Chapter 6: Arrival in Poseidonia

A black carriage passed over the streets of Poseidonia. The people of the bustling port were already used to seeing many luxurious carriages pulled by their well-bred Friesians and Percherons, even more so with the Imperial Swordsmanship Competition being right around the corner, but the beautiful crest of a golden-black rose on the sides snatched all of their attention, as if yanking them by force to look at it and only it.

Such was the prestige of the family of Athenus.

The black horses galloped forward going past the edges of the city to the districts in the eastern ends, the place reserved solely for nobles. The carriage slowed down and turned in front of an enormous mansion in the middle of the district. Giant steel doors opened up and let the carriage inside before it stopped.

One man with graying hair and a completely grayed mustache ran over to the right door of the carriage and opened it before bowing deeply, the tail of his tailcoat dragging to the ground.

"This humble one greets the rising star of Athenus, the sole genius of wizardry and the great master of tact. May the grace of all the gods forever shine upon our great young lord Isaac von Episteme Athenus."

Isaac slowly peeked out of the carriage and stepped down before hopping to the ground. He did not return the greeting, but instead turned back to the carriage and extended his hand. Dainty fingers reached out and clasped Isaac's hand, followed by the hem of a yellow dress cascading down the carriage and to the ground.

Once the young lady with auburn hair was off, Isaac finally turned to the old man bowing. "Raise your head, steward."

The steward complied before turning to the lady and bowing again, "This humble servant greets the lady of house Habsburg."

Seeing the lady nod, the steward raised his head again and turned to Isaac. "Young count," he said. "I have cleared the prime study for your work."

"Great, please guide Annie to her room."

At his words, some of the maids from the lineup rushed to their side, ready to take her away. The other butlers went to the back of the carriage to take care of any luggage.

"Are you not going to rest, Isaac?" Annie asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Not yet," Isaac turned to Annie with a flat face. "You should make yourself home, go anywhere you want. We can have lunch together."

"Understood."

Isaac turned back to the steward and patted his shoulders. "I'll be going to the study. Please get me all major reports of the businesses in the last year."

"Yes, young lord."

"Also… I want to know who all are around in Poseidonia."

"Yes, my lord. I'll bring everything in a moment."

Isaac nodded and walked away from the entrance and toward the mansion. A butler came over to guide him, but Isaac waved him away. He went past the stone-paved floors and to the doors of the mansion. His feet clacked over the marble floorings as he gazed at the many paintings and statues around the enormous reception room.

He climbed over the white stone stairs and went to the first floor of the mansion, to the main study of the estate. It was usually used by the steward, who managed all business proceedings of the family in Poseidonia, but was emptied for his arrival.

As Isaac stepped in, he stopped at the door and gazed all over the place.

First, he walked to the chair and adjusted its position by half an inch. Next, he turned the vases kept on the windowsill ever so slightly, then the curtains, and lastly the books and documents shelved on the sides. Nothing was moved by even an entire inch, but it was necessary. After touching everything around, Isaac placed his attache case on the head desk and opened it up.

He pulled out a set of black gloves that looked the same as the ones he was wearing and changed into them, placing the used ones in a separate section of the case.

As much as he loved magic, cleanliness was second on Isaac's scale. He would end up ignoring everything else while researching or studying, but his obsession with cleanliness at other times was great enough to be at the level of Mysophobia.

A knock sounded on his door as Isaac wrapped up the finishing touches.

"Come in."

The steward came into the door with a box of documents and books in his hands. Following him from the back was a maid dragging a service tray along.

The two of them placed the things inside the room and left the young count alone.

"Haah," Isaac let out a monotonous sigh and plopped down on his chair. The sigh was so bland that one would think it was the work of a human that god forgot to add a soul into, just reciting lines that were decided beforehand. One couldn't be more wrong.

For the stone-cold wizard, even the act of sighing was a more expressive thing than anyone could imagine.

He shook his head and turned to the documents. He was taking a look over the state of the businesses in Poseidonia personally since it was the biggest port in the empire, and it also held a strong repute for being a tourist spot. The hosting of the Imperial Swordsmanship Competition was only going to boost commerce from all ends.

"If it's important, elder sister should have come here herself," Isaac's mutter wasn't to be heard by anyone. Reading and Analyzing the books, planning new ideas and procedures and making the plans and budget to implement them, taking care of expansion, and also cutting off the rotten branches, there was a lot of work to do.

He truly didn't want to.

Then, his eyes landed on the sheet of paper with the names of the important figures in Poseidonia. Who would he have to meet, and who would he have to discuss plans with, who could he account for in whatever changes he would cook up, it was important to use the connections smartly as well.

Merchants, nobles, other counts, famous swordsmen, and wizards.

There, near the bottom of the page, was the name that stopped Isaac's eyes completely.

'Kristine et Kaiser.'

'TherehavetobemeetingsinposeidoniasocantIgoandmeetKristineaswell'

Punctuations were unnecessary!

Another action plan was formed in Isaac's mind in an instant! Why would one wait? Thinking of it now, wooing her from the match alone was impossible, he had barely ever talked with her before!

Like a fiery youth burning with passion, the stone-cold wizard breezed through his work at top speed.