Vanessa nodded, her expression easing. "Alright, I'll leave you to it then. Just don't take too long—otherwise, someone might come barging in." She shot him a knowing look before stepping out and gently closing the door behind her.
Once Vanessa was gone, Alex's expression shifted back to one of playful sarcasm as he turned to Yulia. "See? I'm always honest and reliable. So, have you made up your mind, or do you need me to go the extra mile and personally deliver the key—and your family's secrets—to Minister Bagnold?"
Yulia's face twisted further in frustration, her thoughts racing but offering no escape. Her silence was all Alex needed to see. He let out a sharp huff and stood, making a move toward the door. "Wait! Don't!" Yulia's voice rang out, strained and desperate, stopping Alex in his tracks. She couldn't let him leave like this.
"Changed your mind, have you?" he asked, his tone as casual as if they were talking about the weather.
Letting out a long, defeated sigh, Yulia sank deeper into the couch, her body language a portrait of exhaustion and surrender. She looked up at Alex with weary eyes. "If I agree, you'll help me save Torquil, right?"
Alex's smirk widened. "Save him? Do you think this is some fairytale where people just get rescued on a whim? Torquil isn't just anyone—he's Bagnold's prized possession now." His words cut sharp, leaving no room for fantasy.
"But you said—" Yulia's voice cracked as she spoke, her frustration palpable. "You said if I agreed to your terms, you'd solve this!"
"I did say I'd solve it. For you," Alex said, his expression unfazed. "But I never promised Torquil would walk out of this alive. I can get rid of him, though." He slid a finger across his throat in a mocking gesture.
Yulia's breath caught. "He's being held under heavy protection of the auror. How do you even plan to pull that off?"
"That's my problem, not yours," Alex replied with a cold smile. "You're better off not thinking about it."
Yulia hesitated, still wrestling with the impossible deal he was dangling in front of her. "If you're serious, then after you deal with him, you'll return the key, right?"
Alex shook his head. "Oh no. That's non-negotiable."
"What?!" Yulia's composure cracked, and she leaned forward, her voice raising in panic. "How can I agree to this if you won't return the key?!"
"I'll destroy it in front of you after the deal is done," Alex offered, his tone as calm as ever. "And I'll keep your secret safe. The Travers family's skeletons will stay buried—so long as you play your part."
"Destroy it? Do you even realize how much effort we've put into the materials in that vault? You think I'd just let you destroy it? Impossible!" Yulia's anger finally boiled over, her voice trembling with rage.
"Then I guess there's no deal," Alex said, standing up again. His hand was already on the door handle when he added, "You'd better start preparing for war."
"Wait!" Yulia all but screamed, her voice raw with desperation. She clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.
"That's more like it," Alex said, turning back with a smirk. "Sometimes keeping the family whole and safe is better than falling apart over a stubborn grudge, don't you think?"
Yulia glared at him, her jaw tightening as she held back a scathing retort. 'You have the audacity to talk about family when you just offered to kill my brother-in-law?' The thought burned in her mind, but with the Travers family's safety—and her own child's future—at stake, she swallowed her anger. Sensing her defeat, Alex returned to his seat, his expression softening slightly. "Alright. Let's hear it. What's your decision?"
Yulia exhaled heavily, the weight of her choice evident in her every move. "Fine. You get rid of Torquil, destroy the key in front of me, and keep our secret safe. But you also have to promise not to become our enemy in the future."
Alex leaned back, looking pleased but unfazed. "At best, I'll let you off the hook this time. But if anyone from the Travers family crosses me again, don't expect me to be this lenient."
Yulia bit her lip, her mind racing for a way out, but there was none. She finally nodded. "Alright. But you'll have to take an Unbreakable Vow to ensure it. I won't agree to anything otherwise."
"Fair enough," Alex replied, shrugging. "But there'll need to be a third-party witness, and that witness must also keep this arrangement secret."
"Agreed. I'll arrange it," Yulia said, resigned.
"Now for my terms." Alex leaned forward, his tone shifting to one of businesslike detachment. "Thirty thousand Galleons. If that's too much, I'll take half the materials in your family's treasury—four ounces of refined mithril, a four-foot dragon heartstring, and a full copy of your family library."
Yulia stared at him, slack-jawed. "You're insane! Thirty thousand Galleons? Half the treasury? That's enough to bankrupt us and defect from England tomorrow!"
Alex smirked. "Then make me a counteroffer."
"Five thousand Galleons. You can take three materials from the treasury—no more than one ounce of mithril. The dragon heartstring is fine. As for the library, I'll allow you to copy twenty volumes, max."
Negotiating with Alex was a battlefield Yulia Travers had never imagined she'd find herself on. A noble lady, used to a life of elegance and etiquette, was now haggling over every last Galleon and ounce of material with someone who had navigated the rough waters of the market since childhood.
"25,000 Galleons. I'll even throw in a minor concession on the materials in your treasury—let's say, one-third of it—and 1,000 books from your family's collection. That's as far as I'll go. Don't try my patience," Alex said, leaning back slightly, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Yulia shook her head, refusing to yield, countering his terms with a firm but desperate determination.
What followed was an exhaustive negotiation, one that dragged on far longer than Yulia would have liked. They argued down to the tiniest details—disputing the number of Galleons by one or two, haggling over whether a fraction of an ounce of mithril should be included, and even debating the precise number of books Alex could take. The minutes stretched into an eternity as they painstakingly settled each term.
Finally, after more than half an hour of relentless back-and-forth, the two reached an agreement. For Yulia, the ordeal had been nothing short of torment. To her, each word she uttered seemed to erase the painstaking efforts of generations of the Travers family. The losses weighed heavily on her, leaving her exhausted and visibly pale.
Meanwhile, Alex, though visibly satisfied, couldn't resist muttering, "For such a wealthy family, they're surprisingly stingy. At least the final haul was better than I'd hoped. Not bad for a day's work."
Yulia wiped the sweat from her forehead, her voice weak but resolute. "Now that we've settled this, I'll call someone to witness the oath."
Alex waved a hand dismissively but added with a smirk, "Just don't bring that idiot Dolores. If she messes up the spell, I'll probably end up as a toad."