The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 54: A One On One Meeting (1)

Chapter 54: A One On One Meeting (1)

The wooden floor creaked with uneven sounds as Cassian took careful steps into the entrance of the house. The first thing he was welcomed with after opening the door was the barely spacious living room. The living room looked empty, save for reddish-brown carpets that had been placed on the ground so maybe visitors could easily know they were meant to sit on it, according to Cassian.

For someone who made such a good-looking sword that was capable of costing fortunes, he sure doesn’t live like someone who earns really well. If he did, he wouldn’t be living in the lower East quarters anyway.

Moving past the living room to survey the rest of the house, Cassian took a left turn to a narrowed corridor. A single lantern was hanging against a door, and the flames were burning faintly as though the fire was about to die from lack of oil.

Where would Geoffrey have gone??

’This house is almost_’ Cassian wasn’t even done finishing his thoughts when someone violently dashed out of a corner with a long stick in hand, getting ready to smack Cassian with it, but due to the young lad’s improved skills, he was able to sidestep the incoming attack, but at the same time, he had set his right foot forward, leading for his attacker to trip and fall face first to the wooden floor.

"Urghgh,!!"

"Move and I’ll make sure every part of your body is redesigned with the bullets on my gun." Cassian threateningly pointed his gun at the man’s back, and his attacker immediately froze in his spot with his arms stretched forward in surrender.

"This is the attitude I like." Moving to where the bald Headed man had laid, Cassian picked up his stick before commanding in a deadpanned tone that sent chills down the man’s spine.

"To the living room, now."

At his bone-chilling words, the man slowly got to his feet and led Cassian back to the carpeted living room. His body trembling like a frightened child, dejectedly registering the fact that he certainly has nowhere to run now that he had been caught by an unknown stranger.

Making himself comfortable against the carpet, the frightened man was sitting opposite the calm Cassian who still pointed his gun at him.

Removing the cloak from his head, he revealed his face to Geoffrey who’s eyes instantly bulged in his sockets. It was the first time he was laying eyes on such a fine man, and a totally scary one too. He had a roguish appeal that didn’t sit well with Geoffrey, and even his majestic looks were not enough to hide it.

"You...you don’t look to be from here." Geoffrey finally opened up a conversation when it felt like the young lad wasn’t going to say anything to him.

"Clearly I’m not." Cassian responded while boringly twirling the gun in his grip. "Listen, I’ll be kind enough to make you aware of how I do things. Waste my time and I won’t hesitate to leave you bleeding." He warned sedately before dropping the sketch on the small wooden table that separated them.

"This sword, did you make it?" He asked, gesturing for the bald man to take a look at the sketch on the table, and when he hesitantly did, a sudden look of fear overwhelmed him and glinted in his eyes.

"It’s a yes or no answer, not difficult am I right? So tell me quickly so we can all head back to our destinations unharmed. Did you make the sword on these sketches, and if yes, who did you make it for?"

"I have no idea what you’re saying....!!!." The bald man felt adrenaline rush through his system when Cassian unanticipatedly shot the wall behind him, and he nearly jumped out of his own skin.

"You were saying?" The young lad tilted his head while emanating the aura of a daredevil, and Geoffrey instantly felt he had come in contact with a grim reaper.

"Who are you? And why do you need such information?" The bald man dared to question as he broke into a cold sweat, and from how he had attacked him when he stepped in, it was obvious someone already informed him of his presence before he even came here.

"Hmn.. ever heard the saying to obey before complaining?" Cassian was already getting irritated with this man named Geoffrey. "You really won’t want to test my patience."

"So what if I made it, it’s just a sword." Geoffrey accepted as a trace of sweat ran from his chin down to his throat.

"I know it’s a sword, old man. To be clear, I’m not fucking concerned about the sword, I’m here to find out who you made it for. And I’ll take my leave once I’ve got the answers I’m looking for."

"I made this decades ago, I was still a bladesmith. It’s impossible for me to remember who..."

