Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!-Chapter 702: Carrot And Stick

Maria glanced back at him with that same bossy confidence.

"Come on, keep up."

Cassius bounded forward like an obedient dog, gesturing grandly toward the throne with the flourish of a perfect valet.

"This way. Your throne is right here, my lady."

Even as Maria found herself amused by the absurdity of being carried on a throne like some ancient empress—concern gnawed at the edges of her excitement.

"Cassius, can you really carry me?"

She hesitated, her cheeks warming as she continued.

"Honestly, after everything you said and everything you did..."

She trailed off, thinking of how he had worshiped her belly, how he had looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world and said in a fluster,

"I really can’t say anything bad about my body anymore. Not after all that."

Cassius’s face lit up with such genuine happiness that Maria felt her heart flutter. She was finally accepting herself. Finally seeing what he saw.

"But still." She pressed, her brow furrowing. "Won’t it be too much for you? I’m not exactly light, Cassius. The chair itself is heavy, and I’m—"

"Sit down, Maria."

His voice was gentle but firm. He patted the back of the throne.

"Sit down, and you’ll see if it’s too much for me or not."

She bit her lip, still uncertain, but she climbed onto the seat and made herself comfortable.

The cushions were plush, wrapping around her in a way that made her feel like she was sitting on a cloud. Soft velvet embraced her thighs, her back, her arms. It was luxurious.

...It was also heavy.

She could feel the weight of the chair beneath her, solid and substantial. But before she could voice another concern, Cassius stepped behind her, gripped the two rear legs of the throne with both hands, and said cheerfully,

"Hold on now."

In one smooth, effortless motion he lifted the entire throne straight up into the air.

"Ahh!"

Maria gasped, completely caught off guard. She had expected at least a grunt of effort, a slight wobble—something. Instead, he raised it as easily as if it weighed nothing at all.

The throne settled high above his head, the bottom of the seat resting firmly against his crown, and suddenly she was elevated far higher than before.

She could see over the garden hedges, across the lawns, even toward the distant mansion rooftops.

It felt almost like floating!

But when she looked down, she couldn’t see Cassius at all.

The throne was too wide, too solid. It completely blocked her view of him, making it seem as though she was floating in mid-air.

"Cassius?" Her voice wavered. "Are you alright? Is it too heavy?"

"Not at all, Maria!" His voice rang out bright and enthusiastic from below. "In fact—look at this!"

He suddenly released both hands and spread his arms wide in a dramatic flourish.

Seeing this, Maria was shocked.

"Wait, how are you doing that, Cassius? How are you holding me up right now?"

"I’m using my head." He answered matter-of-factly. "And honestly, it’s quite easy."

To prove his point, he took a few steps to the left, a few steps to the right, then spun around like he was dancing.

Maria followed the motion, and for a moment she thought she was about to fall off because of the quick, rapid movement.

But to her surprise, Cassius had impeccable balance even without using his arms.

She felt completely stabilized. Even when she herself tilted to one side, Cassius compensated and tilted the other way, keeping her perfectly level.

She felt as if even if she were rocking the chair all over the place, she would never fall off.

This gave her a lot of security and made her really calm down.

She looked down toward where Cassius was, even though she couldn’t see his face.

"You really are so strong, Cassius." She said with appreciation. "I honestly didn’t believe you at first when you said you could do this. But looking at how easily you’re managing this, you really are quite capable."

"How is that though?" She asked curiously. "Have you been training or something to have such a strong body?"

She asked this because she didn’t know about Cassius’s true capabilities. Only Joy and Carmela knew his real strength, and they had never told her, so she was genuinely intrigued.

But the answer she got was not what she expected.

Cassius let out a chuckle.

"Well, to be honest..."

He said shamelessly.

"When you have so many women that you need to satisfy in bed all the time, you have to keep your body fit. For that alone, I’ve been training my body and kept myself strong and rigid all over."

For a moment Maria didn’t quite register the words. Then realization hit her like a splash of warm water.

Her face flushed bright crimson. "Cassius! Stop joking around. I didn’t ask about that!"

"I’m really not joking." He replied cheerfully. "This is exactly why my body is so strong right now."

She couldn’t even deny it. From everything she had seen and heard since arriving at the mansion, Cassius did have many women here, and he was intimately involved with all of them. It only made sense that he would need that kind of endurance.

And the more she thought about it, the more she realized—other men didn’t do this.

They didn’t train their bodies for the sake of their wives pleasure.

