You Have No Choice But to Be Loyal to Me!

After capturing the men, the group began a carpet-search of the room.

They ransacked drawers and chests, even checking under the bed, but found nothing beyond some commercial ledgers and a few letters written in cryptic language.

"The money isn't here?" Renn kicked the empty cabinet in disappointment.

"It seems you are quite cautious, not carrying anything important on your person." Ye Wei'an tossed a ledger aside and looked at Gray Crow.

"Give it up, you bastard!" Even bound like a ball, Gray Crow still dared to issue threats. "You won't get anything out of me!"

"I didn't expect you to be so loyal to that woman." Ye Wei'an sneered.

"You... you actually guessed it. Well, I suppose since you recognized who I am, it was only a matter of time before you figured out the truth."

"Since you know I am the Lady's man, if you have any sense, you should let me go." With no restraints on his tongue, Gray Crow became arrogant. "You have no idea what Lady Selina is capable of. Even if you escaped this time, it's useless. The Amarisk Family's influence spans the entire eastern part of Cormyr. You might have escaped once, but can you escape every time?"

Seeing Ye Wei'an remain silent, he assumed the other was contemplating his words and struck while the iron was hot. "So, let me go and we can still talk. If I put in a good word for you, the Lady might soften her heart and perhaps allow you to return to Suzar to live out your days as a wealthy man."

"That wretched woman!"

Ailian's face flushed with anger, and she tightened her grip, causing Gray Crow to let out a sharp cry of pain. "How could she be so vicious! You endured four years of humiliation in Suzar, and she won't even leave you a path to survive... This is a disgrace to the nobility!"

Standing to the side, Cain's expression turned even uglier than Gray Crow's.

Although the Orm Family had served the Summerstar Family for generations, he had been serving in the Purple Dragon Order and had only retired home this year.

He had no idea that the internal family strife had reached such a life-or-death point.

This was no longer just a dispute over property; it was a scandal of kin turning against kin.

If he helped Ye Wei'an fight his way back to the territory to expose all of this, it would mean tearing the face off the Baron's family with his own hands and directly challenging the powerful Baroness.

Gray Crow noticed Cain's hesitation and immediately tried to persuade him to defect. "Cain Orm, you are a smart man. You should know that young master Lucas Summerstar is the Baron's legitimate son; he is the future master of this territory. Think of yourself, think of your family! It's not too late to perform a meritorious service to atone for your sins. Don't throw away your future for a bastard who is destined to disappear!"

"Cain..." Ye Wei'an keenly captured the struggle in Cain's eyes. He turned his head and said magnanimously, "If you find this difficult, it's not too late to leave now. The road ahead may involve challenging the order of the entire family."

Cain remained silent for a long time, his hand tightening and loosening on the hilt of his sword.

Finally, the knight looked at Ye Wei'an, knelt on one knee, and spoke with a heavy but firm tone:

"No, young master. The Orm Family has indeed served the Summerstar Baron for generations, but I am a knight, and my honor cannot accept using treacherous methods like assassination to deal with family members. Lady Selina's actions have deviated from justice, and I will not obey. I will follow you all the way back to Firefall Fortress to lay all this filth out under the sun."

He paused, adding with a solemn expression, "When this is over, I will personally ask the Baron for punishment for my failure to protect you, which has brought shame upon the family. But until then, no one shall harm you before my blade."

Watching Cain's death-defying demeanor, Ye Wei'an did not feel moved; instead, he shook his head.

"Cain, your loyalty is admirable, but your naivety makes me sad." He walked to the window, turning his back to the group to look out at the dark Firefall Town. "Do you think that by going back to ask my father for forgiveness, you can secure the safety of the Orm Family?"

Cain froze, opening his mouth to retort, but no words came out.

Ye Wei'an pulled up a chair and sat down, answering the question himself.

"You might say that the Baron is a just man, but what good would that do? Father is fifty years old this year. Even if he recovers from this illness, how long can he protect you?"

"And what of Lady Selina? Her older brother, Count Wulfred, is the Warden of the Eastern Marches of Cormyr. The Amarisk Family's influence is deeply rooted throughout the eastern kingdom, and the entire Summerstar Family relies on their favor. Even if everything you did today conforms to the code of chivalry, the Baron could never truly punish her."

Ye Wei'an analyzed it layer by layer, shattering Cain's hope bit by bit:

"You might say the Baron could divorce her, but what about the heir? Don't look at me; you and I both know that only a legitimate noble descendant inheriting the Firefall territory will be accepted by other nobles. Remarrying is also impossible; he is fifty, his health is poor, and he has neither the time nor the capability. So, you see, the outcome is already set. Isn't it?"

