SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant Chapter 531: An Important Meeting [II]

After Darian finished talking, Trafalgar kept silent.

Darian's reference to Icarus’s experimental site hadn’t escaped notice. Far from it. The subject lingered heavily between them, instantly gripping his mind. Should Darian have truly discovered the location, remnants might remain. Notes. Traces. Botched trials. Connections to the intelligent void creature, or even worse, discoveries Icarus made by delving into forbidden realms.

’Hm. Something definitely worth checking out is there.’

He sipped the herbal tea slowly once more, then placed the cup aside.

’But this comes first.’

His eyes shifted back completely to Darian.

"I see," Trafalgar replied. "Thanks for sharing that. I’m intrigued by it, particularly if the intelligent void creature likely survived and fled post-battle." His voice stayed even, yet the following words carried extra gravity. "Show it to me afterward. First, let’s address the conflict of interest."

Darian nodded once. He’d anticipated that response.

"That’s what I figured you’d say."

Trafalgar shot him a brief glance. "Begin at the start."

Darian placed both hands on the table, fingers laced briefly before parting.

"You know the general story already," he stated. "Icarus forced Kaedor into service unwillingly. The Sylvanel suffered heavy losses from it. Sanctuaries got wrecked. Lands took damage. Lives were lost. I’ve made reparations where possible." His jaw clenched a bit. "Or at least, I started to."

Trafalgar stayed silent. He just listened.

Darian went on.

"Reparations no longer suffice for the Sylvanel. They’re leveraging the incident to meddle deeper in our affairs." He paused, picking his words with care. "House Morgain’s stance, however, favors keeping things mostly as they stand."

Trafalgar leaned back a touch.

"So Morgain desires Thal’zar stable, compliant, and productive."

"Yes."

"The Sylvanel demand beyond that."

Darian exhaled softly through his nose. "Far beyond."

Silence fell over the room following those words.

Trafalgar valued how Darian didn’t hurry to fill it. He now spoke with the burden of great responsibility, no longer blurting out details just to ease awkward quiet.

"What precisely do they demand?" Trafalgar inquired.

"Greater access," Darian began. "More influence over appointments. Deeper insight into our assets. Expanded rights to check, examine, authorize, or stall." His face grew sterner as he listed them. "They seek extra concessions past the initial payouts, calling it prudence. Duty. The logical outcome as the house most wounded by Kaedor’s actions."

"And Morgain?"

"They’ve stayed... less intrusive." Darian kept his tone even. "Their position is straightforward: Sustain House Thal’zar. Maintain it viable and orderly. Avoid strangling what’s already secured."

Trafalgar’s fingers drummed the chair arm lightly once.

"The true issue lies with the Sylvanel."

Darian held back a direct reply, yet his pause spoke volumes.

Trafalgar nodded briefly. "As I suspected."

Darian eyed him briefly before adding, "I didn’t summon you to vent."

"I know."

"I brought you here because mishandling this could turn it far nastier." Darian sat upright, tension clear in his frame now. "My allegiance lies with you. Not House Morgain. Not House Sylvanel. With you."

Caelum stood motionless behind Trafalgar.

Still, the atmosphere in the room grew keener after Darian voiced it.

Trafalgar showed no overt approval. He absorbed the words, assessed them, and pressed forward.

"Telling me was right," he said. "Feeling the strain is justified too. The Sylvanel endured severe blows, granting them ethical leverage. Yet ethics and power grabs differ greatly."

Darian’s ears flicked subtly.

"Precisely," he agreed. "Fair requests wouldn’t prompt this talk. But they’re turning Kaedor’s events into an endless gateway."

Trafalgar dropped his eyes a fraction, not dodging Darian, but pondering deeper now.

Currently, House Thal’zar possessed no genuine opportunity to defy openly. The reasons were plain. Excessively frail. Excessively monitored. Excessively reliant on the existing pact. Yet this did not guarantee the pact's eternal hold. Great houses ascended and regained power. Influence reshaped every discussion's nature. When Thal’zar amassed sufficient heft once more, the fetters binding its wrists would lose their aura of permanence.

’For now, endure it he must.’

The notion remained icy and precise.

’Later, once Thal’zar regains its significance, that’s when he begins shattering fragments away.’

He held back from voicing it immediately.

He allowed the chamber a moment to settle.

Darian held his patience.

Caelum held his patience.

Only after a further pause did Trafalgar finally utter words.

"For now, you endure."

Darian showed no recoil, yet the response struck with more force than he desired.

Trafalgar pressed on before any misconception could form.

"I’m not telling you to kneel. I’m telling you to endure. There’s a difference." His tone held steady, nearly parched. "At present, you lack the power to break loose without prompting both houses to clench harder. So you refrain."

Darian absorbed it without a word.

"Permit the Sylvanel to tug. Allow them to believe they’re advancing. Maintain House Thal’zar’s operations, its reconstruction, its accumulation of influence. Silently and with forbearance." Trafalgar’s voice grew firmer slightly. "And once Thal’zar bears enough heft anew, the dialogue shifts."

Darian’s eyes tightened a fraction. "You mean once we’re valuable enough they can’t handle us like an injured animal any longer."

"Yeah."

Trafalgar grasped the cup once more, driven by habit over need.

"When that moment arrives," he stated, "you avoid snapping chains in secrecy. You drag the matter into the open."

Darian remained quiet.

Trafalgar sipped again and proceeded.

"Escalate it to the Council."

Darian’s face altered visibly.

Trafalgar observed and continued without pause.

"Should the Sylvanel overstep boldly, and should Morgain permit it to go too far, the remaining five Great Families will object. Not from concern for you. Avoid illusions." His lips twitched slightly, devoid of any real smile. "They’ll push back because they refuse to allow two houses to grow accustomed to dictating a third’s destiny at whim."

Darian eased back a touch.

"I understand."

"Good."

He placed the cup aside.

"For now, avoid sparking a clash you cannot triumph in. Maintain your defenses. Offer just sufficient to dodge retribution, yet complicate their efforts. Allow the Sylvanel to exhaust themselves battering your resolve." His voice stayed even, yet a sharper chill lurked beneath, one Darian knew intimately. "For minor requests, proceed leisurely. For greater entry, bury them in red tape. For vital matters, force them to expose it publicly."

Darian observed him intently.

"And if they demand beyond their due?"

"Then they receive zilch."

The reply landed starkly, brooking no evasion.

A subtle hush ensued.

Caelum shattered it at last, his tone sleek and ceremonial as ever.

"I concur with the Young Master."

Darian’s focus flicked to him momentarily.

Caelum went on, "In your present position, outright rebellion proves squanderous. Measured postponement yields superior results. Particularly versus foes convinced their righteous fury grants endless entry."

That remark drew the slightest quirk at Trafalgar’s lip edge.

Darian breathed out deliberately via his nostrils.

"Thus, that stands as your counsel."

"For now," Trafalgar replied.

Darian inclined his head once. Not from approval, but from comprehension.

For the instant, it sufficed.

And amid the ensuing quiet, Trafalgar repeated his initial tactic precisely.