Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!-Chapter 573: Therapy Session

Seeing Joy bow so deeply, her forehead pressed to the cold floor before a vampire she had moments ago tried to slay, Carmela was so utterly baffled and shocked that she didn’t even know what to say.

Her crimson eyes widened, her lips parted slightly, and instinctively she pulled her legs back from where they had been resting on the edge of the chair.

Not out of fear, but out of sheer, overwhelming disconfusion.

This made no sense. None of it did.

Meanwhile, Cassius blinked once, twice, utterly baffled.

"Hold on—hold on, Joy, what are you doing?"

He said quickly, standing up halfway from his seat.

"There’s no need for you to bow down like that. I understand you were the one who struck first, and I understand why it happened."

"But let’s not pretend Carmela would’ve done anything different if she’d seen you first. It was just a misunderstanding. No one’s blaming you."

He rubbed his neck awkwardly, giving Carmela a side glance. "So really, you don’t have to—"

But before he could finish, Joy’s muffled voice came from the floor.

"I’m not bowing because of that."

Her words silenced him instantly.

"I’m not asking forgiveness for a misunderstanding." She continued.

"That part...was inevitable. There was confusion, and no one was truly at fault. Even she knows that, I’m sure."

Her hands pressed against the floor as she lifted her head slightly.

"And the one I am bowing to is not even the woman in front of me...But the vampire."

Carmela stiffened.

"I bow...." Joy said, her voice thick with emotion. "...to her kind. To the remnants of a race my Church annihilated."

Cassius froze where he stood. And Joy continued, every word trembling yet strong:

"I apologize on behalf of the entire Church for what was done to you and your people. For the crimes committed in the name of the Goddess. For the fires that burned your homes, the blades that cut down your families, the chains that bound your children."

Her fists clenched tightly on the ground.

"For centuries the Church used the Goddess’s name to justify its greed. They took Her divine words—words meant to guide and protect—and twisted them into weapons. They turned her mercy into cruelty, her light into fire, and her love into war."

Her voice cracked slightly, but she didn’t stop.

"The Goddess never commanded such horror. She never wished for the vampires to be purged."

"It was human greed—ambition, pride, and fear—that drove it. The High Priests of the time used divine authority to mask their lust for power. And because of their sins, your entire race was hunted to extinction."

She finally looked up, her eyes solemn and fierce like she herself was angry for what happened.

"For that, I offer my deepest apology. I know this can’t undo the past, nor heal the pain. But as the Saintess chosen by the Goddess herself, I cannot ignore the truth any longer."

"I owe your race this apology...and I will stand by it even if the Church goes against it."

Carmela sat motionless, her expression blank.

She had lived long enough to hear countless excuses, hollow apologies, and hypocritical prayers.

Whenever the massacres of her kind were brought up, people always looked away.

Nobles called it ’a tragedy of history."’

Priests said, ’It was God’s will.’

Others denied it entirely, unwilling to taint their faith by admitting that the very Church they worshipped had bathed in innocent blood.

She’d even confronted bishops before—demanded answers—and they’d laughed in her face.

"Your kind were demons." They’d said. "You deserved every death you got."

And then she’d killed them herself, watching the life fade from their lying eyes.

But now, for the first time in years, someone—and not just anyone, but the Saintess herself—was kneeling before her, speaking openly against the Church, and apologizing for it.

It was surreal.

Carmela didn’t even know what to feel—anger, disbelief, gratitude—everything blurred into an emotion she couldn’t name.

Cassius himself stood silent, watching the scene with something flickering behind his calm expression—solemn respect.

And Joy, still bowed low, slowly lifted her head just enough that her gaze could meet Carmela’s.

The vampire’s face was pale, her crimson eyes wide with shock, sorrow, and something softer that she could not name.

Joy studied that expression for a long moment, then spoke again, her voice quieter now.

"Now that I think about it...this apology is too...ungenuine."

Carmela stiffened. Cassius frowned.

Joy continued, her tone growing firmer, more resolute.

