Chapter 39 - I Misunderstood Everything🔥
Cassian remained silent for a moment.
He seemed to be thinking over what I'd told him.
"I'll have my knights investigate where the wheat was distributed," he finally said.
I nodded.
"Good. Once we find the contaminated wheat, we should be able to stop the disease from spreading," I said.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Cassian was about to respond when suddenly-
A brilliant burst of light erupted from inside the house.
My eyes widened.
"What the hell?" I exclaimed.
Cassian immediately turned toward the house.
The light was so bright that it poured through the windows, illuminating the entire area.
I stared at it in shock.
"No way..."
That divine power...
I couldn't be wrong.
It was the same as mine.
The same golden glow that only those of the Solaris royal bloodline possessed.
"That can't be," I muttered to myself, unable to believe what I was seeing.
There shouldn't be anyone else here with that power...
Other than-
Wait!
"...Aurora."
I quickly followed Cassian toward the house.
By the time I reached the entrance, he was already speaking with one of the priests.
The priests nearby were shielding their eyes, struggling to look toward the source of the blinding light.
I walked over to Cassian.
"What's happening?" I asked.
Cassian turned toward me.
"We don't know yet," he replied. "But the light is coming from the bathroom."
He glanced toward the hallway.
"One of the priestesses is inside."
My heart sank.
It couldn't be Aurora, right?
But then again, Aurora's divine power in the novel had been described as having a golden glow, despite her having no connection to the Solaris royal bloodline.
Still, she wasn't supposed to awaken her powers yet.
Not until the hunting festival!
My heart began to race.
Something was wrong...
Was this another butterfly effect?
"Can you open the door?" Cassian asked the priest.
The priest shook his head.
"We tried, Your Grace, but the door won't open," he replied.
"Priestess Aurora!" another priestess suddenly called out.
My eyes widened.
Aurora?
So it was really her.
"Move aside," Cassian ordered.
The priests quickly stepped away from the door.
Cassian drew his sword and raised it, preparing to slash through the door.
But before he could swing-
The brilliant golden light slowly began to fade.
The blinding glow dimmed until, finally, it disappeared completely.
Cassian lowered his sword for a moment.
Then he swung it.
The door was cut open.
And there, inside the bathroom, she was lying unconscious on the floor.
Aurora.
Cassian immediately stepped inside and picked her up.
I could only stand there and watch as he carried her out of the bathroom.
He carefully laid her down on one of the empty beds.
I stared at the scene in silence.
Cassian carrying Aurora like some prince who had just saved the woman he loved...
This was it.
I think this might be the moment Cassian falls for Aurora.
My chest felt strangely tight.
I quietly stepped outside and took a deep breath.
What was wrong with me?
Why did seeing that scene bother me?
I shook my head.
Maybe it was because I already knew how their story ended.
Aurora never chose Cassian in the end.
★★★
The carriage was already on its way back to the estate.
I sat quietly by the window, watching the scenery pass by.
Across from me, Cassian was looking through the reports his knights had brought him.
"The knights confirmed that the wheat was indeed the cause of the illness," he said.
I nodded, still looking at the scenery outside.
I could feel Cassian's gaze on me.
But I didn't look at him.
"They also found where the wheat had been distributed," Cassian continued. "They've already stopped any further distribution."
I nodded again.
"Uh-huh," I murmured.
He remained silent.
I could still feel his gaze on me.
Then I heard him set the documents down.
"We should be able to prevent the illness from spreading further now," he said.
"Hmm," I murmured.
For some reason, I didn't feel like talking.
Even though I hadn't done much today, I felt completely drained.
I let out a heavy sigh.
"Is something wrong?" Cassian asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
I shook my head.
"I'm just tired."
I looked at him, and our eyes met. For a moment, neither of us said anything. We just stared at each other.
Cassian was the first to break the silence.
"I heard the Duke has finally returned to Sylvania."
My eyes widened.
"I want to talk to him!"
I needed to know what had happened in Solaris with the Queen.
And more than anything, I wanted to know about Uncle Silas.
I knew what had most likely happened to him.
But a part of me couldn't let go of the possibility that maybe... just maybe, somehow, Uncle Silas had survived.
The Queen had once told me that people of our bloodline don't die easily.
