Luna was stunned, even forgetting to fake her tears.
She never expected this madman would give in so easily. Warily, she stared at him, "What are you plotting?"
Mael Valerius let out a low laugh, pressing down on her even harder: "Luna, you don't trust me?"
He suddenly leaned in, his nose almost touching hers. "That fox lost three tails. Now, he probably can't even step across Mount Veridia's threshold. Even if, for the sake of kinship, they let him in, he'll become the laughingstock of the sect."
In an instant, Luna's heart was thrown into chaos. She shoved him away, sitting upright. "What do you mean?"
"For the Nine-Tailed Fox, the tails are honor."
Mael Valerius fiddled leisurely with her hair. "Lose one tail, lose thirty percent of your power. Lose three, and you're less than twenty percent—besides..."
He deliberately dragged out his words, watching Luna's face turn pale. "A fox with three lost tails... even cubs in Veridia could trample him underfoot."
