Chapter 95 – Meadow Wealth [3]

"Queen above, what?" Cassius exclaimed in genuine surprise, not even noticing when he leaned his body forward, as if that position would somehow make everything miraculously clearer.

"I won’t repeat myself!" Meadow said sharply, with a hint of anger directed more at herself than at Cassius.

She was ridiculously embarrassed, unable to continue the discussion properly anymore. She didn’t know what had gotten into her head to make her share something so intimate with Cassius. But she had done it.

There was no going back.

’Arghhh!! Meadow, you poor fool! Why Cassius Desdemona of all people?! Why him!’

Regret — that devouring beast — was already gnawing at her heart and soul.

Even though she knew Cassius had spoken nothing but truth about his own goal, that alone didn’t make him miraculously trustworthy, or certainly not the most suitable person to be open with about something she had hidden even from her own family until now.

Not because they would necessarily be against it. But Meadow was simply insufferably shy when it came to letting anyone know that she had no real interest in making money — only in writing her own romance novels without a care in the world.

Though there was another barrier beyond just shyness.

If she shared it with her family, knowing their characters, they would put pressure on her even without meaning to; asking for results, demanding excellence from her work.

That was how her mother was.

’Everything you do, do it with excellence.’

Those were her mother’s favourite words. Words Meadow was desperate to avoid when it came to her writing.

Sighing under her breath, she slid her hands from her face and readjusted her glasses, ready to face whatever Cassius decided to do with her dream.

However, what she found was not quite what she had expected.

Sitting there, right hand stroking his chin pensively, Cassius was cocking his head from side to side — left, right, up and down — as if trying to pierce through some unknown mystery.

"Is that why you read so many books?" Cassius asked at last, arching a white eyebrow, his voice carrying no judgment. Only pure curiosity.

Instinctively, Meadow relaxed without even knowing why.

And immediately, as the subject shifted to books — her very obsession — every trace of embarrassment from earlier evaporated.

"Not at all." She replied, looking around her room with a smile. "It’s because I have read so many books that I want to be a writer." She admitted, then turned her attention back to him. "Every time I read something by The Fool, MasterofPaths, Loving Mother, Mademoiselle Rayonnante, or simply any of the great authors out there..."

Her smile became slightly flustered yet eager. "...I always feel this overwhelming sensation inside me — sometimes my head even starts to spin in pure excitement — that screams at me to write!"

Meadow’s smile shimmered like a dark diamond, the kind that could make men kneel in open awe.

"Don’t you find it incredible? To be able to convey so many things — so many lessons, so much joy — with only a handful of words, and reach so many people?"

"I admit," Cassius nodded, watching Meadow light up with a smile, "that it is something quite special. However, I must ask, why do you want to write so much?"

He paused. "For fame? For money? For—!"

"What?" Meadow’s face instantly twisted into pure disdain. "What do I need fame and money for? My family has so much of it I could live hundreds of years without working a single second."

’Queen’s skirt, I knew you were rich but damn!’ Cassius cursed inwardly.

[Ah.] Ananke snickered, quietly mocking his relative poverty.

"Not at all, Cassius." Meadow continued. "None of those reasons are why. I am doing this—"

"—for passion." Cassius finished, and as if on the same wavelength for the first time since the meeting began, the two smiled.

"Exactly." She nodded, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "For passion."

"Well, I did not expect a goal like that from you." He said, shaking his head.

"What?" Meadow became instantly defensive. "Do you think it’s too mundane for me? Or too great?"

"Don’t get me wrong." He replied. "I more or less expected you to want nothing more than to live leisurely without a care in the world."

"That would be a dreadfully bland way to live."

"It would." He acknowledged, then tilted his head, smiling with genuine interest. "I know I still have to explain the purpose of this meeting, but before I get to that, do you mind showing me?"

Meadow paused. "Showing you what?" She asked carefully.

"Everything you have written so far." Cassius said. "I mean, if you want to be an author, you must have started writing something by now."

Once more, Meadow became flustered immediately, her eyes darting around the room in sudden embarrassment.

