"Well, Nick. It seems like the suit fits you well. A strapping, young man like yourself can afford to look sharp sometimes."
Early in the morning, Dewy complimented Nick as both men stood in the latter's office. Dewy wore his usual attire that included a black vest, a white dress shirt, a black tie, a pair of black dress pants, and a pair of black dress shoes. Nick, however, wore something that he never thought that he would have to wear.
Nick was currently wearing a three-piece dress suit that included a well-fitting black jacket, red dress shirt, red, and black tie, a pair of black pants, and a pair of laceless, black dress shoes. Nick kept Spatial Awareness perpetually active these days, so he could see himself clearly using his talent, and he was not pleased.
(I cannot believe this! To think that I, Nick Capitol, would be forced to clothe myself based on a woman's request.)
Carla had called him a few days ago to tell him to wear a nice suit. When Nick outright refused, Carla became silent for close to one minute before saying words that forced Nick to rethink his position:
"I am about to be your wife. Do not make life difficult for yourself by refusing my reasonable demands, okay honey."
Her words seemed mild at the time to Nick, but her grudgeful tone sent shivers down his spine, so he relented. He had Dewy buy him a suit based on measurements that Dewy took himself. Dewy soon curiously asked Nick:
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you need to wear this suit? It is really too different from your usual style."
Nick had not told Dewy about the wedding ceremony because as far as he was concerned, it was only relevant information for himself, and the Jenners. Nick simply gave a vague justification in response to Dewy's question:
"I have to go to some Magicians' ceremony. I was told to dress appropriately."
Dewy seemed to accept that answer since he stayed silent after hearing it. After making sure that the suit comfortably fitted Nick, Dewy left the office. Nick, on the other hand, sat at his desk, and waited for the eventual call. At around 8 am, Carla called him on his smartphone, following which, Nick picked it up from his desk, and accepted the call:
"Go ahead."
"I am out front on your property. Come meet with me."
Carla ended the call immediately after she finished speaking. Nick easily spotted the black town car parked in front of the building, and even the ordinary driver, using Spatial Awareness, but the talent did not show him Carla at all. Nick sighed aloud, thinking:
(Spatial Awareness cannot spy on Magicians ranked higher than me who are not out in the open. That is a clear weakness, but understandable.)
Nick then activated Cursed Vessel, after which, he instantly teleported to a position beside the back-left door of Carla's town car. He did not hesitate to open the back-left door, and enter. Nick took a seat at the farthest end of the passenger section while Carla sat opposite him, wearing a ghost-white magician's robe, a pair of slightly elevated, white female shoes, and her four black, beaded bracelets.
Seeing that Nick followed her instructions about his mode of dress, Carla lightly smiled before moving to Nick's right side, and kissing his right cheek. She then said:
"See, everything is great between us when you are reasonable."
Nick stayed silent for a few seconds before replying:
"Just have the driver go to the venue."
Carla nodded her head once in response, and then instructed the driver, who they could not see because of the closed, adjustable panel that separated the driver, and passenger sections:
"You can make your way to the ceremony, now. My hubby is ready."
Nick's body shook in discomfort when he heard Carla use the term 'hubby', but the discomfort quickly faded as he thought about his goals. Nick, and Carla remained silent as the car drove off, but to not show weakness, Nick placed his right hand on the upper half of Carla's left thigh, and kept it there.
Carla's smile faded, and she squinted her eyes in response to Nick's action, but then her expression soon reverted back to a light smile, seemingly not going to do anything about it. A bead of sweat rolled down Nick's face during the first minute, but when he saw that Carla did nothing, his mind became more at ease, thinking:
(She is really committed to this. Exactly how valuable does this woman think I am?)
Nick was not sure about this. He had only revealed a portion of his capabilities to Carla with the most special being his knowledge of formation path. He did not know what were her future plans, so he could not accurately gauge how far he could push his luck before she disciplined him. His action was a small test that did not tell him much, but at least indicated that she intended to accept him.
