Tribe Conquest: Harem starts in a tribe!-Chapter 13: Buan’s Promise

"How can you arrange my marriage without asking me first?"

Selera’s voice was full of unrestrained fury and protest, feeling betrayed by her father’s action. A betrayal from her father was the last thing she expected to happen at this trial.

The grand elder turned to her, his eyes glinting with a cold light: "You wouldn’t agree even if I asked you. Just marry according to my wishes if you don’t want to end up like that fake son of yours!"

He sent a disgusted glance towards Buan before continuing.

"Do you plan to remain a widow all your life?"

Suddenly, his gaze softened, his voice filled with care and affection as he spoke softly, "Foolish child, right now I’m here to protect you, but what about after I die? I don’t have many years to live."

Selera’s fingers were clenched into a fist by her side, frustrated and conflicted. She knew her father wished the best for her; however, to marry Trula?

She would never!

His son had harmed Buan.

Her father’s love could only make her hesitate, not agree.

With a defiant look in her phoenix-amber eyes, she announced her decision: "I would rather die than marry the enemy of my son!"

Buan, who couldn’t even stand up without any help, could only look at her fierce yet beautiful face in a daze while sitting on the elevated platform. He felt warm inside, a warmth of affection after the cold night of yesterday. He then noticed her sending a soft glance towards him, as if telling him to not worry.

The grand elder, however, wasn’t finished as he spoke with an arrogant smile, "Selera. I have been sheltering both you and Lira in my house after the former patriarch died; otherwise, you would have been living in that shabby house in the outer circle with your fake son. Now that he is a cripple, do you think he can even catch an animal to feed you?"

His smile turned scheming as he threatened. "If you refuse to marry according to my wishes, you can forget that you have a father. I will leave you and your daughter to live with that cripple. Let me see how long you can survive in those harsh conditions."

After hearing the grand elder’s words, Buan saw his stepmother’s resolve dwindling, doubt creeping in her eyes. She glanced at Buan as if trying to decide; however, just then, the grand elder added with a soft and caring smile, trying to sweeten the deal:

"Selera. How about this? If you accept this marriage, I will even take care of your crippled son. He won’t have to suffer anymore."

Selera’s eyes widened slightly, her gaze calculating as she looked at Buan. He could feel that she was considering sacrificing herself for her children.

Buan felt a pang of pain scratching at his chest; he couldn’t be so useless.

If she was there for him, then he would be for her too.

He wouldn’t let her sacrifice herself for him.

Never!

It would be better to just die than be a burden on someone who loved him so deeply.

"Don’t even think about it!" He yelled, his voice filled with fake confidence, his desperate act to let his stepmother depend on him.

He glanced at Jule, gesturing to ask for help in standing up.

Jule rushed over, sliding Buan’s hand over his shoulder to help him stand.

Buan fixed his gaze on his mother and warned, "If you agree, I would commit suicide this instant!"

His voice didn’t waver, his eyes full of sincere resolve.

The grand elder, seeing his plan could be ruined by Buan, shouted, "You brat! How dare you speak in between when adults are talking?"

His voice was full of desperate fury and agitation, with a hint of disgust mixed in.

Buan ignored him and only focused on his breathtakingly beautiful stepmother. She was looking at him with surprise, as if he wasn’t acting in his usual manner.

"Mother, if you believe in me, then please refuse him." His voice was soft, polite, and gentle, yet still confident and unwavering.

With a gaze that requested to believe in him, a reassuring gaze that told her to not worry, he spoke with a confident whisper, "I’ll take care of you... I’ll become strong, so please... just this once... believe in me." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Before Buan could even get his mother’s response, a scornful laugh resounded behind him, "Hahaha!"

Buan recognized the voice; it was Trula, the Vice-Patriarch.

As Buan turned his head to look at him, Trula spoke with a sneer, raising his eyebrow, "How will you, a cripple, do anything? You were the weakest in our tribe even when you had your leg. Now with a leg gone, how do you plan to take care of anyone?"

He looked him up and down, sizing him as his sneer widened. "You cannot even stand on your own. What kind of a promise can you keep? Stop being a burden on your mother. You have made her suffer enough already. You—"

"Shut up!" Selera interjected, her voice a piercing cry of materialized fury.

Trula, with his lips parted, blinked twice, looking at Selera in surprise.

This was the first time anyone had yelled at him after he became the Vice-Patriarch.

Even the grand elder was looking at her in shock.

"Don’t tell me, you believe this cripple’s words?" The grand elder questioned incredulously.

Selera, as if a volcano erupting, spoke in a cold, seething voice, "Yes, I believe him! As for the insulting words you are saying to my son, why didn’t you say anything when his father was alive? If I remember correctly, you used to call him Prince Buan, didn’t you?"

