Ravian paused, trying to process what Adrian had just told him, and a frown slowly appeared on his face.
He briefly glanced at Adrian, looking him up and down. But his frown did not ease.
"Adrian, tell the truth, did you hit your head somewhere while I wasn't looking? Because you really aren't making any sense here. Let's say I have five wooden logs I was burning in my mansion's fireplace. After some time, two of the five logs were burned away, and I was left with only three logs."
He pressed a hand to his forehead.
"The two burned away logs didn't go to anyone; they burned and thus ceased to exist. How can those two logs be taken by someone as tax?"
Adrian stared at him expressionlessly for a while, and then suddenly took out a silver coin and dangled it in front of his face.
"What do you think this coin is worth?"
