Chapter 892: Healing The Wound, Before Stealing Her Heart

Ragnora opened her eyes. They were dry, but Cassius could see the pain swimming in their golden depths.

"I didn’t blame them. I still don’t. They were just soldiers being soldiers. Rough and rowdy and thoughtless, the way soldiers are. They didn’t mean to hurt me."

"They probably thought I’d laugh along with them, smack the recruit on the shoulder, tell him he’d done well to be so brave."

"But...you didn’t."

"No." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I didn’t."

She pressed her palm against her chest.

"In that moment, standing there while my soldiers laughed and cheered about how ’impossible’ it was to actually be in a relationship with me, how confessing to me was the ’scariest challenge anyone could face’—I felt something inside me...shrivel."

"Every hope I’d nurtured. Every dream I’d held onto. All of it just...collapsed."

Cassius wasn’t even the one who went through the experience and still he felt a hopeless feeling

"And it wasn’t even just the rejection."

Ragnora continued, her voice growing quieter.

"It was everything they said. The jokes they made."

"Can you imagine actually being married to the Commander?"

"She’d probably break you in half on the wedding night!"

"I’d rather fight a dragon than ask commander on a date!"

She laughed, a broken sound.

"They thought they were celeberating how strong and intimidating I was. They didn’t realize that every word was a knife confirming every fear I’d ever had. That I was, truly, too big, too scary, too different for anyone to ever love."

She looked up at Cassius, and her eyes were wet now, despite her best efforts.

"That was the day my hope died. The day I accepted that I would spend the rest of my life alone. And I..."

"...I’ve never let myself hope again."

Cassius sat there, staring at this woman and felt his heart crack open inside his chest.

Not because he was jealous of a meaningless prank that had happened years ago.

They’d thought it was funny. They’d probably forgotten about it within a week.

But Ragnora had carried it with her ever since. It had burrowed into her heart like a splinter and festered there, poisoning every glimmer of hope, every whisper of possibility.

And now she genuinely, sincerely believed that she was unlovable.

"So instead." Cassius said weakly. "You turned to books."

"Books were safe." She gestured toward the hidden shelves. "In books, love works out. In books, the fearsome warrior finds someone who sees past her scars. In books, the woman who’s ’too much’ for everyone else is exactly right for someone. In books..."

She swallowed hard.

"In books, someone like me gets a happy ending."

Cassius reached across the table and, very gently, placed his hand over hers. His fingers barely spanned the width of her knuckles, but he didn’t pull away.

"That should never have happened to you." He said quietly. "No one deserves to have their hopes used as entertainment. To be laughed at for daring to want what everyone else takes for granted."

Ragnora looked down at his hand on hers. She didn’t pull away.

"It was a long time ago." She murmured.

"That doesn’t make it hurt any less."

"Thank...you." She whispered before smiling. "It feels nice to finally let out my thoughts to someone else, so thank you for being so understanding Cassius."

Cassius just squeezed her hand.

They sat like that for a moment—her massive hand enveloped in his much smaller one, the fire crackling softly in the hearth, the night settling deeper around them.

Then Cassius leaned back, a determined look entering his eyes.

"But I still don’t accept it."

Ragnora jerked. "What?"

"Your conclusion. That you’re doomed to be alone forever. I don’t accept it."

"Cassius, I just told you—"

"I know what you told me. And I understand why you believe it. But I still think you’re wrong."

He leaned forward.

"What if someone came to you tomorrow. A man who genuinely, sincerely loved you and told you so to your face? What would you do?"

Ragnora’s expression hardened. "I wouldn’t believe him."

"But what if he insisted? What if he proved it beyond any doubt?"

"Proved it how?" She shook her head. "Words mean nothing. Anyone can say ’I love you.’ The recruit said it, and he was lying. How would this hypothetical man prove that his feelings were real?"

"What if he showed you? Through actions rather than words?" Cassius was insistent

"It wouldn’t matter." Ragnora was even more insistent. "Even if he did everything, I would still doubt, every day, every moment."

"I would be waiting for the laughter to start. I would be waiting for him to reveal that it was all a joke, or a bet, or a dare. I would never, ever be able to fully believe that someone could genuinely love me."

