Chapter 33: Problems at the doorsteps

Natasha was sitting in the kitchen, reading a 'fashion' magazine... or maybe saying that she was looking through the pages with sexy undergarments would have been more precise... while she waited for Tom to return.

Today was one of the very rare days when he actually left the house because he had to do something.

Natasha had no idea what was on his agenda but she didn't worry. With the creepy Jasin thug-wannabes dealt with, there was not much that could happen to Tom.

Tom wasn't weak and now that the Jasin family couldn't outnumber him five to one in an ambush anymore, Natasha's mind was fully at ease. Life was once again peaceful.

Suddenly, she heard a noise from the hall and raised her head towards the door, only to see Tom numbly walk inside, his expression blank, yet, she could tell he was nonplussed as he sat down and looked her in the eyes.

"Did you kill the heirs to the Jasin Family?" Tom flatly asked, his body relaxed yet, his eyes were full of tension.

Natasha didn't like where this was going and her good mood suddenly plummeted... but she wouldn't allow herself to lie. Not to him.

"Did I do something wrong?" She uneasily asked, her voice a bit nervous.

That was all the confirmation Tom needed and his shoulders sagged as he dropped his head on the table, his forehead hitting its surface while he let out a deep groan.

"Wrong?" Tom raised his eyes toward her and asked in an aggravated and exasperated tone, "It was a freaking bait. The masterminds in the shadows might not have expected them to drop dead but they wanted us to retaliate against their pathetic attempts to get through our wards."

He didn't raise his tone and kept it flat and emotionless but frankly, right now, Natasha would have liked it more if he screamed at her. It was obvious he was angry and she realized she might have made an unrepairable mistake.

Natasha felt as if cold water was poured on her. She thought getting rid of these four would help! They were literally trying to find a way to breach their wards. That seemed pretty hostile to Natasha so she took care of the problem. Nobody ever had to know it was her handiwork either!

But apparently, she didn't have the entire picture when she acted.

"I..." Natasha clutched her hands under the table, her expression stricken with utter disbelief. As her thoughts whirled through her mind, understanding the situation more and more, her disbelief slowly changed to determination. She gulped and opened her mouth, hesitating only briefly before she anxiously asked, "Is there any way I can make this right?"

Her feelings came as a shock even to her. Because... Even if Tom wanted to turn her in for the murders, she didn't think... no, she knew she wouldn't have resisted.

She... loved him.

Her eyes slightly widened as she came to that realization and anguish filled her at the thought that it was under these circumstances that...

Tom looked at her weirdly. It took him a second to understand what she was suggesting and it really made him snort in amusement.

"Don't bother. You are more precious to me than the entire magician community." He dryly stated before he rolled his eyes and leaned back, his mood much lighter than previously. He had to admit he was a bit touched at her proposing... that. But that was not an option either way. "The fault is also partially on me for not telling you about the situation enough." He wryly sighed with a sour look. "Still, the situation is pretty bleak right now. I have to plan how to deal with the consequences."

And that meant less research time for him. Oh, joy.

No wonder the normal magician who 'had a life' could never make any proper breakthrough. Constantly dealing with problems and responsibilities can not be healthy.

Tom was on a time limit here. And unlike other mages of the past who had a time limit of a few decades before their lifespan ran out, Tom had at best ten to fifteen years before shit hit the fan and only a very vague idea on how to get strong enough in time. He could not afford setbacks like this.

When Natasha's brain finally fully registered what Tom said, she blushed at hearing how important she was to him. Her heart skipped a beat in elation... before her mood was soured into bitterness when a moment later the realization that she made trouble for him hit her like a proverbial truck.

"What... is exactly our situation?" She sourly asked, deciding to at the very least rectify her lack of knowledge.

As happy as the past weeks were for Natasha, she started to wonder if she didn't drop her guard down too much. This kind of rookie mistake should not have happened to her. She should have always considered the effort-to-reward ratio of her actions. That's how she was taught in the Red Room.

But in her rush to please and protect Tom, she completely ignored the possibility that there was more at stake than what she could see at the first glance.

Tom sighed once again and rummaged through the pocket of his pants for a second before pulling out a letter and throwing it in front of Natasha.

Taking the letter into her hands, Natasha looked at Tom, getting a 'go ahead' gesture, and then she unfolded it and started silently reading, her jaw almost hitting the floor as she understood what was written inside.

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"They... what? Just because of... Huh?" She was half-speechless at the utter nonsense in the letter but...

