Chương 22: Lavinia's Economic Plan

Lavinia For months, the Fross family did not deign to send a betrothal gift. Lavinia wore a complex expression as the servants brought in a chest, setting it inside the house. She ran her hand across the top of the fragrant cedarwood, admiring the gold banding. Real gold. Not painted, or gilded. She knew. She had an eye for these things. If the Fross family had sent the gift even yesterday morning, Lavinia would have accepted in a heartbeat. She didn't love Barrett. Or like him much, even.

But through the arrogance and the fiery temper, she could see the outline of good qualities. Jealousy and possessiveness were a form of protectiveness, right? Anger, a form of passion? Stinginess, a form of frugality? And he was talented. Just as a river could wear away its banks, Lavinia thought she could influence Barrett to become… different, eventually. Different in what way? In the way of inheriting noble scions. Now that Lavinia had met these scions, she understood that Barrett Fross was an aberration.

Damion Decatour had been the best cultivator in their class. While he looked down on every other student, he treated them with unimpeachable politeness, and did everything in his power not to harm anyone at practice. He took extensive notes of anything said in group discussions, and even credited her in answer to Instructor Sutter. Rowan Helsing had been the worst cultivator in the sect, until his Great-Aunt helped him form an A-grade Qi Sea.

He was nice, but not always kind, cracking mean jokes with Lee Lothesby and sending anyone paired with him during sword practice to the Medicine Hall. But when he spoke with Lavinia, he showed so much interest in her world she could almost believe he wished to be a part of it. Both of them struggled ceaselessly to follow the impossible standards set by every hero that had shared their names. Barrett only cared for her status as a cultivator in name only.

He attacked fellow disciples in public places without regard for her safety. He followed her around wordlessly and ignored her words entirely, even privately. He spoke of both the Fross elders and his seniors in the sect with disdain. The sycophants that followed him around told Lavinia that Barrett had never treated anyone as patiently as he treated her. What sort of gift could be worth a lifetime with Barrett Fross? She opened the fine chest, and invigorating mist spilled forth.

A small pill lay on a bed of gold velvet. Her pupils instantly expanded. The pill was the crystal green of sea-glass. She could hear the echo of waves crashing against a shore, and tasted salt on the back of her tongue. Lavinia hesitantly picked it up, inspecting it from all angles. There was no doubt about it. A Water Dream Pill. It would be a waste to use it right now. But at the second layer of Qi Condensation, she could use it to instantly break through to the third layer.

Even though her family was well-off, supporting two cultivators was extremely challenging. They had already told her that most of their resources would be going to her older brother. Anything for her would have to come from the pockets of her future husband. If she didn't accept this betrothal, the middle-stage of Qi Condensation might forever be out of her reach. Lavinia carefully placed the pill back into the chest. For months, the Fross family did not deign to send a betrothal gift.

Only after that altercation with Rowan Helsing - a scion of one of the four founding families of Righteous Mountain City - did they bother. When they mistakenly assumed she was valuable enough to be desired by the Helsing heir. She was a merchant's daughter. She knew economics. Supply and demand. When supply was short and demand was high, the price got driven up. The Fross family realized they weren't the only ones interested in her, and that there was only one of her. Inadvertently, she'd driven up her own price.

It was a shame that the thought of being with Barrett for the rest of her life now terrified her. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The servants had run to alert her parents. After all, the bearer of good news was usually well rewarded, especially by her father. Lavinia knew what she had to do. She pulled the jade hairpin from behind her ear and swiped it across her palm, cutting a thin but deep wound that almost hit the bone.

She bit back a scream, and cupped her hands together to keep the blood from spilling. It pooled so quickly it began to escape her fingers in seconds. She grit her teeth, feeding her qi through the apertures of one hand, dissolving the blood as she absorbed it with the other. The sudden influx of Water qi, the most she'd ever worked with, filled her Qi Sea. It rose angrily as she chanted the verses of the Water Dream under her breath, sloppily directing the roiling waves to her new wound.

