Chapter 43: Thirty Gold Coins

Chapter 43

Thirty Gold Coins

"This young lady is truly interesting. You have a keen eye. Therefore, I will reward you with 30 gold coins," the branch leader said with a smile, actually tossing out 30 gold coins. However, Ellie did not accept them. 30 gold coins might seem like a lot to others, but for her, who had received much more from Steven, how could it be considered valuable?

If her words were only worth 30 gold coins, then she wouldn’t have spoken to them at all. She could have kept it a secret until the future, when she had enough power to conquer the city herself. But by choosing to speak out, Ellie was obviously expecting a greater reward.

Well...it wasn’t like she could keep selling Tezetrons forever, could she? In that case, she should look for another stable source of income too.

Thump!

The coins hit the ground right in front of Ellie, under the astonished gaze of everyone. The young woman didn’t bother to look at the person who disrespectfully threw money at her. Instead, her eyes turned to Steven, who was also visibly angry on her behalf.

"Do you all want to hear what I have to say or not?" Ellie’s tone was calm, like that used for talking with the company’s customer. Her authoritative and pressured manner made many pauses, while the branch leader felt his blood boil with anger.

"How dare you ignore my money bag!" He exclaimed angrily. Steven stepped forward immediately to defend Ellie.

"She has no obligation to accept your petty coins. We haven’t even heard the real information yet, and you’re already trying to cheat her of it?"

"Cheat? I’m not cheating. But do you think our Setter family could again conquer a city in the middle of the 6th floor? Have you forgotten how many thousands we lost last time we seized a city in the 6th floor!" the branch leader shouted back. Steven’s eyes flashed with ferocity. Bringing up that matter in this situation was a way to attack him, right?

Wasn’t it that everyone agreed and wanted to conquer this floor? But when they proceeded and got injured, why take it out on him?

"Uncle, are you saying that 30 gold coins can buy Ellie’s information?" Aman interjected, knowing his father was furious. To protect his father’s image, Aman took the front.

"You should also hold your tongue. Don’t you know this is an adult conversation?"

"Uncle, are you asking me to be quiet because you’re afraid of the truth I’m about to speak?"

"You!" The branch leader wanted to point and scold Aman so badly. This insolent kid had bested him in arguments too many times. It was infuriating!

"Lord Aman, branch leader, and everyone in the Setter family, I apologize that I cannot accept the 30 gold coins. As for the information I have, I haven’t spoken yet. Let’s assume you never heard it then. I’ll go sell it to someone else instead,"

Ellie feigned ignorance. Her ending the conversation like this made the eyes of others in the Setter family sparkle.

It’s true that they didn’t currently need this information because even if they obtained it, it wouldn’t be actionable in the near future. However, compared to letting other families knew about this and potentially paying a large sum of money, it would be better for them to pay and keep the information within their family.

Now, the Setter family was a major family because they had acquired a valuable city on the 6th floor. Each hunting venture there had generated immense profits. But what if one day other families also conquered the 6th floor? Wouldn’t that be bad for them?

"Are you planning to betray the Setter family?"

"Oh, branch leader, I was never a part of the Setter family to begin with, remember that. So, I have no reason to sacrifice my own interests for the Setter family," Ellie reminded him.

In fact, she didn’t want to become enemies with them, which was why she had remained silent all along. But unexpectedly, after she behaved so compliantly, the other party did not show her any respect.

He even threw 30 gold coins at her, treating her as if she was merely a beggar. If Ellie did not assert her own worth, she would continue to be seen as lesser.

"You’re not a part of the Setter family? Even though you say that, haven’t you received a lot from the Setter family? Don’t you think you should reciprocate?"

"Have I received a lot from the Setter family?" Ellie raised her eyebrows slightly. How was she the one who received a lot? The branch leader, who knew nothing, was speaking nonsense. Ellie found it quite amusing.

Compared to his family head, who had almost knelt down begging for her help, why was someone who wasn’t so high-status pressuring her this much?

Seeing Ellie’s eyes flashed with indignation, Steven became agitated.

"Shut your mouth." When the branch leader heard this, he frowned immediately with displeasure.

"What do you have that makes you need to protect this girl so much?! Even I, a true member of the Setter family, do you think I am less valuable than an outsider like her? Or do you actually have something to hide? Is she your illegitimate daughter?" The burly man laughed after seeing Steven get upset just to protect a woman.

This harsh challenge put significant pressure on the people in the Setter family. Moreover, many agreed with the branch leader. The family head’s protection of this young woman seemed excessively special. Besides, the information she was about to give them was worth the 30 gold coins, wasn’t it? So why was the family head so angry?

"The family head values this girl greatly. It isn’t just because she will help the family in searching for the Masqueraded Steeds, but actually, you have more secrets hidden...and you don’t want to tell everyone those secrets, right?" seizing the opportunity, the branch leader immediately pressured the other party.

How could he think that the family head wanted to hide the truth about how special Ellie was? He just assumed that the family head had made mistakes before and was now trying to conceal Ellie’s identity. He now completely believed that the family head was hiding his own illegitimate child to protect his reputation!

