Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

Lord Stygian's frown was deep and both his fists were clenched not to attack but rather to hold himself back from a violent outburst.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that."

Accepting to take half of the Territory rather than the whole was the most amicable Averill Stygian was willing to be. Even if it led to war against the Renans, he refused to back down.

Frida had just boasted of her family's Martial strength and adding an entire territory, its subjects, and also an absorption of the residual Martial power of the Larnak family would not do any other family or Territory in Verdelen City any good.

Averill knew exactly how much that would harm his family in the future because, even as he sat for this meeting, he was already working on a plan that would put the Stygians ahead by the end of the Year should THEY take over the Larnak Territory.

Frida chuckled,

"It's not for you to allow," She said, "I'm telling you what I want and there is nothing you can do about it."

As she spoke, the Renan Lordess exuded a fierce aura backed by the pressure of her cultivation and Averill Stygian found he wasn't too surprised to discover she was a few steps higher than he was within the Sixth Order. Disappointed maybe but not surprised.

The Pressure release was clearly a cautioning tool and yet, faced with it, Lord Stygian still refused to back down. He put his foot down metaphorically before slamming his fist hard against the table,

*Bam*

Any harder and he would have shattered it.

"If you won't agree to a compromise, and we won't just watch as your territory doubles, I guess... It's war then!"

The guards standing behind Lord Stygian shared a few uncertain looks but then shook themselves out of it and held their backs even straighter as though psyching themselves up for a war that had not yet arrived.

Frida and Averill held each other's gazes for a few seconds before the Renan Lordess threw her head back and burst into loud mocking laughter. She placed one hand delicately over her mouth and when she stared at Averill while still laughing, she made it clear with her eyes that the mockery was directed at him,

"'It's war then!'" she mimicked with a caricature deep voice of the Lord seated across from her and when her laughter finally died down, she gave him a pointed stare with her lips stretched into a smile,

"Is that all you think about? War?"

Averill looked confused but refused to allow her words or mockery to cause him to feel embarrassed,

"You said 'No' to a compromise," he pointed out.

Frida nodded,

"Yes, I did. If I can't have it all, then I don't want you to have half of it."

"So," Averill said still looking confused, "What now?"

Frida held up one placating finger,

"There's a third option," she said.

"There is?"

"There is," Frida said with a nod before looking over and gesturing at the Larnak Relatives seated in the hall silently watching two powerful experts discuss their land,

"We can let them keep the Territory."

"What?!" Lord Stygian let out in surprise.

"Yes," Frida said calmly while the Larnak relatives shared looks.

"You want to give the Territory back to them right after we seized it?" Averill Stygian asked, his voice so low and angry, that it came out like a growl.

"Well, we haven't exactly seized it yet. We're contemplating about seizing it," Frida said, "Think about it; This way, neither of us gets any part of the Territory."

"And you think this is better than splitting the Territory in two?" Averill asked with an incredulous tone.

Frida nodded decisively.

"I do."

"Madness!" Lord Stygian let out.

The Larnak Relatives looked among themselves, surprised their fortunes appeared to be turning around for the better at the hands of the most unlikeliest of allies.

"Hey Bozos," Frida called with such authority, the Larnaks all stood to their feet and bowed,

"Lordess!" they chanted in unison.

"Which one of you becomes Lord now?" she asked.

"I haven't agreed to this," Averill said.

Frida ignored him,

"Speak up!" she called to the Larnaks.

"W-well Herbert has two kids..."

"Beorht and Ernest?" Frida said with a chuckle, "Oh please, they're babies. Who else you got?"

"Well, one of us could step in as Reagent..."

"One of you? Hahaha, I can feel your mediocre Fourth Order pressures even as you cower and shrink in my sights," Frida said disdainfully, "What stability could any of you provide? Any one of my Captains will defeat you right here and now."

The Larnaks were abashed but of course, they had no rebuttal. Their weak foundations and slow cultivation progress under Herbert's rule robbed them of their dignity. They were truly only at the level of a Captain- Even among the Larnak forces.

"Well, we have one Fifth Order Knight. She's Herbert's widow..."

"Perfect. A change from the Larnak norm," Frida said with assertive nods, "A Larnak Man ran the Territory to the ground, only fair a woman builds it back up."

