No, thank you

Eldric

"Condition? What condition?" Lia's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

This young lady was suspicious of everyone and careful but threw all of it to help someone in need. Eldric covered his mouth to cough and hide his chuckle.

He shrugged. "Ah, my bad. It's not a condition in exchange for anything. To be precise, I want to make an offer. That is, I'll help you find a secure place for your family if you'll come with us to the capital. I think you'll fit in as an imperial scholar. You have to take the exam, however."

Lia looked down at that as if in deep thought, and a tiny hope rose in Eldric's chest. Quite ambitious too with her career. But Eldric had no doubt about it. The young lady in front of him was the type of person who rose up to the challenge, and she had the brains and skills to do it too.

"What do you think?" he pressed on, eager to hear a yes.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll keep the original condition. We'll manage to find a secure place on our own, I'm sure."

Eldric frowned. He was sure that it was a good opportunity, anyone wouldn't let it pass. "It's the capital. You have a chance to become part of the palace."

"I haven't even decided if I want to be part of the palace." Lia paused. "Listen, I only ever want to find peace and safety for my family. We'll be happy and content with that. We'll be fine on our own."

That made Eldric stop. Peace and safety. Family. How long had it been when he had all those? If he still had one, he would want them to have that too. Lia did not have his built, his fighting skills, his status, but she had to do everything to help her family. She did the one thing Eldric never did. And now, he lost them.

He sighed. What she said made sense and hit him home more than he thought it could.

"Alright." He took something out of his pocket and passed to Lia. "This is a copy of my announcement tomorrow with my seal. If anyone still dares to pursue you, show this to them. And another thing,"

Lia looked up to him quizzically. Eldric placed a dagger on the table and slid it towards her. "Take this. You might find this useful."

He walked out of the room, all of the nostalgia he felt earlier was slowly wearing off, replaced by the cold and distant attitude he had adapted for years.

Tim came out of the study. He was tasked to clean up the mess in the room. "How did it go? Did you convince her?"

"No." Eldric decided to go to the living room where they turned it into their makeshift planning area.

"Told you," Tim said, who walked beside him.

Eldric shrugged.

Tim continued. "We've secured the location of the wife and daughter of the mayor. We brought them to your study. Like what you said, they were used as collateral, and when we came there, they were told that they were kidnapped to make sure the mayor won't spill the secrets."

Still the sneaky bastard that he is. Eldric sneered and turned on his heels back to the study.