Chapter 230: Every family is complex
Cass had barely taken a step into the room when he had come face to face with a man who looked so much like Vespertine it kind of shocked him. Unlike Vespertine, he wasn’t wearing a wide brimmed hat, instead wearing a white hat that kind of domed up, giving his head a little bit more height. On the front of the hat was the symbol of the temple and he wore rather lofty, priestly robes in such a pure white Cass felt like his eyes were going to burn.
His eyes weren’t blue like Vespertines, but a soft grey. They would have looked kind if Cass couldn’t feel how sharply they were scanning him. His smile would have also looked kind if Cass hadn’t seen the same kind of smile on bad men’s face before.
Cass didn’t know why every alarm in his body was going off, besides the obvious reason that he had found out that he had demon blood and he was the exact opposite of everything Cass was. It was dangerous just being in a room with him, and Cass could tell that Vespertine, who he could see out of the corner of his eye, hadn’t expected his Father to join them for breakfast.
The man looked ill. Probably because every window was open, and he wasn’t wearing a hat. He wasn’t sitting in sunlight, but he looked extremely uncomfortable. Cass found himself frowning before he turned back to the other man, offering a hand that the Head Priest stared at for a moment before he took.
Cass felt a strange shiver run down his spine. Like a recognition that something wasn’t quite right, but he didn’t feel ill. He could tell, however, that the same couldn’t be said for the Head Priest.
He looked instantly not good. Like Cass had sucked the life out of him. Horror filled Cass’ body as Lord Ridgewood pushed back his chair immediately and came over to catch the Head Priest.
"What did-" the words coming out of Lord Ridgewood’s mouth were instantly full of accusations, but Cass cut him off before he could even finish.
"Oh my gods! Are you alright? I’m so sorry, I didn’t think touching me would cause so many issues. This is why I don’t normally shake hands with others." Cass was immediately on the defensive, playing the poor, sad Lord Blackburn hard enough that Lord Ridgewood stared at him in shock. The Head Priest coughed, and Cass turned his gaze to Lady Ava. "Ava, please, I don’t know if I’ve hurt your Father. Could you check?" He asked and Lady Ava nodded, rushing over.
She had been quiet, subdued until Cass called to her. She rushed to the Head Priests side, who was being supported by Lord Ridgewood as she immediately used her powers right next to Cass to check on her adoptive Father.
Cass asked her to do this for two reasons. One, showing that he wasn’t affected by her powers while he stood next to her, and two, to show that his relationship with her had greatly improved.
The Head Priest gently brushed off everyone’s concern in a way that told Cass that the man was no stranger to PR. He was so careful, so kind, that it almost made Cass’ skin crawl. It was a behaviour that Lady Ava sometimes showed, and so did Vespertine. At least now he knew where the source of it all was.