Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!

Cassius had been quietly savoring the silence, his eyes still on the faint glow of lanterns outside the window. But beside him, Julie's thoughts were anything but calm.

Her heart was racing.

'Maybe, I have fallen for you.'

She replayed the words over and over in her head. The softness in her own voice, the slip of her tongue that had nearly sounded like a confession.

The more she thought about it, the more her cheeks burned.

She wanted to sink into the earth.

Leaning against Cassius's shoulder now, she didn't dare say another word.

'How do I move on? What do I even say next?'

She bit her lip, her mind scrambling for an escape from the crushing embarrassment.

Then, suddenly, an idea sparked in her mind. She jolted upright, pulling back quickly from his shoulder.

"Cassius!" She blurted, perhaps a little too loudly. "I, I just remembered something. I totally forgot about it until now."

Cassius turned his head toward her, one brow rising in mild curiosity, while Julie clasped her hands together, fumbling slightly as she went on.

"There's...something I was supposed to give you. Or rather, Avery has something to give you. She gave it to me, so I could pass it on to you."

At the mention of that name, Cassius's lips curled into a slow smile. Avery, the veteran knight he had embraced and thoroughly shown his 'love' in front of the entire Holy Guard, the one who frequently visited his mansion, sometimes even staying the night after that day.

Their relationship had been...quite clear since then.

Cassius tilted his head and chuckled.

"Oh? And what exactly is my Avery up to now?" His tone was smooth, teasing. "If she had something for me, she could have simply come over to my mansion herself. I'm mostly free when I'm there." His smile deepened into a knowingly lewd look. "And after giving me whatever she wanted to give, we could've spent some time alone. You know...properly."

"Ugh...I don't need to know about all those details."

Julie scoffed immediately, rolling her eyes, though the heat in her cheeks betrayed her, as she remembered how Avery always looked so much more younger after she visited Cassius.

Cassius only smirked and Julie quickly shook her head and pressed on.

"No. She only wanted to give you something after learning about your departure. She only found out in the morning, and she was busy, so she couldn't meet you herself. So she gave it to me to pass along. I just...forgot, with all the rush." She finally pulled a small object from her pocket and held it out. "But I remembered now."

Cassius accepted it with a curious expression. He unfolded it, and blinked.

It was crude, almost childlike in its construction.

Two pieces of paper awkwardly cut and pasted together, with something sealed between them. And scrawled across the top, in uneven handwriting: Safe travels.

Cassius stared at it for a long moment, utterly puzzled. "What...exactly is this supposed to be?" He tilted the makeshift craft in his fingers. "It looks strange. I've never seen anything like it."

Julie cleared her throat nervously. "It's...actually a charm. The kind soldiers take with them when they march out, so they'll come back home safe."

Cassius blinked again. "A charm?"

"Yes." Julie nodded quickly. "Normally, it's something a wife would give to her husband before he goes off to war. That's why Avery panicked, she heard you were leaving, and wanted to give you one right away. It's just...she didn't have much time."

Cassius looked back at the paper in his hand, his lips curling into a softer smile. He held it a little more carefully now, his thumb brushing over the uneven edges.

"Ahh...how sweet of her. She didn't have to, but she still went out of her way. I'm...happy. Really happy, actually."

His face, usually so teasing, now carried a genuine warmth.

Julie couldn't help but smile too, seeing how much he appreciated even such a simple gesture. It showed just how much he cared about the women in his life, even the small things mattered.

But Cassius's curiosity wasn't satisfied. He lifted the charm up toward the lanternlight, studying it again.

"But I am curious…" He said slowly. "Where exactly did she get this? Which church? I've never seen a charm like this before. It's...unique, in its own way." He chuckled lightly. "Almost like a child made it."

Julie froze. Her fingers twitched at her sides, and her eyes darted away.

Noticing her nervousness, Cassius narrowed his gaze playfully. "Julie…?"

She hesitated, then let out a tiny groan.

"Ugh...fine. But don't judge her too harshly, alright?"

Cassius raised a brow. "Judge?"

Julie nodded nervously.

"The truth is...she didn't have any time. She didn't go to a church. She didn't buy a proper charm at all. There's no holy power in this. It hasn't been blessed by a priest. Nothing like that."

Cassius narrowed his eyes, curiosity growing. "…Then what exactly is this?"

Julie exhaled, cheeks reddening. "It's...something she made herself. She cut two pieces of paper, and...she put something of her own inside before pasting them together."

Cassius tilted his head. "Something of her own?"

Julie's voice grew small, as if nervous of his reaction.

"…Her hair. She cut some of her own hair, placed it between the papers, and wrote the blessing. It's...an old tradition from her village."

"Women would give such charms to their partners before they left, so they'd be protected. She said her people have followed it for centuries."

She watched him carefully, almost holding her breath, before quickly adding,

"I know it looks crude. I know it doesn't have holy power. And I know nowadays soldiers discard charms like this, even from their wives, because they want the real blessed ones. But please…" Her voice faltered slightly, her eyes darting away in worry. "…please don't throw it aside. She did her best. She was worried about you."

Her hands tightened nervously in her lap.

"I know it must look ridiculous, cut paper with hair inside? It could even look like witchcraft. But she really only meant well. She was scared for you, and this was the only thing she could think of."

