(BL) The Villain wants a Divorce!

The silence after everything had smoothed over, while Cass was munching on cake was...uncomfortable.

Cass’ eyes felt swollen, his face was hot, and he was a little worried about how they were going to move past this moment. That was when Sam revealed something.

”Um, my lord? I have something that I think you’ll want to see.” Sam muttered, sounding guilty. Cass, who had no idea what he was talking about, turned towards Sam who was awkwardly shuffling forward. He had a letter in his hand, and even with his puffy red eyes he looked like he was preparing for a scolding.

”What is it?” Cass asked, his voice a little scratchy from his theatrics. Sam looked even more guilty after hearing Cass speak.

”I didn’t really mean to hide it from you. It wasn’t intentional. It’s just...it came in when everything was happening and I didn’t think it was appropriate to give it to just Lord Edgar and Lord Gideon when you weren’t awake.” Sam was making excuses, and Cass wasn’t sure why. He was also speaking so quickly that it took Cass a moment to be able to process what he was saying.

”Okay. I’m not upset if you held off for that reason. I’m sure the others aren’t upset either.” Cass told him, glancing at Gideon and Edgar. Both men were nodding slightly in agreement and Sam’s shoulders relaxed.

”Thank you my Lord. My apologies for the delay. Here you are.” Sam handed over the item, and Cass was surprised to find it was...a letter.

A rather plain-looking letter but it appeared it had traveled quite some distance. It was battered around the edges, but the seal was still intact and...

Cass realised why Sam hadn’t handed it over before now. It was faint, but this thing was covered in holy power. There were very few people who could do something like this. Very few.

He only knew of two who would write the names of Cass, Edgar, Gideon and Lucian all on one envelope.

Cass let out a heavy sigh. It was always one thing after another, wasn’t it? Honestly, he expected that he would be more angry if he received a letter from them, but he was too exhausted. That, and he understood why they had left now that some separation was in between them abandoning Cass with a bunch of men and their first dungeon without them.

”Pass me the letter opener, Sam.” Cass said mildly and Sam rushed forward, doing just that. Cass didn’t want to waste magic on it, and he wasn’t sure he’d have the precision right now to be careful.

Cass slid the letter opener into one corner carefully, the sound of paper slicing filling the air. When Sam took the letter opener away and stepped back, Cass felt Gideon tense under him. Cass smiled softly.

”Well, shall we? It’s sad that Lucian isn’t here, but he’d probably burn it before we could read it.” Cass joked.

”I was tempted to do so in his place.” Byron muttered. ”But Sam...persuaded me otherwise.” Cass sighed. They had to talk about that, but later.

”Do not take after him.” Cass muttered quietly and Byron laughed.

”I’m telling him that when he comes back.” Byron warned and Cass raised a finger and flipped him off.

”See if I help you make a den you can take Sam to when you shed then.” Cass muttered and Byron froze.

”Forgive me, my lord. I spoke out of turn.” Cass had to admit, Byron knew when to push. He was cute like that. Cass easily forgave him, but let him stew it the discomfort for a moment longer as he turned his attention towards the letter.

The envelope actually held a few letters. They were small, neat things, written on paper that could be sourced, nothing official. It was interesting to see. Gideon had the smallest letter from Fiona, while Cass had two rather long ones from Ava and Fiona. Edgar had his own two letters, also rather long in length, and Lucian only had one letter as well.

It certainly showed who were the favourites, hmm?

Cass decided to read Ava’s first. He wondered what she could come up with that was so long, and why she even sent him a letter in the first place.

Cass was...pleasantly surprised reading Ava’s letter.

Ava, it appeared, had been doing a lot of soul searching on her solo travels with Fiona. She also explained her fear and sadness about leaving everyone behind, but the gods (plural) had told her that this was the right decision to keep her and the hero safe. Ava would do anything to keep Fiona safe, so while she was scared, it was a no brainer.

She was very apologetic that they kept it from everyone and she had been repenting in her own way for her crimes. She knew she had done something terrible, and had heard news of the dungeon.

Despite that, she had faith in Cass. He was a hero as well, and someone who had very little fear in her eyes. He would do well, the gods had told her so.

