.
"That way." She said.
Julie and Aisha followed her gaze and without wasting another second, they stood up and started moving...