Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 270: Chapter 270: Twins

Chapter 270 – Twins

The room was just a simple meeting space. The floor was carpeted with strange golden feathers packed together, surprisingly comfortable underfoot, while the walls were a mix of black and gold.

Paintings adorned them, each made of ink that still glowed as if freshly applied.

From the ceiling hung a luxurious chandelier shaped like the open maw of a golden lion.

And just beneath it sat a table of gold, ringed by a throne on one side, with two luxurious chairs facing it.

Cassius sat on the throne, elbow on the golden table, looking at the Twins across from him.

They were fidgeting, clearly unused to this much luxury.

’That’s Meadow for you.’

”Sorry...” Awa whispered suddenly, breaking the silence. Her voice was hoarse; not the beautiful hoarseness of Aurora’s voice, Cassius noted, but the kind that came from crying far too much.

Cassius lifted his head at the sound, fixing his crimson eyes on her, waiting patiently for the question he sensed coming.

”...where’s Miss Wealth? Wasn’t she the one who...gave us the task?”

Hesitant, fearful, deeply anxious.

Those were the feelings coating the twins from every angle, though Aminata’s silver eyes carried a cold edge behind them.

Cassius spared her a glance, lingering a moment longer than necessary, taking note of her body language shifting into something more guarded.

He smiled innocently and turned back to Awa, having marked her as the more reasonable of the two.

”Meadow’s busy.” He said, his tone soft but firm, ”She’s preparing for her auction tomorrow. That’s why she asked me to meet you instead. She’s a friend of mine.”

”Oh.” Awa made a sound of understanding, then, with an embarrassed smile, ”...so you...you have the money, right? I’m sorry, it’s not that I doubt you! But—!”

”I understand your concerns.” Cassius cut off the rambling, setting a Bank Card from the Wealth Bank on the table.

The highest tier card, reserved only for those earning 1,000,000 SN a month.

Something neither Aminata nor Awa had ever seen before.

They relaxed almost instantly, their smiles widening a bit.

”Show me what you have, then.” Cassius said.

They exchanged a glance, nodded, and complied, summoning three vials and setting them on the table before him.

The one on the right held a shimmering red liquid; the middle, black with blue light burning inside it; and the last, a shifting mix of gold and silver light that seemed to blend and separate at once.

Awa, as usual, took the lead, ”These are our three most successful creations.” She said, a note of pride in her voice, ”We weren’t supposed to sell them.”

”You mean you developed the formulas yourselves?” Cassius asked, genuinely impressed.

It was well known in the Game that their alchemical talent was extraordinary, but seeing it firsthand was different.

Creating an entirely new formula was harder than almost anything else.

’And they did it as second-years.’ Cassius shook his head inwardly, ’Heroines really do have it unfair.’

”Yes, we did.” Awa nodded. She pointed to the first potion, ”This one’s called the Red Bird Potion. We were inspired by our own longing to one day fly freely through the sky.”

Aminata snapped her head toward her sister, expression tight, ”You didn’t have to say that!” She hissed under her breath.

Awa ignored her. Her eyes stayed fixed on Cassius, who was looking at her as though she were the only person in the room...or even the world.

His crimson eyes burned redder than the potion, flickering like fire against a pale sky.

”And what does it do?” He asked eagerly, urging her on.

Seeing his genuine interest in their work, Awa found herself slowly slipping free of the fear and despair that had clung to her since yesterday.

Even Aminata was surprised. She hadn’t expected such a reaction from someone like Cassius.

”It grants crimson wings made of flame particles!” Awa said excitedly, ”I’ll admit the duration’s still short — only 3 minutes — but we’re working on extending it. You can fly with it, even if you’ve never flown before.”

”That sounds fascinating. Does it consume essence?”

”That’s the incredible part!” Awa nodded, nearly bouncing to her feet, ”No essence needed! And if you’re clever, you can even attack with it!”

”And protect yourself.” Aminata added, chiming in as she slowly came out of her shell too.

”From what you’ve told me, the only downside is the time limit?” Cassius asked.

”Yes! And even that, we’re working on it.”

”That’s certainly a useful potion. What about this one?” He pointed at the second vial.

This time, Aminata spoke before Awa, the mole under her eye and her short blue hair standing in contrast to her sister’s long hair.

”This one is practically my own invention.” She said, taking the black-and-blue potion in her bandaged hands, ”Far in the north, there’s a monster called the Black Mockingbird. Its venom is lethal as it freezes the blood from the inside.”

She pushed the vial closer to his face, ”This potion does the same. Force someone to drink it, and it freezes them from within. But it’s only Tier 6, so it’s limited.”

”Lethally interesting.” Cassius praised, stroking his chin thoughtfully, ”but I have a question.”

”Ask away.” Aminata said instantly, nodding.

”Is there any way to gain immunity to it, or even have your own blood carry the same effect after ingesting it?”

”Huh...” Aminata’s expression turned troubled; she’d never considered that possibility.

The answer was obviously no. Still, she was reluctant to admit it.

So she forced a confident smile and nodded, ”Not this version...but I could make one. I can create that potion.”

Awa looked at her sister, frowning, ”What are you—!”

”Shut up.” She hissed, silencing her.

Cassius smiled sweetly, ”I don’t doubt you can. If you’re capable of turning something only biologically possible into a potion anyone could use, with your own two hands,” his eyes crinkled with the smile, ”then I have no doubt you can do exactly what you just said.”

Aminata’s heart thudded, caught off guard by Cassius’s sincerity.

She’d always known Angel was an unusual kind of noble, an unusual Desdemona. But the more they talked, the more that impression proved true.

Excited, they went on to explain the last potion.

It was the simplest of the three, and yet the one that caught Cassius’s attention most.

”It’s an ink.” Awa said, and Aminata continued, ”a magical ink infused with properties of fire, ice, and earth. Use it in runes, and they naturally take on those attributes.”

”Impressive.” He said sincerely, leaning in to examine it, ”The two of you are absurdly talented. How did you get this good at alchemy?”

Awa and Aminata exchanged a small, faint smile.

”We do it every day.” Awa whispered.

”And we need the money.” Aminata added.

And that was all Cassius needed to understand exactly how they’d become so skilled.

Natural talent, paired with discipline and desperation. Anyone with that combination could achieve great things.

Just like the Faye Twins had.

”I understand.” Cassius said, leaning back comfortably in his chair, ”I’m interested. And I’m sure Meadow would be too.”

Their eyes lit up.

”And based on the price we proposed, all three potions and their formulas would sell for 102 million SN.” He said, ”Is that right?”

”Oh, yes, yes.” They said in unison, still stunned by the sum.

The twins had always known selling the formulas outright would be more lucrative. But as the creators, they’d wanted to keep the formulas for themselves and only sell the potions.

They’d wanted the monopoly.

But brewing the potions wasn’t guaranteed to succeed every time, and the ingredients were costly.

They were severely limited, making it hard to turn real profit from their gift.

Still, they hadn’t given in to the temptation of selling the formulas.

Until now.

They had no choice but to hand over hundreds of trials and errors, all for a sum they wouldn’t even get to use themselves.

Worse still, they still needed 7 million more to cover the debt. And they had no other formula left to sell.

Slowly, like a predator closing in, despair began creeping back over them.

”If everything looks good,” Cassius said, interrupting their spiraling thoughts, ”let’s move on to payment.”

Aminata and Awa looked at Cassius’s smiling face, remembering how eager and enthusiastic he’d been about their creations.

That reaction gave them hope. Hope that hardened into the courage to push their luck:

”Sorry, Angel.” Awa said, head lowered, fingers fidgeting, ”But please...is there any way we could, um, raise the price?”

”Raise the price?” Cassius echoed, tilting his head.

They tensed further, worried they’d overstepped. But they’d already started.

And this was their only chance.

So Awa steadied herself and continued, Aminata gripping her hand beneath the table.

”The three potions,” Awa murmured, ”could the price go up? We just need 7 million more.”

She looked at him, her eyes growing wet, thinking of her parents’ burden and their bleak future.

”Please. Just 7 million more. We’ll pay it back later.”

”We will, Angel. We promise.” Aminata confirmed, ”We’ll even give you our next formula for free. Just...the price, can you raise it?”

Cassius looked at them both calmly, watching the way they gazed at him with such desperate hope, as though he alone could save them from the nightmare they were living.

What would they think, if they knew he’d caused this very situation?

He smiled innocently, letting the silence linger a moment longer before speaking,

”Only 7 million? I can raise it to 10 million, or even 15, if you’d like.” He said boldly, spending Meadow’s money, ”I just have one small request.”

Aminata and Awa shot up from their seats, hearts pounding so hard it hurt their chests and heads.

”What?” They said together, ”What do you want? Just name it! We’ll do our best!”

”Can I be your first VIP customer?” He asked, with a harmless smile, ”I’ll buy every potion you brew, at the best price. I’ll even sponsor your ingredients, if you run into trouble sourcing them.”

The twins froze, blinked once, twice...wondering if they were dreaming.

”W-Why?” Awa asked, dazed, ”why would you do all this?”

”Why wouldn’t I?” He gestured at the three potions, ”Look at what you’ve created. You’re only 19, and you’ve already achieved what most people never manage in a lifetime. I’d be a fool not to try getting close to future Great Alchemists. So?”

He tilted his head,

”What do you think about having Cassius Desdemona as your sponsor? Trust me, with me, money and resources will never be a problem. But in that case, I have no choice but to ask you for one more thing.”

”And...what’s that?” Awa asked, gripping her sister’s hand even tighter.

Cassius smiled, his voice dropping lower.

”Your loyalty.”

—End of Chapter 270—