The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 233: She Can Talk

Chapter 233: She Can Talk

"Here we go."

Making it to the kitchen that was connected to one of the walls of the living room, Cassian gently lifted Madeline onto the countertop, making her seat comfortably before proceeding to fetch her a glass of water.

Watching how he treated her, Madeline felt like a little girl who was getting spoiled and pampered. Not that she didn’t like it, but she hated when he made her feel too fragile like a weak stick that could break within a snap.

With an appreciative glance, Madeline received the glass cup and emptied the content down her throat. She let out a deep satisfying breath after feeling the refreshing water go down her dry throat, and her dizziness gradually reduced.

"Still dizzy? Weak? Should I take you to the room instead? Are you in pain anywhere?" Cassian’s neverending questions didn’t give her the chance to answer even one of them. The worry in his eyes and tone were evident, and Madeline had to cover his mouth with her palm in order to make him keep quiet.

"I am fine." She finally answered, meeting his skeptical gaze that showed he wasn’t fully convinced, and she peeled her palm away from his lips. "I’m fine, I’m really not pretending here. What happened there was normal. The thing is, I have never reached that stage before. It felt overwhelming since it’s my first time, and I guess my energy was affected when I got distracted. But I’m completely fine now."

"I know how much you want to do this, but don’t stress yourself and let it come naturally. You know I don’t want you to do something that puts your health in danger." He reminded her before exhaling softly in relief, feeling reassured that she was alright now. But then, he suddenly recalled what he had seen when her powers grew to immeasurable length.

"But I have to admit, I saw a different you in there." He said, his tone sounding a bit off.

Watching her skin light up was one thing, but the way her eye color changed was another different thing. She felt... different, or maybe he was thinking a little too much cause he was experiencing something that only happened in books.

He was already scared to a point, but this.... This basically changes everything.

She has to take that form while creating the barrier, and he has to remain human till it’s completed. There was this unsettling feeling in his mind, but Cassian wasn’t ready to harbor any negative thoughts.

"I’ll have a conversation with Osvaldo when he comes tonight." Madeline’s suggestive tone snapped his attention back on her. "If I can’t stabilize the limits of energy, then it’ll be a big problem for me."

"You learnt this on your own, feel proud of yourself." He patted her right cheek lightly with a wink, and Madeline’s arm went around his neck as she pulled him in for a hug.

"And to what do I owe this special reward?" Cassian asked, embracing the young woman in return, and he heard her sigh contentedly.

"Thank you." She whispered, her hold on him tightening a bit as though she wanted to glue herself to him and never let go. "Thank you for being here, and coming into my life."

"When you say things like that it makes me feel like I’m doing you a favor." He tsked, but didn’t pull away. "I don’t need you to thank me, Maddie, I just want you to love me, and I don’t want anything between us to change. Can you do that instead?"

With a bashful smile, Madeline nodded her head, and he kissed the side of her hair. It was just the two of them holding each other, enjoying their company and the genuine love that brewed within them.

"Now I feel alive." She heard Cassian sigh in satisfaction, making her racing heart triple beat at the truthfulness in his word, and she bit her lower lip.

"Cassian."

"Hmm?"

"You saw my supposed uncle and Aunt today, I don’t think they’re fond of us." She said, recalling their earlier complaints to Napoleon about how she should separate herself from Cassian.

"Now I understand why Mother never came back here. She lacked the support of her own family and people."

"We’re not here for them, are we?" Cassian pulled back. "If they can’t accept you it doesn’t matter, you won’t die if they don’t. Monica happens to be the only sensible one, it’s a shame she ended up being a puppet to Mastermind’s game."

"She’s a lovely person." Madeline smiled, "and I know she’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it."

"Correct that." Cassian’s reprimanding tone got to Madeline, and she chuckled silently before rolling her eyes.

"’We’ are going to make sure of it."

"Much better."

They did their usual high-five before Cassian carried her from the countertop and up the stairs.

In the evening after dinner, Osvaldo, Monica and Maya showed up as planned. Madeline and Cassian were already sitting at the porch, waiting for them when the portal opened, and Maya was the last to step out.

The portal closed, and the medallion Maya used in opening it dropped to the ground, and she quickly picked it up.

"I was starting to think you guys were no longer coming." Madeline rose to her feet and walked up to the three of them, and Osvaldo offered an apologetic smile.

"That’s what we came to tell you, something came up tonight, so we’ll have to postpone the training till tomorrow morning."

"Oh, is something wrong?" Madeline immediately asked, wondering if something terrible had occurred, but Orson shook his head.

"No, no, nothing too serious. I thought it was best to come personally and deliver the message."

"You shouldn’t have, but I appreciate it."

"Enjoy the night, we’ll be back tomorrow morning." As the three of them left through the gate, they waved their goodbyes at Cassian and Madeline. When they didn’t use the portal, Madeline guessed that they weren’t going to the palatial building.

"How strange."

Turning around to look at Cassian who was engrossed in a mythical book, Madeline went to stand behind him, stealing a peek at what he was reading.

"What are you reading?"

"Just.... A little history about the vampire-ghost creature. Digging up its history would come of great use." He tilted his head up to look at Madeline.

"You should go to bed and get some rest, I’ll join you when I’m done."

Madeline didn’t argue and nodded her head obediently. He smiled and watched her make her way back into the house, closing the door after.

"Lily." He summoned Lily who appeared before his gaze, taking her seat on one of the vacant chairs beside him, and Cassian stared at the little ghost, as though shocked by her audacity.

"You’re starting to get too comfortable, aren’t you?"

Lily looked at him with that expressionless face of hers, and Cassian really wished for her to say something, even just once.

"There’s a hideout."

"What hide--- oh my fucking God!" It took a lot of self control for Cassian not to sprint away from Lily’s side, hearing the girl speak for the first time since he had met her.

He blinked at her in disbelief, wondering if he heard right, or maybe he imagined it. No no, he couldn’t have heard her speak, no one could play mute for that long.

"Did you... did you say something?" Cassian asked after clearing his throat and composing himself, and he heard her say again in that pleasant light tone of hers.

"There’s a hideout." She repeated her earlier statement, and Cassian immediately made her keep quiet, trying his best to understand what exactly was happening here.

"You mean to tell me, all this time, you could actually speak?!!"

"It’s going to be a very complicated answer, cause it’s a no, and a yes." She answered dryly.

"If you were a real kid, you’d be receiving serious spanks by now."

"My luck." She got down from the chair and turned to look at Cassian, "I came to give a report."

"What report?"

"I mentioned it twice." She emphasized by raising her index and middle finger. "I found a secret hideout."

"What hideout?"

"The one you told me to find." Her voice was undeniably soft as she tilted her head to the side in a cute way, and Cassian was still having a hard time grasping the fact that he was speaking to the mute Lily.

"Jeremy?" He randomly guessed, but his brain regain focus when she nodded her head in response.

"Yes."

Cassian’s eyes snapped at her discovery. That means Madeline wasn’t wrong when she said she spotted him. "You saw him?? Where??"

She nodded. "He was with someone." She added, "there’s a secret hideout close to a mountain cave, he stays there with someone."

"Do you know who?"

To Cas’s disbelief, she nodded her head again, but the look on her face dulled in an apprehensive manner.