Cassius smirked at Julie’s reaction. "Uncomfortable, Captain?"
Julie’s jaw tightened, but she said nothing.
He turned back to Lucious, who was still struggling to process everything. "The truth is, my father has been waiting for years for me to slip up. To give him an excuse—a justifiable reason—to eliminate me without consequence." He exhaled, a humorless chuckle escaping him. "And to think, I only found out about this because a few of my maids used to report everything I did back to the main household."
That caught Aisha’s attention. Her sharp amber eyes narrowed. "You had spies among your staff?"
"Oh, of course." Cassius said with a chuckle. "Not that I blame them. It was never about loyalty or betrayal—it was about survival. Those maids were smart enough to align themselves with power, and if that meant selling information about the ’useless third son’ to the patriarch, then so be it." He smiled, but there was no warmth behind it. "And what exactly did the main household want to know? Simple. Every report they ever sent back contained the same question: Had I done something bad enough to justify execution?"
Silence.
Aisha inhaled sharply. Her mind, quick as ever, immediately pieced the rest of the puzzle together.
"They weren’t just watching you." She murmured, a mix of realization and horror flashing across her face. "They were waiting."
Cassius nodded. "Waiting for the moment I would finally make a mistake." His eyes gleamed with something dark and unreadable. "And then…those rumors came out."
Aisha’s heart clenched. "That was the trigger." She muttered. "That was the moment they’d been waiting for."
Julie’s grip on her sword tightened, her breath hastening at the information that was being revealed.
Skadi, who had been listening with rapt attention, looked between Cassius and Aisha in growing unease. "Wait, hold on—what exactly are you saying?"
Aisha’s voice was grim. "The patriarch couldn’t just kill Cassius outright. Not without provoking the Vindictus family. Not without making it look like a personal grudge rather than a justifiable punishment." Her mind raced as she continued, her voice growing more certain. "That’s why he never tried to fabricate something himself. If he had, the Vindictus family—who specialize in working in the dark, in uncovering the truth—would have found out. And if that happened, the Duke would be exposed for trying to eliminate his own son over a personal grudge."
Cassius smirked. "You’re catching on."
Aisha’s stomach churned as the depth of the plan truly sank in. "So instead." She continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "He waited...He waited for you to do something—anything—that could be considered unforgivable under Holyfield law. And since the Holyfields are known for their strict code of justice, he knew that if the crime was big enough…no one would question the verdict."
"That’s why they always asked about your sins." Julie muttered under her breath, realization dawning on her as well.
"Exactly." Cassius chuckled.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the group.
Skadi clenched her fists, her ears flattening against her head. "That’s…" She struggled to find the right words. "That’s just—"
"Cruel?" Cassius finished for her, his voice void of emotion. "Oh, undoubtedly. But that’s how just how my father hates me—Hates me for killing my mother upon my birth."
Lucious swallowed thickly, finally finding his voice. "Then…These rumors…"
"They were the perfect excuse." Aisha said darkly. "Your father must have been waiting for years for something like this. And when the rumors spread, when public opinion began to turn against you—he knew it was time to strike."
Julie took a deep breath. "Which is why the execution order was issued."
Cassius hummed. "See? It all makes sense now."
Lucious clenched his fists, his voice rising in desperation.
"No, no, it doesn’t make sense! It shouldn’t make sense! My lord, you haven’t done anything to warrant your death! The truth is right there—you’re innocent! If they just conducted a proper investigation, everything would come to light! They’d see that you’ve done nothing wrong!"
Cassius turned to him with an amused smile, as if Lucious had just said something rather endearing.
"Yes." He agreed, almost teasingly. "If an investigation were to happen, the truth would be uncovered. My innocence would be proven beyond a doubt."
Lucious opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could, Cassius’s expression darkened.
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His playful smirk twisted into something far more chilling—a cruel, knowing smile that sent a shiver down the spines of every knight present.
"But that’s only if the investigation is actually completed before my execution."
A cold silence fell over the courtyard.
Julie stiffened. Skadi’s ears twitched in unease. Aisha’s brows furrowed, her calculating mind already trying to piece together where this was going.
Cassius took a step forward, his tone eerily casual. "There’s a reason why I was sentenced to execution based solely on rumors. No trial. No questioning. No chance to defend myself. Just immediate death."
The way he spoke—so calmly, so assuredly—made the knights feel sick.
Cassius chuckled darkly. "You see, my dear father isn’t a fool. If he were to allow even a day for an official investigation to begin, my innocence would inevitably come to light. It wouldn’t even take much effort. The truth is so blatantly in my favor that even a half-baked inquisition would expose the lies. And if that happened…well." He tilted his head slightly, mockingly. "Then he wouldn’t be able to kill me, would he?"
Julie’s fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword.
"The Vindictus family..." Cassius continued, eyes gleaming. "..would never allow him to execute me once the truth was out. They’d step in, demand justice for their heir, and my father would be forced to let me go—humiliated for trying to condemn an innocent man. And that’s something he can’t afford."
He sighed, almost dramatically, before his smirk widened.
"So instead of giving me that chance, he sent you—the Sacred Guard, his most honorable and trusted knights—to silence me before the truth could even be considered. That way, by the time the Vindictus family finally did uncover the truth, I would already be rotting in the ground. And what could they do then?"
Aisha inhaled sharply as realization struck her like a lightning bolt.
Cassius turned his gaze to her, as if he could see her putting the pieces together. He smiled. "That’s right. They’d be outraged, of course. But would they go to war for a son they never truly cared for? Over a mere ’misunderstanding’?" His voice dropped into something almost mockingly sympathetic. "They’d be upset, certainly. They’d demand blood—heads would roll. The people who spread the rumors that caused all these problems—they’d be sacrificed to appease the Vindictus household’s pride."
