Chapter 3: Damon… Just Damon

Damon and the white-haired man from the Ross family walked down the hallway in an awkward silence. The man seemed unbothered, but Damon felt uneasy about the offer made to him by the man.

According to the man, if he joins the Ross family they will help him find the killers of his parents, and they will help him exert revenge. But what he failed to understand is why they would desperately want a nobody like him to join their family.

'What do they stand to gain?' He couldn't shake that question off his mind.

Damon hoped for a better explanation but since the man didn't show any willingness to speak on the matter, he could only remain calm and wait till they got to their destination.

"Down here" The white-haired man said as they walked down the seemly endless staircase before they reached the grand Hall on the first floor.

Damon was stunned to see a very spacious room decorated with banquets of flowers and all sorts of ornaments. At the edge was a banner showing a blue ax and shield crossed over each other.

This was the noble family banner.

'Lame' Damon commented in his mind.

{Yep} the voice agreed with him.

"Father, mother, I have brought him" The white-haired man said as he bowed respectfully to a man seated on a blue sofa with a plate of sliced fruits placed on a stool beside him.

The man had messy brown hair, sky blue eyes and a lean but athletic frame. With a glance, Damon instantly knew this man was a warrior. 

Beside him was a white-haired lady with a chiseled jawline and a pair of wicked eyes. Her facial features were not really exceptional, but she wasn't too bad either.

Her insecurities were made glaring by the staggering amount of make-up she put on, but even that couldn't hide her age. Damon was certain she was in her mid to late fifties, even though this was their first meeting.

Meanwhile, the man had a gray goatee and wrinkles under his eyes. His body seemed aged but strong altogether. Just from his physique, Damon deduced the man must have been a capable fighter during his youthful days.

"Not bad, not bad… brush him up a bit, and he can fool the world into believing he is a noble" The Ross family patriarch said with an amused look on his face.

"Hmph! A pig will always be a pig… You can brush him up all you want, but he will never become a noble" The lady snorted loudly.

Hearing this, Damon frowned and was going to speak, but then the Ross family patriarch spoke up first.

"Last time I checked, when I married you, your father only owned a small pig farm… I brushed you up and clothed you… if we go by your words, you are still a pig, correct?" He asked with a disdainful glare.

"My lord…" the lady gasped in shock at the comment made by her husband.

"Remain silent until you are asked to speak!" The man said disdainfully, cutting her off even before she could defend herself.

{Now this is a dysfunctional family} The voice chuckled.

'This man sure is ruthless' Damon tried his best to hide his amusement.

Damon watched as the lady walked out with reddened eyes while glaring at him madly. Strangely, he could perceive the negative she was harboring bad thoughts for him, however he wasn't flustered at all. He simply shrugged his shoulders and returned his attention to the Ross family Patriarch.

"I apologize for that… I am Daniel Ross… Head of the Ross family and a humble Baron of this great kingdom… what may I call you by?" Daniel Ross said in a much calmer tone.

Meanwhile, the white-haired man stood unmoved by what just happened. He seemed to be used to these kinds of scenes.

"Damon… Just Damon" Damon replied.

In this world, only nobles are granted a last name, so commoners like him can only bear their first name till death, with no definite lineage or anything.

"Damon… good name…. How about you join the Ross family?" Daniel Ross stood up and walked towards Damon.

Getting the same offer from this man felt strangely different. For some reason he couldn't explain, Damon felt no need to be combative and was even considering the offer.

{Such charm} the voice complimented the noble.

"May I ask why you all are so eager to allow a commoner into your home?" Damon asked.

He didn't believe in the good heart of man, or any form of kindness. He knew every act of kindness done by strangers is done with expectations of something in return.

"Hahaha! Straightforward! Just how I like them" Daniel Ross laughed.

"I was informed about your family's… Tragedy… I offer my condolences and offer to help you attain justice, but to do that you need to join my family…" Daniel explained. "Why do I want you? Well, my son here believes you have well-developed magic circuits. He believes you can be a great magician… Should my family have a great magician by their side, it will boost our reputation and status… lifting my dying family from the trenches and into the skies"

He, too, was straightforward and Damon appreciated that. Most people will lie their way into making you think they care before exploiting you, but Daniel had no intentions of hiding his true intentions, and Damon had no reason to reject either.

Now, he understood why the man wanted him.

The Baron title was the lowest noble title in the kingdom, so it wasn't too strange that Daniel Ross wanted to use him as a means of reaching greater heights. What came as a shock to Damon was the news of him having the potential to be a mage.

Almost everyone in the world born displays a sign if they have an affinity to the elements from birth, but he has never such once throughout his life. 

"Let me get things straight… If I do have the potential to be a mage, you will take me in and help me avenge the death of my people, but if I don't have the talent you seek what will happen?" Damon asked calmly.

He showed no fear or anxiety and Daniel Ross respected that quality in a man. He was beginning to like Damon more.

"Your sister's death was as a result of starvation… The case has been dropped… If you do not show any talent for magic I will send you off to a well-funded orphanage home and never bother you again" Daniel responded honestly.

Sending Damon to an orphanage home now where no one wants him is the greatest level of kindness he can show a stranger.