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

Julie still had both fists wrapped around Cassius's collar, shaking him with that red, frustrated face of hers, when Cassius suddenly frowned as if realizing something. Without warning, he caught her wrist firmly, halting her movements.

"Stop, stop, Julie." He said quickly, his voice firm but not angry. "I don't mind if you want to keep jabbing my stomach, that's fine. But quit shaking me around like this."

Julie blinked, startled, her grip loosening a little. "Eh? Why?"

Cassius gave her a serious look and gestured to his chest. "Because that's where all my charms are hanging. I don't want anything to happen to them."

Julie instantly let go, stepping back with a guilty little flinch.

"Oh, s-sorry! I didn't mean to...I wasn't thinking." Her cheeks flushed, embarrassed by her own childish outburst.

But then, something in his words stuck in her mind. She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing suspiciously as she took a step closer again.

"…Wait. Did you just say charms? As in plural?"

Cassius blinked, caught. "…Yes?"

Julie folded her arms, her tone sharpening as she peered at him. "But you only have one charm. Avery's charm. So why did you say it like you have more than one?"

Cassius let out a small laugh, scratching his cheek.

"Ah...well, that's because I don't have just one charm. I have...more than that."

Julie blinked rapidly. "More than—?"

Before she could finish, Cassius casually buttoned the top of his shirt, then tugged the fabric downward, revealing the upper part of his well-toned chest.

Julie's eyes widened as she realized she hadn't noticed before, but there, hanging from multiple strings, were several charms.

No, not just several, an entire collection.

They were stacked against each other in a colorful mess: some delicate, some rough, some made of wood and cloth, others shimmering faintly like expensive pieces straight from the church.

Different colors, different designs, some humble and simple, some lavish and ornate, but all of them, without a doubt, were safe travel charms.

Julie blinked in disbelief.

"What the—?! Cassius!?" She pointed an accusing finger at him, her voice rising. "Where did you even get all of those?! You...You look like you robbed a church!"

"...Don't tell me you bought every single charm in the cathedral just to make sure you'd crawl back home in one piece!"

Cassius chuckled lightly and pulled his shirt back up, fastening it again with unhurried ease.

"No, no, nothing like that." His lips curved in a teasing smile. "Don't you remember how many wives I have? And you know how fond the maids are of me as well. All of them made sure I'd have charms with me before I left."

"...They wanted to keep me safe, so they gave me these."

Julie froze. Her eyes went wide as the realization hit her. "Oh…" She breathed. "Ohhh…" Of course. It made sense. It was their doing. All his wives, giving him tokens of love and worry.

And yet, for some reason, the thought left her oddly irritated, like she was being left out of something important. Like she was standing outside a circle she desperately wanted to enter.

Still, she forced a smile, covering up that irritation, and stepped forward with a teasing glint in her eye.

"Well, if a soldier has that many charms hanging around his neck, then he'd better fight his absolute hardest, right?...Even if he had to face an entire army alone, he wouldn't dare lose, after all, so many wives are waiting for him back home."

She leaned in closer, smirking mischievously.

"You really are a lucky husband, aren't you, Cassius?"

And in response, Cassius shamelessly puffed his chest out, grin wide.

"Of course I am! I'm blessed to have so many loving wives!"

Julie blinked. The words had slipped out of her lips intending to tease him, but instead, she found herself blushing, flustered, and oddly embarrassed.

But then, another thought occurred to her. Her brows furrowed as she pointed again, eyeing his chest.

"But wait, there are so many of them. They're literally stacked on top of each other. That has to be uncomfortable. Why don't you just keep them in your pocket? Or in a bag? Or even in your storage ring?"

"...You don't have to wear all of them around your neck at all times."

Cassius's hand instinctively went to his chest, covering where the bundle of charms rested beneath his shirt. His expression softened, thoughtful, almost tender.

"Because..." He said slowly. "Just like how they miss me, I miss them too, even now. And I thought, if I keep the charms close to my heart, it feels like they're right here with me. Even if they're far away...even if I can't see them...it feels like they're beside me."

Julie stiffened.

She knew he meant every word with sincerity, his tone calm and genuine, but to her, it was an attack.

A direct strike on her already weakened heart.

Before Cassius could even react, Julie suddenly clutched her chest with both hands, her knees buckling as she crumpled to the ground.

"Julie?!" Cassius startled, crouching down quickly, but she curled up like a shrimp, pressing her forehead to the floor.

"Ohhh my heart, my heart!" Julie wailed dramatically. "It hurts, it hurts, why do you keep doing this to me!? Cassius, you, you cruel man! You must hate me so much that you want me to suffer! My heart, ahhh, my heart!"

Cassius stared at her, utterly dumbfounded. "What, Julie—?! What are you even—"

She waved a hand weakly, still clutching her chest with the other.

"It's all your fault! Don't you dare argue! Just accept it, it's all your fault! My heart is going to burst from how much you keep attacking it with that sweet mouth of yours!"

Cassius pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling slowly.

"Julie...I may be many things, but I don't have the power to give people heart attacks. I don't own some cursed notebook that kills people when I write their name. I cannot do this to you."

"Shut up! Be quiet!" Julie cut him off, rolling around on the ground like a dying shrimp, her face flushed. "Just admit it! Admit that you're at fault and stop being so damn charming!"

"...Arghhh, it hurts, it hurts, someone help me! My heart is being bullied again!"

