The caravan slowly entered the inner courtyard of Firefall Fortress. Its oak wheels rolled over the gravel road with a deep rumble.
Ye Wei'an had changed clothes in the carriage. Ailian draped a Battlemage Academy wizard's robe over his shoulders. It was deep blue-purple, sharply tailored and close-fitting, with silver clasps at the cuffs, giving him a crisp, austere air.
The moment Ye Wei'an stepped down from the carriage, it was as if someone had pressed the mute button on the entire castle.
Ye Wei'an headed for the lord's residence on foot with Ailian, Cain, and several infantrymen. The others went to arrange storage for the carriages and cargo.
The return of the "bastard son" after four years away naturally drew everyone's attention throughout the castle.
Servants peered out from the corridors, maids whispered behind stone pillars, and even the patrolling guards slowed their steps, eyeing him with complicated expressions.
"Lady Firehair above, is that Young Master Ye Wei'an? If it weren't for his black hair, I wouldn't recognize him... When did he become so imposing?" A young maid blushed, unable to tear her eyes away.
Lady Firehair, Sune, was the goddess of love and beauty in Faerûn, worshipped by young men and women yearning for love.
"What good is being handsome? A bastard is still a bastard." An old gardener curled his lip and muttered, "He amounted to nothing before. He spent four years in Suzaur, and aside from learning how to burn through money, I doubt he can even cast the lowest-level Fireball."
"Is that really Young Master Ye Wei'an? Then what's with all this fanfare?" An old servant rubbed his eyes. "When he left four years ago, he had to carry his own luggage."
"What do you think? He probably couldn't make it in Suzaur, so he used what little living money he had to hire a few people to put on a show." A young attendant leaned against the stable, his tone cutting. "A useless fool is still a useless fool. Putting on a wizard's robe won't make him a mage."
One of the Amarisk private soldiers laughed openly. "Well, look at that—our 'young master' is back. What a pity. The lady said it long ago: Firefall Fortress doesn't keep useless idlers, especially not a dud who can only do parlor tricks."
Those piercing jeers reached Cain and the guards accompanying him.
One of them couldn't take it anymore. Timothy suddenly stepped forward, his hand on his sword hilt and his eyes blazing. "Torm's beard! You foul-mouthed wretch, show the young master disrespect again and I'll cut out your tongue and feed it to the dogs!"
The castle guards were startled by his roar, but a moment later they burst out laughing.
"Well, well. What kind of spell has this 'useless fool' put on you lot? Is he worth risking your lives for?"
Someone who knew Timothy even warned him, "Hey, buddy, is it really worth it? Don't start a fight in Firefall Fortress over a bastard."
Cain stopped Timothy from charging in and swept a cold gaze around the courtyard.
The killing intent in his eyes gradually silenced the laughter.
"Useless? You dare call Lord Ye Wei'an useless?" Cain sneered, his voice loud enough for half the courtyard to hear. "You soft-bellied cowards who do nothing but huddle in the castle and lick plates have no idea who you're talking about! Just five days ago, that very 'useless fool' you mock led us to defeat 'Butcher' Grumman and his band of robbers!"
"'Butcher' Grumman?" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
"That's right! Not only did he take down that band of robbers who'd been entrenched for years, but he also dealt with their backer, the 'Gray Crow' of Firefall Town! The young master isn't just a powerful wizard—he's a savior to thousands of people in Firefall Town. He gave most of the dirty money Gray Crow had squeezed out of them over the years back to its victims!"
Cain grew more impassioned with every word, his voice brimming with pride. "While he was rooting out evil in Firefall Town and winning honor for the family, what was your legitimate young master doing?! You have no right to judge Lord Ye Wei'an. In my eyes, he's the baron's true heir!"
The courtyard fell deathly silent.
The maids stopped whispering, and the attendants who had been sneering froze in place.
They looked at Ye Wei'an's upright figure, then at his imposing escort, and felt an absurd yet undeniable shock surge through them.
