"Thank you."

"Sure. But things won’t go as smoothly as you’re hoping," the Skull Principal remarked indifferently.

It was obvious to him what the family head was thinking, as clear as reading an open book.  

Likely the same thoughts shared by a handful of ambitious figures across the Empire:  

- *I’ll ally with the Wardanaz family, the strongest magical family in the Empire, and gain a foothold ahead of everyone else in the power struggle!*  

Such ambitions were commonplace among families with even a shred of ambition, so it wasn’t surprising.  

Every family in the Empire …