Chapter 169: Listen, I don’t want to be rude, but stop looking at me
"Ah, yes! I came over to apologise for not being able to find more tents. I didn’t realise that the group would need an individual tent for each member. I apologise. I should have considered that as an option." Cass didn’t like how he said that. That felt like a dig of some kind, but Cass wasn’t sure exactly how.
Was he making a comment about how greedy they were being? Or was he making a dig at Lady Fiona because she was married to all but one person in the hero party? Yes, that was a rather strange situation, but at the same time, it helped Lady Fiona have a bit more weight to her name in the noble society.
There was a reason the Vespertine family was usually in charge of heroes that were declared by the gods. The nobles, from their actions already, weren’t charitable to most heroes who didn’t come from noble lineage. Hell, Lord Blackburn came from a noble lineage and that didn’t seem to matter when it came to how the others treated him.
Granted, there was a lot more to his story, but that didn’t change the fact that nobles were judgy, temperamental types of people. Cass just didn’t think that would also extend to the people of the temple, but maybe he should have thought that. After all, a noble family was in charge of how the temple was run, and it wasn’t as if Lady Ava’s behaviour came from nowhere.
Cass watched as Lady Fiona’s expression tightened, and she gave a light laugh.
"It’s alright, Priest Daniel. Cassian was prepared enough that he brought his own tent, so we were able to somehow manage. After all, the saint shouldn’t have to share a tent, now should she?" Cass was a little bit surprised by Lady Fiona’s response, but also a little proud. She had clearly surprised Priest Daniel with her response, but he quickly recovered.
"Oh! Of course! The saintess is someone who should be honoured and held in the highest regard. Thank you for your understanding, and I had no idea you were going to such lengths to keep her protected." Priest Daniel gushed, but Cass noticed how he kept looking in Cass’ direction. Why the hell was he looking at Cass so much? It was unsettling.
Lady Ava looked uneasy with all the praise she was getting, and given what she had told Cass, it made sense. She didn’t feel like the saintess right now, and was in fact feeling like she didn’t meet the criteria to be a saintess. Add in Vespertine’s treatment of her, and his plan to send her back to the temple that she was likely not aware of, things were not looking good for Lady Ava right now.
"Yes. We take our treatment of our saintess quite seriously, as well as the treatment of our hero." Lord Ridgewood stepped in, his expression flat, normal. He wasn’t as emotional as he had been yesterday night. Priest Daniel laughed nervously.