Devil's Bargain

The dining hall was silent like a graveyard—maids lined up across the walls of the room, trembling in fear of what may follow. Adin Ross sat in silence while the rest of the Ross family turned hostile.

Silas sat at the far end of the table, his leg crossed, and he leaned back comfortably. There was no sign of tension on his facial expression—it was almost as if he was oblivious to his current situation, but they were wrong.

Leo was very much aware of his situation.

Thud!

Heavy footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs that led down the dining room. Kar marched in like a machine—he ignored everyone and stopped behind Silas with a sword he snatched from one of the many display armors scattered around the castle.

Silas wasn't showing emotions, not because he was nervous, but because he simply couldn't show it.

"You threaten us in our home?!" Elliot finally spoke up, unable to show this level of disrespect.

Even as falling noble families, the worst other noble families did was ignore them. However, never have they been threatened or humiliated in their own home by a noble—so why must they endure such from this child?

"That's enough." Adin stepped in again. "I will speak on behalf of this family. All of you remain silent!" 

Elliot and the others frowned at the patriarch's words, but they could not argue—-they weren't raised like peasants. They could only shoot dagger glares at Leo, but he didn't really care.

As long as they couldn't harm him physically, he didn't care if they stared at him all day. In fact, he pulled in a tray of salmon and began feasting with his bare hands. 

Even the maids watched in horror—they were servants, but even they didn't eat like that.

What kind of animal did Aiden bring into the Ross family?

"I understand the reason for your request and honestly, I believe you deserve far more than you have requested." Adin pulled in everyone with the intro to his speech.

He only started speaking a few seconds ago, and now everyone was mad and bloodthirsty. It felt like a betrayal from the person meant to hold their family in the highest esteem.

"For all those who are not aware, what this child possesses is necromancy Magic. It is rated a four star magic affinity, on par with that of the martial saint of this empire. If nurtured properly, we are sure to regain our duke status. It is only a matter of time." Adin explained to everyone.

"If I need to swallow my pride to make that happen, I will do so without hesitation!"

Buzz!

Everyone was floored by the speech, and even Silas was slightly taken aback—he wasn't expecting a strong declaration of support.

"You know the cons of Necromancy. You know the faith that awaits everyone who practices that vile magic. It is only but vain glory that will burn out when he succumbs to his undead legion. They all burn out!" Elliot countered and the rest of the family nodded.

Silas wasn't the first human to awaken the necromancy magic. They were like Wolf-Rayet stars—they shine the brightest for a short while but die out the fastest.

"Within those years of glory, we can adopt more stray mages to the family. We can afford costly potions, artifacts and runes that can help improve my grandkids chances of awakening their magic potential before they turn 18. We have so much to gain from this dying star!" Adin snapped back and he bit hard.

Everyone on the table frowned, reluctance was visible in their eyes. 

Silas sat there wondering if he should be offended by the fact they were talking about him as if he wasn't there or because they kept calling him a dying star.

He was yet to shine and they were already discussing his downfall?

And they complain about disrespect.

Kar marched forward and knocked on the table to get everyone's attention. While it did so, Silas emptied his cup of wine and gestured at a maid to refill, but she was too terrified to move.

Kar suddenly approached the woman and snatched the jar from her, before gently refilling his master's cup. The entire Ross family sat in silence as they watched this boy control the orc grunt—no, he wasn't controlling it—it had a mind of its own.

Necromancer's of his age, with no academy education, usually control skeletons and those are the talented ones. Yet, this boy was controlling an orc almost effortlessly.

Why is this special?

The longer a person is dead, the weaker his will. Wait long enough, and you can get a skeleton lacking any form of mental capabilities. They are strictly puppets that are always controlled by their masters.

Those who wished to hide their inadequacy acquire the corpses fresh and apply preservatives, keeping the flesh intact. Those were what people usually refer to as zombies.

Talented necromancers could control multiple skeleton warriors or zombies. However, never have they seen a necromancer controlling a freshly killed orc with its soul intact. 

Their friends would doubt them if they don't show proof.

"I'll start by saying this is what I will not tolerate. Talentless humans doubting my capabilities." Silas snapped back but in a calm and level-headed manner.

"Judge me by results and not speculation. By the way, I made demands, not requests. If your family wishes to keep me, you will hand over the position of patriarch to me and make it official. When that happens, I will drag your family out of the pit it's in and pull it up to heaven's gates. No doubts, no questions, just complete obedience. Yes or no?"

Silas had never spoken this much before.

Buzz!

The entire room fell silent, uncertain of how to respond. One thing was clear—this boy had talent. But their pride was fighting all the logical reasons their mind cooked up.

"Yes, we agree." Adin Ross said without hesitation, stunning everyone.

"Good… Good!" Silas revealed a small smile.