The Legendary Method Actor

Ray produced his final gift. It was a delicate, masterfully forged silver necklace, adorned with a perfectly clear, teardrop-shaped emerald.

Eileen’s eyes widened, but she immediately took a step back, shaking her head.

”Oh, Ray, no. That is far too lavish. I do not need such expensive jewelry, truly. I am perfectly happy with what I have. You should save your coin for your studies.”

Ray didn’t argue or try to convince her with words. He simply stood up from his chair, walked around the desk, and gently draped the silver chain around her neck, securing the clasp.

The moment the Amulet of Health settled against her collarbone, the teardrop emerald pulsed with a warm, brilliant green light.

Eileen gasped sharply, her hands flying to her chest.

The effect was instantaneous and absolute. For years, Eileen had lived with a lingering, heavy fatigue, the grim legacy of her long-term addiction to Night Whisper, which Alistair had administered to her thinking it was a calming medicine. All those years of dependence on the narcotic had left her body deeply weakened. Although the worst of the damage was alleviated when Ray secretly cured her with Moon Petal tea, some chronic, lingering effects remained. But now, as the Amulet of Health took effect, it was as if a reset button had been pressed, flooding her with a vitality she thought she would never feel again.

In a fraction of a second, that ache vanished. The fog of lingering exhaustion lifted from her mind, and a surge of vibrant, youthful energy flooded her biological systems. She felt lighter, stronger, and completely whole.

”Ray… What... what did you just do? My tiredness... it is entirely gone.”

Eileen whispered, her eyes wide with shock as she felt her own pulse steadying into a powerful rhythm.

”It is an Amulet of Health, It passively fortifies your Constitution and grants you a high, continuous resistance to diseases and non-magical toxins.”

Ray explained gently, resting his hands on her shoulders.

Alistair shot to his feet, staring at the glowing emerald. As a Lord, he knew the astronomical value of passive, continuous-healing artifacts.

”Ray, an item of that caliber... you couldn’t possibly have afforded that on an Academy stipend. The cost alone…”

”I got it at a very steep discount, a friend in the academy owed me a favor. It was practically a steal.”

Ray interrupted smoothly, offering a flawless white lie to ease their financial anxiety.

Ray stepped around to face his mother.

”I did not buy it for vanity, Mother. I bought it because you have been sick and exhausted for far too long. I want you to be healthy. I want you to live a very long, graceful life.”

Ray said, his expression turning deeply earnest.

Eileen let out a choked sob. The weight of her son’s love, this boy who had once been so sickly he couldn’t leave his bed, now using his newfound power and wealth exclusively to protect her, was too much.

She threw her arms around Ray’s neck, pulling him into a fierce, tearful hug.

”You do not have to worry about me, my son. With this... I promise you, I plan to be around for so long that you are going to get absolutely sick of me.”

She said as she cried happily into his shoulder.

Alistair smiled warmly, reaching out to gently rub his wife’s back as she held their son.

Eventually, the emotional high settled. Eileen wiped her tears, beaming as she admired the glowing emerald resting against her chest, and took a seat in the chair next to Ray. Ray returned to his own seat, picking up his teacup and taking a calming sip.

Alistair smiled at his family, letting the beautiful, quiet moment breathe for a few seconds.

Stolen novel; please report.

Then, the warm, emotional father slowly receded, and the sharp, calculating Lord of the Greywood Domain returned to his eyes. He leaned forward, folding his hands deliberately over the stack of domain reports.

”Now then…The gifts are incredible, Ray, and we are overjoyed to see you healthy and strong. I have some questions about that, but for now it is still the middle of the academic semester. So... why exactly are you home, and what about school?”

Alistair said, his tone shifting back to business.

Ray didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his Bag of Holding and pulled out a sleek, heavy metallic disc inscribed with a dense network of glowing runes. It was the Tactical Projection Table, the Master-class artifact he had won during the recent main qualifier tournament for the Azure Cup. He set it gently in the center of Alistair’s desk.

Next, Ray reached into his breast pocket and retrieved his Custodian Crest. While the Crest was designed to function at full capacity within the Academy’s demi-plane, its powerful enchantments allowed it limited functionality in the outside world.

