Chapter 579: Custom Bed

Even though Aqua poured such affection on Cassius right now—holding him close, stroking his hair, whispering soothing words like she always had when he was small—she was actually slightly mistaken.

Cassius’s face was pale, his eyes wide with shock, but it wasn’t because of the taboo weight of what he had just done to his own sister.

It wasn’t guilt over crossing that sacred line, or horror at having groped and pleasured a blood relative.

No.

His fear was far more selfish, far more calculated.

He was terrified that Aqua would hate him for it and avoid him.

He had pounced on her in the dark, mistaken her for Isabelle, groped her shamelessly, fingered her to a shattering climax—all while planning in the back of his mind, to eventually make her his woman.

To claim his beautiful, beloved older sister completely.

If she rejected him now—if she looked at him with disgust, pushed him away, told him how wrong and vile it was—everything would crumble.

His carefully laid plans, his desires, the future he had started imagining with her by his side...all ruined before they even began.

That was why his expression had been so stricken.

Not moral anguish. Pure dread of losing her affection.

Of course, Aqua had no way of knowing any of this.

She still saw him as her sweet, sensitive little brother—the original Cassius who would have been devastated by the taboo, who would have been wracked with guilt and self-loathing.

But this Cassius was different.

He carried the memories, yes. He remembered her lullabies, her warmth, the safety of her arms. A part of him still thought of her as his older sister.

But that part was still not him.

At his core, he saw a stunning woman—curves that drove him mad, sapphire eyes that made his chest tight, a gentle heart he wanted to possess entirely.

To him, there was no real taboo. Only desire.

So when Aqua crawled over and enveloped him in that soft, forgiving hug—when she whispered that everything was alright, that she loved him no matter what—he was utterly confused.

He had braced himself for anger. For tears. For embarrassment.

For her to slap him, scold him, demand he explain himself.

He had even prepared apologies, excuses, ways to smooth it over.

But instead she comforted him.

She held him like he was the victim.

Like what he had done was forgivable.

But nonetheless, relief flooded him, warm and dizzying.

The drama he had feared—the accusations, the distance evaporated.

He exhaled shakily and let himself sink into her embrace, arms slowly coming up to hug her back.

"I...I’m sorry."

He murmured against her shoulder, voice soft and sorrowful, part performance, part genuine remorse for the mistake, if not the act itself.

"I’m so sorry, Aqua...I thought you were Isabelle. I thought you were my wife. I never meant for any of this to happen to you. I really am sorry."

Aqua immediately shushed him, fingers stroking through his hair.

"There’s no need to apologize at all." She said gently. "I know what happened. I know it was a misunderstanding. I could tell from the very beginning that you thought I was Isabelle."

"You’re always doing...those things with your wives, aren’t you? So of course you mistook me. There’s really no need to be sorry or scared."

But even though she said that, Cassius still persisted.

"But...is it alright?" He asked quietly. "I mean...we did something that no sister and brother should ever do. Are you really okay with it? You’re not...holding it in?"

"Because if you are, that’s worse. If you pretend now and then avoid me later...that would hurt more than anything."

He was genuinely worried now—not for the taboo, but because he knew bottled-up emotions could fester.

If she was hiding her true feelings to spare him, she might start avoiding him later.

That would be worse than any scolding.

"It’s really alright." She said, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

"Yes...you did things a brother shouldn’t do to his sister. And yes, it’s embarrassing—something we can never, ever tell anyone else. But it was just a mistake. But honestly...I’m the one to blame."

She looked down, embarrassed.

"I shouldn’t have tried to surprise you by sneaking into your bed at night. If I had just told you beforehand that I wanted to sleep beside you like we used to...none of this would have happened."

"It’s my fault, Cassius." She said hoping that he wouldn’t push her away because of this. "So please, don’t worry about it anymore. I don’t mind.""

"Let’s just...ignore it. Forget it and move on."

Cassius stared at her, slowly realizing she meant every word.

She truly wasn’t holding it against him.

Relief washed over him fully, and he nodded, letting out a long breath.

But then Aqua’s blush deepened, and she glanced away, fiddling with the edge of the blanket.

"But...I do have to say this, Cassius."

She murmured, voice barely above a whisper.

"You’re...really quite deviant in bed."

Cassius blinked, caught off guard.

She peeked up at him, eyes wide and flustered.

"I always thought you were my innocent little brother, the shy one who couldn’t even look at me without blushing."

"But the way you spoke...the things you said...the way you touched..." She bit her lip. "It makes me see you in a completely different light."

For a split second, Cassius’s usual instincts flared—he wanted to tease her, to lean in with a grin and push the moment further, to whisper something filthy and watch her blush deepen.

But the moment he opened his mouth, the old memories surged up—images of a small boy hiding behind his big sister, of following her around and protective hugs.

The words caught in his throat.

All he managed was a weak.

"...I guess so."

And seeing the flustered look on his face, Aqua looked mortified.

"Oh—no, what am I saying?" She exclaimed, covering her face with both hands. "I just told you to forget everything, and here I am bringing it up again! I’m so sorry, Cassius. I know you’re trying to move past it, and I’m making it worse..."

Cassius shook his head quickly, forcing a small smile.

"It’s...fine."

But inside, frustration gnawed at him.

He couldn’t flirt.

Couldn’t capitalize.

The lingering echoes of the original Cassius’s feelings were tying his tongue.

And because of that an awkward silence stretched between them, that was impossible to ignore.

Neither knew what to say.

Finally, Aqua cleared her throat.

"Okay—enough of this talk." She said with forced brightness. "Let’s just...forget it all and go to sleep. That’s why I came here in the first place—to cuddle with you like we did when we were little. So let’s do that."