Nick, and Carla endured the quiet drive for an hour while the car left London, and ventured to more rural parts of the county. At the end of that one hour, a large, fenced, and gated estate appeared in view. Nick peered through the window at it, and felt nothing in particular, but thought:
(Imagine growing up in such a place. I don't know whether a poor upbringing or a wealthy one is more useful for long-term growth, but I undoubtably would have preferred to live here, even if I still had to live with Irene.)
The black gates of the estate opened in response to the approaching town car, following which, the car drove one kilometer further along a paved road to get to the estate's mansion, which seemed to be a three storey building.
The mansion had a Victorian style, its walls were mostly painted polished-brown, and the ceramic material that made up its roof had a bronze hue. It had many windows, and a few entrances that Nick could see using his eyes as they drove up to it. At the main entrance, a round-about driveway was present, and that is were Carla's car parked.
Once the car parked, Carla made her exit while also making a hand signal using her right hand to indicate that Nick was to follow her. As soon as Nick, and Carla left the car, and closed the door, a pleasant, female voice rang out:
"Big sis Carla, I can't believe that this day has arrived!"
Nick already knew who the owner of the voice was thanks to Spatial Awareness, so he muttered her name, as if to confirm that he remembered it correctly:
"Alicia Jenner."
Alicia ran through the opened doorway that had two large, polished, wooden doors hinged on each side, and where a red carpet was laid on the floor. She quickly approached Carla, and gave her sister a tight bear hug. Carla returned the warm embrace, and the two women stayed like that for nearly half a minute.
Alicia was one head shorter than Carla, seemed to be about thirty years old, had slightly tanned, white skin, long, brown hair similar to Carla's, and dark eyes. She wore a hot-pink magician's robe, and a pair of matching, flat, female shoes at this time. Nick easily noticed that she faintly exuded magic energy belonging to a rank 3 late stage Magician. Nick thought:
(When I met her previously, she was also rank 3, but I could not determine that myself, and it was Carla that informed me. It is difficult to determine someone's rank, and stage when you yourself are at a lower rank. But now, because I am also rank 3, her calibre is as clear as day to me.)
When Alicia left Carla's embrace, she stared at Nick with a fair amount of suspicion plastered on her face while she spoke to him:
"Do not get a swelled head because big sis likes you a little. You are still my junior, and will never take my place in her heart."
Nick cringed after hearing that, thinking:
(You're probably right about the last part, but who said that I wanted your dog shit place…)
Nick sighed aloud, but did not reply. He realized that he had been sighing a lot since Carla began imposing her will on him. Carla, not wanting Alicia to annoy Nick, told her:
"Alicia, he will be your family from today onwards. Treat him with respect."
Alicia mischievously smiled before slightly poking her tongue out at Nick. She then focused on Carla again while saying:
"I hope that you know what you are doing, big sis. Some of our people are not happy about you marrying someone that has no reputation, or background to speak of."
Alicia said those words without hesitation, as if trying to irritate Nick, but Nick simply shrugged both his shoulders in response. Now, it was Carla's turn to sigh aloud, after which, she replied:
"Who I marry is my business alone. If anyone really has a problem, they should complain to me directly."
Carla said those words with a morbid sternness in her tone. Alicia lightly chuckled upon hearing her sister's words. She replied:
"Alright then, let's go inside. It is still early, so the few of us that are already here should spend some time getting to know Nick."
Alicia looked at Nick with squinted eyes as she said his name, but soon turned away to lead Carla, and him into the main hall. Once inside the main hall, just as Nick stepped a few feet away from the doorway, he sensed earth magic power surge. Follow that, a section of the red carpet behind Nick was ripped apart as a humanoid puppet made from the white-tiled floor, and that was two heads taller than him, rose up, and punched at the back of his head using its right fist at a quick pace.
Nick did not even need to turn around to get a good look at the puppet, and before its fist reached within a foot of his head, he cast a spell at it:
(Seeker Sever.)
Instantly, the magic puppet's right arm was sliced through by a completely formless magic power, and fell to the floor like a heavy stone, where it crumbled immediately.
(Seeker Sever.)
