Chapter 164: Little Partners

During the banquet, after Elara assumed her position as Empress...

"Brother! This is Alice, she wanted to meet you!"

Cassian looked at his sister with a soft smile as she approached him enthusiastically. Then, he shifted his gaze toward the friend she was holding by the hand, who seemed a bit timid at that moment.

"Mmm, a pleasure..." he nodded to her. Alice immediately looked down with a deep blush and squeezed Bethany’s hand even tighter.

"Are you Lisbeth’s sister?"

The question made the girl lift her eyes to look at him, though she quickly lowered them again. "We don’t share the same mother, but yes, my older sister is very good to me!"

"Are you at the academy with Bethany? I hope you keep an eye on her. Knowing her, she’ll surely get into some kind of trouble."

The joke brought out a small chuckle from the girl, who seemed more relaxed after that.

"Brother! Don’t tell Alice those kinds of things! She won’t want to hang out with me if she knows!"

Cassian shook his head and then scanned the surroundings. His attention paused for a moment on Elric next to Lisbeth; the latter was frowning, enduring the former’s smug attitude. Then, his eyes fixed on Elizabeth, who was staring intently at a glass of wine and looking quite detached for a moment of celebration. Finally, his gaze went toward his own father, who somehow ended up talking to Cordelia Valois. Eleanor was by his side, looking intimidated but utterly pleased to finally be speaking with someone she admired so much.

"Brother!" a small tug on his pants brought his attention back to what was happening in front of him. "The other day, the sisters bragged that they danced with you at one of these events! Come on, let’s dance!"

His face took on an amused expression.

He looked at the people dancing, all older and in couples; it would truly draw attention if he danced with two young girls...

Regardless, he wasn’t going to turn her down.

He took one hand of each.

At first, they looked at him with confusion, whether it was the two little girls or the people whose attention was on the dance floor, or on him...

But dancing with one, two, or more women was something that didn’t make much of a difference to him.

Bethany and Alice were guided by him, yielding a result that, rather than being funny or cute, was an impeccable show in every aspect.

Applause rang out when the music ended; the two girls looked around with embarrassment but with joyful smiles, though they ended up fleeing when many people approached to praise them.

But not all comments were like those.

"Is any circus clapped for now? Ladies, if you want to dance with someone, don’t do it with someone who is just a pretty face. Believe me, I know my brother and he is not worth it," Elric left Lisbeth and stepped closer to separate the women who were trying to get Cassian to dance with them.

"I didn’t know you liked me so much, Elric, that you now prevent women from approaching me."

Laughter erupted in the surroundings.

The expression of the eldest Varkas brother flushed with embarrassment, but when it passed, anger was what followed.

"What do you think you are? You’ll see. Our father is going to pass the county to me soon. There will be nothing left for you or for that filthy sister of yours. I hope she is doing well in Pradiles, because when she returns to Demor, she won’t even have a place to stay."

The amusement on Cassian’s face died.

Really... why are people so stupid?

Elric had always been irritating.

The fact that he was still alive given the temperament of someone like Cassian was already a miracle, but it seemed he was getting closer to his own grave every time.

Regardless, nothing excessive would happen that day; he simply decided to ignore him.

The people around them didn’t seem to want to pay attention to Elric either. Seeing that all the women and everyone else were leaving with his brother, Elric bit his cheek in annoyance and stomped the ground like a child throwing a tantrum.

On the other hand, Cassian headed toward Elizabeth.

Although he didn’t usually approach her when they were in these types of situations, the look on her face made it impossible to ignore her.

The people following him quickly backed away upon seeing him approach her; there were several rumors circulating among the nobles of Demor, and the name of the head of Nexus was the most feared and mysterious these days, avoiding her like a plague.

When she saw him coming closer, she immediately uncrossed her arms, showing a more vulnerable yet tense posture.

"Mast..." she tried to say quietly but couldn’t, showing discomfort with every movement of her body.

"First Adela," he began. "And now you? What is happening, Elizabeth? You know that if I want to, I can find out on my own."

"It’s nothing we can’t resolve. You don’t have to worry."

He frowned. "I’m not worried, Elizabeth, but I am starting to get angry."

She took a step back, but he stepped in and took her by the waist, beginning a dance with the new music that started playing at that exact moment.

Taking advantage of that, he brought his face close to her ear to whisper:

"I will come to see you after this banquet. I expect explanations, Elizabeth. Yours and Adela’s."

The closeness of the two generated whispers among the majority. The gazes were already there from the start, but there was a difference between a simple chat and dancing pressed together, whispering things into each other’s ears.

Elizabeth tensed at his words; she couldn’t enjoy the moment, worried about what would happen next.

When the music ended, she fled with hurried steps like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

The brows of those present furrowed and questions began to arise: what did he do to make the marchioness leave like that?

They shook their heads while avoiding the members of the Varkas family like the plague.

"I don’t know, but we better avoid him. If he upset Elizabeth Vane..."

Elric watched the outcome with satisfaction. In his head, he felt this was only natural. See? He is nothing special... Although upon seeing that they were avoiding him too, he made an annoyed face.

Alexandro Varkas also noticed the change in the atmosphere, but since he was speaking with Duchess Valois, he thought it wouldn’t be too serious.

"You seem to have a very interesting son," Cordelia’s voice brought him back.

"Only one of them deserves your attention, Duchess. You have already seen how the other behaves," he replied, lowering his voice, not wanting his clear preference to be so obvious.

"Hmm, it’s natural that you support your biological son. Cassian isn’t yours, right?"

The count frowned and looked up in surprise, leaving aside the detail that someone like her knew the name of his "younger son" and focusing entirely on the fact that she knew he wasn’t his.

"The Duchess truly knows everything, it’s incredible," he said as a compliment, showing his respect and astonishment.

She narrowed her eyes and gave a slight smile that didn’t reach her face.

Eleanor, by his side, shifted uncomfortably.

In a way, knowing these things or hearing people speak ill of Cassian didn’t feel as pleasing as before, and for a moment, she wanted to jump to his defense.

Though remembering that devilish smile he always gave her held her back.

On the other hand, her gaze studied Cordelia’s response. Eleanor knew the Duchess had spoken with Cassian before, and she couldn’t understand what she was looking for now by approaching them.