“Young Master Casey, thank you for saving the Crystal Palace. If it weren’t for you, our entire family would have drowned in the water! I spent a lot of effort to catch this basket of red herring; it’s for you.”
“You’re too polite. It’s what I should do.”
“Young Master Casey, these 1,000 gold coins are a small gift from our master. I didn’t expect that you would be able to recognize 20 different items in the auction house as belonging to a platinum-tier item. You even managed to piece them together. After all, there aren’t many platinum-tier items in the entire kingdom. This matter is enough to go down in history! My master said that if you have time, you can go to the mansion to have tea with him at any time. He wants to have a serious discussion with you. I wonder if you would be willing to come?”
“I’ll definitely go.”
“I have a good-looking daughter. I’ve always wanted to send her to a certain lord’s house to work, but the noblemen have always had a bad reputation. I’m afraid that she’ll be bullied there! But it’s fine now. With an upright noble like Young Master Casey around, I can rest assured after sending her to the Ptolemy Manor. I hope that you’ll take care of my daughter in the future.”
“Hehe.”
Casey was on his way home to the Ptolemy Manor from the Crystal Palace. He had heard many praises all along the way. Whether it was the residents or the noblemen, none of them disrespected him. They even gave him a thumbs-up gesture.
Some praised his profound knowledge of recognizing all kinds of relics in the auction house, while others praised him for spending a large sum of money to buy all the slaves under the bidders, resulting in fewer competitors being merciful and resourceful.
Of course, most people praised him for his powerful strength and his long-hidden tolerance. Many noblemen who had supported his brother, Mike, had sent people to contact him. They wanted to be under his command instead. He had dozens of carriages worth of gifts.
Casey did hire many carriages to follow him around. The coachmen in charge of pulling the carriages had volunteered to help; they did not ask for a single cent from him.
It felt good to be the hero—it was too good! On the way back, Casey felt like he was walking on clouds. He had not wanted to take credit for it before, but he had no way to refute it since Watson had disappeared.
‘I have to think of a way to prevent Watson from stealing my credit.’
Casey pondered over that problem the entire way. When he was about to reach home, he finally thought of a way.
“Young Master Casey, we are willing to help you pull the carriage. We can’t take your money! You are the floating city’s hero and have saved countless people. It would be a sin to take your money.”
They were in front of the Ptolemy family’s mansion; a few coachmen waved their hands at Casey, rejecting the money bag that Casey had handed them.
“It’s a good habit for a nobleman to pay their way, but I understand your feelings! If you don’t want any money, perhaps an autograph?” Casey stood at the mansion’s gate; his smile was very bright.
After a long while, several coachmen took his autographs as if they were treasures and left happily.
Casey combed his clothes with his bandaged hand and walked into the mansion calmly. Autographs were his way of doing things. No matter how much Watson imitated him, it would be impossible for him to copy his handwriting clearly. With his autograph, everyone would think that he was the one who did all that.
‘I’m sorry, Watson. Why did you use my identity without my permission? You must have your own motives. Since you used me, then I’ll just have to accept your achievements. That way, we’ll be even.”
Then, Casey raised his head. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Lana, his sister. She was holding a parasol to cool down on the lawn. Lana was looking at him with a strange gaze, which made his hair stand on end.
Casey pouted. “Lana, don’t you want to welcome me now that I’m back? When did you start staying here? Do you know what happened outside?”
“If you’re referring to Young Master Casey’s rescue of the floating city and the Crystal Palace, I know it very well. I’ve been here since this morning. I even saw your battle with the sea tribe with my own eyes. But after seeing it, I couldn’t help but ask, is that really my brother?”
“Of course, it’s me. Who else would it be? Is there a second Casey in the city? I didn’t show my strength before because I’m a low-key person.”
“Is that so?”
Lana was still suspicious. “I just saw my brother give a few autographs to the coachmen outside. Since my brother is a low-key person, why did he do that?”
“Lana, you’re so annoying and so naggy. Send someone to get my things in the carriage outside. Quickly! Those are all gifts from the residents! Even though they’re not valuable things, at least it’s who they show their kindness to me. Also, where is Father? I want to see him.”
Casey wanted to find Daniel to show off his achievements. Two days ago, he had made a fool of himself in the family. If Daniel knew about what he supposedly did, he would probably be pleased. Perhaps, in his joy, he would immediately choose him as the successor.
“Father is in the study.”
“Very well.”
Ignoring Lana’s strange gaze mixed with pity, Casey quickly walked into the mansion with hope for a better future. He went to the study where his father was and knocked on the door. “Father, are you in there? It’s me, Casey.”
“Come in.”
A serious voice came from inside the door. Casey pushed the door open and walked into the room. He found Daniel sitting behind the desk, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses. There was a thick stack of documents in front of him. He looked like he had a headache.
