We reappeared in front of the main entrance of the mansion.
Once the shadows sank under our feet and disappeared, we began walking towards the front gates.
It was already morning. We had been down there for the entire night...
The groundskeepers and gardeners were all celebrating as well.
I guess it meant that they were truly free.
As we walked away, we saw the fog over the forest fade and when we turned, we saw the mansion in its true state.
It really was a mansion...just that it looked hundreds of years old.
It was falling apart everywhere and didn't look like it would even be safe to stand next to it.
"Huh...that's interesting..." I said.
At the same time, the illusions covering the gardeners dispersed. They looked to be rotten husks and skeletons.
Their bodies crumbled to dust and their souls were released.
Lastly, I saw a burst of magic from the center top of the mansion and a lich flew up holding a lantern.
With a wave of his lantern, a maw of gigantic gnashing teeth shot from out of the ground and consumed the mansion...crushing it to pieces and completely destroying it.
When it disappeared, the lich had also gone. And nothing was left but a pile of rotten timber.
I guess that ends that... Ugh...my head hurts...
* * *
After a short few minutes of attuning the compass to our next destination, we headed off.
Isabella also got changed back into her regular clothes. Supposedly, Aldaril found it rude to dress her himself, so he simply used magic to replace what she was wearing with the white dress.
Good thing too. If he had touched my wife and looked at her naked body, I would have had the urge to cut off his hands and gouge out his eyes.
Vengeance would have been happy with that. Speaking of which, I managed to convince him that there was no real need to pursue Aldaril. The beating I gave him and the loss of his wife were enough for me.
And in all honesty, I was angrier at Isabella than at Aldaril.
The forest was easy to pass through since the fog was gone and we had no problems with it.
"Soooo... Is the heart stone doing okay, Mizik? Does it need a polish or anything?" Akari said.
"Akari, we're taking custody of this thing to combat the Corruption. You're not going to touch it. So you can have 80% of the reward. Sound good?" I said.
"B-but a heart stone is worth way more than that!"
"Fine, 100%. We don't need the money, anyway."
"You...don't? Why not?" She asked.
"Because we..."
I stopped myself.
Every time I mentioned something like this, it came back to bite me.
The last thing I wanted to do was tell Akari that we had nearly thirty million gold in Isabella's inventory that I alchemized into this world's currency.
"We can survive on our own without the need of money...is what I'm trying to say..." I said.
"I guess that makes sense... You probably don't have a lot of money anyway being otherworlders, do you?"
"No. And besides, that's none of your business," I said.
"Ugh...fine... You're so mean!" Akari said.
"I'm not mean. I just know better than to trust you."
Akari didn't respond and instead moved to walk behind me and Isabella.
Since we had plenty of ground to cover, we would likely be on the road for quite a while... At least another week.
Cassandra's Aspects had yet to manifest as well. I was hoping it would have helped us out with Aldaril, but things were better this way.
Regardless, I still had a hope that they would manifest before we met the dragon. I really wanted to have the extra strength in our party before facing that thing.
Isabella tapped her head as she looked at me and I contacted her with telepathy.
"You wanted to talk, Isabella?"
"Yes...about what happened down there."
"You still haven't told me exactly what you went through. Why don't you start there?"
"Okay then..."
Isabella spent the next few hours explaining everything she remembered about the events that transpired after she woke up.
Even the part regarding Aldaril's origins.
The world-cluster called Tanavol was home to eight 'realms'. Each ruled by a Queen and a High Priest, or a King and a High Priestess respectively.
The military of each realm was led by an 'Avatar'. An extension of the ruling power in the central realm of Tanavol.
Supposedly, the second Avatar of Death caused a massive war that led to its existence beind banned. And Aldaril Sano, a resident of the Peace Realm, became the third Avatar of Death by accident.
He was forced to assume a position he wanted no part of amidst a grand conspiracy, met the Avatar of Order, Hikari, and fell in love with her.
She was betrayed by her own allies and murdered before Aldaril could protect her.
In his rage, he stole the Eye of Order and fled to another world...ending up on Delvandal and starting a war in an effort to find a proper vessel for Hikari.
But he was pushed back by the Mad Admiral.
The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth and I really didn't want to look at him for a while.
Next, we discussed the things that happened after I arrived.
"Mizik...I understand that you might have been in danger, but how could you use my condition against me like that!?"
Honestly, I felt angry that she would even try to turn this on me.
"Are you serious? Isabella, do you realize what I went through down there!?"
"N-not exactly..."
"I fought an army of undead and Aldaril almost killed me! all the while you just sat there and did nohing to help!"
"Wait! Hold on a moment-"
"QUIET! THEN YOU PROTECTED HIM WITHOUT EXPLAINING THE SITUATION! Do you have any idea how awful that is!?"
"I think I can understand what it must have looked like..."
"Isabella, Vengeance almost labeled you as a false wielder. You know what he does to false wielders, right?"
"Kills them..."
"Yeah. Kills them. And since I had no other choice, I used Cassandra to set you straight. She follows every order I give without question, especially with an incentive."
"I will follow all of Mizik's orders whether or not he gives a reward! The joy I feel from serving is enough for me!"
"Uhh...yeah..."
At that moment, I saw tears in Isabella's eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Mizik! I didn't realize what I was doing! I was so caught up in everything... I neglected what was most important..."
"I thought you had betrayed me. How could you? You protected the enemy and I almost died as a result."
"Isabella did bad! You're not worthy of Mizik!"
"That's enough, Cassandra. I can handle this on my own."
"Of course, darling!"
"Why are you being so nice to her!? She tortured you and treated you like garbage! What about me!? Aren't I your wife!?"
"I...I didn't mean to...hurt him... I'M SO SORRY!!! PLEASE NO MORE!!! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!!!!"
"CALM DOWN, CASSANDRA! I already forgave you! Isabella, do us a favor and stop bringing up her crimes. You're still my wife and I still want you by my side. Your sister has had a hellish life and from what I can tell, you did very little to alleviate that."
"I...I tried! But...I was just so busy..."
"Sister! I can see your memories! You didn't care as much as you say you did. You were just glad that it wasn't you most of the time. Mizik is the only thing I've ever found that gives me true happiness! I'll never let go of him!"
"That's enough, Cassandra! Shut up!"
"Waaahhh...sorry, darling..."
"AAHHHHH!!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!! Stop it...please... I hate myself for that... I'm not perfect...I know it! I make mistakes! I'm a terrible sister that betrayed her husband and almost let him die! I can't apologize enough! I'm sorry Cassandra... I'm sorry, Mizik... I'm just selfish... I'm a selfish liar!!!"
Outside, Isabella was doing her best to keep it together.
But I could hear her wailing in sorrow, internally.
I felt bad for her, but I only wanted to get my point across.
"Isabella, please stop crying. It's okay. You made mistakes. So what? I make mistakes too. But we can still make up for it. Look, in the end, you did help me by releasing Hikari to stop the fight. But in the future, I want you to be quicker about jumping in to stop everything if there's a misunderstanding."
"Y-yes... I'm just...really sorry, Mizik... I didn't mean for things to turn out this way. I wanted to resolve things peacefully... I thought that Aldaril would stop attacking...and that he would have explained things better, too..."
"And you're right to think that way. It's not entirely your fault that we fought in the first place. But, you should have jumped in as soon as you realized what was happening. Still, it's over now. Don't worry about it."
"But...I feel terrible about it! I want to make it up to you!"
"We can worry about that later. For now, I forgive you. But I will not take any responsibility for what happened there."
"I understand... I might not be happy about what happened with Cassandra, but I can at least understand why you used her..."
"Thank you. In the future, I will try not to use her against you if I can help it. But you have to promise not to force my hand."
"I promise! I'll do my best to protect you even better from now on! I...I almost lost you again... If you had died, we would be back in Avernia without any memories... And the Oracle would make sure I never met you ever again..."
"And that is exactly why I need you to protect me. If I die, we all lose everything forever. There's no reversing it, either."
"I can't imagine going back... That sounds like a nightmare! I don't want to hurt my darling Mizik ever again!"
"Oh for the love of... Yes, thank you again, Cassandra..."
"Then I guess we both have to do our best to protect him... Right, sister?"
"I'll do everything I can to help Isabella protect Mizik! Also...umm...darling~?"
"Yes, Cassandra...?"
"You said I could have a reward...yes? Ehehe...I want you to marry me, darling! Marry me and give me lots of love, please! Kyaaa! I can't believe I just said that!!!"
"Cassandra. How many damn times do I have to say no? I'm already married."
"But...you can have us both!"
"Cassandra! Stop trying to steal my husband!"
"Don't start."
"S-sorry Mizik..."
"Cassandra, I can't marry you. You'll have to ask for something else."
"Ah...darn it... Can I at least receive Mizik's love?"
"You cannot have sex with my husband!"
"But it's your body, sister! There won't be a difference!"
"I said don't start! And Cassandra, we can discuss it later! I won't do those things with you. That's only for my wife!"
"Ah! I see! Then I just have to become Mizik's wife and he'll shower me in his warm gooey love!"
"By Iris! What part of NO do you not understand!?"
"Cassandra! Stop it! I'm sorry, Mizik, I'm not trying to argue with her. But...she's so impossible to deal with!"
"Ugh...it's fine. And I know. Cassandra, we can discuss something else later. I'll reward you well for helping out. I promise."
"Of course, darling! Any reward is enough for me! Also...I conquered my fear of the undead!"
"Good. Then you can have a double reward. Within reason."
"Yaaay!!!"
"And Isabella, I'm sorry for getting angry. I mean it. This entire thing has left a bad taste in my mouth and-"
"Don't...please. I understand. The curse is probably causing you all sorts of problems and you're stressed enough as is. It's okay, my love. I forgive you...just as long as you can forgive me..."
"I'll always forgive you, Isabella. No matter what happens. Now can we put this behind us?"
"Yes...I'd like than very much! I love you, Mizik!"
"I...love you...too...gah..."
As I spoke, I felt an incredible piercing pain in my skull.
I had to stop for a moment as I felt like my head was ready to explode... I could swear I almost started foaming at the mouth...
"A-are you okay!? Mizik!? What was that sound!?!?"
"S-sound...?"
"Mizik...as soon as you said you loved me, there was a loud roaring noise and static... Was that the curse!? It looked like it hurt a lot..."
"Yeah...it felt like my head was going to explode... This is why I haven't been showing much emotion..."
"You made Mizik hurt! Don't do that, Sister! Mizik, can I massage your shoulders!? If I kiss it, will that make it better!? I can do other things for you, too...ehehe..."
"Cassandra, please stop... That won't help...and be nice to Isabella."
"I will do my best! I love you, Isabella! You're my wonderful sister!"
"Ehm...I love you too, Cassandra. I'm really sorry about before... With how we grew up..."
"It's okay! I have Mizik to make the pain and the loneliness go away now! That's all I could ever want and need!"
"This is why I don't bother to stop her, Isabella. You can't win. She's impossible."
"Then...I'll just have to try harder!"
After that, Isabella wrapped her arm around mine and dried her tears.
It seemed like she began fighting harder to stay in control and walked very closely to me.
Besides the dull pain in my head...I didn't mind this at all.
* * *
Later that night, we discussed what Cassandra's reward would be. After much protesting from Isabella, it was agreed...since I was a man of my word... That Cassandra would sleep with me that night while being held in my arms.
I dreaded this because of my past trauma.
But the main reason I agreed to it was because I needed to get past that. Even if I trusted Cassandra to be absolutely loyal, part of me couldn't help but look over my shoulder in paranoia sometimes.
Besides...despite her obsession for me, it was easy to see that Cassandra truly wanted nothing more than to be loved.
Specifically by me...
However, I wasn't in a position to give her that love. But the more she chased after me this way, the more I just...felt bad for her...
She pushed everyone away in Avernia because her mother's poisonous ideals warped her mind... She felt alone...like the forgotten second sister. She took to hurting others to relieve the pain but it only did her more harm than good.
Lastly, when she did fall in love with someone, the pride and ideals groomed by her toxic mother caused her to do something truly horrible to them...to me.
And once she was taken by the Corruption, she was subjected to horrifying torture beyond anything she ever inflicted on me. She would have gone completely insane if not for the hope that I would save her.
And once the day finally came that she saw me again on Ignitus, she did everything she could to be my ally.
All while fighting against us out of desperation to ensure that she wouldn't simply be thrown away and abandoned in complete darkness forever...
These thoughts echoed in my mind as I lay in our sleeping bag with Cassandra silently breathing on my chest.
When I thought about the things she did to me, I felt angry... But it happened so long ago that I was strangely not bothered by it anymore.
I no longer had room in my heart for such a grudge. I only wanted to kill Difar at this point.
The only remaining emotion was fear. And even that was now fading quickly.
Besides...
She was crying in her sleep.
Tears continued to stream down her face slowly as she lay there on me. She had a deep regret about her actions and only wanted to atone for it.
If not for my current situation with Isabella, I might've even considered giving Cassandra what she wanted... But I refused to betray Isabella.
Instead, I would remain as a close friend. A silent watcher over her.
And at the same time, whenever she asked, I would always give the same answer.
"I forgive you," I whispered quietly.
At that moment, I felt her clutching my shirt as she started shaking.
"Why...? How can you be so merciful...? How can you forgive a monster like me...?" She whimpered.
"Like I said, you've suffered enough. Besides, you're not all that bad. I'm...glad you're here..." I said hesitantly.
I could feel the pain in my head slowly increase just before fading again.
Cassandra silently wept on my chest.
"Thank you... Thank you so much, Mizik... I'll follow you forever... I swear it."
"Good. I'll be expecting your help."
She nodded and adjusted herself.
At the same time, several of her clones appeared around us and some spread out around the camp.
"Just for tonight, since I'll be staying out til morning, you sleep too. My darling is very tired and deserves a proper rest. We don't need to keep watch," Cassandra said.
"Alright," I said.
I was somewhat concerned that Akari would still try something while I slept, but I was also certain that Cassandra had a plan for that.
Her clones looked ready to kill anything that touched us. They also looked...envious...?
"Are you...sure you don't hate me...?" Cassandra asked.
"I don't. Really. It happened a long time ago. You weren't thinking clearly and you've obviously repented of your actions. Don't let it bother you so much," I said.
"That's...difficult... I hurt the one I love more than anything... I can't live with myself..."
"Do it for me, then. Move past your sin. You're forgiven, Cassandra. I'll say it as many times as I have to."
Cassandra began silently crying again as she buried her face in my chest.
"You're so kind... I don't deserve it... But thank you, darling! Thank you so much, Mizik! I'll make it my life's goal to make you happy! I'll make you happy and protect that happiness!" Cassandra said.
"Thank you."
I couldn't say much else. But...
One of the clones leaned down next to me and looked closely.
"Uwaaa...Lady Cassandra is so lucky..." She said.
They talk!?
Upon closer inspection, I could see that these clones didn't have the mole on their faces. They were truly clones of the original Cassandra.
Then the rest of the clones sat down and scooted close.
As weird as it felt to be surrounded by them, I was comforted by the feeling of being protected...on top of being slightly creeped out.
But I had to get over that fear.
Once I had finally relaxed, I placed my hand gently around Cassandra as I closed my eyes.
We hadn't slept since the night before the mansion incident, so I was very tired.
I hope Isabella understands. It's not that I want to betray her, but Cassandra deserves to be happy, too. Even if I can't fulfill her greatest desire, I'll still do whatever I can to make her happy.