Chapter 843: My Aunt Is A God Of War?!
Cassius’s jaw went slack. "What? My mother gave her, her name?!"
Aisha stared at him with genuine disbelief.
"You didn’t know about this? You don’t know about the connection between Big Sis Ragnora, you, and your mother!?"
"I had no idea." Cassius shook his head, still reeling. "The maids who served my mother—they talk about her constantly. They speak of her like she was a saint, telling stories of all her good deeds. But they never once mentioned...this."
Skadi, still flustered from his earlier attentions, squirmed in his lap.
"But Master, how could you not know? The only reason Ragnora joined the Holyfield family at all was because of your Mama! It was Lady Florence who brought her here in the first place!"
"Really?!"
"Yep! Even Puppy knows something as basic as that!"
Julie cleared her throat, stepping closer to explain.
"The truth is, Cassius, while your father was the one who brought Big Sis Ragnora to the mines and made her commander of the Blood and Iron Brigade..."
"...it was your mother who first brought her into the family."
"Before she became the legendary commander everyone knows today, Big Sis Ragnora was your mother’s personal bodyguard."
Cassius leaned forward, curiosity burning in his eyes.
"How did they meet? How did my mother and someone like Ragnora even cross paths?"
He couldn’t fathom the connection.
One was a goddess of war, a living weapon who could crush dragons with her bare fists.
The other was a woman renowned across the continent for her elegance, her grace, her gentle kindness.
The ideal noble lady that others aspired to become.
Aisha smiled, a knowing, tender expression softening her features.
"They met because Big Sis saved your mother’s life, Cassius."
"Say what now?"
"And not just her life." Aisha’s voice dropped. "She saved yours as well."
Cassius’s breath caught in his throat. "What do you mean? When did she save my life?!"
Julie found it rather funny that Cassius didn’t know this.
"Many years ago, Lady Florence was pregnant with you. At that time, she attended a gathering at another noble estate, a celebration of some kind. But during the event, a fire broke out. It spread through the mansion with terrifying speed."
"Your mother." Aisha said softly. "Being the kind-hearted woman she was...despite being heavily pregnant made sure everyone else evacuated first. She helped the servants escape before thinking of herself."
Julie’s expression darkened.
"But by the time everyone else was safe, she was trapped. The flames had closed in around her. Everyone was panicking—they thought she was going to die, and you along with her."
"Then." Aisha said, her voice brightening like dawn breaking. "Like a Hero stepping into legend...Big Sis Ragnora appeared!"
"She was just passing through the area when she heard the screams. The moment she understood what was happening, she burst into that burning mansion without a second thought."
A grimace crossed Julie’s face.
"It wasn’t easy for her. The fire was everywhere. By the time she reached your mother, her own body was badly burned—her skin charred, her flesh scorched."
"But she pushed through. She carried Lady Florence out safely."
Cassius felt something twist in his chest. "My mother..."
"Not a single scratch on her." Julie confirmed. "Or on you in her belly. She was completely unharmed."
"But Big Sis herself?" She sighed. "Her body was covered in burns from head to toe."
Cassius felt a heavy weight settle in his chest. He hadn’t expected that his life or atleast the previous Cassius’s life would actually be owed to the same legendary figure they had been talking about.
"And do you know what happened after, Master?"
Skadi chimed in softly, rubbing her head against Cassius’s chest.
"Your Mama looked at the stranger before covered in wounds, who had been so brave, so selfless and she asked if they had some connection."
"If your Papa had sent Big Sis to protect her. If they knew each other somehow."
"But Big Sis Ragnora just...smiled. A small, gentle smile."
Aisha interrupted, as this was the favourite part of the story.
"And she said she had no idea who Lady Florence was. She didn’t know her name, her status, her identity. All she knew was that someone had told her a pregnant woman was trapped inside a burning building. And the moment she heard that, she had no choice but to save that person."
Cassius was silent, not knowing how to feel with how intimate the story was too him.
"But that’s when another twist happens, Master!"
Skadi suddenly perked up, rubbing her butt against Cassius’s crotch.
"Just as she was saved, someone recognized her and realized that she was actually a slave who had broken free from her master! And because of that, a bunch of guards immediately surrounded her and tried to capture her on the spot!"
Cassius was shocked. "She was actually a slave?"
Julie nodded solemnly. "No one knows the full story, but apparently she’d been sold off by her own village. She managed to escape from the slave trader somehow and had been wandering, trying to find somewhere safe."
"But when she heard your mother’s cries..." Skadi’s tail curled around Cassius’s arm. "She dove into that fire knowing full well she’d be recognized. Knowing she could be captured. She sacrificed her freedom to save your mother."
The revelation struck Cassius like a physical blow.
Before, he had felt respect for Ragnora. But now, knowing that she had given up not just her body but her freedom—knowing that she had walked willingly into chains to save a stranger and her unborn child...