Nick did not delay in casting the same spell again, still not turning around to glance at his attacker. The magic puppet was instantly cut through at the midsection by the same formless magic power, and its upper body quickly fell to the ground as a result, where it crumbled into indistinct pieces. Moments after that, its lower body also crumbled into pieces.
Carla, and Alicia, who both had noticed the magic puppet when it appeared, and had been watching Nick's response to it, looked at him with differing thoughts running through their minds. Carla mused:
(Space path, and blade path magic. So, he is still cultivating more than one type of magic simultaneously. That was a very high quality, rank 3 spell that he cast. If he designed it himself, then he has improved tremendously. His sense's are also very keen, being able to so effectively attack that puppet without looking at it. His combat standard is evidently high. I suppose that is why he was able to defeat Adam Nefari…)
Carla knew that Nick was a competent spell maker. Considering his abilities in formation path, she knew that Nick's technical skills made him a very rare Magician, even if his rank was lower than hers. She was even more pleased with her own plan to bring Nick under her influence after that show of power.
Alicia had other thoughts:
(He did not even look at the puppet to destroy it. He is much stronger than when I last saw him, I will admit that. Whether he has the qualifications to join our family is not up to me to decide, but based on the magic power that I just sensed, I guess that he isn't a total bum…)
After he had dealt with the magic puppet, Nick indifferently spoke:
"Whoever you are, if you don't show yourself, right now, I am going to take your attack personally, and cut your head off."
Nick's threat was not an empty one because Spatial Awareness already revealed the attacker's position, even if he did not get a good look at the person's features. A worried voice soon resounded in response to his threat:
"Whoa! Whoa! Brother, I was just joking. Don't be so serious."
A few seconds after speaking those words, a short man emerged from the ground by burrowing through a section of tile behind Nick using his earth magic. The man had less than average height, pale-white skin, short, and neatly combed brown hair, and dark eyes. He wore a light-brown magician's robe.
Nick did not turn to look, at the man, but feeling that the situation was suspicious, and remembering Alicia's words, he asked Alicia:
"Is this what you meant by getting to know me? Is there anything else that you want to try?"
Before Alicia could respond to Nick's implied accusation, two shadowy blurs rapidly emerged from the corridor at the opposite end of the main hall, bypassing Carla, and Alicia to head straight for Nick. The shadowy blurs were so fast that Nick had a hard time keeping up with them using just his magic sense, but he knew that the assailants were using shadow magic, and were likely rank 3 late stage. At that point, he realized:
(I did not include another scouting method in my combat system, because I thought that Spatial Awareness was sufficient, but the talent is rather inept at following fast moving targets. Well…that's useful information at least…)
Nick immediately exuded enough of his magic energy to envelop the shadowy blurs, causing their speed to slightly lessen because they were put under the magical pressure that Nick's magic energy could induce. Following that, and within less than two seconds since the shadowy blurs appeared within the main hall, Nick cast another spell:
(Dragon Light.)
Immediately, two flurries of blade light were emitted from Nick's eyes, one flurry of light from each eye. The flurries of blade light had a dark-blue hue, and were shaped like serpents that had dragon heads. The blade light rapidly moved through the air while seemingly ricocheting against the air itself to crash into the two shadowy blurs.
The shadowy blurs movements were halted for a split second before they fell to the ground, and painful grumblings were heard immediately after:
"What the hell is this? Blade magic? Is this guy serious?"
"Who the hell attacks someone they just met using blade magic? You bastard!"
The faint shadows that enveloped the two men lying on the floor quickly dispersed to take their natural place beneath the men's bodies. The men themselves were now each sporting a long, shallow cut that bled, on their torsos. Nick was a little surprised to see that the men had almost identical appearances except for the fact that one wore a tan-colored magician's robe while the other wore a bronze-colored magician's robe.
The two men had pale-white skin, short, well-styled, brown hair, and dark eyes. Nick wordlessly observed the two men for a few seconds while thinking:
(Dragon Light performs well. The blade light that the spell produces moves fast, and is well animated. The latter feature is probably as a result of the soul path aspects of the spell…)
Carla's smiling expression indicated that she was pleased by Nick's performance while Alicia's right eyelid twitched as she thought:
(Bess, and Johan actually failed to knock Nick down? These twins can be so useless at times. Hmph! Look at how composed Nick is acting. He thinks that he is too cool for school…)
Before a word was said by Nick, Alicia, or Carla, a seemingly old man walked into the hall from an open corridor at the side, speaking with an authoritative tone:
"Alicia, that is enough. Do not pressure Nick any further."
