Author's note: The next five chapters will be released in 2 weeks :) (~21.01.24)

...

Marisia's Office, Leonandra Estate

"My... Lady."

"Yes? Did you read it?"

Linuel was sitting inside Marisia's office and read a letter that made her neck hair stand up. Nila, her sister, wrote that she would visit them in a couple of months, "Yes, thank you for informing me."

Marisia nodded, not looking up from whatever she was writing, "Of course. I will not forget my manners since you will live here as my son's partner."

Linuel and Narsiz had a very short discussion about the decision where they wanted to live for the next year or two till Narsiz went through the mating season. Afterward, they would leave for whatever territory he wanted to have his internship in as an administrator. The decision wasn't hard, and there wasn't even any wiggle room. Her head would fly if she told the Lady she would take her premature son to the Nine-Fire estate.

Linuel nodded, "Thank you, my Lady..." She stood up and immediately left. While going to her room, her high from the last days, when she saw Fiorello's head, was slowly replaced by nervousness. She didn't like her sister Nila, and she thought the next time they would see each other would be at her wedding. Yet, she was about to visit them to bring presents for Alexander, Ocilia, and someone named Quill while also taking the head of their brother they now preserved back to their estate, "I am so dead."

From the side came suddenly a rough voice, "You look pretty alive to me."

She turned around, only to see the Lord coming out of a bedroom, which emitted a strong nature's aura and energy. The residue was enough to calm her down. She smiled at him, "Hello, my Lord."

He was one of the few she truly liked since he argued for her when the Lady wanted to cripple her for kissing Narsiz. He was also the only one who thought like her—being much more casual than anyone else.

While Lorient, Sarah, and Alexander weren't really ones who one would see as nobles, they had their ticks, and Linuel was on friendly terms with them but nothing more. There was no friendship, and they mostly reminded her of Nila since they were all very ambitious in whatever they did.

Kairoso looked at the letter in her hands, "The Nine-Fire estate? What's that about?"

She slumped her shoulders, "You see, my sister wants to visit us and bring presents with her."

He raised an eyebrow, "That's bad? Did I miss something, or is this some noble nonsense I don't get again?"

She shook her head, "Nah, it's just my sister is a little bit... let's say, extreme."

He suddenly slapped her back, almost making her fall forward, "Ah, calm down. It's not like she will kill you, right?"

She smiled sadly, "Well, you see..." She told him her problem. It was about how Linuel tricked Nila into going alone to the Leonandra estate by talking beforehand with Clara without informing her.

While others may see this as harmless trickery, for them, it was severe. For some reason, the current generation of boys under fifty was either very average, not fitting for Nila, or highly talented but overly specialized, lacking strongly in other fields, like Narsiz, who would barely fit her standards.

However, there were some fitting candidates like some from the Iron-Claw household, which nobody wanted to touch even with a kilometer-long (0.6 miles) pole because of their traditions, the current quasi-Lord Bartholomew from the Silver-Tail household, whose least problems were romance at the moment, and basically Alexander, whom Patricia guarded like a treasure.

So, for Linuel, snatching up one of the few acceptable picks was highly problematic, and Nila found it out if one looked at the wording of the letter she sent. While telling Kairoso everything, her fear increased with every sentence, but what he said after she finished didn't help.

He laughed, "Guhahaha! You are dead, and honestly, you deserve it."

She slumped her shoulders again, "I know... but... all that Clara described about Narsi sounded so great, I just wanted..."

He waved his hand in dismissal, "Yeah, yeah, you were greedy, but what do you want to do now?"

She shrugged, "Get a healer to follow me all day when she arrives?"

Kairoso chuckled, "Hehe, sure, that's a possibility, but there are probably other ways."

Her ears perked slightly up, "Other ways?"

He opened his arms while sounding profound, "Everyone has dreams, ambitions, or a goal they are working toward. Try and find something for her. Something which makes her happy and brings her closer to what she wants."

She rubbed her chin, "Hm, I guess?"

He nodded, turning to the left while she needed to go in the other direction, "Talk to others. No reason to solve it by yourself..." He turned around, pointing in another direction with his thumb, "...I recommend Alex. He is the cleverest and usually finds a solution, doesn't matter how crazy it is. See ya."

When he walked away, he waved at her, and she waved back even though he couldn't see her, "Thanks!..." When he was gone, she stood in place, thinking, but after a moment, scratched her head, 'Damn it! I really have no idea!"

