Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!-Chapter 636: From Friends To Family

Aqua’s brain stopped functioning.

For a solid five seconds, she just stood there, her mouth slightly open, her eyes completely blank, as if her consciousness had temporarily left her body.

Finally—

"What?"

The word came out weak, barely a whisper.

"What did you just say? I think I must have heard you wrong. There’s no way—"

"No..."

Aisha shook her head, a small smile playing at her lips.

"...you most definitely did not hear me wrong. I’m Cassius’s woman."

Aqua’s mouth fell open.

"I’m his wife." Aisha continued, the words tumbling out now that the dam had broken. "One of his lovers. Whatever you want to call it."

"So, there’s no need for you to introduce me or set up any dates, b-because our relationship is already far beyond that."

She said while her face was burning from the shyness of showing off her love.

She then crossed her arms, trying to look composed despite her burning cheeks and sharply said,

"I honestly don’t know how you don’t know something like this. I thought the whole time you already did."

But even though she said, Aqua couldn’t hear much and instead just stared.

Her eyes were flickering with confusion, her expression frozen in shock.

The gears in her mind were turning, but they weren’t catching—they just kept spinning and spinning without finding any traction.

Cassius and Aisha.

Aisha and Cassius.

Her brother and her best friend.

Together?

The concept was so foreign, so completely outside the realm of anything she had ever considered, that her brain simply refused to process it.

They were opposites. Complete opposites.

Aisha was fiery and aggressive and easily flustered. Cassius was smooth and teasing and charming.

They seemed like they would fight constantly if they were together, like they would drive each other crazy within hours.

To say that they were together—

Aqua couldn’t think.

She just stood there, frozen in place.

Aisha watched her with growing concern, about to ask if she was okay—

And then Aqua snapped out of it.

She stepped forward in one swift motion, grabbed Aisha’s shoulders, and looked her directly in the eyes with an expression of pure, unfiltered exhilaration.

"Is this true?!" She demanded, her eyes wide with exhilaration. "Aisha, is this really true?! Are you telling me right now that you’re my sister-in-law?!"

The word sister-in-law hit Aisha like a physical blow.

Her face went crimson.

But beneath the blush, she nodded hesitantly.

"Yes." She murmured. "I am your sister-in-law, Aqua."

The moment she said it—

Aqua screamed.

"Kyaaa—!"

Not a scared scream. A joyful, ecstatic, absolutely delighted scream.

She threw her arms around Aisha and hugged her with the force of a bear.

"That means you’re family, Aisha!" She exclaimed, her voice muffled against Aisha’s shoulder. "That means you’re actually family! We’re actual family!"

She squeezed tighter, bouncing up and down.

"I mean, I already thought of you as family before! And I was even thinking of making it official by having you marry my brother..."

"...but now you’re telling me it’s already done?!"

She pulled back, gripping Aisha’s shoulders again, her eyes shining with tears of joy.

"I’m so happy right now! I-I’m just so happy! This is the best thing I’ve ever heard!"

She was literally shaking pour Aisha who was feeling dizzy with excitement.

Then she stopped abruptly, her expression shifting to pure curiosity.

"But how?" She finally burst out. "How did this even happen?"

She then went off firing rapid-fire questions.

"Like how did you meet? How did you know you liked him? How did he know that he liked you? What do you like about him? When did it start? Who confessed first? Was it romantic?"

"Tell me everything!"

Aisha, overwhelmed, finally pushed her back.

"I don’t know about any of that!" She protested, her face burning. "Don’t ask me about that stuff!"

She looked away, her expression shifting into something softer, more vulnerable.

Then, quietly, she added,

"All you should know is that I really, really like him. No, love him, ore than anyone else in the world..."

Her voice dropped to barely a whisper.

"....And that’s all there is to say."

The moment Aqua saw that expression on Aisha’s face—that soft, maiden-like, genuinely in love expression—she squealed again.

"Oh my God!" She shrieked. "This is the best day ever! Look at you! Look how adorable you are right now!"

