An Important Figure

Hearing the Sea-Melded's tearful lament, Ethan rubbed his chin.

He didn't know much about the Sea Race's situation, and no one had specifically taught him about this at Blood Bone Tower.

After all, at a Black Wizard academy, the curriculum was entirely focused on combat, alchemy, and dissection. No one would waste time studying the livelihood of subordinate races.

“So you resort to kidnapping?”

“What's wrong with kidnapping?” All the suction cups on the Sea-Melded's neck flared open. “One thousand three hundred and fifty magic stones is enough to buy a year's worth of cultivation resources for our entire tribe. The magic stones you wizards can earn with a flick of your fingers are things we have to risk our lives for. You're an Official Wizard, so you know how much a cultivation aid potion costs, right? But what about us? Do we not cultivate? Huh?”

It sniffled, and a few more murky tears rolled out of its large eye. “Do you think I wanted to come to land? It's dry and hot, and I have to sneak around like a rat, unable to even soak in seawater. My gills are practically dried out.”

Ethan stared at the pathetic state of the Sea-Melded and opened his mouth.

He wanted to say something, but the words felt off as they reached his lips.

Say “You have it tough”?

He was an Official Wizard; saying something like that would sound incredibly fake.

Say “The Wizard Council's taxes really are brutal”?

Coming from his mouth, that would be even more inappropriate.

He was part of the wizard system, after all. Taking an outsider's side would make no sense.

Say “But that still doesn't give you the right to kidnap my brother”?

That would be even stupider.

The Sea-Melded was just doing a job for money. Trying to reason with a kidnapper was a complete waste of time.

Still, Duke Garce was certainly bold.

One thousand three hundred and fifty magic stones.

To dare move against House Leo for such a measly sum.

Did he really not know I was at Blood Bone Tower?

Or perhaps he thought he could cover it up?

Heh, the wisdom of mortals.

Quite amusing.

The Sea-Melded's bulging large eye stared intently at Ethan's face, its crooked lips trembling several times.

“My lord, you see, I've told you everything. I didn't hide a single thing.” Its voice dropped to an absolute whisper, its triangular, cone-shaped teeth gleaming wetly under the sickly green glow of the fluorescent stones. “I was just doing a job for money. I really didn't know he was your brother. If I had known, I wouldn't have dared touch anyone from your family even if I had a hundred times more courage.”

Ethan merely stared at it, remaining completely silent.

Seeing him remain silent, more murky tears rolled out of the Sea-Melded's large eye, its crooked mouth drooping downward.

“We Sea-Melded live such a bitter life in the deep sea, my lord. It took me a hundred years to save up less than fifteen hundred magic stones. I was driven to a corner and had no choice but to take this job.”

It sniffled, the five limbs of its starfish tail drooping weakly on the ground.

“My lord, please show mercy and let me go. I'll return to the deep sea immediately and never set foot on land again for the rest of my life. If you're worried, I can swear an oath in the name of the Sea Race that I will never speak a word of today's events to anyone.”

Ethan nodded.

“How pitiful. Don't worry, it won't happen again.”

An imperceptible gleam flashed through the Sea-Melded's large eye. Its octopus tentacles wriggled slightly, and the bone spurs on its ribbonfish-like arms retracted.

“Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord! I knew you were an important figure who wouldn't lower yourself to bicker with a small character like me. I'll get lost and head back to the deep sea right away. If you ever need anything in the future, just say the word, and our entire Sea-Melded branch will be at your disposal.”

It began to frantically spout flattery, speaking as fast as pouring beans from a jar.

A sycophantic, twisted smile squeezed onto its crooked face. Its cone-shaped teeth showed from the corner of its mouth, which, paired with its bulging large eye and deeply sunken small eye, looked uglier than if it were crying.

“You're an Official Wizard at such a young age, my lord; your future is bound to be limitless. It is an honor for a minor Sea Race branch like mine to serve you. Rest assured, I can also help you handle Duke Garce. I still have a few informants on his side, and I guarantee—”

Mid-sentence, countless hair-thin vines surged out from the cracks between the stone slabs around it.

The vines silently wrapped around its octopus tentacles, ribbonfish-like arms, and starfish tail, slithering into the gaps of its suction cups, winding around the base of its bone spurs, and tightening around the joints of its limbs.

The Sea-Melded's words caught in its throat.

The flattering smile on its crooked face stiffened inch by inch, then shattered.

“No, you can't do this.” Its voice began to tremble, its bulging large eye reflecting the tightening fine vines. “I am a registered First-Tier lifeform of the Sea Race! I am a free citizen! You cannot use me for experiments!”

Ethan looked at it, his lips curving up slightly.

“How can you say that? You're doing this out of a guilty conscience, cooperating with my experiments. I'm certainly not forcing you.”

“Bullshit!” The Sea-Melded struggled frantically, the suction cups on its octopus tentacles opening and closing rapidly, and the five limbs of its starfish tail twitched wildly. “That's a ridiculous argument! I am an officially registered First-Tier lifeform of the Sea Race! If you use me for experiments, the Sea Race will hold you accountable! I have a soul imprint! If I die, the Sea Race Royal Court will know!”

The vines continued to tighten, suppressing its struggles bit by bit.

“So what if they know?” Ethan said. “You kidnapped a descendant of House Leo first, and I killed you on the spot afterward. If the Sea Race Royal Court wants to hold someone accountable, tell them to come find me. It just so happens that I also want to ask them how they plan to settle the score for the Sea-Melded secretly taking private jobs to kidnap members of a wizard family.”

The Sea-Melded's face turned completely pale. The last trace of color drained from its crooked face, its grayish-white skin taking on a deathly, dismal luster under the light of the fluorescent stones.

“You're a demon...”

“Enjoy your final happy moments.”

...

The long table in the drawing room was covered in a dark purple velvet cloth, and the candles on the silver candelabras had already been replaced once.

Duke Leo sat in the host's seat, his fingers resting on the armrests.

Ford stood half a step behind him, his gray hair combed immaculately.

Gal stood at the far end of the drawing room. His dark green robe was completely out of place amidst the aristocratic decor. His hood still covered most of his face, and several tentacles were tucked tightly against the edges of his robe.

The three dukes and the Emperor sat on the right side of the long table, each with two personal guards standing behind them.

Duke Windsor sat closest to the host's seat.

He was thin, with high, protruding cheekbones and deeply sunken eyes.

The young man standing behind him was someone he had brought along.

Duke Natt sat next to Duke Windsor.

The plump old man constantly wiped the sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief, his fingers tapping rapidly and impatiently on the armrest.

The young man behind him stood straight as a ramrod, a standard aristocratic smile plastered on his face.

Duke Mindrow was the youngest, in his early forties, with a neatly trimmed beard on his chin.

His sitting posture was the most relaxed, with one hand draped over the back of the chair as his gaze swept back and forth across the drawing room.

A young man stood behind him as well.

Emperor Julian sat directly opposite the host's seat.

This supreme ruler of the Thorn Empire was already in his sixties. His hair was white, and the wrinkles on his face looked as though they had been carved with a knife.

He wore a dark gold robe, and three massive gemstone rings adorned his fingers.

Standing behind him were two young boys who shared a seventy-to-eighty percent resemblance, both possessing the hooked noses and thin lips characteristic of the imperial family.