"Even if I am on the ground, even if I bow until my forehead bruises...it does not make up for what has happened in the past. Words alone are hollow."

"And as the one chosen by the Goddess, as the one responsible for cleaning up the mistakes committed in her name, I cannot allow a mere verbal apology to stand as restitution.

"Only when proper sacrifice has been shown can a true apology be reached."

Cassius’s brow furrowed. "Joy, what are you—"

But Joy was no longer listening.

And then for some reason, she raised her right hand and pressed it gently over her left eye, then switched to cover her right, as though testing her vision, confirming something only she could see.

And before either of them could process what she meant, Joy’s hand reached down to her waist.

A glint of silver flashed in the dim light.

Her dagger.

Cassius’s expression instantly changed.

"Joy, wait—"

But before he could take a single step, she had already lifted the blade.

Not toward Carmela. Not toward anyone else.

She actually...pointed it toward herself.

The tip hovered dangerously close to her eye.

Her hand did not tremble and her expression remained serene, almost detached, as though she were performing a sacred rite rather than an act of self-mutilation.

"The only recompense I can truly offer..." She said quietly, her voice steady and solemn. "...is the same cruelty the Church once inflicted upon your kind."

"In the name of honor, in the name of slaying demons, they plucked out the eyes of countless vampires—blinding them and letting them bleed out, claiming it prevented evil from seeing the light of the Goddess ever again."

She shifted the dagger fractionally closer, the point now less than an inch from her eyelid.

"But I still have duties left. I can’t remove both. I’ll leave one—my left eye. The right has always been sharper, more favored by me. It’s only fair I offer the one I’ve trusted most."

And without another word, she pushed the dagger forward.

Carmela’s body jolted—

But before the blade even grazed her skin—the dagger vanished from Joy’s hand.

"...Huh?"

She turned her head swiftly, and there stood Cassius, holding the blade loosely between two fingers, a profoundly tired expression on his face.

He dragged his free hand down his cheek as though trying to wipe away the sheer absurdity of the night.

"Just what the hell is going on here?" He finally muttered, voice thick with exhaustion.

He then fixed Joy with a long, exasperated stare.

"Why the hell are you doing the exact same damn thing I did?" He shook his head. "You’ve gone and copied the technique, haven’t you? Dramatic self-sacrifice to prove your point—classic move."

"And not to mention, first she—" He jerked his thumb toward Carmela. "—tries to stab her own throat, you try to gouge out your eye, and I’ve already plucked out both of mine once."

"Wonderful. Just wonderful."

"Looks like we’ve officially formed the self-harm squad. Fantastic teamwork, really."

Joy frowned, confusion flickering across her face at his words, but her resolve quickly returned.

"Give me my dagger back." She said firmly. "I have to make proper reparations. I cannot leave this debt unpaid. I just said—"

Cassius cut her off with a weary wave of his hand.

"There’s no need for you to do something like that." He said, voice calm but unyielding. "No one here wants to watch you gouge your own eye out and turn my office into a bloody mess."

He turned toward the vampire, raising a brow.

"...Isn’t that right, Carmela?"

Joy turned as well and for a silent moment, the two women simply stared at each other.

But Carmela wasn’t just looking but she was searching for even the faintest sign of deceit.

But there was none.

No manipulation, no performative guilt, no saintly pretense.

Only raw, genuine remorse.

She could see that Joy wasn’t apologizing to ease her conscience—she truly carried the burden of her Church’s sins, heavy enough that she’d rather blind herself than bear it untouched.

And Carmela, who had every reason to hate her, suddenly found herself unable to.

Because her purpose—her vengeance—had always been for those who used ideologies to push forth their own ambitions.

But here was a woman doing the opposite: condemning her own Church, bowing, pleading for forgiveness for crimes she didn’t commit.

Carmela felt something crack inside her chest—something old and armored. She couldn’t bring herself to hate this woman.

Not tonight.

So, she looked away first, folding her arms tightly across her chest.

"You’ve...done enough."

