Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!-Chapter 657: A Beautiful, But Chaotic Family

Joy stared at the spot where Lucious had disappeared.

Her mind, already reeling from everything else, processed this new development slowly.

Even a butler was mocking her now.

Even a damn butler.

The confusion in her eyes slowly shifted to something else.

Thoughtfulness.

Then realization.

Then a slow, dangerous kind of anger.

Her fists clenched at her sides.

Her teeth ground together.

She looked like a volcano about to erupt.

Carmela, ever observant, noticed the shift immediately.

A rare smile tugged at her lips.

"Want to have a battle right now?"

She asked, her voice casual but her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Joy turned her head slowly.

The smile on her face was terrifying—all teeth, no warmth.

"I was wondering when you’d ask."

Before Maria could even open her mouth to stop them—

WHOOSH!

Pink-gold light exploded in the garden, followed immediately by streaks of crimson.

The clash of steel rang out—sharp, rapid, relentless.

Blow after blow, parry after parry, the two women moved so fast they became blurs of color and motion.

BANG! CLANG! CRASH!

The nuns at Cassius’s side froze mid-spoon.

They turned slowly, dread creeping onto their faces as they realized who had arrived.

Their Lady was here.

And she had definitely seen everything.

While they exchanged nervous glances, wondering if they should run or hide or pretend they hadn’t been enthusiastically feeding the man they were supposed to be investigating, another figure bounced excitedly toward the fight.

Aqua’s eyes sparkled with childlike glee.

"Let me join! Let me join too!"

She called out, practically skipping toward the battling women.

"It’s no fun that you two get to fight each other all the time! Let me play as well!"

She puffed out her chest proudly.

"I’m an Archmage, you know! The ultimate mage! I definitely have the capability to fight with you both!"

Joy and Carmela paused mid-strike, staring at her with identical expressions of bewilderment.

Before they could respond—

"Me too! Me too!"

Nala slithered out of nowhere, appearing at Aqua’s side with her hand raised eagerly, like a student volunteering in class.

"I also want to fight!" She declared cheerfully. "I may not have swords and magic like you, but don’t underestimate the great Nala!"

She puffed out her chest proudly, pointing at her long, powerful tail.

"Anyone who’s been struck by this knows what happens! Muscles tear! Blood spills! Flesh rips apart! My tail is a very dangerous weapon!"

"So I can join too, right?"

She looked at them expectantly, clearly thinking she had made an excellent case.

Carmela’s eye twitched, while Joy fixed Nala with a look so cold, so devoid of warmth, that the temperature around them seemed to drop several degrees.

Nala’s confident expression crumbled.

She squeaked and immediately scrambled behind Aqua, peeking out with wide, frightened eyes.

"You big bullies!"

She accused, her voice trembling with indignation.

"Both of you are the biggest bullies! Me and Aqua just want to fight! We just want to have fun! And you’re trying to push us away! It’s not fair!"

Aqua nodded vigorously in support.

"Yeah, yeah! You’re acting like only you two can fight together! Like no one else is allowed! It’s too much!"

She turned to Nala with a determined expression.

"Let’s go, Nala. Let’s leave these two and have our own fun somewhere else."

Nala’s face immediately brightened.

"Yes! Let’s!" She grabbed Aqua’s hand. "Oh! I’ve made quite a few new inventions recently! Do you want to see them?"

Aqua’s eyes sparkled. "Absolutely! Let’s go!"

Hand in hand, they scurried away—and on their way, they grabbed Portia, who had been approaching curiously, and dragged her along with them.

"Hey—wait—what’s happening—" Portia’s protests faded as they disappeared around a corner.

Left behind, Joy and Carmela stared at each other for a single, confused moment.

Then, without a word, they turned back to each other and resumed their battle.

CLANG! BANG! CRASH!

The sisters, realizing their lady was thoroughly occupied, slowly relaxed.

One by one, they turned back to Cassius and resumed their feeding frenzy with renewed enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Maria stood at the edge of this chaos, watching everything unfold with wide eyes.

A fight between her two daughters.

A group of nuns desperately trying to feed her host.

Two grown women—well, one woman and one snake running off to play with inventions like children.

A butler who had gotten offended over absolutely nothing.

And in the middle of it all, Cassius sat helplessly, accepting his fate with the resigned expression of a man who had long ago stopped questioning his life.

Isabelle appeared at Maria’s side, a knowing smile on her face.

"Don’t be too surprised, Lady Maria." She said warmly. "This is just how this household always is. Quite chaotic. You never really know what’s going to happen in the next moment."

She paused, watching the madness with fond eyes.

"But that’s not a bad thing at all. It keeps us lively. Keeps us on our toes. And at the end of the day..."

She smiled.

"It’s family."

Maria looked around at the beautiful madness unfolding before her.

At the battle.

At the sisters.

At Cassius, somehow still smiling despite being smothered with love and food.

At Vivi, giggling.

