Most of the people in the room stared at Wayne’s back as he left the room, unable to believe the willpower they had seen from the man to actually give up his family to another man for their own happiness.

But Julie stood apart, her gaze fixed on Cassius, intense and probing, as if she could unravel the enigma of the man before her by sheer will.

Wayne’s words, his fear, his resignation, had painted a portrait of Cassius’s power. This was a man who held sway over his own father, the patriarch, a figure of near-mythic authority.

His strength was also undeniable; Julie knew he could dismantle her Holy Guard with a single command, his power a tidal wave that could sweep away armies. Yet it wasn’t just his raw might that set her nerves on edge, It was his charm, his ability to bend hearts and lives with a smile and a word.

To steal Diana and Vivi from Wayne wasn’t merely seduction, it was a conquest of their very souls, a feat that spoke of a dangerous, almost supernatural charisma.

This only made her realise that the rumors weren’t exaggerated; they were understated.

He had won over Diana, a woman Julie knew personally, a mother and a pillar of pride who bowed to no man, whose nobility and resolve were unshakable. Yet Cassius had made her fall, drawn her to his side willingly.

Even Vivi, young and impressionable, might have succumbed to sweet words and charisma, but Diana?…That was a victory that bordered on terrifying.

This made her wonder, if he could sway her, what might he do to Julie herself?

The thought sent a chill through her, and she took an unconscious step back, her boots scuffing softly against the plush crimson rug, her instincts urging caution before this man who was a ticking time bomb in every sense.

As Wayne left, the room’s tension was obvious, a taut wire ready to snap and Julie opened her mouth to break the silence, to shift the focus to the urgent matter she’d come to discuss, but before she could speak, Cassius let out a dramatic groan and slumped back in his chair, his head tipping back as if he’d just dodged a falling blade.

“Oh my god!” He exclaimed, his voice loud and exaggerated. “That was so close! I can’t believe I actually pulled that off!” He ran a hand through his dark hair, his chest heaving with an exaggerated sigh, as if he’d escaped a mortal peril.

Isabelle and Portia also mirrored his relief, their shoulders visibly relaxing as they let out their own sighs, like soldiers standing down after a skirmish.

Portia slipped off her glasses, wiping them with a cloth from her apron, her fingers trembling slightly. “I wasn’t expecting Wayne of all people to show up today.” She said, her voice tight with lingering nerves. “He looked so…resolute. I was sure he was going to do something drastic. I was shaking the whole time, trying to keep my face straight.”

Isabelle nodded, her blonde braid swaying as she shuffled her feet, a flush creeping up her cheeks.

“I thought for sure there’d be a fight, Young Master.” She said, her voice quivering with relief and fear. “I kept imagining him storming across the desk, yelling, or…or worse, him asking to see Diana and Vivi!”

“It would’ve been so awkward to bring them out from underneath the desk where you’re sitting. I mean—”

She froze, her eyes widening as she realized she’d let slip something she shouldn’t have and because of that the room went dead silent, Isabelle’s words hanging like a misfired arrow.

Aisha’s ears shot up, as she stepped forward, her voice sharp with disbelief. “Hold on, what did you just say?” She demanded, her claws glinting as she pointed at the desk. “Underneath the desk? Are you seriously telling me Lady Diana and daughter are under desk? Right now?” Her tail lashed furiously, her voice rising with indignation as she glared from Isabelle to Cassius, then back to the desk itself, as if expecting the women to pop out.

Julie also stepped forward when she heard the absurd statement. “Cassius…” She said, addressing him directly, her gaze pinning him in place. “What’s going on here? Why is everyone acting like they’ve been caught in a trap?..And what did Isabelle mean about Diana and Vivi being…beneath your desk?” Her words were slow and careful, but there was no mistaking the demand for answers, her authority as captain coming through.

Seeing this, both of subordinates staring him for answers about the secret he was hiding, Cassius’s relief faded, replaced by a sly, amused smile as he leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk with a ease.

“Oh, Isabelle.” He said, his voice dripping with reproach as he glanced at the maid, who shrank back, her cheeks scarlet. “You’ve gone and let the secret out, haven’t you? I was hoping to keep this little…twist under wraps for a bit longer, but it seems like I can’t do so anymore.” He chuckled, a low, rich sound that only deepened the confusion swirling around him.

Both women braced themselves, certain Cassius was about to unveil the truth behind his teasing and the maids nervous glances.

But to their astonishment, he did no such thing. Instead, he leaned forward, his sly smile widening as he peered beneath the massive desk, his voice dropping to a playful whisper.

