Extra chapter for reaching 1000 collections, as promised.
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My father sunk into the couch at the other end of the room, and we followed, letting go of the stress from the negotiation.
"Haaah!" He half sighed, half groaned, rubbing his face, "I can't believe that worked."
"What were you thinking Riser?!" My mother scolded, "Your line was 'I'm sorry, but Sairaorg is my friend. I don't want him to be bullied. Please come stay with us. House Phenex will offer you protection, right dad?' but you…urgh!"
"And what was that, 'upon pain of death'? Upon pain of DEATH?! What madness drove you to put that in?" My father joined in, "We discussed this! I would make the contract, in the name of house Phenex, and you and your mother will guilt trip her into agreeing."
"It wouldn't have worked!" I tried to weigh in, but my mother cut me off.
"And provoking her? She could have killed YOU!"
"No she couldn't." I pointed out.
"We didn't know that!" My mother slapped the coffee table.
"And that made your reactions more genuine, more real. Really convinced her." I spoke.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" My mother grabbed me by the collar and shook me like a maraca. My dad stepped and gently pulled her off me, before turning to me.
"Riser, explain yourself."
"Right, so, if we went by your original plan, I'd beg you to grant them protection, and you'd present her with the contract, yeah?"
My father nodded.
"Except she didn't trust you already, so she would probably want to go over the contract with a fine-toothed comb. That takes time." I explained.
"We had all the time in the world, Riser. We could have taken the entire day if needed." My father replied.
"But she didn't!" I said, "She suffers from Sleep Disease."
"Oh." My father realized the implications, "Sairaorg told you this today?"
I nodded.
"He mentioned how his mother had been falling asleep a lot recently, and I realized our plan wasn't going to work if she was strapped for time. So I had to improvise."
He didn't, but I had no other way to justify where I got the info and why I couldn't just tell them earlier. They had listened in on my first conversation with him already, so that was out of question and there was no way she would have let the news leak, otherwise my father would have already known about it and planned better.
"You wouldn't have let her take the contract home to check, unsigned, and she didn't have the time to do it here, because if she fell asleep, she'd reveal her weakness and worsen her already abysmal negotiating position." I elaborated, "If we had continued, she would have gotten more and more desperate and done something stupid. I figured, why not save us the time and get it all out of her system at once? And making that contract spontaneously, she'd never suspect a thing."
"That contract was reckless, Riser. What if she had torn it in half right then and there?"
"Nothing would have happened?" I tilted my head in confusion, "I know you saw the loopholes, else why would you have approved? The existence of the contract being known by Ruval- someone who is neither party to the contract, nor of my peerage- via our planning last night, already discharges me of any obligations under the contract.
And the same clause mentions I have to be alive to render services, meaning even if she had torn up the contract right then and there or at any other time before the seven years are up, it wouldn't have worked, not that she would have done it. She has too much to gain and even more to lose. After all, who else would support her son, if not me?
And by the time the seven years are up, she will be long asleep, thus never able to act upon it.
Then there is the other loophole about him not owing me anything for services rendered, unless he has promised it himself. It doesn't say the promise has to be made after the contract is actuated. He has already promised me his service as my pawn, hasn't he? Even if we remove the Evil Piece, he will still support me for the rest of his life. It's a win-win."
My father looked at me deadpan before pointing out.
"The problem isn't that nothing would have happened to you, Riser. The problem is that if she had torn up the contract there, trying to kill you, and nothing happened to you, she'd have instantly realized the contract was bogus. I want you to take a wild guess as to what she'd have done then."
That fact hit me like a train.
"Oh. Oh no." I muttered, "Fuuuck!"
"Exactly." My father said, rubbing his eyes, "We are lucky your bravado fooled her out of it. Now we can only hope she is no longer in the mood for child murder until she fully succumbs to the disease."
"Even if she is, I mean, she can't exactly make it public, can she? That'd be the same as signing a death sentence for Sairaorg and herself." I argued.
"She doesn't have to. She just has to threaten to release it." My father rebuked.
"Which she can't do, nor can she disclose it to anyone else, again, at threat to her own son's life. She has no leverage." I said, shrugging, "We are 100% safe."
"Riser, the fact that we are safe purely due to blind luck, circumstance and her own incompetence is not the reassurance you think it is." My father sighed, "Never rely of the failings of others for your own success. Remember that. Your own competence should be the factor to carry you through."
"Yes, dad. I'm sorry." I scratched my head, "I guess I hadn't thought of it that way."
"At least given her personality, and the situation she is placed in, the chances of that happening are nearly non-existent." My father fell back into the couch, head lolling as he stared at the ceiling in relief.
"Well, all's well that ends well, right?" My mother patted my back, and planted a kiss on my forehead, "You'll do better next time, okay?"
I nodded and gave her a big hug that seemed to make her happy.
"You spoil him too much Rubela." My father said, crossing his arms, but the slight smile on his face gave him away, "But, good job on the quick thinking there Riser. I'm proud of you."
Somehow, hearing that, something I had never heard my father say in my past life…it made me feel …good.
This really is the best second life I could have asked for. A loving family, a noble background, immense personal power.
I am…happy.
"The servants have been mind wiped." Ruval walked in, and closed the door behind him again, "For all concerned, the official story goes like this. Sairaorg was bullied at the party, Lady Misla was angry and came demanding an apology and compensation. She got one and raised her demand for the other and was rebuffed."
"Good. That's one less thing to worry about." My father asked, "What's for lunch?"
"Well, the meal was planned for the eventuality that Lady Misla spent the rest of the day arguing the details on the contract, so…a lot actually. It's a full spread. Roast duck, roast pig, offal soups in three varieties, cakes-We might have to actually give some to the servants, and that's not including what's leftover from yesterday's party." Ruval calculated.
"Hmph…do they deserve to feast? The servants get enough as it is. Peasants…" My father scoffed, "Send it to the officer's canteen at the garrison. Our legions deserve a treat every now and then."
"Dear…" My mother shook her head, and laughed softly, "And you wonder why our servants keep turning spy."
"We maintain our power through our legions, not the servants. And it's not like they aren't well paid. We have the highest staff salaries in the underworld and the most generous PTO and staff welfare policies. If they still keep turning, for lack of little treats and bowling alleys in their break rooms, they don't deserve any better."
"The little treats, husband, is what keeps them feeling close to us. It builds connection. Loyalty. It's why the Gremorys have a better reputation among their populace than us."
"They are here to work. We are not their family. If they want a little treat, they can buy it themselves. I will not debase myself for their approval. We are the nobility. The common rabble must know we are above them."
"Fair enough." My mother threw in the towel, "But it wouldn't cost us that much to build a little trust either. Spare us the effort of mind wiping them every time something like this happens. Our staff retention costs alone-"
My father compromised.
"Fine, we can start with free breakfast, once a week. Maybe a little something more…Ask Rigal how he does it in his office, when he comes around."
"Wow, Lady Misla really woke up on the wrong side of the bed today huh?" Rigal appeared from a magic circle, sipping his starbucks.
"Speak of the devil…" My mother giggled, "We were just talking about you."
"What about me?" He asked, taking a seat.
"Your father and I were debating on how to improve staff morale and loyalty. We thought you might have some insights. Want to pitch in?"
"Nah. I'll just send over my employee relations manual. It's got everything in it." He said, before thumbing back at the burnt half of the office, "What happened there?"
"We scammed Misla Bael out of her son." Ruval dropped the bomb on him.
"Pfft!" Rigal spat out his coffee, "You what!?"
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This chapter has two parts. This part has a little fluff, a little discussion on mc being an idiot, acknowledging he fucked up and missing a detail with that contract.
Next chapter will have the real meat of the discussion. Why Sairaorg can be in the peerage as long as its a secret, why Zekram is not an immediate threat, what their plans were, and finally a little surprise at the end.
Tell me what you think of this chapter.
Don't forget to donate your powerstones.
200 powerstones - 1 extra chapter
2000 collections - 1 extra chapter (2 pending, will write today)
Thanks for reading.
Bye~