CHAPTER 294: LIFELONG GRUDGE

Cassius’s inner world was in chaos as he crouched behind the bushes. His mind raced between wanting to laugh hysterically and scream in sheer panic at the walking catastrophe he was witnessing.

’Well...to be fair.’ He thought begrudgingly. ’She’s...improving a little.’

Compared to yesterday, when Julie kept dropping everything and destroying all her ingredients, she was atleast managing to follow her own instructions today.

Sure, the instructions were insane, and her concoction smelled like the essence of death itself...But still, she was doing exactly what she intended without fumbling every step.

That thought, however, died a swift and cruel death in Cassius’s head.

Because just as he relaxed ever so slightly, fate decided to prove him wrong.

Julie, standing up proudly after admiring her toxic stew, waved a hand in front of her nose when smoke from the fire drifted her way. "Oof...guess I should calm the fire down a bit." She murmured to herself innocently.

Cassius felt a little sliver of relief. ’Good. Smart move. Maybe she’s not going to do anything insane now—’

But then Julie stepped back. And her heel pressed, miraculously, impossibly, onto the knitting needle she’d left standing upright on the ground like some evil trap.

"Oww!"

Her yelp was so loud that Cassius actually flinched.

Julie fell backward in panic, clutching her toe. Her hair flung behind her dramatically like she was in a tragic opera. "Damn needle—!"

And then...disaster struck.

Her flailing foot kicked the pot.

The same cursed pot full of her unholy sludge.

Cassius’s heart stopped. ’Oh, no.’

The pot tumbled through the air in slow motion, flipping end over end like some demon-summoning ritual, spilling little globs of hell-sludge as it hurtled directly toward Julie.

’She’ll dodge it. She’s the famous ’Whispering Blade ’Julie...She’s faster than arrows.’

But both their eyes went wide in unison, as Julie’s ankle was caught.

Somehow, once again, miraculously, impossibly, her foot had gotten entirely entangled in the skein of yarn she had strewn around like a web. It wrapped around her leg like it was alive, holding her hostage.

She kicked. She squirmed. "No, no, no—!"

But the pot kept flying closer.

Julie squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the molten sludge to hit her square in the face. ’This is it...my legendary tale ends here.’

But the pain never came.

And when she peeked open one eye, she gasped.

Standing over her, like an angel sent from the heavens to save her, was Cassius. He held the steaming pot effortlessly in one hand, its deadly contents swirling dangerously close to the rim.

The firelight reflected off his sharp expression as his hair framed his exasperated face.

"Cassius...?!" Julie squeaked, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. ’Oh no...He saw...He saw everything!’

She tried to sit up and explain, to say something, anything, but before she could, Cassius slammed the pot onto the ground with a heavy thud that made her flinch. His stern eyes bore down on her like daggers.

"Julie....Do you want to die?"

"Huh?!"

"Don’t ’huh’ me! I’m asking, do you have some sort of secret death wish?! Because if so, then by all means, keep doing exactly what you’re doing!"

"Wha—What are you talking about?!" Julie flailed her arms in protest, her face going red from both confusion and embarrassment.

Cassius pointed a finger directly at her face, his voice rising in sheer exasperation.

"Don’t play dumb with me! Just now, I watched you create this..." He gestured furiously at the pot, grimacing. "...this sludge of doom! You added...Oh, I don’t even know what! You made it into this toxic soup and then had the audacity to try and eat it!"

Julie’s eyes widened in horror. "Y-You were watching me?!"

"Of course I was watching! I had no choice! I was dragged down here by this stench, it’s so foul I’m pretty sure it could wake the dead!"

Julie pouted, looking away in shame. "It...It just has a slightly strong aroma..."

"Strong?!" Cassius leaned down until their faces were nearly touching. "Look at my eyes. Look!"

Julie hesitated, then peeked at him nervously.

And to her shock Cassius’s eyes were watering. Actual tears were forming at the corners from how bad the smell was.

"This is how bad it is, Julie! My eyes are crying because of your deadly cooking! And yet you sit there saying it has a ’decent’ smell?!"

