Ambition and Greed

"How many have died due to ambition and greed."

"Ten, hundreds, thousands, millions."

"Yes, millions have died for these two dastardly emotions."

"These two emotions that are as powerful and prevalent in sentient beings as kindness, benevolence and forgiveness."

"No amount of wealth, power, or upbringing can stop these from manifesting."

"It is in our nature."

"Our nature as sentient beings."

"For a wealthy man may aspire for more money despite having enough to live, a noble man living in a mansion may aspire for more power, showing that status cannot stop these emotions."

"In fact, in many cases, those with wealth and power are the most selfish of all."

Reginald Coulan, creator and head of House Aurellion in Dynasties Online.

….

In the garden of a mansion, a man was sitting on a chair overlooking a small lake whose surface reflects the sun's rays, the clear water glistening like gold as a small waterfall crashed a few meters away, giving a constant supply of water for the artificially made lake as the man enjoyed the peaceful sounds of nature as he was interrupted by his loyal butler.

"Sir, I regret to inform you of this, but…."

The butler sighed, taking a deep breath before he continued to give his master bad news that he knew would go down as well as a ton of bricks.

"It appears your brother Declan and his daughters have found someone with considerable backing to take them in."

The butler said firmly as the man looked at him with a concerned, curious gaze, surprised that his brother's fortunes could change so quickly overnight after his abrupt fall.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Is Declan a bloody cockroach who refuses to die?"

"How can he have as many lives as a fucking cat?"

The finely dressed man said, gritting his teeth.

"I thought that no one of high-status recruits from Depravia. Did we accidentally force them to the wrong place, or has a nobleman from the lower classes and less prejudiced against people from there suddenly come into power in the past few months?"

The sitting man sneered, his golden silk robes blowing slightly in the breeze as he sat and fished in the pond, the once stable hands holding his fishing rod shaking slightly to show the whirlwind of emotions he was feeling. The man had been having a very enjoyable and relaxing day until this news came. 

This was the worst news for him, worse even than someone declaring war against Nathia, as at least then he could profit from it because, as a businessman, he was more than happy to work with any nation as long as the profits were good enough, so serving one lord or nation or another meant little to him.

His talented older brother, a man he had spent so much time and effort into suppressing, had actually managed to make a comeback, and only a few months after going broke at that!

Even though he had usurped his brother's position, he did not deny that Declan was talented. After all, if he weren't, then the Golden Goods Merchant Group would not be anywhere near as rich or influential as it is today.

Not only was his brother a skilled fighter, but an intelligent, shrewd negotiator as well, making him the perfect candidate to do international trade in a time when pirates and bandits were rampant.

Considering that Nathia has been peaceful for the past eight years, the man knew that it was almost impossible for any new nobles from the lower classes to appear as they usually gain their titles through great military exploits instead of through politics, where it is much easier to achieve a position through connections.

Even if a noble did appear, even those who joined the army from the lower classes looked down on people from Depravia and would look for skilled subordinates elsewhere, so to find out that a noble who did not have these prejudiced views existed was quite a shock to Amos.

This had a lot to do with the policy that Ranier Lantier, the great general and marshal of Nathia, had towards the military, which focused more on merit than background or upbringing. Because of this, compared to the militaries of other nations over the 20-odd years he had been in command of the Nathian forces at Nartook Fortress, which houses the bulk of the royal army, he had turned it from a cesspit of corruption and weakness into the greatest fighting force in Nathia, able to go toe to toe with the best that Chavaria has to offer.

Since the death of Lucius Aurellion and the resignation and execution of many of the old Chavarian general's talented subordinates decimating the command structure of the imperial army, Nathia has the advantage when it comes to the skill of their military officers as the old minister of war was the only remaining grandmaster strategist in Chavaria, whom many even in the newly born empire have forgotten about.

Only the oldest foxes in the Chavarian nobility remembered just how terrifying this man's military talent was to the point that it even eclipsed Drusus Dardinus' the man who had destroyed two powerful kingdoms to create the great empire of today.

Almost all of the old minister of war's disciples had either been murdered, executed or died in battle, each of them sacrificing their blood, sweat, tears, and even their lives to form the empire that, in the end, turned its back on many of its own heroes treating them as traitors for one reason or another.

They even tried to exterminate the family of a loyal general and noble because of political strife within the Chavarian imperial family itself. By now, it was common knowledge that one member of House Aurellion escaped. However, many people had forgotten about this fallen house, which seemed to have disappeared from the world, even if the information about their escape was out there for anyone to inquire about.

"Do they know how he was kicked out of his former job and are not afraid of the backlash?"

"How could a member of Declan's family, who is in debt hundreds of gold to the bank, suddenly be made the manager of a new company? Are there people willing to do such a thing just to recruit someone and his family?"

The man asked, visibly frustrated by the news as Amos Hostod Declan Hostod's brother did not spend so much effort taking over the Golden Goods Merchant Group and suppressing his brother to the point where he could not fight back only for him to rise again with this mysterious new backer.

It would be one thing if Declan had been looking for work, but he had not; instead, it was this Quinten fellow who appeared to have sought him out, even willing to pay off a debt to obtain him.

How many merchants were willing to do that? Sacrifice much of what little money they had in the startup phases of their business to spend on such an extravagant expense.

Not even Amos was confident he would do such a thing, as 500 gold was no small amount of money, as you could buy a few carts' worth of goods with that! For a new up-and-coming merchant group, such money was like their lifeline that could be used as a buffer to help deal with many of the unexpected expenses that occurred whilst being a merchant.

