Chapter 575: I Truly Admire You, Young Master!

Before Cassius could even open his mouth, Lucious’s expression brightened like a child seeing his favorite toy after years.

He took an eager step forward, clasping his hands dramatically against his chest.

"Young Master! You are finally back! I’ve been waiting for you for so, so long!"

Cassius blinked, caught completely off guard by the intensity in his voice. "...Lucius?"

But the butler didn’t stop there. His eyes shone with admiration as he shook his head in mock disappointment.

"Truly, Young Master, I underestimated you." He said reverently.

"You really are the most extraordinary man alive!"

"The things you’ve done today—the feats, the accomplishments! They’ve put you on a pedestal higher than the stars themselves!"

"And now I finally understand why I follow you so faithfully. It all makes sense now."

Cassius just stared at him blankly.

"...What the hell are you talking about?"

Lucius only smiled wider, eyes glittering with delight.

"Ah, Young Master, you’re too humble! Always pretending as if you haven’t just moved mountains!"

"No, seriously Lucius, what are you blabbering about this time?"

Cassius frowned, his tone skeptical.

"Why are you suddenly praising me like I just conquered the world?"

Lucius tilted his head slightly, still smiling. "Why, because of tonight, of course!"

"...Tonight?" Cassius repeated, even more confused. "What about tonight?"

But before he could dig deeper, he suddenly remembered the reason Lucius was even supposed to be there.

"Hold on—weren’t you supposed to bring me the item I asked for? Don’t tell me something happened to it."

"Not at all, Young Master! Everything went perfectly. I arrived quite a while ago, in fact."

Cassius blinked again before asking, "Then why didn’t you come in and give it to me?"

Lucius’s smile widened—annoyingly knowing, exaggeratedly innocent.

"How could I possibly do that, Young Master?" He asked, placing a dramatic hand over his heart. "You were inside with Lady Carmela."

"And from the...faint noises I heard through the door, I knew exactly what was happening."

Cassius felt the blood drain from his face as realization dawned.

Lucius continued, utterly unfazed, voice prim and proper.

"As your butler, it is my sacred duty to know precisely when not to disturb you. In situations of...intimate nature...the correct protocol is to remain discreetly outside and await your emergence."

"Which I did—patiently and faithfully."

Cassius dragged a hand down his face.

Of course. Lucius had been programmed—literally conditioned by him—to never interrupt when Cassius was alone with a woman.

And while the assumption wasn’t entirely accurate this time, it also...wasn’t entirely wrong in spirit.

The earlier moment with Carmela had been intensely private.

So Cassius couldn’t even fully blame him.

But then Lucius’s eyes sparkled with fresh enthusiasm, and he leaned in slightly, voice dropping to an excited whisper.

"Honestly, Young Master...I was genuinely astonished that you managed to tame someone like Lady Carmela."

Cassius choked. "Tame—?"

"I truly believed she was like a wild stallion—untouchable, unstoppable."

Lucius went on, nodding solemnly.

"Whenever I looked at her, I confess I felt a chill. Those crimson eyes of hers...they are the same shade as yours, Young Master, yet so cold, so terrifying."

"Even I made every effort to avoid her presence."

He placed a hand over his chest again, gazing up at Cassius with open admiration.

"And yet you, Young Master—you, in all your brilliance—managed to bring her into your office, in the middle of the night! And what’s more, you made her stay willingly and made someone like her submit to you!"

"I didn’t—Lucius, that’s not what happened—"

"It truly is admirable!" Lucius said over him, clasping his hands with a starry-eyed expression.

"You’re one of a kind, Young Master. The way you handle women...I’m learning so much just by serving under you."

Cassius looked like he wanted to slam his head into the nearest wall.

"Lucius." He said in a voice that was far too calm. "I swear, if you don’t stop talking right now, I’m going to—"

"Oh! And if that wasn’t impressive enough." Lucius interrupted excitedly. "You even managed to tame Lady Joy too!"

Cassius froze. "Wait—what! I did absolutely nothing with Joy!"

"Of course you did, Young Master." He said, as if explaining something obvious to a slightly slow child. "I was stationed outside the door, as per protocol."

"Then I observed Lady Joy approaching—wearing her night robes, no less. And the moment I saw her heading toward your office at this hour, I understood immediately what was about to transpire."

Cassius’s expression slowly morphed into one of pure disbelief.

"Lucius." He said carefully. "Please tell me you didn’t just let her walk into my office."

Lucius straightened proudly.

"Of course I did!" He said cheerfully. "I knew exactly what kind of important matters were about to take place between the two of you. So, naturally, I stepped aside. It would’ve been rude to interfere."

Cassius’s jaw dropped. "You—You let my enemy—the woman investigating me—waltz into my office in the middle of the night?!"

Lucius blinked innocently.

"Enemy? Oh, come now, Young Master. That’s not what it looked like from my perspective."

"Two beautiful women entering your office one after another, both leaving it later with their faces flushed and their hair slightly tousled—"

"LUCIUS!"

Lucius froze at the sharp bark of his name, though his smile only grew more sheepish.

"Aha...my apologies, Young Master. I merely meant to say you have an...impressive way with ladies."

Cassius couldn’t decide whether to laugh, cry, or strangle something.

On one hand, he couldn’t truly blame Lucius. The butler had been conditioned to facilitate and protect Cassius’s...nocturnal activities.

He had become an expert at silently ushering women in, standing watch, and ensuring absolute privacy.

