Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: I am almost nervous

Chapter 253 – I am almost nervous

GASP!

The woman’s eyes flew as wide as humanly possible, snapping open, looking at the dark chamber she was in.

Her mind struggled to comprehend where she was and what she was doing.

Only for an instant.

Slowly, almost as if being forcibly dragged upward, her last memories resurfaced in her mind, sending a jolt of fear through her entire body that knotted her insides into a ball.

It was then that her eyes, pulsing with unconcealed fear, finally settled on Cassius sitting in front of her with a calm gaze.

Too calm, the kind that preludes a wrathful storm.

That kind of calm.

Behind him stood a woman with a white mask on her face. She instantly recognized the masked woman as the one who had kidnapped her.

Kidnapped.

’...am I kidnapped?’ Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked back at Cassius.

His face was one everyone in the Academy knew by now.

”A-Angel?” She probed, as if unsure of her own words.

Whether it was because her mind was too muddled to be certain, or because Cassius, in that moment, was nothing like the angel people believed him to be, was impossible to tell.

”What is your name?” Cassius asked directly, wasting no time.

”Eh?” The woman muttered, dazed, then slowly, ”...Natasha.” She whispered, heart pounding hard, ”Natasha Frost.”

”Okay, Natasha,” he continued, ”I don’t think I need to explain your current situation. And it’s already quite late. So let’s do this fast, shall we?”

Cassius lifted three fingers, making sure Natasha saw them.

”You have three seconds to answer my question.” Cassius said, his tone steady and sharp, ”Not answering by the third second will lead to an outcome you certainly won’t enjoy. Do you understand me, or do I need to explain further?”

Natasha said nothing, and couldn’t say anything.

She began cursing herself and her own greed, realizing the situation she was in was the result of what she’d done the night before.

The act she’d committed to frame an innocent man.

But what else could she do?

If she told Angel anything he asked, she wouldn’t receive her full payment.

That Love de Bayard was sly and cruel. She’d only paid half, promising the rest after a week, if there were no problems.

That thought made her hesitate, and she looked at Angel with eyes that clearly showed she wasn’t convinced by his threat.

Cassius could see it as clear as day.

A terrible mistake.

”You know,” he murmured, ”I learned something new about the Art of Torture not long ago from a professional.”

He gestured toward Nafissatou behind him, prompting her to step forward toward Natasha, chained to the chair.

”She told me that if I ever had to torture someone,” Cassius leaned forward, chin resting on his interlaced fingers, ”I should always start with the teeth. Don’t you find that interesting?”

Natasha couldn’t respond. She only stared at him, eyes darting between Nafissatou beside her and Cassius.

”However, as interesting as that might be, I have my own way of making someone talk.”

Cassius tilted his head, staring at her with a humorless smile, ”Forgive me for the roughness, I hope. This is my first time torturing someone. I’m almost nervous.”

”W-What do you want to know?” She stammered, sweat covering her face despite the cold air.

Natasha had lived around monsters long enough to recognize a bluff.

Cassius was not bluffing at all.

’Is...is he truly an Angel?’

”Wise choice.” He smiled, ”Tell me first, who ordered you to frame Klaus?”

Natasha swallowed hard, realizing her terrible predicament. No matter what she chose, she would suffer a tremendous punishment.

Love was cruel enough to kill her if she snitched.

But between someone not even ranked in the top 10 and a Palatine, the choice of which punishment to risk was clear.

And so...

”...Love.” She said, straining against the chains around her wrists, ”It was Love de Bayard.”

She expected some reaction from Cassius. But there was none, as if he already knew.

And that was exactly the case.

Having confirmed the information, Cassius set it aside, deciding to trust Klaus to handle his own problems, as he’d said he would.

That wasn’t his goal that night.

Not at all.

”I see. Next question: I’ve heard you’re a slave of the twins.” Cassius began, ”Is that true?”

Natasha shivered slightly, then, head lowered, nodded, ”Yes.”

”I don’t know what ’slave’ means to you, but I’m assuming that, given your status, you know quite a bit about your two masters.” He paused for emphasis, ”Am I correct?”

”W-What? Oh, no, Angel! Not at all.” Natasha shook her head wildly, ”I know nothing about them! Nothing beyond what everyone already knows! They don’t share anything with me!”

”Is that so? Then I think we’re going to have a little problem, Natasha.” Cassius whispered, leaning forward, locking his crimson eyes onto hers, ”I need something. And if you can’t remember, I’ll help you.”

Then he turned to Nafissatou beside her.

”Do me a favor, Nafi, and take her right arm and break her fingers one by one.”

Natasha gasped in horror, then immediately tried to scream. But no sound escaped as Nafissatou pressed a hand over her mouth.

Then the Magician nodded, her voice indifferent, ”Understood.”

She acted instantly, without hesitation. She lifted her other free hand and snapped her fingers.

Instantly, Natasha’s first finger broke sharply, twisting into a strange, unnatural angle.

Her eyes bulged wide open, so wide veins could be seen slithering across the whites like snakes. Tears welled and spilled down her face, and a heavy, beastly grunt barely escaped her sealed mouth.

She began to thrash, looking at Cassius with desperation, but he said nothing.

After the first finger, Nafissatou continued with an eerie professionalism, breaking one finger after another, the cracking sound echoing sharply through the chamber.

By the time she was done, Natasha’s eyes had gone hazy with agony, her face drenched in tears and snot, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

Nafissatou looked at Cassius next, waiting for further instructions.

He smiled and pointed at Natasha’s left hand.

”Now let me ask you again, what can you tell me about the Twins? Nafi, break a finger on her left hand every three seconds, one by one, until she answers everything.”

