Chapter 7: Wants To Sell Her Off

It was already six in the morning, but night still clung to the Central District like smoke, dense and unmoving.

A tall figure stood at the edge of the room, half-bathed in the dim glow of the desk lamp. His black hair was slightly tousled, the tips brushing the sharp cut of his jawline as he skimmed through the pages of a file. His golden-rimmed glasses slid down the bridge of his nose, catching a glint of amber light.

Behind the polished frames, his deep brown eyes narrowed as they skimmed the contents of a thick file in his hand.

Crisp pages rustled beneath his thumb, marked with official red stamps and scrawled signatures. His gaze lingered on a photograph clipped to the corner — a girl with dark hair and sharp eyes, her gaze was steady despite the delicate curve of her face.

A ghost of something unreadable passed through his eyes.

"You're telling me this girl is human?" His voice was low, deliberate. Calm on the surface, but beneath it, a thread of quiet tension coiled.

"Yes, sir." A smooth voice, steady and practiced, answered from the gloomy corner. "We've secretary run the necessary tests while monitoring her close contacts. The results were all the same, Velvetiana Red is human."

The man snapped the file shut with a soft click that echoed in the stillness. His hand brushed over the cover before setting it down on the desk.

"I see…" His tone was flat, devoid of inflection but the subtle furrow in his brow betrayed his thoughts.

The servant remained quiet as the man stood. He crossed the room with effortless grace, his long frame cutting a sleek shadow against the polished floors.

Stopping before the floor-to-ceiling window, he placed a hand against the cool glass and stared down at the school grounds below.

Outside, the full moon bathed the landscape in a soft pink haze. Pale light stretched across the manicured lawn, casting thin, haunting shadows beneath the towering oaks. Clusters of students lingered on the pathways, their silhouettes dark and restless beneath the moon's eerie glow.

From this height, it looked almost peaceful. But the man's gaze was grueling with an unknown intensity that was anything but harmless.

"And Emrys?" he coldly asked.

The servant stiffened before responding with undeniable anxiety.

"The young master… is still struggling to control his wolf, sir. As… As of date, there hasn't been any improvement," the servant answered nervously while trying to keep himself from heaving loudly.

The man's jaw tightened slightly. He pressed a hand against the glass, and let the hollow coldness seep into his palm. "It's been over a week since the moon rose."

"M-My apologies, sir."

"That's not an answer, Beltore Morvayne." His gaze darkened, catching the faint reflection of his eyes in the glass, cold and menacing.

The servant hesitated for a moment before saying, "The young master has refused further 'sessions' and locked himself in the abandoned Delta Hall. He insists he can manage on his own and we…" his voice trailed off and heaved deeply.

"We already lost six of our pack members after trying to forcefully pull him out. Sir, I'm afraid we cannot win against the young alpha."

The man's breath pressed thinly against the glass before he turned. His eyes cut toward the servant with a quiet sharpness.

"He's a danger to himself and everyone around him if he doesn't get it under control."

The servant remained standing in silence and didn't dare to make a move, neither openly breathe until his master's rage settled and finally gave his order.

"Avoid any confrontation for the time being and keep a close eye on him." His voice dropped a shade lower.

"And as for that insidious Lucien Corvinus' daughter…" His jaw tightened, the words curling with venom. "Never let that devil spawn strut around my school like some cheap whore, corrupting my precious students, especially the young alphas."

"Understood, sir."

The man's gaze returned to the window, where the moonlight carved soft edges into the dark sprawl of the school. Beneath his palm, the glass pulsed faintly with the vibrations of distant movement. Somewhere below, where the oblivious students were laughing, he watched it all with a quiet stillness, calculating, and gravely carrying a hidden terror.

"Lucien Corvinus, how dare you put your vile seed on my Valerian Academy. Your wicked plan will be your undoing. I will make sure of it, beginning with your damn daughter."

Meanwhile, in the case of 'that daughter', Velvetiana's boots clicked sharply against the cracked marble floors as she stepped into the entrance hall of the Corvinus mansion. The air was thick with dust and old iron — the stale remnants of blood long soaked into the stone.

The place looks like it survived a war.

She stared up at the jagged edges of the grand staircase, half of its balustrade missing. The remnants of a shattered chandelier glinted like broken ice across the floor. Huge meteoric dents marred the blackened tiles leading toward the great hall.

"Hey, Hansel! Did we arrive at the correct place?" she asked incredulously and whispered wryly under her breath.

"What… the hell happened here?"

"It's the right place, my lady." Hansel's dry tone followed from behind.

She tilted her head, looking from left to right with a raw and unfiltered reaction. She was extremely baffled at the scene, how could she not feel like she was being pranked seeing the crumbling brick walls instead of a glass castle?

Isn't her father supposed to be rich?!

She shot him a sharp look and roughly inquired, "Could it be renovation issues?"

Hansel's mouth twitched slightly — the closest thing to a smirk she'd ever seen from him. But he made no effort to correct her.

On the contrary, Hansel only made a side glance and offered a slight shrug, his usual composed expression settled beneath the swelling bruise near his mouth. Perhaps it was the petty side of him that stopped him from easing up the misunderstanding and wanting to see the girl fret while walking on eggshells.

Velvetiana stopped mid-step and tilted her head toward him.

"Hansel… be honest with me, is the Lord of this place in debt?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Don't tell me he's being chased by loan sharks and wants to sell me off to the red-light district to pay it off."

She came here for the free tuition and lodging, not to bail out some deadbeat dad drowning in debt. What was next? Auctioning her off to the highest bidder to cover his losses? Hell no. Her arms wrapped around herself as she shot Hansel a sharp glare.

The last thing Velvetiana would tolerate was being played. She'd rather die than end up on the losing side. Taking advantage of others? Fine. But being taken advantage of? Over her dead body!