She looked at Cassius with a sad, knowing expression.

"Do you understand now? It’s not about finding the right person anymore. It’s about me. I’m broken, Cassius. The part of me that should be able to accept love—it’s broken."

"And...I don’t think it can be fixed."

Cassius stared at her.

And understood.

This was the real enemy. Not her size or her scars or her intimidating reputation.

Those were just the outer walls. The true fottress was the conviction, built up over decades of rejection and ridicule, that she was fundamentally unworthy of love.

He understood in that moment he couldn’t simply confess his feelings. Even if he poured out every sincere emotion in his heart, she wouldn’t believe him.

She couldn’t. The mechanism for accepting love had been broken inside her, and it would take more than passionate words to fix it.

But Cassius was not a man who gave up easily.

’Fine.’ He thought, a fierce determination burning in his chest. ’If I can’t confess directly...then I’ll do it indirectly!’

’I’ll heal this wound one gentle moment at a time. I’ll prove to her, not with words, but with actions that she is worthy of love. That someone sees her. All of her. The muscles and the scars and the insecurities and everything.’

’I’ll make her believe it.’

’And then, when she’s ready...she’ll be mine!’

His eyes blazed with resolution so intense that Ragnora actually leaned back slightly.

"Cassius? What are you thinking? You look...rather frightening, honestly."

He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he held her gaze with that same burning intensity, and Ragnora felt a strange flutter in her chest.

"C-Cassius, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" She glanced away, suddenly self-conscious. "I...I don’t particularly like it when people stare at my face. The scars make me—"

"Sit tight." Cassius said abruptly, rising from his chair. "I’ll be right back."

Before Ragnora could respond, he was out the door.

She sat alone in the firelit room, her thoughts spiraling.

Had she said too much? Revealed too much?

She’d never told anyone the full story before—not Florence, not anyone. And now she’d unburdened her entire soul to a man she’d known for less than a day.

What must he think of her? The mighty commander, reduced to a pitiful, self-pitying mess.

He was probably outside right now, trying to figure out how to politely extract himself from this awkward situation.

Probably wondering how the terrifying Ragnora Titanborn turned out to be so fragile, so pathetically—

The door swung open.

Cassius strode back in, a peculiar grin plastered across his face and something hidden behind his back.

"Ragnora." He announced. "I have a question for you."

"Huh? What...question?"

"Do you want to experience love?"

"I...what?"

"Love." Cassius repeated, stepping closer. "All those things you’ve been reading about. The hand-holding. The teasing. The dates. The tender moments. The feeling of being cherished."

"Do you want to experience them? Genuinely, truly, in real life?"

Ragnora stared at him as though he’d grown a second head before nodding her head.

"Of course I do. That’s the entire reason I read those books. Why I’ve watched couples my whole life. Why I—" She caught herself. "Yes. I want it. More than almost anything."

"Then I have the perfect solution."

Ragnora’s brow furrowed. "What solution?"

Cassius’s grin widened.

"A way for you to experience everything that couples do. The romance, the affection, the giddy excitement. All of it! Without any of the fear, the insecurity, or the risk of getting hurt!"

"I don’t understand."

Cassius stopped pacing. He stood directly before her, his expression earnest and his eyes bright with barely contained excitement.

Then, with a dramatic flourish, he pulled a single sheet of paper from behind his back and presented it to her.

"Ragnora." He announced. "I present to you the solution to all your romantic woes!"

Ragnora took the paper with hesitant hands. She looked down at it.

Written across the top, in bold, somewhat flourishy handwriting, were the words:

—

CASSIUS’S LOVE SIMULATOR SERVICE

Your Gateway to the Romantic Experience You’ve Always Dreamed Of!

—

Ragnora stared at the paper in bafflement.

She read it again before she looked up at Cassius.

"Is this..." She said slowly. "...a joke?"

"Abslutely not!" Cassius pulled up his chair, sitting directly across from her with the enthusiasm of a merchant about to close the deal of a lifetime.

"It’s a service! A professional service! You, Commander Ragnora Vindictus Titanborn, have never experienced romance. I, Cassius am offering to change that!"