"But..." one Larnak Man started to say before Frida rounded on him.

"But what?" she asked, looking short of patience, "She's not capable?"

"Well, she's not. She hasn't ruled as little as an Estate, how can you possibly place an entire Territory in her care?"

"She'll learn," Frida said simply.

"We are not stable enough to give her time to learn," the Larnak man insisted.

"Your fighting against this only makes me like it more," Frida said while licking her lips, "I endorse- Wait, What's her name?"

"Yvette."

"I endorse Yvette's rule."

"But she's still in mourning..." A Larnak Relative said.

"And you're not?" Frida asked before waving away their concerns, "She'll get over it."

"I still don't agree with this," Lord Stygian said with an annoyed groan.

"But you haven't heard the rest of it," Frida told him with a smile.

"What's the rest?"

"We let the Larnaks keep the Territory under the rule of this 'Yvette' but it's not a total rule... It's a subsidized rule." Frida explained.

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Well, your son, Evian, holds their wealth, does he not? Well, we use that to keep them tethered, never free. Give them bits and bits of it- enough to keep things running but not enough to go to their heads.

We let them handle the hard part- let them govern the Territory, and keep a watchful eye over all they do.

Henceforth, we receive tributes for all their proceeds, and no major decision, no new law or decree gets put in place without the express say-so of the Renan and Stygian Territories.." Frida explained.

"You think they'll obey?" Averill asked, eyeing the Larnaks out of the corner of his eyes.

"Haha, you say that like they have a choice," Frida said with an almost wicked glee.

"Hmm, Indeed they don't," Averill said with a nod, "*Sigh* I'd rather have the entire Territory or even half but this could be a sound compromise. I'll have to think it over."

The only reason Averill even considered this fairly outlandish plan was because of how Frida had incorporated Evian into the mix. Evian held the Larnaks' Wealth and so he was an integral part of the subsidization which Lord Averill Stygian believed gave him an upper hand over the Renan Lordess.

'We might as well have the Entire Territory for ourselves, after all.'

He stood to his feet gently,

"I'll leave first. I'll get back to you with my decision."

"You do that," Frida told him with a sneaky smirk and when Averill tried and failed to read what it meant, he turned around and left the hall with his entourage of Guards, boarding his awaiting Carriage and returning to the Stygian Territory.

The Larnaks were still in the hall, and they all looked gobsmacked by the events that had just played out before them,

"What are you still doing here?" The Renan Lordess asked them.

"Oh, um-"

"Get out of here," she ordered, "Go on! Go tell Yvette the news."

"Oh, um, yes... Right away."

They scurried off and once she was alone, beside her Guards, Frida let out a satisfied breath,

"I think that went well."

"It sure did."

The responding voice pulled all attention towards a fairly faraway side in the hall where a Young man had just emerged by apparently walking right through the wall.

"You heard it all?" Frida asked with a smile.

Evian shook as he sat down in the chair his father recently made empty,

"Nah, didn't want to risk getting seen. I'd rather my involvement not be known. But all seems well so you must have regurgitated my ideas perfectly." he said.

"Your ideas?" Frida said and then chuckled while shaking her head, "No, no, some of mine were mixed in."

"That's a lie and you know it," Evian told her with a mocking roll of his eyes.

"Alright, fine," Frida eventually relented, "YOUR ideas.

I can't believe you managed to convince me this was the best plan FOR me."

"Oh, but it is. At least, it will be," Evian told her, "Trust me."

It had not been easy to get Frida to play along with his plans. It had taken a lot *clears throat* work to do the convincing as well as many trips into an illusionary death valley but he managed to get her to see reason and with her on board, everything fell into place.

The steps were simple;

Engage in a brief verbal altercation with Lord Stygian and not agree to have the Territory split no matter what and then,

Introduce Yvette's rule as a 'compromise'.

Frida felt the idea was brilliant (obviously, seeing as she tried stealing credit) and favored HIM and his goal to put someone he favored in power. She only wondered how this would help her Family in the future.

But Evian assured her there was going to be a fantastic payoff.

Let Lord Stygian believe he had a say in the decisions the Larnak Territory would make but in actuality, it would be Frida, Evian, and soon-to-be-Reagent Yvette who would make the decisions. If they played their cards, right, they could hold the power.

This was the start of a fruitful coalition.

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