"What will we be doing about Baron Harrels?" Gabriel asked, after composing himself a bit.

"Well, we know that he has a good relationship with Viscount Drew and that they have quite a few business exchanges as well. But officially they are still loyal to us and are thus part of our territory.

I reckon that the Viscount may be thinking of using them as spies in a way or sow discord among us. This is still a hypothesis and is not confirmed but something like this happening seems likely.

Thus before the Viscount gets the chance to do that, we eliminate the problem before it. Now that we have Bethany Harrels as our prisoner, we can forever anchor Baron Harrels to us. What I want is to set up terms that will force Viscount to rethink his relationship with the baron, thus eliminating one of his potential pawns.

Plus, this will add up to his list of troubles and will probably delay him further. We want to slow down his progress as much as possible so that the brewery can be set up and the wine starts to sell." Lucius explained.

Gabriel and Lita finally understood what Lucius wanted to do, and their eyes lit up.

"This… if this really works then we may truly succeed." Lita muttered.

"Indeed, is that why you asked for the soldier to be sent to the borders from me?" Gabriel questioned.

"Yes," Lucius confirmed.

Lucius had written in his letter what was needed to be done so that they would be in the safe spot for the time being. The soldiers were sent to the borders of the territory so that they would be able to keep an eye on anything suspicious.

Lucius didn't know if the Viscount had anything set up any contingencies before that and would attack at the first sign of seeing his son injured. He was still in the blind about the mental stage of the Viscount and thus wanted to take as many precautions as he could.

He had learned a lot in his past life and knew how easy it was to lose if one underestimated their enemy. There was no way Lucius was going to miss out on this aspect.

"Then we have the thing about specific negotiations… we need to set the terms with Baron Harrels in exchange for his daughter's freedom," Lucius added.

"Hmm, what terms do you suggest?" Gabriel questioned.

"I would say that he allows us to keep a set of soldiers in his territory at all times and also some in his very residence as well. This will allow us to keep an eye on him and also prevent him from acting out much.

The second condition would be that he forgoes all minor taxes that he gains from his territory. Plus… he would also have to supply us with more Aether crystals." Lucius answered.

Gabriel raised his brows at Lucius's suggestions and thought them over.

The first condition was pretty much inviting an enemy into one's own home. This would put a shackle on himself and make him a prisoner in a low-key way. As for the second condition about the taxes, it would financially restrain the Baron and also free up the flow of trade into the Inanis territory.

The part about the Aether crystals was something Lucius added on a whim, as he knew he needed a lot of them. He would be fine not getting them, but wanted to see if it would work out in the end.

"The first, two conditions will be the most important ones and would allot us permanent control over the Baron. Plus, it is faster to get to the Viscount's territory from his and thus will be helpful for us if we are to attack the man in the future." Lucius added.

"They do seem to be great conditions. But levying them will be a bit difficult." Gabriel said.

"Will it really be, though?" Lucius said, while raising a brow.

"The man will agree to whatever we have to say. If not… I'll show him what becomes of his little spawn," Lita said in a dangerous tone.

Lucius was a bit surprised by this and did not think Lita would be willing to do something like this. He had understood that the woman was strong on her own and would not settle for less. But she had a kind demeanor for the most part, except when it came to her family.

But now… she was going beyond that. 

'Interesting…' Lucius thought.

"Indeed, we have Bethany who will be the best thing to control the baron. I in fact had another option about keeping Bethany here for a long time… or at least till our situation is resolved. We should try to finagle that into the negotiation too. 

As for how to do that… I'll leave that up to you, I'm sure father and mother have more experience in the matters of the nobles than me." Lucius stated.

"Of course. You've already done a lot. We will handle the rest from this point. I'll take care of the negotiations in the coming days, while you can do the things you want to do for now." Gabriel quickly replied.

"Yes, you should go rest now. You've had a long journey and had to do some exhausting things." Lita added, returning to her motherly demeanor.

"I shall retire for the night then. Mother, father." Lucius stated before leaving the hall.

Once Lucius was gone from the hall, Lita and Gabriel looked at each other.

"He's come a long way… I never expected my little boy to become so smart so fast." Lita said feeling a bit emotional.

"Ahaha! It's about time. He's after all the blood of Inanis. There is no way he will be a waste. All he needed was time to blossom and as Etara blessed us he has gone beyond that." Gabriel stated.

The pair of husband and wife chatted for a while before retiring to their own bedchambers for the night.