Cassius kept staring at her, his lips pressed into a thin, exasperated line as Julie stood tall, hands on her hips and pouting defiantly.

"Cassius, you really are exaggerating." She said with a huff. "There’s no way anyone...anyone, would die from eating my stew! It’s perfectly fine! I even tasted it myself!"

Cassius didn’t respond. He didn’t move. He just...stared.

A deadpan expression...Completely silent.

Julie blinked. "W-What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Still, he didn’t say a word. Instead, Cassius suddenly turned and strode toward the trees with quiet determination.

"Wait...Where are you going?" Julie asked, raising a brow.

Cassius didn’t answer.

Instead, he leapt straight into the branches of a tree.

"Huh?!"

Julie’s eyes went wide as she watched the entire tree shake violently, leaves raining down as Cassius darted from branch to branch like a wild animal. Birds scattered into the sky, squirrels squeaked and fled...well, most of them did.

Within moments, Cassius jumped back down, landing lightly on his feet with a flourish.

In his hand, squirming frantically, was a squirrel.

"This..." Cassius said gravely, holding the squirrel up by the scruff of its neck. "...is the very same squirrel that stole our sugar yesterday."

"W-What?!" Julie exclaimed.

"It came back...trying to steal even more. But now, because of its greed, it will pay the ultimate price."

The squirrel froze in Cassius’s grip. Its tiny beady eyes darted between him and Julie, realizing it was part of something far bigger than a simple sugar heist.

"Cassius, you’re not seriously—"

"Oh, but I am." Cassius’s voice was low and dangerous. "This little one will be our test subject. If your stew truly isn’t poisonous, it’ll survive. But if not..."

Julie scoffed, folding her arms. "Pfft. There’s no way a squirrel could die from my stew. You’re ridiculous."

Cassius didn’t reply.

Instead, he dipped a spoon into the bubbling cauldron of sludge she had created.

The surface quivered ominously, releasing another puff of toxic-smelling steam that curled in the air like a malicious spirit. Cassius grimaced as he lifted a spoonful of the abomination.

The squirrel also caught a whiff.

And lost its mind.

It began thrashing wildly, squeaking in terror, its tiny paws clawing at the air like it was begging for mercy.

"Squeek! Squeeek! Squeek! Squeeek! Squeeeeeek! "

Its eyes went wide with primal horror as if it had seen its entire life flash before them, the sugar it stole, the times it frolicked in the trees, the little family it left back in the nest.

"It’s just stew! Why’s it freaking out like that?" Julie frowned.

Cassius looked at the squirrel with pitiful eyes.

"I know, little one...I know. You’re begging me not to do it. I can see it in your eyes. You’re saying sorry for stealing the sugar yesterday. You’re begging me not to torture you like this."

The squirrel’s pitiful squeaks seemed to confirm it.

"But..." Cassius sighed heavily. "Some lives have to be sacrificed for the greater good."

"Wait, Cassius, no!" Julie shouted, but it was too late.

Cassius shoved the spoon towards the squirrel’s tiny mouth. It tried to turn its head, tried to close its jaw tight, but Cassius was too strong. He forced the sludge past its lips and made sure the squirrel swallowed.

"Forgive me..." He whispered to the creature.

At first, Julie smirked. "See? Nothing’s happening. I told you, it’s fine!"

But then...

The squirrel froze.

Its little body went stiff.

"Eh...?" Julie blinked.

Then came the spasms.

Violent, bone-jarring spasms. The squirrel’s tiny limbs flailed wildly, its tail puffed up to three times its size, and foam began frothing from its tiny mouth.

"W-What the hell?!" Julie screamed.

Cassius stared down grimly at the convulsing squirrel.

"It’s dying...a slow, agonizing death."

"What?!" Julie’s face drained of color.

Cassius gently laid the squirrel down in the grass. Its eyes had rolled back, its fur had dulled like it aged twenty years in an instant, and its tail drooped limply as it twitched weakly.