A pause.
Then Cassius smiled, slow and deliberate.
"But the man who ordered it all? My father? Oh, no." He let out a short laugh. "He would simply call it an unfortunate mistake. A misjudgment. A tragedy, even. He’d bow his head, offer meaningless apologies, and swear that it was all done in the name of upholding justice."
A suffocating stillness spread through the knights.
Cassius spread his arms wide. "And that would be the end of it."
The sheer ruthlessness of it all—the way the plan had been orchestrated so perfectly—made even the most hardened knights feel sick to their stomachs.
Julie felt her grip on her sword waver. She had known this mission wasn’t right. But to hear it laid out so clearly…
Aisha swallowed, her mind racing. If it wasn’t the Holyfield household itself or the maids that spread the rumors… then who—
And then, it hit her.
Her amber eyes snapped toward Cassius, widening in horror. "Wait. You’re saying…the one who spread the rumors…it wasn’t the patriarch?"
Cassius let out a chuckle, his gaze glimmering with amusement.
Lucious, however, knew. He had known all along. And right now, his hands were shaking at the terrible realization of what his master had done.
Because he knew the answer.
And when he turned to Cassius, the way his master’s smirk grew only confirmed his worst fear.
Lucious’s face went pale. His throat went dry.
It was him.
Cassius himself had spread the rumors.
And by the time the truth was discovered…
He would already be dead.
He had orchestrated his own execution.
The realization sent a chill so deep through Lucious’s bones that he thought he might faint.
Cassius, meanwhile, simply stood there, smiling.
Lucious felt his breath grow unsteady, his entire body trembling as he took an unsteady step toward his master. His voice, usually filled with energy and mischief, was now weak, pleading.
"W-We…We can still fix this." He croaked. "We can go to the Vindictus household in the capital right now and ask for justice! They wouldn’t let this slide, Master! They—"
Cassius shook his head before he could finish.
"No, Lucious." His tone was final, resolute. "That’s not an option."
Lucious’s stomach twisted. "Why not?! If the Vindictus family knew—"
"They won’t get the chance to know." Cassius interrupted with an eerie calmness. He sighed, stretching his arms lazily as if they were discussing the weather instead of his impending execution. "Think about it. My father has no intention of allowing me to make it that far. He’s smart—too smart. Do you really think he’d leave a loose end like that?"
Lucious shook his head furiously, unwilling to accept it. "No…No, there has to be—"
"There is no other way." Cassius continued. "If I were to flee now, the Holy Guard would be branded as traitors. My father has undoubtedly placed a deadline on them to deliver my head. If they don’t return with it by then—" He gestured toward Julie and the assembled knights. "—they’ll all be hunted as criminals. Executed. Their families? Probably condemned alongside them."
Lucious turned desperately to the knights, hoping—praying—for a sign that Cassius was wrong. That there was some way out of this mess. But the grim, downcast expressions on their faces told him otherwise.
Julie remained silent, her emerald eyes full of a guilt so deep it threatened to crush her. Aisha, usually so sharp-tongued, stared at the ground, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. Skadi’s tail was drooped, her ears losing all their life, her face twisted in frustration.
Not a single knight argued against Cassius’s words.
And that alone confirmed the truth.
Lucious felt something break inside him. His throat tightened, his vision blurred.
"I-It’s not fair!" He choked out, his voice cracking with raw emotion. "It’s not fair! Why…Why does it have to be like this?! Why must my master fight against his own family—against his own father—just for existing?!"
Cassius watched him, his expression unreadable.
Lucious spun toward the knights, his body trembling with rage. "And you!" He pointed at them, his voice rising with fury. "You dare call yourselves the Sacred Guard?! You claim to uphold justice?! But what are you really doing here?! What kind of justice is this?! Killing an innocent man—for what?! To save your own skins?! To obey a corrupt order that should never have been given in the first place?!"
No one could meet his gaze.
The knights who once stood so proud, so tall—who once carried themselves as paragons of righteousness—were now slumped over, their heads bowed, shame thick in the air around them.
Some bit their lips, unable to form words.
And some—some began to tremble, the weight of their actions sinking in.
One knight—a younger woman near the back—let out a broken sob, covering her face with her hands.
Another let her weapon slip from her fingers, her shoulders shaking.
Even the more hardened veterans, those who had faced death countless times, could not deny the truth Lucious had laid bare.
Julie’s hands trembled around her sword. She had thought she had already come to terms with what she was about to do—but hearing Lucious say it so plainly…so truthfully…made it feel so much worse.
Aisha, the most pragmatic of them all, clenched her jaw. She wanted to argue back, to say that they had no choice. That they were backed into a corner. But the words never left her lips.
Because…what was the point?
Lucious was right.
They had always preached about fairness. About righteousness. About upholding the sacred duty of their order.
And yet, here they were. Carrying out an execution they knew was unjust.
They weren’t knights of justice.
They weren’t the holy protectors they were supposed to be.
They were no different from mercenaries—no different from the corrupt officials they despised.
Aisha exhaled sharply, her breath shaky. She didn’t want to admit it, but she could feel her own chest tightening with shame.
Skadi, usually the loudest and most excitable, was utterly silent. She couldn’t even look at Lucious, couldn’t bear to. She hated this. She hated that she had been put in this position. She hated that her captain—her beloved captain—was forced to choose between Cassius’s life and their own.
But most of all…
She hated that she hadn’t done anything to stop it.