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

Cassius froze when he saw her lying there, her body slack in the grass.

The moon spilled down silver light, catching on the snowy-white scales of her tail, and for a moment he thought she looked almost ethereal, like a marble statue given breath, beauty carved from something too perfect for the world.

Her cheeks were still pink from fluster, her lips parted faintly, and her chest rose and fell with slow, shallow breaths.

"She looks so beautiful when she's sleeping..." He muttered to himself, almost dazed, his hand half-raised as though he wanted to brush a strand of hair from her cheek.

But then it hit him like a hammer.

"Wait. No. She's not sleeping. She fainted!"

He scrambled over, crouching by her head, carefully sliding his thigh beneath until her skull rested on his lap. He patted her cheek with a little more panic than grace, his other hand shaking her gently.

"Nala! Hey, Nala! Wake up, come on! This is no time to be dramatic, that's my job! Nalaaa!"

Her lips twitched faintly but she didn't wake.

Desperate, Cassius tried a new tactic. He leaned closer, whispering right at her ear.

"If you don't wake up soon, I'll start rubbing my face in your breasts again."

His gaze drifted downward, unable to help himself. Her breasts were still bare, still pale and full under the moonlight, faintly jiggling with each motion of his hand against her cheek. They almost seemed to glow in the dark, like they were daring him.

And the moment his words reached her ears, her body reacted before her mind did. Even unconscious, she let out a soft, sleepy murmur:

"Mmm...no...those...only for my darling…"

And then her eyelids fluttered, golden irises peeking through as she groggily came to. Her vision swam at first, then slowly focused on his face looming over hers.

She smiled dreamily, dazed and tender.

"…Darling...you came back for me. You came back from heaven so you wouldn't leave me and our child behind...I'm so happy…"

Cassius's jaw dropped. He was about to correct her when her face changed.

Her brow furrowed, her mouth twisted into confusion, and then realization.

"W-Wait a minute. If Darling came back from heaven…" Her eyes widened sharply. "…that means Darling died. And if he died and came back—"

She shot bolt upright, eyes blazing at him.

"—that means you're an undead!"

"Wha,—no, no, no!" Cassius tried to backpedal, but too late.

Her tail snapped around him with frightening speed, coiling up his legs, his waist, pinning his arms to his sides in a crushing bind. His ribs creaked as she squeezed tight, her pupils shrinking in panic.

"An undead! An undead!" She shouted, pointing a trembling finger in his face. "I was about to...about to let an...oh gods, thank the heavens I didn't go through with it! I almost did something with an undead! I almost made zombie babies!"

"Zombie—?!" Cassius spluttered, struggling against her coils. "What are you even talking about?!"

But she wasn't listening, muttering frantically to herself, her tail squeezing tighter with every word.

"Undead are born from resentment and regrets...so that must be it, you must've died with regrets! But why?!"

"Why did you turn into an undead when I already cleared your regrets? I gave you my breasts!" She slapped her chest proudly, her breasts wobbling as if to prove the point. "I gave you my best! And it was useless?!"

Cassius scowled as he felt her tail wrap around her even tighter. "What do you mean useless? Why are you calling me undead—"

Her grip tightened.

"Ah! It speaks! An undead that speaks in full sentences, scary, scarier than I imagined! I'll have to call the church, no, the entire village! Or at least Grandma! Yes, Grandma will know what to do!"

Cassius's eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait, hold on!" He flailed uselessly in her coils. "Stop right there! I'm not undead, calm down! Just let me explain!"

"Don't trick me!" She shouted, cheeks flushed with panic. "I know creatures like you are sneaky! You can act human, but I won't fall for it!"

"No!" She shot back, tail crushing his torso until his bones popped audibly. "I'm not going to let some smooth-talking corpse trick me! I know undead are sly, they lure you in with lies before—"

Cassius cut her off, shouting in exasperation.

"Tell me this, what kind of undead looks this handsome?!"

Nala blinked, flustered despite herself. Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"…A handsome undead is still undead."

"Look at my back then!" Cassius blurted. "Go on, check it!"

Still suspicious, she narrowed her eyes but slowly slithered around him, keeping her coils firm just in case. Her gaze slid over his shoulders, and then she gasped.

His back, which only minutes ago had been a melted ruin of bone and organ, was smooth and whole again.

Not a scar remained.

She also blushed furiously when she realized that with his shredded clothes, she was also getting a very full view of his ass in the moonlight.

She slapped her hands to her cheeks, squeaking. " W-Why is your butt just out in the open like that?!"

Cassius groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"…That's what you're worried about? Not the fact I'm clearly regenerating and therefore not undead?!"