Maybe that was why I still couldn't completely accept that he was dead.
Even if the chance was almost nonexistent, I still wanted to know the truth.
"That might be difficult right now," Cassian said, his expression turning serious.
"The Queen will probably have someone watching the Duke and his men. Any contact with them could draw attention to you."
He paused for a moment.
"It would be safer to wait until things settle down," he said, his voice calm but firm.
He was right.
As much as I wanted answers, I couldn't afford to be careless.
I had just gotten a new identity. Meeting the Duke right now could put everything at risk.
I needed to be careful.
"Some of my men have returned to the estate as well," Cassian said. "Travis is among them."
I glanced at him.
Travis was back.
I'm glad he's safe.
Cassian gave me a knowing look, as if reminding me that I was Cosima now.
I quickly looked away.
"I understand."
"You can treat Travis the same way you treat Elia and Leon," he said.
I looked at him and frowned.
Since staying at Cassian's estate, I couldn't help but cross paths with Elia and Leon from time to time.
I didn't want either of them to notice anything unusual about me.
So I had deliberately acted cold toward them.
But apparently, my actions had somehow led to a rumor going around that I was Cassian's sister.
Since we both had black hair and red eyes, and Cassian was also known for his cold personality, they had started noticing the similarities between us.
"By the way, did you know there's a rumor going around that I'm your sister?"
I raised an eyebrow at him.
Cassian clicked his tongue. A faint smirk appeared on his lips.
Of course he knew.
It was his estate, after all.
"Why didn't you do anything about it?" I asked.
He shrugged.
"Just because..." he replied.
I rolled my eyes at him.
Cassian let out a quiet laugh.
I couldn't help but laugh a little too.
Then he looked at me with a faint smile.
"Do you want to officially become my sister?" he asked teasingly.
I shook my head.
"No, thanks. But if you offered to make me your wife instead, I might say yes."
His smile immediately disappeared.
I noticed his ears turning bright red.
I stared at him for a moment.
Then I burst out laughing.
"Your reaction is priceless!" I exclaimed.
I laughed so hard that tears welled up in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand.
"Do you mean that?"
Cassian's expression suddenly turned serious.
I froze, completely caught off guard by his question.
I wasn't sure if he was teasing me again or what.
Before I could say anything, the carriage suddenly stopped.
"We've arrived at the estate," the coachman announced.
My attention turned toward the window.
But I could still feel Cassian's gaze on me.
For some reason, I suddenly felt nervous.
It almost felt like he was still waiting for me to answer.
I quickly stepped out of the carriage.
"See you later," I said before hurrying inside without looking back.
Damn.
My heart was beating so loudly that I felt like Cassian could hear it.
Once I was safely inside, I rubbed my cheeks with both hands.
Why was I reacting like this?
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.
"Cosima."
My eyes widened when I suddenly heard Cassian's voice behind me.
I hadn't expected him to catch up with me so quickly.
I slowly turned around.
Cassian was standing behind me, a slight frown on his face.
"We're not done talking yet," he said.
My heart skipped a beat.
Did he really take my joke seriously earlier?
Then...
Does that mean Cassian actually had feelings for me?
I bit my lower lip.
No. That couldn't be right.
He was supposed to fall in love with Aurora.
"About earlier..." Cassian started.
My eyes widened.
Is he going to confess?
"I want to-"
Before he could say anything else, I quickly stepped forward and covered his mouth with my hand.
"Don't say it!" I blurted out.
Cassian stared at me, completely shocked by what I'd done.
"Ahh... sorry."
I quickly pulled my hand away and lowered my gaze.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"About what I said earlier in the carriage..."
I hesitated.
"I know we've gotten a little closer these past few weeks, but... I need some time to sort out my feelings first. Everything is just moving a bit too fast for me."
The moment the words left my mouth, silence fell between us.
Cassian didn't say anything.
I waited.
And waited.
Why wasn't he saying anything?
I slowly raised my head.
Cassian was looking at me intently.
"Actually..." he began.
"I want to talk to you about that priestess's divine power."
I stared at him, my mouth hanging slightly open.
"But let's talk about that later. Follow me to my office. We need to talk about what's on your mind first," Cassian said.
Then he began walking toward his office, leaving me standing there, completely bewildered.
Damn.
What the heck had I done?