"You were given a simple test of ruthlessness. You failed. Now, you face the final exam for which you are profoundly unprepared. I suggest you learn faster than you have ever learned anything, Ren Vaelthorn. Your newfound family makes for such excellent leverage."[1]
The Soul Devourer's voice faded from Ren's mind, leaving a silence that was heavier than before. The god's final words—hung in the air, a poison none of them could smell but Ren.
A look of grim understanding passed between Martin and Charlotte.
"She's right. The Soul Devourer is a shadow. Jerald is the knife at our throat right now." He walked to the window, looking out at the deceptive peace of the estate. "We need a plan."
Charlotte let go of Ren, her face a portrait of a mother's worry. "He'll go after Liz won't he? She's the easiest target."
Liz?
Ren did not know what they were talking about but the tension was evident. His jaw ticked as he recalled his new little sister. That frightened fragile girl with blond hair so light it bordered white. A girl that sighed in relief just because he wasn't so close anymore.
I don't know what past Ren did to her. But since I'm here, I won't let it happen again. I won't let Jerald get his hands on her in anyway.
Ren understood one thing for sure from Natasha's comment and the Soul Devourer's warning, a big storm was coming and Jerald was its eye. And yet here he was, without a clue of what Jerald was capable of. However, his new family seemed to know what exactly they were dealing with. It didn't seem like the first time they were facing Jerald.
"Just who is Jerald?" Ren asked, trying to regain his calm.
"Jerald isn't just a noble. He's one of the wealthiest royals in the kingdom. His 'research institute' is a front. He's an information broker and a master of political sabotage."
Charlotte's hands were clasped tightly. "He controls interests in several major media hubs. The story won't be about your clever defense, Ren. It will be about made up scandals of our family. They will drag your father's and my name through the mud."
"He's also deeply connected to the merchant and artisan guilds," Martin added, turning back to face them. "He can pressure our allies. Anyone who does business with us will suddenly find their shipments delayed, their licenses under review, their loans called in. He won't attack us with a sword; he'll strangle us with paperwork and lost revenue."
Natasha crossed her arms. "And then there's his son, Nick. He's the blunt instrument. Runs with a pack of high-level cultivator brats. While Jerald ruins our name and finances, Nick will make our lives physically miserable. Harassment, vandalism, threats to our staff. Nothing we can easily prove, but enough to make us feel under siege."
Ren processed the torrent of information, his mind categorizing each threat. Media. Finance. Physical intimidation. It was a comprehensive corporate takedown strategy, just in a medieval-fantasy skin.
"The most likely first target," Charlotte said, her voice barely a whisper, "is Liz. She's the most vulnerable. A fabricated scandal at her academy... it would be the quickest, most painful way to wound us all. This isn't the first time Jerald's gone after us. The last time, your father was the reason for his attacks."
The air left Ren's lungs. Target a child. The thought was a cold knife in his gut. This wasn't just a business rival; this was a man with no bottom line.
He looked at the three of them—the weary prince, the frightened mother, the pragmatic warrior. They were outlining their own destruction, and their only plan so far was to endure it.
"So," Ren said, his voice quiet but cutting through the tension. "He'll launch a media war to destroy our name, an economic siege to bankrupt us, and employ thugs to harass us... all while targeting my little sister to break our spirit." He summed it up with a chilling clarity. "He won't come at me with a sword. He'll bury this entire family."
Silence fell. The picture was complete, and it was depressing.
Natasha pushed off the desk and stood directly in front of Ren. "From your story, this…. Soul Devourer set this up for a reason. He wanted Jerald dead. You didn't play along. So now, this is your mess."
She wasn't being cruel, merely factual. "The question is, what's your move? How does the man who outsmarted a king's court plan to stop Jerald from doing all that?"
The look in her eyes. She's angry, yes. But...she's also afraid. Jerald must have dragged them into a deep hole before and after a lot of hard work they got themselves back up. She's scared they have to go through it all over again.
Ren closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, sorting through all his mistakes and wins in the cooperate world.
I may be weak physically in a world where everyone is an embodiment of a superhero in a child's comic book. But when it comes to navigating the waters of economics, political scandal, and corporate warfare... I am the leviathan they never saw coming. Last time I fell not because I wasn't capable but because I trusted too easily. This time, trust won't come as easy. With that out of the way, my abilities in the cooperate world are borderline god-like.
Martin was just about to tell Natasha to back off from her brother when Ren calmly opened his eyes and spoke.
"First," he said, his voice low and decisive, "We divert his attention. You said he has his wealth, a foot in various industries. Why don't we create a threat to his wealth so big he won't have choice but to ignore us?"
Everyone in the room was slightly taken aback, the memory of Ren's display in the courtroom resurfacing—that was the Ren standing before them once again, calculating, manipulative, strong-willed.
"He's changed 10 times better," Martin couldn't help the smile forming on his lips as he thought. His son now seemed intelligent and reasonable but that still wouldn't erase their limitations. You couldn't just beat someone by suggesting a neat idea without any understanding of hindrances.
"Ren, we do not have the resources to carry out a plan of that scale. Jerald… he is a giant in the business world. His influence stretches wide. He can make us bankrupt in one night if he wills. And the only person that can stop him, my father, wouldn't waste care a morsel."
Ren smirked, a gesture of cold certainty that came from being several moves ahead. "True power is a silent ledger, a whispered rumor, a debt called in at the perfect moment. Haven't you heard of the CEO Grim Reaper—the reason empires of commerce breathed their last, all without raising his voice?"
Taking their confused expressions for an answer, his smirk turned into a grin as he continued, "Just as I thought. Well, neither has he."
[1] Background music suggestion, Seven Nation army