She turned around and walked to Alexander's room, 'Hopefully, he has an idea to calm the walking talking disease bringer down.'

Half an hour later, Alexander's room

"So?"

"So what?"

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"Yeah, write your will. You are dead."

Linuel frowned. After telling Alexander everything, she expected him to give her a great solution, but all she got were insults. However, before she could leave, he continued, "Well, I know of a way to help her though, but it's not really easy."

She raised her eyebrow and looked at Patricia, not trusting him since he liked to tease others. Her little sister only shrugged, "What do you look at me for? I agree with him. You need a thorough testament before Nila arrives."

Linuel's frown became more extensive, and she looked at Alexander, who only rolled his eyes, "She wants power, right? She wants to become the heir, while you both don't care as much as I can conclude it, right?"

He waited for them to say something, but they didn't, which surprised Linuel. While she had no desire to rule a fief, she always thought that her little sister wanted it, but looking at her, she only nodded and came closer to Alexander, 'Huh, her priorities changed.'

Before coming here, Patricia wanted to become better than Nila and get the title, but now it seemed she didn't care anymore, 'Does she think Alex will become the heir? Makes sense, though. She can marry him and would not need to compete with Nila.'

Linuel knew of Alexander's feats after living here long enough. His talent and potential eclipsed all others, so there was no question of who would rule the Leonandra fief in the future. Even though she knew of Narsiz's past ambitions since he told her, competing with that little monster was impossible. She understood why he gave up very quickly, instead changing his priorities into wanting to support his little brother.

Alexander continued, "Great. So no one will assassinate me when I try to help Nala..." Linuel smirked as he misremembered her name, 'This will be fun when they meet.'

Alexander stopped to think and waggled his tail more extensively, "To help her, you need to talk to Aurum at some point. We have a charity and some other plans in the oven. If we can help her prop up the Nine-Fire fief with her in the forefront, it would make everything easier for us to expand, make her more loved by the populace, thus solidifying her position as an heir for your parents and with you connecting her with me, you will have probably her gratitude..."

Linuel stood up and thanked him, finding the idea great, "Thanks, Alex!..." Yet, he continued, interrupting her, "...which means that she will only beat you a couple of times up, but nothing serious, I guess..." He looked at Patricia, "...about right?"

Patricia nodded, smiling at him, "I also think so..." She turned to Linuel, "...this is a great idea, right Lin?"

Linuel frowned but was thankful to him nonetheless, 'Well, at least this is a solid idea.'

Linuel stayed for another couple of hours, discussing more thoroughly what she would need to do to get it to work out. She knew that only connecting Alexander with Nila was too little, so she would need to prepare a couple of things beforehand so everything would go smoothly.

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While discussing, she noticed something interesting. Alexander was as casual as his Father, only a bit meaner, but it was expected considering his situation. This made him more sympathetic, yet the moment she smiled more honestly at him or laughed at something, her little sister started glaring at her like she wanted to steal her prize.

'Her priorities really changed, huh.' She decided to talk to Patricia later to calm her down, as she already loved Narsiz and wouldn't do anything to Alexander.

Next day

"I don't care if you aren't interested. You will only visit him when I am there, do you understand?!"

Linuel nodded while looking at her furious little sister, "Got it. Anything else?"

Patricia stomped, glaring more maliciously at her, "Good!" And left Linuel's room, banging the door behind her.

"Jelauosy is really poisonous."

...

Temple, Wolfsteeth

"I will kill them! I will rip whoever did it their throat out and stick it into their asshole!"

"Sure..." Aurum was astounded by her reaction when he showed her the bank notes made from their paper. He found it out after getting some of them after registering at the Golden Feather Bank. It even had their little pushed-in sigil on some of them, which was a paw.

However, besides that, Aurum was also curious why Green became bolder, almost like his Master, 'His personality is really contagious.'

Yet, Green wasn't just angry. She was furious, "You say the bank director of the Golden Feather bank gave it to you?! Was it that giant bastard named Nathan?"

Aurum nodded carefully at her. However, she yelled at him before he could say anything, "I want to know who resold them! I can't believe that someone broke the contract!"

She opened her desk drawers and looked through a stack of documents in frustration. Aurum knew what she was doing as a mana contract would become ripped in some places when someone broke it, but it seemed whoever sold the paper found a loophole.

After a minute of rummaging around, she stopped and glared at Aurum, who flinched slightly, 'Can't believe that she is that aggressive.'

"Get Nathan here immediately!"

