Chapter 344: Overwhelming Bloodlust

Cassius pulled back slightly, his gaze still locked onto her. His voice was calm, steady, but carried a kind of firmness that made Julie’s heart pound.

"You should know how I work by now, Julie." He said with a faint grin tugging at his lips. "I don’t explain a method before I use it. I’d rather show you directly. So don’t ask me why, just follow along."

Julie blinked, tilting her head curiously. "Okay...so what’s the first step?"

"The first step..." Cassius said, lifting his hand from her shoulder and pointing at her forehead. "...is to loosen up and put down your guard toward everything."

"Put down my guard? What do you mean by that?" She frowned slightly, confused. "Am I supposed to do...stretches or something to loosen my body?"

She raised her arms awkwardly, pretending to stretch her shoulders.

"No, no, no...not your body." Cassius chuckled and shook his head. "I’m talking about your mind. I want you to loosen that."

"My mind...?" Julie echoed softly, blinking up at him.

"Yes." Cassius said seriously, folding his arms as he leaned closer. "I want you to think of this as a casual evening on a normal day."

"Don’t treat this like we’re on a mission. Don’t treat this like training. I want your mindset completely carefree. And most importantly...I don’t want you to be on guard...Not even a little."

"I want you to treat this place, this moment, as if it’s the safest place in the world...where nothing and no one can hurt you."

Julie’s expression went blank for a moment before she gave him the simplest answer.

"...I already am in that state."

Cassius blinked, caught off guard. "Huh?"

She nodded without hesitation. "I really am casual and carefree right now. I already feel like this is the safest place in the world."

For once, Cassius was the one staring in silence, almost speechless. He muttered under his breath,

"...Impressive. Truly impressive. Most people can’t even begin to enter that mindset without practice. Even I..." He paused, a wry smile curving his lips. "I’m always carrying my own worries. Always thinking, always stressing over something in the back of my mind. But you..." He shook his head, chuckling softly. "You can reach it instantly."

Julie only smiled gently in return, though in her heart she knew the truth.

She hadn’t needed to force herself into that mindset, Cassius had unknowingly placed her there. With him so close, with his presence enveloping her, how could she not feel safe?

Cassius was her shield, her fortress, her certainty. She knew deep inside that if someone wanted to harm her, they’d have to go through him first.

And that, to her, was simply impossible. So yes...this really was the safest place in the world.

Cassius’s lips curved into a grin as he leaned forward. "Alright then...if you’re already carefree, that means we can move on to the next step."

Cassius then straightened himself, then stepped closer until he was standing right in front of her. His voice lowered, carrying a strange weight.

"The next step...is for us to look into each other’s eyes. Closely. Carefully."

Julie’s face heated immediately. "W-What? You mean...I just have to look into your eyes and...do nothing else? That’s it?"

"That’s it." Cassius confirmed with a firm nod. "Focus. Look straight into my eyes, while I look into yours. Don’t let your attention waver, not even for a second."

Julie swallowed nervously but obeyed. Slowly, she raised her gaze to meet his. And the moment her bright green eyes locked onto his crimson ones, her breath caught in her throat.

His eyes...they really did shine like rubies, brilliant and sharp, burning with life and strength. She was utterly mesmerized, her chest tightening at the sheer beauty of them.

Her gaze began to blur unconsciously, her eyes unfocusing as if falling into a trance.

"Focus." Cassius snapped suddenly, clicking his fingers in front of her face.

Julie jolted, cheeks flaring pink. "S-Sorry! I just...it’s hard to focus...your eyes, they’re just..."

"...they are just too beautiful up close."

She muttered the last words shyly, averting her gaze for a split second before forcing herself to look back.

Hearing this, Cassius chuckled softly, his smirk carrying warmth. "What a coincidence...I was thinking the same thing."

Julie blinked, startled. "Eh? The same thing?"

He nodded, lowering his voice as he spoke earnestly.

"I was thinking that these aren’t eyes at all...but two polished emerald crystals. So radiant, so pure, I almost lose myself just staring at them."

"And believe me, Julie...keeping a straight look into your eyes without blushing a little...is much harder than you think."

Her entire face flushed pink, but her heart swelled with joy at his words. To hear Cassius, Cassius, of all people, say something like that...it was overwhelming. She felt her lips curving into a soft, genuine smile as she whispered,

"Thank you..."

And so, the two of them continued to stare. His gaze calm, steady, unwavering. Hers soft at first, but slowly melting into something far warmer, far more tender. Her emerald eyes glowed with affection, as though the more she looked at him, the deeper she sank.

In her mind, one thought echoed endlessly, I could get used to this. I could stay like this forever.

It didn’t even feel like training anymore. No, it felt like a reward. A blissful, intimate reward.

But then—

Everything changed.

In an instant, a crushing pressure slammed down on her body.

Whoom!

Julie gasped sharply as her knees nearly buckled.

It wasn’t physical weight, it was worse. It was suffocating, terrifying, primal. Her muscles seized, her skin turned pale, and her heart roared in her ears. Her instincts screamed at her, shrieking in panic, urging her to move.

Her body knew this sensation. This wasn’t fear.

This was bloodlust.

Pure, raw, murderous intent, aimed directly at her.

Her vision blurred, her eyes snapping wide as the dagger hidden at her hip practically called to her hand. She didn’t think, her body didn’t let her think.

Before she even realized it, she had drawn the blade and driven it forward, her hand moving on instinct with lethal precision, straight toward Cassius’s neck.

