NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41: A Yandere
'It was bad enough that my Cassius suddenly got a stepmother and stepsister out of nowhere, but if anyone knows Cassius best, it's me. And I know he would never attempt anything with family,' Bella thought evenly, trying her best to assuage her growing fury. 'But now that his appearance has partially returned, things have changed…'
Black streaks covered her scary face, hiding beneath them two bottomless abysses. '...I will truly have no other choice but to… kill them. Every single one of them.'
For but a brief instant, Bella morphed into a vampyric devil capable of eliciting absolute fear from the toughest of morsels. Yet, as quickly as it came, it disappeared just as fast.
After a couple of minutes of conversing with the mellow-toned Grace, Cassius bid her farewell under the promise of taking her out again on their next day off. Bella, of course, saw this but did her absolute best to hold back her anger, instead replacing her livid expression with a friendly one.
With her 'face' put on, she made her way back down to the first floor, where she then came face-to-face with her hardworking coworker.
"I see that you have been getting around as of late!" Bella raised her voice as she patted him on the back, causing him to stagger forward, even with the weights on his body weighing him down. "Not only are you lying to me, but you're even secretly dating a cute girl! You sly dog~!" 'I'll kill her.'
Cassius felt something off but couldn't quite put his finger on what that something was. Ultimately, though, he shrugged his shoulders and neutrally replied, "She isn't my girlfriend. We met by chance after my accident, and then we met up afterward to wander around Hoshito."
"Is that so…" 'I'll kill her. I'll kill her. I'll bloody kill her!!! Wait… Did he say accident? What accident??'
Approaching this topic as best she could, Bella worriedly asked, "Accident?? Could it be that you got hurt over the last period of time??? Quick, let me see— I mean, since we are on break, I am open to hearing about this incident of yours…" She nearly let a part of her true self slip, yet caught herself just in the nick of time.
Cassius was really starting to feel this ominous, foreboding feeling itching at the back of his brain, but he couldn't quite figure out what irked him so.
'It's probably nothing…'
His Perception Stat was not yet high enough to discern every minute detail and change of a crafty person, hence it was only natural that Bella's nuances eluded him. Yet, to answer her question, he briefly explained to her what happened leading up to his accident and the brief period afterward.
He could've sworn that he heard the faint sound of gnashing teeth toward the end of his retelling, but he also seemed to feel an intense unease and worry assault his senses.
Cassius's first thought was that Bella was directing these barely discernible emotions toward him, but he quickly dismissed that thought as soon as it arrived. He and the school beauty were not anywhere close enough for something like that. Yet that was also when he felt that ominous feeling again.
Taking him out of his thoughts was the crisp, melodic voice of the girl before him. "I am sorry that all happened to you. Just let me know if you require any help from here on out; I will assist to the best of my abilities."
"Yes…" Cassius replied, a bit of perplexity lingering in his pearl-blue irises. "Thanks for saying that. I will keep it in mind."
Bella nodded in casual friendliness, then bowed her head slightly and walked away. She went back to conducting her work, whereas he was left standing there, feeling that something was incredibly off about that whole interaction.
Yet, even with extensive contemplation, Cassius was unable to properly articulate his unease.
Meanwhile, Bella stood above a wooden staircase with a mock smile etched onto her beautiful face. Under the gawks of her 'fans,' her thoughts blazed into dangerous territories.
'I will have to kill all the damn vixens! That is the only way I can steer the train back on track!!'
A creepy, malevolent giggle slightly escaped her moist throat. Yet she expertly concealed it with a cute hiccup that sent the hearts of the watching men aflutter.
Ignoring the pestering gaze of a bunch of worms, Bella continued her train of thought. 'Once the bitches are dead, it will only be me in my Cass's world…! And with his 18th birthday fast approaching, our marriage and blood contract will be cemented in stone!'
Bella suddenly recalled the matter of his loosening seal, prompting her face to lightly twist in anger.
'My naive and innocent Cass could fight against the idea of the permanent blood contract, and it is unknown just how much of his power and potential he will regain before he turns 18… Even though I'm confident in my strength when compared to all these blood bags, my husband is not like them…'
Bella's expression briefly emulated her complete infatuation, yet it was quickly overwhelmed by an unhealthy level of darkness.
'Even if it comes down to it, I'll just need to force him down and explain everything to him afterward. He will surely understand why I did everything I did as long as I carefully explain it to him…! He must! It's just me and him in this world, so what I know is something he will understand wholeheartedly!!!'
With his enhanced hearing, Cassius could've sworn that he heard an insane peal of laughter resound from somewhere. However, with it disappearing in less than an instant, he had no time to track it back to its source. But with work about to end for today, he decided to cast the inexplicable matter aside and quicken his pace.
His hands flitted across the bookshelves as he hastily grabbed returned books off a cart and precisely placed them in the right spots.
To the onlookers, however, his movements were akin to streaks of lightning dancing to and fro from location to location. They had never seen anything quite like it, as it could only be described as a beautiful symphony of the hands.