Rosalia watched Max as he was pulled aside, her fists tightening until her fingers hurt. She wanted to scream at him to leave, to reject her father's decision and vanish from this place before he could poison it further, yet at the same time, it felt as though a heavy stone had been lifted from her chest. That relief only made the turmoil inside her worse.
It made her wonder whether she wanted him to stay after all, or if she was only relieved that fate had allowed her to see him one more time. She did not know. But one thing she knew for certain was that she was not ready to forgive him.
She understood that it had not truly been his fault, yet the peace that had been broken could not be pieced back together so easily, and the lives swallowed by the battlefield would never come back.
-----
"Show me that again, the mana you absorb and then return," Henry said in a firm voice, pushing Max behind the trees and away from the clan's watchful eyes.
His gaze greedily drank in the sight of void magic devouring mana within a controlled space, withering the trees so violently that even the bark began to peel and fall away, as if the forest had aged several hundred years in a single breath.
But when Max poured that mana back into the world, everything changed. Not only did the trees return to normal, they seemed younger than before, fresher, fuller, with dew gathering over the leaves like the forest itself had been reborn.
In that moment, Henry wanted to rip Max's hands from his arms and claim that miracle for himself. It was a treasure that could drag the clan back to glory and crush every last fool who dared stand against the rule of the Ice Dragons.
"Wonderful! Magnificent!" Henry patted Max's back with wild excitement, making Max cut him an annoyed side-eye. "Listen, boy, this—" Only then did he catch himself, realizing how badly his greed had slipped through. Coughing a few times, he stepped back and forced the face of a chief back into place.
"About before, you don't need to worry about the destroyed land. As long as you help me raise this clan from the bottom, I will consider treating you like one of us."
A faint, hopeful smile rose on Max's face, and he had to fight hard not to grin like an idiot. His plan was unfolding better than he had hoped, and Henry was the main reason for it.
Max could already tell this man was starving for power, the kind of hunger born from years spent at the bottom, not even permitted to stand against another clan leader, treated like nothing more than a commander in the previous battle. As a man, he understood exactly how bitter that kind of humiliation could become.
"Thank you, chief."
Noticing Max's grin, Henry narrowed his eyes. "But do not misunderstand me, boy. I am not forgiving you. If my daughter had torn your head off just now, I would not have stopped grieving for what this clan lost because of you." His gaze drifted back toward the mountains.
"But I am a chief before I am anything else, and a chief who throws away a treasure like this deserves to watch his people starve."
"I expect nothing more." Max's voice stayed calm. "I did not come here for your forgiveness. As a man, I came here to repay my debt, nothing else."
"Good. How much mana do you still have left to feed this place?" Henry asked, greed glinting openly in his eyes.
"Not much," Max lied. He could not let Henry know that he was close to an infinite source of mana. The moment a man like Henry understood that, Max would stop being valuable and start becoming something to be owned. "I need to go somewhere every day and absorb more."
Henry stood in silence for a while, his knuckles pressed against his chin, thoughts moving behind his eyes like wolves circling prey.
"Then I have a task for you. Every day, you will go far away from the clan and absorb mana only where there is no living soul. Return just enough to make it look like nothing happened. Leave no traces, then bring that mana back here. And do not ever dare absorb mana here again. If even one crop dies because of you again, I will punish you with another year of slavery to this clan."
That made Max's eyes harden for a brief moment. Since when had he agreed to be anyone's slave? Henry was already twisting his words, testing how far he could bend them, already planning to use him as a tool rather than a man.
"Anything else?" Max neither accepted nor rejected the sentence, and that alone made Henry wonder whether this youngster was much sharper than he had first pretended to be.
"Do not try to step beyond your boundaries. I will have men watch over you, and if you dare plot against anyone in this clan, I will personally kill you." Max had to hold himself back even harder from laughing. His face remained stone-cold, but inside, the threat barely felt heavier than a child shaking a stick at a wolf. He already knew Henry would never be his match in battle.
"Understood."
"Follow behind me. I will place you under watch. You will sleep outside the clan by yourself. Do not come close unless there is danger that only you can handle."
Max gave no answer and simply followed after him.
The moment they stepped out from the woods, the clan came back into view. Men were hauling logs from the forest in their dragon-human hybrid forms, their pale faces making it look as though they might collapse where they stood.
Many eyes swept over the returning pair, but not a single mouth dared to open. Many among the clan thought the same as Henry, seeing Max as something too useful to throw away, while others wanted him gone and swallowed those thoughts before they could ever leave their tongues.
"William," Henry roared.
"Yes, Chief." A familiar face broke away from the warriors and hurried over, only to meet Max's gaze with open turmoil in his eyes.
"I am placing Max under your watch for as long as he stays here. Find him work. Make sure he causes no trouble. I trust you with that." Henry turned away and headed back toward the forest, where the warriors were already shifting and preparing for work.
That left only the two of them standing there, the same pair who had nearly torn into each other before, now forced to face one another with a thick, awkward silence hanging between them.
William exhaled heavily. The last thing he wanted was to deal with Max again. He hated him to the bone, but the chief's orders were not something he dared to go against.
"Come. We have work to do. You can start by helping build the shelters..." He turned his back immediately, not even waiting for an answer.