"If you take one more step, I'll throw you off Westvale Peak myself."The words rolled through the air like thunder. The killing intent inside them froze everyone in place.Luna turned sharply. Her eyes were wide. "Leander?"Every head turned toward him.Except for Lydia, no one could believe what they had just heard.Leander stood still, his eyes steady, his tone calm. But the power behind his voice made the guards hesitate.To them, it sounded insane. Skelly wasn't some random troublemaker. Even threatening him could mean ruin. And throwing him off Westvale Peak meant death. Who would dare say that so casually?Skelly's grin twisted into something darker. His eyes narrowed."Say that again," he said softly. "Louder this time. I don't think I heard you right."He was the second heir to the Riverstone family, one of the most powerful families in the western region. Their reach spread across politics, the military, and business. They weren't one of Highcliffe's ancient houses, but their influence matched any of them. The Riverstones could stand toe to toe with the Ashcrofts or the Florians.Though he was not at the top of his family, he was still part of the main branch. Even men like Ethan or Tycen tread lightly when he entered the room.Yet now, some nameless kid had the nerve to threaten him to his face.Janey looked at Leander, disgust flashing across her eyes. "What's wrong with you? Do you just pick fights with everyone you see? You really don't know when to shut up."Behind Skelly, his guards straightened, their gazes sharp and full of mockery.Each one of them was trained, hardened, and loyal. They had broken bones and silenced men for less. The Riverstone family could bend laws and erase names with a single phone call.Leander looked calm, but to them, he was already a dead man. The brat was wearing nothing but cheap clothes and radiated no aura at all.All they needed was a single word from Skelly. Then they would move—and no one would stop them.Lydia was the only one who didn't move. A small smile curved her lips, calm and knowing.Just the day before, Ethan had stopped by and told her everything about the martial assembly between the four major elite families. She knew her eldest son well enough to understand one thing he hadn't fallen. He had grown more dangerous, more ruthless, and far stronger than before.Even those Transcendent Realm masters, warriors others saw as untouchable, had fallen to his hands like fragile prey. Someone like Skelly was nothing to him.As every eye in the room followed him, Leander slowly rose from his seat."You think I'm playing with you?"noveldramaHis voice was quiet, but it carried a chill that dug into bone.Luna's heart lurched. "Leander, please, don't do this."She tried to reach for him, afraid he would go too far, afraid he would make a mistake he couldn't undo. But he was already moving.Leander grabbed Skelly by the collar. "What-what are you doing?" Skelly stammered.Before he could finish, Leander lifted him clean off the floor. Skelly's body, heavy and strong, hung in the air like it weighed nothing. His limbs flailed, but his strength failed him.Luna froze. Janey gasped in disbelief. Leander didn't speak. He just walked forward, each step deliberate, dragging Skelly toward the doorway."Let him go!" one of the guards shouted."Put him down now!" another barked. The guards rushed forward as a group.Leander turned his head slightly, his eyes glinting like shards of ice. "Out."His voice exploded through the air like a thunderclap. The sound hit the guards like a wave of force.One by one, they dropped to their knees, clutching their heads, groaning in agony.Leander didn't even glance their way. He walked out into the courtyard, dragging Skelly behind him like a lifeless doll. The cold wind whipped around them as he stopped at the edge of the cliff. "I'm going to throw you from here" he said, his. tore low and icy If you live, you're lucky. If you die, that's your fate." Skelly's face drained of color. His bravado vanished. Now he knew. Now he realized what the man he faced was like. This man was not some no-name fool. He was merciless. Cruel. "Wait! Please! You don't understand—"Leander's grip didn't loosen. His face didn't change. Under the horrified stares of everyone inside the room, his fingers opened.Skelly's scream tore through the mountain air as his body fell away, crashing againstthe cliffside before vanishing into the darkness below.Then there was silence. Leander turned around and walked back inside, his expression calm, his steps steady.The guards on the floor stared at him like they were seeing a ghost. They couldn't comprehend what had just happened.He had actually done it. They'd thought it was just a threat, a bluff to scare Skelly. But he had gone through with it, tossing the Riverstone heir off Westvale Peak without hesitation.Leander looked over them, his gaze cold and heavy. "You have three seconds," he said flatly. "If you're still here after that, you'll follow him."The words rolled through the room like a death sentence. The guards scrambled to their feet, stumbling and tripping over each other as they fled. Within seconds, the courtyard was empty.Only Lydia remained seated, unshaken, her hands resting calmly in her lap. Luna and Janey stood frozen. Their faces were pale.Leander looked gentle, refined, even scholarly, yet what he had just done proved something terrifying his restraint was gone. Luna's heartbeat hammered in her ears. Did he not care about the law?Janey took an involuntary step back. Her hands trembled. She'd stormed into the room earlier without knocking. If Lydia hadn't known her, would she have shared Skelly's fate?Leander sat back down beside his mother. Lydia turned to him with the same serene expression and began talking as if nothing had happened.Luna's stomach twisted.How could they be so calm?"Leander, what did you just do?" she whispered, her voice shaking.Leander turned his head slightly. "You're my mother's acquaintance. He barged inand tried to drag you out. I showed mercy by letting him fall.""Mercy?" Luna's voice cracked.Throwing a man off a mountain-was that mercy? If that was mercy, she could not comprehend what was not. Murder, perhaps.Janey's fear turned to anger. "You're insane!" she shouted. "Do you even realize who that man was?"She pointed toward the door, her hand trembling. "That was Skelly Riverstone-the second-in-line of the Riverstone family! They control half the western region! Even the Ashcrofts and the Florians don't want to cross them!"Her voice rose with panic. "You didn't just break the law. You picked a fight with a family that owns this city! Do you have any idea what you've done?" Leander leaned back against the wooden pillar. He looked utterly unbothered. "The Riverstone family?" His tone was casual, his eyes cold. "They're just another family hanging onto power. If their patriarch himself came here and disrespected my mother, I'd treat him the same way. Their second-in-line means less than crumbs of cookies tucked away in some dingy old attic."Every word dripped with conviction. Janey's mouth went dry. Luna's hands clenched against her dress. Though she liked Leander, even she thought this was being arrogant.They didn't know if they were terrified or awed.That same night, in a villa nestled deep within Highcliffe's western hills, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through a private courtyard. A group of guards carried Skelly's broken body across the stone path His arms and legs hung limp. s face was mangled, unrecognizable. His breathing was faint, shallow, barely there. At the center of the courtyard stooda man in uniform, tall and still, his hands clasped behind his back. His posture was sharp, his presence cold enough to silence the air. He stared at his brother's ruined form, saying nothing. Skelly's limbs were broken, his breathing was shallow, and half his face was ruined. Even though he was supposed to say composed, he failed to hold his fury back. Bloodlust and murder were raging in his eyes.