He looked at the pale-faced Cain and ruthlessly spoke the truth: "The most likely outcome of this matter is that it will be swept under the rug. When the Baron passes away, do you think Lady Selina will spare an 'upright knight' who once ruined her plans? By then, the entire Orm Family will become her target."

Hearing this, Cain's hand, which had been gripping his sword, dropped abruptly.

He realized what kind of massive trouble he had entangled himself in.

"Boss, I think the young master is right." Renn, who had been silent, couldn't help but speak up. "Actually, from the moment we received the mission to escort the young master, we were already sacrificial lambs. The outcome was either to die at the hands of bandits or to be hanged for failing to protect the young master."

"As the young master's guards, we were being roasted on a fire from both sides from the very beginning." Harold also shook his head with a bitter smile. "When nobles fight for power, it's always the people below who take the fall."

He suddenly realized the problem with his words and scratched his head in embarrassment. "Sorry, young master, I didn't mean you."

"It's fine, Harold," Ye Wei'an waved his hand dismissively. "I'm just a bastard; not many people consider me a noble anyway."

Cain looked at the two brothers who had followed him for years, then at the calm Ye Wei'an, and suddenly felt the beliefs he had held since childhood crumbling.

He realized he had nowhere left to turn.

Just as he fell into despair, Ye Wei'an spoke: "Cain, actually, you still have a choice."

Cain looked at the young man before him.

"You can choose me, and I will carve a path for you!" Ye Wei'an's tone was solemn. "I know the Orm Family has served under the banner of the 'Three Gold Stars on Blue' for generations. I promise you, when we return home, I will take back what belongs to me without splitting the Summerstar Family. As for the Orm Family, I will give it a future more illustrious than it ever had under the Summerstars."

Cain looked at the confident youth before him.

He recalled how he had used powerful magic to reverse a lost battle;

How they had worked in perfect coordination to capture the bandit leader;

How he had used healing spells to save six lives;

How he had generously divided the spoils and promised compensation;

How he had been guided by divine favor in the forest, leading them to Firefall Town in a single day;

And tonight, how he had used a simple ruse to capture Gray Crow and his bodyguards without even needing a fight.

Although they had spent less than half a month together, every single incident served as a reminder:

"Agree to his request," "This is an extraordinary young man," "This is someone worth pledging loyalty to," "Perhaps he really can pull it off?"

And so, he knelt on one knee once again.

This time, he was not kneeling to plead for the sake of his family's reputation, but truly, with his whole heart, prostrating himself before Ye Weian Xiaxing.

He drew a longsword, presented it with both hands, and spoke with a firm voice:

"...Lord Ye Weian. From this moment on, Cain Orm is no longer a knight of the Xiaxing House; I shall become your sword and shield. My life, and the honor and disgrace of my family, are all entrusted to you."

"Boss, you should have done this long ago!" Renn and Harold exchanged a glance and knelt down without hesitation.

Seeing this, Ye Weian's expression turned solemn.

Despite sitting on a crude wooden chair, the aura bolstered by his 18 points of Charisma made it feel like a throne.

In the eyes of Gray Crow and the two captured bodyguards, the young man before them seemed to be suddenly gilded with a dazzling radiance.

That suffocating sense of oppression even surpassed their old master, the lady's biological father—the Duke of Malcast, who wielded power over the entire court.

"I, Ye Weian Xiaxing, in the name of the Weave, accept your allegiance."

Following the ancient noble etiquette of Cormyr, he took Cain's sword and tapped it against the knight's shoulder.

"Cain, Renn, Harold, I do not yet have the authority to formally confer knighthood, but I promise that there will be a place for you in my future domain. As long as I do not fall, the banner of the Orm Family will never wither. Your loyalty shall be repaid a thousandfold."

Gray Crow slumped on the ground, forgetting even to struggle, merely staring blankly at Ye Weian as if meeting this illegitimate son for the first time.

It was one thing for this illegitimate son to be skilled in magic, But now, he had used their own mouths to subdue a Purple Dragon Knight and a knightly family on the spot.

With such strength and political acumen at such a young age, could the lady truly contend with such a monster?

"Wonderful, Young Master!" Ailian clapped her hands lightly from the side, congratulating her master.

She turned her head and said to the rising Cain with certainty: "Uncle Cain, pledging loyalty to the master is absolutely the most correct choice you have ever made in your life. The Young Master is not just a magic genius; the kind of..."

She had wanted to blurt out the various miraculous traits of the Young Master—such as his rapid progress in mana, or the magic that granted her power—but as the words reached her lips, she suddenly remembered that these were secrets that must never be leaked.

The little maid stuck out her tongue and forced a pivot: "...that foresight to see through all mists is something no ordinary noble can compare to! In short, following the Young Master, we will definitely win!"

Cain nodded heavily.