Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!
Chapter 299 299: Your Heartbeat Gave You Away

Julie didn't know how she ended up like this.

At first, it was natural, crying in his arms, sobbing out every last bit of pain she had bottled up for years, clinging onto him like he was the only thing anchoring her to the earth. And in that moment, it felt...right.

But now...now her tears had stopped. Her breathing was calm again. Her chest no longer ached with the weight of her grief.

Instead, her heart was hammering wildly in her ribcage.

And as her rational mind slowly returned, she realized with a jolt just how compromising this position was.

Cassius was still holding her on his lap, his arms loosely wrapped around her waist in a way that felt, she hated to admit, too intimate. She was straddling him slightly, her knees pressed into the grass on either side of his legs.

Her chest was tight against his torso, so close that she could feel the faint rise and fall of his breathing.

When she had been crying, she hadn't thought twice about it. But now, now her cheeks were burning, her fingers trembling ever so slightly as she realized that every inch of her was pressed against him.

And worse still, his body didn't feel like she expected.

For someone who so often looked lanky and relaxed, he was surprisingly solid. His chest beneath her cheek was firm, his shoulders broader than she remembered, and his torso felt strong and unyielding.

There was no softness to him at all; instead, it was all lean muscle, like a tightly coiled spring hidden beneath deceptively loose clothes.

Julie swallowed hard, her face growing hotter by the second.

'What...What the hell is this?!' She screamed in her mind, her fingers clenching faintly in his shirt. 'Why does he feel like this?! Why does he, of all people, feel like this?!'

Her body felt so warm she thought she might combust on the spot.

She had to get off him. Now. Immediately. Before she lost all her composure and embarrassed herself further...But how?

Her arms were still around him. His hands were still resting on her back, warm and steady. If she pulled away too quickly, it would feel too awkward.

But if she stayed...if she stayed, she thought she might actually faint from how aware she was of every single point where their bodies touched.

As she was furiously debating her escape route, Cassius's voice suddenly rumbled softly in her ear.

"It's been a while now, Julie." He murmured, his hand gently stroking her back.

She froze.

"It's been, what...ten minutes? Since you calmed down and stopped crying?" His tone carried a faint trace of amusement, and she could feel it vibrate in his chest beneath her cheek.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"And yet…" His hand stilled, resting lightly against her back as his lips curved into a playful smile. "You're still sitting here. On my lap."

Julie felt her entire body seize up in embarrassment, her face burning so hot she thought steam might come out of her ears, while Cassius leaned his head slightly, his voice dropping to a lower, teasing tone.

"If you keep sitting here like this, I might start thinking you actually want to stay on my lap. That you're enjoying it, even."

"W-What?!" Julie shot upright slightly, still sitting on his lap but now glaring at him with wide, flustered eyes. "It's not like that at all!"

Cassius's grin widened ever so slightly. "Oh? Then why haven't you moved yet?"

Julie's mouth opened, but no words came out for a moment. She tried to come up with a sharp retort, but her brain was too busy short-circuiting.

Finally, she managed to cross her arms in indignation, though it didn't help her position much, considering she was still on his lap.

"I-I'm still here because...because…" She stammered, then leaned forward accusingly, her tear-streaked face flushed with embarrassment. "How do you even know I'm completely fine?! Just because I stopped crying doesn't mean I'm not still hurting! Maybe I'm still feeling pain deep inside, and that's why I'm still here!"

Cassius raised a brow, the corners of his mouth twitching upward.

"Oh, is that so?" He said smoothly.

"Yes! That's exactly it!" Julie said firmly, puffing out her cheeks slightly in defiance. "So don't get any weird ideas, you shameless man!"

Cassius chuckled softly under his breath, the sound deep and warm.

"You know how I can tell you're fine?" He said, his voice dropping lower as his eyes flicked down briefly.

Julie blinked in confusion.

"...What do you mean?"

Cassius's gaze lowered slightly, landing on her chest for the briefest moment before returning to her eyes.

