At first I thought I'd be able to pass the time in my office by reading a book, but who would have thought an incident would happen while I wasn't present?

"Cerberus moved against us?" The book in my hand slammed shut as I glared at the scar-faced guard.

"They sacrificed a Sleeper in order to get through our defences." The guard before me answers with a hint of fear.

I would have gotten ridden of him already if it wasn't for the fact that he was my most loyal subordinate.

"Explain everything to me."

"Reporting: The genius of the Rainglow Family, Merilin Rainglow, was almost attacked by an assassin hours ago. The one who saved her from death was her older brother, Simon Rainglow, a Combatant with a newly formed Skill Root." The head of the household guards, Damian Hellar, informs fluidly.

"He's already formed his Skill Root? I didn't think pressuring him would produce such results... It seems I miscalculated a little." My eyes darkened as I thought of ways to remedy this situation I'm in.

The two children, Simon and Merilin are two of the most talented geniuses among the servants, both comparable to the ones I've been cultivating carefully at the Guard Quarters.

"I'll allow you to speak freely, so tell me honestly, do you think we'll be able to rope in Fredrick's son?" I ask curiously.

"I believe it will be an impossible task."

"Oh? Explain."

"When I first got to the location of the incident, the first thing I saw was Fredrick's son as he was... unnaturally waiting for our arrival."

"Unnaturally?"

"Yes. A normal boy his age should feel disgust or fear towards murder, but he was different, he indifferently waited in the corridor as he wiped the blood of the assassin off his cheeks."

"He sounds like a natural-born killer."

"Not entirely, he would have been easier to coerce if he had psychopathic tendencies, but it looks like his mentality is as solid as he feigns to his parents. He was more like a warrior that felt only apathy towards death."

"Then it looks like he can't be 'cultivated'. How disappointing... It seems both these siblings specialise in giving me a headache." I say while rubbing my temple. It would have been better for me if that assassin did his job and took care of that little girl.

Fredrick! That fool! He actually contacted that senile mother of his straight after finding out his daughter's talent in inscribing Spell Circles.

I would have been able to make her one of my loyal pawns if he hadn't but in and ruined everything. Not only that but his eldest son is also as freakish as his little sister, to think he already has the ability to damage Magic Resistant walls at such a young age.

It really makes one sight at his unnatural talents. Perhaps he will one day rise like the Sword God and become an existence that will rule the entirety of the human. Well, if the quality of his techniques improve with time that is, a Combatant Rank human is a lot harder to nurture than a Mortal Rank one like Merilin Rainglow.

If memory serves correct, Simon has already become my daughter's Personal Butler, and should be content with his current lifestyle. Though that doesn't mean a person of his talents won't feel dissatisfied with such arrangements.

I could offer riches and authority to pull him over to my Knight Faction consisting of nobles, but that probably won't work considering his personality.

He seems to live for his parents and sister, so nothing will be able to hold him back from leaving once they left.

He's dangerous, not only is that extremely insidious mind of his hard to predict, but his ruthlessness at such an age even puts mercenaries to shame.

Fredrick and Martha are planning on joining the Magic Faction by relying on that old witch's status, so there's a high chance he will follow in their footsteps.

"What Attribute is his Skill Root?"

"Light Attribute... Master, is taking such risks necessary? Our honour will be dragged through the mud if this scheme becomes known to others."

"Do you think something like 'honour' will stop me taking action? There hasn't been a time when honour stopped me before." I shrugged apathetically. To get rid of any potentials that aren't on my side, lest they become chess pieces of my opponents, this way of handling thinking what I learnt from my ancestors that had fallen before me.

But of course I'm not going to attack him right of this moment. Right now there's still time to use gentle methods to win him over to our side.

Actually, the dark forces of the Drakeyol Kingdom will probably start targeting him now that he's killed a precious seed of the Underworld Faction, that old demon must be going mental right now after getting news of his talented daughter's death.

There's a high chance the both the Magic Faction and Royal Faction won't have the guts to protect him under such circumstances. Only someone with a magic resilient household and top quality army like myself would do so.

"Bring me his information, I want to know everything that can be used against him, and I mean everything."

"As you wish, Master."

A few minutes later I was brought various documents that summarised all the major events of Simon's life.

I read through the documents carefully as I planned out the various ways I could win him over to my faction.

Hmm...? He has a High Grade Skill Root? That doesn't sound right, an F Rank Magical Talent like him should have only had the energy to condense a Low Grade Skill Root, such a report doesn't make any sense at all. I shook my head and read further as different matters related to his growth came up.

At first it was all very normal, he didn't seem to have any hobbies nor was there any weaknesses that could be exploited, that was until I glanced at a certain incident that happened not long ago. The time he confessed to a maid.

Interesting... Interesting... I also found an article that detailedly recorded the conversation between him and my daughter. A strange light flickered in my eyes after I read her confession.

"He doesn't look that handsome, nor is there any record of him showing skills besides Mana Control and martial art ability. So why is it my daughter became infatuated with such a strange child." I start to murmur to myself.

Well, all I can say is that her taste is quite... weird, or was this her way of rebelling against me? Although I don't talk to her much, it's easy getting a report on her daily activities from the secret Surveillance Quarters, those guys have a hobby of making these.

It may seem like stalking to others, but my argument is that those who accuse me of that are very wrong, I only hire stalkers who give me reports regarding her well-being. There's a difference.

"Master, another matter requires your attention." The scarred man informs. I nodded my head and gestured him to continue. Since winning over Simon is only a small matter I must complete.

"The Goblin Army seems to be organising their troops. There is a chance a Goblin King has been born on the outskirts of the Drakeyol Kingdom." This piece of information was like a bomb as I stood from my seat. It looks like I'll have to give up any designs I had towards Simon, since he'll still have to fight at the front lines even if he doesn't become my subordinate, and probably die in battle.

"What has His Majesty have planned for us?" A smiled forcefully.

This wasn't a normal threat. A Goblin King was Calamity Level existence that will most likely devastate our armies.

A normal outsider of the Goblin Race would usually be stronger than a normal human, all Demon Level existences, needing someone who has reached the second level of a combat specialty to periodically exterminate them to bring about peace.

A Goblin King on its own would be no more powerful that a Level 3 Martial Swordsman, but once it gets its hands on an army, its danger level increases from Archdemon to Calamity Level.

"Hah... I hope I survive this new wave of monsters." I couldn't help but sigh.

"Master is the strongest in the kingdom. I believe that there will never be a day when our household will fall."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it so stop jinxing our chances. They say those who are overconfident are the first to fall. The meaning behind those words are simple: Always be paranoid and you'll live longer than others." Damian mouth seemed to be twitching at my words but I wasn't ashamed of them.

I wasn't a muscle-head like those other idiotic nobles of this kingdom. I'm a tactician. So my first objective will be to use the most straightforward method of winning Simon over before moving to the preparations for the next war.