Then, Daniel took off the glasses on his face and pinched the space between his eyebrows. After a moment, he opened his eyes and revealed a self-deprecating smile. “Isn’t this Casey, the hero who saved the Crystal Palace and the floating city? In just one morning, you have gained so many titles. You are really my son.”
“Not at all, father. It’s all because of your good teaching and my hard work.”
Casey smiled proudly. Before he could hide his smile, Daniel suddenly stood up, grabbed the ink bottle on the table, and threw it at his head. There was a bang before Casey’s head was bleeding. He sat on the ground, somewhat at a loss; he did not know why his father hit him.
“Casey, haven’t you always been hiding your strength? In fact, you have the strength to fight against platinum-tier sea folk, right? Now that your strength has been exposed, there’s no need to hide it in front of me. A dignified platinum-tier elite couldn’t even catch a bottle of ink?”
Daniel carried a wooden stick and walked in front of Casey. He gave Casey a fierce slap on the face.
“Platinum-tier expert? A hero? Do you think that the title is beautiful and intoxicating? Those can be very good, but they have nothing to do with you. I’ve watched you grow up since you were young. How can I not know what kind of morals you have? Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused this time?”
“Father, stop hitting me. Father, I know I’m wrong!”
Casey raised his bandaged hand with difficulty to cover his face. Every time the wooden stick in his father’s hand fell on his arm, he felt a piercing pain. He cried. At the same time, he felt a wave of grievance. After that incident, the people in the city had changed their attitude toward him. Everyone praised him. Even his elder brother had to look him in the eye. Why was his father so angry?
Daniel beat him until the wooden stick broke. He threw it away and sighed in disappointment.
“You idiot. Ever since yesterday’s incident, I should have locked you up and not allowed you to be free. I shouldn’t have let you come into contact with that boy, Watson. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have fallen for the trick.”
“Father, what happened?”
“You don’t even know what happened, yet you still dare to be complacent and call yourself a hero. I thought too highly of you when I said you were stupid. You’re not stupid; you have no brain. I don’t know why I have you as a son.”
It would have been better if Casey kept quiet. The moment he opened his mouth, Daniel became even angrier. Daniel said, “I guess you only know that someone impersonated you and spent a lot of money at the auction house to buy all the auction items. They even combined them into platinum-tier items! What you don’t know is that not all the items in the auction house have been combined. The most precious item in the auction house is the mermaid princess, the one you caught last time. She’s gone. Where do you think she is?”
“She—”
Casey was about to answer when cold sweat suddenly broke out. That was right. According to common sense, he must have bought the mermaid. Others would definitely think that she was with the Ptolemy family. However, judging from her father’s reaction, the mermaid was not there.
“That’s only the first point! The second point is that the person who impersonated you had been making waves in the auction house. However, he had used 10 million gold coins. That is not 1000, nor 10,000 gold coins, but it was 10 million gold coins! “You should know that the Ptolemy family only has tens of millions of gold coins. As a Young Master, you have already squandered more than 10 million gold coins in the auction house. Where did that money come from? What will the other families think? What will His Majesty think when he finds out about that?”
Cold sweat broke out on Casey’s body.
“Lastly, and most importantly, did you know that the person who impersonated you bought the mermaid in the auction house and released tens of thousands of slaves in the Crystal Palace and the floating city at the same time! Although the person who impersonated you said that the sea tribe took those hostages, the noblemen in the city did not believe him. Many people suspect that those tens of thousands of slaves are here. Let’s forget about it. Some suppliers even asked if they could raise the price by 50 times when they sell the goods to us in the future? Do you know what our family looks like in the eyes of the various nobles in the city?”
Casey shook her head. Daniel gritted his teeth.
“In their eyes, we are currently earning a large amount of money through an unknown channel. With the mermaid princess in our hands, we will only have more money in the future and don’t know how to control ourselves. We will only be spendthrift fools! However, we don’t have that much money. If someone asks us for money and we can’t come up with it, they might think that we are being too stingy by not agreeing to it even though we can do it. Over time, they will ostracize us and even hate us. You don’t think the consequences are serious? Are you still happy about it?”
Daniel almost shouted. After he finished speaking, he seemed to have aged a lot. “Forget it, Casey. I shouldn’t have had high hopes for you from the start. This is not your fault, but mine. Stay away from Watson in the future. A genius of that level is not someone you can come into contact with! Also, from today onward, you are to stay at home for three months and you are not allowed to go out.”
“Father, I agree to your request. I will stay far away from Watson, but not going out for three months is really too long.”
“Half a year.”
“Father, I—”
“Shut up. If you speak again, I will ground you for a year!”
“Father, I admit that I’m wrong.”
Casey collapsed on the ground as if he had lost all his strength. The beautiful fantasy that had emerged in his heart was destroyed. A moment ago, he was still in heaven, but he had fallen into hell since then.
