"Father!" Serulia cried, speaking in Durmenese. "You can trust Cæ, he's extremely competent!"

The medical room where Serulia rested exploded into a discussion shortly after Cæ left. Serulia immediately jumped to his defense the moment she could, hoping to compel her father to actively cooperate with him. The idea of Cæ growing closer to her family was one that sent butterflies in her stomach,

"Hah! He's a twenty-five-year-old lad who's still in university." The man scoffed. "You have poor taste, my daughter. There are far superior men out there of much nobler blood and much greater achievements than some mongrel from the slums who only saved you because of our money."

Her light blue eyes sharpened with displeasure as she glared at her father. "How dare you call him that! He saved my life, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"I wouldn't have lowered my head to him in gratitude if it didn't, my daughter," Master Leonul shook his head. "But the fact of the matter is that he unhesitatingly demanded monetary compensation for your justice! Does a friend do such a thing? No! A true friend would do whatever was necessary to ensure that a friend got justice. Not only did he not offer his help from the very get-go, but he dares to go as far as to demand that our family become 'highly generous investors?' There's a limit to being naive, my daughter. You're twenty years of age, you're no longer a teenager or a child, you cannot be fooled by greedy money-grubbers. He doesn't care about you. He doesn't have the affection for you that you have for him."

"I-I don't have affection for him!" she exclaimed, averting her gaze with a hint of embarrassment. "He's just a friend…"

The red hue that her dark skin took on spoke of a different story.

Her father huffed. "You have remained aloof from boys and men your entire life. All those years we introduced you to the finest of boys and young men worthy of your hand in marriage, and you shunned them all, only to accept a boy from the slums? I refuse to let in the child of a common whore from the filth of this country to plant his seed in my daugh—!"

POW

Serulia threw her pillow at him before he could finish his words, her face growing beet red. "No one said anything about such stuff! You're gross, father!"

She jumped out of bed, leaving the medical room.

Master Leonul frowned, about to stop her from leaving, when his wife placed her hand on his shoulder, giving him a pointed look.

BANG!

The door closed behind them in a loud bang as Serulia ran away from the room, looking for Cæ.

"…That was not nice, my dear." Serulia's mother's tone was gentle, yet firm.

"…Hmph, if I don't ward off men like him from exploiting my sweet little angel, then they'll swarm around her like sharks. It is my duty to protect her as her father," Master Leonul gruffly declared.

Her mother smiled with a hint of mirth. "She has always been good at warding men off, including those who arranged to court her. She does not need your help in that regard. This is perhaps the first man in her entire life whom she had taken not just a liking to but also perhaps a love for."

"Hah, that isn't love. That is infatuation. It is indeed late considering that she's twenty years old, but still. It is a naive attraction, Clara."

"Maybe," Clara admitted. "Maybe not. It might be that he is exactly as you say. It might also be that he is exactly as the picturesque image in Serulia's head. It might be that's somewhere in between. But, regardless of what the truth actually is…"

She directed a pointed gaze at her husband. "You insulted a person whom she clearly cares about deeply. You insulted a man who saved her life. Who saved the life of our precious angel? You hurt her feelings in the name of protection and then said some rather vulgar things to a girl who is more sensitive. That is why she does not want to speak to you."

Master Leonul's expression softened as he fell into thought for several seconds. "…I could have handled that better, admittedly."

She smiled at him.

"Still." He huffed. "The lad is a greedy gold-digger shark. I have gratitude to him. I might even humor his absurd demands, but I will not allow my daughter to marry such a shameless wretch. I'm sure you agree with me on that, Clara."

"I found him rather impressive, actually."

"Hah?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

She smiled at her husband knowingly. "How many twenty-five-year-olds do you think would be able to face your wrath with a perfectly calm composure? While you let your anger boil, going off on your little diatribe, I was watching him extremely closely and carefully. Not once did his body tense. Not once did he flinch, not once did his heart rate or his breathing so much as flicker."

Master Leonul paused. "Now that you mention it…"

His red eyes sharpened.

"I completely forgot that he was supposed to be scared shitless when I glared at him. Huh, not bad."

"I also sensed genuine care for Serulia in his eyes when he gazed at her," she remarked. "I suspect you might be writing him off a tad too soon. It is indeed… unexpected that he would make such bold demands from us for helping our daughter, but think of the perspective of someone from his background. It is indeed a fact that he would be risking his life by agreeing to serve as a witness in the criminal trial. From what I understand, Serulia only met him a little under two weeks ago. Would you risk your life for a friend you made just two weeks ago?"

