Chapter 217 – Coco Jones
"Please! Just one picture!" The small girl couldn’t stay still, bouncing around Cassius like an overly caffeinated bunny.
Cassius’s smile was wry, with a touch of embarrassment to it.
It was true that he had been born famous, with his background as the last born of a Tier One family, but never had people been so daring as to come this close to him.
Perhaps because of his bad reputation in the past, caused by his mother killing half of that Tier Three Family, or for other reasons he couldn’t be bothered to figure out.
But now, not only was he more famous, he was a lot more approachable, with his damned nickname of Angel following him everywhere like a tail.
[You must tell me one day why you hate this title so much.]
’Because it reminds me of Katherine, and I don’t want to remember something that makes me sad.’
Ananke fell silent instantly, not knowing what to say.
Cassius breathed and looked back at the girl, who was still waiting, staring at him with such puppy eyes that he would have folded had he not already experienced Cassie’s cuteness.
"Are you sure?" He managed after a moment. "I don’t think a picture of my current state would be a fine addition to your gallery."
He said this while pointing at his empty right eye with his wooden hand.
The girl paused for a second, then shook her head in denial, her smile still beaming innocently. "I like it even more! This is proof that you did all of this for your maid. You don’t understand, Angel, how much that means to people like us."
"People like you?" He cocked his head.
"Yes." Her smile wavered for a second. "Us. Maids, butlers, or any other servants who came with our masters. Us, Angel... you represent something we thought never existed."
Cassius’s eye widened slightly in realisation. He now understood why she held him in such high regard.
Only then did he truly look at her, noticing how the heavy makeup around her eyes was hiding heavy bags and some...
’...bruises?’
He thought, though he wasn’t quite sure.
But it seemed he had been silent too long, as the girl began to shift nervously on her feet, smiling shyly, scratching her forearms.
Cassius laughed softly.
"Instead of a picture you’d post on the Net," he began, "why not a conversation with me that you’ll keep for yourself? Which is more important to you?"
Coco was dazed by his words for a moment, not expecting them at all. She thought about it, and came to a decision immediately.
She looked at the time, realising she was going to be dangerously late at this rate.
’Argh. It’s fine.’ She thought, giving herself courage. ’I just need to grit my teeth and take the beating. Talking with Angel is worth it.’
Having decided, she stored her phone and stood beside him, her heart giddy and happy for the first time in a while.
She nodded.
"Let’s... let’s talk."
Cassius chuckled at how calm and meek she had suddenly become.
"Well, first, what’s your name?"
"Coco Jones." She said. "I’m a Second Year student. I’m really happy to talk with you. You were the hot topic on Gossip Girl yesterday."
"I don’t know why I should be." He said. "But is it going to be like this every time?"
"Hehe! If you happen to meet the girls from my club... probably yes!"
"Your club?"
"Oh, you didn’t know?" She snapped her head toward him, her eyes wide like a child’s. "There’s a fan club made for you! At first they were only a dozen or so, but after yesterday, we’ve reached around a hundred!"
"Ha... haha." Cassius laughed nervously. "Is that so?"
She nodded cutely, then smiled mischievously. "That’s where I got this shirt! I can show you where they are!"
"Uh, how about next time?" He dodged swiftly. "I’m more interested in the Outer Ring. However..."
Ding!
The elevator finally arrived at the lowest floor. The door opened with a hushing sound, revealing students walking, talking, laughing.
"...I don’t think you have enough time left for me." He looked at her. "It was nice meeting you, Coco."
"No, wait!" Coco grabbed his arm in haste. Cassius turned to look at her, confused.
She smiled shyly, her heart pounding, her mind warning her about the mistake she was about to make.
However, for once, Coco wanted to do what she wanted.
"I... I’m not really in that much of a hurry, actually." She lied, tugging softly at his wooden arm. "I can show you around if you like."
"Are you sure?" Cassius asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Of course!"
He hesitated for a couple of breaths before nodding, accepting the offer with a grateful smile.
"Sorry for the trouble, then."
Coco was stunned for a moment, frozen on the spot, staring at him wide-eyed.
Did Cassius, a Palatine, a god-blessed Desdemona, just apologise to a commoner maid like her?
’And this smile... his smile... how can he be so beautiful? This is completely unreasonable!’
Her heart was beating, and it was beating so fast she was afraid Angel could hear it.
Hiding her blushing face, she nodded relentlessly and walked ahead of him.
"Uh... let’s... let’s go! I’ll show you around, and at the end, a famous café for breakfast!"
Cassius chuckled at her reaction, following obediently.
"Sure. I’m right behind you, Coco."
Coco almost stumbled when he said her name.
’...Vorn’s breath, my heart is about to leap out of my mouth!!’
...
Just as Coco had proposed, she guided Cassius through the Outer Ring, explaining everything in great detail.
The Outer Ring was composed of numerous Streets, and the zone where the three dormitories stood was named Street Housing.
The distances between Streets varied greatly: some were not far, while others required a carriage or the use of one’s own power.
There were many shops all over, with a big Mall on Street Fête, where students usually went to play, date, and enjoy their time.
