Chapter 2

At dawn, I brought the trembling Ella and knocked on the gates of the Valen family estate.

This luxurious manor in the center of Winterhold's wealthy district was outlined with marble and mithril, displaying dazzling arrogance.

Gripping the leather envelope containing all the evidence tightly, I reminded myself repeatedly: I came to negotiate, to win back legal, free civilian status for Ella—I absolutely couldn't let the dragon's fury destroy everything.

In the spacious reception hall, Viktor Valen lounged lazily on a velvet sofa.

He wore an ornate robe inlaid with magic crystals, his pale, gaunt face bearing the sinister air of debauchery and prolonged exposure to dark magic.

"Look who this is? The supposedly dead wastrel brother from the Aldridge family?" Viktor swirled his crimson wine glass, his eyes regarding us like sewer rats. "I thought you came to beg, but you're actually delivering my adorable little slave to the estate."

Ella hid behind me, clutching my clothes tightly.

I slapped the leather envelope on the table, looking into his eyes with a calm tone: "This contains the flaws in your forged deed, plus complete imprint reports of you using the Empire's prohibited dark magic to sign a slavery contract with Ella. Viktor, I don't want to make this big—just destroy the contract in front of me, return our family shop, and I'll pretend nothing happened."

The reception hall fell into brief silence, then erupted in unbridled laughter.

Viktor laughed so hard he spilled his wine. He stood up, walked before me, and contemptuously poked my gray cloak with his fingertip: "Did you freeze your brain at the border? You think you can threaten a noble wizard family heir with a few pieces of scrap paper?"

A ghostly green dark magic flame suddenly ignited on his fingertip, instantly burning several of the photocopied pages to ash.

"In Winterhold, my father is the Chief Grand Mage, and the City Hall administrator is our honored guest! You want to talk to me about law and justice?"

Viktor leaned close to me, his lips curling into a cruel sneer: "Remember this, peasant—in this world, rules belong only to the strong. And you people are only fit to obey my rules."

"Move in!"

At his command, over a dozen fully armed thugs and two junior mages emerged from the shadows, surrounding me completely.

Heavy iron clubs smashed brutally against my back, and fireballs from the mages exploded repeatedly on my cloak. I was pinned down hard on the cold marble floor by several strong men.

If I wanted, if I released even a trace of dragon knight's spiritual pressure, these ants would instantly explode.

And at this very moment, tens of thousands of meters high in the sky, the dragon sensing my attack was roaring with extreme fury!

The sky outside suddenly darkened. The originally clear morning instantly became overcast with clouds, accompanied by extremely heavy thunder deep in the clouds—the precursor to the dragon tearing through the sky.

"Stand down! Do not descend without my command!"

I desperately shouted in my mental sea to stop my dragon, while forcibly sealing all my magic circuits and physical strength, enduring these beatings with an "ordinary person's" body.

Waves of piercing pain and magical burning came, blood seeping from the corner of my mouth, but I didn't make a sound.

"Brother! Stop hitting him, please stop hitting my brother!" Ella cried out, trying to rush over, but Viktor grabbed her by the hair.

"Such touching sibling affection. Unfortunately, time's up." Viktor smiled maliciously, his fingertip igniting a dark magic circle.

The ghostly green rune on Ella's neck suddenly burst with blinding light. Soul-deep agony made her emit a piercing scream as she collapsed limply.

"Take my little slave to the basement, wash her clean, and train her properly." Viktor coldly issued his command, then stepped on my head, grinding his heel. "As for this waste, throw him out of the estate. If he dares come back, chop him up and feed him to the magic hounds."

Outside, fierce winds raged. Ella's desperate cries grew more distant until completely cut off by heavy iron doors.

I was thrown out of the Valen estate gates like a sack of garbage, crashing heavily onto the muddy street.

I raised my head, gazing deeply at the roiling dark clouds above. I knew my old companion was up there, heartbroken and insane with fury, wanting to breathe fire.

Turning around, I dragged my wounded body, unwillingly heading through the wind and rain toward Winterhold's City Hall and Mage Council.