CHAPTER 375: THE MARKET RUN-I

Cassius and Atlas held each other’s gaze for several long, unblinking seconds, as though each man were staring into a distorted reflection of himself. Finally, Cassius let out a low chuckle, tilting his head back against the chair and fixing his crimson eyes on the vaulted ceiling above.

"Once upon a time," he began with a smirk, his voice edged in mockery, "they whispered that I would never be King. They doubted, plotted, laughed at the thought of me upon the throne. How foolish their doubts proved to be. I showed them, every last one of them, that this kingdom bends to my will. It is mine. The crown rests in my palm, and those who stood above me now grovel at my feet."

Atlas’s lips curved into a knowing smile, memories of his own rise flickering behind his eyes. He had once stood where Cassius stood now, victorious, yet hollow.

"And yet," Cassius continued, his smirk faltering into something quieter, "after all I endured to seize this throne, after every sacrifice and every triumph... there is not a shred of joy in my heart."

Atlas leaned forward, his voice low and steady. "That is because you have begun to understand. The crown is not the summit. You’ve discovered there are things far more precious, things even a kingdom cannot replace."

Cassius let out a breath, closing his eyes as though savoring the weight of those words. A faint, almost reluctant smile tugged at his lips.

"Indeed," he murmured. "To speak with someone who has borne the same burden makes the truth strike quicker."

"Are you worried?" Atlas then questioned, "That your happiness that you just build will one day be ruined again due to what had happened with Alice?"

"I can’t deny it," Cassius exhaled, the sound more like a growl than a sigh as his crimson eyes opened once more. Slowly, he lifted his head, his neck straightening with deliberate weight, until his gaze locked with Atlas’s cold, unwavering blue. "She’s dying."

The words fell heavy between them, stilling the air. For a heartbeat, it felt as though time itself froze, the castle’s silence pressing down like stone.

Atlas’s eyes widened, not from ignorance, but from dawning realization.

He isn’t speaking of Circe.

He means Arabella.

"What are you—" Atlas began, but the question faltered as the truth sharpened in his mind.

"One more death," Cassius cut in, his voice low, ragged, trembling with rage he tried to master. "That’s all it will take for the innate magic inside her to rupture— to consume her from within." His teeth clenched, every syllable spat like venom. "If it were only her blood, or an organ, or even her very heart, I’d give mine to replace it. But this... this storm building in her body isn’t something I can contain. Not even I."

Atlas wanted to ask, wanted to press for details, to grasp the situation if only so he could offer something. Anything. But the thought collapsed as quickly as it came, struck down by a sudden, merciless realization that hit him like a blow to the back of his skull. Even if Cassius told him everything, what good would it do?

It wasn’t that Atlas lacked the will or the capability to lend his aid. No, the truth was crueler. Knowledge of witches had always been elusive, their secrets deliberately buried, half whispered in riddles and myths rather than inscribed in books. And after his own death, what little he had gathered had been left to rot, forgotten.

Who else would have dared to pursue that forbidden study? None. Their existence had been allowed to fade into obscurity, and with it, any path toward understanding, or saving, one of them.

"She doesn’t know about this, does she?" Atlas narrowed his eyes as if Arabella had known, she wouldn’t have stood on the throne yesterday with her chin lifted up, ready to kill Alice.

"Will you like to tell the person you love that they are on verge of death?" Cassius snapped only to sigh and turn around, "These days I have been on prickly mood, pardon if I get too sensitive. But before you say she deserves to know about this, I’d rather not hear you utter such words."

Atlas ruffled his hair as he would have done the same thing as Cassius, to keep the situation hidden. But keeping it hidden forever was impossible to ask.

"That is why, once Circe awakens, I will have her study Arabella’s curse thoroughly," Cassius said, his tone firm with decision. Atlas inclined his head, sharing the unspoken wish to aid Arabella in any way possible.

"But that isn’t the reason I sought you out today."

Atlas’s brows lifted slightly, waiting.

"I want to know how you navigate your emotions," Cassius admitted at last, his gaze falling to his hands as though ashamed of their restlessness. "I am afraid that before I can save her, I will become the very monster she begged me not to be."

Atlas’s voice was quiet, probing. "You fear you’re going to kill?"

Cassius gave a dry, humorless laugh. "Not merely kill. I fear I’ll burn the whole kingdom to the ground simply because I can no longer see the point in saving it."

"Is that a threat?" Atlas became wary at how Cassius seemed to have made up his mind on wiping the entire map clean if Arabella met her end.

"No, it’s simply a fact that would occur," Cassius answered plainly, "So tell me, how do you think I should navigate my turbulent emotions, King Atlas?"

...

Atlas let out a heavy sigh.

It was easier to build a castle from the scratch than to help Cassius navigate his emotions isn’t it?

In the first place, Atlas wasn’t someone good at navigating his emotions. Even now, deep down he agrees with Cassius’s destructive methods on destroying the entire kingdom clean as that would mean destroying all the sorcerers and witches who had caused his beloved’s illness.

Then again if he allows Cassius to do such thing, that means killing him and Circe in process.

"How about," Atlas looked at him with a sigh, "Taking a break for once, Your Majesty?"