Chapter 79: I do not need to prove my worth to you

Chapter 79: I do not need to prove my worth to you "I guess?" Cass replied, nervous, and Lord Ridgewood chuckled. "I would never understand. After all, compared to the rest of you, I just work hard. With that being said, Lady Fiona, we should apologise for waking Lord Blackburn up when he clearly had been up late." He gestured to the piles of papers around the room and Lady Fiona’s mouth opened, before she shut it quickly. "I...you’re right." She muttered quietly before she turned to Cass. Cass stood still, his arms still crossed and really not expecting anything from her. Why would he? Not only had she hurt him twice, she then had accused him of something without even checking all because it upset her precious little Lady Ava. Cass swallowed at the rage in his chest. Yes, he was pissed at them, but not to that level. Honestly, he was more disappointed in them, not as angry as his body was saying. "Lord Blackburn, no, Cassian, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions without actually speaking to you. It was...it was very wrong of me to do so, and I’m sorry that I made you feel like you had to prove you hadn’t done anything wrong. I clearly need...I clearly need to change how I think about things." Cass felt his eyes widen. He hadn’t expected her to be so sincere, and he especially didn’t expect her to bow to him. It was clear Draken hadn’t expected it either, but Lord Ridgewood just watched on quietly. Cass tapped his fingers on his arm, staring at her as she remained bent over. As the silence continued to drag on, Lady Fiona twitched. "Um, Lord Blackburn?" Lady Fiona prompted and Cass sighed. "Ah, I was just admiring the fact that you were actually apologising. You can stand up now." Cass told her and Draken had to turn away, his shoulders shaking. Lord Ridgewood didn’t react, but Lady Fiona’s face was red when she stood up. "That’s cruel. I always apologise when I’m in the wrong." Lady Fiona said and Cass raised his eyebrows. "Always, huh?" He slid his gaze to Draken before he slid it back to her and she flushed further. Her lips turned down in a frown, and she clenched her hands. "I...I’m not going to apologise for that because it was for your own good." She said and Cass was surprised. "For my own good?" He repeated and she nodded. "It was. Even if it was wrong for me to do, your magic was getting out of control." Cass laughed harshly, but Lady Fiona forged ahead. "I know it was wrong, but you looked as if you didn’t even understand what was happening, so I just-" "I was having a panic attack!" Cass shouted, the anger and rage inside of him boiling over. "I was panicking and I had made my demands very clear about what I needed. If you had just, turned around and left, I could have calmed down on my own! Instead, you used information you had learned about me against me and hurt me. Do you even know how long it took to heal the bite? It still hasn’t fully healed!" Cass yanked down the side of his shirt, showing off the clearly defined bite marks that were still red and swollen. Draken gasped, and Lady Fiona looked horrified. "You did this to me without asking my permission, and you have the fucking audacity to say it was for my own good?" "Lord Blackburn," Lord Ridgewood started and Cass snarled. He uncrossed his arms, his hands and arms moving as he spoke. "Don’t you dare try to ’Lord Blackburn’ me right now. I am so beyond angry, and there is no way any of you are going to be able to calm me down when I can’t even calm myself down. And I am allowed to be angry! You didn’t even give me a fucking chance! You just panicked because you know I am powerful and now-" Cass cut off, furious. He shook his head, taking in a shaky breath. "No, that’s enough. I don’t want to talk about this anymore with you. I don’t have to prove that I’m worth anything to you." Lady Fiona flinched. Draken didn’t look well, and was fidgeting with his hands. "I...Shit, I’m so sorry Lord Blackburn. Of course you are worth something." Lady Fiona said, her voice soft and Cass shook his head again, laughing. He crossed his arms again, worried he might throw something at them if he didn’t. The paperweight next to him was looking rather tempting. "Don’t. Don’t say that when I know better. I may not have had my memories when I first woke up, but all of your actions spoke for you. Out. All of you. I have a busy day, and I already have a sour taste in my mouth." Lady Fiona looked helpless, but Cass couldn’t be bothered to feel any remorse. He shouldn’t, either. She had made this bed, and Cass had been naive enough to miss his sister enough to think that she was her. Lady Fiona was not his sister. His sister had never once used his sexuality to hurt him like this, nor had she betrayed his trust. The one time that her husband had gotten angry at him, she had slid in to defend him. Of course, they had smoothed everything out after, and their relationship had recovered, but if she had stood up for her husband over him? Cass was pretty sure the feeling would be similar to what he felt for Lady Fiona now. It was clear that she wanted to force it, but she held her tongue. Nodding, her eyes pools of regret, she turned and headed for the door. Lord Ridgewood gave a small bow to Cass before he followed after her. The two left, leaving him alone with Draken. Cass glared at him and Draken flinched. "I...I know I should leave you alone, but I just wanted to let you know that those magic lessons are still on the table. I won’t ask anything of you. I just...I just honestly want you to get better, alright? Not for my personal self interests, but just because I would rather you be able to throw magic