“Well, well.” He said, as if addressing someone hidden in the shadows. “Looks like we’ve been caught, my dears. No use hiding anymore, time to come out.” His words were laced with a teasing warmth, his smile broadening as he tilted his head, seemingly waiting for a response.

The room fell deathly silent, every ear straining for a sound.

But even though it seemed like he was talking to someone or something underneath his desk, no reply came, yet Cassius’s expression didn’t falter.

He chuckled softly, leaning further down, as if he could see someone, beneath the desk.

“Oh, don’t shake your head at me.” He said, his tone mock-scolding. “There’s no getting out of this. You’ve got to come out, right now. No matter how much you shake your head, you’re not staying down there forever…Come on, no more hiding.”

Again, nothing, no voice, no movement, just the oppressive quiet of the room.

Aisha’s brows knit together as she shot Julie a glance. “Is he…talking to himself?” She whispered, her voice sharp with suspicion. “Or is there actually someone under there? What’s he playing at?”

Julie’s lips pressed into a thin line, her instincts screaming that this was another of Cassius’s games, a ploy to keep them off balance. She opened her mouth to demand clarity, but before she could speak, Cassius’s patience seemed to snap.

He straightened, his smile turning mischievous as he addressed the desk again, his voice firm but laced with amusement.

“Alright, enough of this.” He said. “If you don’t come out and show yourself, the ladies here look like they’ll themselves break this desk apart to get you. And I’d rather not, I’m quite fond of it, you know. Solid wood, custom-made, terribly expensive.” He paused, then added with a sigh. “Better show yourself before I have to ruin a perfectly good piece of furniture.”

And then without warning, he plunged both arms beneath the desk, his movements swift like a hunter snaring prey.

Immediately afterwards a piercing shriek erupted, high and panicked, like an animal caught in a trap.

“Hyaa!”

The sound sent a jolt through the room, Aisha jolting up as she took a step back, Skadi’s fish slipping from her fingers to the floor.

“Nooo!”

Another shriek followed, desperate and thrashing, but Cassius’s grip was unyielding. With a smooth, almost effortless motion, he pulled his arms back, dragging something or someone into the open.

And to everyone’s shock, it wasn’t an animal at all.

Clutched in Cassius’s hands was a petite, slender girl, her long dark hair spilling over her shoulders, her outfit, a skimpy, frilled dress that barely qualified as clothing, clinging to her frame.

But no mattee how lewd her dress was, her face, flushed crimson with mortification, was unmistakable: Vivi Arwald, the very daughter Wayne had spoken of, the girl he’d come to confront Cassius about.

Gasps rippled through the room as Vivi, looking like a rabbit yanked from a burrow, was hoisted onto Cassius’s lap, her legs dangling as he settled her there like a child.

Vivi’s cheeks also burned brighter as she realized she was exposed, her hands clutching at Cassius’s shirt in a frantic attempt to hide and when her gaze darted behind her and landed on Julie, Aisha, and Skadi staring in open-mouthed disbelief, her flush deepened to a near-scarlet hue.

With a whimper, she buried her face in Cassius’s chest, rubbing her cheeks against him as if she could erase the moment by sheer force of will.

“Young Master!” She wailed, her voice muffled against his shirt, high-pitched and trembling with embarrassment. “How could you do this? How could you pull me out like that? In front of everyone? I was going to stay there forever! I was going to build a little house under there, live like a hermit, anything to avoid this!” Her fingers tightened on his shirt, her voice cracking as she rambled. “But now, because you pulled me out…I’m so humiliated, I could just die right now!”

Cassius chuckled in response, a warm, soothing sound as he stroked her back with a gentle hand, his touch calm and reassuring. “Oh, Vivi, don’t be so dramatic.” He said, his voice soft but teasing. “It’s not that bad. You’re making it sound like you are a vampire and I dragged you into the light. You don’t need to be embarrassed, it’s just us here.”

Vivi’s head snapped up, her face streaked with tears as she stared at him, wide-eyed and incredulous.

“Not that bad? Not that bad?” She squeaked, her voice rising with panic. “How can you say that? People are watching and I’d be mortified if it was just some random stranger, but this is so much worse!”

She glanced behind her again, her eyes locking onto the trio, and her voice dropped to a frantic whisper.

“It’s the Holy Guard! The leaders of the Holy Guard! Captain Julie, Chief Aisha and Skadi, the women I’ve looked up to my whole life! Every girl dreams of being like them, and now they’ve seen me…like this!”

