Chapter 69: The Season of the Minotaur (18)

The first thought that crossed Simon’s mind was that Cassandra had shifter blood.

It would have made sense, since human-shifter dalliances were unusual but not unheard of, especially in Telluria. However, the sinuous forked tail didn’t belong to any natural animal or creature Simon knew of. Another darker possibility came to mind when taking Duchar’s proclivities into account.

“You are a fiend?” Simon asked, taken aback.

“Half of one,” Cassandra replied shyly. “My mother was a demon that my father had a relationship with, after his first wife died.”

“That… Then Hector is your half-brother…” Simon didn’t know what to say. Humans and demons could reproduce together—the latter could breed with anything, being creatures of miasma rather than natural entities—but most couplings were far from consensual. At least the ‘relationship’ part implied a much healthier reason for Cassandra’s birth. “There must be a big story behind that.”

“Not quite. Father wanted to sire a half-demon child out of scientific curiosity, and mother indulged him.”

Of course. Only Duchar would think to bed a demon for the sake of experimentation. It was a small miracle that Cassandra turned out relatively well-adjusted. Still, a worrying detail came to mind…

“I do recall you mentioning you despised your mother,” Simon said.

“I did?” Cassandra replied with a frown of confusion, Simon’s heart skipping a beat when he realized she only did so in a former reign. “But yes, I do not like her. Mother gave birth to me because she wanted to understand the human feelings of love and motherhood.”

“I… I take it she did not?” Somehow, Simon struggled to imagine a creature entirely shaped out of corrupted mana to be capable of love.

“No. So she tried to strangle me one day to see if she could feel remorse instead when I was still a child.” She said that so casually they might as well have been discussing the weather. “Father had to banish her back to the Abyss after that.”

Simon winced. “I’m… I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thank you.” Cassandra tilted her head to the side, as if considering whether her nonchalance was appropriate in the current situation. “I do not think I experience emotions like a normal person because of my origins. There are things that are obvious to others that I miss unless I pay attention, but other burdens do not weigh on my mind too much.”

“I… I see.” That explained a lot of things. “I promise I shall not share your secret with anyone.”

She bit her lower lip shyly. “You do not mind?”

“No, not at all.” Simon gently stroked her hair and horns. “I find them quite lovely, actually.”

“Thank you. I was afraid my origins might frighten or bother you.”

“Well, I kinda count as a demon because of my Class either way, so… no, it doesn’t.” He put his hands around her waist, and this time she didn’t pull back. “I like you just the way you are.”

She smiled at him, her tail coiling around his legs as their lips met once more.

That…

Whoa.

That… alright… that was something…

“Simon?” Cassandra’s voice brought him back to reality as she pulled their bedsheet up. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s…” Simon struggled to put it into words, his eyes staring at the ceiling as a fog lifted over his mind. “I’m just… recovering.”

“Was it bad?” she asked with a frown. “Personally, I enjoyed it.”

“I… I did too…” The things she did with her tail… that opened up so many possibilities… “It was… good.”

He thought the best night of his life had been with Anna, and while he shared a deeper kinship with her, tonight had been something else altogether. Balzam’s loathsome rating had been accurate for once.

And yet, as the pleasure and contentment receded into the back of Simon’s mind, a certain realization wouldn’t leave him.

This would not last.

This would not stick. There would come a time when Simon would wake up in Frightwall alone again, their relationship a mere dream the new Cassandra wouldn’t remember. Would it hurt when he saw her again then, the same way it had hurt with Anna? Or would he simply cherish the memory and move on eventually?

“I wonder how long it can last,” Simon said as he pulled her close to him, her head resting on his shoulder. “Us.”

“As long as it can, I think?” Cassandra replied simply. “I have never been courted before, so I cannot tell.”

“I hope it lasts beyond the ritual.” Both this relationship and the reign. “What would you like to do once we complete it?”

Cassandra thought about it for a moment. “I would like to stay. I like this place and the people here. I would like to meet the Muse too, once it is safe for me to do so.”

“What, really?” That took Simon aback. “Why?”

“I think she is lonely and in deep pain. She reaches out to me sometimes, and I often answer.”

“I forbade her to,” Simon replied in annoyance. “If that treacherous tree tried to lure you into the forest–”

“She did not,” Cassandra reassured him. “She was thankful for my efforts to preserve her cult on her behalf and promised me great rewards in return for my devotion.” She chuckled lightly. “I think she wants me to become her new Caretaker.”

“Well… it’s not like any elf will serve her,” Simon conceded. “And she will have a daughter on the way too soon, if we do nothing about it.”

“A daughter? The manatree will bloom?” Cassandra sounded worried all of a sudden. “What will you do with the fruit?”

“I’m not sure yet. Either destroy it or prevent its birth somehow, I suppose.” Now Cassandra looked downright uncomfortable. “You want to plant it?”

“I do not think it is right to blame a newborn creature for its origins, or the danger it might represent,” Cassandra replied, her voice a little weaker than before. Simon had the feeling she related to the unborn demon-born dryad due to her own history. “I hope you will reconsider.”

“I understand how you feel, Cassandra, but you must realize the threat to the world a new breed of miasma trees will represent,” Simon pointed out. Even lifeless deserts like the Navarre region would be better off with nothing over a new Darkwood. “Unless we find a way to purify the fruit.”

Cassandra considered the matter before answering, “What if we used the Paladin Crestone?”

“On the fruit?” Simon quickly caught on. “You want to implant it in the fruit the same way Mardok forced the miasma crystal onto the Muse?”

“If it is so holy, it should be able to restore the newborn dryad into a normal one,” Cassandra pointed out. “You said their Purify Perk could destroy miasma crystals and clean areas of miasma.”

It was a good point… Simon doubted the Paladin’s Purify Perk could destroy the Zodiac Fiends’ crystals or else the ancient heroes would have done so rather than seal them away, but it might help purge the Muse’s daughter of her corruption. It would put an end to the late Mardok’s plan and prevent this evil from festering any further.

“It’s worth a shot,” Simon conceded. “I would be willing to try if we can keep the Paladin Crestone contained until that day.”

“Thank you, Simon. I think this is the right path.” She looked at him a bit shyly. “Could I ask something of you?”

“Yes, of course.” Simon frowned. “Something about the Muse?”

“No.” Her tongue clicked in her mouth. “Could you… massage me?”

Simon blinked, then burst out laughing. “Of course,” he replied, sealing the promise with a kiss. “Anything for you, Cassandra.”

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The next month was rather peaceful, in stark contrast with the rest of this reign so far.

Simon spent it experimenting with his upgraded crafting Perk and learning Tier 4 spells under his various mentors’ tutelage. The first of them was an improvement on the Toxin spell called Megatox.

“Elemental spells are simple enough that sorcerers developed stronger variants for different tiers,” Cassandra explained to him during one of these sessions. “They usually follow this structure: base spell, then mega, then giga, and so on, with each enhancement increasing the spellcasting tier by two.”

“So I will be able to cast a Gigatox spell at Tier 6?” Simon asked.

“Yes. Some Mage Vassal Classes can go further by using ‘metamagic’ Perks to alter a spell’s effects or potency, but mine has no such ability.” Cassandra chuckled. “A silly thought crossed my mind.”