Chapter 549: My Dream Is To Become An Actor

Now, Cassius stood in a dim, stone-walled basement lit by torches. Before him were rows of women—dirty, chained, trembling, their faces streaked with tears and dirt.

“You’re all mine now.” The Cassius on the projection said cruelly. “Your families, your husbands, your brothers—they all cry for you. But who would’ve thought you’d be right here instead…beneath my feet.”

He leaned closer to one of the women, brushing a strand of her hair aside with mock tenderness.

“Get used to it.” He whispered. “Because this is your life now.”

Gasps echoed through the hall.

The nuns’ faces turned white with shock. Even Joy’s stoic facade cracked for a heartbeat. Aqua took a step back, shaking her head violently as if refusing to believe what she was seeing.

“No…” She whispered. “No, that can’t be—!”

Her eyes darted to the real Cassius standing before her, who simply smiled faintly, as though watching a comedy play out.

The projection continued.

Another scene—this time in a forest. Cassius was surrounded by bandits, rough men in leather armor, all listening to him eagerly.

“Remember.” The projected Cassius said. “Any woman traveling through this route—young, married even grannies, it doesn’t matter. Kidnap them all. Bring them to me. I’ll pay you handsomely for each one.”

Maria’s breath caught in her throat. She clutched her rosary tightly, trembling.

Moments ago, she had begun to believe that Cassius might truly be good—clever, misunderstood perhaps, but not evil.

Now, staring at this monstrous version of him, she felt a sickness twist in her stomach.

And just like that, scene after scene flashed one after another—each one darker, each one more damning.

—Cassius, standing before a line of chained prisoners, his boot pressing against a man’s back as he declared coldly, “Those who defy me will beg for mercy in their next life.”

—Cassius, lounging on a throne made of gold and bones, swirling wine in a glass as half-naked women served him, whispering. “It’s good to be a god.”

—Cassius, ordering soldiers to burn down a village, his voice echoing. “If they resist, raze everything—leave no child behind!”

—Cassius, smiling in a candlelit chamber as he signed a scroll marked slave registry, saying. “Expand the market. Beauty is profit, and profit is beauty.”

—Cassius, dragging a frightened girl by the hair, whispering into her ear. “Don’t worry, my dear. You’ll learn to enjoy serving me.”

—Cassius, tossing a sack of gold to bandits and growling. “The younger the better. Bring them alive, and you’ll be rewarded.”

—Cassius, laughing at a pile of burning corpses, his shadow stretching long across the flames as he murmured. “The world needs monsters, and I happen to play the part best.”

Each image seared itself into their minds—violence, cruelty, arrogance.

By the time the final scene faded—Cassius standing atop a pile of chains and gold, smirking as he whispered “I own everything I touch”—the hall had fallen into horrified silence.

Maria trembled, clutching the rosary around her neck so tightly it nearly broke.

’I was starting to believe he was good…’ She thought bitterly, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. ’I thought he was misunderstood. But this…this is monstrous.’

Even Aqua—usually fiery, usually so sure of her brother—looked devastated. She swayed slightly, Maria’s hand clutching hers for support.

And then came the sound of blades being drawn.

The sisters stepped forward, weapons in hand, their faces grim and resolute. Holy energy flickered faintly around them, ready to smite the man who stood before them.

Aqua gasped. “Wait—!”

But they were already advancing. Maria reached out, grabbing Aqua’s arm tightly to steady her trembling hand, whispering.

“It’s no use…this is too much…”

Joy’s face was pure fury. Her entire body glowed faintly with light, the air around her trembling with sanctified power. She spoke in a low, cold tone that made everyone flinch.

“Normally.” She said. “When a sinner confesses his crimes, the Goddess offers forgiveness. Confession brings redemption. Peace.”

Her eyes flared so much that the pink looked red.

“But this…” She gestured toward the lingering projection still flickering faintly on the wall. “…is beyond redemption. No matter how much you beg, no matter how much you confess, there is no salvation for someone like you. You deserve only one thing…”

She raised her hand, divine energy surging around her.

“….judgment.”

The air crackled with light as she began to raise her hand, preparing to summon her full power.

The other sisters stepped back, some bracing weapons, others joining in her chant.

Aqua panicked, grabbing Maria’s hand. “Wait! Stop! Please—he—”

But before she could finish, Cassius suddenly lifted his hands, waving them quickly and said something that made everyone in the room stop in the spot.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! HOLD UP!” He shouted, taking a step back. “Why are you all getting so angry about my acting performance?”

The words hung in the air, utterly absurd.

Everyone froze.

“Acting…performance?” Maria repeated weakly, eyes wide.

Cassius smiled as if he’d just announced the weather. “Of course! What else would it be? I know my acting is that good—it’s okay, I understand your emotional reaction—but come on!”

He gestured toward the projection.

“You can’t seriously want to kill me just because I’m a brilliant performer, right?”

He even gave a playful shrug, as if the whole thing was a misunderstanding at a theatre rehearsal.

Joy stared at him, blinking once, twice, her face twisting into utter disbelief. “You…You’re saying that was acting?” She demanded, her voice trembling from anger and sheer confusion.

“Obviously!” Cassius said with a dramatic wave of his arm. “You all just watched a play. A dramatization! You really think I’d do all that? Kidnap women, enslave them, lead bandits, declare war just for my own pleasure?”

He put a hand on his chest.

“Please. I may be quite lustful, Saintess, but I’m not that ambitious. Not to mention with a face as handsome as mind, I don’t need to resort to such tricks to pick up women.”