When this old man appeared, Alicia slightly frowned because she knew that her opportunity to embarrass Nick in front of Carla had passed. Nick turned to look at the man who spoke because he recognized the voice, and because Spatial Awareness had already revealed his familiar appearance the moment that he stepped into the main hall. Nick muttered his name, as if to confirm that he knew it:
"Vaughn Jenner."
Vaughn Jenner had slightly aged, pale-white skin, was a head taller than Nick, had long, silver hair, a full silver beard, and dark eyes. He wore a yellow magician's robe that had black, Asian symbols strewn over its surface. Vaughn soon greeted Carla:
"It is always good to see my niece. I hope your fiance doesn't mind your sister's shenanigans, Carla."
Carla greeted Vaughn warmly, saying:
"Greetings, uncle Vaughn. Nick will have to cope with Alicia's behaviour now that they will be siblings soon, anyway. He does not mind."
Nick sighed aloud when he heard Carla's words, thinking:
(You might as well ask if I mind. Carla's people are annoying, like flies…)
Vaughn leisurely walked over while observing Bess', and Johan's physical conditions as they convalesced while sitting cross-legged on the floor. He soon sternly asked them:
"Why have you two not healed your wounds, yet? You are embarrassing us."
Johan complained like someone who had been unjustly accused in response to Vaughn's words:
"Uncle, it is not our faults. That hateful man struck us with some peculiar blade magic. Our wounds are difficult to heal. Even now, we are still soiling our clothes with blood."
Observing that Johan's words were true, Vaughn waved his right hand, following which, an orange qi suddenly formed, and gently blew against Bess, and Johan.
(Light Recovery Qi)
Immediately following the casting of Vaughn's spell, Bess, and Johan's wounds were completely closed, and healed. Their expressions showed relief at that time. After Sensing Vaughn's magic power, Nick mused:
(I cannot tell what rank Vaughn is, but at least I now know that he uses qi magic.)
After healing the twins, Vaughn turned his focus to Nick, praising him:
"That was quite a spell that you used on Bess, and Johan. What is its name?"
Nick didn't mind answering that question since it was harmless. He replied:
"The spell's name is Dragon Light. It is a good name that I came up with."
Vaughn did not miss what Nick's words implied. The latter was actually saying that he had designed the spell himself. Vaughn mused:
(That spell was both of the soul path, and the blade path. Either this man spent a long time working on it, or he has high attainment in both paths. Hmmm…it might even be a combination of the two possibilities. Either way, his skills are not shabby at all. It is about time that one of my nieces brought promising, new blood into the fold…)
Vaughn then discreetly glanced at Alicia before internally sighing, thinking:
(When will this mischievous one get a man to discipline her?)
Vaughn quickly focused on Nick again, saying:
"Carla's father, Victor, cannot not attend the ceremony today because of severely ill health. You will have to meet him another time."
Carla told him nothing about her father, so Nick assumed that such matters were none of his business. He replied simply to Vaughn:
"That is fine."
Vaughn also observed the earth path Magician standing behind Nick, who was evidently rank 3 late stage, and said:
"Grits, instead of taking part in nonsense, why don't you go make sure that breakfast is ready for us to eat?"
The short man named Grits did not look happy to receive such instructions, but he soon realized that he himself was to blame because he took part in Alicia's childish scheme. Grits quickly, and silently walked away from the hole that he had made in the floor, and proceeded through a nearby corridor, soon disappearing from view.
Vaughn then directed his words to everyone present:
"Let us have a seat, and take part in useful discussion. I would like to hear some things from my new nephew."
After saying that, Vaughn leisurely walked towards a group of four sofas near one corner of the main hall. Those four sofas were lined with dark-blue fibers, and were positioned in the shape of a square with each sofa facing another one. When Vaughn took his seat, everyone else followed, including Carla.
