Asking for the Moon

"Lucas!" Selina screamed and lunged forward like a madwoman, trying to put out the flames.

But the moment her hand touched the blue fire, a piercing pain shot through her fingertips, and half her sleeve instantly burned to ash.

"You idiots, don't just stand there! Save him!" Selina shrieked hysterically, her voice warped by fear.

Her attendants fell into chaos. Some tore down the massive velvet curtains to smother the flames, while others grabbed bowls of cold soup and water from the vases and dumped them over him.

Sizzle—!

The blue-white flames didn't go out in the water. Instead, they blazed even hotter, as if the water had only fueled them.

This was no ordinary fire. No ordinary method could put it out.

Selina was desperate.

Watching her only son writhe in the flames, and the servants futilely trying to beat them out, she cursed his stupidity in her heart. How had he dared provoke a Wizard to his face?

But there was nothing she could do. As his mother, she had to make amends for her son's mistake.

"Stop! Ye Wei'an, have you gone mad?!" she shrieked. "He's your father's only legitimate heir! If you kill him, the Purple Dragon Order will hang you from the walls of Suzar! And you can forget getting a single coin from the Summerstar Family's lands!"

Ye Wei'an silently watched the dancing flames. His fingertip twitched, and their color deepened another shade.

Selina's face grew even paler, the firelight scorching away the last pretense of her threats.

She trembled as she took a step forward, her voice turning pleading. "Listen... Wei'an, if you let him go, I'll persuade the Baron to give you the mines south of Firefall Valley... No, we can even discuss your right to inherit the title! Just let him go!"

But the only answer was her son's bloodcurdling scream.

At that moment, something proud within Selina finally broke.

She realized that the young man before her, so calm he seemed cruel, didn't care about the territory or the family's hollow honor.

He only wanted revenge for Lucas's disrespect.

Selina's mind raced, and her skill at reading people quickly showed her the answer:

The only way to extinguish his rage was to give him the compensation he wanted—to let him watch the man who had once trampled on his pride crawl at his feet like a beaten dog.

But how could she—

Even if I die, I'll never bow to this lowly bastard... Her pride kept her from making a decision.

"Ahhhhh! Mother! Save me! Save me!"

Another scream struck Selina in the heart like a red-hot iron brand.

He was the only son she had spoiled for twelve years, her only hope.

Her son's scream was the final straw.

"Thud!"

The proud daughter of a duke and mistress of the Summerstar Family dropped heavily to her knees before Ye Wei'an, in full view of everyone.

"Stop... By Sharess, please, stop!" Disheveled, she clutched the hem of Ye Wei'an's robe and begged, "Let him go... Wei'an, he's only twelve! For my sake, as a mother... for his sake, as your younger brother, please!"

"For your sake, as a mother?"

Ye Wei'an looked down at her coldly. "I can do it for your sake as a mother, but your son didn't seem to show my mother any respect."

"I was wrong! It was all my fault! I raised him badly!" Selina banged her forehead against the floor. "If you let him go, I swear I'll punish him severely! I'll confine him, make him repent at the temple, make him swear on the Holy Symbol! I promise he'll never dare show you the slightest disrespect again! Please... I swear by the goddess, spare him!"

Ye Wei'an watched Lucas roll on the floor, screaming. After a moment's silence, he finally sighed.

"I'll give you one chance."

With that, he waved his hand.

The Spellfire, which even water hadn't been able to extinguish, vanished with a whoosh, as though it had never been there.

The screaming stopped abruptly. The only sound left in the dining hall was Lucas's frightened sobbing.

Lady Selina hurried over, but the moment she saw what Lucas looked like, she froze.

Lucas was curled up on the floor, completely naked. His fine clothes had long since turned to ash, but he was otherwise unharmed.

Except for his hair.

Every bit of hair on Lucas's body—on his head, his eyebrows, his eyelashes, even below the waist—had burned away without a single strand left. The rest of him, however, was untouched.

With his heavyset build, Lucas now looked like a white pig that had been scalded and plucked: ridiculous and pitiful.

"My Lucas..." Selina examined him from head to toe, only to find that aside from some redness on his skin, he hadn't suffered a single burn. He didn't even have a blister.

"It was just a little lesson." Ye Wei'an smiled faintly at Selina's bewildered expression. "He's my 'dear' younger brother, after all. His upbringing was neglected, so as his older brother, I had to take the trouble to teach him."

Selina was both shocked and relieved.

She was relieved that Ye Wei'an hadn't gone so mad as to murder his own brother in front of everyone. The worst outcome had been avoided.

But his precise control over magic was truly beyond anything she could have imagined.

At the Amarisk Family's estate, Lady Selina had seen powerful spellcasters before—her own aunt was a fifth-circle Wizard.

But only a true master specializing in evocation magic could have done this.

She had already estimated his abilities as highly as she could, yet she had still underestimated the bastard.

At only sixteen, he could already do this. He would be considered a genius even in all of Cormyr.

The more Selina thought about it, the more she felt the goddess was unfair. Why had such talent been bestowed upon a bastard, while Lucas, with the Amarisk Family's noble blood, had turned out like this...?

Looking at her sobbing son in her arms, Selina sighed.

"Quick! Bring some towels! Do you want the young master to catch a cold?" she yelled at her stunned attendants.

Two maids snapped out of it and hurriedly wrapped the naked white pig in the curtains.