She shot them a scornful look, clenching her teeth. "You both are just cowards who only know how to bully the weak. Don’t forget he is the son of the warrior who established this tribe. You all are living in the tribe his father conquered!"

For a short while, Trula and the grand patriarch were dazed, tongue-tied from the truth in her words.

However, soon, Trula came to his senses, about to respond when the patriarch interjected, "Enough!"

He looked at the grand elder with a disappointed look in his eyes. "If your daughter doesn’t want to marry, you cannot force her even if you are the grand elder of the tribe."

The grand elder lowered his head in shame, not daring to protest.

There were some rules in the tribe established by the previous patriarch, and they were to be held above everything else. Marriage being the girl’s decision was one of them. No one could force them.

Moreover, Selera was the wife of the former patriarch and not some commoner female whom they could just force. She had once been a symbol of respect for the tribe.

The patriarch turned to Selera and spoke respectfully. "Lady Selera, if you have decided to refuse the grand elder’s wishes, then you will have to leave his residence. It’s his wish if he wants to let you stay with him or not."

Selera nodded elegantly. "I understand."

The patriarch smiled and then stood up from his throne-like seat, announcing in his heavy and loud voice while addressing the gathered tribesmen:

"The Grand Tribal Tournament will begin in 2 months, and this time, it will be organized by the Shuan Tribe! Any warrior from our tribe can participate, so I encourage you all to prepare accordingly."

"Remember! Killing is allowed; therefore, participate only if you are confident in your strength and serious about winning." The patriarch warned.

"We understand! We thank the patriarch!" The tribesmen yelled in unison.

For a few moment, the patriarch only swept his gaze across the faces of the gathered tribesmen, however, suddenly as if remembering something, he shifted his gaze, fixing at Trula.

His eyes shone with cold glint as he ordered. "Vice-Patriarch. I forbid you and your family from going near Buan. If any suspicious behavior comes to light on your part, I’ll be forced to take action myself."

His voice sounded threatening and overbearing. This was also a warning to suppress his overgrowing ambitions. Since Buan has exposed his plans so openly, the patriarch was more open with his threats.

Under his sharp gaze, Trula lowered his head and nodded politely, "I understand, patriarch."

Soon, the gathering began to disperse as the patriarch left along with the elders.

Trula only sent a hateful glare at Buan and then left with Rokan.

After a few moments, Selera and Lira approached Buan.

"Buan, you go and get your wooden leg crafted." Selera said, caressing Buan’s cheek softly with a smile, "Lira and I will bring our clothes and other stuff from the grand elder’s house."

Buan nodded, supported by Jule who was helping him stand. He also noticed that Selera addressed the grand elder by his title instead of father. Well, if your father so openly abandoned you, this would be an appropriate response.

As he watched his mother’s and sister’s leaving backs, Buan heard Jule exhale softly, "Whoa, man. Your life is tough."

Buan couldn’t help but agree with a wistful sigh, "Yeah... it is."

After a few moments, Jule asked, "So?... Where do I take you?"

Buan pointed in a certain direction, "There. Hula’s crafting shop is in the middle circle of the tribe."

****

After six hours, Buan returned to his house in the outer circle with a wooden leg.

It took Hula only five hours to craft a leg suited for only him.

The leg was designed like a sock, letting Buan put his leg inside and then tie it around his thigh with leather straps. Fur was used to layer the insides to make the artificial wooden leg feel comfortable.

From outside, it was designed to resemble a real leg as closely as possible.

Buan could now walk without any help and even run at a slow pace for a short period of time. The wooden leg couldn’t bend like a real leg with joints, so Buan had to use a simple technique to run. He only had to use the wooden leg as a support and propel himself forward.

As for Jule, he said his goodbye and left not long ago, returning to the Roen Tribe.

Buan, however, needed to think about his future.

He was at rock bottom right now without any real strength, and now that he promised to take care of his mother and sister, even their fate was riding on him.

’First, I need to ensure the necessities are taken care of. I have a shelter and some old clothes of Buan. The only problem is food. I’ll need to go on hunting. But without a party of allies and skills, it would be a death sentence. Not to mention, my wooden leg will be a hindrance.’

Then, a smile crept up on his lips.

’But lucky for me, I have a spell that can help me.’

While standing at the entrance to his house, he spoke in his mind,

’Spell, I would like to buy a skill.’

The whisper of the spell returned, speaking in his ear as a panel of runes shimmered into existence.

Survival Merits: 40

And below it, a locked list:

Available Skills (Beginner Tier):

Archery (Cost: 25 merits)

Dagger Mastery (Cost: 25 merits)

Evasion (Cost: 15 merits)

Swordsmanship (Cost: 35 merits)

Spear Mastery (Cost: 30 merits)

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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)