Nala peeked again despite herself, her cheeks red hot. "…I mean...both are concerning…"

"Unbelievable."

For a moment, silence hung between them. Her tail was still coiled tightly around his legs, but she wasn't squeezing anymore; it was like her instincts wanted to hold him just in case, while her heart wasn't so sure.

Finally, Nala's eyes met his, uncertain but hopeful. She shifted closer, her voice trembling with an edge of fear.

"So...you're saying you really aren't undead? You're not tricking me right now?"

Cassius nodded firmly, his expression steady.

"I really am not. I'm alive. Flesh and blood, idiotically shameless as ever, but alive." He tilted his head, his mouth quirking faintly. "And if you don't believe me, there's a simple way to prove it."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "…What way?"

"Any prayer from the church." Cassius replied smoothly. "Undead always react to that. Doesn't matter what kind they are. Their skin burns, their eyes shift, sometimes smoke pours off their body. They can't hide it, even if they're powerful."

"...So go ahead. Try it. Say a prayer, as long as it has the lord's name. If I'm what you think, you'll know."

Nala blinked at him, lips pursed nervously. "…You're awfully smug for someone about to be exorcised."

"Or..." Cassius said with a chuckle. "...awfully smug for someone who knows he won't be."

She hesitated, tail twitching in coils around him. Her brows furrowed, but then she gave a small nod, pressing her palms together awkwardly.

"Fine. Don't blame me if holy fire shoots out of the sky and burns you to ash."

Cassius rolled his eyes but smirked. "Go on."

So she did. She cleared her throat and began mumbling something under her breath, a string of pious-sounding words that might have been prayers...if they weren't clearly half made-up on the spot.

"Oh great heavenly light, guardian of all virtue, cleanser of curses, smiter of creepy crawlies…" She rambled, closing one eye to peek at him. "Strike down all undead and...um...make them explode in a really gross way. Amen."

Cassius stared at her flatly. "…That's your church prayer?"

She huffed, cheeks puffing. "Shut up! I don't know any official ones and it's hard to make up a prayer on the spot!"

But then she froze. Because Cassius wasn't smoking. His eyes weren't flickering. His skin wasn't withering or peeling away.

He was just...standing there, arms crossed, watching her with a faint smirk.

Her eyes went wide.

"O-Oh my gods." She whispered, voice catching in her throat. "You really aren't undead."

Cassius opened his mouth to reply, but didn't have the chance.

Because Nala suddenly launched herself forward, tail whipping free of his body as she flung her arms around his chest. The impact nearly knocked him backward, but he caught his balance using her tail just in time as she buried her face against him.

"Thank the gods—Thank the gods, you're alive!" She cried, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "I really thought, you really scared me, I thought you went away forever!"

Her tail coiled instinctively, this time not in restraint but in something closer to desperation, wrapping snugly around his waist as though anchoring him to her.

Cassius blinked, utterly caught off guard. He hadn't expected this level of raw emotion from her, the same girl who, moments ago, had been considering "zombie babies" and plotting fake marriage tales.

Her voice cracked as she went on.

"I've never...I've never felt that way before. I thought the only time I'd ever feel like that was...when Grandma passes one day. That I'd cry then. That I'd hurt then. But tonight..." Her arms squeezed tighter, her tears wetting his chest. "It happened with you. And I've only known you for a few minutes."

Then, slowly, she leaned back, her golden eyes glistening as she searched his face.

"So what does that mean?" She asked, almost in a whisper. "Does it mean...in those few minutes that we met, I actually became so very fond of you? Or…" Her lips trembled, her voice lowering further. "…Or is it just because I'm so desperate for attention from someone that I acted that way?"

Cassius opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off before he could even get a word out.

"Well, who cares." She said suddenly, her lips curving into a watery smile even as fresh tears clung to her lashes. "Who cares what the reason is? I'm just happy. I'm happy you're back alive. That's enough for me."

And before Cassius could recover from the whiplash of her emotions, she pressed herself back against him, snuggling into his chest with surprising tenderness.

Her arms wound tight around him, her white tail curling protectively at their sides, and she whispered softly against him.

"I don't care about anything else. You're not dead anymore. That's all that matters."

Her body trembled against his, but this time it wasn't from fear, it was from sheer relief, the wild thrum of someone who had prepared themselves for grief and suddenly found joy instead.

She clung to him like he was the only anchor keeping her tethered to the world, her cheek rubbing faintly against his chest as if to reassure herself he was really there, warm and solid.

For once, Cassius didn't tease her, didn't smirk, didn't make some shameless quip about her breasts being squished against him again.

He simply let her hug him, her warmth seeping into him, her tail coiled tight around his waist as if she never meant to let go, not expecting her to care so much about him...