"Let me explain." Tom's lips twitched downward, "I already told you that since I outsourced the alchemy fruit business to Sarael, the other Magician Families decided to take offense at that. For them, I had betrayed our community because in their minds only they had the right for the profits from my fruits." Tom paused for a second before chuckling and shaking his head. "In hindsight, it should have been obvious they would use that angle but... haah~."

Natasha was listening intently to what he was saying and when she heard that, her face scrunched, "They are just trying to find a way to screw you over, aren't they?"

Betrayed the community? That was bullshit and Tom clearly knew it. But this was not about the truth or what was right. This was the reality of politics.

Natasha had seen it a few times already in her life. People get screwed sideways for this or that detail... but it never was because of the stated reason. There was always something in the background. Some reason, some profit the others would gain by doing this.

Tom blandly nodded. "Yes. Me making deals with the overwhelming majority of the influential magician families made some other families quite antsy. Especially the middle-ranked ones. On top of that, even the families I have these deals with didn't like that I also did the same business with their social peers."

The most influential magician families in England were not all buddy-buddy. Each of them had its allies, enemies, and neutrals among each other. It was a mess and Tom had never any intention of joining the politics between these families. Alas, nobody cared what he wanted and he was dragged into it anyway.

"When they heard I did business with the Sitri House, a party they would be in no way capable of countering or manipulating, they got… grumpy. For them, it was a power move... which it really was. I just wanted to make them realize they can't screw me over." Tom wryly smiled, "But at the time, I hadn't thought their pride won't let them leave this unanswered. In retaliation, the relationship between me and them went from positive to neutral, drastically lowering my influence in the magician community and letting the more courageous vultures start eye-ing us."

Natasha slowly nodded, "But what does that have to do with this?" She gestured at the letter between them.

"The Jasin Family was just a bait planted by the people wanting to get me into trouble in order to lower my influence in the magician community even more." Tom dryly chuckled. Some people were just that bored. "The thing is, in the deal with the high-ranked families, the stipulation safeguarding me comes into play only when my Family or I personally are attacked first. Technically, they don't have to do a squat if the aggressor is me." He wryly frowned.

To be honest, even Tom didn't see this coming. He expected a lot of angles from which he could be attacked, most of which were social, but to think it would have been a small mistake made by him like this that brought him so many problems…

He never intended to start hostilities with anybody anyway so at the time, this didn't seem like such a big deal. Yet, it came to bite him in the ass.

"The Jasin Family..." Natasha understood. Biting her lower lip, she bowed her head a bit as a complicated expression appeared on her face.

What the heck was this complicated political bullshit?

The mundane world was full of complicated relationships between people, countries, and business partners, and in her job, she sometimes had to take that into account, but this was another level of complexity.

"Yes. Our only blessing is that nobody has any proof it was you who killed them." Tom sighed. "Your decision to wear a wig to fool Jacob instead of using the ring was what stumped most of those trying to accuse you of the crime. They can't explain how he didn't notice you using the ring since it is pretty obvious to any adult magician and it would definitely set him on edge if somebody was trying to conceal their identity next to him."

Such a small thing and it saved their hides from a more vicious approach from the hostile families. Tom couldn't help but inwardly chuckle at the irony.

Hearing him, Natasha's eyebrows furrowed in surprise, "But if they don't know then..."

Tom understood what she meant but he only helplessly shook his head, "In my current political state, even a suspicion is enough to give a leeway for some annoying people to do... that." He nodded at the letter which was practically a challenge to a duel by a mid-ranked family.

"It's unreasonable and retarded but the high-ranking families won't step in. As long as the duel is not to the death, they won't be contractually obliged to help me and the opposition clearly knows that." Tom explained. This was some kind of stupid punishment to him for 'dealing' with the devils beyond some imagined limit or whatever.

This was exactly what having the families as his proverbial social shield was supposed to prevent. That's why Tom was so put out. He could care less about money. His time was wasted here.

"What are we going to do?" Natasha took his hands into hers and asked in worry.

Tom took a deep breath, "I am going to accept the challenge to duel." He helplessly shrugged, already predicting what the ensuing events will lead to.

Even if he declined, it would inevitably worsen his standing in the magician community... which wasn't important to Tom. The problem was that this would open him to more challenges and underhanded plays.

What he needed right now was the time accepting the challenge would provide.

Nevertheless, his future relationship with the magician community didn't seem to have a nice future, all things considered.

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