Chapter 93 – Meadow Wealth [1]

Thursday was also the Hood Family’s meeting day. One all of them were required to attend, no matter the circumstances.

And if someone was physically unable to come, a video call was perfectly acceptable.

It was a rule Cassius had found amusing at first, yet he could see the underlying reasoning behind why the First Hood Ancestor had established it.

He had forcefully put his bloodline in the same room, alone together, where they had to either talk or stay silent. It didn’t matter which. The important thing was that they would share the same space at least once a week.

That kind of situation, even if it didn’t resolve all the problems in the house, would at least force them to be honest with each other — sharing openly what they hated and disliked about one another.

It would create a new kind of battle.

Battles where each member would try to hurt the others openly, in a challenging yet honest way, forcing everyone to learn and improve constantly just to avoid being the one who came out worse.

That was the reason no Hood member involved outside parties in their internal affairs or used underhanded methods to kill a fellow member.

They would try everything to hurt you openly, without hiding it. And when they did, they did it with their whole heart.

It was intriguing. But Cassius cut his thoughts on the Hood’s customs short as he stepped into the Tycoon’s Château, his cane clicking against floors made of unbreakable reflective mirrors.

Océane followed closely behind, her green eyes scanning the surroundings with a stern expression, projecting a clear warning to anyone who dared get too close to her master.

Inside the building shaped like the letter W of Wealth, the two were greeted by a gigantic reception hall. Chairs were arranged on one side, while the other was occupied by a line of numbered counters where smiling receptionists attended to clients.

Cassius’s presence did not go unnoticed. The moment he stepped inside — white suit, cane, red eyes — a strange pressure settled over the entire hall.

Beyond the fact that most people knew his face from the Net, even if he rarely bothered with it himself, the red eyes were unmistakably characteristic of only two families in the Badur Kingdom: the Hood and the Desdemona.

So when people fully registered who he was, their hearts skipped a beat — each for different reasons — and hushed whispers began to spread.

"Am I dreaming? That’s really the Last Born of the Desdemona!"

"Vorn take my soul, how is he so beautiful? Look at those eyes!"

"Stupid girl, don’t forget who he is." A male voice answered, whispering lower. "He is the spawn of devils."

"A beautiful devil," another girl licked her lips slowly, "so beautiful he looks like an angel. I don’t even mind if he is a devil. Let him tempt me into unforgivable sins."

"He is married, you horny idiots!"

"Who cares? We are not asking to be his wives! Besides, who even is his wife? I have never heard of her."

"Huh?" The man blinked, realising himself. "Well, honestly, I don’t know her either. They say she is a Tier Three noble lady though."

"How can my beautiful angelic devil marry some unknown woman who is only Tier Three?! Blasphemy!"

"The fucking nerve, bitch, you are a commoner. Who are you to talk?"

"Your mother!"

"You damned—!"

The whispers went on and on. Cassius and Océane listened to all of it without offering any reaction whatsoever.

Cassius, in particular, only smiled, quietly amused by how people saw him despite his notorious reputation.

’Did I really become that handsome?’

It was true his Charm had reached the very limit of Mortal Self rank, which was not something people usually achieved.

Charm was the hardest attribute to raise, and other people didn’t have free Stat Points to distribute freely.

Their enhancements came naturally through combat, depending on how they fought: someone who relied more on strength would grow stronger in that stat over speed first before anything else. That was why most people never bothered trying to max every attribute.

It was simply unrealistic.

Except for Cassius. And Emrys Stormblessed. Each one through their own method, reaching the same result.

Shaking his head, Cassius walked toward Counter Number Three, where Meadow had told him to go and state his business, after which she would personally come to receive him.

’This damn girl.’ He cursed her inwardly. ’She said it as though it was a bloody honour.’

Soon enough, he arrived at Counter Three. Only one person was already there: a young man, very lean with barely any body fat, brown skin and smooth black hair, wearing slightly ragged and dirty clothes made for people several ranks below even the standard commoner.

He was speaking with the receptionist.

"I am sorry, Mr. Jambar. But it’s too late." The receptionist — pink-tinted hair and black eyes, her name written on the badge at her neck: Clara — said with a gentle, apologetic smile.

"I see." Jambar said with a calm voice, holding a few papers that looked like job application forms. "Is there no other way, Miss?"

"None that I can help with, I’m afraid." Clara replied. "The only person who could do something is my master, Miss Wealth."

"How would I go about meeting her, Miss?" He asked simply, then smiled with slight embarrassment, scratching the back of his head. "Or can I even meet her? I apologise if I’m being presumptuous."

It was at that moment Clara’s black eyes shifted and landed on Cassius waiting calmly behind Jambar, with Océane staring daggers at her as if silently asking how she dared make Cassius Desdemona wait.

Clara ignored Océane entirely. Her eyes were only for Cassius, who was far too beautiful for her maiden heart to handle.

Her cheeks went red immediately.

"Mr. Desdemona!" She said with far too much enthusiasm for Océane’s taste, standing and bowing her head even when she didn’t need to. "I have been waiting for you! I am so sorry for not noticing you immediately. I will inform Miss Wealth right away!"

She bowed again, then grabbed her phone and called her master with a flustered smile.

During this, Jambar turned his head, his hazel eyes settling on Cassius Desdemona.

The moment his eyes met Cassius’s red ones, then shifted to Océane, his hazel eyes flickered with an unreadable light.

Then, as if entirely unbothered by being ignored, he stepped aside, his papers pressed to his chest, and nodded respectfully toward both Cassius and Océane.

"I apologise for taking so much of the counter’s time." He said with a genuinely sorry smile.

Cassius observed him for a long moment, tilting his head slightly. "What is your name?" He asked, without particular reason.

"Omm, sir." He answered, bowing his head. "My name is Omm Min Jambar, sir."

"A strange name." Cassius remarked.

"I am from Khushu village, outside the cities, sir."

"Oh really?" Cassius said, genuinely curious. "Yet you carry no trace of the accent common to people from there. And you speak well. Don’t take that as an offense."

"No offense taken, sir." He raised his head back up. "You are right about my kind. But I learned to read and speak properly thanks to the many books my father bought for me."

"You taught yourself?"

"Yes, sir."

"You must be quite sharp."

Omm smiled shyly. "Not really, sir."

"And what are you doing here?" Cassius continued, strangely drawn to the young man.

"A job application, sir." Omm answered. "I may not have gone to school, but I have read many books about money, trade and people."

"And you believe reading books makes you ready for a job here?"

"I am not ready, sir." Omm said honestly. "But I hope to become so during the process."

"Interesting." Cassius whispered.

Omm paused at the word, then said softly, "I need a job, sir. And as you can see, I am not strong enough to be accepted for work that requires physical strength."

"What for—!"

"Cassius Desdemona."

A voice cut across his words. He turned.

A splendid woman stood before him.

Dark skin, average height, with full black hair knotted into locks and tied with a pink ribbon. Her eyes were a strange, mesmerising pink, framed perfectly by her glasses.

She wore a simple black robe that hugged her hourglass figure without fuss: no jewellery, no makeup, nothing.

The only thing on her was a necklace shaped like a butterfly.

She looked simple in every possible way. And yet her presence caused the entire hall to fall into a nervous, attentive silence.

Cassius turned his full attention toward her. "Meadow Wealth." He said, nodding. "You made me wait."

"Why wouldn’t I?" Meadow smiled. "I told you to pay two million SN if you wanted to meet me sooner."

"Not that you aren’t worth it," Cassius rolled his eyes, "but isn’t that a bit steep?"

"Steep?" Meadow looked at him with genuine puzzlement. "You are a Tier One offspring. That should mean nothing to people like you."

Cassius’s lips twitched. But before he could respond, Meadow had already made a beckoning gesture and turned, walking deeper into the building.

"Come, Cassius Desdemona." She said. "Let’s discuss. And leave your little maid out here."

Cassius said nothing to that. He simply looked at Omm and gave him a nod.

"I wish you success in your endeavour, Omm." He said with a smile, then gave Océane a small reassuring nod and walked away, following Meadow.

Omm smiled gratefully and bowed his head, mumbling a heartfelt thank you.

Océane watched with barely concealed dissatisfaction at being separated from her master.

While Clara — and frankly every girl in that reception hall — watched Cassius walk away with his cane, white suit and unhurried elegance, with loving eyes and slightly parted lips.

"So incredibly beautiful..."

They all whispered at the same time. The men clicked their tongues in irritation, yet couldn’t deny it themselves.

And so, Cassius and Meadow’s meeting began.

—End of Chapter 93—