She said at last, her voice low, almost reluctant.

"I don’t need your eye. I don’t need anything like that."

Joy’s brow furrowed. "But—"

"I said." Carmela interrupted. "I don’t need your eyes. I have absolutely no use for them."

"You’ve already done more than anyone else ever would. Just...get up already. It’s weird seeing a Saintess kneel like that."

For a moment, Joy simply stared at her. The vampire who once looked ready to rip her throat out now spoke with restrained annoyance, not hatred.

But she nodded slowly.

"The offer remains open." She said quietly. "Whenever you wish it."

"Oh for heaven’s sake." Cassius groaned. "Stop talking about trading body parts!"

Joy ignored him, rising gracefully to her feet and sitting herself back down, tucking the hem of her robe neatly beneath her knees.

Carmela sat opposite, crossing one leg over the other, arms folded, still pretending she didn’t care.

And the moment both women were seated again, a heavy, awkward silence settled over the room.

Only moments ago they had been trying to kill each other.

Now, after confessions, apologies, and near-self-blinding, the air felt strangely fragile like the aftermath of a storm between old friends who had fought and made up, but no one quite knew how to bridge the quiet that followed.

Cassius, caught in the middle of it all, simply smiled—a small, knowing curve of his lips.

"This..." He said lightly. "...is why therapy is such a good thing. Why communication matters. As long as we talk things out, we’re stronger than any fight or battle."

"This just shows we can always find a peaceful solution without blood being lost."

He spread his hands, grinning.

"I mean, look at us—we’ve all become friends now, haven’t we?"

Both Carmela and Joy turned their heads slowly toward him.

And glared.

Twin glares of pure, unified disdain—as if he had just suggested something utterly absurd. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Cassius’s grin faltered slightly. "...Right. Noted."

He then sighed dramatically, leaning back.

"Anyway, I’m just glad you two aren’t trying to murder each other anymore. That’s absolutely necessary for what I had planned. There’s no way it would work if you were still at each other’s throats."

Both women’s attention snapped to him.

"What are you talking about?" Carmela narrowed her eyes. "What exactly are you planning right now?"

Joy folded her arms, voice cool and resolute.

"I have no intention of going along with whatever scheme you’re cooking up. Just because you’re hiding your strength—because you may be more powerful than me, doesn’t mean I’ll give up on you or cower."

"I will pursue you to the ends of the earth if I must."

"Sure, sure, do whatever you want."

Cassius waved a lazy hand, utterly nonchalant.

"Pursue away. I don’t mind."

Then his expression shifted into something serious and concerned as he looked between them.

"But first...I know both of you have sustained some pretty major injuries tonight."

He turned to Carmela.

"Carmela, you’re carrying severe internal damage. Drinking all that sacrificial blood, becoming the Progenitor even for a moment—it overburdened your body terribly."

"You’ve been silently suffering this whole time, haven’t you?"

Carmela flinched, but she didn’t deny it.

Cassius then turned to Joy.

"And you, Joy—you tried to sneak a peek into my soul earlier, didn’t you? Got a nice dose of divine retribution for your trouble. Your soul’s wounded now and I’m sure it hurts in its own quiet way."

Joy’s lips pressed into a thin line, but again, no denial.

Cassius grinned, eyes glinting before saying,

"Luckily, I have the perfect solution."

He spread his arms dramatically.

"Let me properly introduce you two—again."

He gestured grandly, first toward Carmela.

"This is Carmela—likely the last pureblood vampire left in the world and almost certainly the strongest soul-mender in the current age."

Then he pointed to Joy.

"And this is Joy—Saintess of the Church, chosen vessel of the Goddess, and without question the strongest physical and spiritual healer of our age."

He clasped his hands together with enthusiasm.

"So, I think you understand what I’m trying to say!"

"You heal her soul, she heals your body."

"Perfect teamwork. What do you say?"

Carmela and Joy looked at him...then at each other...

And in unison, they both said flatly,

"No."

Cassius sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Hmm...Therapy clearly isn’t working enough."