"It won’t be long before it reaches heaven." Cassius murmured solemnly, closing his eyes.

Julie stumbled back in horror. "H-How...how is this possible?! It was just vegetables and meat and a few spices—"

"Spices?" Cassius turned his gaze on her, his voice calm yet cutting. "You mean the ’mystery powder’ you dumped in like you were salting a battlefield? Or the jar labeled ’Caution: Not For Consumption’?"

"I-I thought those were just to add extra flavor!" Julie cried.

Cassius shook his head sadly. "It’s only natural. Something as horrible as that..." He pointed at the pot. "...even a human wouldn’t survive it. Much less a squirrel."

Just then, rustling came from the bushes nearby. Both of them turned to see another squirrel, a female, peeking out cautiously with several tiny baby squirrels in tow.

Seeing this, Cassius let out a long, heavy sigh.

"What a pity..." He said, shaking his head.

Julie blinked nervously. "W-Why a pity...?"

"That poor little guy." Cassius whispered, pointing at the dying squirrel. "He had a wife...children...a whole family waiting for him. And now..." Cassius’s voice grew more solemn, more tragic. "...because of your stew, they’ll be homeless, orphaned."

"...A family torn apart by culinary atrocity."

Julie’s jaw dropped. "W-Wait! Don’t blame me! You were the one who fed him my stew!"

Cassius turned, his eyes narrowing. "No, Julie. You were the one who made it."

Julie pointed at him, flailing her arms. "But you gave it to the squirrel!"

"And you denied the poisonous existence of that sludge." Cassius countered calmly. "You said it was perfectly fine. This squirrel’s life...this tragedy...is on your hands."

Julie looked like she was about to faint.

Earlier she had believed, no, convinced herself, that she had made a good stew. That it was delicious, even. She had puffed out her chest and defended her cooking against Cassius’s ridicule with the confidence of a self-proclaimed culinary prodigy.

But now...

Seeing the squirrel, once full of life and mischief, lying stiff in the grass, spasming violently, its limbs jerking in twisted angles as foam poured from its mouth...it became painfully clear just how horrifying of a creation she had wrought.

It wasn’t stew...It was poison.

A universe-level catastrophe contained in a single pot.

And what made it all so much worse...was the family of squirrels that had gathered around.

The mother squirrel rushed to her dying husband, letting out tiny chittering cries of despair, as if calling for him to hang on, please hang on.

"Squeek! Squek! Squeeek!"

The baby squirrels huddled around their father, their tiny bodies trembling as they squeaked pitifully.

It was heartbreaking.

Julie felt her own heart twist in guilt, her hands tightening at her sides as she tried to look away from the scene.

But then...One of the baby squirrels broke away from the huddle.

It turned its tiny body toward Julie, staring her down with eyes full of raw, unfiltered rage.

Julie stiffened.

The baby squirrel lifted its small little claws and shook them furiously at her, its cheeks puffing out in righteous fury, as if screaming:

"You vile woman...You did this to my father!"

It pumped its tiny paws again, pointing first at Julie and then to itself, as though declaring:

"One day, I’ll be stronger than you...and I’ll take vengeance for the torture my father went through! Mark my words, villainess!"

Cassius watched the scene unfold with wide eyes, his lips twitching violently to hold back the laughter threatening to explode from his chest.

Julie, on the other hand, was completely undone.

Her face pale, sweat dripping down her temple, she slowly turned away from the little avenger. "I...I can’t...I can’t face him." She whispered, her voice cracking.

But even as she looked away, she felt the baby squirrel’s burning gaze boring into her soul, branding her as an eternal enemy of squirrel-kind.

Cassius finally spoke, his tone solemn and heavy with mock gravitas.

"...Congratulations, Julie. Not only have you destroyed a father, but you’ve also created a mortal enemy who will probably train his entire life to surpass you and avenge his family. I hope you’re proud."

Julie covered her face with her hands, letting out a strangled sound somewhere between a sob and a groan, unable to believe that she started making a dish for practice only to end up developing a life-long grudge with a baby squirrel that was a big as her pinky...