That didn’t mean that things had been going smoothly.

Ava ratted Fiona out immediately. She said that she knew that Fiona would say that they were doing well and everything was fine, but they had been followed by three different groups of demons and Fiona had to deal with all of them. It wasn’t the safety they were expecting, but it was also eye opening.

The demon issue was far greater than Ava thought. In a twisted way, Ava felt like this was her calling. She had purged evil out of several towns already, and she could tell that the gods were happy with her. It was small, but this felt like the right thing to do.

They would keep traveling, and while it hurt Ava, she accepted a few coins here and there to help with their travel expenses. She knew Fiona would turn everything down, but Ava knew that they needed something to stay alive.

She finished the letter by thanking Cass for giving them courage and for standing up for them when they didn’t deserve it. She would be praying for him, and looking forward to any news of his good deeds. She may or may not have suggested the end of a few family lines, but Cass kept that to himself.

Cass couldn’t even feel too bitter after reading the letter. It seemed that this trip was exactly what Ava needed to grow up. It was fascinating that Ava could see the weak points in Fiona and instead of making her feel bad, she adapted for them. Ava was taking money behind Fiona’s back to keep them alive. That was...sweet.

Something Cass would have done. Neither Edgar nor Gideon would do that. Cass just...knew that.

Cass put Ava’s letter down and turned towards Fiona’s.

Fiona, like Ava had predicted, said that their travels were going great. She was writing this letter to let him know that everything was going well. They were safe, and despite a few ”hiccups” things were going smoothly. After reading Ava’s letter, it was cute that Fiona called demons stalking them ”hiccups”.

Well, she was a former mercenary. Maybe they were hiccups in her mind.

Fiona got past the pleasantries, the things she had learned in order to become the hero and finally got to what she really wanted to say. She was deeply apologetic towards Cass. So much so that it left a sour taste in Cass’ mouth.

Cass almost stopped reading, but forced himself to continue.

Fiona didn’t take up half of the letter with her apology, but just a single paragraph. Cass was annoyed, but he wasn’t dumb. Reading was easier for him to comprehend then speaking, so it didn’t take long for him to get the real reason behind her apology.

She was having a hard time. Dealing with the guilt of what she had done, what she had left behind, everything. She was stressed, angry, and still scared that she might be dragged back.

She was also happy to finally be able to be with Ava, but it was bittersweet because she was worried about Cass. She was worried about everyone, especially with the news of the dungeon.

The writing in this section was particularly tense, the strokes of the writing utensil so hard and deep that the paper was warped slightly. Cass could feel her emotions even if she was suppressing them. Cass felt bad for her.

While Cass was filled with anger, she was filled with fear, guilt and duty. She couldn’t escape it even if Cass could give up his anger. They were very different people, different heroes, and Cass realised that maybe this mission of hers wasn’t so much her getting her freedom but also a punishment. A learning opportunity.

After all, she was the one who killed Cassian in the original story. This was the first time that Cass considered that maybe the gods had sent her away for his sake, not hers.

It was a strange...feeling.

The rest of Fiona’s letter was dark, warning Cass of the same things that Ava was. The demon presence in other parts of the world was serious and dangerous. They were going to do their best to handle it all, but if Cass and the others heard anything about them, not to worry.

They would come back once things felt better, safer across the world, and when more hints about the Demon King began to show up.

It was such a Fiona thing to say that Cass laughed a little as he finished up the letter. Sam was right to hold these back. Cass needed a good laugh after all of the shit he’d just gone through.

When Cass was done, he raised his gaze to look around the room. Edgar and Gideon had finished their letters and Cass almost wanted to read Lucian’s. He didn’t, but just barely.

”Did they say anything interesting?” Cass asked the two men next to him.

”Just to protect you.” Gideon said gravely and Cass smiled. When he glanced at Edgar, his expression was pensive.

”They said something similar.” He agreed and Cass nodded.

”They warned me about the demons.” Cass told then, and then recounted the important parts from both letters to the rest of the room. Everyone seemed to not like hearing the news, but Cass was calm.

They had two Saints now, and the demons probably didn’t know that. However, Cass had more human issues to deal with.

The King and the Dukes.