At it all.

And slowly, despite everything—despite the confusion and the revelations and the overwhelming mess of a day—a smile crept onto her face.

"You have a beautiful family..." She murmured, almost to herself.

Isabelle nodded.

"Yes." She agreed. "I really do."

—

Cassius walked slowly down the corridor, one hand gently rubbing his stomach.

It was bulging slightly.

More than slightly, if he was being honest.

It had all started so innocently.

After tasting each sister’s dish and offering genuine praise because they really were quite good—he had made a simple comment.

A joke, really.

"Honestly, I could probably eat an entire pot of any of these. They’re that good."

He had meant it as a compliment. A figure of speech.

But the sisters had taken it literally.

Within minutes, every single pot and pan of food they had prepared was brought out and presented before him.

And then they had begged. Pleaded. Turned those big, hopeful eyes on him with such intensity that he physically could not say no.

So he had eaten.

And eaten.

And eaten.

By the end, every single one of them was satisfied—not with his consumption, but with his appreciation.

They loved him even more now, if that was possible.

Their devotion had reached new, terrifying heights.

Cassius, meanwhile, felt like he might never eat again.

But despite the physical discomfort, he couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of satisfaction.

These were the same women who had arrived at his estate with the intention of investigating him.

Hunting him.

Tearing apart his life to find evidence of his supposed demonic nature.

And now?

Now they were chopping vegetables and stirring stews just for him.

That alone was a victory worth celebrating.

But more than that, he had enjoyed watching Joy’s reaction to the whole spectacle.

He had caught glimpses of her throughout the evening—watching her sisters fawn over him, her expression cycling through shock, disbelief, horror, and something that looked almost like betrayal.

It had been genuinely entertaining.

And when he finally managed to encounter her directly—she had been with Carmela, both of them looking slightly disheveled from their earlier battle—Joy had scowled at him.

Annoyance radiated from every inch of her being.

She clicked her tongue and looked away, like she couldn’t stand the sight of him.

But here was the thing.

It was different.

Before, when she looked at him, there had been murder in her eyes. Genuine, deadly intent.

The kind of look that said she wanted to see him six feet under, preferably sooner rather than later.

Now?

Now she just looked irritated.

Annoyed.

Like he was a particularly persistent headache she couldn’t shake.

It was such a small change, but it spoke volumes.

She didn’t want to kill him anymore.

She just wanted him to stop being so...him.

And if that wasn’t surprising enough, Carmela also for some reason looked at him in vexation to his dismay.

Of course, this wasn’t because she hated him or anything.

Rather it was simply because he was good at everything and her competitive nature couldn’t handle it.

Every new revelation about his abilities put him on a pedestal so high she couldn’t reach it, and that frustrated her to no end.

He didn’t know any of that, of course.

All he saw was Carmela glaring, then walking away with Joy, the two of them seeming to have formed some sort of camaraderie over their shared Cassius-induced headaches.

It was almost wholesome, seeing two loners bond like that.

But what wasn’t wholesome was Aqua’s behavior.

After everything had settled, he had gone looking for his sister. He wanted to confront her about her antics this morning—about molesting her own brother.

But the moment Aqua saw him approaching?

She looked like she saw a ghost and panicked.

Panicked so much had jumped onto Nala like the naga was some sort of motorcycle, and shouted,

"Go, go, go!"

Nala, always eager for excitement, had flashed a grin and slithered away at full speed before Cassius could even get a word out.

He stood there, utterly bewildered.

This morning, she had been so bold. So confident.

She had teased him relentlessly, acted like she had the upper hand in everything.

And now she was fleeing from him like a scared rabbit?

What in the world had happened today?

Cassius shook his head, deciding to file that mystery away for later.

Right now, he had more pressing matters.

Lucius had informed him of a small problem regarding the upcoming Harvest Festival—something that needed his immediate attention.

So here he was, walking toward his office, trying to imagine what could possibly have gone wrong this time.

He was so lost in thought that he almost missed it.

A sound.

A whisper.

"Psst."

He stopped.

That wasn’t just any sound. That was a deliberate, secretive summons. Someone was calling him from the shadows.

He turned, confused.

There was no reason for anyone to act so secretively in his own mansion.

Everyone here was family, or close to it.

And then he saw her.

Maria. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

She was poking her head out from one of the side rooms, her expression a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

She gestured frantically for him to come closer, her eyes darting left and right to make sure no one else was watching.

Cassius blinked.

Then a smile spread across his face.

It was such a reversal.

The first time he had called her into a room, he had been the one sitting inside, summoning her with all the confidence in the world.

Now here she was, doing the exact same thing to him.

And somehow, it was absolutely adorable.

The way she checked for witnesses. The way her eyes widened when he noticed her. The way she beckoned him with such urgent, secretive gestures.

He walked over, unable to suppress his grin, and slipped into the room.

The door closed behind him for whatever reason she had beckoned him over.