Asking for an Exorbitant Demand

"Lucos!" Serena screamed, lunging forward like a madwoman to try and extinguish the flames.

However, the moment her hand touched the blue flame, a piercing pain spread from her fingertips, and half of her sleeve was instantly burned to ashes.

"You idiots, stop standing around! Help!" Serena screamed hysterically, her voice distorted with fear.

The confidants around him were in chaos. Some tore down the huge velvet curtains to try to hit him, while others lifted the cold soup bowls and vases and poured the water over his head.

Sizzle—!

The blue-white flames did not go out in the water; instead, they seemed to have found fuel and burned even brighter.

This is no ordinary flame; it cannot be extinguished by ordinary methods.

Serena was in despair.

Watching her only son struggle in the flames, and the servants beside her futilely trying to extinguish them, she secretly resented her son's foolishness—how dare he provoke a mage like that to his face?

But there was nothing she could do; as a mother, she could only make amends for her son's mistakes.

"Stop! Ye Wei'an, are you insane?!" she shrieked. "He's your father's only legitimate heir! If you kill him, the Purple Dragon Knights will hang you on the walls of Susar! And you won't get a single penny of the Xia Xing family's territory!"

Ye Wei'an silently watched the flickering flames, his fingertips twitching slightly, and the color of the flames deepened even further.

Serena's face turned even paler, her threatening facade shattered by the firelight.

She took a trembling step forward, her voice pleading: "Listen... Vian, if you release him, I'll persuade the Baron that we can negotiate the mines south of Firefall Valley... no, even the right to inherit the title! Just let him go!"

However, all she received in response was her son's heart-wrenching wails.

At that moment, a certain pride within Serena shattered completely.

She realized that the young man before her, who was calm to the point of being cruel, didn't care about the territory or the hypocritical family honor.

He only wanted revenge for Lucas's rudeness.

Serena's mind raced, and her ability to manipulate people quickly gave her a solution:

The only way to extinguish the other party's anger is to give them the compensation they want—make them watch as the once arrogant trampler grovels at their feet like a stray dog.

But how could that be—

"Even if I die, I will never bow down to this lowly bastard..." Her inner pride prevented her from making a decision.

"Aaaaaah—! Mother! Help me! Help me!!"

Another scream rang out, as if a red-hot iron had been branded directly into Serena's heart.

That was her only son, whom she had doted on for twelve years; he was her only hope.

Her son's screams became the last straw that broke her back.

"Thump!"

This proud duke's daughter, the mistress of the Xia Xing family, knelt heavily before Ye Wei'an in full view of everyone.

"Stop... By Sheenworth, please stop!" Her hair disheveled, she clutched the corner of Ye Wei'an's robe, pleading, "Let him go... Wei'an, he's just a twelve-year-old child! For my sake, I'm a mother too... for his sake, he's your brother, please!"

"For your sake, as your mother?"

Ye Wei'an looked down at her and said coldly, "I can give you permission because you are a mother, but he just seemed to show no respect for my mother at all."

"I was wrong! It's all my fault! I corrupted him!" Serena kowtowed repeatedly. "If you just let him go, I promise I'll punish him severely! I'll confine him, make him repent at the temple, and make him swear an oath before the holy emblem! I promise he'll never dare to be disrespectful again! I beg you... the goddess is my witness, please let him go!"

Ye Wei'an looked at Lucas, who was rolling on the ground screaming in pain, remained silent for a moment, and finally sighed.

I'll give you one chance.

After saying that, he waved his hand.

The cursed fire, which even water couldn't extinguish, was suddenly put out, as if it had never existed.

The screams stopped abruptly, leaving only Lucas's sobs of fear in the restaurant.

Lady Serena rushed over, but when she saw Lucas's appearance, she froze.

At this moment, Lucas was curled up on the ground, completely naked, his gorgeous clothes long since turned to ashes, but he was actually completely unharmed.

Except for his hair.

Lucas's entire body hair—from his head, eyebrows, and eyelashes to his lower body—was burned off completely, leaving not a single hair behind, but the rest of his body remained unharmed.

With his bloated figure, Lucas looked like a white pig that had been scalded and plucked of its hair, both comical and pathetic.

"My Lucas..." Serena checked him over and found that apart from some redness on his skin, her son had no burns at all, not even a blister.

"It's just a minor punishment to teach him a lesson." Ye Wei'an smiled slightly in response to Serena's question. "Who told him to be my 'dear' younger brother? As his older brother, I naturally have to make up for the lack of proper upbringing he needs."

Serena was both surprised and delighted at this moment, a mixture of joy and worry.

Fortunately, Ye Wei'an was not so insane as to assassinate his own brother in public, and the worst outcome did not occur.

What worries her is that this precise control over magic is far beyond her imagination.

At the Amareske family, Lady Serena had seen powerful spellcasters before—her own aunt was a fifth-circle mage.

But only a true master of Evocation magic can do this.

I've tried my best to overestimate his abilities, but I still underestimated this illegitimate child's potential.

To achieve this level at just 16 years old is considered genius even by Cormier's standards.

Serena felt increasingly that the goddess was being unfair. Why should such a talent be bestowed upon a bastard, while Lucas, who possessed the noble blood of Amaresk, was treated like this...

Looking at her son sobbing in her arms, Serena sighed.

"Quick! Bring a towel! Do you want the young master to catch a cold?!" she shouted at her stunned confidants.

The two maids, as if waking from a dream, hurriedly wrapped the naked white pig with curtains.

