CHAPTER 432: KEEP ON DREAMING-II

The demon sighed inward, a soundless ripple of frustration that never reached its lips. No matter how many times it tried to erode Cassius’s memories, how carefully it had tried to morph the insides of his mind, weaving forgetful spell, putting him in a trance as though half asleep, there was always one thread it couldn’t snap. And it was Arabella.

Every time her name lingered unspoken on its tongue, every time her image brushed the edges of Cassius’s mind, the man’s composure cracked in some small, stubborn way.

His crimson eyes would flicker, his pulse would return, a tremor of something alive would ripple beneath that otherwise impenetrable calm. He would shift, almost imperceptibly, as if some part of him were already clawing its way back to the surface. He would immediately feel desperate to return.

It was infuriating. As though he would never have come back to living without her— a man tethered not to his crown, not to his kingdom, but to a single woman. Even the mention of his family doesn’t budge him but she does, it was as if his heart had taken the form of that woman instead.

As though, if death had greeted him too early back then, he would have welcomed it without resistance. Without struggle. Without hesitation. Without last words. Just the quiet acceptance of someone who’d been waiting for the end far too long.

Hard to imagine, the demon thought, that someone like him— someone always so composed, so calculating, so inhumanly restrained— had spent years carrying a secret wish for death. But then, the demon understood in a way.

Those who don’t fear death often aren’t brave at all; they’re simply exhausted. And deep down they want it- they wanted death as an escape. They ache for it. Perhaps that was Cassius’s truth as well, hidden beneath the armor and the cruel wit, buried under the discipline of a man who had no permission to fall apart.

And yet, against every trick, every spell, every art of erasure the demon wielded, Cassius clung to one pulse of defiance: her. It almost made the demon curious— what was it in this woman that had anchored him so fiercely, that even the promise of oblivion couldn’t tear loose?

"It’s foolish to be bound to another person," the demon remarked, its voice silken with disdain. "What if they decided to betray you? What if the trust you cling to is nothing more than a knife waiting for your back?"

Cassius let out a low laugh, a sound without mirth but edged with mockery. "What a funny word coming from you of all people. My mother is one of the people who never see betrayal as a weakness. But betrayal hm," he repeated it as though weighing the idea in his head, "I least expected to hear it dressed in your mouth. But let me answer—" he leaned lazily against the grass, smirking, "I suppose I don’t care. I simply don’t."

The demon’s eyes narrowed, sharp as slits of obsidian. "You don’t?"

"Why should I?" Cassius countered smoothly, his tone light, yet his stare unyielding. "If I gave someone my trust, it means they earned it. I’m not reckless with such things. I don’t scatter trust like crumbs to pigeons in a courtyard. No. If I handed it over, then they were worthy enough to hold it. If they squander it, then let the ruin be theirs. Not mine."

The demon tilted its head, watching him like a vulture circling something still breathing. "And if they asked not only for your trust... but for your heart?"

Cassius’s smile vanished. His gaze cut like glass as he straightened, meeting the demon’s eyes without flinching. "I don’t have a heart anymore. Not in body. Not in spirit. Tell me— do I truly have one?" His voice lowered, dangerous, almost daring the demon to contradict him. "I’ve grown numb to everything. I live only by the promise I made to my mother— who wanted my father to taste his own poison. I endured. I plotted. I bled her vengeance into my veins and carried it farther than she ever lived to see."

He exhaled, a slow, sharp breath, eyes like burning coals in the dusk. "And when it was done? My plan was simple. Leave quietly. Disappear, maybe retire from everything. That’s all. Isn’t that such a simple plan for a grand man like me?"

"Leave the throne?" the demon pressed, its lips curling with a mocking smile. "You, the desperate prince, abandoning the crown you bled for?"

Cassius’s gaze hardened, his voice steady, every word deliberate. "As I said, it was never my dream. It was hers. I was her blade, her promise, her retribution. Not her heir. The throne was never mine to want— it was hers to spite. Once her vengeance was fulfilled, my purpose was already done."

The demon couldn’t understand him more and more.

"You seem annoyed," Cassius pointed out. "Is it because everything I have said and acted are all against how you wish I should have acted?"

Silence. The silence that came from the demon was loud as if it was a confession on its own.

"Try giving me back the memory of that woman," Cassius negotiated, "Maybe then I could entertain you even further. From what I feel I’m boring until she is involved."

"But once I fill your head with her memories you’re going to desperately tear apart this world, what a bother. I tried three days to talk with you calmly but all you do is ruin this peace," the demon scoffed in annoyance, crossing her arms.

"Fine," Cassius thoughtfully shrugged his head, "Since I am a man of my words, I’ll promise you this much. Give me my memories, I won’t tear down this world and throw a tantrum like a child. I’ll speak to you until our conversation reach its end."

"..."

"What?" Cassius raised his left eyebrow high.

"You have said the same thing two days ago and you tore down this world in the end."

"oh," Cassius shrugged his shoulders again, "Must be because you’re a terrible conversational partner."