Chapter 35 - Dracoi
As soon as Silas uttered the rejection, many loud murmurs echoed through the ballroom.
With his enhanced hearing and sight, Silas soaked in the murmurs.
Some were astonished at the thought of rejecting Floen. Some were afraid for Silas, fearing him of insulting Floen.
While others were just talking about random stuff, not caring about this at all.
Every behavior fell under the notion of humans.
Andile continued his smile and said, "I will offer my reward again, Sir Silas."
Silas shook his head slowly, looking dejected. This time he didn’t take much time to think and directly rejected the offer.
"I am afraid, I am not in the desire to pursue the reward, Sir Andile. Please use my reward to fund the needs of children in the slum."
Gasp!
Many people stared at him with light as if they were in the presence of a saint.
Andile stared at him for a while and nodded in defeat. "Very well, you really deserve the title of hero. I look forward to hearing the achievements you will bring to this kingdom."
Andile lifted up his arm and said in a loud voice. His voice boomed in the ballroom.
"In the name of Floen, open the chamber of the house to give away our treasure to the needy. And spread the words of Sir Silas’s good deeds. Such things shouldn’t be buried under. My people will chant the name of Silas."
Silas bowed to Andile, accepting the arrangements.
"Tha party may resume. But I have to take Sir Silas from the spotlight." Andile smiled and left.
Soon, the butler came up to Silas and whispered.
"Sir, the master is waiting for you in his office."
Silas nodded and followed the butler. They moved away from the music and people and walked quietly in the hallway.
There were no maids walking around. The place lacked human touch and it was giving him a creep. Silas shrugged off the feeling and continued walking.
The interior design of the mansion was similar to his own but different in the artist style.
Floen liked to flaunt their wealth and influence, adding a sense of superiority to themselves.
Soon, they stopped in front of an old door. Although he said it was an old door, the wood that was used in the making of the door was of high quality.
His con man eyes saw through it.
The butler knocked on the door and said out loud.
"Sir Silas has arrived."
"Come in." The same voice from before echoed from the room. But this time, it was devoid of a gentle tone.
The butler opened the door.
Silas turned around, facing Roland. "Stay here."
"But."
Silas looked into Roland and didn’t speak. He turned around and entered the room alone.
The door slowly closed behind him.
Silas looked up at the room and immediately sensed spells being deployed.
It was a fourth tier barrier spell. Sound proof and eliminate the presence.
He also detected that the spell can block various attack spells. Such a grandiose spell.
Silas returned his eyes to the center. Two chairs arranged to face each other with a circular shaped table in the middle.
One of the seats was occupied by Andile. He laid back on the chair and pointed at the seat across him.
Silas joined and sat down.
Andile poured him a glass of wine. The color was blood red.
"It is a wine made from dragon blood. Very good for health and mana core. Enjoy the taste. It is called Dracoi."
Silas grabbed the glass and first smelled the fragrance. It didn’t smell like blood at all. In fact, it was like a sweet fruit.
He slipped the wine and immediately felt hotness inside his throat. The heat rushed down and reached toward his mana core, stimulating the mana inside it.
Silas widened his eyes in surprise. He didn’t expect a single drink would give him this amount of mana refinement.
"It is worthy of the name." He put down the glass and looked at Andile.
For a while both men didn’t say a word and enjoyed the wine.
Slowly, time passed. There were a few small talks thrown in the middle but nothing serious. They avoided talking about themselves.
When the wine in the bottle reached the middle, the atmosphere in the room changed and Silas knew the mask was up.
"So, what is your reward for facing that mage?" Andile said, still wanting to reward him.
Silas shook and rejected the offer again.
Andile sighed. "Do you know why I want to reward you? I don’t care if you want to take the most valuable treasure."
Silas smiled, knowing that nothing really valuable was inside that treasure room. He experienced through the game.
"I can guess." Silas said.
"Yeah, you can guess. But I will give you something concrete that you won’t have to guess." Andile said. "I want this to be in the past. Take your title and price and give me some peace. And everything will return to normal. There is no need to be stubborn this much."
Andile paused. "You are a smart man, Silas. A smart man should act like a coward."
"I learned wisdom." Silas said. "But I am not backing down on my desire."
"What do you desire?"
"I won’t tell."
Andile stared at him for a brief moment and nodded. The sigh escaped him.
"Alright, since my reward is denied. I will force you."
Silas chuckled. He anticipated this. He wanted to see all the cards from Andie.
Andile smiled and poured the wine for both of them.
"I have a video of you killing kids."
Silas nodded and extended his hand to grab the wine glass.
"I did kill those kids. But they are mind controlled by your mage."
"That mage didn’t carry my name. My family name. He was deserted from the family a long time ago."
"Nevertheless, he was your mage. Time doesn’t matter to the rage." Silas pointed out.
"If people here rebel against you, they won’t make an excuse. What matters is he is from your family? He takes kids from the slum and practices the inhumane act. I could report this to the king and your blood will vanish from this world."
"I suppose this works. I suppose the king has this kind of power and influence." Andile said quietly.
Andile looked down at the blood red wine and saw his reflection. It was his own face and yet he felt alienated by it. For a long time, he felt like he was living in another person’s skin.
He felt like he wasn’t human at all.
Andile looked at Silas and deeply thought. Ever since he looked into the eyes of the young man, it was like staring at the mirror.
The reflection in the wine and the young man in front of him were the same.
For that, Andile knew the terrifying rage behind that calm face. He wanted to reject the reflection.
Nobody likes to stare at themselves all the time. They didn’t have the heart to see their flaws being exposed.
Andile learned that he still had the heart. The heart to hate. The hate for the young man named Silas, who showed him his flaws, his reflection.
"The king is going to die." So he decided to drop the mask and tried to best the young man.