Julie's throat was dry, her fingers clutching her own skirts, her chest tight as she waited for his reaction. Her heart beat so hard it was almost painful.w

'What if he laughed, what if he threw it aside, what if all this sentiment was crushed in front of her eyes?'

But to her utter surprise...he did no such thing.

Cassius simply gazed down at the crude charm in his hand, and then, softly, smiled. Not a mocking smile, not a careless grin, but a fond one, almost warm with nostalgia.

Then his gaze turned heavier, almost pitying, and his voice came out low and sincere.

"I feel sad..." He murmured. "...for the wives of those soldiers who discard charms like these. They must feel horrible...knowing their husband didn't even bother to care for something made with such heartfelt emotion."

"To think of all that love and fear stitched into a gift like this...and for it to be tossed away like trash."

Julie blinked, stunned.

Cassius then rubbed his storage ring and, with a practiced hand, pulled out a thin piece of string. Before Julie could even process what he was doing, he carefully poked a small hole into the top of the charm, threading the string through with the care of someone handling fragile glass.

Within moments, he had fashioned it into a pendant. And then, with a fluid motion, he lifted it over his head and let the charm settle against his chest.

Julie's eyes went wide. Her mouth nearly dropped. "Y-You're...you're wearing it? You're actually going to wear it?"

Cassius raised a brow, looking at her as though she had asked the strangest question. "Should I not? Are these supposed to be kept in the pocket instead?"

Julie frantically shook her head, hands waving.

"No, no, no! Not at all! You can definitely wear it! It's just that...just like I said before...most soldiers wouldn't even treat this as a proper charm."

"I've seen it so many times, charms like these stepped on without care, tossed back into their wives hands. They'd much rather have charms from priests, the ones that hold holy power."

"So even if you didn't discard it, I never thought you'd actually wear it. Keep it close like this. Why...Why would you do that?"

Cassius finished tying the knot neatly, adjusted the crude little charm so it sat comfortably against his chest, and then looked at her with a gaze so gentle it made her breath catch. His voice was steady, calm, yet carried a weight that pressed straight into her heart.

"It's quite simple." He said softly. "When you're on the battlefield, surrounded by corpses, standing alone as an army approaches...would you rather hold a charm blessed by an old priest who doesn't even know your name, doesn't care about you, doesn't know where you are?"

"...Or would you rather hold a charm made by your loving wife, who cut her own hair, who poured her heart into it, who wanted nothing more than for you to return home to her arms?"

His fingers pressed the charm against his chest, right over his heart, and his lips curved into a smile so full of warmth it was disarming.

"I don't know about others." Cassius continued. "But for me...I'd much rather have the charm given by my wife."

"Just knowing that someone waits for me back home, someone who loves me enough to make something like this...that alone gives me more strength than any holy priest's blessing."

"...That thought alone would give me the spirit to fight a thousand men, just so I could return to her."

Hearing this confession, Julie's eyes went wide. She stared at him, her lips parting slightly as his words struck her chest like arrows.

This wasn't even her charm...She wasn't the one who had cut her hair.

And yet, her heart began to race uncontrollably. Her face burned hot, and all the fear she had carried a moment ago flushed away, drowned beneath the weight of his sincerity.

And then...she realized it.

The way she was looking at Cassius had changed again. She had grown fonder of him. Too fond. She was falling for him deeper, and deeper, and now she knew it. She knew.

The realization hit her so hard she didn't even feel embarrassment...Instead, she felt angry.

And all of a sudden, with a heart full of rage and indignant fury, Julie surged forward, startling Cassius. Her finger jabbed hard into his stomach, again, and again, and again, like a flurry of tiny punches.

"H-Hey!?" Cassius stumbled back a step, blinking at her in confusion. "What are you—?!"

"Cassius, how could you!?" She burst out, still poking him repeatedly. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?! You're trying to make me fall for you, you cheeky bastard!"

Cassius blinked again, utterly baffled. "Wh-Whhat nonsense are you even spouting now?!"

Julie ignored him, continuing her assault of sharp little pokes.

"This is too much! You playboy! Every single thing you say is always meant to target women! Who even taught you to talk like this? Who gave you that mouth that's too sweet for its own good?!"

"Julie, what are you even—?!"

"And don't you dare look at me with that gentle face while talking about love!" She shouted, still jabbing at his chest now, her eyes flashing. "That face should be illegal! It's too handsome, too charming, too dangerous! Do you have any idea what it does to women?!"

Cassius raised both hands defensively, taking another step back as she grabbed him by the collar. "Wait, hold on, Julie—!"

She shook him violently, her face red with a mix of anger and fluster.

"You're bullying me, Cassius! That's what you're doing! Absolutely bullying me! And I can't take it anymore!"

Cassius stared at her, dumbfounded, his collar clutched in her fists as she shook him like a ragdoll.

"Bullying?! What are you even—?! Have you gone mad, Julie?!"

But Julie didn't stop. She just kept glaring at him, her heart raging and trembling all at once, her voice cracking with frustration.

"You don't get it, Cassius, you don't get how weak my heart gets when it comes to you! And it's your fault, all your fault!"

Cassius could only stare at her, his mouth opening but no words coming out, as he thought in complete bewilderment: What in the world is this woman even saying…? Has she finally gone mad?