Chapter 79: The Monarch’s Unhinged Slip: Governer’s Fear?

Knowing he could not stand there like a ghost forever, Kerwon broke the silence. He took a heavy, deliberate step forward, his armored boots clicking sharply against the polished black marble floor.

He plunged his hand slightly into the rising canopy of steam. His voice dropped into a slow, rigidly formal cadence.

"Lord..." Kerwon intoned, the word heavy with absolute military discipline.

Lord Vilucious did not turn around immediately. He simply raised a single, commanding hand from the gilded edge of the pool. He gave a brief, sharp gesture to the two elite women to wait for a second.

The sudden halt caught the clingiest of the ladies mid-motion. She remained frozen on her knees directly on his lap, leaning mere inches away from his face. Her ultra-modern, minimalist short silk attire rustled softly against his chest.

From the backside angle... viewed entirely from the perspective of Cassius and Kerwon standing tense at the entrance: the Lord kept his hands raised high. His palms were inverted, shielding his mouth, creating a dark, brooding silhouette against the violet-hued glow of the water filters.

Then, the illusion of control shattered.

The elite lady hurriedly slid down off his lap, her bare feet splashing against the diamond-trimmed rim.

Lord Vilucious attempted to stand up within the high-tech setup of the pool. But the volatile, highly concentrated mix of potent alcohol and raw blood hit his system with full, crushing force.

He staggered wildly. His massive frame wavered against the gold trim as he began to mumble incoherent, cryptic things under his breath.

"...the System..." the monarch muttered, his voice thick and slurred. A ragged breath escaped him as he complained about its heavy, unbearable weight. "...always grinding... the weight of it..."

The elite lady frantically scrambled to handle his dead weight. She braced her slender shoulders against his broad frame. Straining, she carefully guided his massive body, forcing him to turn around and face his uninvited guests.

As he turned, his garment revealed itself, a piece forged entirely of contradictions. It was a sweeping, modern loungewear robe that seemed less woven and more poured.

Crafted from an otherworldly silk, the fabric flowed like a liquid abyss, cascading over his broad frame in ripples of deep, royal sapphire.

Where the warm light caught the folds, it gleamed with brilliant gold embroidery. Intricate threads of fine metal snaked along the lapels and heavy cuffs like frozen lightning.

Yet, its true mastery lay in its illusion. In the dim, steam-heavy chamber, sections of the deep blue silk dissolved into startling transparency, clinging to his skin like a sheen of pure water.

It created the haunting effect that he was draped in the very element itself. He was half-clothed in shadows, half-submerged in a flowing current, shifting between solid darkness and clear, fluid grace with every staggering step he took away from the steaming bath.

His senses were completely blurred. Vilucious’s bloodshot eyes drifted across the space, finally locking onto the massive warrior standing at attention. He let out a loud, stammering laugh.

"Governor," Vilucious barked, his voice echoing off the soaring stone arches.

"How silly... you won’t let me rest. Well, proud of you! You take my creation seriously! I LOVE YOU, BRAT! Let me give your reward... come in fast!"

He took another step forward, but his footing failed completely. Because of his heavy stumbling, a massive wave of blood-wine and water overflowed from the rim of the pool, cascading across the slick black marble floor in a deep, dark puddle.

Kerwon’s military training overrode his shock. Moving with a sudden, desperate urgency, the governor executed a slow, careful sprint through the flowing puddles.

His heavy armor clattered as he rushed to give physical support to the staggering king. He threw his massive arms out to hold the heavy, water-like blue silk frame upright before the monarch could face-plant onto the stone.

Furious, deeply panicked, and utterly humiliated by the King’s unhinged vulnerability, Kerwon’s face flushed a volatile dark red. He snapped his head toward the pool, his voice booming with absolute authority.

"Get out! Immediately! Move!" he sharply shouted at the two elite women.

The ladies didn’t dare hesitate. With a frantic rustle of silk, they scrambled out of the pool and bolted through the side servant doors. Their soft giggles were instantly replaced by terrified silence.

Kerwon, straining under the weight of the slumping monarch, snapped his burning gaze over his shoulder toward the background, where Cassius had been standing nonchalantly the entire time.

"You!" Kerwon roared at the nonchalant vampire slave. "Manually clean up this messy wine spill. Gather all the discarded personal items surrounding the Lord. Now!"

Cassius didn’t argue. He stepped forward to obey, his bare soles making no sound against the wet marble.

He walked over to a nearby cleaning cart, bypassing the clean sponges, and deliberately grabbed the dirtiest, wettest cloth available. He knelt down near the edge of the pool, systematically wiping down the dark wine spills.

Internally, Cassius let out a cold, silent laugh. The taunt echoing in his mind was dripping with absolute irony.

Here lay the supreme apex king, heavily passed out, completely asleep against his governor’s shoulder.

The ruler of the kingdom was entirely unaware that his absolute worst, sanity-retaining opponent was standing right beside him, handling his personal trash as a designated punishment on the Governor’s orders.

But the silence did not last. As Vilucious completely succumbed to the wine, his head lolling heavily against Kerwon’s armored shoulder, a slow, low murmur escaped his lips.

"You... managed that bird?" the Lord whispered into the steam, his breathing slowing into a deep sleep. "I trust..."

The words hit the room like a lightning strike.

Hearing the phrase "that bird," Cassius’s hands instantly froze over the dirty cloth.

His analytical human intellect locked onto the slip-up with terrifying precision. The nonchalant facade vanished.

Cassius stopped the cleanup entirely, his spine straightening as his eyes shifted upward. He pierced straight into the Governor with an

intense, calculated, and predatory stare.

Kerwon’s heart practically stopped but he was rigid. A bit terrified and utterly enraged that the slave had heard the King’s subconscious leak, panic seized the giant warrior. He couldn’t let Cassius analyze this. He couldn’t let him think.

Hoisting the limp, sleeping Lord entirely out of the expensive bath, Kerwon turned toward the main corridor and roared at the top of his lungs:

"Elite Royal Military! Secure the perimeter! Take the King safely to his royal bedchamber immediately!"

Within seconds, a dozen heavily armored royal guards flooded the inner sanctum. Their weapons were drawn, moving with mechanical precision.

They carefully transferred the unconscious Vilucious from Kerwon’s grip, carrying the draped blue silk form away into the dark hallways.

Left alone in the steam with the slave, Kerwon turned his rising panic into pure, unadulterated wrath. He needed to bury this secret, and he needed to do it now. He pointed a trembling, gauntleted finger directly at Cassius’s chest.

"Cage lock this slave standing here!" Kerwon barked to the remaining secure guards, his voice cracking with a mixture of fear and fury.

"Keep him locked up in the high-security cells until the King awakens and comes back to the court! Not a single word out of him!"

The elite guards closed in instantly. Their heavy hands seized Cassius’s shoulders to drag him down to the dark depths of the palace.

Yet, as the metal gauntlets dug into his skin, there was absolutely no fear on Cassius’s face. Instead, a dangerous, mocking smirk spread across his lips.

As the guards pulled him forcefully past the sweating, furious Governor, Cassius deliberately leaned his head in close. His voice dropped into a quiet, devastating whisper that cut through the humid air like a razor blade.

"The care you showed," Cassius murmured, his eyes locking onto Kerwon’s trembling jaw, "was yet not more than what you do for the Lordess, huh..."

Kerwon froze. The blood drained entirely from his face, leaving him standing alone in the drifting steam, completely paralyzed in absolute, bone-chilling dread.