Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!-Chapter 674: The Goddess’s Impossible Request

Joy stood in silence, her mind churning.

None of this made sense.

The Goddess was essentially saying that she wanted Joy to defend Cassius’s reputation?

To clear his name?

"But Mother." She said slowly, looking up with innocent confusion. "I still don’t understand. Why are you targeting Cassius at all? What exactly is my purpose supposed to be around him?"

The Goddess of Light acknowledged her confusion with a gentle nod.

"I can’t say much, I really can’t. But to put it simply..."

She paused, gathering her thoughts.

"Just as you are technically my soldier in that world, spreading my message and bringing about goodness and righteousness while carrying my name, Cassius is something similar for my sister."

"He’s her soldier. Her champion, if you will."

Joy’s eyes narrowed.

"And his purpose is to spread her name throughout the continent. Which, as you may have noticed, he is exceptionally good at."

The Goddess’s expression grew complicated.

"By now, every single person in the continent knows his name. But not through good rumors—through horrible ones."

"The depraved acts he’s supposedly committed."

"How evil of a person he is."

"How he’s the Incarnation of the Devil himself."

"How he’s ruined countless lives, destroyed families, corrupted innocent women."

She shook her head.

"And through those rumors, my sister’s religion and faith are being spread as well. The more people talk about Cassius, the more they unknowingly propagate her influence."

Her voice hardened, a stern look crossing her face.

"But that cannot happen. After all, the world you live in is very special to me. It’s not just any world. It’s incredibly important. It’s basically my territory, my home ground."

Her gaze had a possesive intensity to it.

"And right now, my sister has infiltrated my territory. She’s placed her own soldier inside, who’s spreading her message and increasing her influence—for her entertainment, for her amusement, and for other purposes you don’t need to know about."

Her eyes flashed.

"Overall, she’s doing something she has no right to do. And I cannot allow that. This is my home, and she’s breaching it."

Realization began to dawn on Joy’s face.

"That’s why I wanted you to counter his influence."

The Goddess continued.

"I wanted you to destroy those false rumors—because with the rumors, my sister’s influence would diminish as well."

"I wanted you to expose that Cassius is not the monster everyone believes him to be. That’s what I meant by ’expose his lies.’"

She spread her hands.

"And I also wanted you to control him. To use your own influence to limit his ability to make big moves. That was the overall plan."

She let out a wry smile.

"But you misunderstood, and now everything has gone in a completely different direction."

Joy didn’t know what to feel.

The Goddess was essentially defending Cassius.

Saying he was a decent person who had done nothing wrong.

And Joy had taken it all wrong—had pursued him like a demon, had dedicated herself to his destruction, had built her entire purpose around vanquishing him.

Guilt gnawed at her insides.

She had failed. Failed her Goddess, failed her mission, failed at the one task she had been given.

Seeing her expression, the Goddess of Light reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Don’t worry, Joy. I’ve been monitoring your actions. And I’ve realized something important."

Joy looked up.

"Even if you had understood perfectly and done exactly as I asked, it wouldn’t have mattered. Cassius is..."

She searched for the right words.

"He’s clever. Slippery. He would have found a way around whatever you did. He’s not someone you can simply overwhelm, no matter how powerful you are."

She smiled gently.

"At the end of the day, nothing you could have done would have stopped his influence from spreading. I was just...trying. Hoping. But it was futile."

She squeezed Joy’s shoulder.

"So don’t blame yourself. Don’t think about it too much."

Joy heard the words.

Understood them logically.

But something in her rebelled against them.

The Goddess, the one she had devoted her entire life to was accepting defeat. Surrendering to her sister. Letting Cassius win by default.

And Joy couldn’t accept that.

She stepped forward, her eyes burning with determination.

"But Mother, there has to be something I can do!"

The Goddess blinked, surprised by her intensity.

"Something that can change Cassius’s influence! I still don’t fully understand everything that’s going on, but no matter what—Cassius is still mortal at the end of the day!"

Her voice rose with conviction.

"There has to be something that can change his trajectory! Something I can do to help you!"

The Goddess of Light stared at her daughter, taken aback by the fierce determination burning in those mortal eyes. The conviction. The willingness to serve.

She had wanted to refuse. To tell Joy it was alright, that she would accept this loss to her sister.

But looking at Joy’s face, seeing how she wouldn’t accept that answer, how she was ready to argue and fight and prove her worth—

An idea stirred in the Goddess’s mind.

A possibility.

But she hesitated.

It was audacious. Difficult. And for someone like Joy with her values, her purity, her obvious dislike of Cassius—it might be impossible.

But Joy’s determination was unwavering.

"Well." The Goddess said slowly, hesitantly. "There is something, Joy."

Joy’s eyes lit up.

"Something that might not change his influence, exactly."

She had a thoughtful look on her face as she said like she found the perfect solution,

"But instead of him being on my sister’s side...you could make him jump ship. Come to my side instead."

A slow, almost evil smile spread across her face as she imagined her sister’s reaction.

"Now that would be the ultimate victory over her. If Cassius—her chosen soldier, her prized possession defected to my side?"

She laughed, the sound delighted.

"I would be the happiest Goddess in the entire universe. More happier then the Goddess of Happiness herself."

Hearing this, Joy nodded immediately.

"Yes, Mother! Anything! Just tell me what it is—I’ll do it for you!"