Could that bastard son, who four years ago hadn't even dared to speak loudly, really have mastered powerful magic?
They all knew the name "Butcher" Grumman, and many of them knew of "Gray Crow," too.
That bastard... had actually taken them both down?
Elsewhere, the caravan came to a stop near the stables and the outer warehouses.
The castle guards responsible for receiving the supplies came forward, ready to inspect them with their usual arrogance. But the mountain of crates inside the carriages left them gaping.
"Waukeen's skirts... What's in these carriages? A gold mine?" One guard stared at the axles, sunk into the mud, his eyes nearly popping out. "So much grain and cloth, even crates of iron goods. Where did that bastard get all this?"
"Keep your filthy hands off!" A soldier guarding the supplies shoved him aside and patted the hilt at his waist with a boastful grin. "These are spoils the young master won from clearing out robbers and crooked merchants, along with supplies the merchants of Firefall Town 'volunteered' to donate. Never seen anything like this, country bumpkin? Then stay back!"
Meanwhile, Renn was leading dozens of laborers toward an empty patch of ground beside the stables.
The laborers had worked alongside the caravan all the way here. They were tired, but their faces were full of anticipation.
"The young master said everyone should line up here."
Renn took out a heavy leather pouch and began handing out the pay for the last leg of the journey as Ye Wei'an had instructed. "Each of you gets five extra silver coins for rushing along these past two days. The castle will also provide hot water and hot soup. You'll rest tonight in the west wing."
"Hey! What are you doing?" A castle steward came hurrying over, clutching his robe. Watching Renn hand out money seemed to pain him as if flesh were being cut from his own body. "Sharess above, you're not only giving these peasants silver coins, you're letting them stay in the guest rooms, too? Renn, did a warhorse kick your head in?"
Renn frowned and gave him a cold look.
"The castle's guest rooms are for respectable noble attendants, not these sweaty commoners!" The steward pointed at the fidgeting laborers, his face full of disgust. "Give them a couple of pieces of black bread and let them make do in the hay shed for a night. That's already the baron's generosity."
Renn's expression darkened at once.
During their journey, he'd already been won over by Ye Wei'an's vision.
Most of them came from commoner families. Though they'd grown used to the old attitude of mistreating commoners, they found themselves respecting a leader like Ye Wei'an.
If the young master was willing to treat commoners well, then it had to be the right thing to do.
He grabbed the steward by the collar and lifted the fat pig clean off the ground.
"Say that again!"
"Y-You! What do you think you're doing? I'm the baroness's..."
"I don't care whose lackey you are!" Renn slammed him against the wall. "These people are workers the young master hired, and they've done plenty of hard work along the way. The young master said to take care of them, so you'd better do it properly! Arrange their food and lodging right now. If I see anyone tonight who hasn't had hot soup, I'll shove your head into a latrine tomorrow and see if your baroness can save you then!"
"Expenses! Have you considered the expenses?" the steward shrieked. "The lady strictly audits the castle's spending..."
"To hell with the expenses!" Renn pulled out a handful of silver coins and flung them straight at the steward's chest.
The coins clattered to the ground.
"The young master will pay! This is just a deposit. Now get to work!"
Dazed from being pelted with coins, the steward crouched greedily to pick them up, still muttering, "He's mad, completely mad... Sharess protect us. I think this bastard wants to rebel."
The laborers watched from a distance.
They clutched their wages, still warm from being held, and their eyes brimmed with tears.
"Only Young Master Ye Wei'an treats us like people..." An old farmer wiped his eyes as he spoke to the man beside him.
"Torm above, even though they're all Summerstars, how can they be so different?" A young laborer glared resentfully at the cold lord's residence. "Those nobles are rotten to the core. Only Young Master Ye Wei'an... He's different."
"That's right. Everyone in the Summerstar Family is rotten to the core except the young master."
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