Nafissatou moved to the second hand, and Natasha’s body shuddered. She fought through the pain numbing her mind, trying to think of anything she could tell them.

It didn’t matter what. She just needed something to save herself from the pain about—!

CRACK—!

First finger.

”AARRGHHHHHHH!!” Natasha bellowed, her mind blanking out for a moment.

But her survival instinct kicked in, sending a jolt of adrenaline through her.

Her mind, despite the pain, sharpened with sudden clarity. And from that clarity surfaced a piece of information she’d once stumbled upon by accident.

Natasha’s trembling lips moved fast, faster than she’d known they could:

”Money!” She screamed, crying, breathing heavily, ”The Twins need money! That’s why they take more Missions than anyone, and why they’re also Alchemists who sell potions!”

”Money?” Cassius paused, signaling Nafi to halt as well, tilting his head, ”Why would they need money?”

”I don’t—!” Natasha stopped herself abruptly.

She knew by now that Angel didn’t care whether she truly knew or not.

He wanted an answer. Or she would die from the pain.

That realization pushed her to think harder about the why, watching Nafissatou draw close to her hand again.

Fortunately, the answer came more easily than expected, especially given that money, within the Academy, wasn’t particularly valuable.

Not unless one had far too much to waste.

”Their parents own a company in the Kingdom!” Natasha said, breathless, ”And I once heard Naomi mocking them, saying the company was riddled with debt! That it was about to close!”

”A company riddled with debt?” Cassius echoed, ”What’s the name of the company?”

”Blackice Company!” She said immediately, ”It sells a metal called Blackice, with inherent frost properties! But lately it’s—!”

”Answer only when I ask a question.” Cassius cut in, silencing her instantly.

He began thinking through the situation more carefully.

From the little he knew about them, the Twins weren’t originally from the Kingdom. They came from deep in the north, from a tribe near the Pit of Permafrost.

Why they’d come to the Kingdom was still unknown. Still, their parents had built a company around the unique material from their tribe.

That kind of business, however, could never last long without a consistent, high-quality supply.

And from what he knew of tribal customs, they rarely looked kindly on those who deserted them.

Taking all of that into account, Cassius asked one last question about the Twins:

”Who are they indebted to?”

The easiest question yet, and Natasha answered immediately, clinging to hope of survival, ”Tycoon’s Château.” She said, ”The Wealth family bank.”

Cassius smiled coldly at that.

”How sweet.” He murmured, then closed his eyes.

After the events with Coco, Cassius’s next goal had become clear in his mind.

Take hold of the Twins, and kill Naomi.

However, Cassius wasn’t foolish enough to believe such an action would go unanswered.

No Palatine would sit by and watch a classmate killed by another Palatine and do nothing.

Reputation mattered a great deal within the Academy.

’So I need to be ready to face the second year’s Palatine. And if I face the Palatine...that essentially means facing the entire second year.’

That realization didn’t scare Cassius in the slightest.

It was an unavoidable confrontation.

The easiest way to gain more standing and enter the Academy’s Named Men ranking — a ranking reserved for those with a recognized Title — was to defeat higher-year students or complete high-tier missions.

So sooner or later, this clash was coming, given how well he knew his classmates.

’I’ll just speed up the process.’

Reaching that conclusion, Cassius opened his eyes again and stood.

Natasha immediately let out a sigh of relief, though her shaking didn’t stop. Nafissatou looked at her with little emotion.

Cassius, meanwhile, walked a short distance away from the two women, then took out his phone.

He found Meadow’s number, pressed call, and lifted the phone to his left ear.

It took exactly three rings before she picked up,

”...hello?” She said, uncertain. It was the first time Cassius had ever called her.

”Hello, Meadow.” Cassius said, ”I’m sorry to call this late. Is it a bad time?”

”It’s fine. But if you’re calling at this hour, something must have happened.”

”True. That’s why I wanted to ask if you could do me a favor.”

”What do you need?”

”I don’t know if you have the authority, but look into the Blackice Company. I’ve heard they’re indebted to you.”

”Oh, debts? To our bank?” She echoed, her voice thoughtful, ”Hm, yes, I can look into it. Any Wealth child can.”

”Then please do.”

”Aye. Give me a second.”

Cassius waited patiently, hearing the shuffling, muttering sounds of Meadow as she moved to, he assumed, handle the matter.

Seconds later, she was done.

”Blackice Company,” she began, as if reading off something, ”founded by a foreign couple from a tribe deep in the north. They have two daughters who are... oh my...”

Meadow trailed off, seemingly understanding something from the information.

”How high is the debt?” Cassius asked, cutting to the most important part.

”54 million SN.” Meadow said, ”And that’s without interest. Add the interest, and it easily surpasses 70 million SN. They were supposed to pay it off a year ago, but since their two daughters are now at the Academy, we decided to give them face and grant three more years.”

Cassius’s eyes flashed with a cold smile.

”How much authority do you have?”

”I’m a Wealth, Cassius.”

”Then you can probably alter this debt?”

”What do you want to do with it?”

”I want you to raise the interest by fifty percent.” He said, his tone flat, ”And I want you to tell them they have three months to pay everything, or everything will be seized.”

”Oh my. Who angered my Editor today?” Meadow whispered, ”Should I be worried?”

”Not about me.”

She chuckled, ”Alright. I can do that for you. Do you want me to do anything else?”

”Yes. I want you to deliver a message when you break the news to them.”

”I’m all ears, Mr. Earth.”

”Tell them it isn’t their fault,” Cassius said, his crimson-and-white eyes burning softly. ”Tell them...it’s because of their two daughters.”

—End of Chapter 253—