Kael pushed open the door to the old merchant hall and stepped inside, the cut on his thigh pulling tight with every step. The place smelled like dust and expensive cologne that did not belong in Caldmere. A handful of village girls waited in a line along one wall, all of them young and dressed up, but a couple looked like they had been crying. One kept glancing at the door like she wanted to bolt. No one talked much. The air felt thick.
A servant in fancy livery checked Kael's name off a list and nodded toward a side room. "Lord Cassiver will see you now. Speak clear and do not waste his time."
Kael limped in. Lord Edran Cassiver sat behind a heavy table, legs crossed, looking like he owned the whole village and everything in it. Mid-thirties, slick dark hair, sharp face, and clothes that probably cost more than Kael's family made in a year. His eyes flicked over Kael slow and appraising, the way a man looks at livestock he might buy or break.
"Farmboy," Cassiver said, voice smooth but cold. "Dawnmore, right? Sit."
Kael sat. His ribs still hurt from the beating on the road, but he kept his back straight.
Cassiver leaned forward, elbows on the table. "I need servants for my household at the capital academy. Clean, quiet, obedient. You do what you are told, when you are told. Pay is good. Protection is better. But cross me and your family finds out how small their farm really is."
Kael nodded. "I understand, my lord. I work hard. I do not complain."
Cassiver's mouth curved into something that was not quite a smile. He stood up and walked around the table, stopping close enough that Kael could smell the wine on his breath. One hand came up and tilted Kael's chin, turning his face left and right like he was checking for flaws.
"Decent bone structure. A little rough around the edges, but clean it up and you might pass for useful. Not my type, though." He let go and stepped back, chuckling low. "I prefer the softer ones. Girls with fire in them. The kind that fight a little before they learn their place."
Outside the room, Kael heard a girl's voice rise, shaky and scared. "Please, my lord, my father needs me on the farm. I cannot just leave."
Cassiver's expression did not change. He raised his voice just enough for the servant at the door to hear. "Convince her family. Offer the usual coin. If they refuse, remind them who holds the taxes on their land this year. I want three this time. The prettiest ones. And that Voss boy too. The quiet twin with the long hair. He has a face that could fool half the academy from a distance. My son will find him entertaining enough to keep around."
Kael's stomach dropped. Eren. They were forcing Eren. The guy who wanted nothing to do with any of this. The one who had saved his ass on the road yesterday and then walked away like it was nothing. Cassiver did not even look guilty about it. He just sounded bored, like picking out new toys for his collection.
"The girls are already packed," Cassiver continued, waving a hand. "Their families were… persuaded. The boy put up more of a fight, but a few words about what happens to stubborn farmers who refuse High House requests fixed that. He leaves with us whether he likes it or not."
Kael sat there, jaw tight, saying nothing. He knew exactly what kind of man this was now. Not just some rich asshole. The type who took what he wanted and made sure no one could stop him. The girls outside were not volunteers. They were being dragged into this because they were beautiful and their families were poor. And Eren… Eren had probably tried to refuse, same as always, and the noble had crushed it without a second thought.
Cassiver sat back down and tapped the table. "You, though. You are different. You came here on your own. No family begging you to stay. That makes you useful. You will serve without whining. You are hired. Report at dawn in two days. My caravan leaves then. Try not to bleed all over my wagons before we reach the capital."
Kael stood up slowly, leg throbbing. "Thank you, my lord."
He left the room before Cassiver could touch him again. Outside, two of the girls were already being led away by servants, one of them wiping tears off her face while the other stared straight ahead like she had gone numb. The third spot must have been filled earlier. Kael did not ask. He just walked out of the hall and kept walking until the village was behind him.
The whole way home his mind kept turning it over. Lord Cassiver was not just lecherous. He was the kind of evil that wore fine clothes and smiled while he ruined lives. He took girls because he could. Because they were pretty and powerless. And for some reason he had decided Eren's long hair and soft face made him worth forcing too. Maybe for his son. Maybe just to prove he could break anyone.
Kael got back to the empty house, sat on the porch, and pressed a fresh rag to his leg. The cut had opened again. Blood soaked through slow and dark.
Two days. Then he would climb into that caravan with a monster and three people who did not want to be there. Two girls who had been ripped from their families. And Eren, who had probably spent the last day trying every way he could think of to stay invisible and failed.
Kael stared at the dirt path leading out of the village. Part of him wanted to warn someone. Part of him knew it would not matter. High House Cassiver did not lose.
He tied the bandage tighter and stood up.
This was the only door left open. Dirty, ugly, and guarded by a man who collected people like pets. But it led to the capital. To the academy. To a chance to stop being the kid everyone laughed at.
He would walk through it.
Even if it meant watching the noble break three more lives along the way.
The sun was setting when Kael finally went inside. He did not sleep much that night. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Cassiver's smile and heard that girl's shaky voice begging to stay home.
Dawn in two days.
He would be ready.