Previously, it was he who had an illegitimate child that came out to proclaim the status, causing great embarrassment. At that time, the family head had punished him severely, even suspending him from his branch leader duties for 3 months and appointing someone else in his stead. Was he now facing the same humiliation?

"Sherrel Setter, are you creating conflict within the Setter family?"

"Hmm? I didn’t intend to, my esteemed lord. I’m just wondering why you are protecting this woman far beyond the usual protection for a mission contractor. Moreover, you also want to give her various things. The rake she received, isn’t it magical? Capable of handling a monster in a single blow. How can you still deny it?" Sherrel, or the branch leader, said boastfully.

"Uh, both of you, I think you shouldn’t be arguing at this time."

"You are just a loyal servant of the family head, so you just want to defend him. You say not to argue, but am I really arguing?" Sherrel was not willing to give up just yet. He narrowed his eyes and looked challengingly at Steven.

No matter what, today he had to make the other party reveal that secret information!

"Uncle...it seems like you are leading many people to doubt my father," Aman intervened after seeing the current situation.

"It’s okay," but Steven would not allow anyone to challenge his authority any further.

Previously, as the family head, Steven did not want to appear narrow-minded. He had overlooked many things many times to demonstrate his magnanimity. But he did not expect the other party to be relentless in trying to tarnish his reputation and make "Mage Ellie" feeling offended!

Although the position of family head should be magnanimous, letting some things go and not dwelling on the petty, the family head must also protect the family’s interests first and foremost.

"Father..." Aman saw the serious expression on Steven’s face, which he had not seen in a long time, and stepped back.

He had always acted as a shield and sword for his father and brother, but deep down, Aman knew that the quietest person in his family was the scariest, and next in line was his father, who seemed indifferent.

"My lord, I don’t think you would be upset just because of my suspicion, right?" Upon hearing Sherrel’s question, Steven smiled. Aman’s devilish grin was scary enough, but it seemed minor when Steven spoke the following sentence with a smile as if nothing was amiss.

"Of course, I’m not upset with you, but for clarity, when we return to the city of Set this time, I will open the ancestral court for you myself." Originally, Sherrel was smiling happily, but he was immediately taken aback when he heard the mention of the ancestral court.

The big man’s eyes widened as he looked at Steven in disbelief. What was the Setter family’s ancestral court? It was a place appointed as a court of justice, not easily convened. Once opened, those found guilty would be subjected to torturous punishments. Severe offenders would be tormented by the spirits of the ancestors for life, while those with minor offenses might return after a few years.

However, everyone who returned was driven insane by the severe torment they had encountered. The ancestral spirits showed no mercy, even slightly, to the wrongdoers. Because of such strict rules, the Setter family had grown powerful. The ancestors dispensed the most impartial justice. Once everyone had presented their arguments, the ancestors would judge.

The ancestral spirits were the spirits of the family’s former heads, including the very latest head who had recently passed away, now one of the judges. But if some spirit of the family head wasn’t acknowledged by the older ancestral spirits due to lacking qualifications, they would naturally fade away, not bound to aid as such.

The ancestral court knew no leniency or mercy. It simply judged right as right and wrong as wrong. There was 1 time in the past when the previous family head had opened it, resulting in the punishment of a wrongdoer’s family for 7 generations. Even children and infants died because of their father’s misdeeds.

The cruelty that ensued had left everyone terrified of the ancestral court. Certainly, who would have thought that Steven would mention it again just to prove his own innocence and the correctness of the family head’s decisions?!

"I believe you might be very curious about whether I have committed any terrible acts within the family, though suspecting a family head’s decisions is not right without evidence. I’ve heard you’ve been talking haphazardly since just now, so to clear your doubts and suspicions, I will open the ancestral court myself. Then you won’t have to think anyone is out to get you."

"Of course, I will accept the outcome of the judgment, and you will have to accept it too. If something happens, don’t say I was cruel," Steven said with a smile that was supposed to be friendly, though his words indicated that someone in the family was about to meet a dire fate! Wasn’t this face of a model of Aman’s evil?

"I-Isn’t this going too far, Lord of the House?" Seeing his confidence, Sherrel was at a loss for words. His face turned pale. If we looked at the reality, he was more at fault than Steven. Moreover, Steven seemed very sure that there was nothing between him and the girl and that he had acted correctly in everything.

Sherrel certainly didn’t dare to participate in the ancestral court. Since he was a child, knowing the outcomes of opening the ancestral court, it had always scared him.

"Too much? Well, since you continue to speak frivolously, I must..."

"No, no, sir. I will speak no more. I will obey you," Sherrel quickly changed his behavior in an instant, not wanting to face judgment in the ancestral court. Even if it meant losing face, he was willing.

"Good, then keep quiet for a while. I always consider the family’s interests in everything I do. If anyone here still has doubts, they can go to the ancestral court. But just like I said, even if it comes to a fight, I don’t believe my past actions would make me lose the case."

Hearing this overwhelming confidence, those who were initially displeased bowed their heads immediately. However, many who had always sided with Steven couldn’t help but feel vindicated. When Steven was young, he was very strict. Now that he had grown up and become the family head, he had allowed too many people to push him around.

Hopefully, after this, those who had been merely talkative would change for the better, stop causing trouble, and finally align with the commands...