Chapter 135: A father’s greed.

The afternoon sun beat down on the courtyard of the newly furnished house, but the heat inside the Frood household was entirely of Samuel’s making. Peace had gone out of the window since Lita’s last call to her mother the night before. Her mother had been nagging since the previous night, dragging the issue to today.

She had started in the morning, and she was still going now.

"Samuel, please! I am begging you!" Ursula scurried after her husband, her feet tapping in a frantic rhythm. "She is your own blood! Have you no heart left in that chest of yours?"

Samuel didn’t even bother to look back. He adjusted his shirt_ one that was a little too tight around his midsection, courtesy of his sudden upsurge in fortune and stepped out onto the breezy patio. "Woman, stop your squawking. You’re giving me a headache," Samuel scoffed, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Lita is a Kaelion now. Whether they feed her ginseng herbs or lock her in a beast shed is their business. She is their problem."

"But I heard her!" Ursula’s voice cracked, tears finally spilling over. She grabbed his sleeve, ignoring his look of disinterest. "Last night, she was wailing, Samuel. Wailing for help! And her phone has been completely dark since then. What if they killed her?"

Samuel snorted, snapping his sleeve out of her grip. "Killed her? Don’t be melodramatic. The girl was spoiled, arrogant, and frankly, lacked any discipline thanks to your pampering. If the Kaelions are breaking her pride, she deserves it. I warned her many times not to talk back to the clan elders and she never listened. Now she’s paying the price for her defiance. Consider it a free education, one that you failed to give her."

Ursula stared at him, horrified. "She is your daughter!"

"She was an investment," Samuel corrected coldly, sipping his tea. "And a highly successful one at that."

Before Ursula could unleash another wave of maternal fury, the doors to the patio creaked open. Butler Clay paced forward, his head bowed so low his nose almost touched his knees.

"Master," Clay announced, his voice trembling slightly. "A messenger from the Kaelion house has arrived."

Samuel’s face lit up instantly. The scowl vanished, replaced by a grin so wide his eyes turned into thin slits. "Ah! Finally!"

Without a second thought, he shoved Ursula aside. She stumbled, bumping her hip against a table as Samuel practically sprinted past her, his heavy footsteps echoing through the corridor as he rushed toward the inner courtyard.

Standing in the center of the courtyard was a man in his fifties. He wore the deep green suit with a Kaelion logo, looking entirely unimpressed by his surroundings. Behind him stood a line of six servants, each carrying heavy, lacquered wooden chests overflowing with high grade spirit stones, fine silks, and medicinal herbs.

"Ah, honored messenger! Welcome, welcome!" Samuel gushed, bowing so low he nearly face-planted into the ground.

The so-called messenger didn’t even bow back. He merely raised an eyebrow. "The Grand Patriarch sends his regards. He also sends this small token of appreciation to carry your household through the month. Food, energy stones and basic necessities will be sent regularly."

Samuel’s brain temporarily short-circuited. Regularly? Free energy stones every month?

He burst into a booming, breathless laugh. He couldn’t believe his luck! He had struck the absolute jackpot. Who cared about a crying daughter when the heavens were practically raining wealth into his lap?

"The Kaelion Clan’s generosity is as vast as the ocean!" Samuel cheered, rubbing his hands together.

The messenger reached into his coat and pulled out a heavy parchment envelope stamped with a golden wax seal. "And this is from the Registrar General. Your new identification."

Samuel snatched it so fast he nearly tore the messenger’s sleeve. He broke the seal and unfolded the document, his eyes scanning the elegant calligraphy.

OFFICIAL DECREE:

By order of the Capital Registrar, the household of Frood is hereby elevated from Low-Born to Second-Class Citizen status.

Samuel’s laughter died instantly. His grin froze, then melted into a deep, ugly frown.

"Second-class?" Samuel whispered, his voice cracking. He looked up at the messenger, panic fluttering in his chest. "Wait. This... this must be a mistake. Second-class?"

The messenger sneered. "A mistake? The Registrar General does not make mistakes, low-b_ ah, excuse me, sir."

"But the Mayor promised!" Samuel hissed, stepping closer, completely forgetting his manners. "The mayor explicitly told me that if we took the Scorpions into our home and did his dirty work, and if Lita married into the main Kaelion family, our status level would jump straight to First-Class! We were supposed to be nobility!"

The messenger let out a cold, mocking chuckle. "First-Class status is not for upstarts who happen to sell off a pretty daughter. Be grateful for what you have." With a dismissive wave of his hand, the messenger turned on his heel. "We have delivered the goods. Farewell."

"Wait! No! You can’t just_ " Samuel yelled, but the Kaelion entourage was already marching out, leaving him standing in the courtyard with a pile of boxes and a piece of paper that felt like a slap in the face.

Samuel let out a frustrated, guttural sigh, kicking a nearby flower pot and shattering it into pieces. "Dammit!"

He stormed back into his study, slammed the door, and pulled out his phone, making an urgent call that was answered quickly.

"Logan!" Samuel barked, discarding all diplomatic pleasantries. "We have problem! The Kaelion messenger just left. My status_ it’s only Second-Class! You promised me First-Class! You said_ "

"Shut your damn mouth, Samuel," Logan’s voice boomed through the phone, cutting him off like a thunderclap. "You dare complain to me?"

"But the deal_" Samuel whined.

"The deal changed the moment you let Zyra slip out of your hands." Logan barked."

Samuel swallowed hard, the cold sweat suddenly freezing on his back.

"Let me ask you something, Samuel, would you have preferred to remain a dirt-scratching low-born with a little money? Because I can make that happen with a single stroke of my pen." Logan threatened.

Samuel’s knees went weak. "N-No, your honor, I didn’t mean_"

The mayor cut him off. "Be grateful for whatever bone is thrown to you by the Kaelions. Keep your head down, enjoy your little second-class life, and do not call me again."

"Mayor, please, I apologize! I overstepped, I_" Samuel stammered, but it was useless. The call was cut.

He stood alone in the silence of his compound, his heart hammering against his ribs. He slowly looked down at the letter in his trembling hands. Second-class. It wasn’t the pinnacle of luxury he had envisioned, but_ it was still better than the mud he had crawled out of.

He sank into a garden chair, rubbing his temples as a bitter thought crossed his mind. "This is all Zyra’s fault," he muttered to himself, his eyes darkening with resentment. "If that useless, ungrateful girl hadn’t run off and ruined the original plan, everything would have been perfect. I would be a First-Class citizen right now, rubbing shoulders with the wealthy. We could have joined a prestigious clan."

He sighed, a slow, greasy smile creeping back onto his face as he looked around the medium sized home the Kaelions had given him in the capital. "Well, "At least I got a house in the capital. A Second-Class status is still better. I can live with that." An evil thought crossed his mind.

Maybe....maybe, if the Kaelion’s killed Lita, he could blackmail them into using their connections to have him elevated to first class citizenship.