They didn’t care if they were fit or not. They took and took and never thought about giving back.

But Cassius had an entire mansion of women to satisfy, and he took that responsibility seriously enough to maintain his body for them.

In a strange, twisted way, it was almost...honorable.

She shook her head violently, trying to dislodge the thought.

’No. No, that’s not honorable. That’s just...that’s just...’

She was being pulled further into his trap. She could feel it happening.

Before she could spiral further, Cassius’s voice came again, this time with a hint of hesitation.

"Maria?"

"Yes?"

"Is it possible...could you remove your footwear? And your socks?"

She blinked, surprised by the request.

"Oh! I’m so sorry—it must be so disrespectful to have them hanging in your face like that."

She realized her legs were dangling off the edge of the throne, her feet swinging freely right at the level of his head.

She moved to pull them up, to tuck them away—

"No, no, no!" Cassius’s voice was quick, almost panicked. "I don’t care about that. It’s just..."

He hesitated again.

"As strange as it may seem...I would like to see your feet. Dangling there. Right now."

Maria went still.

She looked down—or rather, she looked in the direction of his voice, her mind reeling.

"You want to see my feet, Cassius? Why would you want something like that?"

She already knew the answer. She could feel it in the way his voice had softened, in the way he had hesitated before asking.

And just as she predicted, he answered honestly.

"Yesterday, when you were praying on the floor...I saw your bare feet."

Her breath caught.

"They were rather pretty. Cute, even." His voice grew dreamy. "The tiny toes you have, the delicate arches...I couldn’t stop looking."

Maria’s face was on fire.

"And now, seeing them dangling right in front of me, I honestly want to see more of them. So if you wouldn’t mind taking off your socks..."

She stared down at the space where she imagined his face to be.

A strange feeling bubbled up in her chest—something between embarrassment and amusement and a strange, fluttery warmth.

A playful smile curved her lips.

"Cassius..."

She said, waving her hand in mock disapproval.

"This is too much, even for you. I already knew you were a rather perverted man—your reputation precedes you, after all. But I never expected you would be lusting after my feet as well!"

"I’m not lusting!" His voice was almost offended. "Please don’t think of it that way. I’m simply appreciating your beauty. No other intentions whatsoever."

He paused, then added in a pitiful tone,

"It’s the least you could do, especially since I’m carrying you on my head right now."

Maria snorted.

It was such an obvious guilt trip. Such a blatant manipulation.

And she fell for it completely.

"Fine, fine." She said, her voice full of exaggerated reluctance. "Since you’re going to start crying otherwise, and since it’s not like I really care that much..."

She smiled to herself.

"I suppose I can let you have a proper look."

She slipped off her footwear, setting it carefully on the wide armrest of the throne where there was plenty of space. Then, slowly, she peeled off her socks.

The moment her bare feet were exposed, the morning sunlight caught them, making her pale skin glow.

Her toes were small, neatly aligned, with nails that were naturally pink and healthy. The arches of her feet were delicate, the heels smooth, the ankles slender.

They dangled there, swaying slightly with each small movement, looking for all the world like something out of a painting.

Cassius stared.

"You really have splendid feet." He said, his voice reverent. "Normally, I don’t appreciate feet much. But yours..." He paused. "Yours are above the rest. Even I can’t help but get excited over them."

Maria shook her head, a wry smile on her lips.

"I don’t know if I should feel happy about that or not."

She looked down at her dangling feet, then back in the direction of his voice.

"Well, whatever it is, I’ve given you what you wanted. Consider it a reward. Like a carrot in front of a piggy, motivating it to move forward."

She wiggled her toes playfully.

"So don’t disappoint me, little piggy!"

Cassius’s response was immediate.

"Oink, oink!" His voice was full of good humor. "I’m your piggy, Maria. Your piggy that will take you wherever you want to go! Just point your feet in the direction, and I’ll follow!"

Maria giggled, unable to help herself.

He was ridiculous. Absolutely, utterly ridiculous.

And she loved it.

She lifted her feet, pointing her toes straight ahead.

"Then go forward, my handsome little piggy! Go forward and start this journey of ours!"

Cassius didn’t hesitate.

"Oink! Oink!"

He broke into a quick, eager run, almost as if he really were trying to catch her dangling feet with his mouth.

Maria let out a startled laugh at the sudden increase in speed, but within seconds she was grinning widely.

The wind rushed across her face, the elevated view made everything feel magical, and his steps were so smooth she barely felt any jolt.

It truly was like flying!