Ray tapped the Crest against the surface of the metallic disc.

The runes on the table flared to life. A crisp, glowing holographic projection sprang into the air between them, bathing the study in a soft blue light. Alistair and Eileen leaned back slightly, mesmerized by the advanced magical technology, but Ray quickly manipulated the display, expanding a series of official documents.

”I am not playing truant, Father. These are official academy documents, bearing the personal seal of Headmaster Andrade. I was granted permission to leave the Academy mid-semester, on the condition that I passed the final examinations for all three of my current classes.”

Ray said, tapping the floating projection.

Ray swiped his hand, bringing up a secondary display.

”These are my final scores. I achieved perfect marks across the board. My academic obligations for the year are entirely taken care of.”

Eileen leaned in, reading the glowing text. A brilliant, incredibly proud smile broke across her face. She had always known her son was smart, but to flourish so dominantly in one of the kingdom’s most elite institutions was beyond her wildest dreams. Alistair, meanwhile, let out a deep breath, relieved that his son had handled his departure with proper, administrative protocol.

Ray tapped the Crest, deactivating the table. The hologram vanished, and he slipped the items back into his bag.

”As for the actual reason I came back, I missed my family. I wanted to see you both.”

Ray said, his tone softening.

Eileen reached across the desk, giving Ray’s hand an affectionate squeeze.

”However, I also had a practical concern. In your last letter, Father, you mentioned that a ’large amount of financial resources’ had been utilized to not only repair Greywood Keep but to heavily invest in developing the entire domain.”

Ray said, his posture shifting back into a serious, business-like stance.

”Wait right here.”

Ray added as he stood up, raising a finger.

He stepped out of the study and returned a moment later, effortlessly carrying the massive, iron-banded wooden chest he had brought from the carriage. He set it down heavily on the floor beside the desk.

Pulling a heavy iron key from his belt pouch, Ray unlocked the chest and threw open the lid.

The ambient light of the study caught the contents, reflecting off a literal mountain of pristine gold crowns.

”I assumed you might be running low on gold given the scale of the construction. There are one hundred thousand gold crowns in there. If you think this is not enough to finish the domain’s infrastructure, just let me know. I can try to exchange for more.”

Ray said casually, gesturing to the fortune.

Alistair and Eileen stared at the open chest, then slowly turned to look at each other.

Eileen immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking as she fought to suppress a burst of incredulous laughter. Alistair simply closed his eyes and shook his head slowly, rubbing his temples.

They both vividly remembered a specific comment Vailes Vance had made to them months ago:

Your son might have absolutely zero concept of the value of money.

”Ray, when I wrote that we had spent a ’large amount’ of resources, I meant exactly that. A large amount. Not all of it.”

Alistair said as he sighed, looking at his son with a mixture of amusement and worry.

”But the town, the barracks, the mercenaries...”

Ray said as he blinked in confusion.

”Are all comfortably within our operating budget. The total estimate to completely overhaul the domain, repair the Keep, and pay our laborers, including years of back pay we owed them, was roughly one hundred and seventy thousand gold crowns. That was a generous estimate. To date, we have only spent one hundred and ten thousand.”

Alistair explained gently, like a merchant instructing an apprentice.

Alistair gestured to the organized ledgers on his desk.

”Ray, after you settled our debt with the Argent Hand, there were still six hundred thousand gold crowns remaining. Even after our heavy investments, we still have nearly half a million gold crowns sitting securely in the family vault. Furthermore, because of the Vance Merchant Group contract, we have stopped drawing from our savings entirely. The domain is now generating passive income through taxes and bulk sales.”

Alistair said as he pointed at the open chest.

”We do not need any more gold, son. You have already given this family a king’s ransom. Keep it. Use it for your own needs and school expenses in Solhaven Academy.”

Ray looked at the chest, genuinely perplexed. He had assumed building a town from scratch would rapidly drain their coffers. Realizing he had vastly overestimated the cost of rural development, Ray simply shrugged.

”Very well.”

Ray said. He shut the heavy lid, locked it, and casually shoved the chest into his Bag of Holding, treating a fortune that could buy a small city like spare change.