Cassius just looked at her, disbelief painted across his face, as he muttered under his breath,

"…This woman is completely insane."

Julie then kept rolling around on the ground, clutching her chest dramatically, until finally, after what felt like an eternity, she stopped. She lay still for a moment, then suddenly sat herself up, catching Cassius completely off guard.

He blinked, watching her, confused. "…What now?"

Julie said nothing. She just stared at him, her gaze unwavering.

"…Why are you looking at me like that?" Cassius asked, leaning back a little.

Then suddenly, she lifted her hand and gave a sharp, commanding gesture. "Come here."

"…Huh?"

"Closer." Her voice was serious, sharp, like a commander calling in her soldier.

Cassius squinted suspiciously. "…Why?"

"Just come."

With a sigh, he crouched down cautiously, like he was about to listen to some big secret. He opened his mouth. "Alright, what—"

But before he could finish, Julie suddenly grabbed both of his shoulders with surprising strength and yanked him forward until their faces were almost touching.

Cassius froze, his eyes widening. "Wh-What are you—"

Julie's face was fierce, solemn, and dead serious, the look of a general issuing orders to his subordinate.

"Cassius..." She said sternly, her voice hard as steel.

Cassius blinked rapidly, caught completely off guard. "Uh, y-yes?"

"I know just how much you love to talk about your wives. I know just how much you adore them."

She narrowed her eyes further, practically boring into his soul.

"...But from here on forth, you better not talk about them to me."

"…Eh?"

"I don't want to know any details. Not a single one! Not how cute your wife is, not what she made you for dinner, not even how she breathed in her sleep!"

"Why would I tell you about how she breathes in her sleep?!"

"Doesn't matter!" Julie barked, shaking him slightly by the shoulders. "The point is, I don't want to hear anything! My heart is already unstable as it is. If I hear more, I really will die!"

Cassius stared, utterly lost, sitting frozen under her glare like a new recruit caught slacking during inspection. "Uh…"

Her eyes blazed fiercer, like twin flames. "Do you understand?!"

Cassius gulped, nodding quickly. "Y-Yes! I understand!"

"Do you promise that you really won't talk to me about your wives?"

"Yes, yes, I promise!"

Her brows knitted tighter, suspicion lingering. "…Do you really, really promise?"

Cassius stammered, his voice cracking. "Y-Yes! I swear, I promise, I absolutely promise!"

At last, Julie released him with a heavy sigh, collapsing back like she'd just lifted a mountain from her shoulders. "Good. Finally…"

Cassius, meanwhile, stood up quickly, dusting himself off, utterly bewildered. He stared down at her.

'What in the world just happened? Does she...have a vendetta against my wives? Should I increase the security around them just in case she goes rabid and tries to attack them!'

He took a cautious step back, thinking maybe distance was the safest option when dealing with a woman this unstable.

But before he could retreat any further, Julie suddenly looked up at him with an expression that floored him—her eyes tender, sweet, and uncharacteristically soft.

She then lifted her arms up toward him like a child asking to be picked up. "Help me up." She said, her voice sweet, almost pleading. "It's the least you can do after attacking my heart like that."

"…What?" His eyes narrowed.

"I said...Help. Me. Up."

"…You can do it yourself."

Cassius muttered, exasperated, but Julie's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"N-Never mind!" Cassius immediately backpedaled. "Of course, I'll help you up!"

He crouched down, slipping an arm around her waist and helping her to her feet. But the moment she stood up, Julie acted again, this time throwing her arms around his back and pulling herself flush against him in a tight hug.

Her soft chest pressed firmly into him as she buried her face against his chest, snuggling like a content cat.

Cassius stiffened like a board. "W-Wait, Julie!? What are you—"

"Shhh…" Julie whispered against him, her voice soft, calm, and almost dangerously sweet. "I'm calming my heart down."

Cassius blinked rapidly, looking down at her. "…Say what now?"

"I don't know why." She said with a smile he could feel against his chest. "But when I'm in your embrace, my heart feels calmer. I feel better. It's like...I've found a way to keep my blood pressure down." She snuggled closer, pressing her ear right against his heartbeat. "So stay still. I'm using you as my medicine."

Cassius's mind nearly short-circuited.

One moment she was writhing on the floor claiming to be dying of a heart attack, the next she was forbidding him from mentioning his wives, then suddenly acting like a child, and now, now she was hugging him like a lover.

What in the actual hell is going on!?

His eye twitched. "Julie…" He leaned down slightly, whispering nervously. "…Is it possible..."

"...that you're on your period right now?"

Julie shivered and then slowly, very slowly, she tilted her head back and looked up at him with eyes that were sharp, cold, and murderous, like daggers daring him to repeat himself.

Cassius instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

"N-Nevermind! Forget I said anything!" He quickly placed a hand on the back of her head and pushed her face back into his chest. "You...You just keep hugging me, alright? Nice and calm. Hug me all you want."

And then, to ensure his own survival, he wrapped his arms around her as well, pulling her close, not out of desire, but pure self-preservation.

Julie, satisfied, rubbed her cheek against him, feeling his steady heartbeat against hers.

"Mmm...see? Much better…"

Meanwhile, Cassius stared blankly into the distance, thinking that he better admit Julie into a mental institution after he comes back home for her own sanity and especially his, as he felt like having a breakdown right now...