*BANG!*

"Ah!!"

Cassian shot another bullet right past his ear, giving him a little cut that meant a second warning, and the man instantly winced in pain.

"Let’s try this again, shall we?" Cassian smirked. "Who did you make them for? Do I look stupid to you? Or maybe you really have no value concerning your life. Don’t worry I can grant you a peaceful journey to the afterlife when I end you. For now, let’s be friends, and tell me what you know."

The man whose ear was currently bleeding, pleaded before Cassian as he bowed his head to the ground and wailed. "Forgive me, please I do not want to die, I don’t have the answers you seek and it is the truth. I am a poor man trying to fend for myself, please spare my life. Kind sir."

Geoffrey’s voice quivered in fear, and Cassian had taken it upon himself to get the truth out of him.

"How about a new deal?" He proposed, putting his gun aside. "State your price, and I’ll pay you in exchange for this little information you are willing to give me."

To make Geoffrey aware of how serious he was, he brought out a small pouch containing gold coins and dropped it on the table. "You need money, am I right? We both want something precious, so let us help ourselves in fully achieving that, and then we walk away and pretend to have never crossed paths."

Geoffrey’s eyes shifted to the pouch filled with gold coins and his eyes widened, seeing such an amount of gold coins before his table. Even though he promised to never reveal their secrets, the pouch of coins was too tempting to toss away since he was really in need of some money.

"Will you really give it to me?" Geoffrey felt the need to confirm once more, and Cassian clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Don’t make me repeat my words Mr Geoffrey, it all depends on if you trust me or not. Now tell me, who did you make these blades for, and why?"

Silence reigned between the two of them, the sound of crickets making their noises outside still echoed indoors, and the room immediately felt cold to the touch. Geoffrey was currently going through a rough patch, but regardless of the consequences, he chose to speak up.

"They came to me in the middle of the night asking for a sword two decades ago." Geoffrey finally began his explanation in a soft whisper. "I was just a bladesmith who wanted to earn, so I never really gave it much thought and decided to make something unique since they had asked for it."

He jabbed his trembling fingers together. "I really have no idea why they wanted a sword so different, but I was forced to do it to keep my life."

"Who are they?"

"I don’t know them, neither do I know much about them, but what I can say is that they didn’t feel human." His voice sounded dreadful at the last part, barely audible to be considered a whisper. "Their aura was too ominous and their eyes.... their eyes were the color of blood."

"Color of blood?" Cassian’s mind was taken aback by the new information, and the words on the bloodied note he received at Orson’s place displayed before his eyes.

"Yes, and they are the reason why..."

Their conversation was disrupted when they heard something drop outside the home of Geoffrey, as though someone had jumped down from the roof and onto the ground. Alarmingly, their head whipped to the door since the sound appeared to have come from there.

Geoffrey suddenly gasped in horror and turned his attention to the young Lord. "They’re here. You need to leave this place, go now before you lose your life!"

"I am not leaving." Cassian said firmly without showing any ounce of fear. If the hunter in a red cloak eventually comes here, then he wouldn’t get a better chance than this to stand before the criminal, one on one.

"You should leave instead." Cassian said to the man before getting to his feet. "They must be here to kill you first since you’ve decided to spill the beans, so run." He threw the pouch of coins at the dumbfounded man.

"If I make it out alive, I will find you to get the rest of my information I have paid for. Leave."

Despite sounding so cold, Geoffrey had no idea how to thank him for saving his life. Nodding his head, he immediately got to his feet and followed the back door to escape.

The air had grown thick, and Cassian could feel this person was close. At the right time, the door immediately burst open, and when Cassian turned around to see who had decided to keep him company for the night, the fellow on a red cloak was standing at the threshold, dressed in all black and looking like some sort of dark assassin.

The fellow glanced around the room before letting his invisible gaze settle on the young lad who was still sitting on the carpet.

"Where is he?"