Chapter 4

Baron Belick Maers was a Red-haired man, around thirty years of age. He was a man of taste and loved to live in luxury. He's blue trousers were made out of rare silk while his shirt was weaved with golden threads. On his back, a blue coat could be seen almost covering him in his entirely. From his birth until now, he never understood those nobles that trained in order to become warriors. He himself was a rank 1 iron warrior, and that was only because his father insisted that he should train and become a powerful warrior. This was a tradition of the nobles everywhere especially for those who would become head of a family. While noblemen would rarely engage in battle, cultivation was a thing that allowed nobles to brag about themself. There was also an inheritance problem. A noble household would have a few sons and the oldest son wasn't guaranteed to inherit the position of the head of the family. Because of this, the fights between brothers would occur often. The individual strength and the achievements of the cultivation path would play a big role in the line of succession.

Barron Belick lived his life in luxury since he was a kid. Being the only son of the family, he didn't understood why it was so important to train if he didn't have to compete for the future position. The only reason he trained until he reached the iron layer was that his father made him train. Even so, he always slacked off and he only entered the iron layer at the age of twenty-two. After his father died six years ago, he inherited the household and give up on cultivation for good.

His domain was located far into the north, right at the border of the Federation. It included Scorcia city and the lands surrounding it. It wasn't a very wealthy domain as the land was mostly used for farming. Trade was really poor as half the neighbors were either Elleon Empire or the Grand duchy of Evaradar. Belick's estate was outside of any trade routes that were going into the Grand Duchy so the trade with it was not going very good. The other big neighbor of Belick's was Elleon Empire, but because of the constant aggressions over the years between the Empire and the Federation, the trade was very limited. With no trade or natural resources, the Baron had to choose some alternative methods of making money in order to support his domain.

At the moment Belick was looking at Zephyr who was eating a piece of grilled meat. They were sitting at a table, opposite of each other, inside the booth of a known restaurant in Nan.

This was a high-class restaurant where many of the nobles that resided in Nan were eating.

Belick would eat here as well in his periods when he would be in Nan, but right now he wasn't eating anything and was only watching Zephyr with deep Eyes. He opened his mouth a few times but words would not come out of it.

"If you have something to say, just say it." Said Zephyr on a serious tone.

Belick's heart jumped for a moment before he lifted his eyes and looked at Zephyr.

"I know why you were searching for me. "

"Really now!" Exclaimed Zephyr. He knew that in the past few weeks the news has already spread in the higher echelons of the city that he was helping Duke Gales win the election.

It would have been a surprise if Belick didn't know.

"News of your visits around the city had already spread." added Belick dispirited.

"Then you should know what I intend to ask you."

"I know. But I already took Duke Rosal on his offer." Said Belick.

"Then you have some bad luck. " Said Zephyr slightly smiling. " You better think well if offending me is better than offending the Duke."

Belick's mind felt like collapsing. He knew that Zephyr would ask him to vote for Duke Gales, but he already took money from Duke Rosal. If he would do as told by Zephyr, he would offend Duke Rosal. This was not a choice as Duke Rosal was known for his vengeful nature and he didn't have a death wish. He was merely a Baron, how could he compare to a Duke . Even if the Federation forbid fighting between members, there were still a lot of ways in which the Duke could deal with him. The other choice would be to refuse Zephyr, but that would be even worse than offending the Duke. Zephyr had in his possession the only thing that could destroy his entire life.

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The Federation had decreed since a long time ago that selling runic equipment to the Elleon Empire would be stopped. Because of that, the prices of runic equipment in the Empire rose by a lot. A few years ago, his domain was one step away from economical collapse. He didn't have any way of resolving the situation so the only thing he could do was to take the offer of an official of the Federation that was planning to begin a smuggling operation. As his domain was at the border of the Empire, he was in a good position to make this whole thing work. The amount of gold he would got from this was much more than he needed, so he took the offer. For the next three years, everything went well. He kept his luxurious way of life while he had enough money for the administration of his demesne. Then, misfortune struck and the whole operation was exposed. The official the orchestrated the whole thing was arrested, made to confess and later he was executed. While he was waiting for the army to come to his domain to arrest him, that never happened. After a few months, he thought that maybe the official omitted him from his confession and got away... but he couldn't be more wrong. One month later, Zephyr appeared at his court and threw on his table a few documents. The moment he read those documents, he froze. Those were records of all the transactions, routes, and money the smuggling operation registered, along with the confession of the official.

For a second he thought that there would be his end, but he learned from Zephyr that he was magically omitted from the confession and the records. What he saw on the table was the true evidence that was hidden from the people's eye. Zephyr told him that he would need a few favors in the future, and if he performed well, the evidence would disappear forever.

Since then, every day he would wake up with the thought that his entire life was in the hands of another person. He could be destroyed at any time.

He learned everything he could find about Zephyr in order to understand the shit he was in. But the thing he found out was even more confusing.

'How could a noble of the Empire have so much influence in Nan.' thought him.

It wasn't uncommon for nobles from other countries to have representatives or relatives in Nan, even for the Empire which was considered a latent enemy of the Federation. What puzzled him was how could a noble from the empire have so much influence. This was the question that confused him until recently.

After hearing that Zephyr was siding with Duke Gales in the election, so much that he even convinced other noble to support Gales, he thought that Zephyr had Gales as his backing from the beginning.

"I wouldn't dare to offend you. But offending Duke Rosal... " Said Belick unwillingly.

Zephyr looked at him with a trace of pity in his eyes. He didn't want to reveal the information he had on Belick to the authorities, but at the same time he needed that vote.

"Count Belick... Why do you want to fight with me on this?" Said him while taking another bite from his meal.

Belick looked at him and felt trapped between hammer and anvil. No matter what he chooses, he would get fucked.

"If I do as you say... Can you back me up against Duke Rosal? " Asked him worried. If Zephyr could back him up against the Duke, he didn't mind voting for the other party.

"While I don't have the kind of influence to be able to protect you, I Can talk to Duke Gales about your situation. I'm sure that he would land a hand knowing you would support him."

Hearing Zephyr's words, Belick felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. Duke Gales could protect him for sure. Even if Rosal would win, with the Duke Gales's help he could feel safe.

"Then. I will do as you say. " Added Belick.

"Good!" Exclaimed Zephyr.

He was pretty pleased with himself now that he convinced another one. He was pretty sure that Belick would crack from the beginning, but one could never know a person's reaction too well.

"Who knows? Maybe the Duke would even give you some benefits." Added Zephyr.

Listening to Zephyr's words, Belick's mind started to wander away. What kind of benefits would he get? 'Maybe some gold or some position would be even better.' thought him.

Looking at the daydreaming man, Zephyr pushed his plate aside and got up.

Seeing Zephyr get up, Belick got scared and said: " About those documents..."

Zephyr smiled; "Don't worry. I'm a man of my word. After the election is finished, I will give you your documents. "

"Good, then." Said Belick.

"I will take my leave. I will see you soon, Count Belick."

Those were Zephyr final words before leaving the booth.

Belick was left behind. He didn't get up immediately and waited to calm down first.

'Maybe voting for Duke Gales wouldn't be such a bad thing.' thought him.