around like you used to when you get angry. Your words hurt more than the magic does." Draken mumbled, before he swallowed. "So you could...do both, you know? Extra powerful." He swallowed, playing with his fingers. "And I’m sorry for my actions yesterday. It isn’t really an excuse, but the adrenaline was running through my veins from when I saw the dire wolf on top of you. Because of my bigger build, it’s hard for me to calm down. I went too far, and I’m sorry for that. So...don’t be afraid to reach out for those lessons. I’m a good teacher. Ask Byron." Draken nodded a few times, glancing at Cass before he ducked his head. It was odd to see the man so hesitant, but Cass guessed it was because he had seen how angry Cass was. Still was. "A-Anyway, I’ll leave now. You don’t need to accept my apology. I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry." He pursed his lips. "And Edgar is an asshole." He muttered before he turned and headed out of his study. The last line caught Cass off guard, and he wondered what those two had said or done to each other after he had left. Why was he calling Vespertine an asshole? He was, of course, but why did Draken think that? As far as he knew, they got on okay. They had in the book as well. Cass sighed, his body now shaking with the rage he felt inside of him. Fuck. He had held it together, mostly, after Lady Fiona had poked the beast that was now inside of him, but this was too much. He was going to have to do something to get rid of this, and unfortunately, speaking to those damn ’gods’ was at the top of the list. After working it out through sweating. A soft knock sounded on the door and Sam stuck his head inside. "My Lord? Are you alright? They all seemed to be rather upset as they left, but not in an angry at you way. Did you smooth things over?" He asked and Cass ground his teeth. "In a way, but the anger I had suppressed last night came back. Fuck. I need to get dressed. Is there anything light I can eat before I start my day? I didn’t mean to sleep in this late, so now I need to rush around a bit more than I anticipated and need more fuel." Sam’s eyes lit up. "Of course my Lord! I checked everything personally, so I will help you get dressed and then rush to the butler pantry and pick it up." Cass frowned. "Is that in the kitchens?" He asked and Sam nodded. "Why don’t we turn one of the rooms I don’t use into one of those? That way we have a safe supply of food, and you don’t have to run all over the place." Sam’s eyes widened, before his cheeks heated. "Oh my Lord. I didn’t know you cared about me so much. While I appreciate your sentiment, it’s alright. I like running, and..." He hesitated for a moment. "It’s a good way to get the local gossip." He whispered, and Cass felt his lips twitch. Sam was always able to get him to smile in some way. Sighing, Cass uncrossed his arms, and stretched from side to side before he crossed the length of the floor and met him at the door. Sam opened it wider, and Byron came into view. He looked a little nervous. Cass, knowing that he had bigger ears now, wondered what he had heard for him to be so anxious. "I-I didn’t mean to overhear." He started as Cass stared at him, not blinking until he cracked. "It really wasn’t intentional, and I am sorry that I did. I will move further away next time. I, uh, I..." Byron dropped his head. "He is a good teacher." He muttered and Cass stared at him in silence. "Even if he is, Byron, he has also flip flopped between being a good person and a bad person to me. Currently, I do not want his help, but thank you for owning up to your mistake right away." Cass told him and Byron nodded. "I am sorry for offering up my opinion without your consent, but I would rather say it now, then bring it up after it had eaten me alive for a while. I will not speak on this further unless you ask." Byron said and Cass felt his lips twitch. Damn it, the two of them were so damn cute it made his teeth hurt. Until he asked? Stop it, that was some adorable servant shit and now Cass felt like he was worth listening to. Cass couldn’t do anything until he spoke to the ’gods’ again though. This pit of anger was too much to ignore, and he didn’t want to feel out of control. He hated not feeling in control, especially to his own emotions. There was a reason he worked hard to not let others see his emotions in his previous world. "It’s alright, Byron. As I said, I appreciate you admitting your mistake right away. We can worry about the rest at a later date. For now, keep an eye on the study, and I’m sure I will have more work for you in a few hours once we start the meetings Sam scheduled." Sam nodded, a smile on his face. "Wonderful, my Lord." Sam stated, and Byron froze. "Oh! I moved everything from the idiot’s room into one of the spare rooms with Sam’s help, my Lord. I made sure that it didn’t smell like anyone had been there for a while, so you can take your time looking over what he had in his possession. As I can’t read, I wasn’t able to take a proper look at any of the documents I found, so I just took everything." He puffed up, proud, and Cass couldn’t help but chuckle. "Bend down, Byron." Byron did as directed, unsure what Cass wanted to do. Since he was behaving like a loyal dog... Cass reached up and patted his head, a smile on his face. "Good job, Byron." He told him cheekily, and Sam gasped, along with Byron. "Why does he get a head pat and I do not? Have I displeased you?" Sam demanded and Cass really laughed. "I have two hands. Get over here, Sam." Sam moved closer, and Cass trembled at the image before him. His two henchmen, pleased to get head pats as a reward for their work. What on earth had he gotten himself into?