Seeing what was happening, Nick did not hesitate to join the Jenners in their leisure. He thought:
(Let's get this over with…)
Vaughn sat on a sofa by himself, while Bess, and Johan sat on the sofa to his left, Alicia sat on the sofa to his right, and Nick sat on the sofa directly in front of him, at Carla's right side.
Seeing that everyone was seated, Vaughn began the discussion by asking Nick a question:
"What exactly do you like about my niece, Nick?"
Nick was a bit caught off guard, and perturbed by the question because he already knew that Vaughn suspected that their relationship was not based on love. Nick hated this kind of questioning, but that did not stop him from answering as honestly as he thought necessary:
"Well…Carla is really assertive. To be honest, if she had not demanded it, I would not be here."
Vaughn's eyebrow's raised slightly before he burst out laughing. He laughed for close to half a minute. Carla briefly gave Nick the evil eye in response to his answer, causing him to recline in silence. When Vaughn stopped laughing, he spoke while having a bit of amusement in his tone:
"Don't worry. I do not mind his answer, Carla. I hope that you two will have an enduring relationship. Love is something that has to be nurtured over a long time to firmly take root, after all."
Nick was not so sure about that, but he was not going to argue over trivialities. Vaughn then made a request:
"I hear that after leaving Richter Order Academy, you started a company. Also, you recently defeated Adam Nefari, a very decent Ice Magician. Tell me about those things."
Nick wasn't so sure what to think when he heard Vaughn refer to Adam as 'very decent', but he replied honestly enough:
"Adam was a worthy opponent that allowed me to test my skills sufficiently, although he almost killed me. About my company…The Realm Exploration Company's operations include natural resource extraction. I have made some profits, but since I have mostly been focusing on my cultivation these days, development has been slow."
Alicia yawned after Nick finished speaking, saying in response:
"You are not a very good story teller. There was not even one joke mixed into your words."
Nick indifferently replied to Alicia:
"I do not mince words, Alicia."
Alicia felt a shiver go down her spine when she heard Nick call her by her name, so she reproached him:
"Call me big sis Alicia from now on. You are the junior here."
Nick rolled his eyes at Alicia in response to her words, no longer speaking to her. Carla was glad to see Nick, and Alicia at least interacting with each other since they would probably have to do so much more going forward. Vaughn spoke to Nick warmly:
"I see…if you need any help in your affairs, you can always come to me. No doubt you will likely ask Carla for help, first, but my door is always open, so to speak."
Vaughn went on to ask Nick some general, and innocuous things for close to one hour, such as what food he liked, what were the most interesting kinds of magic that he had seen, and what he thought about the Magicians Association. Bess, and Johan stayed quiet the whole time, while Alicia only spoke to perform verbal jabs at Nick. Carla remained silent throughout the questioning, but paid attention to Nick's every word.
At the end of the discussion, she mused:
(Nick isn't much of a talker, but at least he knows how to be pleasant. Vaughn might look like a kindly old man, but he is a dangerous, rank 6 Qi Magician. Nick being on good terms with him will make things easier for us. I wish father were here to see the ceremony as well. That would have made things even better…)
When Carla thought about her father, her emotions surged a little before calming down quickly. Soon, Vaughn spoke again:
"Let's go get some breakfast before the other family members arrive. I do not like to deal with too much people on an empty stomach."
Vaughn got up from his seat, and then led the rest down the corridor that Grits had walked into almost one hour earlier. At the end of the eight meter, grey, brick-walled corridor, the scene of a simple dining hall appeared. The dining hall had marble floors, polished, lumber walls, and a high lumber ceiling that featured a glowing chandelier at its centre.
There was a long table at the center of the hall made from polished, brown wood. The chairs were made of ordinary metal, but were padded with velvet material all over. Grits was already sitting at one of the longer sides of the table while four white, female servers dressed in black, and white dresses stood at the four corners of the table. The women were clearly ordinary people.
Since food was involved, Nick did not hesitate to take the seat at one of the farthest ends of the table, and wait for the meal. Carla silently walked to his right side while having a raised right eyebrow, and sporting a slightly impatient expression, but she ultimately decided to say nothing, and took at seat at Nick's immediate right.
Vaughn saw this, and seemed weirdly pleased by Carla's tolerant attitude towards Nick. He then took his place at the other farthest end of the table while Alicia sat at his immediate left, and Bess, and Johan sat beside Alicia in that order. The four ordinary women soon went into action by entering a side door, from which, they brought out trolleys of food placed on white plates three minutes later.
They served a few dishes that included, chicken, fish, soup, vegetables, and eggs to each person before placing the trolleys aside, and each taking their positions a few feet away from the four corners of the table.
Nick ate the food with rapt attention, and did not pay anyone else any mind while he did so. Carla wanted to speak to him as he ate, but seeing that Nick was so unusually focused, she held her tongue. The only persons who spoke at this time were Alicia, Grits, Bess, and Johan while Nick, Carla, and Vaughn remained quiet. If they were asked a question, they would nod, or slowly shake their heads to answer.
One hour later, Vaughn declared:
"Alright, I assume that we all have to wash up before the ceremony. Carla, Nick, I will see you when the time comes."
At that point, everyone except Nick, and Carla, including the four female servers, left the dining hall. Nick did not need to wash up, so he stayed put, and seeing that he did not intend to go anywhere, Carla stayed with him. She soon said:
"You behaved well. I am pleased, Nick. Oh, the use of your magic earlier was very skillful. I knew that you were competent, but your apparent standards have made me favour you even more."
Nick didn't care much about Carla's praise since he already knew some truth in regards to that:
(Someone who his pleased with other people's praise can be destroyed by those same people's censure.)
Nick plainly replied:
"It was nothing. I assume that your family members weren't trying too hard. By the way, what is Alicia's problem? Is she not afraid that I might take her antics personally."
Carla rubbed her temple in slight frustration using her right hand. She answered Nick:
"Please do not mind Alicia's behaviour. She is a capable Magician, and a good sister. She is just wary of outsiders. Anyway, get along with her if you can."
"If you say so, Carla. When will the ceremony begin?"
"Everyone should be here in about two hours. That is when the ceremony will begin. I have already made arrangements for the soul path magic beast souls to be brought here. There were apparently six of them in all stored within the treasury. You have some really good luck because five of them are from rank 4 magic beasts, and one is from a rank 5 magic beast.
I justified giving them to you as a wedding gift that will help your cultivation. My uncle could not refuse to give them up after I used such a reason. The souls aren't very useful to us in the first place since our family does not really have any high ranked Soul Magicians."
Nick became excited after he heard that he was going to get what he wanted:
(One rank 5 soul path magic beast soul is good already. The five rank 4 soul path magic beast souls are icing on the cake. My plan is working…)
Carla the moved on to the topic of Nick's magic spells:
"All your spells have multiple natures. Do you find it hard to cast them, or cast multiple of them at once?"
Nick answered honestly:
"Not really. With enough familiarity, and understanding, I can cast them as fast as should be possible. As for casting multiple of them, it's not a simple process, but I can do it well enough."
"Oh, even among our strongest rank 3s, you will probably be one of the best. I won't ask exact details, but what is your long term goal?"
Nick spoke his goal as if by instinct when asked that question; he momentarily forgot to conceal his aims:
"Rank 10 Magician."
Both Carla's brows slightly raised when she heard about Nick's ambitions. As far as she knew, on Grand Earth, rank 8 was the highest level of cultivation that currently existed. Although Nick's goal seemed unlikely to be achieved, she did not mock him. She thought:
(...If he did not have that level of ambition, allying with him would not be as worth it, anyway…)
Carla soon replied:
"It is good to aim high. I will support you as much as I can, but don't forget to be considerate of my needs."
Nick looked Carla squarely in the eyes before replying to her:
"I doubt that you will allow me to forget. In any case, once we are married, I won't be able to hide most of my activities, will I?"
Carla developed an amused expression while saying:
"Of course not. I won't try to pry into your cultivation, but things like business, and alliances will be my concern. I should also tell you that if I find you being intimate with another woman, I will castrate you myself. Such things are not becoming of a noble Magician."
Nick's indifferent expression broke into brief laughter after hearing Carla's latter point. He soon replied:
"Who told you that I was a noble Magician? I come from the dirt, Carla. Don't worry, I understand the situation perfectly, though. I will not do anything that breaks the promises that I have already made to you, so long as you do not attempt to hinder my progress. In that case, I won't care if you are a rank 4 Magician, I will directly cut your head off."
Carla still maintained her amused expression while asking:
"Should you really have said such a thing to your wife-to-be? I am a very demanding woman, after all."
"Demand as you like, but you cannot get in the way of my goal."
Nick began to feel like he was saying these things to convince himself rather than Carla. Despite the fact that he wanted to be cautious with Carla, he did not want there to be any confusion about his stance:
"No one can stop me from walking on the road that I have chosen. Not you, not anyone."
Carla's expression suddenly became neutral after hearing Nick's words. She thought:
(Describing him as strong-willed is an understatement. It is not just his words that are persuasive, but my intuition is giving me warning signals about Nick…)
When a Magician had high enough attainment, their intuition was attuned to all sorts of matters even if they did not consciously understand them. Nick's attitude stimulated Carla's intuition negatively for some reason, and that made her think that he was serious about what he said.
(Hmph! Never mind all that. As long as he has reasons to keep his commitments to me, I don't care what his ideologies are. He could plan to wipe out all of Britain for all I care. For now, however, as long as my cultivation is higher than his, he will have to consider me every time he makes a move, or else he might just find his plans crumble in response to my slightest movement…)
At this time, Nick's intuition was also warning him about Carla, but it was not indicating anything that he didn't already know:
(The tigress in front of me is also ambitious, and it is not just about her ambitions. She has the conviction to carry out whatever she decides. How many female rank 4 Magicians would marry someone of lower rank because of base potential. Even if she thinks that I am a genius, it is a huge risk, but she is taking it all the same. I do not feel any gratitude because I know what I am worth. It is just that this situation is slightly troublesome…Carla is not a simple woman…)
Nick hated that he had to place himself in this scenario just for the sake of gaining cultivation resources, but he took solace in the fact that Carla was not asking him to be her servant. To ease his tense, and unpleasant feelings, as well as to bolster his own confidence, Nick reach out towards Carla using his right hand.
He quickly held the center of her back and drew her closer to him. Carla's expression had lost it smile, but she did not intend to be heavy-handed with Nick. She understood something important:
(He will plot against me if I make him feel insecure. He might plot against me, anyway, but I am not in the habit of handicapping myself from the start. I do not have much use for cynicism, and Nick has been decent thus far…)
Carla went along with Nick's intentions and allowed him to kiss her lips for one minute straight while they both closed their eyes.When they separated, Nick declared:
"From today onwards, I will treat you like Carla Capitol, and not Carla Jenner."
Carla maintained her neutral expression while replying:
"I understand. Let's hope that our partnership will be as profitable as I expect."
After listening to Carla's words, Nick reclined in his chair, closed his eyes, and begun meditating. He was not afraid to do so on the estate with Carla at his side. He trusted that her wanting to use him made him one of the safest people on this estate. Carla remained silent as Nick meditated, but she inwardly mused:
(Meditating right in front of me? He changed his wary attitude quickly. He is disciplined, and adaptable. Those two qualities are troublesome when possessed by anyone, not to mention someone that has Nick's skills. I have to make sure that this man does not find a logical reason to act against me later…)
While Nick thought that Carla was troublesome, Carla thought the exact same thing about Nick. The two Magicians had their own motives, but neither was naive about the other, and were certain that if given a proper reason, the other would act against them. Although that was the case, they both resolved to work with each other, for now, to achieve their individual goals.
While Nick's consciousness was within his mindscape, swirling his formless magic energy around the void, he made a profound statement:
(Trust based on collusion for mutual, material gain can in many cases be greater, and more resilient than trust derived from love. I read that from a book once, but I did not believe it until now.)