"Of course I would," the man scoffed stubbornly. "A friend is a friend."

She tilted her head as her eyes flattened with a dubious expression.

"…I get what you're saying," he huffed. "But all the more reason then. They only met two weeks ago, it makes sense that he has no affection for her, your daughter's infatuation is clearly clouding her judgment."

"Perhaps," Clara admitted, gazing at the door. "Still… that is something that Serulia must learn for herself if she truly is making a mistake. She is not sixteen years old, dealing with an adult man, for whom intervention might be justified. She is an adult herself and needs to have such experiences. It is one of the reasons we agreed to her demand to go to the Elendir Institute of Magic instead of our own Durmen Magicademy, is it not?"

"Hmph…" the man resigned, shaking her head. "Do you think you should accept that arrogant man's offer?"

"I don't know, but it probably is something you should decide after doing more research into him. We didn't have the time to since we came rushing here the moment we heard of what happened. But I'm sure that an extensive background check will reveal much of the truth. If he truly is the greedy, money-hungry, deceitful bastard you think he is, then that would surely reflect in his life. If he is anything like what Serulia thinks of him, then that will also reflect, will it not?"

"I was going to do that, anyway, but I suppose I shouldn't be too hasty," he remarked with a knowing expression.

He gazed at the bright blue sky outside the window with a serious expression. "Still… I suspect that regardless of what I find, I will likely agree to the conditions that he provided. I don't have much of a choice. He clearly knows that. The fact that he walked away from trying to finalize a deal is him signaling that. He is definitely very bold."

The head of the Vritra Family was not particularly pleased by Cæ's condition, but alas, in this particular situation, he cared much more about what he would lose if Cæ didn't testify than the price of getting him to testify.

The idea of the Walyns' daughter simply getting off scot-free with some therapy or even just a year or two in prison for assault was something that truly enraged the head of the Vritra Family. In comparison, regardless of what Cæ's motivations were, the fact of the matter was that he had saved Serulia's life. There was absolutely no disputing that.

He would have to trust his daughter with navigating this situation effectively.

BZZZT

He gazed at his communicator with a serious expression as his eyes flew wide open.

[Leonora Walyn is about to leave the magicademy.]

His expression darkened.

"I have to go, I'll be back soon."

He stormed out of the room before his son or his wife could ask him where he was rushing to with a bloodlusted expression. He bodycasted some acceleration magic, zooming through the corridors in the magicademy at high speeds as he rushed towards the front gate.

WHOOSH

The master magetant arrived at his destination in less than ten seconds at high speeds. His eyes grew bloodshot with rage as he spotted the woman he was looking for. She was walking towards the front gate.

Her unmistakable violet hair, the black-themed clothing attire she wore, and, more importantly, the power that he sensed from her gave it away.

Beside her walked a younger, smaller version of her.

Miranda Walyn.

The woman who tried to murder his little angel.

"You're going nowhere, you little demon."

WHOOSH

He arrived between them and the gate with a swift landing.

WHOOSH!

A blast of wind swept over the area at the speed at which the master mage had moved, shocking everybody in the vicinity.

It was a day off in the magicademy, which meant that there were many students outside, simply spending time in the magicademy. They gazed at the powerful master mage in shock, many even recognizing exactly who the formidable force was.

"It's… It's the Durmen Lion!"

"The rumors that he was in the magicademy were true!"

"Shit… we need to get out of here!"

The staff of the magicademy, many of whom were mages, began sweating with fear as they realized they weren't qualified to complete their job; maintaining order.

They couldn't be blamed, either.

The air boiled with tension.

The atmosphere grew electric with peril.

The same kind that one would experience if one had a gun pressed against one's forehead. Two master mages from two different countries found themselves at odds face to face over what primed to blow up into a large conflict between two families.

Not a single person wanted to stick around to see what the fallout was going to be.

Leonora Walyn's expression remained unchanged as she simply paused, raising her arm before her daughter protectively as her magic ring glinted with power. Her eyes bore deep into the muscular, intimidating figure of the Vritra head.

"…What is the meaning of this?" Leonora asked with an eerily composed tone as her violet eyes met the piercing gaze of Master Leonul.

"Do you really need to ask?" he growled at her as he approached her. "Your daughter almost killed mine. Now you spread lies about my family, targeting yours with some nonsensical conspiracy theory. I did not care about who you were until today, but now you have made an enemy of me. And that…"

His bloodlust flared.

"That will be the greatest regret of your life."

RUMBLE…

The world shook as the powerful master mage began to unveil the tremendous power that existed within his body.

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