Hours later

"Listen here fuckface, I want to know who sold it!"

"Huh? How about you go fuck yourself, you tree-hugging bug."

Aurum watched the funny but also not-so-funny scene in front of him. The Temple and bigger banks had status inside their Empire. However, they also rarely had anything to do with each other where it could come to problems since their area of where they operated was very different.

Even though the Temple loaned gold, it was mostly from the Royal Bank, which was the property of the Crown. On the other hand, the Golden Feather Bank was a private institution that had nothing to do with the Crown or any nobility in the narrowest sense.

However, the two giants were now crossing each other in the business area because of Green's very unusual method of leading her Temple branch and doing business with his Master, which led to massive problems that were mostly unprecedented. Usually, if something like this happened, the parties would try to find some middle ground, as such fights were bad for business. Still, there was no trust between them since there was rarely any contact beforehand or similar precedence between these two players.

Yet, their stands were equally understandable. Nathan wanted to protect his source for the paper, while Green wished to snuff out the one who sold it in the first place, as her main goal was to build up more power inside the Temple by monopolizing the product. Selling it through third parties would heavily undermine her.

Aurum watched them both insult each other and frowned, 'Time to step in and try out the new skill. Sadly, I need both of them.'

"You giant mutt of a..." Aurum interrupted Green, wanting to try to find a compromise, "... okay, wait a second! I have an idea to resolve all of this mess!"

Green and Nathan glared at him.

"Shut up!"

"Boy, just be silent."

He frowned inwardly but became calmer and didn't scream at them, even though he wanted to. He looked at Green, smiling, "Listen here. How about we start selling it to the banks but only in Moorgrel and only to Golden Feather?..." He turned to Nathan, "...this could be a great perk for you, too, right?"

Aurum stood up and walked around, gesturing and trying to sell the idea, trying to sound as convincing and amiable as possible, "Green, you know that the paper isn't the end of all of Master's inventions and since it hit the market, we can't push the cat back into the bag. The paper was sold, and since there is a breach, there will probably be more in due time..."

He turned to Nathan, "...and Nathan, you could save a lot of gold by buying it through us and not some third parties, and..." He opened his arms, sounding more confident, "...maybe you could resell it to other Golden Feather banks and, with this, build up more wealth, connections, and power, right?"

Aurum's first step was to show Nathan the strong potential of working together and tell Green that controlling an already broken situation was impossible while reminding her that the paper was just one of many products that would follow, especially with the mana ink almost done.

Green looked at him more relaxed and nodded, "Fine, but I need the name."

Nathan rubbed his chin and turned from Aurum to Green, suddenly smiling after some contemplation, "Let's assume I am ready to tell you who it was. Are you ready to sell me this parchment?"

Before Green could say anything, Aurum came behind Nathan, grabbing and pressing his shoulders, "Not so fast..." He bent forward, coming close to his face, becoming more confident, "...I am the main accountant from the one who invented and made it in the first place. So, if you want a deal, not only do you need to convince Green, but also me."

Nathan swatted him away and grinned, "You really are greedy, boy."

Aurum shrugged, grinning himself, "So? I just think we all should be happy, right? We all need something, and there is no reason not to cooperate..." He turned to Green, "...you are with the Temple..." He put his hand on Nathan's shoulder again, "...this guy is with one of the biggest banks and..." He put his other hand on his chest, smiling widely, "...I am with Mr. Alexander. There is no competition here. We all can work together to achieve something far greater than alone."

Green leaned back, "I need a name first, and then you will get what you want."

Before Nathan said anything, Aurum interjected again, "He will. I will vouch for him and take the responsibility..." He visibly pressed his hand on his shoulder for everyone to see, "...if he doesn't, I will get my Mother or the Lord to come here. Who knows who else? Many people have Mr. Alexander's well-being in mind and don't care about a director more or less, right Nathan?"

He turned to Aurum, his smile becoming more vicious, "Was that a threat?"

Aurum stepped back, holding his hands in peace, acting all surprised, "Oh my, not in the least! However..." He leaned slightly forward, "...friendships are made with trust, and how can we trust someone who is not forward coming."

Nathan smirked at him, "Do you give me the insurance that you will sell to me more than enough of this paper then?"

Before Green said anything, he again interjected, wanting to control the flow of the discussion, "Of course!..." He walked around the table to Green, who glared at him, "...let's say it like this: I can make everyone's life Outer Circle for not working reasonably together."

