The Central Prefecture district of Baylands City was not just the city's capital, but the city-state's centre as well. All top factions and forces within the city had a base there. This was especially so for the top four families who had their estates located here.
In the Mertens family estate, Russell Mertens —the head of the Mertens family— had just been briefed by the family's representatives in the Cabinet. The Mertens family had five representative slots in the Cabinet, and all five were allotted to loyal members of the family.
Unlike the other families, Russell didn't hand out representative slots to his siblings; in the first place, he had no siblings. Instead, these slots were given to those who expressed sincere loyalty to him and had devoted themselves to the Mertens family. This was why the Mertens family were quickly able to rise from fourth place to third during his reign.
