Nero Walker, Book 2 Ch.79 (111) (Patreon)

In the Hennings Tower of Magic’s council hall, everyone was engrossed in watching the events play out on the large hologram. But not all of those in attendance really knew what was going on. Many were only there because of word of mouth, and some had been dragged along by their colleagues.

Whispering to his boss, he asked, “So, this Dorchester is in the southern strates? How far away is it from the border?”

His boss leaned her head closer, while continuing to watch the hologram. She replied quietly, “It’s well away from the Islangur border. This has nothing to do with the war.”

Confused, he said, “I don’t get it. Why is everyone so into watching this? It’s just some standard noble drama centered around a soul that hijacked a kid’s body in the middle of nowhere. What’s the big deal?”

Annoyed, she slapped his arm, and hissed, “It’s an epic! A soul finding itself in a foreign land and being forced to adapt. He’s found a family and friends, suffered betrayals, challenged the established norms, been forced to grow at an astounding rate, and I think there is a love story brewing. And the backdrop of a small city’s noble ascension during a density shift gives the whole thing a sense of gravitas.”

Several people around them glared angrily while ‘shushing’ them. Both he and his boss offered nods of apology, and went silent.

A few seconds passed, as the hologram continued to display the events playing out in Dorchester council hall.

Shifting uneasily, the mage couldn’t contain himself, and he leaned over to whisper at his boss again. “Every time I’ve watched the recordings, it’s always been about a rude little guy who is always making everyone around him angry. He barely knows magic, doesn’t want to accept responsibility for his actions, and constantly complains about everything. It’s just my opinion Boss, but I think you might be reading into it a little too much.”

Angrily, she whispered harshly, “You just don’t understand what’s happening. This will be a chronicle showing the rise of one of the most powerful mages of their time. It will be studied by scholars for years. If you can’t see that, you’re an idiot.”

Snorting, he mumbled, “Right, and I’m sure the fact that the young man continues to luck his way through life, relying on his good looks and connections, doesn’t in any way contradict your position.”

From behind them, a tall mage leaned in between them, and whispered, “You’re both wrong. The reason the scry-recordings are popular is because the subject offers a mirror to our societal beliefs. The themes of family and nobility are merely what keeps the main character grounded in reality. What matters is how he sees the world we live in, and how we can improve it.”

The short woman, who was the lead for their research team, turned to look at the pretentious man behind her and glared up at him. “The draw is interpersonal relationships and how we can get through anything with the help of friends and family. And if you two don’t shut-up and let me watch this, I’m going to assign you both to reactor cleaning duty, do you hear me?!?”

Everyone around them turned in unison, harshly ‘shushing’ the three of them. In response, they held up their hands, and quietly whispered, “Sorry!”

Silent once again, everyone returned to watching the little lord’s proxy defend his interests in front of the city’s council of leadership.

-----

As Nero mentally prepared for Vera, his proxy, to drop the proverbial hammer, he smiled at the nervous nobles. ‘Come on Auntie Vera, let ‘em have it!’ he mentally cheered.

With a self-satisfied smile on her face, Vera said, “It seems as long as House Cosgrave sees House Walker as a threat, they will continue to act against them. Regardless of whether or not they are under the protection of the royals. If you wish to avoid a war for the city-seat, I see only one option… House Walker must join House Cosgrave. I propose that City-lord Cosgrave takes Lord Walker as her husband.” She kept her smile, as she stared down the room.

Nero’s smile faltered, his brain stuttered to a stop, and he shouted, “You want her to what now?”

Despite Nero glaring at her, she completely ignored his outburst, and continued, “As the city-lord is her house’s head, Lord Walker would join House Cosgrave. The house of Walker would be no more, and all its assets would be divided among its members according to their rank. As Lord Walker is the only member, everything would become his personal assets. In order to ensure his safety, a rider to the marriage contract would be required, ensuring his protection. As for Lord Blackwood, he needs to die, but his House can continue under the leadership of his heirs.”

Nero sat in stunned shock, staring at Vera like he had just found out that she borrowed his car without asking, and then crashed it.

The nobles were exchanging looks, while the general was nodding. Even the city-lord seemed to be reluctantly considering the idea. Arch-mage Jennings’ face looked resigned, as if the situation was already decided.

Nero was NOT going to stand for this. Slamming his palms on the table, he shot to his feet and shouted, “There is no way in hell that I’m marrying the woman who may or may not have been trying to kill me. This is insane. What the hell is wrong with you people? How does that even make sense to you?!?”

To his left, he could hear Nick trying to hide his laughter. The nobles all reeled back in shock at Nero’s outburst, while Jennings started laughing. The old bastard was actually laughing at him!

Vera’s calm voice interrupted his racing thoughts. “Nero, calm down. It’s the most logical result. By becoming a member of House Cosgrave, a lot of problems would be solved. The threat of House Walker would be neutralized in the eyes of the nobles, and you would be protected. There may be some ruffled feathers, but if the entire council is behind it, there isn’t much anyone can do. No one in Dorchester would act against the House controlling the city. Even the city-lords daughter and son would have to fall in line.”

Nero’s head slowly turned to her while she was talking. He felt like the entire world had gone crazy. Any semblance of control that he had felt was evaporating like water in a humidifier.

Nick spoke up, addressing Vera and the nobles, “He doesn’t understand. You’re all treating this like a standard noble dispute. But, you have to keep in mind that until two weeks ago, Nero wasn’t a noble. In fact, he wasn’t from anywhere around here. Nero’s wrong, you’re not insane, but you are severely misjudging the situation. Political marriages may not be something he’d considered.”

Arch-mage Jennings added, “Nero, think about what marriage actually means. It’s merely a contract stating that you agree to tie your worldly pursuits together. Think of it as a business merger. You don’t have to sleep with her, or even live with her. Aside from the tax implications, and the tithe you would owe to House Cosgrave, nothing would really change for you. You’d go from being a minor noble to the top of the local ladder. Although extreme, it IS an elegant solution.”

Nero didn’t know what to feel. Even though he KNEW it was crazy, they were all staring at him with calm expressions on their faces. It was like the entire room was absolutely sure of something he knew for a fact was wrong. How do you argue with that.

Looking over at the city-lord, he saw her sitting there with a reassuring smile on her face. He had to admit the woman was gorgeous. She was curvy, had beautiful flowing hair, and striking features. But, she was old. She looked nearly 40, and he was only 14, and a small 14 at that. Who knows how old she actually is? And didn’t she have consorts? One of whom just tried to have him killed?

Running a hand through his hair, he stared at the ceiling in thought. Seconds passed, and the room waited in silence.

Finally, he said, “Look. I understand that this is some kind of cultural thing I don’t understand. I’m sure there are a lot of logical reasons that I should agree with. But, marriage has some connotations that you are all ignoring. Like, she has consorts, and kids. When I get married, I don’t want to share my wife, and I’m not ready to be a father.”

Vera looked at Nero with confusion, and said, “But you can’t be the primary. She is a house head. For you to be the one with control, she’d have to join your house, and that would defeat the entire purpose of what we’re trying to do here?”

Nero looked around, and the entire room was nodding in agreement. He couldn’t help it, it was all so crazy. So, he started laughing. It started out small, but soon ballooned into big booming laughter that made his sides hurt.

Everyone in the room, aides included, shared uncomfortable looks. The entire council of leadership wondered whether or not Dorchester’s newest noble may have an undiagnosed mental problem.

Nick stood up, patting Nero on the back, and then returning the young man to his seat. While Nero recovered, panting heavily, Nick addressed the room, “I think Nero is suffering from culture shock. Think of it as how you might feel when confronted with a scenario so counter to your belief system that you find it ridiculous. Have any of you visited the Marchese coast? I read a paper about how their leaders used to wear incredibly over-sized hats, and before they were incorporated into Oglivarch, we were forced into a war with them when our envoy couldn’t stop herself from laughing at them. Aside from being an interesting paper, it was rather funny.”

Nero couldn’t stop himself from staring at Nick. How could the man equate their views on marriage with abnormally large hats. What was even more surreal, was that the entire room seemed to take his point. They all nodded along, as if Nick’s story explained everything.

Nero wasn’t sure how he should proceed, but this entire thing had taken a turn that he didn’t like. Before anyone could say anything, he stood back up, and said, “Nick, sit down. I have something to say.”

Shrugging, Nick returned to his seat. And Nero looked around the room at all the curious faces. They seemed incredibly interested in what he was about to say, and for the first time in a while, Nero felt nervous.