She clutched her hands to her chest, overcome with emotion.

"Who would have thought? Who would have thought that I would see my Aisha—my Aisha, of all people—say that she’s in love with someone else?"

"And that too, my brother of all people?"

She jumped up and down in giddy excitement.

"This really is the best day ever!"

She bounced around for a solid thirty seconds before finally calming down enough to approach Aisha again.

She reached out and took Aisha’s hands, holding them gently.

"Who would have thought..." She repeated softly, lovingly. "...that you of all people would become my sister-in-law?"

Aisha’s blush deepened impossibly further.

"It’s like a dream." Aqua continued, her eyes warm. "I really have to give it to my brother. He’s one hell of a charmer if he even managed to get you as well."

Aisha looked away, embarrassed beyond words.

Aqua chuckled, enjoying the moment.

But then—

A thought entered her mind.

A strange thought.

An inappropriate thought.

She knew she shouldn’t think it. She knew she shouldn’t ask.

It was private, personal, none of her business.

But the thought wouldn’t leave.

It just sat there, nagging at her, demanding attention.

Finally, with a shy and timid expression completely at odds with her usual confident demeanor, she looked at Aisha.

"So, Aisha." She said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "The fact that you’re with my brother now means that...you do stuff that lovers do, right?"

Aisha blinked. "What?"

"You know." Aqua gestured vaguely. "Holding hands. Going on dates. K-Kisses. Romantic stuff and whatnot."

Aisha’s ears twitched, but she nodded slowly.

"Yes, obviously...Why are you asking?"

Aqua hesitated again.

Then, finally—

"Then does that mean that you do...naughty stuff as well?"

Aisha’s tail shot straight up, not expecting such a bold question at all.

"W-What?" She stammered. "Why are you asking me something like that?"

Aqua pressed on, her own face reddening.

"Just answer the question. Do you do stuff like that or not?"

Aisha felt deeply, profoundly humiliated.

But she nodded.

"Y-Yes." She whispered, her voice barely audible. "We do. It’s only natural, right? W-We’re a couple after all."

"So, it’s only natural that couples will do such things."

Aqua swallowed hard.

"And..." She took a deep breath. "Then does that mean that you also took it a-all the way to the vet end?"

Aisha’s entire face was on fire now.

But she nodded, which made Aqua feel light-headed with all the blood going to her head from all the revelations that were coming her way.

And more importantly, a realization struck her like a lightning bolt.

Even though she treated Aisha like a little sister—coddling her, teasing her, always putting on airs of superiority as an archmage—the truth was painfully clear now.

Aisha was far, far more developed than her in this area.

Aisha had experienced things Aqua hadn’t.

Aisha had reached a level of intimacy with Cassius that Aqua could only dream about.

And now, standing here, listening to Aisha confirm that she had been with him in that way—

Aqua didn’t know why, but a strange feeling crept into her heart.

Deep embarrassment, yes. That was natural.

She was blushing furiously, her face hotter than a fire spell.

But beneath that...

Something else.

Something uglier.

...Jealousy.

She felt jealous.

Jealous that Aisha had been with Cassius in that way.

Jealous that Aisha knew what it felt like to be held by him, to be kissed by him, to be loved by him in the most intimate way possible.

And she knew she shouldn’t feel this way.

Aisha was her best friend. Her little sister in all but blood. The person she cared about most in the world besides Cassius himself.

She should be happy for her.

She was happy for her.

But the jealousy persisted, a small, ugly knot in the pit of her stomach that she couldn’t untangle.

Because she wanted that too.

She wanted to be with Cassius.

She wanted to know what it felt like to be his in that way.

And Aisha had gotten there first.

Aqua stood there, frozen, her mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions.

Embarrassment.

Jealousy.

Confusion.

And beneath it all, a desperate, aching want that she had never fully acknowledged until this very moment.

She wanted Cassius.

Not just as a brother.

Not just as family.

She wanted him as a man.

And the realization terrified her.