Something shifted inside him.
"The guards surrounded her immediately." Julie quickly said. "They were ready to drag her away in chains. But Lady Florence..."
Her voice hardened with fierce pride. "She understood. She saw what Ragnora had sacrificed. And she refused to let it happen."
"Right there, on the spot." Aisha said while clenching her fists. "Your mother declared that Ragnora belonged to her! That no one was allowed to touch her!"
"People argued—they warned her it could be dangerous, especially given how fierce Big Sis looked, and the fact that she was an escaped slave with an unknown past."
"But your mother didn’t care. Not at all."
"She took Big Sis home herself." Julie said softly. "She dressed her wounds with her own hands. She gave her a warm meal, a proper bed, clean clothes. And she didn’t treat her like a master taking in a servant—she treated her like a sister."
Aisha’s smile was radiant. "It seems your mother had the same gift as Big Sis—the ability to win people’s hearts completely. Within days, Big Sis had pledged her entire life to your mother’s service."
"She would have died for her without hesitation."
Cassius felt a hollow ache in his chest. The more he learned about his mother, the more she seemed like some divine figure, a saint who had walked the earth and left legends in her wake.
And he would never get to meet her.
"For months, Big Sis stayed by your mother’s side as her bodyguard." Julie continued. "But Lady Florence...she was the first person to recognize her true potential. She saw that her abilities far exceeded what anyone could imagine."
"So she asked your father to send Big Sis to the Holyfield mines. She envisioned it—a future where Big Sis would command the forces there, where she would become something greater than a mere bodyguard."
"Big Sis refused at first." Aisha added. "She wanted to protect your mother above all else. But eventually, she relented. And just as Lady Florence predicted..."
"...she became the Hero everyone looks up to today."
Cassius sat in silence, absorbing everything. Then Aisha’s lips curved into a mischievous grin.
"So technically speaking, Cassius...she’s basically your aunt."
He looked up sharply. "Huh?"
"Your mother didn’t just take her in as a servant. She gave Big Sis Ragnora the Vindictus family name—your mother’s own name. There was enormous opposition from the family, of course. That name isn’t given to just anyone."
"But Lady Florence insisted. She treated Ragnora as her true sister."
"So yes." Julie finally said. "Ragnora Vindictus Titanborn is, in a very real sense, your aunt. And from the very beginning, her loyalty was never to your father."
"It was always to your mother. Which means..."
She met his eyes meaningfully.
"As Lady Florence’s son, that loyalty extends to you. Big Sis is, technically, a subordinate who serves directly beneath you."
Cassius let out a startled laugh, running a hand through his hair.
"So what you’re telling me...is that I basically have a living nuclear bomb at my disposal that I never even knew about?"
He shook his head in disbelief. "This day just keeps throwing surprises at me."
Then his expression sobered.
"Does she even recognize me, though? Do I have any kind of relationship with her at all right now?"
Julie’s face grew awkward.
"Well...the thing is, after your mother passed away...things between your father and Big Sis became...complicated."
"After the funeral, she never returned to the main estate. Even when she visits the Holyfield territory, she refuses to come to the manor because of the tension between them."
"Because you were cast aside by the household." Aisha added quietly. "Big Sis wasn’t able to see you. She actually tried to take you away, to raise you herself. She was willing to take full responsibility for you."
"But your father completely declined it. He didn’t want you to have any relationship with anyone else. And unfortunately, she could do nothing about that."
She looked at him with a guilty expression.
"So in a way...the relationship could be quite estranged right now, Cassius. I don’t know what exactly she’s thinking about you right now, especially with all the rumors going around."
Cassius let out a humorless chuckle.
His so-called aunt was a legendary warrior who spent her life saving others, a paragon of justice and selflessness.
And he...well, the rumors painted him as the exact opposite. A degenerate. A monster.
’What would she think of me now?’
’Disappointment? Anger? Would she want to destroy me with her own hands?’
He found himself speaking before he could stop the words.
"I want to meet her."
The women exchanged glances.
"I want to meet her." He repeated, his voice firmer. "I need to see what kind of person she really is. Whether she lives up to these legends. And..."
He paused. "How she’ll treat me. What she’ll think of me."
Hearing this, Julie looked at Aisha. Aisha looked back at Julie. Something silent passed between them.
Then Julie turned to Cassius with a knowing smile.
"That’s funny you should say that, Cassius." Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Because I believe you’re going to meet her very soon."
Cassius straightened. "What do you mean?"
"That’s exactly why we came to see you today."
Julie reached into her coat and produced a sealed letter, its wax bearing an insignia Cassius didn’t recognize.
"We received an urgent message just this morning."
She placed it on the desk, right beside the hole Skadi’s fist had left behind.
"It seems like Big Sis in a difficult position and she needs our help."