A few drops of blood had splattered on her robe, but there was nothing she could do about it. The wound sloppily. began to close, slowly at first, and then quickly. She steadied herself, struck with a sudden vertigo from how much blood she'd lost. By the time the servants began to return with her parents in tow, she was, thankfully, no longer bleeding. Her parents, hearing the commotion of the servants, rushed to her. Her mother was beaming with unrestrained joy like she had won big at the gambling house.

She praised Lavinia repeatedly for snagging a big fish. Her father, more restrained in personality, complimented the choice of gift, remarking "suitable".

"This is the greatest opportunity of your life, Lavinia. Our family could never provide you the same quality of resources as the Fross family. You must accept this quickly - if you wait, they might change their mind." Lavinia caught her mother by the sleeve as she was sprinting away to grab a quill and parchment.

"Mother… I will not marry Barrett." She was intentional in her phrasing. I will not. No room for cajoling, no room for negotiating. The talents her mother made a living from. Her mother stared at her like she was mad. Seeing that she was serious, her mouth thinned dangerously.

"The foolishness of this generation's youth! You think you have a choice? You will marry him."

"No - something happened -""If you've been dishonored then even more reason to be quick about this."

"No!" Lavinia wrung her hands. She never stood up to her parents, finding it easier to accept their orders with a smile while subverting them in secret. But this was a marriage. It was too serious.

"Barrett is dangerous and has an unstable personality. He hurts others without a second thought."

"That is the way of bachelors. A wife and a family will calm him down," said her mother blithely. Her father stepped forward, rubbing Lavinia's back. Unlike her mother's refined voice, he had a hint of an accent from rougher places.

"You've only met Barrett a few times. Could your impression of him just be a misunderstanding?"

"I don't know why you're bothering to hear her complaints," said her mother.

"You spoil her, Yonas," she hissed, storming out of the room.

"Lydia," her father called after her. He reached for the door, but he didn't follow her. Everyone in the house knew better than to disturb Mother when she was angry. The servants also left, giving the father and daughter some privacy.

"Lavinia," started her father.

"Look how upset you've made your mother." Lavinia's lip quivered.

"I can't, dad, I can't."

"What's the issue?" he asked softly. He sighed.

"When I met your mother, I did not deserve her hand either."

"Have you ever put mother in danger?" Her father thought about it.

"No, not on purpose. We've had some dangerous run ins-""No, dad," Lavinia protested. Tears came easily, her hand throbbing in pain.

"When I was at the forge, with one of my classmates, Barrett attacked him."

"Jealousy will do that to a man," said her father thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't have been able to bear the insult of-" Lavinia revealed her trump card, showing her father the newly knitted flesh on her palm.

"He threw a cultivation technique at my friend. But it hit me." Her father's face had frozen into a deep, sudden anger.

"He did this to you?" he thundered, barely believing it.

"Barrett didn't even have the courage to speak to me directly. He just attacked my friend without regard for me whatsoever." Her father looked almost skeptical.

"He tried to use something-" Lavinia closed her eyes, sinking into that fear that had frozen her when she'd seen the coalescing Earth qi in Barrett's hands.

"He tried to kill my friend, but Master Luzon himself stopped him and threw him through the doors. And then he banned Barrett from the forge. For life."

"For life?" Lavinia's father was the one who had gotten her older brother apprenticed to the man because he knew, like every other sharper member of Righteous Mountain City, that Luzon was far more than he seemed. Anyone who could display a Dragon Statue was worth making connections with. Yonas Bruschard had spent so much goodwill and money to clear such a path for his own son. If it were ruined by a new son-in-law who was out of Luzon's good graces, it would have all been for naught.

Now, Lavinia knew she had provided both an emotional and economic incentive, just as her mother had taught her.

"I will speak to your mother." By the afternoon, the chest was returned.