Even if Amos now held legal ownership over his brother's old merchant group, who could say that his descendants would not use similar despicable means to take it back?

They were of the same bloodline, so even if Declan were the disgraced old head, his children and their descendants would still have a claim over the merchant group, one which, in theory, was better even than his own, worrying Amos, who was concerned about his position and losing everything he fought so hard for!

If the corrupt government officials and nobles he bribed could help him take over the merchant group, then they could also be bribed by his brother or his descendants to take it back!

"I don't know, sir, but it has really happened. Even their debts have been paid in full by this new employer of theirs, so I expect he knows and hired them anyway despite knowing who they were going up against. The young mis- sorry Kaila Declan's daughter has taken up the general manager position for a new company known as Quintens Quality Wares."

"It is a company that has been registered for less than a month, and it seems the owner has given Kaila significant authority and autonomy in this role. But, apart from taking in the old caravan master's family, this company appears to have made no moves that could be considered high profile or outstanding in any respect."

"Apparently, the owner of this company is a young man named Quinten Amberguard. From what we know, he used to be a rather eccentric student of a dojo set up a few years ago in Detarnor by a Master Zhou, he is a respected master fighter who has refused invitations from many nobles and even the crown prince himself."

"But apart from that, we only know of him registering himself and nothing else. By all accounts, he is a ghost, even instructing everyone that the young mi- sorry Kaila was to be treated as if she were himself with all the power and responsibilities that come with it.

The butler said he had served the Hostod family for 10 years and was intimately familiar with all its members, including the old master of the merchant group, Declan, and his children. The butler was one of the few not won over by Amos and only serves him now because he is the master of the Golden Goods Merchant Group and head of the house, just as he loyally served the last one.

The moment the upper echelons of the Golden Goods Merchant Group found that someone was taking out their spies around Declan and that he had somehow found a mysterious backer, the higher-ups in the group, knowing how important Amos' brothers' situation was to the new merchant group leader, immediately began investigating the mysterious backer's background.

They were shocked to find that a seemingly young man with no apparent backing apart from some money loaned to him by a friend would be so bold as to go against a powerful Golden Goods Merchant Group.

Either he was an arrogant person who did not understand the ways of the world or had a hidden background and backing that was powerful enough to protect him. The main problem was trying to find out which was true.

The other problem was that there was really too little information on this mysterious, eccentric person. The only information that their spies could gather was that he had appeared in Nathia 8 years ago in Detarnor under the guardianship of the dojo master, Master Zhou, and, despite receiving personal tutelage from the master fighter, remained an average swordsman at best.

He then left his guardian upon turning 18, who didn't seem to care what he did, which puzzled some people, and apart from tracking him down by looking into what he had registered where he just seemed to disappear from the pages of history!

'This Quinten guy…. He is just too good at hiding! So if I can't deal with him directly, then….'

Amos thought, his eyes shining with a violent light as he made what seemed to him to be the most natural decision.

The decision was simple.

Use whatever means possible to stop Declan from rising again!

And if Amos could not find or make a deal with this Quinten person to fire Kaila and abandon Declan's family, then the only thing he could do was kill this threat to his position of power!

"Do we know their trajectory and the route which they are taking?"

Amos asked coldly.

"Yes sir, we do. It looks like they are planning to go through the Duchy of Detarnor and begin to trade in the kingdom's south. Though this still needs to be confirmed, it is the logical choice as the south of the kingdom creates many products that are in high demand in other areas, especially the royal capital."

"They are likely trying to keep their activities to territories which are safer and less infested with bandits, so they do not have to buy as much security for their journey."

The butler said respectfully, sighing slightly in his heart as he knew what the merchant group master would order next, but even so, he steeled his heart to give the rely the order as even if he did, someone would.

"Their number?"

Amos asked, wanting to know how many guards this company had hired to protect the caravan.

"10 under a captain named Octavio Borgia. This will be the first job he and his men will undertake."

The butler replied that even if he were hesitant, he had to do his duty; otherwise, he would find the next assassin coming for his head instead of Declans, and who knows, maybe his new employer has the power to protect him.

"Send for a mercenary group to attack them on the road, but make sure they do it in Detarnor and not in the royal lands, as the last thing we need is the royal family sticking their noses into this."

"From what I know, that crown prince is not someone to be underestimated. Who knows what he will do to retaliate if we make trouble in his backyard?"

Amos said even though he was a merchant and had no loyalty to a nation like the Kingdom of Nathia as even he was aware that it was not a wise choice to do such things on royal lands as while kings may ignore the goings on in the territories of their vassals to a point, they are much more vigilant and ruthless on trouble in their own lands which they want to keep safe and prosperous.

Amos was also rightly afraid of the power the Nathian royal family held when dealing with a merchant like him. He was like an ant to them that they could squash at any moment, so the worst thing he could do was provoke the foot that could eradicate him with one stomp.

"Oh, and make sure to contact an assassin guild to send an assassin as well. They are to target Declan and his family. If we are going to do this, we might as well be thorough."

"An expert should be enough to deal with this problem, and we really cannot afford a master one right now as they can cost 5x more than an expert."

Amos added coldly as an afterthought, not wanting to take any chances. Even if the 10 guards somehow managed to protect them from the mercenary group he would send after them, they could distract them long enough for the assassin to sneak and complete the mission.

"Yes, sir, I will deliver your orders immediately."

The butler said he could only secretly hope that a patrol would appear on the safe roads of Detarnor to help Declan out.

Now, more will die.

All for one man's ambition and greed.