The thug's hand, thick and calloused, hovered inches from Valeria's face. He paused, not because of her physical threat, a girl in a ragged dress holding a pebble was hardly terrifying, but because of her eyes.
For a fleeting second, the violet irises seemed to glow with a chilling, unnatural luminescence. It was the Vespera bloodline trait, the "Witch's Gaze," a mark of high nobility that the Garnetts had forced Elise to hide behind bangs for years. Now, with her hair tied back and her gaze direct, the effect was paralyzing.
"Regret it?" the thug sneered, shaking off the unease. "You got a lot of lip for a girl worth three gold coins."
He lunged.
Valeria didn't flinch, but her mind raced. System, identify weak point.
[Target: Human Male. Class: Thug. Weakness: Left Knee (Old Injury). Probability of Success with Stone: 12%.]
Twelve percent. The odds were abysmal. She tightened her grip on the sharp stone in her pocket, preparing to strike anyway.
But she didn't have to.
A massive, blurry shape slammed into the thug from the side.
CRACK.
The sound of bone hitting bone echoed in the yard. The thug flew backward, crashing into the rotting fence before collapsing into the dirt, wheezing.
Kael stood where the thug had been. He was panting heavily, his weight entirely on his good right leg, his left leg trembling violently from the impact. He had used his body as a battering ram.
He didn't look at Valeria. He glared at Ma Garnett, his golden eyes burning with a feral, suicidal rage. His lips peeled back to reveal fangs that were dull from malnutrition but still lethal.
"No one," Kael snarled, his voice a low rumble that vibrated in the chests of everyone present, "touches her while I breathe."
Valeria stared at his broad back. Her heart skipped a beat. He wasn't doing this out of love. He hated her. He was doing this because she was his burden, his tormentor, and perhaps, in his twisted logic, his responsibility. Or maybe it was just the yam she had fed him five minutes ago.
Ma Garnett shrieked, clutching her pearls. "It bit him! The beast went crazy! Kill it! Kill it now!"
The other four thugs raised their cudgels, stepping forward.
"Wait."
The single word cut through the chaos like a whip crack. It came from Valeria.
She stepped out from behind Kael, placing a hand on his trembling arm. His muscles were hard as rock and radiating heat. He flinched at her touch but didn't pull away.
"You really are stupid, aren't you, Ma?" Valeria said, her voice dripping with disdain. She looked at the Broker, the man with the monocle who had been watching the violence with bored indifference. "And you. You call yourself a businessman? Do you usually buy stolen goods without checking the provenance?"
The Broker raised an eyebrow. "Stolen goods? Ma Garnett has the papers."
"She has papers stating she is my guardian," Valeria corrected. She took a step toward the Broker, ignoring the thugs flanking her. "But she does not have the Title Deed to the Oakhaven Estate. And she certainly does not have the Bill of Sale for these five beastmen."
Ma Garnett turned a blotchy shade of purple. "Liar! I have the rights! Her parents cut her off! She's destitute!"
"My parents," Valeria said, emphasizing the word, "are the Grand Duke Vespera of the Nightfall Duchy. Do you know what the penalty is for trafficking the daughter of a Duke, even an estranged one? It isn't a fine. It's execution. Summary execution."
The Broker stiffened. He looked at Valeria, really looked at her, for the first time. He saw the violet eyes. He saw the high cheekbones. He saw the arrogance that couldn't be faked by a peasant.
"The Vespera family..." the Broker muttered, his greed warring with his survival instinct. "The Violet Eyes."
"He stopped the stipend," Valeria bluffed smoothly, relying on the novel's backstory. "He did not strip me of my name. If I disappear into a brothel, and my family eventually sends an inquiry... who do you think Ma Garnett will blame? She will say you kidnapped me."
Valeria turned her gaze to Ma Garnett. "Won't you, Ma?"
Ma Garnett sputtered. "I... I... You ungrateful wretched brat! I fed you! I clothed you!"
"You embezzled from me," Valeria countered. "For ten years. And now you're trying to sell me to cover your debts."
Valeria looked back at the Broker. "Walk away. Take your men. Or stay, and I guarantee that when the Imperial Knights come looking for the missing Vespera heir, your name will be the first one I give them."
It was a gamble. A massive one. In reality, the Duke didn't care about Elise. He had abandoned her. But the Broker didn't know that. Fear of the nobility was the strongest law in this world.
The Broker adjusted his monocle. He looked at the frothing Ma Garnett, then at the ferocious Tiger standing guard, and finally at the cold, imperious girl.
"I don't deal in domestic disputes," the Broker said, snapping his ledger shut. "Too much paperwork."
"What?" Ma Garnett screamed. "You can't leave! They owe me money! Look at this place! It's mine!"
"Sort it out yourself, woman," the Broker spat. He whistled to his thugs. "Let's go. We're wasting time."
The thug on the ground groaned, clutching his ribs as his companions hauled him up. They glared at Kael but retreated, cowed by their boss's order.
Ma Garnett was left standing alone in the yard, her face a mask of shock and fury.
Valeria turned to her. "You have three seconds to get off my land before I release the Wolf."
She pointed to Silas, who was pulling at his chain, growling in sync with the tension.
Ma Garnett looked at Silas, then at the sharp stone in Valeria's hand.
"This isn't over!" she screeched, backing away toward the broken gate. "You have no food! No money! Winter is coming! You'll come crawling to me in a week, begging to be sold!"
She turned and waddled after the thugs, her curses fading as she disappeared down the dirt road.
Silence descended on the yard.
Valeria let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her knees felt like water. She turned to Kael, intending to thank him.
"That was—"
Kael didn't hear her. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he crumpled to the ground.
"Kael!"
Valeria dropped to her knees beside him. The other husbands shouted in alarm. Caspian dragged himself over, his dry skin cracking with the movement.
Valeria checked Kael's pulse. It was fast and thready. She touched his forehead. He was burning up.
"He used too much Mana," Caspian rasped, his voice sounding like sandpaper. "His core... it's shattered. He can't channel strength like that without leakage. He's poisoning himself."
Valeria looked at Kael's leg. The bad leg. It was swollen, the skin tight and red. The impact of the tackle had aggravated the old injury, and the stress had triggered a Mana backlash.
"Help me get him inside," Valeria ordered. "Now!"
Caspian tried to lift Kael's shoulders, but he was too weak. Ignis, the Dragon, crawled over, shame burning in his eyes as he uselessly tried to push Kael's legs.
"Useless," Ignis hissed at himself. "We are useless."
"Stop it," Valeria snapped. She grabbed Kael's arm. "Caspian, take the other side. On three. One, two, three!"
With a groan of effort, Valeria and the Shark managed to drag the unconscious Tiger across the dirt, up the single step, and into the annex. They laid him on Valeria's straw mattress that was the only semi-clean spot in the building.
The other husbands crowded into the doorway. Silas was whining, lucid enough to understand the leader was down. Lucian was weeping silently, tears tracking through the dirt on his face.
Valeria looked at them. They were a mess. Broken, dirty, starving, and terrified. And Kael was dying.
"Get out," Valeria said softly.
Caspian stiffened. "No. We won't leave him with you. You'll hurt him."
"I said get out!" Valeria roared, turning on them with such ferocity that they flinched. "I need to heal him! I can't do it with you crowding the air! Go to the kitchen. Boil the yam skins. Make broth. Do something useful!"
Caspian stared at her, his dark eyes searching hers. He saw desperation there, not malice.
"If he dies," Caspian whispered, "I will kill you. Even if I have to crawl to do it."
"Fair enough," Valeria said. "Now go."
Caspian ushered the others out and closed the door.
As soon as they were gone, Valeria locked the flimsy latch. She turned back to Kael. He was convulsing slightly, foam gathering at the corners of his mouth.
[Target: Kael. Status: Mana Collapse. Critical. Time to organ failure: 20 minutes.]
"Not on my watch," Valeria muttered.
She closed her eyes. Library. Open.
She appeared in the atrium. She didn't look at the books. She ran straight to the Spirit Spring.
She grabbed the crystal pitcher sitting on the rim—an item she had noticed earlier but hadn't touched. She filled it with the undiluted, potent essence from the fountain's source.
Exit.
She reappeared in the room, the pitcher in her hand. The water inside glowed with a faint, blue light.
She lifted Kael's head and pressed the pitcher to his lips.
"Drink," she whispered. "Come on, big guy. Drink."
Some of it spilled down his chin, but he swallowed instinctively.
The reaction was immediate.
Kael arched his back, a guttural roar tearing from his throat. His golden eyes flew open, but they were glowing with pure energy.
Beneath the skin of his left leg, Valeria could see movement. It looked like snakes writhing under the flesh. It was the bones knitting together. The shattered fragments of his beast core were being forcefully realigned by the high-density Mana.
It was agonizing.
Kael thrashed, his hand shooting out to grip Valeria's wrist. His claws extended, digging into her skin, drawing blood.
Valeria didn't pull away. She gritted her teeth against the pain, holding him down with her other hand.
"Bear it," she hissed. "You have to bear it."
Steam began to rise from his body. His temperature spiked, then plummeted. The grey, sickly pallor of his skin began to fade, replaced by a healthy, sun-kissed tan. The matted filth in his hair seemed to be pushed out by new, glossy growth.
After five agonizing minutes, Kael went limp. His breathing evened out into a deep, restorative sleep.
Valeria slumped back against the wall, cradling her bleeding wrist. She looked at the pitcher. It was empty.
[Target: Kael. Status: Stabilized. Evolution Progress: 15%.]
[Note: Direct consumption of Spirit Essence has triggered latent bloodline awakening.]
Valeria let out a shaky laugh. She tore a strip from her petticoat and wrapped her wrist.
She looked at Kael. He looked... different. Younger. The lines of pain around his eyes had smoothed out. His jaw was strong, his lashes long and gold. He was undeniably handsome.
"One down," she whispered. "Four to go."
She couldn't rest yet. The threat Ma Garnett left hanging in the air was real. They had no money. They had no food stocks other than a few yams. And winter was indeed coming.
She needed to secure the perimeter.
Valeria stood up, her legs trembling. She hid the crystal pitcher under the mattress. Then she opened the door.
The four husbands were huddled in the hallway, looking like frightened children. When the door opened, they scrambled back.
"He's alive," Valeria said, her voice tired. "He's sleeping. Don't wake him."
Shoulders slumped in collective relief.
"Now," Valeria said, stepping into the hallway. "We need to talk about the house."
"The house?" Caspian asked, leaning against the wall for support.
"The Garnetts have the main house," Valeria said. "But the deed is in my name. Which means legally, they are squatters. But physically, they have walls and we have a shed."
She walked past them to the "kitchen" where a pot of water with yam skins was boiling. It smelled surprisingly savory.
"Tonight, we eat," Valeria said. "Tomorrow, we take back what's ours."
"Take it back?" Ignis spoke up from the floor. "How? We can barely walk. Kael is down. You have... a stone."
Valeria turned to the Dragon. "I don't need muscles to take back a house, Ignis. I have a library."
"A what?" Ignis frowned.
"A brain," Valeria corrected herself. "Something this family has been lacking for a long time."
She looked at the boiling broth.
"Does anyone know how to read?" she asked.
The husbands exchanged glances.
"I do," Ignis said, lifting his chin slightly. "I was a General and a Military Strategist. I read strategy."
"Good," Valeria said. She reached into the air—to them, it looked like she was reaching into her pocket—and pulled out a folded piece of parchment she had extracted from the Imperial Legal Code book in her space during the healing session.
She tossed it onto the dirty floor in front of Ignis.
"Read that. It's the Imperial Tenant Eviction Act, Clause 4. Look for the section on 'Hostile Occupation via Embezzlement'."
Ignis looked at the paper, then at her. "Where did you get this?"
"I have my sources," Valeria said enigmatically. "Memorize it. Tomorrow, we aren't fighting with fists. We're fighting with bureaucracy. And trust me, nothing destroys a greedy commoner faster than Imperial paperwork."
She ladled the broth into five wooden bowls she found stacked in the corner.
"Eat," she commanded. "We have a busy day tomorrow."
As the husbands ate, casting wary glances at her, Valeria sat in the corner, nursing her injured wrist. She watched them.
The dynamic had shifted. They didn't trust her. They probably still hated her. But for the first time, they were listening to her.
And in the silence of the room, Kael slept peacefully on her bed, his chest rising and falling, strong and steady.