The room felt smaller than it actually was. It was a spacious study, designed to exude wealth and stability, featuring polished wooden floors, tall windows draped with heavy curtains, and shelves lined with ledgers and trade docunts that chronicled decades of success.
Yet at that mont, none of that mattered. The air was thick, heavy with unspoken tension. No one moved; no one dared to shift too loudly in their seats. The ticking of a clock sowhere in the hall outside sounded unnaturally clear.
Boren sat comfortably on the expensive sofa, his round body relaxed as if he were rely a guest enjoying afternoon tea. Valeria sat upright beside him, composed and quiet, her presence steady like a blade resting in its sheath.
Across from them, Aldric sat stiffly in his chair, hands resting on his knees, while Orak lingered slightly to the side, struggling to comprehend how things had escalated to this point.
Orak’s mind raced with chaos. A Guild representative had entered their ho and calmly accused his father of being involved in a massacre, hundreds had died; the Guildmaster lay in a coma.
And now they were sitting in his family’s private study as if discussing trade routes. He wanted to believe it was all a misunderstanding; he wanted to trust that his father would never be part of sothing so horrific. His father negotiated profits, not lives and built connections not graves. Yet Boren’s confident tone made it hard to dismiss.
Boren finally drew in a slow breath, it wasn’t loud but felt deliberate in the silence.
He looked directly at Aldric and said plainly, "Although I know you don’t want to admit it, we know you have sothing to do with the attack on the Guild."
There was no hesitation in his voice.
Aldric raised his head slowly; confusion had been replaced by sharp anger. "You do realize," he said firmly but controlled, "that you’re accusing of sothing serious without presenting any evidence."
Boren smiled broadly; his cheeks lifted slightly as he leaned forward casually onto his knees. "Oh," he replied lightly, "we have evidence, so much evidence that it would be hard for anyone to believe you’re not involved."
Orak felt his heart skip as he glanced between Boren and his father; Aldric’s jaw tightened.
Before Aldric could respond further, Boren raised a hand calmly to silence him. "After you collected the heart and blood essence of the Crimson Abyssal Lion," Boren continued with casual weightiness, "so of our people followed you."
Aldric’s eyes flickered for just an instant.
"You didn’t return directly to Riverdale City," Boren went on smoothly. "Instead, you took an unusual detour into the inner northern district of Greyvale, a strange choice for soone supposedly hurrying back to save their son."
The silence deepened around them.
"And interestingly," Boren remarked, tilting his head slightly, "the only reason soone of your standing would venture into that district is because of the Holy Church. You and I both know that rchants don’t suddenly develop faith in the Goddess of Light."
Aldric’s composure faltered. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but it was there. Fear flickered in his eyes before he quickly lowered his gaze.
Orak noticed it, Valeria noticed it and Boren also noticed it too.
Boren’s expression sharpened as he continued, "We also know you t soone there. We don’t have all the details about that eting, but we’re certain it took place. Moreover, we believe the attack on the Guild is linked to the Holy Church or at least to soone acting under its influence and you were the catalyst."
Aldric’s face drained of color.
Boren pressed on. "You even managed to use soone from Lady Valeria’s past against her. That required courage or perhaps desperation."
At this ntion, Valeria’s expression remained unchanged, but sothing cold stirred behind her eyes. Orak couldn’t decipher its aning, yet he sensed its weight.
Aldric sat frozen in place. He had navigated complex negotiations before; he had survived trade wars and political pressures. But this felt different, detailed and precise, indicating they hadn’t co here guessing; they had arrived prepared.
After a long pause, Aldric slowly lifted his head and looked at Boren again. His voice was quieter now: "How did you find out?"
Boren rely shook his head and offered a faint smile without answering.
That silence spoke volus.
Aldric inhaled deeply; his shoulders rose then fell as he spoke again, devoid of fight: "Yes," he admitted softly. "I knew about the attack on the Guild."
Orak felt as though the ground beneath him had shifted.
"But it wasn’t my fault," Aldric rushed to clarify. "I was used, I was just a pawn in a larger ga. Please don’t ask who masterminded this; I don’t know their identity. They promised they could cure my son and instructed to commission the mission, nothing more."
The words spilled out faster now, as if once that barrier broke, everything else followed suit: "I was used," he repeated.
Boren and Valeria exchanged a brief glance filled with understanding.
Leaning back thoughtfully, Boren asked, "You claim not to know who gave you those instructions?"
Aldric nodded solemnly. "He was enigmatic, his face concealed and his voice strange not normal at all; it felt... wrong. I’d never encountered anyone like him in trade or politics."
Valeria finally spoke up with calm steadiness: "How did he approach you?"
Aldric turned to her, his expression heavy with emotion. "He reached out first. He had information about my son’s illness that only a handful of people knew. He was aware of the mana instability, the failed treatnts, and how even the most skilled healers had given up hope. He claid he had a solution, but it required the heart and blood essence of a Sixth Order Lord Beast."
