Blake 2, Political Decision

Sebastian came with a tray, he put a mug of black coffee in front of Blake and a mug of Ignatius' new favorite drink in front of him, hoping to help him ease his tension.

After he put the mugs, he stood to Ignatius' right and waited for Blake's reply.

Sebastian has been Ignatius' friend since they were children, and he could easily tell that right now, Ignatius was feeling nervous.

The reason for Ignatius' nervousness was simple;

Blake was one of the most, if not the most himself, aloof person in the Mansion.

Blake communicated solely through letters unless it was to enforce his personal ideology on the Mansion or to admonish a Resident.

His decision to do that wasn't a preference, rather, it was a belief that this was the most efficient way of maintaining the environment he had created.

Yes, he had created.

The entire system of the Mansion was designed by Blake, and because of its unprecedented success rate, many other Dukes bought it, for a great cost of course.

What all of that meant is: If Blake decided to personally come to Ignatius' office, it meant only one of two things.

Either a disaster happened, or a disaster was about to happen.

Blake looked into Ignatius' eyes and spoke calmly

"I come bearing grim news"

The contrast between his tone and his words was astounding.

His tone sounded neutral, uncaring, and apathetic. While his words were carefully chosen to make it seem like he actually cared.

Naturally, neither of the two said anything and they waited for his elaboration, they already expected as much; Blake never brought good news.

Blake pushed a piece of paper to Ignatius and said

"One of the Mansion's strongest assets, Veta, has filed a request for a scholarship"

Ignatius picked up the report and skimmed through it

Blake continued

"Basically, she's saying that she wants to go to the Capital first, and if things work out well, then she hopes to be able to travel to other Kingdoms' Academies as well."

Ignatius skimmed through the entire report in a couple of seconds, then he breathed a sigh of relief

The room's atmosphere relaxed

'If that's it then no big deal'

"I understand that Veta is one of our most valuable talents, but if this is what she wants then it's not that big of an issue, treat it like any other request."

Blake replied in a neutral tone

"That's not the affair"

Instantly after he said that, the atmosphere became heavy again.

Blake continued nonchalantly

"The problem is that she submitted this request shortly after accepting an offer to be Leus Inferno's Tutor"

He pushed another report to Ignatius.

The report had the details of the offer she accepted and a part of her conversation with Leus, specifically the words

("Not as important as what you've given me."

- Said Veta after discovering that Leus has an artificial Affinity for many Elements)

The report was top secret, and only the top elites of the Mansion had access to such information.

After carefully reading the report, Ignatius' expression turned into a grimace.

He carefully read every word and then went back and read the first report again.

In the first report, Veta described why she suddenly wanted the scholarship like this

(The recent events have reignited my aspiration.

I now have an ambition to become better and stronger!

I came to see things that I didn't know existed, which led me to reconsider and reevaluate all the decisions I've made in my life.

Now I believe that not only I can but also that I SHOULD strive to reach higher realms.

With my new views on life, I will aim higher!)

It wasn't difficult to connect the dots, "The recent events" that she spoke about meant only one thing.

'Leus' capabilities'

This was a serious problem.

Leus' powers weren't a secret per se.

What was important was that no Royal should know that he's an S-tier Mage, and that wouldn't be an issue if the information about Leus' power remained inside the Duchy.

Most of the population didn't know about Tiers and how they worked, and the few who knew about Tiers thought that A Tier was the highest Tier.

This meant that normal people would think Leus was just a really strong and talented guy, while those with knowledge would think that Leus was an A-Tier Mage, and that was okay.

The Royals, engrossed in their personal lives, hardly paid attention to such news. Even if some caught wind of it, all they'd hear was something like (Leus: a new talent in Ignatius' Mansion) and that, to Royals, wasn't significant.

Ignatius was a Duke, but he wasn't a unique Duke.

There were around 20 Dukes, and each one of them ruled a Duchey, each Duchey had a City, and each City had a Mansion, and each Mansion had 100s of Talented Individuals.

Leus was just one of those many talents, why would any Royal care about him?

However, all of that would drastically change if a Royal got to know the specifics of Leus' capabilities.

Ignatius took long contemplating the matter, so Blake interrupted his thoughts by saying

"Your Grace, we can't risk it"

Ignatius looked at Blake and didn't reply for a couple of seconds, then he said

"Veta, like all the other Tutors, has signed a non-disclosure agreement. I don't think she'd break it"

Blake explained in a neutral tone

"The contract prevents her from leaking the information, not sharing it for research purposes or with other high-ranking officials.

A Tutor is nothing but a researcher, if she gets to work with the Magic Research department in the Crimson Academy and asks them questions regarding Leus, then she wouldn't be breaking the contract.

Also, even if she doesn't do that, anything could happen any time.

If a Grand Duke decides to investigate her then a Royal Inquisitors won't need her consent to dig through her memories and extract information directly from her brain."

He took a small pause then continued

"It's also not a good idea to create an uncertain future by depending on her loyalty to the contract." 

Ignatius' expression became more solemn, but he didn't say anything.

Blake persuaded him

"I agree that the probability is low, but low is not zero.

There's no need for us to take a risk that could jeopardize the entire Duchy's future just for a single individual.

Don't you agree with me, Your Grace?"

Ignatius looked him in the eye and asked in an agitated tone

"Then what are you suggesting, Blake?"

Blake replied apathetically

"I'm suggesting a Political Decision, Your Grace"

" ... Which is?"

"Your permission to neutralize the threat."