Her mind screamed, ’Stop! What am I doing?! Why am I trying to stab Cassius?’

But her body didn’t listen. Her grip was firm, her strike merciless, her speed so fast that it was clear, this was no warning swipe. She was trying to kill him.

Julie’s heart sank in horror even as her body lunged forward, and in that frozen heartbeat of realization, her soul screamed out in desperation,

’Cassius!!’

Her dagger shot forward with lethal speed, the kind of motion perfect for an assassin’s killing blow. At point-blank range, with her speed, she thought, no, she knew, that nothing could possibly stop it. The steel was about to sink into his neck.

The thought alone made her heart freeze, her entire being shatter with dread.

But then, Cassius moved.

Just as the blade was about to pierce his throat, his hand came up with a flash of speed she couldn’t even register properly, and he caught the tip of her dagger between two fingers.

Effortless. Casual. He stopped the strike so cleanly it looked like child’s play, as if catching a killing blow was the most natural thing in the world.

He then looked at her with a calm smile and murmured, almost teasingly,

"Straight for the neck...feisty one, aren’t you?"

Julie’s eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat. He wasn’t lying in a pool of blood. He wasn’t falling...He was smiling.

Relief crashed into her chest like a wave, so strong it nearly made her collapse.

’He’s okay. He’s okay. I didn’t hurt him. Gods, if that blade had gone through...I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself. I’d be completely lost.’

But the relief was quickly drowned by another realization, what she had just done.

Her hand had tried to kill him...Again.

After she had already promised she would never let that happen again. And yet, here she was, dagger poised at his throat. Shame and horror wrapped around her heart like chains.

Her voice trembled as she stumbled out words,

"C-Cassius, it’s not what you think, I...I didn’t mean it, I don’t even know why my hand moved like that!"

"Please, don’t misunderstand me! I swear I didn’t want to do it, not at all!"

Her eyes were wide, terrified, her body losing all the strength it had only moments ago. Fear curled deep inside her, fear of what he must be thinking, fear that he’d hate her for this, that he’d see this as a betrayal.

She opened her mouth again, desperate to explain herself further, but suddenly—

Cassius placed two fingers gently on her lips.

Her words died instantly. She slowly looked up at him, terrified of what she would see. But instead of disgust, instead of betrayal, she found only that same calm, gentle smile on his face.

"I know you want to apologize." He said softly. "And I know you want to explain yourself. But you don’t need to."

"...I already know it wasn’t you. Your body just acted on its own, didn’t it?"

Julie’s eyes went wide. Her breath caught. Relief flooded her heart so suddenly it almost made her dizzy.

’He understood. He understood without me saying anything.’

She tried again to speak, her lips parting against his fingers, but he pressed gently once more and shook his head with a knowing look.

"There’s no need, Julie. I know exactly what’s going on. Because..." He paused, leaning closer. "...I was the one who caused it."

Julie blinked in shock. Her voice slipped out muffled beneath his touch, "Wh-What do you mean? You caused...this?"

Cassius nodded, his expression calm, as if explaining something perfectly ordinary.

"That bloodlust you felt, it didn’t come out of nowhere...It was mine. I released it."

Her heart stopped. Julie stared at him in awe and terror.

"Y-You...that bloodlust...That overwhelming pressure, like my body was going to be crushed, like I had to protect myself or die...that was you?!"

"Yes." He nodded simply. "And that’s why your body moved on its own. It wasn’t you deciding to attack me. It was instinct, reacting to the bloodlust I let out."

Julie’s lips trembled. She hadn’t expected this. Of all people, of all things, she hadn’t expected Cassius, the one who made her feel safest, to have been the one to unleash such terror upon her.

Her eyes watered as she quickly asked, voice quivering,

"Why? Why would you do that, Cassius?! If you were angry with me, if I annoyed you, or if I was acting spoiled, you could’ve just told me off!"

"...You didn’t need to bully me like this!"

Her eyes grew teary, her words breaking, showing the fragile girl beneath all her strength.

"We’re...we’re closer than that, aren’t we? You didn’t need to treat me like that..."

Cassius blinked, then chuckled softly. His free hand came up to gently rub her cheek, wiping away a forming tear with his thumb.

"Julie...no. It’s not like that. I wasn’t trying to scare you. I wasn’t angry. I didn’t release that bloodlust because I was irritated with you."

Her trembling gaze lifted to his, confused, hopeful, desperate.

"Then...then why?" She whispered.

"Because of the training." He said gently. "The training I told you about. The one you’ll need...to learn cooking."

Julie blinked, stunned, unsure whether to believe him.

"T-Training...for cooking? Really?" She asked, her voice still small, her teary eyes searching his. "You’re not just saying that because you don’t want to admit you were angry?"

"If I annoyed you with how I was acting, I can change! I can stop being moody, I promise! I don’t want to frustrate you, Cassius, I really don’t—"

But he chuckled again, gently shaking his head.

"Not at all. You don’t frustrate me, Julie. Even if you act all over the place sometimes, even if you have your moods, it’s not irritating, it’s...cute."

Her breath caught, her cheeks warming as he smiled at her.

"You’re adorable when you show me so many reactions. I enjoy seeing them. I enjoy you."

Julie’s heart fluttered wildly, her fluster showing, though the tears still clung to her lashes.

But then, remembering the fear she had felt, she whispered again, "Then...then why? Why did you let out so much bloodlust?"

"...It almost made me make you choke on your blood."