"Take me away, take me away from that devil!" Lucas let out a distorted scream, shrinking into a towel like a frightened quail, not daring to even look at Ye Weian, and was carried away from the restaurant by the servants.

The restaurant was in complete disarray, with shattered porcelain shards and charred curtains scattered everywhere.

Yevian pulled back his chair, sat down again, and looked at Lady Serena with a leisurely air.

"Alright, Madam. Now that everyone in the way is gone, we can continue our discussion."

Serena propped herself up on the edge of the table, her once elegant updo now half disheveled.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to maintain the last shred of dignity: "You win, Ye Wei'an. Tell me, what will it take for you to hand over the witnesses and accounts? Five thousand gold coins? Or one of my properties in Susar? Name your price."

"Five thousand gold coins?" Ye Wei'an sneered. "Madam, you sent people to assassinate me before. To put it bluntly, these things represent my life, and also your life. And life is priceless, isn't it?"

Serena gritted her teeth and said resentfully, "Then what do you want?"

"What do I want?" Ye Wei'an leaned forward slightly, revealing a greedy expression like that of a dragon. "It's simple, I need to pay more."

As she spoke, she listed a string of things that would make Serena's heart bleed:

"First, I want 20,000 gold coins, in cash, and it must come from your own savings—don't even think about using the family's public funds. You've made so much money smuggling using the Xia Xing family's connections; shouldn't I get a share of that?"

"Secondly, I want the unrestricted right to recruit within my territory. Whether it's knights, craftsmen, stewards, or anyone else I fancy, as long as they voluntarily leave with me, you must release them without any form of obstruction."

"Third, after my father's death, I will inherit all of my ancestor Aslan's magical heritage, including all his spellbooks and magical items."

"Fourth, I will inherit half of the armor and weapons in the warehouse, half of the cattle and horses in the stable, and a full year's worth of rations for five hundred people. Your property in Susar will also be transferred to my name."

"Fifth, I want you to apply to the Royal Court in the name of the Xia Xing family to formally recognize my legitimate noble status, and to apply for a 'Pioneer Charter' for me through the connections of the Amareske family."

"This is robbery!" Serena finally snapped after hearing the last point. "You've taken all this, and you've hollowed out half of the Xia Xing family's wealth! How will Lucas support this family in the future?"

"Robbery? How could you get so many good things by robbery? You can't get a noble status or Susar's property by robbery." Ye Wei'an nodded without any shame. "Madam, you need to understand the current situation: if you don't give me these, I can take them myself, but then the consequences for you may not be so good."

After saying that, he took out a pre-prepared contract, on which the conditions he had mentioned earlier were written.

"If you're not comfortable with this, we can sign a contract. As long as you don't harm me, I will never expose those incriminating facts, nor will I threaten Lucas's inheritance rights, nor will I divide the family territory."

Ye Wei'an pushed the pen in front of her: "A very fair deal, isn't it? You keep your secret and your son's future, while I take my due reward and happily go to be a pioneer lord."

"You...aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" Serena, unable to contain herself any longer, instinctively threatened, "Don't forget, I'm not just the mistress of Firefall Fortress, but also a daughter of House Amaresk. With just one order..."

"What are you going to do to kill them?" Ye Wei'an sneered. "Rely on those knights you brought from your family? Rely on those bandits I slaughtered like chickens? Don't make me laugh. Before you make that plan, you'd better look in the mirror and see the way you were begging for mercy on your knees just now."

When Serena recalled what had just happened, it was as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice water.

Yes, the other party is a genius mage.

She might be able to kill Ye Wei'an with her power in Firefall Fortress, but in reality, it's unlikely.

But she was still unwilling to have her family's savings drained away like that.

Having no other choice, Serena played her last card: "Ye Wei'an, don't be so arrogant. The accounts you have not only involve me, but the entire Amareske family! Do you think you can fight an entire noble family by yourself? If you don't hand them over, the family will never let you off the hook!"

"Indeed, my personal strength is insignificant compared to the leading noble families of Cormier. But so what?"

Serena didn't notice the sudden flash of purple light in Ye Wei'an's eyes.

"My lady, it seems you've been in Firefall Valley for too long, and have even forgotten Cormier's basic political rules—the supreme power of the Purple Dragon Kingdom always rests with the Dragon Throne. During my four years in Susar, I also made several friends who are 'influential.' Do you think that if I were to hand these accounts over to the Royal Court, facing the Purple Dragon Legion's pursuit, the Amareske family would openly defy the royal authority for the sake of a woman married off to the frontier, or would they throw you and my dear brother out as scapegoats?"

Serena instinctively wanted to retort.

In the royal capital of Susar, nobles were everywhere, and barons were as common as dogs.

How could a down-on-his-luck illegitimate child possibly make friends there?

But as she was about to speak, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

Everything that has happened during this period proves one thing: her information about Ye Wei'an was wrong from beginning to end!

If the information about his strength is wrong, if the information about his personality is wrong, then the information about his social circle in Susar is very likely also wrong.

If he could really get the smuggling to the royal family...

Thinking of this, Serena broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that she had no room for negotiation.

"What falls into your own hands is truly yours."

At that moment, Ye Wei'an's words were extremely tempting to her.

"Madam, you must face reality. Within the Amaresk family, you are merely a tool to control Firefall Territory; but within Firefall Territory, you are the lord's mother. As long as Firefall Territory stands, you are its mistress. What good will it do you to fight to the death with those far away in Susar who only see you as a pawn?"