A confidential conversation between two influential people...

Two men dressed in formal suits leave, accompanied by several footmen who obligingly open doors leading somewhere into the distant corridors of the mansion.

The path along the marble steps of the grand staircase leading to the upper floor...

A long corridor, on the walls of which portraits in gilded frames hang...

The door of the office...

So, in the luxurious office of Patrick Sullivan, among the patterned mahogany furniture, a conversation between two men takes place.

And this conversation is strictly confidential - all the servants were **** to leave by order of the owner of the mansion.

The doors of the office are closed...

And the tone of the conversation is far from friendly conversation.

"Edward... My subordinates reported to me about the situation in Port-Williams... And this is simply unforgivable! This is something absurd! All our plans are jeopardized because of the plebs' rebellion?! I had a better opinion of your abilities, Edward…" - Mr. Sullivan's voice sounds calm, but at the same time, there is mental pressure on the interlocutor in this voice.

"I'll explain... I can fix everything, Mr. Sullivan!" - Edward Williams III's voice trembles slightly due to excitement.

Obviously, the owner of the mansion preferred not to discuss the most important details of the situation in front of too many people. And he allowed Edward Williams III to avoid the shame of publicly discussing the fact of his loss of power over Port-Williams.

However, a tête-à-tête conversation will clearly not be pleasant...

"No need for empty chatter, Edward! We both know that "fixing the situation" and returning your rightful status as ruler is possible only through the use of armed troops. MY armed troops! And you came on a "friendly" visit to ask for exactly this kind of help... Isn't that right?" - Patrick seemed to have anticipated the words of his interlocutor.

"I think... To implement our plans we need to act quickly... Unfortunately, we do not have time to wait for a long time for the inhabitants of Port-Williams to take the steps we need..." - Edward says slowly.

"Correct... Words about a gradual change in the mood of the rebellious plebs... Words about waiting for changes over many years... These words calm those who should not know the true "mechanisms" of the ruler's power. True power is always based on some mystery and secrecy. Edward... You and I. We are the rulers. We, by virtue of our origin, must rise above the level of the plebs! We are destined by the will of God himself to rule the plebs! Our wealth, our power - these are all signs of our divine chosenness! Do not let anyone overshadow these truths..." - the words of Patrick Sullivan sound with an unyielding conviction, akin to religious.

Edward Williams III only nods, unable to say anything in response.

Mr. Sullivan continues his speech, demonstrating knowledge and ambition:

"The siege of Port-Williams and the night ****... My spies have already reported to me the consequences of the defeat of these vile gangs of raiders... Three gangs suffered significant losses. Many of the surviving raiders united into a new gang called the Lightning Spears. These cutthroats seem to be cooperating with the new "government" of Port-Williams. However, a significant part of the escaped raider-scums joined another **** - these remnants of the Hellhounds, Earcutters, Gray Knives now began to obey the wicked from the Aryan Coalition. Yes... The power vacuum was quickly filled... Now outposts of the bastards from Fortress Jackson have arisen in new territories to the southeast and east of the ruins of Atlanta!

And this is only one of the directions of threats! You probably do not even know about those tribes of beast-like mutants that live in the west in the coastal swamps along the banks of the Middle Sister River. Bloodthirsty, reptilian-faced, cannibalistic monsters that attack fishing villages...

External threats like the Aryan Coalition bastards or the beast-like tribes from the western swamps do require attention... However, we both must not forget that our main goals are much deeper...

Security requires power. Inviolable. Absolute. Blessed. POWER! In this region, only one faction can provide this power...

Therefore, the Orange Kingdom must take control of Port-Williams. At any cost. It is too important a settlement, occupying a strategic location. It seems I will have to allocate additional funding for some covert operations... However, this will only be the first step. Then, the troops of the Orange Kingdom will launch a surprise attack from several directions... Circle of Five will not have time to react - now they are sending small detachments to control the border, competing for the plunder of ancient ruins, introducing duties on goods... These are all pathetic attempts to stop the inevitable. The idiots from Circle of Five do not dare to take decisive action. We and our friends will take advantage of this... From the east, the troops of the Orange Kingdom will attack the outposts of the Delvar family along the Big Sister River. In the central direction, troops will cross the river and land near the southern outskirts of Axeman-City. In the east, the troops of the Orange Kingdom will cross Middle Sister River and occupy the countryside and villages where the family of those despised hagglers Gionderi produces food…”

“But the defensive fortifications of Axeman-City are extremely powerful…” Edward Williams III begins to speak.

“The culmination of our plan will be that my armed forces will strike from within the city at the troops of the other four families. The Orange Kingdom will subjugate everything… The Circle of Five will be destroyed! No more godless collegial governance of the city – only I and my family will rule the city! I will be a loyal vassal of King James II of the House of Orange-Nassau! Finally, the God-blessed monarchical order will be established in Axeman-City. People will live a simple and understandable life… Now everything in the city is bought and sold… The power of money… But it should not be so… There are persons chosen by God… There are very few of them – but only they and their family have the right to power and wealth. The plebs must obey and live in awe of the aristocracy! The hierarchy of estates is an eternally established order by God! " - Patrick Sullivan says all this not loudly, but with great insistence.

Edward Williams III says: "And what should I do now?"

"Your opportunities are not great now... However, you can also be useful to our common cause... Try to maintain secrecy and do not disclose important information... Come up with all sorts of excuses for those who should not know about the truth... It would be useful if you and your relatives helped me harm other families in the Circle of Five... Gionderi, Iseva, Armas, Delvar... Confuse them, lie to them, make them waste resources on all sorts of nonsense... You have children... A daughter... For example, you could promise one of these families a profitable marriage with your daughter..." - the owner of the mansion looks at Edward with an appraising look of gray eyes.

"And remember our goal, Edward... We are the chosen ones. God favors only us. When the righteous monarchical order is established, we and our families will perpetuate our rule. We will receive noble titles and rule the lands, passing power by inheritance and paying no attention to the absurd desires of the plebs. The knights of the King of the Orange Kingdom will lead mighty armies, the tread of which will ensure the inviolability of the new order!"

"You are right, Mr. Sullivan... I just feel exhausted because of what happened... These scums took my own mansion from me!" - Edward Williams III answers emotionally.

"All the wicked will face Divine Punishment... And we will make efforts to ensure that the time of Retribution comes as soon as possible... So, now we should go back and continue dinner with the others..." - Patrick Sullivan hands Edward some miniature thing and they both leave the office.