Infinite Evolution: My Idle Evolution System - Chapter 266

Chapter 266: Yuna Confronts The Spellcaster
“Ha… I guess I can’t fool you,” Cassius said, exasperated. “Anyway, what are you doing out here in these dreary parts? Shouldn’t a Princess like you be… I don’t know… doing diplomatic or political stuff?”

‘Good, he changed the subject,’ Yuna thought, her heart beating far off rhythm. ‘I really don’t know what’s gotten into me… To think that I was about to do something like… like that…’

It was a good thing she had saved herself in time, and her guess had paid off.

“Well?” asked Cassius, repeating his earlier question. “Why are you and… that guy out here?”

“I’m not merely some ‘guy,’ you scoundrel!” the Vice Fortress Master spat back. “And why do you seem so familiar with the 12th Royal Princess!? Are you the one whom she was so desperately searching for!?”

“Desperately searching for?” Cassius parroted, glancing over at the flustered white-haired beauty. For an unusual change of pace, she was blushing, if not ever so slightly. She even went so far as to avert her gaze, finding it hard to look him in the eyes.

“Ho?” Cassius smirked. “I didn’t know I was so important to you that you felt compelled to travel into lands of peril in order to find me. And here I thought, after you gave me the cold shoulder last we met, that you hated me.”

“That… This is… I…”

For the first time in a very long time, Yuna Mistalore was at a loss for words. And to think this happened right after she’d been so confident with her guess turning out to be correct.

Fidgeting with her fingers and keeping her head low, Yuna murmured, “Forget…”

“What was that?” Cassius asked, all smiles. “Speak up, I couldn’t hear you.”

“Y-You…” Yuna’s cheeks puffed out like a gerbil’s as tears bubbled up in the corners of her eyes. “J… Just forget everything!” she said while pounding him on the head and chest.

And though her fists felt like cotton to Cassius, he relented.

“Fine, fine,” he said. “I’ll forget everything I heard and saw. But, on a serious note, have you really only come to make sure I hadn’t turned into a statistic? Or is there something else I can help you with?”

While speaking, Cassius casually leapt off the Nightmare corpse. He then turned around and extended his hand to the frustrated beauty above.

Without thinking, Yuna grabbed his hand and gracefully landed on the ground below. However, upon realizing what he had ‘forced’ her to do, her poutiness came back in full swing.

“You big jerk,” she grumbled, pinching him in the side. “Stop doing what you want! And yes, I have come for another matter.”

“Yes, yes,” Cassius said, faking a grimace. “What is this other matter? And how is it related to me?”

“What do you think you’re doing to the 12th Royal Princess—” the Vice Fortress Master attempted to say but was interrupted by a pat on his shoulder, followed by Cassius’s voice:

“You did well,” he said, patting his shoulder a few more times for good measure. “But I’ll take it from here, big guy. I’ll keep her safe.”

With that, Cassius walked ahead of the stunned man, receiving yet another pinch from Yuna.

After huffing and puffing a couple of times, she said to him, “Of course I came for a different matter! I-I wouldn’t come all the way out here just for the sake of verifying your safety! Th…That would be stupid!”

She’s lying!

“So then?” Cassius said, not believing a single word that left her mouth. “What do you require of me, my dear Princess?”

“I… You… Stop addressing me as such, y-you scoundrel!” Yuna shouted, uncharacteristically outspoken. “As for my important matter, what I want is for you to release the vile spell you placed on me! And for you to do so right this instant!”

Cassius tilted his head in confusion, his playful demeanor vanishing. “What spell?” he asked. “I placed no spell on you that I know of. But perhaps you’re referring to my unspeakably high level of charm—”

“N-No! Certainly not that!” Yuna said with an angry blush contorting her mesmerizing features. “You’re just a stupid, annoying, insufferable man! Why would I fancy you!?”

Cassius’s face drooped. “Wow, way to break it to me softly,” he said, feigning depression. “But regardless of my grotesque appearance, what spell are you referring to? I’m being genuine when I say I never placed one on you.”

Embarrassed by her sudden outburst, Yuna averted her gaze from the tall, extraordinarily handsome man beside her. “I never said grotesque…” she mumbled under her breath, stealing furtive glances at his enchanting face. “And the spell I speak of is the evil one you cast on me to make me feel like an idiot when I’m around you!”

“You’re saying you’re dumb?” Cassius asked. “What does that have to do with me and a spell?”

“N-No, you idiot!” she exclaimed, nearly fainting due to her anger. “I’m talking about how when I’m around you or think of you, my brain turns to mush, my heart beats faster, and you know… I just can’t think straight…”

One might think that our Protagonist would be capable of putting together the clues with what was obviously right there. But what they forget—

“Ahh, that does sound bad. But perhaps you should see a doctor instead of coming to me for a spell I didn’t cast.”

—was that Cassius was as dense as Dumbledore was wise.

Yuna walked a bit ahead of Cassius, blushing. “I… I already tried,” she muttered. “All the best Doctors, Physicians, and Experts in the country. Yet they could tell me nothing… What ails me is a mystery…”

“So, therefore, it must be the fault of whatever is causing you to feel such a way,” Cassius said to finish her thoughts. “I.e. Me.”

“I must say,” he added, stroking his chin, “your reasoning is solid. Extremely solid.”

Yuna’s eyes turned hopeful. “So then you’ll—!”

“But unfortunately,” said Cassius, “I still can’t help you. After all, I truly placed no spell, curse, or whatever other magical means on you. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to find professional help elsewhere.”

“How…”