Release That Succubus

With a sudden 'Shiiiing~', the tip of the sword came within centimeters of piercing his neck. The guards had grown tired of his constant arrogance and reliance on the power of the Sosis family.

Without hesitation, they drew their swords and pointed them towards the courier, ready to strike if necessary. The courier's bravado quickly faded in the face of their determination, realizing he had underestimated the guards' loyalty and dedication to their own family.

It became clear that the current Luther family would not be intimidated or swayed by the Sosis family's influence, and that the courier would need to approach this situation with a more diplomatic approach in order to achieve his goal.

The courier's composure faltered in that moment, as he struggled to comprehend how the supposedly weaker Luther family could dare to defy a message from the mighty Sosis family. He now faced the unrelenting determination of the guards, who were resolute in their defense of their family's honor.

As it turned out, Frederick had not specifically ordered the courier to deliver the message directly to Bruce, but rather to the Luther family as a whole.

It was the courier's own sense of superiority and inflated ego that had led him to behave arrogantly towards the guards, underestimating their loyalty to their own family and the extent of their power.

The courier realized too late that he had made a grave mistake and would need to approach the situation with greater care and respect.

The guard who had gone inside to seek permission from the family head spoke in a loud and assertive tone, leaving no room for ambiguity. "Leave the letter with us and we will make sure it reaches the head of our family," he announced.

The courier, however, was determined to save face for himself and his prestigious Sosis family, and tried to put up a tough front. He could not bear the thought of being humiliated by the lowly guards of the Luther family.

Despite the growing tension, he refused to back down and hand over the letter without a fight.

As the tension escalated and the guard of the Luther family grew more aggressive, the courier could no longer hold on to his fantasies of grandeur and power.

Fearful for his safety, he quickly handed over the letter meant for Bruce and retreated from the scene.

Bruce wasted no time in examining the contents of the letter, and read it out loud for Zach to hear as well.

After Zach had taken in Diana, he had already become the greatest stakeholder in this situation following Bruce and Diana. The three of them poured over the letter, weighing the implications of its contents and strategizing their next move.

Bruce felt that he had the right to know what the Sosis family was planning on doing to him and the Luther family. He couldn't afford to be caught off guard in this situation. Moreover, Bruce knew that Zach's input would be invaluable in determining the way forward.

Ever since he had spread the rumors regarding Diana and Zach in the city, Bruce had burnt all his bridges and had no one else he could rely on.

"What do you think?" Bruce folded the letter once again and threw it on the table as he sought Zach's opinion regarding the condemnation letter that Frederick had sent him.

"It's exactly as I expected. The assassination attempt that failed yesterday was made by the Sosis family it seems." Zach smiled as if he had found something interesting out of nowhere.

"What do you mean? How can you be sure about that?" asked Bruce slightly unsure as to how Zach came to such a conclusion.

"Can't you see? He could not be more obvious about it. The condemnation letter arrived the very next day after the assassination attempt failed. The head of the Sosis family is acting like a child who had his toy broken by the neighborhood kid. His over inflated ego has gotten hurt. And now he wants to retaliate using the power difference between the two families."

Bruce finally understood the reason behind the sudden outburst of the Sosis family head even though the man had kept his calm despite the rumors floating around the city about the future daughter in law of the Sosis family.

"If that old man intends to visit us, should we prepare something for him?" Bruce asked as he began to ponder about the intentions of the nefarious old man in coming over to his home. If it was basic threats, he could have directly threatened him in the letter. But since he had not done so, there was a possibility that Frederick had something else in mind.

As soon as that thought appeared in his mind, Bruce looked at Zach and as if everything clicked into place, Bruce figured out the possible reason for the sudden interest of the Sosis family head.

"No need to prepare anything at all. He won't be coming over." Zach replied with a confident smile as he looked out the window in the direction of the Sosis family residence.

"How can you say that? If he wasn't coming over, why would he send us this letter? Are you implying that this is some sort of diversionary tactic or an attempt to deceive us?" Bruce simultaneously asked a lot of questions that were born out of his concerns regarding the implications of such an action.

"Think about it a bit. If we let him come over and welcomed him after receiving this kind of letter, won't we appear to be too passive and weak in front of the masses? The weak are always in the wrong and the initiative of the Sosis family will emphasize exactly that…our weakness."

"I am assuming that you have something else planned then?" Bruce asked hopefully, his eyes shining like stars.

"Of course I do. We are going to make it so that the Sosis family head has no need or reason to come over here." Zach smirked with a smug expression that was a clear indication of his arrogance and undying confidence.

"Don't tell me that you want to get rid of that old man. Although, that old man is very old, he is still one of the most powerful mages in the entire city. It won't be as easy as it looks on the surface." Bruce spoke of his own reservations regarding Zach's plans.

"Don't worry I won't. I am not delusional. Even thought that family deserves it, I won't take such drastic measures if I don't have to. We need to maintain the weak image of your family in front of the other families just so we can have an element of surprise should we decide to take action against someone in future. For now though, I am only planning to snatch the initiative from the Sosis family. I will visit him before he can come to visit us in the mansion." Zach revealed his intention to visit the Sosis family head in front of Bruce which left him dumbfounded.

Bruce was caught off guard as Zach's intentions surprised him a little. He had not expected that Zach would opt for such a solution to this problem. It had to be known that dark mages usually avoided such confrontations like they were the plague.

Usually they were beings with paranoid brains and severe maniacal tendencies that caused them to act impulsively and irrationally. Maybe it was the result of staying away from society for a long time but Zach was different.

Zach wasn't impulsive at all. He calculated each move with precision and followed his plans to the end meticulously. His analysis of the situation was on point and even the solution that he had charted out was the best course of action for the Luther family considering the fact that the most probable reason for Frederick's visit was him.

"I won't stop you if you have already thought this far out. But try to negotiate if possible to get my sister out of this forced engagement." Bruce acquiesced to Zach's plans and gave his blessing to him.

"I will try to do that as long as they don't provoke me." Zach got up from his seat as he rose up from his seat overlooking the window and walked out of the room.

Returning to the room, Zach found Luna who was lounging around in bed even though it was already noon.

Feeling sorry that he might have overdone it last night, Zach approached the sleeping demon and lay down beside her and hugged her close.

It was not long before the two of them awakened with a refreshed countenance.

"Get ready, we need to go somewhere." Zach pushed away the cover covering both of them as he awakened feeling like a corpse coming back to life.

Luna didn't ask the when and why as her master's order was nothing less than god's decree for her. She pushed the cover away using her legs as if she was unwilling to part with her bed but had no choice.

In the evening, Zach took Luna with him as he called on the Sosis family head exactly one day ahead of the day that Frederick had planned on visiting the Luther family according to the letter received by Bruce.

It was the first time that Zach had seen the Sosis family mansion even from afar and that surprised him a little but he didn't let that show on his face otherwise he would have looked like a country bumpkin who had never seen anything good in his life.

Since, he was representing the Luther family at the moment; he had to rein in his impulse to show his surprise at the grand scale that these families built their homes.