She gestured at her skimpy outfit, her hands flailing as her voice cracked.

“They’re going to think I’m some…some perverted girl! They’ll never want to talk to me again! They’ll think I’m a disgrace, hiding under your desk like some…some scandalous little, oh, I can’t even say it!” She buried her face in his chest again, her shoulders shaking with a blend of sobs and humiliated whimpers.

“…W-What in the world is going on here!?”

Aisha’s jaw dropped, her tail puffing out to twice its size as she pointed at Vivi, then at Cassius, her voice full of outrage and disbelief.

“Vivi? Under your desk? In that outfit? Cassius, you’ve got about three seconds to explain this before I lose it! Is this some kind of sick joke? Are you keeping her like some…some pet or something?” She demanded, her claws glinting as she took a step forward.

“Aisha, enough.” Julie raised a hand, her voice cutting through Aisha’s tirade with calm authority. She then turned to Cassius, her gaze unyielding, though her mind was reeling with questions. “Cassius, I need answers. Now…Why was Vivi hiding under your desk? And where’s Diana? You’ve admitted they’re here, but this…” She gestured at Vivi, still clinging to Cassius like a lifeline “…this raises more questions than it answers. What exactly is going on here?”

Vivi’s heart pounded, her cheeks burning as she felt the weight of Julie and Aisha’s scrutiny.

The truth of why she’d been under the desk was a shameful secret, too vulgar to confess, a burning ember she clutched tightly to keep her dignity intact. She couldn’t let them know, not the Holy Guard, her idols, the women she’d dreamed of emulating.

Panicking, she twisted in Cassius’s lap, her arms wrapping around him as she turned to face the trio, her voice high and flustered as she blurted out a desperate defense.

“I-It’s not what you think!” She squeaked, her eyes darting between Julie and Aisha, wide with innocence she hoped would sell her story. “It’s not like that at all! Nothing shameful, I swear! I-I was just…the Young Master dropped something under the desk, a-a quill or something, and I went to get it! But my dress…” She gestured at the frilled, barely, there fabric clinging to her “…it got caught on a nail while I was crawling, and I got stuck! And then you all came in, and I didn’t want to interrupt, so I stayed quiet! That’s all, I promise!” Her words tumbled out, breathless and pleading, her face the picture of innocent sincerity as she prayed they’d believe her.

“A quill? Caught on a nail?” Aisha repeated, her voice dripping with skepticism. “You expect us to believe you were just…stuck under there like some clumsy maid? In that outfit? That’s the worst excuse I’ve ever heard!”

Julie’s expression also remained unyielding, her voice cutting through Aisha’s outburst. “Vivi…” She said, her tone calm but firm. “That story doesn’t hold and we need the truth, not excuses. I’m also genuinely asking for your safety and out of concern, so it would be better if you admitted the truth.”

Vivi’s heart sank, her fingers tightening on Cassius’s shirt as she braced for another round of questions.

But before Aisha or Julie could press further, Cassius acted. With a theatrical flourish, he pulled Vivi closer, wrapping his arms around her in a protective, almost possessive embrace.

His smile was warm but carried a mischievous edge as he looked down at her, his voice taking on a playful, reprimanding tone. “Vivi, Vivi.” He said, shaking his head like a disappointed parent. “It’s not okay to lie, you know. You’re being a very bad girl right now, spinning tales like that.” He punctuated his words with a light, teasing slap on her perky butt, the sound sharp in the silent room, making Vivi yelp and flush even deeper. “The truth is always better, my dear…There’s no need to hide it.”

Vivi’s eyes widened in horror, her breath catching as she stared up at him, her mind screaming that he couldn’t reveal the truth, not here, not now, not in front of the Holy Guard.

“Young Master, no! Please don’t!” She whispered, her voice trembling, but Cassius’s smile only grew, undeterred.

To her utter dismay, he looked up at Julie and Aisha, his expression one of apology as he addressed them directly.

“My apologies, ladies.” He said, his voice smooth and unrepentant. “Vivi’s just flustered, telling those lies to save face. Allow me to set the record straight.” He paused, his smile turning sly as he leaned back, his hand still resting on Vivi’s back. “The real reason she was under the desk?”

“Well, when she came to my office earlier, I might’ve…hinted that my, ahem, rod down there needed some fresh air…You know, a bit of company, a little playtime.”

“I kept dropping hints, teasing her, until her big heart couldn’t resist….She loves me so much, you see, she’d do anything to make her Young Master happy.”

“…So, she crawled under there to…keep me entertained, let’s say.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep