Despite all the favors Marico and the Windsor family received from Zach, Marico was still doubtful about whether or not to marry his daughter off to him.

The reason for this was again Zach’s terrifying potential. His strength turned out to be far more than he had initially displayed. It was enough to break down the sanity of any living human in existence. And Marico wasn’t an exception to this as well.

A monster capable of raining down meteors from the sky wasn’t someone who could still be considered to be among the realm of the living. He was either a devil from hell or a god from the heavens out to play in the human world.

Marico had first met Zach when the latter was still in the process of finding a home for himself and his family. He had been on the run from the royal family, but he had potential. Therefore, Marico earned his favor by giving him a place to live and helping him acquire Greenland.

In return Zach had done so much more for him over the period of time. It had only been a few months, but the changes experienced by the Windsor family were far too much. They had gone from the top four of the families to the topmost family in the city. All of this was because of Zach, there was no doubt about it.

But the fact that pinched Marico was that the Smith family he had sheltered ended up becoming even more terrifying. They had the strength to fight against any army based on their technological advantage and had a monster like Zach to lead them into battle.

From what he had heard, Zach was even planning to strengthen the Smith family even more after what happened with Christina.

Therefore, marrying Clara to Zach was akin to annexing his Windsor family to the more formidable Smith family. The alliance between the two families would become a merger with the Smith family gulping down the Windsor family.

Either the Windsor family would end up becoming lapdogs of the Smith family or they would have to live under the shadow of the much more formidable Smith family for the rest of their lives.

Therefore, the relationship he had painstakingly built with Zach was like a thorn in his side. He had long since wanted to break off the engagement, but he was afraid of his daughter’s retaliation. The latter was far more impulsive and didn’t have it in her to keep the greater good in sight. He was afraid that Clara would end up breaking ties with her family for Zach if he forced the issue.

As such he had waited all this time for a suitable reason. Only when Princess Candice approached him and instructed him to dissolve the engagement between Zach and Clara did he heave a sigh of relief. She had asked him to do something he wanted more than she did.

Despite what he had told his daughter, Candice hadn’t just childishly ordered him to break off a long-standing engagement for no reason. She had stated her reasons clearly and they had to do with the balancing of the city economy.

Candice had hurried over to Byzantium city after the mayhem caused by Zach to stabilize the tilting economy of the city by strengthening its foundations and to favor trade and business activities to fill the capital gap left behind by the Hunter family.

Zach represented the most powerful force in the entire city. Even without the support of his family, Zach was practically a force of nature, a walking disaster in human disguise. No force in the city could stand against him if he decided to act. The only thing the Smith family was lacking was the business foundation to grasp the economic lifeline of the city. Thanks to that, the other families could still be called the three great families of Byzantium city without feeling ashamed.

What would happen if two of these three families decided to build an alliance?

Probably it wouldn’t matter much because there was a monster like Zach to deter them from going overboard.

But what if the two families allying with each other were the two topmost families in their respective fields of expertise that is the Smith family with their technological expertise and formidable battle strength and the Windsor family with their widespread business network.

That would be reason enough for Princess Candice to interfere.

She wouldn’t want the whole city to be monopolized by the two families as it would break the balance that she was trying to maintain.

Understanding the logic behind her interference, Marico went along with it and portrayed his heartfelt request as an order from the royal family to insinuate that he was being forced to do so. This allowed him to break off her engagement without earning her ire directly.

Of course, Marico wasn’t resistant to the relationship between Zach and Clara at all. He only wanted to prevent the possibility of marriage between the two, which could threaten the independence of the Windsor family.

Fortunately for him, the princess had the same thoughts which allowed him to use her as a borrowed knife to dismember any possibility of marriage between Zach and Clara.

Therefore, he wouldn’t stop Clara from continuing her relationship with Zach due to her stubborn nature. He wouldn’t even mind if they engaged in a carnal relationship as long as they didn’t try to make their relationship legal.

After all, her relationship with Zach had brought the Windsor family countless benefits and it wasn’t as if he hated Zach to begin with.

Zach was undoubtedly an impressive man, a rare breed that attracted admiration and affection from many women. He possessed that magnetic charisma that effortlessly drew people towards him. It was as if he had an invisible aura, a siren’s call that tugged at hearts, causing them to flutter in his presence.

Fine men like him, with their captivating smiles and confident strides, seemed to naturally elicit the attention of the fairer sex. Their mere presence could light up a room, turning heads and stirring emotions. They were the kind who could make hearts skip a beat with a gentle glance, leaving a lingering imprint long after they had moved on.

Since times immemorial, capable men had the privilege of having three wives and four concubines. Most of the emperors had hundreds of women in their harem just because they were capable enough to hold on to their affection.

Therefore, Marico didn’t mind that his daughter would only be one of his women. Marico was a man of discernment, well aware of the dynamics at play. He had long realized that his daughter, Clara, would be one of many in Zach’s life, considering the charismatic aura that surrounded him. When he had set up this engagement, he had foreseen such a situation. 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥.

It was no cause for distress now. He would allow them to carry on as they pleased, intervening only when circumstances demanded it.

His daughter’s happiness was paramount, and if Zach played a part in it, then so be it. For now, he would observe, waiting for the right moment to steer things in the desired direction.

…

Candice was settling into her new role perfectly.

Her style of politics lacked the flair that is usually associated with politicians as they used flowery words and tempting promises to delude their audience into believing in them even if their treachery was out in the open for everyone to see.

Unlike them, Candice didn’t believe in using words. She was a woman of action and believed in doing things her own way.

Candice navigated the political landscape like a skilled mountaineer, ascending a treacherous peak with careful steps, securing her footing on the most unstable rocks, always looking ahead to find the safest path.

Her approach to politics was akin to that of a shrewd gardener, planting seeds of influence, carefully tending to them as they sprouted, and reaping the harvest when the time was right.

In the grand theater of politics, she didn’t like to play the role of the lead actress who could captivate the audience with her poise and eloquence. Instead, she liked to pull strings from the sidelines while acting like a minor character that was unable to draw any attention from the audience.

Her methods were not only effective but also secretive like a dark hand behind the curtain affecting every action of those around it, a master puppeteer influencing the actions of its puppets with masterful movements of his fingers.

Even though she was quite young, there was a reason why she was able to outsmart those who had been in the circle longer than her.

The reason was that she had been involved in politics since the moment she was born. The struggles of being a member of the royal family were unimaginable to common folk.

Born into the royal family, she was privy to the shadows that danced behind the grand facade of royalty. It was akin to being a jewel, captivating to the eyes but held captive in a gilded cage.

The expectations and demands were like invisible chains, binding her to a destiny that was chosen for her before she could even speak.

The whispers in the palace corridors were like haunting echoes, a constant reminder of the secrets and plots that lurked in the corridors of power.

She had to navigate through those murky waters, where alliances were like shifting sands, and trust was a fragile ember in the darkness, easily extinguished by a single breath of betrayal.