She scooted back to the center of the bed, then paused—lifting the blanket and staring at the massive damp spot beneath her with a fresh wave of embarrassment.

"But...um...I don’t think you can sleep here." She said, voice small. "It’s...completely wet. Maybe we should move to another room—"

Cassius quickly interrupted.

"No, no—there’s no need for that." He said, before saying in a hesitant manner. "This bed is...specially made. Any liquid—any moisture at all—gets absorbed and funneled into a storage tank underneath. It dries almost instantly. You won’t even feel it in a minute."

Aqua blinked, surprised.

"Really? That’s...impressive."

Then, with a playful tilt of her head, she added.

"Don’t tell you spilled so much tea and water in bed because of your clumsiness that you had to install something like that?"

But Cassius gave a frustrated shake of his head and said something that she didn’t expect.

"No...the truth is..." He sighed. "When I’m with my wives at night, we...do things. Naughty things like anyone would. And it gets...messy. Very wet."

"With multiple women, well...things tend to get soaked."

"So I had the feature added. That way, no matter how much...liquid...ends up on the bed, it stays dry."

Aqua’s face turned scarlet.

She suddenly regretted asking.

Images flashed through her mind—her little brother surrounded by beautiful women, making them lose control so thoroughly, so often, that he needed a custom drainage system.

’He must be...incredibly skilled.’

’Incredibly perverse as well.’

She shook her head quickly, trying to banish the thought.

"T-That’s...a neat feature."

She managed, voice faint. Then, attempting humor to lighten the mood she said,

"It would have been nice in my old bed at the palace. I used to wet the bed all the time when I was little."

She chuckled awkwardly. But silence threatened to return.

So, before it could settle, Aqua quickly burrowed under the blanket, snuggling into the pillow.

She lifted the edge of the cover invitingly, patting the space beside her.

"Now come on, Cassius." She said softly, voice warm again. "Let’s sleep. Just like old times."

Seeing the gentle but stubbornly determined look in Aqua’s eyes—the one that said she absolutely would not take no for an answer—Cassius sighed softly and gave in.

He slid across the mattress and snuggled in right beside her, letting her pull the thick blanket over both of them until they were cocooned in warmth.

And seeing that he was right where she wanted him, Aqua reached over and flicked off the bedside lamp.

"Is this...really necessary?" Cassius shifted slightly, voice muffled against the pillow. "I mean, sure, in the past we used to sleep together like this, but we’re grown adults now. Do we really need to share a bed so closely?"

"Adult? What adult?"

She looked down at him with a fond, teasing smile, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him firmly into her embrace.

"In my eyes, I only see my little baby brother. Nothing else. No matter how tall you get or how deep your voice becomes, that will never change."

She hugged him tighter, guiding his head until his face was nestled snugly against her chest—smothered in the impossibly soft, generous warmth of her breasts.

Cassius’s eyes widened. He tried to pull back just enough to speak, cheeks already heating.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say, Aqua...but can you at least let me breathe a little? There’s no need to hug me quite so tightly."

Aqua only giggled softly and tugged him deeper into her embrace, deliberately pressing him closer.

"But why? In the past you always used to sleep exactly like this."

She teased, voice warm with nostalgia.

"You’d curl up against me, face right here, and fall asleep so peacefully. You loved being spooned by your big sister. You said it made you feel safe."

Cassius rolled his eyes in the darkness, glancing up at her with a wry expression.

"That was back when you were still pretty flat-chested and small." He muttered. "It wasn’t a big deal to sleep against you then. But now..."

His gaze involuntarily dropped to the deep, plush cleavage he was currently half-buried in.

"Now it’s completely different. You’ve got these massive...things. I’m legitimately worried I might suffocate in my sleep if you keep holding me like this."

Aqua burst into quiet laughter, the sound vibrating through her chest and straight into him.

"It’s alright, it’s alright." She said reassuringly, stroking his hair. "Nothing like that will happen. You’re worrying too much."

She gazed down at him with that same tender, loving expression she’d worn since they were children.

"Just treat them like pillows, Cassius—the softest pillows in the whole world. And you don’t know how many men in the capital stare and lust after them. Right now you have the exclusive privilege of sleeping on your big sister’s pillows."

"You should enjoy it properly."

Before he could protest further, she gently but firmly pressed his face fully back into her cleavage—adjusting so only his nose peeked out, giving him just enough air to breathe comfortably.

Cassius went still.

In any other situation—with any other woman—this would have been the perfect opening.

They were pressed together from chest to thigh, her body warm and plush and yielding against him.

Normally his hands would wander, his lips would tease, and he’d slowly turn the innocent cuddle into something far more intimate.

But tonight...he couldn’t.

The lingering memories of the original Cassius held him back like invisible chains.

Frustration simmered beneath his skin, but he forced it down.

There was nothing he could do right now.

So he simply exhaled, let his body relax against hers, and muttered, "Good night, Aqua."

Aqua’s heart swelled at the quiet words.

She honestly wanted to stay awake a little longer—wanted to ask about his life, his wives, everything she had missed over the years.

But she could feel the tension in his shoulders, the slight embarrassment still radiating from him.

He probably just wanted to sleep and forget the earlier mistake.

So she smiled tenderly, leaning down to press a soft, sisterly kiss to the top of his head.

"Good night, baby brother." She whispered, voice full of love. "I’m so, so happy I can sleep with you like this again."

She closed her eyes, a big, contented smile on her face, and snuggled closer.

Tonight was going to be the best sleep she’d had in years—warm, safe, surrounded by the little brother she had missed so desperately.

...But little did she know.

She wouldn’t be sleeping peacefully at all.

All through the night she would be biting her lip, stifling whimpers and quiet moans.

While Cassius—the one who was going to make her completely aroused—would be sleeping, blissfully unaware of the torment he was about to cause her all night.