CHAPTER 337: LET’S BECOME A FAMILY-II

In the deepest night, Cassius woke up gently from his bed. Though his beloved girl was asleep, he couldn’t immediately close his eyes and allow for his consciousness to drift yet.

From the corner of his eyes, he caught how her shoulders were exposed without a clothing and gently pulled her blanket until her neck, making sure that she wasn’t exposed to anything cold and turn sick.

She couldn’t be sick after all, not when they have promised to marry each other, promising to become one as a family.

"Hmn, no more," Arabella softly grunted, curling like a small little mouse.

Cassius chuckled as he could tell those words were muttered to him as he had refused to let her sleep earlier. He couldn’t help it himself, not when she just whispered how much she wanted to become a family with him too.

They would need children to be a complete family and he promised to work even harder to help her achieve the dream.

Under the bedside lamp, Cassius looked at her, making sure that she was really asleep and wouldn’t be awoken by anything.

He also made sure that there won’t be any rain tonight so she could go deeper in her slumber as she needs.

Only when he finally could push himself to leave her side did Cassius stood up from the bed, moving as slowly as he could so the bed wouldn’t creak. He then took the candlelight, moving toward the curtain and shutting them until he was sure the morning’s sun wouldn’t leak and woke her up.

After arranging the firewood in the fireplace, Cassius left his chamber and immediately spotted Renard, who was yawning and half asleep.

"You can go rest," Cassius ordered. "Bring a few more people with you to guard the door—and make sure no one dares to come here."

"I shall bring more people and stay," Renard replied firmly. It seemed that today’s events had jolted him into a heightened vigilance. He had no wish to see another monster suddenly appear, nor to risk Queen Morgana or that vile witch entering the castle to take revenge on his master and mistress.

Cassius didn’t argue, merely nodding in understanding.

As Renard adjusted his robe, his eyes caught the faint signs that Cassius was preparing to go somewhere, and that "somewhere" made him hesitate.

"Shouldn’t you give it more time?"

Cassius turned to him with a slight smirk. "Are you concerned for the King? Do you also think I shouldn’t kill him?"

"No," Renard denied at once, sighing softly. "I only wish that on a day like this, you wouldn’t have to stain your hands with more blood. I can go, Your Highness. I can carry out what needs to be done."

"I know you can." Cassius patted his shoulder. He had long since stopped placing his faith in others, ever since his brutal childhood. Experience had taught him that, eventually, everyone around him would turn against him the moment they realized how vain being by his side was.

They had feared that lingering too long in his shadow would draw the Queen’s wrath upon them, and with it, certain death.

As a boy, Cassius had despised such people, cursing their cowardice. But as he grew older, as he learned the true weight of survival, he began to understand. Betrayal was not always born of malice; it was the natural course of things. Once a person had served their purpose, they would turn their back to preserve their own life.

And so he had stopped trusting. Stopped offering anyone the chance to hurt him twice.

Only after he could bring himself to trust in someone again that he could finally see that Renard and Karnala was perhaps the very two rare people who was truly loyal to him, the ones who wouldn’t fear death if it was to obey his words.

This was something he would never know if he hadn’t learned it from Arabella’s presence.

"I trust that you can complete the punishment that the King deserves," Cassius answered to Renard. Being vulnerable wasn’t something he liked to do but for the first time, he didn’t think it was bad to open up. Perhaps because he had finally have a family now, someone who promised to be his family.

"Then I can go," offered Renard, no fear on his eyes despite knowing he could be sentenced to death.

"But this is something that I have to do," Cassius pulled his hand away from Renard, "I have promised to my mother’s grave to be the one who would end that man’s life for good. Besides, there are still things that need to be done by my hands to make peace with the past."

Although taken aback by how raw Cassius’s words were, Renard could only feel proud that finally his master who he had admired and loyally followed had shown a side to him that meant trust.

He firmly nodded his head, "Then I shall take care of this place. I promise no one else would be here to harm Lady Arabella."

"Good," Cassius chuckled as he walked away, "She is your Queen now, so protect her even after your death."

"Yes, Your Highness," saluted Renard as Cassius’s figure fade to the darkness.

It was a happy day indeed.

Finally he could have a family.

Though by doing so, he have to end the rest person who shares the same blood as him, the last one of his family member.

The place where Cassius then visited was none other than the throne room. As pristine as ever, as red as ever, and as empty as ever.

He didn’t quite like this place and have always thought that if he were to become the King one day in the future, he was going to make sure that this place would be the first to change.

"Cassius!"

The gruff voice cut through his eyes that had briefly dazed at the red curtain beside the throne and with amusement, he shifted his hungry gaze toward his father who had now been knelt in place by two of Cassius’s men.

"Why so loud father?" He sung with a sigh, rolling his eyes dramatically, "I can hear you just fine if you don’t scream... or perhaps you think that someone would hear you scream and rush to help you? I never knew that you would be so naive, father."