"Get me out of here! Take me away from that demon!" Lucas shrieked, his voice distorted. Like a frightened quail, he huddled in the towels, too afraid to even look at Ye Wei'an. The servants carried him straight out of the dining hall.

The dining hall was now a mess, littered with broken porcelain and scorched curtains.

Ye Wei'an pulled his chair back and sat down again, calmly regarding Lady Selina.

"Good. Now that the people in the way are gone, we can continue our unfinished conversation."

Selina braced herself against the table and stood. Half of her once-elegant updo had come undone.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to maintain what little dignity she had left. "You win, Ye Wei'an. Tell me, what will it take for you to hand over the witnesses and the accounts? Five thousand gold coins? Or a property of mine in Suzar? Name your price."

"Five thousand gold coins?" Ye Wei'an scoffed. "Madam, you already sent people to assassinate me. To put it bluntly, these things represent my life—and yours. And life is priceless, isn't it?"

Selina gritted her teeth and said bitterly, "Then what do you want?"

"What do I want?" Ye Wei'an leaned forward slightly, looking as greedy as a dragon. "Simple. You'll have to pay more."

Then he laid out a list of demands that made Selina's heart bleed:

"First, I want twenty thousand gold coins in cash, paid out of your personal funds. Don't think you can use the family's money to make up the difference. You've made a fortune smuggling under the Summerstar Family's name. I deserve a share of that, don't I?"

"Second, I want the unrestricted right to recruit people in the territory. Knights, artisans, stewards, or anyone else I take a liking to—as long as they're willing to leave with me, you must let them go without any kind of obstruction."

"Third, after Father dies, I want to inherit all of our ancestor Aslan's magic-related possessions, including every spellbook and magic item."

"Fourth, I want half the armor and weapons in the storeroom, half the cattle and horses in the stables, and a year's worth of provisions for five hundred people. You'll also transfer your property in Suzar to me."

"Fifth, you'll apply to the Royal Court in the Summerstar Family's name to have my legitimate noble status formally recognized, and use your connections in the Amarisk Family to help me obtain a Charter of Exploration."

"You're robbing me!" Selina finally snapped when she heard the last demand. "If you take all that, you'll strip half the Summerstar Family's wealth away! What will Lucas have left to support the family?"

"Robbing you? A robber could never get this much good stuff. And no robber could steal a noble title or property in Suzar." Ye Wei'an nodded without a trace of shame. "Madam, understand the situation: if you don't give me these things, I can take them for myself. But the consequences you face then may be much worse."

With that, he took out a contract he had prepared in advance. The conditions he had just listed were already written on it.

"If you're worried, we can sign a contract. As long as you don't act against me, I won't expose those crimes, threaten Lucas's inheritance again, or divide the family's territory."

Ye Wei'an pushed the pen toward her. "A perfectly fair deal, don't you think? You keep your secrets and your son's future, while I take the compensation I deserve and happily go off to become a Pioneer Lord."

"You... aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" Unable to hold back any longer, Selina threatened him instinctively. "Don't forget, I'm not just the mistress of Firefall Fortress. I'm also a daughter of the Amarisk Family. All I have to do is give the word..."

"How would you kill me?" Ye Wei'an scoffed. "With the knights you brought from the family? With the bandits I butchered like chickens? Don't make me laugh. Before you even think of doing that, you'd better look in a mirror and see how you looked on your knees, begging for mercy."

At the mention of what had just happened, Selina felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her.

That was right. He was also a genius Wizard.

The forces she had at Firefall Fortress might be able to kill Ye Wei'an, but in practice it was unlikely.

Even so, she couldn't accept having her entire fortune drained away.

With no other choice, Selina played her final card. "Ye Wei'an, don't get too full of yourself. The accounts you have implicate not only me but the entire Amarisk Family! Do you think you can take on a noble family by yourself? If you don't hand them over, the family will never spare you!"

"True, my personal power is insignificant compared with one of Cormyr's greatest noble houses. But so what?"

Selina didn't notice the sudden flash of purple in Ye Wei'an's eyes.

"Madam, you've been in Firefall Valley too long. You've even forgotten the basic rules of Cormyr's politics. The highest power in the Purple Dragon Kingdom will always belong to the Dragon Throne. I spent four years in Suzar and made a few friends who can 'make themselves heard by the throne.' Tell me, if I hand these accounts to the Royal Court, and the Purple Dragon Legion comes after you, will the Amarisk Family openly defy the Crown for a woman married off to the frontier—or will they throw you and my dear younger brother to the wolves as scapegoats?"

Selina instinctively wanted to argue.

In Suzar, the royal capital, nobles were everywhere, and Barons were worth less than dogs.

How could a fallen bastard have made friends there?

But the words caught in her throat as she suddenly realized something was wrong.

Everything that had happened lately proved one thing: all the information she had about Ye Wei'an had been wrong from the start!

The information about his abilities was wrong. The information about his personality was wrong. So the information about his social circle in Suzar might well be wrong too.

If he really could expose the smuggling to the Royal Court...

At the thought, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Selina's forehead. She realized she had no leverage left to bargain with.

What's in your hands is what's yours.

At that moment, Ye Wei'an's words sounded deeply tempting to her.

"Madam, you need to face reality. In the Amarisk Family, you're just a tool for controlling the Firefall Territory. But here in the Firefall Territory, you're the lord's mother. As long as the Firefall Territory stands, you're its mistress. What do you gain by risking everything against people far away in Suzar, people who only see you as a pawn?"