Chapter 404: Analisa Morgnster
The granddaughter and grandmother duo continued talking for hours. Some of their exchanges were useful, while others were deeply unsettling—especially when Brigid gleefully described her "fun," which was little more than mental torture disguised as pranks.
Her grandmother’s name surfaced during their conversation as well: Analisa Morgnster. Cassian still knew little about her, but it was clear she was a cultist through and through. Brigid also recounted her own recent "adventure," the mission where she had been assigned to hinder the reinforcements heading toward Karmen Earldom.
Analisa shared her own tales from her younger days—grisly adventures that mirrored Brigid’s, the two of them bonding over stories of torture and slaughter as if they were fond memories.
Cassian only hoped none of that would ever be turned on him. Pain itself didn’t scare him—he couldn’t even feel it, nor was he afraid of dying—but some of the humiliations they described were so vile that he would rather be dead than endure them.
"So once, there was this Hollow Fang I used for an experiment," Brigid began, her voice almost casual. "He actually volunteered—said he’d take part if I let his lover go. And the lover... was a man."
That made Analisa blink in surprise, her grandmother’s face twisting with confusion. "Two men? As lovers? How does that even work—and who would allow such a thing?"
"I know, right? I was shocked too," Brigid replied, shaking her head. "He explained it—they, uh, do it through the backside. Honestly, it disgusted me, but I still needed someone for my experiment." Her expression shifted from a grimace to an eager smile.
Analisa leaned in slightly, curiosity glinting in her eyes. "And what was the experiment?"
"Nothing too complicated," Brigid replied with a cheerful smile. "I was just trying to meld a beast’s parts into his body—give him extra arms and such. Quite fun, actually, and it even led me to develop a completely new spell."
Her grin sharpened as she went on. "Of course, I kept his lover alive. He was meant to be sacrificed anyway, but saving him ensured the Hollow Fang complied with every experiment. Each time I worked on him, I made his lover watch. I told him, ’This is for you. Only your death can free him from what I’m doing.’ That way, he carried the burden of every cut, every stitch, every scream."
Cassian’s stomach knotted. Horror mixed with fury inside him. He had known Brigid was dangerous, but this... this was monstrous. He could understand twisted experiments, however immoral, if they had some purpose. But forcing the lover to watch—what did that achieve? Nothing but sadistic pleasure.
He too sought pleasure in life, but never at the cost of innocent suffering. That line he would never cross.
Even Analisa, to Cassian’s surprise, didn’t nod along this time. Instead, she frowned and asked, "Why would you do that, Brigid? That’s simply cruel."
Brigid didn’t flinch at her grandmother’s question and explained matter-of-factly, "Well, both of them were the serial-killer type—merchants who preyed on young boys. I figured I wasn’t being cruel enough, so I had to step it up. But it wasn’t just for that... it was part of another experiment that required one of them to make a sacrifice. I was just creating a win-win situation, forcing both of them to the end of the rope, leading straight to death."
The fact that the two were related made Cassian slightly less angry at Brigid, but her manipulative, cruel streak still unsettled him—and he couldn’t help but wonder what other experiments she had in mind. He was curious, but asking wasn’t an option. Analisa, meanwhile, didn’t seem to care; she was gazing outside and remarked in surprise, "It’s already nighttime?"
Brigid followed her gaze. "Yeah... we’ve been talking so long, there was a lot to cover."
Cassian, however, thought differently. Aside from their sadistic tendencies and their methods of "playing with toys" like him, the conversation had yielded little of real value. Her grandmother—the cult’s higher-up—hadn’t asked a single thing about what Brigid knew regarding the Karmen Earldom’s forces or their reinforcements. It had just been two women gossiping... except, in their case, the gossip was dark, twisted, and unsettling.
Analisa finally sighed and said, "Well, Brigid, you need to rest. You’ve been on the run for so long—let tonight be for sleep. We can continue our chat in the morning."
She glanced at Cassian, standing behind them. He kept up his act of the broken, lifeless slave, eyes dull and expressionless, but reached up to cradle his handsome face and added, "While I play with the toy you brought along?"
Brigid smiled knowingly at him. She could tell he was cursing her inside, but she didn’t care—after all the sleepless nights he’d caused her, it was nice to have some payback. Her grandmother, though commanding, wasn’t truly dangerous to her in the same way, and she spoke with casual amusement, "Play with him as much as you like, Grandma."
"I will... just don’t get angry if you find him not working in the morning," Analisa said, pulling him closer and letting her hands linger on his arms. Brigid grinned and added, "Don’t worry. He’s got great endurance—made me so happy while I was playing with him, might have even blacked out here and there...from the happiness."
The double-meaning conversation left Cassian momentarily speechless. There was nothing inherently wrong with discussing such things within a family, but—for God’s sake—they were granddaughter and grandmother. Conversations like this weren’t even easy to have between siblings. Yet, they seemed completely open about it. Brigid lingered a little longer, leaving a few more teasing remarks about her "toy" as if giving instructions to her grandmother how to play with him, before finally departing and leaving the two of them alone in the vast hall.
As soon as Brigid was gone, Analisa’s warm smile and playful expression vanished. She exhaled sharply, her face settling into a cold, stoic mask. Rising from her chair, she said with measured authority, "Follow me..."