The steward still felt as though smoke was coming out of his ears and didnât even know how to reply to this question at all.
Bets? What bets? For what? Where would they even be at this point?
"Oh? You want to bet on me?" Uroliusâ elder brother smiled brightly. "You have good taste."
"My husband, actually," Cassarae replied.
"Whoa. Arenât we moving a little fast?"
Cassarae looked back toward the Thryskai and then down toward his crotch.
"Iâm getting some weird energy from you. Youâre more familiar with âfastâ than youâre letting on."
The Thryskai blinked, then looked down at his crotch too.
"What a firecracker, this woman..." he mumbled beneath his breath.
Urolius burst into laughter, earning him a kick from his elder brother.
"Hey, hey, youâre taking it out on me a bit too fast, arenât you, Vaernon?"
"Haha, very funny." Vaernon reached forward and picked his little brother up by the back of the collar. "Iâm glad to see that youâve recovered from your injuries enough to make these silly little jokes. Hopefully Gianni doesnât have to save your ass too much today."
Urolius froze, and then his eyes flashed with a deathly cold intent as though recalling Sylas.
"Donât you worry, Iâll handle everything today. We wonât have to show off our trump card so easily."
"How nice of you."
Vaernon let go.
"Cassarae. With me." Wei stepped out from the gathering crowd and spoke with a cool demeanor.
Giving the others a glance and a wink, Cassarae left, following Wei around a corner.
...
"What do you think youâre doing?" Wei asked slowly. Her aura didnât leak much, but it was enough to make Cassarae feel especially small.
The power of a D-tier wasnât small. The power of a D-tier that was both so close to the C-tier and a genius on Weiâs level... that was even more difficult to manage.
Cassarae stood to her full height. She towered over Wei even if she wore flat-soled shoes. However, height and power were two different things.
Even so, the fact Cassarae could bear to stand to her full height before Weiâs fury spoke volumes about the strength of her Will.
"A gamble," Cassarae said calmly.
"Did you really come here to gamble on something like this? You must have used all your merit just to learn that this event was happening in the first place. Do you think thatâs worth it?"
Cassarae had a great deal of merit from the Milky Way Branch, but she had wiped it all out just to learn of this event.
Information wasnât free even to Petals of the Seeing Thorn members, even if it was discounted. And for merits from such a small corner of the universe, they would easily be wiped out by such high-caliber information.
Why would Cassarae trade all of those valuable merits for... Aether Stones? It didnât make any sense.
Petals of the Seeing Thorn merits were worth way more than even C-Grade Aether Stones, and they couldnât be traded for with money.
Information was power. And power couldnât be bought... at least not the top-tier information, that is.
"Youâre misunderstanding. My bet is against the Thryskai."
Weiâs eyes widened. "Youâ?!"
Cassarae coughed and took a step back. Wei reined in her power quickly enough, but the weight of her shock was heavy nonetheless. It felt like she was looking at a madwoman.
"What are you thinking?!" she hissed. "Do you know that these are direct orders from the Matriarch?! Her favorite daughter is the wife of Patriarch Kaeltharâs first son. Not the first son of a generationâhis first son. Period. Do you know how important her position is here?! What the hell are you thinking?!"
Wei wasnât even thinking about the betrayal just yet, or how Cassaraeâs actions would certainly blow back on her.
"Hey, Wei. The man you love is in the Sanctum too, isnât he?" Cassarae asked with a smile, having already regained her composure.
For the first time, a truly dangerous light flashed in Weiâs eyes.
"Do you think you can use this to threaten me? The Thryskai arenât aiming to destroy the Sanctum in the first placeâthey just want it as an additional pawn. If youâre this type of person as an F-tier, do you think Iâd keep you by my side? I could kill you right here and now. No one would bat an eye."
"I assure you that my husband would certainly bat an eye," Cassarae said.
"No one knows who the hell your husband is," Wei hissed, her fury moments from bubbling over into a true tirade. If not for the fact they were still in public, she would have already lashed out with true force.
"Yet," Cassarae replied nonchalantly. "You see, he has a habit of gallivanting and skirt-chasing. I plan to teach him a lesson very soon, but first heâs going to have to help me out of this predicament."
"Predicament?" Wei took a deep breath, exhaling. Somewhere deep inside, she began to "understand" that Cassarae was just a madwoman with hallucinations of grandeur. This was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. "Cassarae, what youâve done here is ruin your life. Your mission was not nearly important enough to be a huge setback for the branch. Even if you wreaked all the havoc you could, you would gain yourself a few weeks at best. And since you came back and exposed yourself so easily, you will get a few days instead."
"I guess weâll see."
Wei almost lost herself to rage, but then she shook her head, a hint of sadness flashing in her eyes.
It was rare to find someone so straightforward in the organization. She thought she had found someone she could trust, only for Cassarae to stab her in the back too.
"Right now, you think that Iâm only harming you. Maybe itâll take a few years, but thereâll come a day where you thank me for this," Cassarae said slowly.
Wei opened her mouth to retort, but another sound interrupted their conversation.
"The Beast Warlord Sanctum has arrived!"