Green and Nathan now both glared at Aurum till the director broke out in laughter, "Haha! Fine! I was always one to gamble..." He leaned back, almost cracking the chair with his weight, "...let's say it was a little squirrel."

Green immediately became angry, "This little asshole! I will..."

Aurum interrupted her, "Green, how about first ending this meeting in good faith before going on a rampage?"

She nodded and looked at Nathan, "We will later make a contract, but you get the same price as the Temple..." She pulled the price list out of the drawer and gave it to Nathan, who smiled widely, "...however, we will first only sell thousands of pieces per month, deal?"

He looked at Aurum, then to Green, and became much more friendly, "Of course, Green."

Aurum sat down on the desk, putting one leg over the other, becoming much more relaxed and gesturing with his hands their cooperation, "See? We all can work together!"

Like this, hours of discussion followed about to whom he was allowed to resell it or how to use it. Over the weeks, they would write contracts until a definitive agreement was reached.

Hours later, Aurum's room

"I can't."

He was lying on his bed, exhausted, because he used his new skill to the fullest today. It was like he puppeteered himself toward two people, trying to find an agreement and get something out of it simultaneously. While what he won in this arrangement wasn't something one could see immediately, he already had a good idea of how to use them to further his goal.

'This will be easy.'

...

Rainbow Park, Wolfsteeth

"Everything I want?"

"Within reason and possibility, of course."

"Lia, don't joke around."

Quill walked side by side with Ocilia through a park close to their hotel. Since it was night, only some couples were there and engaged in unruly behavior, as they probably thought nobody saw them. Still, it was so apparent that it became somewhat funny, while others were more open in their affection, not caring about others.

Besides the couples, it was somewhat beautiful in its own way. The moons shone beautifully on all the hideous plants that survived this terrible climate of extreme heat and miasma. Some looked like spider legs, others like ordinary trees, yet the leaves were blood red with their underside glowing and pulsating in the dark, and many more ugly plants. However, most disturbing was that they emitted the darn miasma themselves. So, the park became a place where one could easily lose oneself.

Regardless of the ugly flora, his attention was on Ocilia, who told him the craziest thing a minute ago. Alexander gave her the right to reward him for the achievement of saving her fat ass and bringing back the head of some moron.

Even though her face was earnest, he thought it was a stupid joke the moment she also told him that he should wish for something, "So, if I wish for..." He scratched his head, thinking of something ridiculous, "...1000 large gold coins, it would be fine?"

Yet, after saying such a number, Ocilia tilted her head, confused, "Only? If you need gold, just wish for 10.000 large gold coins."

It was silent, only broken by his loud laughter, "Haha! Fuck me, man, hehe. Are you all crazy?"

10.000 large gold coins were an immense amount of wealth. Even with half of this, buying a title of nobility from some poor Baron in the countryside was possible. So, her saying this so casually meant that it was probably true, and knowing their finances, he could probably wish for double, and it would only take a year or two till he would get it.

Ocilia frowned, obviously not liking his reaction, "So?"

He shook his head, "Lia, I know you mean well, but what do you think will happen if I get this crazy amount of gold? I could retire the next day and live my life out with a harem of big-titted girls."

"Would you, though?"

Quill needed a cigarette before continuing this insane conversation, "Give me a second."

He pulled out something called Ziese. It was an expensive cigarette brand only smoked by nobles or wealthy merchants, which he bought a couple of days ago after recovering. It was exquisite in their taste and did not have such a strong buzz as when he rolled the stuff himself. While looking at it, he thought, 'Do I really need more gold?'

Even if he kept working for Aurum for dozens of years, he could comfortably retire while doing some side hustle. This was his ideal, but somehow, even though it was right before him, the idea of doing nothing for the next 200 years made him almost shudder.

The current job was fun. Quill was doing something great and helping others without any strings attached while making enough gold to do everything he wanted. It was perfect, 'Now, that sucks.'

All his life was a fight to get to a point where he could comfortably retire, but for some reason, he actually found a much better goal. He decided to give his worthless life a little bit more meaning, 'Damn, if Master knew what I was about to do, he would strangle me.'

Quill ignited the cigarette and took a powerful puff to get a clear head, "Fuuuu, okay. No gold, but are you serious about everything I want within possibility and reason?"

Ocilia nodded and became somewhat frustrated, "Yes, for the last Time! What do you want?! You can also tell me later if you want."

Quill grinned at her, "Well, I will tell you after a chat with Mr. Alexander. Sounds good?"