Chapter 219: Hello Again
by“Welcome to my Stronghold, William Oh.” Zodiac said, spreading his arms. “I am Zodiac.”
He wasn’t…quite what Will was expecting.
Wow, Alicia’s dad is ancient.
Zodiac had pristine white robes, deep wrinkles, long hair and beard. His eyes were just regular pale blue, not glowing like his daughter. Maybe in the past he had been blonde, but the color had long since been washed out of his hair by time.
He looked rather gaunt, but intense. Like a man who enjoyed power more than food.
Based on what Will knew about how Resistance slowed the aging process, Zodiac couldn’t have looked much different twenty years ago when Alicia was conceived.
Huh. No accounting for taste, I guess.
“Thank you for having me,” Will said with a bow. “You have a gorgeous Stronghold, and it has been hospitable to us.”
Brianna bowed and murmured agreement.
“It’s the least I could do for the man who actually saved my daughter.”
“Reggie’s taken plenty of hits for her too,” Will said, wincing as soon as he said it, immediately regretting starting their relationship with a disagreement.
“True. Because it is his job.” Zodiac said, waving the subject away as he reached into his robe, coming back with a familiar note.
“Imagine me, mourning my missing daughter, killed by the Wyrd family, her body cast into the sea of clouds below the floating islands of the second Floor, never to be recovered.
“And then one day I get a frozen casket with a poorly written note attached and her body perfectly preserved inside. The loss from resurrection was minimal, just a bit shier than she already was, I’m told.”
Ah, so that’s what that note is. It was the letter Will had sent along with Alicia’s corpse to try and gain favor with Lord Zodiac way back in the day, to hopefully gain allies against the Wyrd Family.
Zodiac glanced down at the note, a single bushy white brow cocked as he scanned the note.
“How’s your penmanship nowadays? Has it improved or do you simply hire others to write for you?”
“It’s improved.” Will said, trying not to blush.
Zodiac gave Will a narrow side-eye that made him feel like a bug pinned to a display case.
“…That’s good.” Zodiac, stroking his beard for a moment.
“You’re young so you’ll probably appreciate candor:”
Will cocked a brow.
“I would very much like to kill Mark Wyrd, the rotten sack of shit that abandoned my daughter’s corpse in an unknown ice cave.”
That could be a problem. Will could imagine the explosive fallout if Zodiac violated the peace accord of his own daughter’s wedding.
“Unfortunately, he’s married to Baron Akul’s niece. Lovely girl. Her pedigree and skill at politics makes her a valuable asset, and her relationship to Luise Akul makes her an effective shield against my wrath. I’ve decided to let that grudge fester for now.”
“So…” what does that have to do with me?
“The Wyrd family and the Akul family have blood ties now. In a generation or two, I could see them allying against me.”
That’s…true. Without the asshole Frederick Wyrd, the two families are on much better terms. Most of the bad blood died with their patriarchs. Mark Wyrd loves Amanda Akul, after all, and she brokered peace between the 7th Floor and the 5th.
“…I heard your plotting with Reginald to abandon the 15th Floor Stronghold and turn my daughter into a breeding sow.”
“I wouldn’t…put it like that.” Will said.
“I would. But, as much as it pains me to admit: It’s better than my plan.” Zodiac said. “I’ve got another hundred years in me easily. I can afford to wait for grandchildren to reach me.”
“On one condition:” Zodiac said, giving Will a piercing stare.
“What’s that?” Will asked.
“Are you familiar with the term ‘marriage of arranged proximity?’”
Will frowned for a moment before shaking his head.
“When you conceive children, I’d like Alicia and Reginald to act as their guardians outside The Tower.”
Brianna turned red.
Will flashed back to the time in the 6th floor where he’d stumbled across two nobles ‘eloping’ with each other after they’d been deliberately raised next door to each other for over a decade, forbidden from interacting with each other but given innumerable opportunities to do so.
“You want to raise my kids next to your grandkids so that some of them marry each other?” Will asked.
It was a far looser contract than arranged marriage. After all, they had no idea of the quantity nor gender of their respective offspring.
It was more like ‘arranged playmates.’
“Have you put any thought into where your children will grow up, William Oh?” Zodiac asked. “I would imagine you would want someone you could trust to watch them, such as…two former Party members who have a great deal of gratitude towards you, both with Advanced Classes, making them godlike outside The Tower. Ideal protectors.”
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Will actually hadn’t put any thought into it.
Reggie and Alicia had strong links to both Will and Zodiac. They could be trusted to watch Will’s kids and could certainly be trusted to watch their own. Zodiac was deliberately carving out a good situation for both of them to establish a dynasty outside of The Tower that could easily link their families together in the next thirty years or so.
The Lord wasn’t lying. He was simply shining a light on an opportunity that could benefit them both and cost them nothing in the attempt.
It was a good deal, but there was still plenty of room for backstabbing.
“If I get final say over the staff that works under Reggie and Alicia.” Will said. The obvious move here was to fill the ranks of the mansions with people loyal to Zodiac, so that if their relationship turned sour, Will’s children could be soft hostages.
Zodiac paused a moment, a glint of amusement in his eye.
“You’re a lot sharper than I expected.”
Naturally, Zodiac was vehemently opposed to allowing Will have complete control over the staff of the proposed split daycare, so the two of them haggled over it for a long while until they found a compromise, where most of the staff was required to be hired locally save for a handful of core staff who were split between the different households.
Composing the staff primarily of civilians and reducing the number of high level Climbers down to a manageable number made everything easier to keep track of, and less volatile. Will and Zodiac would each have a couple representatives who would keep their eyes on each other, and the rest of the staff would be neutral caregivers.
An additional compromise: The representatives of Will and Zodiac could not be higher than level 30, save for their mother. This was proposed by Zodiac to prevent Will from sending Advanced Classers to overpower the two guardians.
Alicia and Reggie’s ‘daycare’ would be funded equally in a lump sum provided by Will and Zodiac, and further support would only be provided upon agreement by both parties.
After a long and tedious haggling session, Will and Zodiac had reached an agreement, and wrapped it up with a contract and a handshake.
Well, I guess I know who my kids will be friends with, Will thought as he grasped the old man’s gnarled hand.
It was a weird feeling, planning out the future in exchange for political capital like that.
Now for the thing I actually wanted.
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