After taking a deep breath, he said, “Let me put it simply, I’m not going to marry the city-lord. I get that it would solve some problems, but it isn’t going to happen. I have nothing against her, I just don’t want to marry her. Even if it is an open marriage, that isn’t going to work for me. Think of my life as a car, or a carriage. I have no problem with someone else driving it, but I need to be the one who chooses the destination. For the record, I think it’s great that you are all so open with your sexuality, but I’m not there yet. When I found out about consorts, I specifically didn’t ask about it. I don’t know how it works, and I have no desire to hear about it now. Having a harem sounds great in theory, but I have no intention of being part of someone else’s, and that’s final. Let’s just focus on dealing with this situation without involving the word marriage.”

After he finished, he sank into his seat like he had just confessed at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Vera sounded annoyed, as she asked, “You won’t even consider it? You are aware that you would immediately be raised to nobility, and you wouldn’t have to continue with your trials. As the city-lord, with the support of the council, she could bypass the courtship period, and appoint you to the position of her husband by tomorrow.”

Nero met her stare, and said, “No. And even though it might solve some problems, it will cause plenty more.”

From across the room, the general asked harshly, “What problems?”

Nero offered a half shrug, and replied, “Think about it. Let’s say that this solves the problem of House Cosgrave wanting me dead. Which for the record, I still don’t think they do. But, for a moment, let’s take that as a given. It won’t stop the city-lord’s children from having a problem with me. All it would do was give them something else to be pissed about. If the threat of the royals didn’t stop them, do you think some marriage contract would? So, that’s one problem.”

Getting into it, Nero’s eyes glazed over, and he started tapping his fingers in thought on the table. He continued, “And then there are the other nobles. Even if you all think this is fine, I’m sure there are plenty of houses that wanted to marry into the Cosgraves. That’s probably why she is still unmarried. She was using the potential of marriage as a bargaining chip. And what about the consorts? I’m sure they’ll be pissed. Even if they pretend not to care, being passed over for some little bastard who isn’t even sleeping with their woman has to merit some kind of emotional response!”

Standing up, Nero stepped behind the table, and started pacing. Waving his hands while he thought out loud, he said, “And then there is the various awards that are scheduled for House Walker. What would happen with them? I’m supposed to be getting a bunch of paychecks for killing that assassin, or maybe that already happened. But I also have that ‘exploit’ or whatever to deal with. Would that get transferred to House Cosgrave? And what about my alliance with Vera and Nick’s house. They just formed their house. I don’t even know how our partnership is structured. Who’s going to be running all my businesses if Vera doesn’t do it. She hasn’t even found me an accountant yet! I’m not ready to run anything on my own, and I sure as hell can’t be a trophy husband. I haven’t even had my magic school arc yet!”

Shaking his head vigorously, he kept talking loudly to himself, “No, no, no. They’re thinking about this all wrong. I can’t let their idiocy influence my thinking. The problem is simple. People tried to kill me. I need to eliminate the threat. How do I do that?”

Nick was watching Nero, amused to see his friend returning to his old shenanigans. Meanwhile, the entire council hall sat in silence, mulling over what Nero was saying. The general sat back in his chair, deep in thought. From his perspective, he was surprised at how much sense the young man was making. Even the city-lord couldn’t refute anything she heard. She was, in fact, impressed with his analytical skills.

Nero’s head snapped to Arch-mage Jennings, and he asked, “Did anyone question Lord Blackwood and Deedee Cosgrave?”

The arch-mage stood there with his arms crossed, amused at Nero’s performance. He replied easily, “Yes, but her name is Deidre. Why?”

Nero rolled his eyes, and said, “Motive. Obviously. Why did they want me dead?”

Arch-mage Jennings’ smile faltered, and he glanced over at the city-lord. Nero followed his eye-line, and offered a curious look to the woman.

Still sitting imperiously in her throne, she sighed, and said, “It seems that Lord Blackwood was seduced by my daughter. She was the one who really wanted you dead. Apparently, she thought that killing you would somehow remove any reason for her brother’s exile. She just wanted her Derek to return to Dorchester, and for everything to return to how it was.”

Nero took a few seconds to stare at her in shock, before saying, “Yeah, I’m definitely not going to let you raise my kids. You suck at it.”

Turning away, he returned to pacing, and then resumed talking to himself, “So, the children are a lost cause. No one that stupid should be allowed to remain a threat. Even if I swore that I wasn’t interested in politics, they would still continue to try and kill me. And Lord Blackwood fell for the honey-pot, so he’s mentally compromised. They all have to go. Crap, executions give me the willies. There has to be some alternative?” he gave into a full body shiver, then resumed pacing.