"Well..." she muttered, smiling wryly, "I don’t—!"

"Come on, don’t be shy." Cassius cut in, his tone turning enthusiastic. "I will be your beta reader. I’m sure you could use an outside opinion. Show me, I might actually be helpful."

"Do you even know anything about books?"

Cassius nodded with great arrogance. "Oh little summer girl, if you only knew how many books I have read."

[You mean those webnovels back on Earth?] Ananke said with obvious disdain. [That is what you are so proud of?]

’Queen, don’t look down on them! Some of them were so good they made me cry.’ Cassius defended his past authors. ’And regardless, having read that much means I can give decent advice.’

[...] Ananke said nothing, but her doubt was palpable.

His lips twitched. He chose to ignore her when Meadow eventually accepted, her face breaking into a shy yet obviously excited smile.

She seemed thrilled to show her work to someone.

With great enthusiasm Cassius hadn’t expected, she produced from her space ring dozens of sheets of paper and spread them across the table.

"It starts here!" She squeaked, pressing a pink-nailed finger on one sheet with the title: Chapter 1: The Beginning After the End.

Cassius nodded simply and began to read. At his current level, his reading speed and comprehension were far above what they had been on Earth.

He was done with the first Chapter in no time. He didn’t stop there. Only fourteen Chapters had been written. He decided to read through all of them in order to give an honest verdict.

Methodically, his eyes moved across the pages, flipping them from time to time.

Watching this, Meadow — with her Skill activated — could see the same White Light of Truth surrounding Cassius, confirming he was genuinely doing exactly what he had said, without faking a thing.

She smiled with sudden gratitude edged by a surge of nervousness.

Not knowing what to do with herself, she stood and began pacing around the room, restlessly waiting for his verdict.

Meadow did everything she could not to make any noise, afraid of breaking Cassius’s concentration.

After a moment of growing impatience, she tried to gauge his opinion by studying his face. But Cassius was stone. Not a single trace of emotion bled through.

’Ah. Vorn take me,’ Meadow almost wailed. ’Will he mock me if it’s bad?’

Just as that thought crossed her mind, Cassius stopped flipping the pages. He was done.

Immediately, like a child who had been made to stand in the corner and was finally allowed to return, she rushed back to her seat and sat in front of him with a nervously twitching smile.

"First, I want to be clear that this is my very first time!" She said, nodding her head furiously while making sure her glasses weren’t falling off. "Don’t be too harsh—!"

"Mediocre." Cassius said, his voice as flat as his father’s, cutting her off cleanly. Meadow’s face crumbled like stone ground to dust. "And I am being especially gentle."

He nodded to himself, quietly proud of his magnanimity. Then, just as he was about to continue, he paused, feeling as though something was missing.

He blinked, confused, then his eyes brightened with realisation. He stretched his hand toward Meadow.

The young Tycoon heiress looked at it with hurt, embarrassed eyes. Cassius was entirely unbothered by the beautiful pink stare.

"Give me a pair of glasses." He said, making a beckoning gesture. "Purple, I stress. I need them to look and sound more professional as a great Editor."

"E-Editor?!" Meadow squealed in surprise.

"Yes, of course!" Cassius nodded firmly, completely serious. "How can I let my soon-to-be ally remain this bad at writing? I will guide you toward the peak. Trust me."

"Ally?!" Meadow echoed. "What in Vorn’s name are you talking about?!"

"Oh?" He paused. "I haven’t said it yet?" He tilted his head, then shrugged. "Simply put, Meadow, I want to create a Merchant Company. And I want you to lead it as CEO. You clearly have a talent for it and your background is perfect for the role."

Meadow’s pink eyes widened slightly. "Is that why you came here?"

"Yes, of course."

"What makes you think I would accept something like that from you?" Her face scrunched. "That’s too much work! I hate too much work! On top of that, I don’t want to work with you! You are—!"

"Well, Meadow, my little aspiring author, do you want to be a bestseller or not?" Cassius grinned, and seeing no glasses forthcoming from Meadow, used his Bloodflame to fashion a pair of his own.

Meadow’s lips twitched at the ridiculous sight of Cassius wearing glasses made of fire. "What do you mean?" She ignored the sight.

"It means I will be your Editor for your books. No matter the idea, no matter the concept, no matter your doubts, just talk to me and I will help you." He said with professional composure, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin atop them. "And you, Meadow, will be the CEO of my Company."

He smiled. "It’s a win-win situation."

"Not so fast." She rolled her eyes. "First, are you actually good enough to be an Editor?"

"I believe so. And it’s not as if you have many other options." He shrugged. "I am your best bet."

"Then tell me something about my current novel." Meadow challenged. "If it’s convincing enough, I’ll trust you and accept your proposal."

Cassius’s eyes gleamed, and without hesitation, "First, I have read fourteen Chapters and I still have no clear idea what your main character’s goal is. If I don’t know his goal, I can hardly connect with him or understand why he makes any of his decisions."

Meadow’s eyes widened as she only now realised that herself.

"Second, you have set your world before the Age of First Revelation — meaning a true Medieval world, also called by many historians the Age of Heedlessness — a time when power was unrefined and held only by a few, and when the gods had not yet emerged." He said, watching Meadow nod softly. "A nice concept. But you clearly don’t know enough about that era to write it convincingly. I am already seeing elements that belong to our current Age of Enlightenment bleeding through."

He paused, looking at her seriously through his fire-forged glasses. "Either change the world setting to something you are more familiar with as a starting point, or go and learn more about the Age of Heedlessness."

"Easier said than done." Meadow grumbled. "There is barely any information about the Age of Third Revelation, let alone the Age of Heedlessness."

"I know well." Cassius said. "So change your setting."

Meadow huffed in mild irritation.

"Third and last," Cassius continued, "can you please, for the Queen’s sake, commit to a single point of view? Third, first or omniscient...pick one. You switch between all three without any warning. It is confusing and infuriating."

He stopped there, looking at Meadow, whose face was twitching considerably.

Whether from annoyance at his words or from the realisation that her own work was that mediocre...no one could quite tell.

After a moment of silence, and knowing full well that Cassius was right, Meadow Wealth had no real choice but to acknowledge it.

"You... you are good enough." She said reluctantly, though a hidden contentment was obvious in her tone. "You can be my Editor. I will count on you." She nodded, then repositioned her glasses on the bridge of her nose.

"Then you accept my proposal for the Merchant Company?" Cassius asked with a smile.

"If that’s what it takes to become a bestselling author." Meadow nodded again with great determination. "Then I will do it! However, I need my own time, time to write and to read."

"That means you will need trustworthy and capable people under you that you can delegate tasks to."

"Yes." She said, stroking her chin. "I had paused recruitment lately. But I will restart it, and this time, I will personally choose my own people."

Just like that, in a very unexpected fashion, Cassius managed to get Meadow Wealth to work with him, at the price of nothing more than becoming her personal Editor.

Ananke smiled watching the situation unfold, wondering how Cassius always managed to encounter such peculiar people.

From a desolate maid of a prince, to a depraved High Priestess, and now to an aspiring author who had more money in her bank account than 85% of the entire Kingdom.

And who had never worked a single second in her life.

"I want to settle everything now, so let’s sign the contract, Cassius—!"

"Editor."

"Huh?"

Cassius looked at her completely seriously. "For you, it’s Mr. Editor."

Meadow’s lips twitched. "What did you just say?"

"Are you deaf? I said call me Mr. Editor."

"Are you serious?"

"Am I smiling right now?"

Meadow stared at him for a moment, then clicked her tongue. "Not even a minute after the deal and you are already acting up. I knew I wouldn’t like your poor ass."

"Well, Meadow, that makes two of us."

"Just sign the contract." She hissed.

"I will read it first. I know you are trying to scam me."

"I could buy your entire poor Desde City with 35% of my inheritance."

"Bullshit."

She was actually right.

—End of Chapter 95—