"Henrik, what is your goal?"

Russell stared seriously at the man whom he called a friend and a partner.

The atmosphere in the study had become tense as it seemed like an eruption would occur at any moment.

Being one level weaker than Russell, Henrik could feel a wave of pressure crashing into him but it wasn't serious. Rather, it was the underlying meaning behind Russell's question that got his attention.

It was clear that if he wasn't satisfied with the response, Russell might break off their relationship right away. There was even a small but unlikely chance that Russell would attack him.

The reason why Henrik felt this way was because he understood Russell very well.

Despite being the leader of a top four family, Russell was a somewhat emotional man. He cared for those around him like his family and wouldn't mind breaking down mountains and fortresses if any of them were hurt. But apart from that, Russell cared for the city.

Love this story? Show your support on M9VLEMPYR.

Baylands City had a history of six hundred years, but the city-state was only five hundred years old. Although the Mertens family reign as a top four family had only been a bit above fifty years, their ancestry could be tracked to three hundred years ago. However, they weren't one with deep heritage or power back then, and just a regular household.

Along the lines, a Mertens ancestor who was talented in business came to be, and so the family's status rose a bit. It took one hundred years of growth before they could compete for the top four family title.

Because of the sweat, blood and tears that the family's ancestors had sacrificed to come this far, Russell treasured the family above all things. But his heart was also for the city that acted as the foundation for them; the city and its people.

Unlike the Bergs, Dufours, and the Oder families who had been in power for over one hundred years, families whose legacies stretched for two hundred years or more, the Mertens started from the bottom. Even though one hundred and fifty years had gone by since that legendary ancestor took the first step, the Mertens never forgot their roots.

It was this mentality that made them not to take their status for granted and prevented them from losing their position before the Ross family's path to ascension.

Their root was in the city, and to sustain themselves, they had to ensure that their root wasn't destroyed. This was why Russell cared about the city and its people.

The Bergs could retreat at any time as they had close relationships with a powerful faction in the Bernin continent. The Dufours were the same. Even the Oder family could track its ancestry back to the Bernin continent. But the Mertens could not. And so, anything that threatened the peace and stability of the city could not be tolerated by Russell.

"What is my goal? My goal is the same as yours." Henrik finally answered him with a look of determination on his face.

Even in the midst of Russell's aura that superseded his, Henrik was unwilling to back down.

"The current situation is imbalanced. Although I understand that the Oklo Dynasty grants freedom of government to every city-state on the account that they rule with justice and fairness to the people, what we have is by no means a just or fair government."

Russell didn't say a word, but the pressure in the room had dropped.

"Sixty representatives, despite that, only twenty truly represent the people's will. Is that justice?

"The indemnity of the city lord's position is justifiable, but can we say the same about the top four families?

"Murder is illegal but the truth is that anyone of these families could walk into a town, commit a slaughter and go scot-free. Where is the justice the people were promised?!

"We've left terrorists to walk into the city, simply because we want to play out our ploys and schemes. But what about the people? What about the sacrifices made for those schemes? The families hurt, the lives lost, the children turned orphans? What can we say to them? Have we bothered to atone for our actions?!"

By this time, the pressure being exuded from Russell was nowhere to be found; same as the answer to Henrik's questions.

Indeed. Was this a just and fair government?

The Oklo Dynasty could stretch to every region, but the emperor couldn't rule all at once. So, they made proxies do the ruling in their place, but allowed those regions to decide the proxies. This was on the account that they ruled with fairness to the people and loyalty to the Dynasty.

However, in a place such as Baylands city-state, where the Bergs and the Dufours —families with ties to the Bernin continent and even the Oklo Dynasty— existed, it was easy for them to blind the emperor's sight to some extent. Baylands city-state was also not a special region that required much attention, so the two families were able to prop themselves up and change the rules to benefit them.

Two generations of city lords from the Bergs family and one from the Dufours, was enough to make this change. And with both families strongly entrenched in the top four rankings, it was difficult to change the rules unless one became the city lord. But doing so without their support was also very difficult.

Noah was a unique exception that might not even be deemed as one because in the end, he was a Bergs. It was his bloodline that tore the Bergs' family's support in half and with the help of Russell, won him the seat. However in the end, it was still counted as a Bergs victory, marking their third generation of city lord enthronement.

From this, one could see that the corruption was deep and rooted into the system. Unless the two families were wiped out, it would be hard to restore order to the city-state.

"Then what do you suggest? What truly is your goal?" Russell asked again, but this time, with no form of coercion.

"My goal? It's very simple, really." Henrik said.

With his gaze still maintained towards Russell, he continued,

"I plan to unseat Noah from the city lord's position and take his place."