novelraw Chapter 710: Spreading Affection And Love
Chapter 710: Spreading Affection And Love
Cassius was obviously delighted by Maria’s reaction, though he tried not to show it outwardly.
"It’s not that big of a deal, Maria."
He shrugged, aiming for modesty.
"We already prepared all the food and made the necessary preparations. All we had to do was arrange the ingredients in a certain order, add a few sauces here and there, and create the pieces."
He gestured toward the dishes.
"It’s like making a painting. The only difference is that instead of paint, you’re using food to build a certain image."
He looked at her with a slightly hesitant gaze.
"I’m guessing you like it?"
"Oh, I don’t just like it..." Maria’s voice was bright with enthusiasm. "I love it, Cassius! This is the most adorable thing I have ever seen!"
She pointed excitedly at the orange cat made from shrimp tempura.
"Look at this little guy—his whiskers are perfect, and those tiny eyes make him look so curious!"
Her finger moved to the golden retriever formed from spaghetti and meatballs.
"And this fluffy dog...his fur looks so soft I almost want to pet him instead of eat him!"
She went through each one, voice warm and full of wonder, before letting out a deep, wistful sigh.
"If Joy were here right now, she would absolutely love to see this. She’d probably forget everything else and just stare for hours."
Cassius blinked, confused. "Joy? Why would Joy like something like this?"
He gestured at the animal-shaped dishes.
"The reason I made these was because I heard from the sisters back at the estate that you had lots of pets at the royal palace. Cats, puppies, birds—they said you raised them in your residence. So I thought you might like animals."
He tilted his head. "What does Joy have to do with this?"
Maria showed a knowing smile.
"Well, you see, Cassius, I do adore animals. I love them very much. But the one who actually owns and brought all those animals back home is Joy. Not me."
Cassius blinked in surprise.
Maria’s expression grew fond as she went on to explain,
"That girl—many people might not know this, but she’s extremely fond of animals. Whenever she’s near them, she gets so excited. She becomes a little girl again, you wouldn’t even recognize her."
Cassius looked surprised.
"Wow, I didn’t expect that at all." He studied Maria’s face, then added curiously, "Don’t tell me Joy is the type who looks cold on the outside but deep inside is a little girl who likes cute and adorable things?"
Maria shook her head firmly. "Not at all. If you showed her a doll or a pretty dress, she wouldn’t care at all. But animals? That’s completely different."
Cassius’s confusion deepened.
"You see." Maria continued. "Joy has the power to see through one’s soul. It’s a blessing from the goddess, but it’s also affected her life in certain ways."
"Normally, when you meet someone, you get to know them over time. You figure out if they’re decent, if you want to engage with them further."
She paused.
"But Joy? She sees a person’s soul immediately. She knows what kind of person they are the moment she looks at them. And because of that, she distances herself from most people. She doesn’t even give them a chance."
Cassius nodded slowly, beginning to understand.
"So she spots everyone’s true self in a heartbeat and removes herself before they can get close."
"Exactly." Maria said, her voice growing pitying. "Even if a person is decent, even if they’re generally good, they still might have some level of darkness in their soul. Everyone does. It’s part of being human."
"But Joy gets affected by that darkness—it makes her uncomfortable. Since she’s the daughter of the Goddess of Light, she’s especially sensitive to negative emotions."
Cassius felt a pang of sympathy for Joy.
Her ability was incredibly useful for her work—finding criminals, executing judgment—but it had destroyed her social life. It was probably the biggest reason she was such a loner, so cold to everyone.
Then Maria’s eyes lit up.
"But with animals, it’s completely different. Animals act on instinct. They don’t have deep feelings or complex emotions. They don’t scheme or hide their true nature. Their souls are pure and innocent."
Cassius listened intently.
"Even if an animal has the intention to hunt, that’s just instinct. It’s pure, in its own way. Unlike humans, who know how to scheme and manipulate."
She shook her head. "So Joy prefers animals. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable around them. She can just be herself."
She paused, then added, "That’s also why she loves Skadi so much."
Cassius raised an eyebrow.
"Skadi is a beast-girl. She has consciousness and her own thoughts. But she’s simply too...too..."
Maria struggled to find the word, that didn’t sound offensive.
"Simple-minded?" Cassius offered.
"Yes! Simple-minded!" Maria looked relieved. "Because of that, Joy is very fond of her. In a way, she’s like a second animal to her. It’s also why she has so many pets back home. She loves playing with them all the time."
Her eyes lit up with a memory.
"And remember when we went to inspect the area and saw Vivi’s little zoo near the horse stables?"
Cassius nodded, smiling.
"Back then, Joy was obviously excited. She didn’t show it to anyone else, but as her mother, I could tell. She really wanted to go and see all the animals—especially since there were so many exotic ones she had never seen before."
"Wow...I had no idea." Cassius said, genuinely surprised. "Who would have thought Joy of all people would have that side to her?"
Maria quickly raised a finger in warning, though her tone was playful.
"But please don’t tell her that I was the one who told you this. She’ll definitely get angry at me, and if she gets angry she won’t speak to me for days. I definitely don’t want that to happen."
Cassius nodded firmly. "My lips are sealed. I promise."
Maria relaxed, relieved.
She then looked back at the dishes, studying the adorable animal creations. Then she bit her lip.
"Oh no, Cassius. What should I do?"
He tilted his head. "What’s wrong?"
"I don’t think I have the strength to eat these." She gestured at the food helplessly. "They look so lively like they’re looking into my soul right now. I don’t think I can drive my fork into them and tear them apart. It would be like killing them."