"Your heartbeat." He said simply.

Julie froze.

Her eyes widened as her face turned an even deeper shade of red. Almost instinctively, she threw one hand over her chest while the other clung onto his coat.

"Y-You—!!" She squeaked.

Cassius smirked faintly, unbothered by her reaction.

"While you were crying, your heart was beating fast, erratic, like a storm. But after a while, it slowed down, calmed...settled."

Julie's lips parted slightly, her breath catching.

"But then…" He leaned in slightly, his voice smooth as silk now. "It started speeding up again. Not from sadness this time, though. No, this is different. This is the rapid heartbeat of someone flustered. Someone embarrassed."

Julie's jaw dropped slightly as she stared at him in stunned silence.

"I don't even need to look at your face to know." Cassius added with a teasing tilt of his head. "Your heart gave you away."

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air as her brain struggled to process his words.

"It's...It's not like that!" She shouted suddenly, her voice high-pitched from embarrassment. "A hug like this is no big deal at all! It's nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

Cassius raised a brow, his smirk deepening.

"Really? Because your face says otherwise."

Julie's eyes widened as her hands shot up to cover her cheeks instinctively.

"It's just warm out here! T-The sun is making me red! That's all!" She cried out, clearly grasping at straws.

Cassius chuckled softly, shaking his head in amusement. "Sure, Julie." He murmured, his tone dripping with playful disbelief.

That was the final straw. Her pride couldn't take it anymore.

"Y-You're insufferable!" She yelled, her face as red as a tomato as she scrambled to get off his lap.

But before she could even fully rise to her feet, Cassius's hands suddenly slid around her waist.

"Wha—?!" She gasped, her words cut short as he pulled her back down in one smooth, fluid motion.

Her heart jumped violently in her chest as she found herself once again flush against him, their bodies pressed together so close she could feel the firmness of his chest and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The warmth of his hands at her sides sent a strange shiver racing down her spine, and her breath caught.

Her mind screamed as a dangerous thought flickered through it. 'I-Is he going to...kiss me?!'

Her wide eyes darted up to meet his calm, unreadable gaze, her heart pounding like a drum.

"W-What are you doing?!" She stammered, her voice embarrassingly high-pitched as she instinctively raised her hands to push him away.

But before she could say another word, she felt something soft brush against her cheek.

Julie froze.

It wasn't his lips.

It was...fabric?

Her eyes darted down slightly and widened in surprise as she realized Cassius was holding a handkerchief, neat, pristine, and impossibly soft, and he was carefully dabbing at her tear-streaked face.

"You..." She started, her words dying in her throat as her body went still.

Cassius didn't look at her. Instead, his eyes were focused intently on her face, his expression calm and tender in a way that made her chest ache.

"Julie..." He began softly, his voice carrying the same warmth as the handkerchief brushing against her skin. "You're the Captain of the Holy Guard."

She blinked at him, startled by the serious weight of his tone.

"There are so many people who look up to you. Not just the people of Holyfield estate, but the entire continent. You're their idol, their protector, their symbol of strength. You carry their hope every single day."

He dabbed gently beneath her eyes, brushing away the remnants of her tears with meticulous care.

"That's why you have to maintain your image. Your prestige. Your honor. If they saw you like this, your face streaked with tears, they'd panic. Even Aisha and Skadi would probably have heart attacks if they saw you right now."

Julie's lips parted slightly, her flustered anger melting into silence as his words sank in.

"So let me finish wiping your face before you get up." Cassius said calmly, his hand continuing its gentle motions.

For a moment, Julie could only sit there, still and quiet, as the weight in her chest lightened slightly. She could have taken the handkerchief from him, of course. She could have wiped her own face. But there was something about the way he moved, so deliberate, so caring, that made her stop.

It didn't feel suffocating or overwhelming. It felt...safe.

So, instead of pulling away, she stayed still, her cheeks heating for an entirely different reason now.