The maids giggled nervously behind him, unsure whether to nod or run.

Joy’s eyes flashed. “Stop lying.” She hissed. “You’re cornered, and now you’re inventing absurd excuses. Don’t insult our intelligence. There’s no point in pretending anymore.”

But Cassius only tilted his head, a lazy smirk tugging at his lips before saying,

“Why would I lie about something like this? Think for a moment. If those recordings were real, they’d be more than enough to have me torn apart and fed to pigs, wouldn’t they? So why would I show them to you myself?”

Joy clenched her teeth. “Because you’ve lost. You’re desperate. You’re trying to confuse us.”

He chuckled softly. “Wrong again, Saintess. I’m just clearing my name. You see, all those video transmissions—the ones you showed, and even the ones that leaked—are all part of a performance. Nothing more.”

Lucius smirked behind him, clearly struggling not to laugh, while Cassius stepped forward and gestured toward the paused projection.

“If you think that was real, Saintess, then let me show you something.”

He pointed at the video paused on the wall—the scene from the banquet hall.

“Look closely at the women in the noble gowns.” He said. “Their faces. Their posture. Do you recognize them?”

Joy frowned but leaned closer. The others did too.

“Take a good look.” Cassius smiled faintly. “Because I’m sure you’ve met at least one of them before.”

The faint sound of whispering spread through the room as everyone strained to make out the faces on the projection, some of them slowly realizing that the women in the scene looked oddly familiar.

“Well? Don’t keep me waiting, Saintess.” Cassius’s grin widened just a little. “Who do you think they are?”

And just then, one of the younger nuns gasped sharply, her eyes widening as she pointed a trembling finger toward the flickering image on the wall.

“It’s her! It’s her! It’s actually her!” She shouted, half-hysterical.

Another nun turned to her, bewildered. “Who? Who are you talking about? Who is it?”

“It’s her!” The first one repeated, now almost laughing in disbelief. “Can’t you see? It’s her!”

“Who goddammit? Be accurate for god’s sake!” The other demanded again, grabbing her shoulder.

The first nun spun around and pointed toward one of the maids standing quietly near the far wall.

“Her! The same one who was talking about apples earlier!” She said frantically. “That woman in the video, the one playing the noble lady—look! It’s her! The same face, the same smile—just with makeup!”

A ripple of murmurs spread across the hall as every head turned to the maid in question.

The poor woman blinked, blushing shyly, and gave a hesitant little wave.

“Ah…yes, that was me.” She admitted softly.

Gasps rippled through the hall. But once again, another nun shouted,

“Wait—wait a moment! That girl there! The one behind the banquet table!”

“That’s the maid with the orange hair!” Another sister exclaimed. “It’s her! The same person!”

And just like that, the entire hall turned chaotic.

One nun after another began pointing at the screen and identifying familiar faces.

“That noblewoman in blue—she’s the one who serves those cakes!”

“The lady with the fan—she’s the same maid who I passed by when I went to the ladies room!”

“Oh heavens, even the princess over there looks like the one who was cleaning the stairs!”

One by one, the sisters began pointing and exclaiming, connecting faces on the projection with those standing proudly around Cassius.

Every maid seemed to have her moment of recognition.

Some even smiled bashfully as their names were called out, exchanging proud, amused glances with one anothe, as though they were receiving applause after a stage performance.

Maria was left speechless, watching the bizarre spectacle unfold.

Aqua, who just moments ago had been ready to leap in front of her brother and protect him from execution, now stood frozen, her expression torn between relief and utter confusion.

’What in the world is happening?’ She thought.

Joy herself looked as if someone had pulled the ground from beneath her. “What…What exactly is going on here?” She demanded, glaring at Cassius.

Cassius raised both hands casually, as if calming down a restless audience.

“Now, now, everyone, relax.” He said cooly. “Let me show you a few more scenes. I promise, you’ll find this rather enlightening.”

He turned the projector back on and skipped to the dungeon scene.

“Now.” He said with a grin. “Who do you see here?”

The sisters leaned forward again, squinting at the image of chained women sobbing in a dimly lit cellar.

One nun gasped. “That’s her! The maid who tends to the garden!”

“Ah! And that one—she’s the kitchen girl!” Another shouted.

“It’s true.” Said a third, pointing excitedly. “They’re all the same people! Even their freckles are identical!”

Cassius nodded along, smugly satisfied. “Exactly. Go on, don’t stop now.”

He changed to the forest scene, the one with the bandits.

“Now then, this one?”

The nuns immediately started murmuring again.

“The bandit on the left! That’s the footman from the stables!”

“And that one with the scar—that’s the same guard who escorted us in!”

“Even that so-called ’villager’ in the background—that’s the cook who came in with some dishes!”

The more they pointed, the more obvious it became that every ’criminal’ and ’victim’ in the video was someone standing right here in the hall or worked in the mansion.

Some had even played multiple parts, their disguises so well-done that no one noticed until the maids themselves told them.

And just like the room that was supposed to be a execution ground and turned into a ’spot-the-actor’ game with the maids enjoying themselves the most at how much recognition they were getting.

And Cassius himself, the lead actor in all the scenes watched it all with a satisfied smile on his face thinking,

’Just because I released such incriminating videos doesn’t mean I’m going to let myself get beheaded for it.’

’After all, I just want the infamy, rumours, scandals and a depraved reputation.’

’Not the consequences.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep