Chapter 64: Dine Delivered
Chapter 64: Dine Delivered
"Shit... I should've done more..." Cassian muttered, his voice filled with regret as he pumped out pushups, part of the daily tasks given by the system. His muscles tensed, but his mind was somewhere else—specifically, back on last night.
He regretted falling asleep after rubbing himself against Katherine's soft buttocks. Guilt had consumed him in the moment, but now, a different kind of regret gnawed at him. He didn't know when he'd get another chance like that again. What's worse, Katherine hadn't even asked for her usual morning massage, something she'd been doing more often recently.
Now, she was in the bathroom, bathing, and the thought of sneaking a peek crossed his mind. It would definitely ease the regret of not going further last night. But then reality hit him—at night, she had been asleep, and if she woke up, he had the perfect excuse of just massaging her as she'd ordered. Now?
Now there'd be nothing but death awaiting him if he was caught spying on the duchess's daughter bathing. Still, the temptation lingered in his thoughts, and Cassian cursed his own restraint.
That's exactly why Cassian chose to tackle the most exhausting task first—two hundred pushups. As his strength grew, the daily tasks became more difficult, yet he was pushing through. The progress was slower now compared to when he first started, but it was still noticeable enough to keep him motivated.
Another reason he kept going was the system's status screen, a constant reminder of his improvements. Seeing his stats rise, no matter how gradually, gave him the drive to continue. After all, when you can visibly track your growth, it's easier to stay focused and determined.
[Name : Trainee Cassian ven dyke
Warrior level : trainee
Attributes:
Strength: 14
Agility: 10
Endurance: 17
Intelligence: 14
Dexterity: 12
Vitality: 9 ]
[System function : Training field (available)
[Skills:
Cleaning: Adept
Swords mastery : Novice Lv1
Lower Body Massage Mastery. : Lv1(323/500) ]
But that was about all Cassian found useful from the system. Aside from occasionally summoning a shadow to spar with him, it hadn't offered much else. Sure, it helped him learn those massage techniques, which allowed him to do perverted things under the guise of helping, but beyond that, it hadn't done much. Now that he thought about it, Cassian found himself growing more curious.
As he finished his pushups, the system chimed in:
[Daily Task: 200 Pushups Completed]
"Hey, system," he asked, wiping sweat from his forehead, "what's going on with that 'skill in development' thing? Isn't it done yet?"
As usual, no response came. Cassian sighed, standing up and opening his status screen again, glancing over his stats in frustration.
His endurance had increased by two points, marking the most significant improvement since he left the castle. Alongside that, he noticed changes in two stats: dexterity and something else that caught him by surprise. All the moves and skills he had learned had been consolidated into one category, which left him a bit frustrated; it made tracking his progress more challenging.
However, he understood why the system had done it. Most of the skills had almost reached A-rank, so it made sense that he had become a novice in them. What annoyed him more was that the system had retained the cleaning skill and ranked it according to whatever criteria it used for mastery.
On a positive note, he had made considerable progress in his massage training skills, now more than halfway to leveling up. He was looking forward to achieving that, as it might open up opportunities for more action than he experienced the previous night.
*knock knock*
As Cassian contemplated how to create more opportunities like the last time with Lady Katherine, a knock sounded at the door. He muttered, somewhat confused, "Is it the inn's staff?"
Cautiously, he opened the door to find a man dressed in rather unusual clothing standing before him. The man wore a bright orange shirt and pants emblazoned with a logo that resembled a steaming bowl of soup, beneath which the words "Dine Delivered" were printed. He held a cloth bag filled with dishes, the enticing aroma wafting from it confirming Cassian's suspicions about the contents.
As the man smiled and looked at Cassian, he returned the gaze. Cassian couldn't help but notice a peculiar detail about the man's face. He was an otherwise forgettable middle-aged man, but one striking feature stood out: one of his eyes was completely white, which made Cassian felt bit unsettled in his stomach. Keep reading on m,vl-em|p-yr
"Are you Mr. Cassian?" the man asked, still smiling.
Cassian hesitated, unsure whether to answer yes or no. Only two people knew his name—Julius and Katherine—so how could this man possibly know? However, he chose to respond truthfully, nodding slightly. "Yes, why do you ask?"
"Did you place the home delivery order for breakfast from Rosy's Morning Kitchen?" the man inquired, maintaining his smile. Cassian's attention was drawn back to the man's unnerving white eye, which seemed to distort his grin slightly. Noticing the change in the man's expression, Cassian looked away, about to deny the order when Katherine emerged from the bathroom.
"Who is at the door, Cassian?" she asked, her voice light and curious.
Cassian turned back to her, captivated. She was now fully dressed, her hair wrapped in a towel as she tilted her head back to dry it, exposing her flawless white neck, which glistened with droplets of water. Suddenly, she flipped her hair to the other side, sending a rain of rosy-scented water onto Cassian's face. He was momentarily entranced by her beauty, causing her to repeat her question.
"I asked who is at the door?"
Cassian finally snapped out of his trance and replied, "It's a some home delivery guy, my lady." He glanced back at the man, assessing him from top to bottom before continuing, "He has some food for us, and for some reason, he knows my name."
"I ordered that," Katherine said with a smile, turning to check her reflection in the small mirror beside the bed.
Still feeling a bit confused, Cassian reached for the food. The delivery person, still wearing a strained smile, said, "That will be 75 bronze coins, sir."
Cassian nodded and pulled out the silver coin he had left from yesterday's purchase. "Keep the rest," he said.