Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!
Chapter 311: No Need For Words

Chapter 311: No Need For Words

Cassius had barely caught his breath when he noticed Julie trembling in his arms, her slender frame pressed close and completely still.

His brows furrowed, concern creeping in...Was she crying again?

The silence, the shaking, it was all too familiar. He gently shifted, about to pull back and check on her,

But before he could, she moved.

She turned around and slammed into him, arms flinging tightly around his torso with such force that he lost balance.

"Wha—!?"

The next thing he knew, they were both on the ground, Julie sprawled on top of him, squeezing him in a grip so powerful it left him winded. But before he could get a word out in surprise, he heard her voice.

"I did it!" She cried, her voice bursting with joy. "I finally did it!"

She hugged him even tighter, burying her face into his chest like a child who just received their first gold medal.

"After all these years...I’ve finally taken my first step toward following my mother’s legacy..."

She said it in such a bright, almost tearful tone, rubbing her cheek against his chest like she wanted to soak all of the warmth and happiness into her skin. Her legs tangled with his, her body pressing firmly, openly, without any of the hesitation she once had.

"For so long I thought I’d never be able to do it." She continued, her voice trembling with emotion and joy. "I thought maybe it just wasn’t meant to be...I was even thinking of giving up, throwing it all away...but now..."

She pulled back just slightly, just enough to look up at him. Her eyes sparkled with unrestrained pride.

"Now I’ve done it. I finally did what I couldn’t before. I-I finally learnt how to knit!"

Her face was beaming, her grin wide and exuberant as she pressed even closer to him, unconcerned, unrestrained.

"And it’s all because of you, Cassius. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you. It’s your teaching...your voice...your patience...it’s all thanks to you."

Her fingers curled into his shirt, clutching him like she didn’t want to let go.

"Thank you." She whispered, still smiling up at him. "Thank you for trusting in me and allowing me to take my first step towards my dreams."

Cassius couldn’t help it. His smile softened into something warm and proud. He didn’t deny it, didn’t say "it was nothing." He just smiled, his hand instinctively reaching up over her head.

But he stopped halfway. A beat passed. And then he chuckled under his breath.

"Right about now." He said, almost teasingly. "If this were Aisha or Skadi, I’d give them a head pat. But since it’s you we’re talking about, I figured I’d hold back."

He began to lower his arm again, but then Julie suddenly glanced up at him.

"Why should you?" She said.

He blinked as she looked away for a moment, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, before meeting his gaze again with a quiet but steady voice.

"There’s no need to pull back. Just like Aisha and Skadi, I’m a member of your Holy Guard too. I’m one of your knights. There’s no need to treat me differently."

He stared at her for a second, a little stunned by her earnestness. "Julie..."

"You can pat my head if you want to." She added, shy but sincere.

Still, he hesitated. His hand hovered in the air, before he gave a little smile and said gently.

"There’s no need to force yourself. You probably won’t like it if I—"

But before he could finish, her eyes suddenly narrowed.

"I already told you to do it."

Her tone dropped cold and commanding, like a sword sliding from its sheath. Her gaze snapped back to his with sharp insistence.

Cassius blinked again, stunned, a little caught off guard by her sudden shift, but also a little amused.

"...Understood." He murmured.

He placed his hand gently atop her head, brushing against her soft golden hair.

The moment he did, the glare in her eyes melted away instantly, replaced by a look of pure satisfaction. She closed her eyes slowly, a smile curling at her lips, small, warm, and completely content.

She looked like a daughter who had finally received the praise she longed for from her father. It was a side of her Cassius hadn’t seen before, so tender, so at peace.

And seeing that, seeing just how openly willing she was, Cassius’s smile took on a sharper edge.

If she wanted affection, then fine. He wanted to see how far she’d let it go.

So without warning, he brought both hands to her head and began to ruffle her hair, hard.

Not a soft, fond pat like a gentle older brother might offer, but a full-on, shamelessly rough tousling. His fingers dug in and scrubbed against her scalp, mussing up every strand like she was some scrappy mutt who’d just won a medal.

It was loud, absurd, and if anyone else had done it, any normal girl would’ve smacked their hand away and screamed about their hair being ruined.

But Julie?

Julie just broke into the brightest grin he’d seen on her.

A soft little sound escaped her lips, a purring kind of hum, like she really was some delighted dog who lived for praise. And before he knew it, she was pushing her head right into his hand, chasing the sensation, encouraging more.

Her whole body swayed with it, leaning closer like she was melting into him. She looked so ridiculously pleased, so utterly joyful, that it almost made Cassius laugh.

"Unbelievable." He muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "You actually like this?"

Her grin only widened.

And that was all the answer he needed before he let his hands slip down, fingers trailing to her ears.

His touch softened. His fingertips brushed over the delicate edges, then cupped her ears and gently rubbed the tender lobes.

The contrast from the earlier roughness was striking, now it was slow, almost sensual, like he was memorizing the texture of her skin.

His hands were cooler than her flushed face, and the way the warmth met the chill sent a gentle shiver through her. She hadn’t expected this, and it caught her off guard for a second, but then she just sighed softly and leaned into it.

Her expression shifted to one of pure contentment. Eyes half-lidded. Lips barely parted. It was a little too satisfying, and Cassius was quickly realizing that Julie was far more touch-starved than he had assumed.

And then, just when she was sinking into that comfort, his hands slipped once again, this time down to her cheeks.

He cupped them with a gentleness that made her eyes flutter open. Then he started tugging, just a little. Squishing and pinching her soft cheeks in the way someone might tease a child.

And it was childish, borderline ridiculous, but intimate.

And Julie couldn’t ignore that.

Her brows twitched together slightly, and she looked up at him with a questioning gaze. Her cheeks puffed slightly between his hands, her expression unreadable for a breath.

Seeing her stare, he expected her to pull away, to bat his hands off with a scolding huff.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she quietly leaned forward and rested her chin against his chest, soft, gentle, and let him continue.

Her eyes didn’t leave his, and for the first time, Cassius felt like she was truly looking into him.

Like she saw through the teasing, through the command, and through every single mask he’d ever worn.

There was no defiance. No embarrassment. Just...trust.

Pure and quiet trust, shining in those wide, upturned eyes.

And it made his heart stutter.

It was too much. Too adorable. Too real.

He blinked, startled by the raw affection he saw there, affection meant only for him. And somehow, that embarrassed him more than anything she could’ve said aloud. So he did the only thing that made sense to him in that moment.

He stopped playing with her cheeks.

Instead, he placed one hand on the back of her head, the other slipping around her back, and then pulled her down against his chest.

Fully.

Gently but firmly, he guided her in, until her forehead rested against his sternum, and then lower, until her temple tucked into the crook of his neck.

She also didn’t resist. Not at all. If anything, she melted into the touch, letting herself be guided like she belonged there.

And with his hand against the back of her head, the other rubbing soft strokes into her spine, it no longer felt like teasing. It was no longer a game.

This was intimacy.

This was affection, raw and unspoken, exchanged in the silence between two people who no longer needed words.

Julie also buried her face into his chest, hiding the red creeping over her cheeks, and said nothing. She didn’t need to. Cassius could feel it all.

The way her fingers clutched at his shirt. The way her breath slowed in sync with his. And the way her heart beat, not from panic, not from fear, but from something quieter. Calmer. Steadier.

And, right now, they didn’t look like a noble and her knight.

They simply looked like a couple, quietly embracing each other beneath the warmth of a sunny day...