Calvin noticed the two people and couldn't help but smirk to himself. His old friend was just as cunning as the rumors stated. Not only had his daughter participated in the battle as evident from the wounds on her body, she was even bringing the carriages to the city exit along with her father despite being covered in bandages.
Calvin had no choice but to admire his old rival George. And to think that Calvin was being smug a few moments ago, thinking that he had outsmarted the others this time by utilizing the methods that he had looked down on before.
Just when he was about to praise George for his advanced thinking, his eyes took in the sight of the two trucks following after George and Christina. He scoffed at such a folly being committed by the smartest man he knew.
Calvin opened his mouth fully intent on mocking George with a string of carefully crafted words of advice, but then decided to give it a thought lest he make a fool of himself in front of the younger generation of the Elizabeth family. He could accept being mocked by George if his assumption turned out to be wrong but he didn't want Christina to witness such a scene. Otherwise, he would not be able to show his face in Elizabeth city again out of shame and humiliation.
Calvin gave George's group a once over. There were several carriages; flashy ones like the ones he had bought and some good well bred horses; sturdy enough to travel long and rough roads. He wondered why George had brought the carriages with him when he was also bringing the trucks. And that's when it struck him; the cunning of the most successful businessman in Elizabeth city.
The trucks were a diversionary tactic. George definitely intended to confuse the government regarding the route that Zach intended to follow which would allow him to escape unnoticed out of the Mesore state. The most probable strategy that Calvin could think of would be to use the trucks to mislead the government's attention. George could order his men to drive the trucks in a direction completely opposite to the one Zach intended to move in. The royal family would be on the lookout for the trucks since they would never expect Zach to escape in carriages when he was the inventor of the trucks.
Calvin broke out into sweat as he considered the well thought out plans made by George. The more he considered, the more he was able to accept how brilliant the man was. Even though, Calvin had done his best to be ahead this time, he still fell short of the meticulous nature of George. Thankfully, he didn't bring shame to his family name by slinging mud on George as he intended earlier.
Calvin wasn't at all disappointed that he had lost the opportunity to gain Zach's favor because he knew that such a thing was not possible after his daughter went to support Zach with the forces of the Macrae family. Zach wouldn't be able to deny the favor of the Macrae family even if he wanted to. The carriages were just a cherry on top that showcased the Macrae family's contribution to the cause.
Moreover, Calvin felt that Zach's brilliance was more than enough for both the top families of the Elizabeth city to profit from.
As such Calvin laughed out loud heartily as he waved at George who had almost caught up to him by that time. The two were riding atop their horses as the beasts trotted alongside each other lazily.
"Damn you…you cunning bastard. I thought that I would be leaving you in the dust this time but you aren't one to be left behind…are you?"
Calvin cursed heartily amidst his bellowing laughter.
"How would I know that you had left your bull headedness behind? Tell me…was it your daughter's idea to do this or your own?" George laughed alongside Calvin as he wondered what brought about the sudden change in him. This kind of thing was definitely against Calvin's nature. Calvin was one of those who fought without considering the repercussions rather than planning before starting a fight. Unlike the truly smart ones, Calvin didn't choose his fights and simply came across them. It wasn't exactly an admirable trait in the eyes of George considering his business mind but he couldn't exactly judge Calvin because he was strong enough to win any fight he came across.
Calvin snorted in response as he smugly curled his hand and pointed towards himself with his thumb.
"It was my idea entirely. My daughter is leading our fighters in battle this time. So I thought that I should pitch in some effort as well."
"I truly couldn't have expected this from you. If you had told me that your daughter came up with this plan, I would have believed it in a second. But you planning this on your own is one hell of an improvement and an eye opener for me. I have to admire you this time considering that you came up with this idea earlier than me probably. Otherwise, you would not have been ahead of me." George didn't hold back in appreciating Calvin's effort. What he didn't say to Calvin was that he appreciated that the Macrae family was in this together with Elizabeth family. Otherwise, the pressure from the royal family might have become hard to deal with for the Elizabeth family alone.
In fact, George wasn't alone in thinking that. Calvin was thinking the same thing. He admired George for aiding Zach despite the fact that he might have to go against the royal family. Previously, Calvin had always thought that George acted like a cautious turtle that would retract its neck at the slightest sense of danger. But this rebellious attitude against the government improved his impression of George. He wondered if it was because Zach had almost become a part of his family by marrying his daughter.
It wasn't long after Calvin and George arrived at the designated exit that Zach and his group made it to that point as well.
Christina sighed in relief at the sight of Zach and subconsciously thanked all the gods in her memory one by one.
The first thing Zach noticed wasn't the sudden appearance of Elizabeth family and Macrae family support group but the bandages that Christina was wrapped in. Her belly seemed to have been lacerated by the beast. Their bloody state only increased his worry about her pitiful condition. He could neither see the carriages or the trucks behind her as his eyes stuck to her like glue trying to ascertain how badly she had been injured on his behalf.
Christina allowed him to stare all he wanted but didn't let him wallow in regret for even a second. Just when he was about to look at her pitifully, she shook her head at him as if to deny his assumptions and said, "It looks worse than it really is. I am totally fine. That beast barely managed to scratch me so there isn't much damage. It is a minor injury that would heal in a week's time at best."
Zach didn't believe her of course but she was quite an actress. He couldn't call her out on her lie since she was acting her part perfectly. She neither winced nor groaned whenever she moved but her hand tightly grabbed the helm of her clothes as if to resist the wave of pain without making a sound.
Still he needed to respect her. If she didn't want him to worry about it, he too didn't put much importance on her injury as if he had already stopped worrying about her.
This was the first time Calvin was meeting Zach in real life. Before this he had only either heard about him from someone or had only seen him from afar. Therefore, he had never expected Zach to be this young. But meeting him raised Calvin's opinion of him by a few degrees. He felt that Zach was a trustworthy person who could be relied on.
Despite wanting to get to know him better, Calvin knew that time was of the essence for Zach at the moment. The more they delayed, the more the difficulty of the escape would increase. Therefore Calvin didn't let the group get comfortable as he said, "There will be chances to do this newlywed business later on. For now you need to get out of this place before the royal family increases the range of their restrictive measures for you all."
Christina felt like Calvin was chiding her for being intimate with Zach and her face burned red out of shame because that had not been her intent at all. She just wanted to make sure that Zach didn't blame himself for the injuries she suffered,
Zach too looked slightly flustered as he scratched the back of his head unknowingly and nodded in response to Calvin's suggestion.
"Your family's assistance this time was very timely and crucial to our survival. For that you have my utmost gratitude. The fact that we can stand here and talk is because of your daughter. Please thank her on my behalf as well. I will remember this kindness for the rest of my life. Should you ever be in need of my assistance, know that I will do everything in my power to return the favor."
Zach profusely thanked Calvin and bowed towards him slightly to show his gratitude before nodding towards Bruce who began to lead the group towards the several carriages that had been brought by the Elizabeth family and the Macrae family.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel