Chapter 40 - Manipulation (2)

Almost five months had passed since the revival of the Black Family. The emergence of another High Noble family was tremendous news, causing no small amount of talk, because everyone knew that the four families were the only high nobility in Blackreach City.

The Black Family's governorship of the seventh district also caused a sensation. Not because of the governorship—it was only natural for a noble family, especially high nobility, to receive their own district—but rather, it was what they did after receiving the governorship that caused the sensation.

Blackreach City has a total of seven districts: four residential districts governed by the four families, a central district, a market district, and the seventh district. Out of all these districts, the seventh district was the poorest and most desolate. In fact, most of the residents of Blackreach City actively avoided it because it was known for its crime and filth.

However, as soon as the Black Family took control of the district, sweeping actions were taken by them. First, they accounted for every resident of the district, which came up to nearly twenty thousand. Then, they hired every capable man and woman and began working on the district.

Thousands upon thousands of houses were built, followed by stores, schools, orphanages, and parks. After all the construction was complete, the houses were given to the residents of the district who had been recorded during the initial accounting.

Then, the Black Family started investing in various businesses in the district, and almost every adult in the district had a job. Everyone who lived in the seventh district was either directly or indirectly working for the Black Family—whether as guards who kept the peace, teachers at the schools, workers in stores and businesses, or bureaucrats who ran everything.

In short, in just five months, the seventh district, once a dead spot in Blackreach City, experienced a tremendous rejuvenation at the hands of the Black Family. Not only did they invest and reconstruct a torn-down, forsaken place with their own personal wealth, but they also maintained a minimum tax and always seemed to be putting their subjects first.

The popularity of the Black Family skyrocketed all over Blackreach City, and they were even seen as something close to deities in the seventh district. Their fame was so high that the seventh district became known as the Black District, and a single unfavorable word about them would earn you a sound beating in most places.

Although their actions in rebuilding and reviving the seventh district earned them no small amount of praise from many people, what made them even more popular among the people was that very few had ever seen them.

Aside from a few high-ranking members of the bureaucracy and some business owners, no one knew who the members of the Black Family were. Their manor was heavily guarded since it also served as the management center of the district. Since people enjoy gossip and empty speculations, many discussions arose regarding the identity of the mysterious Black Family. Unfortunately, that is all they were—speculations.

At the top floor of the building that contained the office of the Management of Blackreach City, three men and a woman sat around a table with forlorn looks on their faces. The woman, who was wearing a blue dress with embroidered patterns, spoke with a soft voice toward a white-robed elder:

"Silus, did you hear anything from that Neal? Do you think he suspects us of being behind his family's demise?"

Silus furrowed his brows at the question. He couldn’t help but think back at how enraged Neal was five months ago when he spoke with him in this same exact office. If Neal knew that the four families were behind the events of his families death, he couldn’t have possibly been so calm in front of him.

"He hasn’t contacted me, and I don't think he knows anything."

"Why do you think so?" The woman asked again.

"Last time I spoke to him, he seemed upset the Shorn Family. He is a hot headed person so couldn’t have been so collected in front of me if he knew."

'Bang'

A fist striking the round table the four sat around moved everyone's attention to a red robed man with similar red hair and a square face who was sitting across from Silus. He Looked straight at Silus and Spoke:

"Why are there even surviving members of the Black Family, and not only one but five. Also, why did you agree to give them all the assets of those Shorn morons. I can't help but think this entire thing was caused by your negligence."

Silus' eyes sharpened as he listened to the red haired man's words. He couldn’t help but frown at how the blame was being shamelessly directed towards him.

"Watch how you speak to me Napar. The failure of the Shorn had nothing to do with me. As for the assets, we four decided it was best to give it to him, in order to avoid Neal suspecting us. Are you saying that I made your decision for you."

Napar's eyes redened at Silus' words and was about to speak when a firm, authoritative voice reverberated throughout the room:

"Enough."

This was the fourth man speaking. He was quietly listening to the other three discuss what was going on. The moment the other three were quiet and looking at him, he leaned slightly forward and continued speaking:

"We can't afford to have discord amongst us anymore. Our actions have directly led to this problem, so we are all equally responsible. Now the Black Family is almost as popular as our families, and although their wealth is far from comparing to ours, it is only a matter of time before they catch up, so we must think of a solution."

