To His Hell and Back-Chapter 195: Karma Called Cassius-II

It wasn’t a long walk to the edge of the village, near the thick fringe of the forest where Arabella had once lived.

In this village, the wealthy clustered near the heart of the village, close to the marketplace, the chapel, and the gatherings. The closer they were to the heart meant status, while those pushed to the outskirts, especially nearer to the woods, were the ones the villagers preferred to forget. Her family had lived far from the heart of it all. Too far.

Located right beside the old fence that separated the forest and the village was her dilapidated brown house.

Their house had only existed because of her paternal grandmother, who had gifted the house to her father as a gift for his marriage. Without that, they would have had nothing. Her father had squandered everything else, every coin, every opportunity, chasing luck at the gambling tables. If not for that one final act of familial mercy, Arabella and her sister would have grown up without even a roof over their heads.

Arabella had always tried her best to respect her grandmother despite her rude attitude toward her or Ariel due to this house and she had always treated this place like a gem, taking care of it until there was no spot.

But now looking from outside, Arabella could only feel a sense of emptiness alongside bitterness.

This place. It had only felt like home because Ariel was there with her.

Now alone, and now that it hosted only her father, this place bore no warmth or nostalgia.

Gone was the feeling of wanting to come home. Instead all she could feel was... a sense of loss.

"This is your house," Cassius muttered as he looked at it.

Arabella could see his amusement as he looked at the place and chuckled, "Too shabby right?"

"No, I wouldn’t say so," he hummed and after a while added a comment, "It just wasn’t what I thought it would be."

"What do you mean?" she turned and saw him pointing the place with his chin.

"This house doesn’t feel like you."

Raising her eyebrows she shook her head, "How can a house feels like someone? Well if you say that, I suppose the castle doesn’t feel like you either."

"Two people without home hm," Cassius turned at her and though his words were meant as a joke by him it pricked her heart a little. Though in the end she still answered him with a smile.

"Right, two people without a home," she repeated as she walked toward the fence, pushing it open. "I usually close this gate," she spoke in a low mutter. "I also cleaned up the garden but without me or Ariel, this look even shabbier than ever. Like a pigsty." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"Indeed," he commented, "It doesn’t feel like someone had been living here at all."

"Maybe because my father spent most of his time in the gambling house and rarely comes home," Arabella who had reached the front door slowly raised her hand and knocked firmly unto the door.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

At the fourth before her knuckles could hit the wooden door, Cassius’s leg had shot forward and in an instance the door broke into the building.

Speechless, Arabella turned to him who had grinned, "You’re welcome."

She sighed and chuckled before entering the house. Somehow she had gotten used to Cassius as a whole. His unpredictable nature and his way of humor that was constantly dark.

Her eyes turned over to her house, darting around to look how things had improved for the worse and sure enough she found everything empty, everything, all had been sold by her father in the gambling house.

After all he had sold his two daughters, what could furniture means to him?

But Arabella said nothing as she moved toward the fireplace filled with webs and spiders. She reached out her hand to the top part of the fireplace, pulling something as hard as she could while Cassius watched. After a while she did manage to yank something out and it had turned out to be a box.

"My mother left this for me," Arabella reached out the box toward him, "But I never knew what could be inside here."

"Then we can just open it," he said with a hint of sarcasm and she pushed it to his hands.

"I know," she said, "But I can’t open it. I also brought it to the locksmith and they told me that it couldn’t be opened. Though now that I think about it, you should be able to open it can’t you? Since you’re stronger than most people."

Cassius pulled the right corner of his lips, "You know I was about to ask for your reward if I could open this but out of the goodness of my heart and how sweetly you have praised me, I suppose I will do as you say and open this for you, for free."

She shook her head in response and found him grabbing the top of the box which was made from marble and gold in a deadly grip. Then his hands pulled upward to the lid only to frown.

"You can’t?" Arabella shifted her position, shocked as she had always thought that if there was someone who could open this it should be Cassius. "Try it again."

Cassius turned quiet as his hands moved to open the lid again, his veins bulging as he tried to open it.

"Well this is embarrassing," Cassius muttered with a frown and a look of annoyance. "With what had your mother locked this little box?"

"I don’t know..." she muttered, "We tried every way, you know. Burnt it, destroy, hack it, and even tried locksmithing but nothing works."

Meow. Meow meow?

"Yes, I also tried to just drop it from a high floor- Woah!" Arabella yelped when she saw the white fluffy creature appearing right between them. "Did you bring the cat here?" she immediately asked Cassius who looked at the cat with his red eyes narrowed.

"Do you think I like this feline?"

"No?"

"Then why would I bring it? I would have roasted it alive," Cassius answered and the cat hissed in return as if understanding his malicious nature.