Vera said, “Are you worried about the city-lord’s retaliation for the death of her children?”

Nero turned around quickly, and saw Vera’s curious face staring back at him. She didn’t look horrified at the thought, merely curious about how Nero thought the city-lord would react. ‘Man, that woman is ice cold,’ he thought.

He looked over to the city-lord, and asked, “Would you really want retribution? You already offered to execute your daughter and Blackwood. I could be wrong, but you strike me as a total pragmatist.”

City-lord Heleema Cosgrave’s face was carved from stone, and she replied, “No. House Cosgrave will not seek retribution for their deaths. You are right to question their intelligence. Both of my children were disappointments, and I accept full responsibility for my failures while raising them. My next batch will be much better. I’ll ensure that they are raised to think before they act, and to truly understand the game. Rest assured, that House Cosgrave will put this incident behind us, and do what it can to foster a friendship with House Walker if you would allow this to be settled with arbitration.”

Nero listened to her speech, trying to parse through the political double-speak. Making sure he understood, he said, “So, if I’m understanding correctly. You’re sorry that your kids tried to kill me, and you want to wipe the board clean. Your kids get executed, and you and I start from scratch. No more plots to kill me, and we both get on with our lives?”

Smirking slightly, the city-lord nodded once, and said, “Yes, that is correct. I appreciate your bluntness, and I heard no insult.”

Confused, but not really interested in finding out what she meant, the concept of a mother perfectly willing to kill her children was too weird for him to accept. Changing the subject, he turned to Jennings and asked, “If we kill Lord Blackwood, what happens to his house?”

The arch-mage’s arms were still crossed, and he lazily raised a hand to point at Lord Bennings. Nero turned to look at the prim-and-proper woman.

She coughed lightly into her hand, to clear her throat, before saying, “Lord Blackwood’s heir is currently his 3rd child, a daughter name Victoria. She is the fruit of a liaison between Lord Blackwood and a daughter of House Lorkan. Raised under the banner of House Blackwood, Victoria Blackwood currently oversees all of House Blackwood’s interests. She stands to inherit everything. As far as I know, they have a close relationship.”

Nero nodded, while rubbing his chin. He quickly said, “Thank you. That’s useful.”

Turning back to Jennings, he said, “Can you get her here? You don’t have a problem kidnapping people, right?”

Looking a little insulted, he replied, “Well, why don’t I just ping her first? I don’t think it’s necessary to just teleport her without asking.”

Snorting, Nero muttered, “So, you only do that to your friends.” Putting his hands on his hips, he said, “Just get her here. I want to talk with her.”

While the arch-mage contacted her, Nero returned to his seat. Sitting back down, he felt Vera lean in and whisper, “Before you get ahead of yourself, you need to remember to get something out of this. Solving the problem doesn’t get us paid. If you don’t want control of the city, what is it you DO want.”

Nero looked at her, then opened up a connection to her through the link. Not batting an eye, she kept up her stare as she accepted the connection, and said, “Well?”

Nero smiled, and said, “Once I figure out how to reduce my enemies to zero, then we can figure out what we can get. I was planning on letting you handle everything, but I didn’t know you’d try and marry me off to someone old enough to be my grandmother, or maybe older. I don’t know how old the city-lord is. Anyway, just think up what we can ask for. Concentrate on money and power. Money is always good, but power usually comes with responsibility. Be careful not to get me a job, because I assure you, I won’t do it.”

Hearing the arch-mage say, “Alright, she’s ready to present herself before the council. I don’t know what she’s aware of. All I told her was that she was needed for a matter of the utmost importance.” Nero halted the mental conversation with Vera, and they both turned to look at the arch-mage.

The council hall sat in silence, as a golden flash appeared over the seal of Dorchester in the center of the room. When the light faded, a tall woman with black hair in a tight bun appeared. Her robes were pale gray, and she looked like she was dressed for a courtroom appearance. Although attractive, her eyes were puffy, and she looked like she had been crying. Despite that, her posture was full of confidence.

Her eyes darted around the room, then paused when they saw Nero. Her shoulder’s slumped a little, and she said, “House Blackwood formally apologizes for the actions of our house head. If there is anything we can do to avoid our extermination, please let me know.”

Nero’s eyes widened in shock at her blunt plea for her life, and he replied, “Um… okay.”