The other three stared at the man with focused eyes as if waiting for him to give them the answers they so yearn for. The blue robed women suddenly spoke with a melodious voice:

"Arthur. What do you think we should do?"

This Arthur stared directly at the eyes of the blue robed women, then shifted his gaze towards each of the other two.

"As I see it, we have two options. First, We attack the Black Family now while they are still relatively weak and wipe them out. Or, We avoid the Black Family altogether, and simply watch them like our predecessors."

Hearing Arthur's words, the blue robed women and Silus both nodded their heads, only the red haired Napar was staring directly at him without moving. He remained quiet for a moment and then spoke:

"I say we go with the first option. It is better to get rid of them once and for all."

Arthur looked at Napar with no discernable emotion on his face and then spoke:

"You are correct Napar, it is quicker to just kill them now. However, there are repercussions. Those Blacks are very popular in their district, If we kill them then it is possible we'll have an uprising on our hands. Also, this Neal is extremely meticulous, there are very few people who actually come into contact with him and his district is like a fortress, so if we attack and he escapes, he will most certainly connect us to the deed."

"Hmph"

Silus looked at Napar with a slight hint of amusement on his face, then he spoke towards Arthur:

"I believe the second method is better. It was our rush to action in the first place that led to this problem."

The blue robed woman also chimed in:

"I agree with Silus. We can bide our time and wait for an opportunity."

Arthur simply nodded his head and spoke again:

"The second method is the sound options. We'll distance ourselves from the Black Family but still keep an eye on them. Silus, make sure that no one outside the four of us knows of our connection to the death of the Black Family."

"Understood."

"And Napar. Don't do anything rash, If we notice even a hint that they know of our connection to their incident, then we'll wipe them out with prejudice."

"Hmph."

"Good. Then we all agree. Hopefully we don’t come to regret this decision, like we did our initial one."

- - - - - - -

In Wesley's Manor, in his study. Wesley was sitting across from a dark robed, broad shouldered man with a noble aura emanating from him. Wesley has been very pleased in the last few months because the seventh district which caused his heart no small amount of agony was improving, and all of this was due to this man in front of him.

"Well Neal. How are things progressing."

"Regarding the District or the four families."

"Regarding the district."

"Well, things are going smoothly. We have spent around five million gold over the last five months which accounts to almost three fourths of the assets of the Shorn Family we received. We also established a nice base in the district so it should give you some room to move around."

"Haha, who would've thought that the four families would actually give you gold to destroy them.Tell me about the four families."

"Yes. The four families have not made any major movements aside from a few meeting between the four family heads. I don't know if they will decide to attack us now while we're weak, or simply decide to wait and see. Based on how often they’ve been meeting, I think they'll choose to attack."

Wesley listened quietly to Neal's words while thinking and then he spoke:

"I think they will decide to wait and see."

"Why do you think so."

Neal was surprised at Wesley's words. The more prudent choice was to attack your enemy while they are weak. Waiting is simply giving them time at the expense of your life.

"Haha. Considering you popularity in the District, with twenty thousand supporters, I would never risk a direct confrontation, lest a rebellion occurs. Also, they are probably counting on you not knowing what they did, so the safer bet is to avoid you and hope you never find out."

"Hmm. That does make sense. But I am still going to make plans incase they do attack. I would very much rather not count on them being considerate of the repercussions of their actions."

"Haha. True. It will be great if they were rash and attacked. It is far easier to kill an enemy amidst a giant rebellion than a quiet afternoon."

"Either way we'll be prepared."

"Give it a few more months. If nothing happens, then we'll proceed with the second part of the plan."

"Understood."

Neal immediately stood up and emerged with the floor and disappeared from the study only to reappear in the Lord's Mansion almost half a mile away. After reaching his Mansion, Neal couldn't help but be amazed at the amount of foresight and knack for strategy Wesley shows.

Over the last almost half year, Neal has started to see Wesley as the not naive child he looks like, but rather an extremely smart and ruthless person. His nephew Lane could be considered a genius amongst his peers, but compared to this two or three years older youth, he is simply ordinary.

He didn’t know the circumstances behind Wesley, or his identity, or his desire to help the Black Family. In fact, he knew very little about Wesley, which would normally cause him to be wary of a person. But he felt that Wesley had no malice towards his family, rather he thought of him as one of his nephews, only far more mysterious and far more deadly.