Adrian rolled his eyes. "I'm not part of Ivory Cloud. If I help you against him, it’ll only cause dissatisfaction among the other factions and destabilize Ivory Cloud's position."

"Right." Diavolo inhaled deeply, agreeing with Adrian's rationale. "Sylvas is too cunning, and his wife is the daughter of Greenhurst's elder."

Arlo fell silent. He had thought Adrian, being of lower status due to his skin color, could be easily used as a pawn and then disposed of after achieving their goals. But Adrian was not falling for it, and Arlo understood he could not afford to make an enemy out of Adrian. Even if they could not be friends, he needed Adrian to have nothing to do with their lives.

Diavolo, sipping on his wine, said through clenched teeth, "Let's buy them off then. I refuse to believe that they won't listen to me."

He looked at the thousand chrystals on the table and said, "Adrian, I'm currently spread a little thin. Consider this my investment in you. You can have Sylvas' place af