Cassius puffed out his chest.
"Don’t worry, Maria. That’s exactly why I’m here." He picked up his fork. "You might fear doing something like that, but I have no hesitation at all. I am willing to slay any animal, no matter how cute to fill your stomach."
Before she could respond, he drove his fork straight into the cat’s head.
Maria winced.
He twisted the fork, pulling apart the "head"—which was actually just shrimp tempura with a bit of sauce—and held it up to her lips.
Maria stared at the fork, then at him.
"You want to feed me, Cassius?"
"Isn’t it obvious? Since you’re struggling so much, I’ll take responsibility for feeding you." He opened his mouth slightly. "Ahhh."
Maria’s cheeks flushed.
But honestly? She didn’t mind. They were already so close, physically and emotionally. And there was something undeniably intimate about being fed by someone who cared for her.
She smiled and opened her mouth.
The shrimp hit her tongue, and her eyes went wide.
"Oh my God, Cassius." She chewed slowly, savoring every bite. "How is this so delicious? I don’t even like shrimp that much—it usually has a certain fishy flavor. But this has none of that!"
She swallowed, then added. "And there’s this oil—this amazing flavor coming from it—"
Cassius held up a hand.
"Don’t get impressed so easily, Maria. There are many more dishes left."
He picked up another piece—fried chicken shaped like a lion—and held it to her lips.
She took a bite.
"My goodness!!" Her eyes practically rolled back in her head. "This is even more delicious than the shrimp! How is the chicken so tender and crispy at the same time?"
Cassius grinned and reached for another dish.
This time, it was vegetables—sautéed greens arranged to look like a turkey. He held the fork to her lips, and she ate obediently.
"The vegetables are so good!" Maria exclaimed. "Even little children would be willing to eat vegetables if they tasted like this!"
She looked at him seriously.
"You should distribute this recipe to all the schools around the estate. And to all the mothers. It would make every mother’s life so much easier."
Cassius smiled, touched by her concern for others. He reached for another dish.
And another.
And another.
Dish after dish, he fed her, and she ate with growing delight, savoring each new flavor, each new texture. Her reactions were genuine, enthusiastic, and utterly charming.
Cassius also ate his fill from time to time, using the same fork.
Maria noticed.
She blushed at the realization that he was essentially taking her saliva into his mouth, that they were sharing the same fork in the most intimate way possible.
But she didn’t say anything.
She just opened her mouth whenever the fork appeared, and let him feed her.
—
While Maria was having the time of her life, she happened to glance at a nearby table.
A family sat there—a husband, a wife, and two young children.
The husband was watching Cassius and Maria with a nervous expression. He kept glancing at his wife, then at his fork, then back at Cassius, as if he wanted to do something but was too scared to try.
Finally, after watching Cassius feed Maria one more time, he seemed to gather his courage.
He scooped up some food on his own fork and held it toward his wife.
"Here." He mumbled, his face red. "Try this."
She blinked in surprise, cheeks turning pink. "What are you doing? Treating me like a child?"
The husband, flushed but persisted.
"Just shut up and take it, okay?" He refused to meet her eyes. "...This is already embarrassing enough."
The wife stared at him for a moment, then blushed. She knew how hard this was for her husband—he was a proud, brutish man who had never been comfortable with public displays of affection.
She opened her mouth and took the bite.
Their eyes met.
Something softened in both their expressions.
The husband, despite his embarrassment, found himself reaching for another piece of food.
He wanted to see that look on her face again—that warm, fond, almost shy expression that made her look like the young woman he had married years ago.
He fed her again.
And again.
Across the restaurant, another family noticed. The husband there picked up his own fork, cleared his throat, and said,
"Darling, let me feed you."
His wife looked shocked—then delighted.
She smiled and opened her mouth.
And then it spread.
Table by table, couple by couple, the husbands began feeding their wives. The wives, flustered but pleased, began feeding their husbands in return.
Young couples who were still dating shyly shared bites with each other. Even children got in on the act, feeding their younger siblings, their parents, their grandparents.
The entire restaurant transformed.
Laughter and warm murmurs replaced the usual clatter of cutlery. Faces that had been neutral or tired lit up with joy.
Couples who had been sitting in comfortable silence began talking, touching, reconnecting.
Maria watched it all happen, her heart swelling.
She knew, with absolute certainty, that none of this would have occurred without Cassius.
Men in this world were proud. They were taught from birth that showing affection was weakness, that feeding someone was a mother’s job, that public displays of emotion were beneath them.
It was a deeply ingrained practice, one that had persisted for generations despite the quiet longing of wives everywhere.
And Cassius had shattered it.
Not through speeches or arguments or demands for change. Simply by being himself. By feeding the woman he loved without shame, without hesitation, without caring who was watching.
His influence alone had changed these people. Made them braver. Kinder. More willing to show love.
Maria looked at him with a gaze so full of wonder that he noticed.
"What?" He shifted uncomfortably under her stare. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
She shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips.
Then she pointed at the plates in front of her and said, in a slightly bossy tone.
"You’ve been giving me one dish at a time, Cassius. I want you to mix it up. Make my mouth an explosion of flavors. Give my tongue the ride of a lifetime."
Cassius’s eyes sparkled with delight. "Yes, ma’am."
He immediately began switching between dishes—cat, dog, parrot, lion—each forkful chosen with care, feeding her with the same devoted attention while she ate in perfect satisfaction.
As the flavors danced across her tongue and the warmth of his lap kept her safe and content, Maria thought to herself with quiet joy: It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meal this warm.