From Lucius’s perspective—night clothes, late hour, heading to Cassius’s private office—it had been the most logical conclusion in the world.

And now the poor butler was looking up at him with shining eyes, utterly convinced his master had just seduced both a vampire and the saintess in a single night.

Cassius exhaled slowly, dragging both hands through his hair.

"Lucius..." He said weakly. "We are going to have a very long talk about threat assessment and enemy identification tomorrow."

Lucius only tilted his head, smile unwavering.

"Of course, Young Master. Whatever you desire."

Cassius shook his head, before he started walking down the corridor.

"Anyway." He said over his shoulder. "Do you have the item I asked for?"

"Of course, Young Master!" He said brightly, walking half a step behind him like an overly enthusiastic puppy.

"I gathered the necessary data, refined the recordings, and even sent them to a professional to enhance the quality—just as you ordered!"

"The resolution is perfect now, the sound cleaned, and all the relevant sections isolated."

He gestured proudly toward a nearby door.

"If you’d like to see it, I already have it set up."

Cassius’s expression softened into curiosity.

"You even went that far, huh? Good."

Lucius smiled, puffing his chest slightly as he led the way into a smaller adjoining room.

A small coffee table sat at the center, and atop it rested a compact video transmission device—the same kind they had used earlier during his conversation with the sisters.

The moment they entered, Lucius moved with practiced grace, kneeling briefly to switch it on. The crystal projector flickered to life with a low hum, and a pale image formed above it.

Cassius’s eyes narrowed slightly as the image sharpened.

It was the recording from earlier that evening—Joy, standing in the center of the room, her face pale, her breathing ragged after the failed attempt to peer into his soul. Her voice, weak but clear, echoed through the room:

"He...He’s protected...by two godesses..."

"That means his soul isn’t just guarded by one divine entity...but by two. Two goddesses who are watching over him."

In the background, several of the sisters gasped in disbelief.

One of them stammered. "Protected by...two godesses? That’s...impossible!"

The footage continued—Joy wincing in pain, clutching her chest, muttering that she couldn’t look into him without divine backlash. Her words carried equal parts awe and fear.

Then came Lucius’s voice—recorded clearly from the sidelines, his tone reverent and theatrical.

"To be protected by two deities...! Perhaps the heavens themselves have chosen him! We should build a religion around him! Praise be to our divine Young Master!"

And after showing a few more shocked reactions of the sisters who looked like they were nodding to what Lucious had said—the transmission ended.

Lucius then straightened proudly, hands clasped behind his back.

"Are you satisfied with the result, Young Master?"

Cassius’s lips slowly curved into a wide, deeply satisfied grin.

"Very satisfied, Lucius. Very, very satisfied."

He reached out and began ruffling the butler’s fluffy black hair, patting the top of his head with genuine affection.

Cassius chuckled softly.

"With this, the Goddess’s name will spread even further. Soon, half the Empire will be whispering about my divine protection and holy power. And Joy..."

He smirked mischievously.

"...will probably be fuming when she hears about it."

Lucius, despite having no idea which specific goddess Cassius kept referring to all the time, didn’t care in the slightest.

He was far too busy basking in the rare head pats, cheeks flushed a soft pink, eyes half-lidded in pure bliss like a smitten schoolgirl.

Cassius finally withdrew his hand to Lucious’s reluctance and stretched.

"Anyway, I’ll give you detailed instructions tomorrow on exactly where and to whom this footage should be ’accidentally’ leaked."

"For now, I’m going back to bed."

The moment the word bed left his mouth, Lucius perked up, stepping forward with eager helpfulness.

"Bed? Then can I also come with you, Young Master. You might not be able to notice but I’m actually very soft and warm, so if you were to hug me in your sleep—"

Cassius fixed him with a flat, cold stare that could have frozen a volcano.

Lucius froze mid-sentence, eyes widening.

"...Never mind, Young Master."

He said quickly, bowing and turning away with exaggerated innocence.

"Please forgive my presumption. I sincerely hope you have a most restful night."

Cassius shook his head, a faint chuckle escaping despite himself.

"Same to you, Lucius."

He left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

As he walked the quiet halls toward his bedroom, Cassius couldn’t help but think how good it was to have such a loyal butler.

Lucius’s devotion was unmatched, his efficiency unparalleled.

But sometimes...that obsessive, over-eager devotion was a little too much.

He shuddered at a sudden, horrifying mental image.

Waking up one night to find Lucius had quietly slipped into the bed, petite frame and soft features mistaken in the dark for one of the wives, and...

Cassius immediately shook his head hard, banishing the nightmare.

Absolutely traumatizing, atleast for him since Lucious would be happy beyond relief.

Better not to dwell on it.

Instead, he let warmer thoughts fill his mind.

All of his wives would be waiting in the master bedroom—warm, soft, welcoming. And after the long, tense, frustrating night spent with Carmela—teasing, playing, dancing right up to the edge but never quite taking that final step—he was pent-up, restless, energy humming under his skin.

A slow, anticipatory grin spread across his face.

Tonight, he could finally let all of that built-up urge pour out onto the women who knew exactly how to handle ’it’ and him.

But little did he know that there was a certain someone, who wanted to sleep with him so desperately tonight that she requested all his wives and maids to let her have him tonight in bed, so that she could sleep with him like in the distant past.

And little did she know that was probably one of the worst decision she would ever make—as it was going to lead to some taboo events and blooming emotions that was completely about to twist her life apart..