Harder You Fall.

Velmore's jaw clenched as the final decree echoed through the hall. He could feel the weight of every eye on him. Those who used to bow in front of him without raising their head were now giving him a mocking, smug and satisfied gaze. The guards approached, and though they didn't lay a hand on him, the silent gesture to follow them was humiliating enough.

With a flick of his cloak, he turned stiffly and walked out, flanked by the royal guard. His head remained high, but his insides boiled like lava threatening to break through the stone of his carefully composed face.

Behind him, the vultures began to circle.

"Baron Elias, you are truly a masterstroke."

"Yes, We have always believed in your potential."

"We had never imagined that Lord Velmore could fall to such lengths! We would never work with him again."

Traders and minor nobles, the same ones who were groveling at Velmore's feet a few days ago now hovered around Elias as if they had accepted him as their new master. Their voices were slick with flattery, eager to align with the new victor. Elias smiled politely, offering short replies, but his gaze flickered with a smug look toward Velmore's back as he exited.

And in that gaze, Velmore felt the contempt he had never experienced before. His hands clenched into a tight fist. This would not end here! 

The doors closed behind him. He said nothing as he sat in the carriage. Every breath he took was short and sharp. By the time they reached the estate, his mood had curdled into something venomous.

The moment he stepped into the grand hall, his eyes swept across the floor. "Why is it still stained?" he barked. "Was this not scrubbed this morning? Are the servants blind?"

A maid flinched, bowing low. "My lord, I cleaned it twice."

"Is this what you called cleaning? Who even gave you this job!" he snarled. "You all are nothing but a bunch of useless people!"

He stormed into the dining hall. A servant offered him a cup of spiced tea. He took one sip and spat it back into the cup before hurling it at the floor.

"Does this taste like something fit for a noble tongue?" he bellowed looking at the frightened maid and then at the knights staring at the door, "Whip her ten times, Now!" 

The maid paled instantly. Another ran to carry out the order without hesitation. The hall filled with tense silence as no one dared speak. The weight of his fury was thick in the air.

Upstairs, Cladria heard the clamor. She paused at her mirror, fixing the last pin into her golden hair. A smirk played on her lips. She descended slowly, gracefully, each step deliberate as she entered the hall and saw her father's dark face and the servants kneeling on the floor.

She approached quietly and placed a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Father," she said sweetly. "You will get wrinkles if you keep frowning like this."

Velmore turned sharply but softened slightly upon seeing her. "Cladria."

She guided him back to his chair and sat across from him with her legs crossed elegantly. "Tell me. Why are you in such a state? I thought you had gone to sign the new deal. Did it not go well?"

He let out a bitter breath and leaned forward. "It was Elias. That damned boy humiliated me in front of the entire court. If that was not enough, he had snatched half of our estates from us."

Her brows rose. "Elias Crestford? But how could he show up for the meeting? I thought you had arranged everything well."

His father threw another vase on the ground as his face turned uglier. It looked like he wanted to kill someone.

"They were nothing but a bunch of useless people. They did not only charge me so much. But they did not burn the letter I had sent to them. After killing all of them, Elias found that letter with my seal. And he brought that as evidence. And then he had the courage to ask for justice! Could you believe that, I have paid all of them and made sure they would reach where they are and now they are trying to push me down because He baited them like a dog and with his command, they dragged my name through the dirt."

Cladria blinked slowly, digesting the news. "Did Lord Halves intervene?"

"That old bastard! He sentenced me to imprisonment until Elias asked for compensation."

She froze in shock. her lips parted for just a second in genuine surprise. But then a smile bloomed across her face as if it was not a big deal,

"Well, it seems Elias isn't as weak as we thought."

Velmore glared with his teeth grinding hard "He will pay for this. No one can take what belongs to me."

Cladria leaned back in her seat, regarding him with amusement. "And he will get back to him. But not today."

"You didn't see them," Velmore seethed. "Those parasites, all those traders, fawned over him like he was royalty. I was nothing to them the moment I was down, like they never dined at my table. Like I was a memory to be discarded."

She stood and crossed the room to pour herself wine, then sipped it leisurely. "That's how the court works, Father. We had done that with others in the past, and now it had come back to us for once. That is interesting, don't you think?" his father narrowed his gaze at her in confusion but she only smiled and continued, "The smart ones adjust before the tide hits them. The weak get drowned."

She turned back to him with a gleam in her eye. "But we aren't weak."

He watched her. The fire that had begun to die out now sparked again. "What do you suggest?"

Cladria sat beside him once more. "Elias may have won this battle, but he has made enemies. By challenging you he had posed himself a powerful person and thought a few traders will follow gold, but not give him their loyalty. His support is shallow and temporary. Many stronger ones would look at him as a future threat."

Velmore nodded slowly, his expression hardening.

"Besides," she continued, a knowing smile on her lips, "do you forget who I am dating?"

That caught his attention. He looked at her sharply. "You mean they have accepted you?"

She gave a graceful nod. "He adores me, listens and trusts me."

Her smile turned sly, almost wicked. "No one will harm us, Father. Not while I am at his side. And when the time is right, Elias will lose everything."

Velmore let out a long breath. "I knew raising you with a sharp tongue and sharper wits would pay off."

She laughed softly and placed her hand on his again.

"Don't worry. Let the boy celebrate. The higher they climb, the harder they fall."