Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!-Chapter 504: Oh, Just Another Hallucination

Beneath a tree that was just beginning to blossom near the edge of the massive crystal-blue lake which the Leviathan once terrorised, the gentle rustle of petals carried softly in the air.

From a distance, it looked almost idyllic—sunlight flickering between the branches, pink and white flowers drifting down onto the grass.

But then, from beneath the tree’s trunk, a long snake’s tail lazily flicked into view, curling and uncoiling in the grass and for anyone passing by, it would have seemed as though a massive serpent had made its nest there.

In truth, it was no wild beast.

It was Nala.

Her white tail lay sprawled behind her as she leaned her back against the trunk, a thoughtful frown etched across her delicate features.

And right now, in her hands was a delicate white flower. She plucked one petal after another with grim determination, muttering to herself in a deadly serious tone:

"I am pregnant. I am not pregnant. I am pregnant. I am not pregnant..."

Her expression was as focused as if she were performing a sacred ritual. Each petal seemed to hold the fate of her entire world.

"I am pregnant." She said again, her brow furrowing as she reached the last few petals. "I am not pregnant. I am pregnant..."

Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. Her breathing quickened, her tail swishing nervously in the grass.

"I am not pregnant. I am pregnant—no, please be pregnant—" She whispered feverishly, gripping the stem tighter.

Finally, she plucked the last petal.

"I am...not pregnant."

Her face fell flat. Then, in an instant, she threw the flower into the air with both hands and shouted at the heavens,

"NOOO! WHY?! WHY, WHY, WHY?!"

The cry startled a few birds from the branches above, scattering petals through the air.

"Why does it always end like this?!" She slumped down dramatically, glaring up at the sky with tearful eyes. "Every time, it’s ’not pregnant!’ What did I ever do to deserve this?!"

Her voice grew louder with each word as she waved her hands angrily.

"It’s not fair! It’s not fair at all!"

Her tail thrashed, thumping against the ground, sending leaves flying.

"I swear, every single time I do this, the result’s the same!" She whined. "It’s like the universe is conspiring against me! Do you hate me that much, huh?!"

Nala stared up at the sky in despair, looking for an answer from some unseen deity. None came.

"Ugh, unbelievable." She groaned loudly, throwing her head back against the tree. "This is, what, the eighth flower today?"

Her voice cracked, and for a moment her eyes glistened with tears. But then she shook her head furiously, slapping her own cheeks lightly.

"No, Nala. No, no, no, you can’t cry again!" She scolded herself. "You have to stay strong! You’re not giving up that easily. If the flowers say no, then you’ll just make it a yes!"

Determination flared in her eyes as she leaned to her side and pulled out a small woven basket that had been sitting beside her.

Inside it were the strangest collection of items imaginable: a few spotted berries, a shriveled mushroom that looked suspiciously poisonous, and some withered grass bundled together.

She stared at them nervously.

"Grandma told me these would work..." She muttered to herself. "She said these are traditional remedies from the old days—stuff the women in the village used when they wanted to have a baby."

She picked up one of the mushrooms, sniffed it, and instantly winced.

"Ugh...she also said they work best when eaten raw."

Nala hesitated. Her eyes flicked between the ingredients and her belly.

Then she clenched her fist.

"No, I can’t back down now. I want that baby. There’s no way I’m giving up! If this works, then maybe...maybe Cassius will come back. Maybe he’ll—"

She froze for a second, realizing what she was saying, then huffed and crossed her arms.

"It’s not like I’m doing this for him!" She muttered under her breath. "I just want a baby. That’s all. Just a baby."

Still, she stared at the ingredients for a long moment before groaning and grabbing them all at once.

"Alright. Here goes nothing!"

And before her rational mind could stop her, she shoved the entire handful into her mouth.

The instant the mixture hit her tongue, her eyes bulged.

"MMMFFF! BLEHHH!"

The taste was beyond horrible—like rotten dirt mixed with bitter iron and something that had been dead for weeks. She gagged, grabbing her throat, her tail flailing wildly behind her as she tried not to vomit.

"Oh god, oh god, it’s so bad!" She choked, her cheeks puffed out, but she forced herself to keep chewing. "I can’t—no, Nala, you have to! You have to chew!"

Her eyes watered as she powered through, making strained noises the entire time.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she swallowed it all down with a loud gulp.

"Uuugh!" She groaned, slapping her chest. "That was worse than poison..."

She sat there breathing heavily, tears running down her cheeks from the sheer bitterness, then tilted her head back, gazing at the clouds drifting by.

"Cassius..." She murmured softly, his name slipping from her lips almost instinctively.

The sound of it made her freeze. Her expression hardened, and she frowned deeply.

"Why...Why am I even thinking about him right now?" She whispered. "That idiot left me behind. He didn’t even say goodbye. I should hate him. I should hate him!"

Her tail lashed the grass, the end flicking angrily.

But as she said it, a small, melancholy smile crept onto her face.

"But I can’t, can I?" She said quietly, staring down at her hands. "Even now...I still love him."

Her voice softened, trembling slightly.

"I think about him every day. Every night. Even when I try not to."

"Sometimes I even think I see him standing in front of me." She chuckled bitterly. "I’ll be walking home, and I’ll swear I can feel his eyes watching me, or his voice calling out my name...but when I turn around..." She waved her hand dismissively. "...there’s nothing there. Just my imagination."

She gave a weak laugh, resting her head against the tree.

"Hah...I’m hopeless, aren’t I? Lovesick to the point of hallucinations. How pathetic."

Her tail curled tightly around her as she hugged her knees close to her chest.

Ever since Cassius had vanished, Nala’s existence was governed by two alternating moods.

She was either consumed by genuine sadness and profound depression, her thoughts orbiting endlessly around Cassius’s absence.

Or she was meticulously performing a bright, cheerful demeanor, a brittle shield erected to prevent others from recognizing the depth of her sorrow.

She was constantly hiding, perpetually oscillating between these two exhausting emotional states.

All the while, she continued her routine of desperate hope, visiting every temple she could find in the surrounding area, offering fervent prayers that the child she carried—his child—would soon begin to grow visibly in her belly, a concrete sign of his promised return.

Grandma Wanda was also acutely aware of Nala’s distress and knew that something was deeply amiss. Yet, unlike Nala, she held onto a quiet, unshakable belief in him.

She was convinced that Cassius would eventually keep his word and come back.

Because of this belief, she did not attempt to interfere or restrain Nala, instead allowing her to roam the village freely and pursue her own path of grieving and hoping like she was doing now.

And now, Nala’s eyes drifted toward the water, toward that one spot where she and Cassius had once sat side by side, fishing together.

She could still remember it so vividly: his lazy grin, the way he teased her for being too impatient, how he had fallen into the lake trying to grab a fish with his bare hands while she laughed so hard she cried.

That memory, instead of warming her heart, made it ache. Her throat tightened, and she quickly blinked the tears away.

"No." She whispered to herself, shaking her head fiercely. "No, Nala, stop it. You’ll just make yourself cry again."

With a sudden burst of resolve, she pushed herself upright, brushing away the grass clinging to her scales. She didn’t want to sit there and drown in sadness anymore.

So she turned away from the lake and began to slither off, her tail brushing through the petals.

But the further she went, the more her thoughts tangled.

’It’s his fault.’ She thought bitterly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. ’All of this is his fault.’

She sniffled.

"If he hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t be like this. I wouldn’t be feeling all these stupid, awful things..."

Her voice wavered as she continued muttering, almost arguing with herself.

"If he didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be sad. I wouldn’t..."

But then, her voice softened, breaking just slightly.

"But...if he didn’t exist...then I never would’ve known what it felt like to love someone."

Her tail slowed, and she looked down at her trembling hands.

"Even if I lost him...even if it hurts this much...I still think I’d rather have met him than live a life without him."

"I’m pathetic, aren’t I?" She gave a soft, broken laugh before moving on.

But as she slithered through the forest path back toward the village, she suddenly found herself stopping at a familiar clearing.

The sunlight spilled through the trees, illuminating a wide patch of earth—the very place where she had met him.

The night she had faced Leviathan. The night Cassius had saved her.

Her chest tightened as the memory washed over her. She could still see it—the fierce fire in his eyes, the reckless way he’d thrown himself in front of her, the way he’d smiled even when he was bleeding.

A small, wistful smile tugged at her lips as she whispered.

"You were standing right here..."

She brushed her fingers gently through the dirt, right where he had once stood, and sighed.

"You protected me...and then you faked your death, you infuriating idiot."

She shook her head, ready to turn away—when she froze.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Because standing right there, in that same spot, illuminated by the golden light filtering through the trees was Cassius.

At first, her heart simply stopped. He was standing with that same smile, his eyes warm and soft, looking right at her.

Her tail trembled, her lips parted as she muttered,

"...Cassius?"

Her heart began to race so fast she could barely breathe.

But then—her expression faltered, and she quickly forced a small, shaky smile.

"Oh...I see."

She exhaled deeply and rubbed her eyes.

"Another hallucination. Of course."

Still, she slithered closer anyway.

She couldn’t help it.

She’d seen him so many times in her mind these past few days, always so clear, always so rea and even though she knew it was simply her own mind playing tricks, she fell for it every time just to see his face for another second.