Cassius absorbed all this information, noticing a subtle but important difference between the real world and the Game.
At the end, Coco showed him a café named First Morning, where the best breakfast was served. Supposedly.
The whole tour and explanation lasted half an hour.
Now she stood at the door, hands locked behind her back, smiling at him.
"It’s here." She pointed at the café. "Was I a great guide?"
"The very best."
Coco smiled widely, her face crimson. "You... huh, yes, I need to go now, but, huh, thank you for... speaking gently with a maid like me."
Cassius arched an eyebrow at the words, finding them strange and yet not at the same time.
If Tier Three nobles were treated badly by those with exceptional backgrounds, a commoner had it far worse.
Especially a maid, made to serve and obey.
That thought made him miss Océane, and he promised himself to visit her later.
He reached out his right hand and patted Coco’s head, leaving her transfixed by the gesture.
"I should be the one thanking you for your guidance. Thanks to you, I learned a lot." He spared her a gentle smile. "And don’t say that again. Just because you’re a maid doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be spoken to with respect and care. You’re a human first before a maid, aren’t you?"
Despite the coldness of his wooden hand, Coco had never felt anything so warm on her head.
She ducked her head down, nodding. "...yes, I’m human."
"There you go. Have a nice day, Coco."
His smile deepened.
"It was nice meeting you. Maybe we’ll run into each other again in the elevator, haha."
He then walked into the café, immediately welcomed by a cheerful "Good morning!!" from an old woman with a bright smile.
Behind him, Coco was still standing, touching the spot on her head where Cassius had just patted her.
She was older than him, yet she found herself willing to act like a child beside him and be pampered.
She clenched her fists, her head hanging lower.
’If only... if only I had a master like you...’
That thought broke her heart.
She bit her lower lip and trotted away, bracing herself for a thorough beating.
Yet even with that thought, Coco found the strength to smile.
"Angel... is truly an angel."
Her heart then skipped a beat, remembering his smile.
"Argh!!!!! So freaking beautiful!!!!"
She squealed again, taking out her phone to send a message to the fan club, bragging that she had met THE Angel.
...
Cassius took his sweet time with his breakfast. He ordered a cup of hot milk, two slices of bread with honey, and strawberry yogurt.
The inside of the café didn’t have many people, most were probably in class.
Even though some recognised him, whispering under their breath, they did nothing more than that.
Coco seemed to be the unusual one.
After finishing eating, Cassius sat back in his chair, looking at his phone, or more precisely, browsing Gossip Girl.
The waitress served him a tea as a welcome gift. Cassius smiled at the old woman gratefully.
’Gossip Girl, huh.’ He mused, reading the post about him with the huge title "Sole Angel of the Demonic Family!"
He winced at the cringey title, yet the post was fairly accurate about him. He went further, reading other posts about many top rankers.
Emrys was included. So was Cassandra, and it was not a very flattering post.
’So she’s an addict? Alcohol? How unusual.’
He read them all over and over, taking in the information known within the Academy.
Cassius knew well enough not to take all of it at face value, but every rumour held a grain of truth. That was more than enough.
He noticed there were many posts about people dating, cheating, and all sorts of things related to... matters of the heart.
’They’re young people, alright.’ He laughed faintly. ’If only I knew who’s behind Gossip Girl. This person is the perfect candidate for my Sect.’
He thought at last, before looking at the time.
It was time to go.
Getting up from his chair, Cassius paid his bill, which came to 67 EP, and added an additional 20 EP as a tip.
The old woman was stupefied, but Cassius didn’t really mind the cost.
He checked his balance and saw 99,560 EP.
This was the sum of what he had obtained during the test and the monthly allowance the Academy gave every student.
Your allowance depended on your ranking. The Palatine earned twice the amount of the Second ranker, not counting the fact that he didn’t pay for his room.
But the Academy was reasonable enough.
One could earn more points by working a part-time job, doing missions, or duelling other students.
Cassius was planning to earn more EP through an entirely different method.
But first...
’Let’s go now.’
He headed straight toward the Core Ring.
There was a guardian, a Beast of unusual nature, in front of the entrance of each core.
But with his station, Cassius had no problem entering easily, giving a smile or two to those who greeted him and ignoring the ones who were clearly hostile.
He took a carriage to avoid wasting more time once he reached the Inner Ring, paying an additional 25 EP.
A couple of minutes later, Cassius arrived at the foot of the Tower of Power, and not even a second later...
"You took your time." Mallory’s voice echoed in his mind, and a runic teleportation flared beneath him.
"Come. Everything is ready."
He disappeared with a hush of silver wind, teleporting straight to the top of the tower.
The moment Cassius disappeared, however, the space where he had just been standing rippled like disturbed water, before a man appeared out of thin air.
His face was hooded.
He smiled slowly, looking at his trembling hand, remembering the brief but piercing glance the Dean had given him in his own dimension.
His smile widened.
’Relax, Octavia.’ White Chamberlight whispered, his mouth now stretched into a wide grin. ’I was simply satisfying my curiosity.’
He lifted his head toward the top of the Tower, then laughed, and disappeared as if he had never been there.
—End of Chapter 217—