But hearing her daughter’s enthusiasm, the Goddess’s expression grew hesitant again.

Awkward, even.

"The thing is..." She looked away, then back. "I don’t know if you’re willing to do it. It’s extremely difficult. Especially for someone like you, with your values, your purity."

"And you don’t exactly seem fond of Cassius."

But Joy just grabbed the Goddess’s hand, holding it tightly.

"Please, Mother. Please just tell me!"

Her voice cracked with emotion.

"You gave me life. You saved me. If you hadn’t intervened in the past, me and my mother wouldn’t exist right now. We’d either be rotting in prison, or we’d be dead—executed by those who wanted us gone."

Tears glistened in her eyes.

"That’s the only reason I’ve lived until now. To serve you. To repay you." She squeezed the Goddess’s hand. "So please. Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Anything for you!"

The Goddess of Light looked at her daughter and saw the depth of devotion there. The willingness to sacrifice. The pure, unshakeable faith.

And she knew she couldn’t deny her.

Even if the answer made Joy uncomfortable.

Even if it challenged everything Joy believed about herself.

"Alright." She said quietly. "If you’re certain..."

She took a deep breath.

"The way to make Cassius switch sides, the only way that might actually work is for you to..."

She paused, before finally muttering in weak voice.

"For you to seduce him and make him fall so hard that he decides to change his faith just to be with you."

"."

".."

"..."

"...huh?"

Joy stood frozen, her mouth hanging open in utter disbelief.

When the Goddess had said there was something she could do, Joy’s mind had immediately conjured images of standing before Cassius day and night, shouting sermons into his ears until he saw the light.

She had pictured herself converting him through sheer force of will, making him see the error of his ways, transforming him into a devoted follower of the Goddess.

She had already started planning the sermons in her head.

But seduction?

Making him fall for her?

Her mouth hung open. Her eyes were wide with utter disbelief. She stared at the being before her as if seeing her for the first time.

The Goddess of Light, noticing Joy’s expression, actually looked embarrassed.

Genuinely, deeply embarrassed.

Her cheeks—visible even through her divine glow—flushed with color. She glanced away, then back, then away again, like a child caught doing something shameful.

She couldn’t believe she had just asked her daughter to do something so...so underhanded. So manipulative.

So completely against everything she stood for.

This was the kind of scheme her sister would come up with, not her.

But she forced a smile and pressed on.

"J-Just think about it, my dear daughter!"

She said, floating closer to emphasize her point.

"Cassius is a man without any weaknesses. I’ve observed him for a long time—studied him, watched his every move. Even when he has some shortcoming, some flaw, he finds a way to compensate for it. To turn it into strength."

Joy’s expression didn’t change, but the Goddess continued.

"So, no matter what you do, he won’t budge. He’s immovable. Unshakeable."

"But..."

She raised a hand, a spark of excitement in her eyes.

"...he does have one weakness. Just one."

She paused dramatically until finally saying,

"Women."

Joy’s eyes narrowed, but she stayed silent.

"When it comes to women, he truly lets himself go. He doesn’t hold back. That raw, fragile, vulnerable part of him—the part he usually keeps locked away behind walls of charm and wit and confidence—it comes out."

The Goddess’s voice grew more animated.

"He’s turns to a state where he forgets to protect himself. And only then, only when women or his true loved ones are involved, does he have changes of heart. Does he do things he normally wouldn’t."

She leaned forward eagerly with exhilaration in her eyes.

"So if you were to infiltrate his heart or even just make him utterly mesmerized by you, unable to let go, unable to think straight, you would have the key to his mind."

"You could slowly, carefully carve the image of our religion into his thoughts."

"Make him change faith from the inside out!"

She pulled back, her expression turning awkward again.

"I know it seems difficult. Strange." She fidgeted with her hands. "You might even look down on me for giving such a request. It’s not befitting of the Goddess of Light. It’s something my sister would do."

Her voice softened, carrying a note of genuine desperation.

"But I truly have no choice right now. My options are limited. And you are my direct connection to him in that world. This is the only thing I can think of."

Joy listened, and somewhere deep inside, she understood.

The Goddess didn’t want to give such an absurd request.

She was desperate. Cornered. She wanted to make a move against her sister, and this seemed like the only path forward.

But even understanding that didn’t make the task any easier for Joy.

If the Goddess had asked her to walk through the nine hells—she would do it without hesitation.

If she had asked her to cut off all her limbs as a sacrifice—she would do it gladly.

If she had ordered her into an endless war where death was certain—she would march forward with a smile.

But this?

This went against everything Joy believed in. Every principle of purity and faith she had built her life around.

This was the kind of thing brothel girls did to climb social ladders—seduce a nobleman, trap him with their wiles, secure a comfortable life.

Joy had pride. Arrogance, even. She would bow her head when necessary, would show humility before her Goddess and those who deserved respect.

But this? This felt like stooping lower than she had ever imagined possible.

And it was Cassius.

Not that she hated him anymore. She had moved past that, thanks to everything she had learned.

But she definitely felt a sense of rivalry with him.

Every time she looked at that smug face, it irritated her.

He always seemed to be standing above her, looking down, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t reach his level.

And she had promised herself—had even announced to others—that she would never be one of those women who fell for him.

She had been so certain, so confident in that declaration.

Now the Goddess was asking her to do exactly that.

So she just stood there, struggling visibly, her internal conflict written across every line of her face, having no idea what she should do.