Chapter 252: Come and Take It

Ravian had not been lying. His new ability allowed him to travel whenever and wherever he wished, provided he had enough energy. He could go from here to the capital in an instant at any time, finish his business there, and then return to the border.

‘But what the hell did Earl Patrick order them to do for them to treat me like this?’

That puzzled Ravian more than anything else.

‘Hasn’t that man understood that I already refused his offer to adopt me?’

Ravian returned to Miss Augus, her guards, and his squadmates, who had been waiting all this time.

Miss Augus’s guards wore strange expressions as they looked at him. Ravian noticed, but paid them no mind.

“Now, everyone,” he said to his squadmates, “shall we go?”

“Not yet, Young Master Rayan. Or should I call you Ravian?” Layla Augus said, approaching before he could leave.

Ravian’s gaze settled on her, with unmistakable malice in his eyes.

“What does Miss Augus want now? And I really don’t care what you call me.”

“So harsh. But I still need that rock, young master,” she replied, despite her guard’s fury behind her at the way Ravian was speaking to her.

Ravian frowned.

“What’s with this ‘young master’ you keep calling me?”

“Isn’t that what the woman named Aurora and the other guard were calling you?” Layla asked with a sly smile.

Ravian stopped in his tracks when he heard the change in her tone.

“Hoho, is Miss Augus planning to threaten me or something to get what’s in this box?”

“Hmm, who knows? I really don’t want to make an enemy of you. You couldn’t bear that, which is why I’ve been politely asking you to give me the rock and offering whatever price you want,” Layla replied.

Ravian’s gaze froze at her words.

“Oh, no,” Kael said, looking at Layla and her guards with pity.

The one-eyed guard noticed.

‘What’s with that pitying look? Shouldn’t he be pitying his squadmate for making an enemy of our young mistress instead?’

That was what the guard thought, and his assessment would have applied to plenty of other people… just not Ravian.

“Hehehe…”

Ravian began chuckling, covering his mouth with his hand after hearing Layla’s words.

“Hmm?” Layla did not understand his reaction.

But he wasn’t finished.

“Bwahahahaha!”

Ravian burst out laughing in the middle of the street, drawing numerous looks from the people around them.

“This…” The guard turned to Malrik and the others, pointing at Ravian. “Has he lost his mind?”

Kael gave him a flat look.

“I think you should forget about that rock now, friend. You’ve just done the one thing that annoys Ravian most. We’ve suffered from that ourselves before.”

“What do you mean?” the one-eyed guard asked.

Kael shook his head helplessly.

“You could have tried all sorts of things to get that rock, and most of them would have worked. But threatening him?” he asked, as though addressing a group of fools. “That’s the worst idea, man.”

The guard was still frowning, trying to make sense of his words, when he noticed Ravian had stopped laughing and turned back toward him.

Ravian stood looking at the box in his hand, and the smile on his face was downright wicked.

The one-eyed guard looked at Kael.

“Is this normal?”

“No,” Kael replied. “None of us has ever pushed him this far, but all I can tell you is that you should forget about getting that rock.”

The guard turned back to find Ravian looking at Layla, that same frightening expression on his face. His crimson eyes gleamed so brightly they seemed capable of lighting the place if it went dark.

Then Ravian spoke.

“You want this rock, don’t you?” he asked, staring at Layla.

She felt a slight shiver under the gaze of those crimson eyes, but showed no reaction.

“Yes.”

Ravian’s smile widened as he looked at her.

“And I have no intention of stopping you, miss. But…” He paused for a moment. “Don’t you think it would be boring if this ended with a ridiculous negotiation like the one you just attempted?”

“What?” Layla grew more confused with every passing moment.

“You heard me,” Ravian said, looking at the box in his hand. “Why don’t we make this a little more exciting?”

“More exciting?” Layla repeated in bewilderment, her composure gradually slipping as she watched the disturbing expressions that suggested Ravian was losing his mind.

Then, contrary to what anyone present expected, Ravian opened the containment box, took the gleaming red rock in his bare hands, and tossed the box aside as though it were a piece of rubbish.

“Ravian!” every member of his squad shouted, seeing him hold the rock as though it didn’t kill everyone who touched it.

“Shhh.” Ravian raised a finger to his lips to silence them. “Keep your voices down, everyone. Can’t you see it’s night? What if you wake the people who are sleeping?”

Everyone present stared in utter disbelief at what he was doing.

Then Ravian began slowly approaching Layla Augus.

“My lady! Please get behind us!” the one-eyed guard shouted, pulling Layla behind himself and the other guard as they drew their swords in front of Ravian.

Layla immediately retreated behind them.

“My, my. Look at you now. Weren’t you just threatening me? Where did all that confidence go?” Ravian said without stopping.

“Come on. Here’s the rock, you spoiled young lady of House Augus.” The same terrifying smile remained on his face. “Come and take it if you have the nerve.”

Lysandra’s eyes widened, as did those of the others, as they watched him behave this way. None of them could do anything, or even think of how to respond to a situation like this.

Layla opened her mouth several times, utterly at a loss for words as she stood behind her guards, terrified by Ravian’s appearance as he approached with something in his hand that had never failed to kill its target.

Eventually, she found one thing to say, and could think of nothing else.

“H-he’s insane.”