"…"
"His faction over here isn't strong enough to influence the strong division of the city's overall governance among the elite families either. Therefore, he has to rely on the influence of the Windsor family to act as his backing so he can fearlessly survive in Kanewea State."
Zach stared at her for a bit before finally opening his mouth sarcastically.
"Don't you think you should let go now? There are only two of us left here." Zach pointed towards his arm that she was still clinging on to and smiled a fake smile that was more mocking than a true smile.
Clara acted as if she didn't understand his sarcastic comments at all. She pretended to be as natural as possible and subtly let go of his arm. Although she still wasn't satisfied yet, she had enough of it to let it go for a while.
…
Hogan had been looking forward taking over the Windsor family after the long awaited news of their old master's demise. Marico had been suffering from the illness even when Hogan took over as the leader of the Hunter family. Marico had somehow lingered on till this day which was already excruciating enough for Hogan. But now he had come across a piece of news that the old master Marico was now on the verge of healing back to health.
At first he thought that it was just a rumor that would be refuted just with the passage of time. He believed that if there was a chance of healing completely from the illness, Marico would have long since recovered from the illness over this long period of time.
Therefore, he didn't pay any attention to the rumors that were being spread around the city and thought that this was just the last ditch effort of the great Windsor family.
Hogan maintained this belief until the moment he saw Marico with his own eyes. He no longer looked like the pale and dying version of his previous self. The previously sunken cheeks now had a reddish glow on them as if the darkness in his body had been pushed out by the new infusion of blood. His bent back and weak knees looked straight and full of strength. The weak looking old man was now full of energy only slightly weaker than Hogan himself.
Hogan couldn't interact with the other socialites after making this discovery. It felt as if something had ruined the taste in his mouth for all eternity.
After witnessing such a thing, Hogan couldn't bring himself to stay and hurriedly said his goodbyes to the host before leaving the banquet before time.
People gossiped about him for a while before they eventually got busy dealing with their own businesses. The intention of these gatherings was to promote the businesses of the top elite and to make more contacts in the business circle. Nobody was going to bother about a single individual leaving a bit earlier for a long time.
…
Hogan entered his study as soon as he reached home and ordered the servants waiting on him to call his son Nelson to him. The servant was too terrified at the solemn mood of his master and rushed out of the study at the speed of light. He didn't even wait for any details and took off the moment Hogan stopped speaking.
Sitting down on the couch heavily, Hogan took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. This was too different from the future he had been fantasizing and planning for all this time. He had invested far too much effort into weakening the Windsor family from within so that he could take over the Windsor family in the shortest possible manner but all that planning was dependent on the premise that Marico succumbed to his death and Clara suffered from an untimely death. The latter wasn't as important as the former as it was an absolute pre requisite to his takeover strategy.
Before he could come out of his thoughts, Nelson walked into the room calmly. He had already heard from the servant that his father was in one of his rough moods, so he tried to be as careful as possible.
Nelson patiently listened to his father vent for some period of time. As he broke the news to Nelson, Hogan felt himself calm down as he viewed the scenario from an objective point of view as well. He deduced that the Hunter family could no longer be as deliberate in their attempt to destroy the Windsor family as they had been in the past.
"Son, be careful in the near future. That old fart has survived which is not a good thing for us. Previously he couldn't do anything to us but now we can't afford to provoke him. Thankfully, that old tamer failed to kill the little bitch of his or we might have been fighting a war with the Windsor family already under that old fart's lead."
"I understand father. I will tell all of my men to lay low for a while. They won't be able to find any evidence about our actions even if they try to."
Nelson was optimistic about clearing out all the evidence before the Windsor family could catch wind of it. Even if the Windsor family tried to condemn them, they wouldn't have any proof to hold the Hunter family accountable for the injustices in the past.
Hogan was satisfied with his son's answer. His son was capable enough to understand what he had to do without being dictated. Hogan felt that this was the fruit of all the effort he had put in to groom his son to be the next leader of the Hunter family.
"Hmm…tell your men to do that but you also need to ensure that no such actions are to take place against the Windsor family in these days. I am sure that the old fart is waiting for a fish to bite the bait. It won't be long before he retaliates. He has always been a cunning one and along with that dark mage Wood Smith, his deviance only ever got more exaggerated. Therefore, strive hard to build a long lasting relationship with the Windsor family. Who knows what the future might hold for the two families? Who are we to decide whether we will be enemies or friends in the future?"
Nelson only nodded but his facial expressions clearly indicated his confusion. He couldn't understand why the man who was just a few days ago condemning him for failing to assassinate Clara was today telling him to build a good relationship with the recovering Windsor family. He couldn't understand how Hogan could change the strategy he had been preparing for so many years so easily.
Nelson could understand if it was a small change in the plan but the old man had practically taken a one-eighty degree turn and changed his stance entirely.
Seeing his confusion, Hogan shook his head from side to side in disappointment thinking his son still had room to grow after all.
"There's a famous saying that says, 'There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.' I wonder if you have heard of it."
Nelson shook his head but he had gotten the gist of what his father wanted to tell him.
"We need to think of the bigger picture at all times. The Hunter family has reached this stature after putting in generations' worth of hard work and sacrifices. If we lose it all or damage its foundation in our time just because we couldn't recognize whom to antagonize and whom to befriend, then wouldn't it be a pity? I am not saying that your stance is wrong and wanting to expand the family business is wrong. It's just that you have to look at the overall interest of the family. Previously, the old fart was at his death bed and it was better for the Hunter family to pull a hostile takeover after his death. But now that the weak Windsor family has made a comeback, it is no longer a given whether we would be able to do that without suffering any loss in return. This would not only be a loss for both the families but would also put us in a precarious situation in front of the other families who are looking for the chink in our armor."
Nelson listened to his long winded lecture because it was based on logic. But even that annoyed the hell out of him. He kept on thinking about the figure that wouldn't let him sleep at night. The figure that was a permanent part of his fantasies and nightly dreams wouldn't let him wait any further. He wanted to rush out that very instant in order to take possession of that exquisitely petite but mature beauty his plaything.
Thanks to his father now, Nelson couldn't act on his instinct because it had the potential to backfire on to the Hunter family just as Hogan had predicted. Therefore, he decided to put a stop to his growing lust for the upcoming period of time.
"Be patient. Our time will come soon. I don't believe that the Windsor family would be able to stay at the top in this generation. Just like us, several hyenas would be eyeing the Windsor family as well. We can use them to determine the current strength of the Windsor family and plan our next course of action. Did I ever tell you about the most important thing in a hunt?"
"I don't recall anything like that."
"Take a guess."
"The weapon?"
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