Chapter 833: A Family And Home To Protect
Cassius opened his mouth to argue, but Joy silenced him with a glare.
"Don’t even try to take this away from me, Cassius. Whether you like it or not, I’m taking responsibility. Besides..."
A dangerous smile played on her lips.
"I’ll happily take all the responsibility and shove it in the faces of those Church higher-ups. Watch them squirm. It’ll be fun."
Cassius studied her face, seeing the determination there, the steel beneath the saintly exterior.
He realized arguing would be pointless. Joy had made up her mind.
"Will you be alright?" He asked quietly. "The pushback...it could be significant."
Joy scoffed. "My entire life as a Saintess, I’ve had complaints filed against me. Half the capital hates me. A few more enemies won’t make a difference."
Her smile turned insidious. "In fact, I’d prefer it. I enjoy making nobles lose sleep."
Seeing her confidence, Cassius nodded. There was nothing more to say.
But then a thought occurred to him, and a sneaky, guilty-looking smirk spread across his face.
"Well...since you’re already taking the blame for this...could you maybe take the blame for something else too?"
Joy felt a familiar sense of foreboding.
"What? What exactly is it?"
Cassius reached into his spatial ring. There was a soft pop of displaced air, and suddenly several large burlap sacks appeared on the ground between them.
But they weren’t filled with grain. Dark, thick crimson blood was already seeping through the porous fabric, staining the stone floor, carrying a fresh, metallic stench that made her stomach turn.
Joy slowly turned to look at Cassius, her eyes narrowing.
"What’s inside these bags, Cassius?"
Cassius rubbed the back of his neck, looking almost guilty.
"Just...go ahead and check for yourself."
Joy knelt down, her heart pounding. She carefully opened one of the bags, and the contents spilled out slightly.
Heads!
Human heads!
Each one bore the unmistakable marks of nobility—fine makeup, styled hair, expensive jewelry still attached to ears and necks.
There were at least eight or nine heads in each bag.
Joy wasn’t horrified like any normal person may be. Instead she observed the identities and then opened another sack.
More heads. And another. And another.
Finally, Joy let out a long, heavy sigh, rubbing her temples as she slowly stood back up.
"While I was out gathering the Valheim family." Cassius explained sheepishly. "I figured...why not do a little spring cleaning?"
"I took out a few other noble houses I’ve been eyeing for a while—mostly corrupt bastards who were torturing commoners, along with a few traitors from my own political faction."
"You know...just tying up loose ends."
"How many heads, Cassius?" Joy asked, her voice dangerously calm. "And how many families?"
"About forty-one heads total." Cassius replied quickly. "Patriarchs, corrupt judges, minor officials...nobody on the level of the Valheims, but decent names in their respective territories."
He added hastily. "Of course, these were done quietly in the dark! Nobody saw me! You don’t actually have to take responsibility for these—"
"I’ll take them." Joy interrupted flatly.
Cassius blinked. "Eh?"
A slow, terrifyingly insidious smile spread across Joy’s face as she looked down at the blood-stained sacks.
"This is actually perfect." She murmured, a dark glint in her eyes. "I can claim I led a sweeping, divine purge across multiple corrupted territories. The sheer body count will send absolute shockwaves through the High Church."
"Those fat, greedy cardinals who thought they could control me will be paralyzed with fear."
She chuckled, already picturing the look of absolute horror on the faces of the Capital’s elite when she dragged the sacks of noble heads onto the high cathedral floor.
"I already have books filled with evidence on every single one of these corrupt bastards." Joy added, her voice dripping with venomous satisfaction.
"So, this doesn’t hurt my reputation at all. It consolidates my power as an absolute, unyielding judge of divine law."
Cassius stared at her, a mixture of awe and amusement on his face.
"You know, sometimes I forget just how scary you can be."
"You should remember more often." Joy bent down and began sealing the bags again.
"Send these to the Capital with me. I’ll make sure they reach the right people."
"As you command, my dear Saintess."
Joy snorted. "Don’t call me that."
"What should I call you instead? My darling wife?"
"I’ll bite you again!"
"Promises, promises."
But despite the uncertainty of what lay ahead—Joy felt a warmth spreading through her chest.
This was where she belonged. With this infuriating, perverted, kind-hearted demon of a man.
And she would do whatever it took to protect that
Even if it meant taking responsibility for a massacre.
—
But just as Joy felt that warm sensation blooming in her chest—she suddenly noticed something odd.
A pressure. Right there, at the top of her cleavage.
She looked down, and her eyes widened.
Cassius had sneakily slipped two fingers right into the dip of her robes, hooking onto the fabric like a thief about to make off with the family silver.
"Cassius, what are you—"
Before she could finish, he pulled.
Her robes came down. Her bra followed a split second later.
And her breasts, those massive, pale, perfect breasts that she had spent her entire adult life hiding beneath layers of conservative religious garments—
—burst free like a pair of bunnies who had been caged for far too long and finally found their escape.
They bounced once. Twice. Settling into place with an audible thwump that seemed to echo across the entire field.
The sun painted her skin in hues of gold and ivory, and for a moment, her breasts looked like white marble, sculpted by some divine artisan to be as round and plump as possible.
Her nipples particularly stood tall and proud, catching the morning light, looking even pinker than her hair.
The sight was so striking, so utterly captivating, that even Cassius seemed momentarily stunned into silence.
Joy’s face erupted in crimson. "C-Cassius!"
She scrambled to cover herself, her hands flying to her chest, but her breasts were too large—too full—to be contained by her palms alone.
They spilled out from between her fingers, creamy flesh pressing against her own hands in a futile attempt at modesty.
She whipped her head around, eyes wide with panic, searching for any sign of witnesses.
"Are you insane?! Anyone could have seen that! My sisters are right over there! Lucius could come back at any moment! What if—"
Cassius reached out and gently placed his arm over her shoulder, his touch warm and reassuring.
"Calm down, Joy. There’s literally no one around."
"That’s not—"
He chuckled, gesturing with his chin toward the tree behind them.
"The only people watching are those corpses over there. And trust me, they’re not going to be telling anyone what they saw."
Joy followed his gaze. The hanging bodies swayed gently in the morning breeze, their empty eye sockets seeming to stare directly at her.
It was unsettling in a way she couldn’t quite describe like being watched by a thousand blind eyes.
She turned back to Cassius, her expression a mixture of fury and embarrassment.
"You absolute—"
She stomped on his foot.
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"What was that for?!" Joy’s voice rose to a pitch she didn’t know she was capable of. "You just—you pulled my—in front of—"
She sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
"Do you have a death wish? Should I take my axe out and chase you around until you learn some manners?"
Cassius rubbed his foot, but there was a glint in his eyes.
"I wouldn’t mind being chased around by you. Sounds like fun, actually."
"Don’t test me."
"I’m serious." He took a step closer, his voice dropping into something lower, more intimate.
"A little masochism now and then keeps things interesting."
He smirked. "And I have a feeling you’d look absolutely magnificent chasing me with that axe, your robes all flowing in the wind, your hair—"
"Stop talking."
"—bouncing with every step, your beautiful face twisted in righteous fury—"
"I said stop talking!"
"—and those magnificent breasts of yours, bouncing free and proud for the whole world to see—"
Joy’s free hand shot out and grabbed his collar, yanking him forward until their faces were inches apart.
"If you don’t shut your mouth right now, I’ll personally make sure that your tongue ends up as a decoration on my belt."
Cassius’s grin didn’t waver. "Kinky."
She released him like he was on fire. "You’re impossible."
"Thank you." He straightened his collar, looking absurdly pleased with himself. "But if you really want to know why I did it..."
"I’m dying to know."
"I got worked up."
Joy blinked. "Worked up?"
"Of course." Cassius’s eyes traced down her body, lingering on the curve of her arms where they pressed against her chest.
"My dear Joy was standing there, showing off her cleavage like she was presenting a gift. And I thought to myself, ’Well, if she’s going to offer, who am I to refuse?’"
"That’s not—I wasn’t—" Joy sputtered, her face burning.
"You were." He took another step closer, and she found herself backing up instinctively. "And just thinking about it made me rock hard."
Joy’s eyes darted downward before she could stop herself.
He wasn’t lying.
There it was, straining against his trousers like a snake trying to escape its cage.
The bulge was prominent, almost obscene in its size, pressing against the fabric with an urgency that made her breath catch in her throat.
"See?" Cassius’s voice was husky. "That’s what you do to me."
Before she could respond, he reached out and pulled her closer, his hands finding her waist.
"That’s why I think we should find ourselves a nice little corner and have some fun. Just the two of us."
Joy’s mind raced. Her sisters were literally just around the corner, setting fire to the mansion. Lucius was with them.
Any moment now, they could come back and find her like this—breasts exposed, pressed against Cassius, her body betraying her with every rapid heartbeat.
Cassius seemed to sense her inner turmoil. He stepped closer, his hand reaching out to brush against her cheek.
"Look, Joy. You’re leaving today. After this, who knows when we’ll see each other again? Days? Weeks? Months?"
Joy’s heart clenched.
"I’ll be so lonely without you." He continued, his voice soft, almost vulnerable. "I’ll be lying in bed at night, reaching for you, and you won’t be there."
"I’ll wake up in the morning and expect to see your face, and I’ll only find empty space."
"You’re laying it on a bit thick, don’t you think?" Joy muttered, but her voice lacked conviction.
"I’m being serious." His hand slid down to rest on her shoulder. "I’ve gotten used to having you around, Joy. Your presence. Your voice. Your scent."
"The way you roll your eyes at my jokes."
"The way you pretend to hate me when we both know you don’t."
Joy’s throat tightened. "I-I don’t pretend."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I do hate you."
Cassius laughed softly. "Liar."
Before she could argue, he leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"That’s why I thought...before you go...we could have one more moment together. One more memory to hold onto while we’re apart."
Joy’s breath caught. "Cassius..."
"Please." His eyes met hers, and for a moment, the playfulness was gone, replaced by something raw and genuine. "I don’t want to say goodbye without feeling you one last time."
Joy’s heart clenched.
She knew what he was doing. She knew this was a carefully crafted performance designed to tug at her heartstrings and make her give in.
And yet...
And yet, looking at his sad eyes, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of genuine emotion.
In her entire life, the only people who had ever truly missed her were her mother and Aqua.
Everyone else treated her like a plague—something to be avoided, something to be feared.
Even her own sisters had always kept a certain distance in the past, treating her more like a respected commander than a friend.
But Cassius? Cassius wanted her close. Cassius wanted her warmth. Cassius wanted her.
"Fine." She said finally, the word escaping her lips like a defeated sigh.