Jax, who always entered the scene with the most dramatic line, noticed that barely anyone beside Lucian and Goblin gave him attention.

Roland and Cansan continued to chat with each other at the wheel, Leaf was in the middle of tying knots around the mast, and the rest were getting ready to take a break, slowly leaving their posts to head down the ship.

Only Lucian's group stayed behind. It was a small fishing town with not much going on, so they had no interest in exploring the area.

"You heard me. A Duremont heir is now permanently blind in both of his eyes. A hay...I mean one of his servants went mad and poured acid in his eyes..." Jax said, a bit louder this time.

A powerful guy being taken out by a mere servant? Finally some interesting news.

Young master Mathieu was a top candidate for the next head of the family. This accident meant that the Duremonts would have to rethink their succession plans and start grooming the second-best candidate.

"Where's the servant now?" Lucian loaded the canon. The speed it needed to calculate the trajectory and the wind resistance was something that couldn't be interrupted.

"Dead," Jax answered.

'Celine...' Lucian thought, feeling cold sweat dripping down his back. When someone was too miserable to go on, so little was needed to push them to the point of no return. It was probably the servant's case, something or someone had pushed him into that point.

'It's almost the end of the semester. Four months to make someone snap. It took her four months to make one of the most promising young masters permanently disabled.'

Lucian was certain it was Celine's doing.

'The question is whether the servant was working for her from the beginning or just a convenient victim she came across.'

Jax continued, "He drank poison and killed himself. Nobody knows where he got the idea from, and the Duremont is now on the hunt for anyone related to that servant."

BOOM! A loud explosion followed, the sound echoing from the cliff's rocks. A splash of water and a destroyed dummy boat could be seen in the distance. A hole was in its center. Lucian hit the target.

"..." The crew stared at Lucian. His aim had gotten too precise. He would have made it big in the naval fleet.

Unfortunately, this ship was being modified into a merchant ship, not a war one. So any dead weight that couldn't be of use had to be discarded. Including the cannons and the cannonballs, which they were leaving behind.

They didn't want to be seen as a threat to other ships and have their ship sunk, or worse, be mistaken for pirates. The crew would rather avoid any trouble in the waters.

In case of pirates, or other scum, they would have to deal with it with the manpower that was aboard.

Jax covered his ears, a bit late, but still trying to protect his hearing in case of another blast, "Aren't you having too much fun?"

"Never. This is serious business," Lucian said, his face straight.

Jax rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what kind of serious business this was. They weren't even going to use the cannons, but Lucian insisted that he had to learn how to operate them to better understand how the mechanism worked in case they got under fire one day.

"Don't roll eyes at your boss," Roland said from behind.

"Boss? I only see a walking, talking treasure chest," Jax said, making Lucian laugh.

"Listen here you..." Roland didn't take his words kindly, "You are lowering his credibility and your own in the process. How do you think it will look if people find out that you disrespect him like that?"

Lucian's reputation in the south was far more different than in the north. Being associated with people like Savage, Scythe and Roland gave him the image of a dangerous individual. Most of his transactions were done via middlemen and few people had actually seen him in person.

Whereas in the north, people assumed him to be a harmless and kindhearted man. His reputation was one of a fair businessman.

The Vices had a split opinion on what his image should look like. Roland and Fishbone were in favor of building a reputation of a man who should not be messed with, or one would face dire consequences. It helped keep people in line and the competition intimidated.

Cansan and Goblin were in favor of the best business owner, who was willing to go the extra step to satisfy his customers, building loyalty and long-term partnerships.

The third group, Jax, didn't want Lucian to change into whatever superior the Vices thought was appropriate. He didn't want him to become a corrupt and greedy pig. Keeping his boss grounded and humble would be the best.

"What credibility, huh?" Jax challenged Roland, "I don't remember you being his second in command."

"..." Roland was about to lose his cool, "Boss is taking pity on you. t's because you can't handle anything beyond passing out messages and reports," he mocked the younger boy.

Jax gritted his teeth. His position as the courier was a joke in the gang. He was bad at trading, had no eye for business. Numbers made his head spin, and he couldn't keep his mouth shut when he should.

Jax couldn't be called a personal bodyguard, nor a personal assistant. Lucian made him a Vice in charge of intelligence gathering, but everyone thought it was a made-up position. They didn't see it as a real thing (everyone was doing it besides their own duties).

That's until Lucian squeezed the most out of it. It made them respect Lucian more, but also look down at Jax more for not having to do any real work. At least that's what they thought.

Jax was a frequent visitor of a red light district. Whenever Lucian was tied up in the office or stuck in a meeting, Jax would pass the time roaming the streets and then pick him up at their agreed-upon place.

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