Chapter 271: 271: An Offer Between Enemies II

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Ned pushed Fartray away.

Fartray adjusted his coat slowly.

"But outside the academy," he continued, "things can happen."

Ned turned his back and walked toward the window.

Fartray could see that the anger in him was changing. It was becoming colder and more controlled.

"What do you want?" Ned asked.

Fartray smiled again.

"I want John removed. I want Fizz Holdings weakened. I want the secret behind the rare mana tools."

Ned looked at him over one shoulder. "You think John will hand that over before dying?"

"No. That is why he should not die immediately."

Ned's eyes narrowed.

Fartray walked toward the table and poured himself water without asking permission.

"We draw him outside the academy. We separate him from teachers and guards. My people surround him. We force him to tell us what he knows. After that, you can kill him yourself if it makes you feel better."

Ned stared at him.

Fartray took a drink.

"You have men," Ned said. "Why do you need me?"

"Because John is not as weak as he looks. He defeated you."

The glass in Ned's hand cracked.

Fartray ignored it.

"He has Fizz. He has void magic. He may have hidden protection from Snake. I will arrange the trap, but I want your followers to make sure no one from the White family interferes. If the academy sends someone, you delay them. If John escapes the first attack, you finish him."

Ned's expression became thoughtful.

Fartray could almost see the plan forming in his mind.

Ned did not want to stand beside Fartray openly. He did not want his family connected to the murder. However, he wanted John dead badly enough to consider any path.

Fartray placed the empty glass down.

"You can remain hidden," he said. "You do not need to appear unless necessary."

Ned looked toward the cracked glass in his hand.

"You will arrange everything."

"Yes."

"You will take the blame if something fails."

Fartray's smile weakened slightly. "It will not fail."

Ned turned fully toward him.

"That is not what I asked."

Fartray understood.

Ned wanted distance. He wanted John dead, but he did not want anyone to prove he helped.

Fartray nodded. "The Aqua family will have no official involvement. The men will be hired through independent groups. The message that draws him out will not carry your name."

Ned placed the cracked glass on the table.

"And if John defeats your men?"

Fartray's jaw tightened. "He will not."

Ned gave him a cold look.

"You sound like I did yesterday."

Fartray's face darkened, but he forced himself not to react.

Ned walked closer.

"I will watch," he said. "I will not fight beside your men. I will not send White guards. If John becomes weak enough, I may act."

Fartray did not like the word may.

He had expected stronger support.

Still, it was enough.

"You will stop him if he tries to escape."

Ned did not answer directly.

Fartray studied him and understood something important. Ned was not agreeing because he trusted Fartray. He was agreeing because he wanted John injured first. He planned to let Fartray's men do the dangerous work, then take the final victory.

Fartray did not care.

If John died, revenge would be complete. If John revealed the gun secret first, the profit would be even better.

Ned moved toward the door and opened it.

"Our conversation is over."

Fartray did not leave immediately.

"One more thing."

Ned waited.

"If John dies, people may ask questions."

Ned's expression did not change. "Then make sure the body is never found."

Fartray's smile returned.

Now they understood each other.

Fartray walked out of the room and returned to his carriage. During the ride back, he began planning the trap in greater detail. John would not leave the academy for a random message. He was too careful for that. The reason had to be strong enough to force him to move quickly.

Fizz Holdings was the obvious choice.

John trusted Gael, Orna, Kel, and Edda. If he believed one of them was in danger, he would come.

Fartray needed a message with enough private details to look real.

He had spies near the shop already. One of them could steal a seal or copy Gael's writing. Another could learn the back entrance, the staff schedule, and the names of current suppliers.

Fartray leaned back in the carriage.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.

John would come.

Then Fartray would take everything from him.

While Fartray and Ned built their plan, John spent the afternoon inside Heart Magic Academy.

The fight from the previous day had changed the way students treated him. Before, people watched him because of his strange magic and because Fizz was impossible to ignore. Now they watched him because he had been revealed as a lost son of the White family.

Some students moved out of his path.

Others tried to get closer.

A few noble students greeted him for the first time, acting as if they had always respected him. John recognized the false smiles immediately.

Fizz recognized them too, but he enjoyed making them uncomfortable.

A tall student from a merchant family approached John near the elemental hall and smiled.

"John, I heard your family situation is complicated."

John continued walking. "It is not your concern."

The student kept pace with him. "Of course. I only wanted to say that my family respects talented people, no matter where they were born."

Fizz floated closer to the student's face.

"Yesterday you called him a dirt mage."

The student stopped smiling.

"I never said that."

Fizz tilted his head. "You said, 'That dirt mage thinks he is special because his magic is black.' You were holding a green cup. Your left shoe had mud on it. You smelled like bad soap."

Several nearby students laughed.

The merchant student's face became red.

John did not stop walking.

Fizz followed him proudly.

"I remember important things."

"You remember insults," John said.

"Insults are important."

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