"So you believed him," Valeria said.
"I had no reason not to," Aldric replied, his voice wavering slightly. "When soone tells you there’s a chance to save your only son, you don’t question too much. You hold onto that hope."
Orak clenched his fists, overwheld by a swirl of emotions, anger, gratitude, shock, all blending together.
Boren watched silently, choosing not to interrupt.
Aldric continued, "He insisted that the Guild would need to send their strongest fighters to hunt down the beast. Timing was crucial. He warned there would be... movent in the city while they were away. He didn’t call it a massacre; he referred to it as a shift, a change in power."
"And you accepted that," Boren remarked.
Aldric shut his eyes for a brief mont. "Yes."
The word hung heavily in the air.
"For the lives lost," Aldric spoke slowly, "for the tragedy that unfolded... I am truly sorry. Even if I wasn’t the mastermind behind it all, I played a part, I won’t deny that or push all bla away."
His voice steadied despite his pale complexion.
"But I’m also a father," he added earnestly. "I had to do what any father would do when faced with their child’s dying condition. Every day brought new despair as each healer shook their head in defeat. That man offered hope, it may have been foolish hope, but it was all I had."
Silence enveloped them once more.
Boren regarded him thoughtfully before finally speaking in a calm and almost gentle tone. "I understand a father’s desperation," he said. "At least you acted on what you believed was necessary for your son’s sake, that is sothing I can respect."
Orak glanced at Boren in surprise.
"But," Boren continued firmly now, "that doesn’t change the fact that your decision contributed to the circumstances leading to the Guild’s tragedy."
Aldric lowered his gaze.
"I know," he admitted quietly.
Another silence stretched between them not as tense as before but laden with complexity; anger had faded into sothing deeper.
Slowly lifting his eyes again, Aldric asked Boren directly, "What can I do to wash away this guilt?"
It was an honest and straightforward question, the mont Boren had been waiting for.
His lips curled into a wide smile as his cheeks lifted again; this ti his small eyes sparkled faintly in the light like eralds.
Valeria noticed it right away. She had seen that look before. It wasn’t cruelty or malice; it was calculation.
Boren clasped his hands and leaned forward slightly. "There are many ways to take responsibility," he said calmly. "Words are one option. Action is another."
Aldric held his gaze steady.
"The Guild is in the process of rebuilding," Boren continued. "The Hall has been destroyed, our defensive formations shattered, equipnt lost, and families left without support. Compensation must be paid, and supplies must be replenished. The Guild cannot simply rise again without resources."
Orak quickly grasped where this conversation was headed.
Aldric remained silent. "You want compensation."
"Yes," Boren replied simply.
"How much?" Aldric took a deep breath and asked solemnly.
Boren paused before answering, letting the question linger in the air for several seconds as he studied Aldric intently. "Thirty million gold," he finally stated.
The number hung heavily in the room. Orak’s breath caught in his throat, while Aldric’s shoulders tensed slightly at the weight of the demand.
"That’s not a small sum," Aldric said slowly.
"No," Boren agreed. "It is not."
"And what do I get in return?" Aldric pressed.
"In return," Boren replied evenly, "the Guild will consider this matter resolved between us. We won’t publicly accuse you or disrupt your trade networks, and we will acknowledge your cooperation in the ongoing investigation."
Aldric narrowed his eyes slightly. "And if I refuse?"
Valeria interjected this ti. "Then the Guild will pursue every lead openly, and your na will inevitably co up."
It wasn’t a threat; it was a fact.
Aldric leaned back in his chair, deep in thought as silence enveloped them once more. Orak watched his father closely; he had never seen him so cornered before.
After what felt like an eternity, Aldric finally spoke up. "I will pay."
Orak turned sharply to him. "Father..."
"I will pay," Aldric repeated firmly. "If this is the price for my mistake, then I’ll bear it."
Boren’s smile widened just a fraction, though he maintained a professional tone. "You’re making the right choice."
Aldric nodded slowly but added, "I want sothing as well."
Boren raised an eyebrow with curiosity. "What is it?"
"Find out who used ," Aldric insisted. "Identify the person who orchestrated all of this. I may have been a pawn, but I refuse to stay one."
Boren’s eyes glimred faintly with interest. "We intend to do exactly that."
Valeria, who had mostly kept to herself until now, finally eased a bit in her seat. But when she looked at Boren again and caught that glimr in his eyes, she couldn’t help but shake her head slightly.
"Greed," she murmured under her breath. "What a contagious thing."
Boren didn’t argue with her. Sotis, greed wasn’t just about wanting more; it was about ensuring you never faced loss again.
The room fell silent after that, but the vibe had shifted. The confrontation was over, the negotiation wrapped up, and an agreent had been reached.
Yet beyond those walls, sowhere in Greyvale or even further afield, the true mastermind remained at large. And this was just the beginning.
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