The Nelnmont Family withdrew its lawsuit against the Headmistress that very day, just as the Headmistress demanded of him. And, as one would expect, it was certainly not gone unnoticed and certainly wasn't regarded with silence.
The local Colohen media immediately leaped upon the news with feral aggression as local political pundits and people from different organizations and institutions regarded it with a wide variety of reactions.
The reaction of the law industry in Colohen City was most shocking.
They hadn't said much when the Nelnmont Patriarch sued the Headmistress of the Elendir Institute of Magic; however, the fact that the Nelnmont Patriarch, one of the most feared tyrants of the law industry, had withdrawn a lawsuit sent shockwaves across the local and even national law industry.
It was a tremendously humiliating thing for a lawyer to withdraw a lawsuit, as opposed to getting a settlement done or seeing it through to the end. While many had expected that the lawsuit might not actually be seen through to the end as it was unlikely for the Headmistress of a magicademy to be willing to get caught up a long and tedious battle, as to simply settling it right away with some painful concessions, none of them had expected the Nelnmont Patriarch to emerge with nothing.
Thus far at that point in time, no settlement agreement had been reached, according to any source. And not even the Nelmont Patriarch had issued any statements about what he got out of rescinding the lawsuit, which was very unusual for the flamboyant but terrifyingly powerful lawyer tycoon.
It was almost unbelievable, but this series of events made clear to the law industry that the Nelnmont Family had been thoroughly beaten in their own game and had been forced to rescind the lawsuit. It was a shocking and humiliating mark on their otherwise chilling track record of dominance.
More than the competence of the lawyers, which was admittedly high, what made them a force that very few in the city could even think to reckon with was the sheer amount of resources and magicapita they had, allowing them to steamroll most firms and legal teams. So much so that it was not uncommon for lawyers to quit their clients if they learned that they were being targeted by the Nelnmonts.
Now, a crack had appeared in their aura of invincibility.
Reputation and perception mattered a lot in the law industry. It decided how much trouble one would go through with others, and also greatly influenced one's clientele. If each and every single lawyer who quit against them had instead stood their ground and did their best to win, they most likely would not have managed to win each and every single case.
Yet, their reputation essentially managed to allow them to come away with a flawless victory in each of those cases.
Perhaps the only saving grace in this little humiliating fiasco was the fact that the Nelnmonts weren't really representing a client in a dispute but rather were partaking in a political battle that further excused a loss.
Regardless, they smelled a hint of weakness.
They smelled blood in the water.
And naturally, when there was an opportunity to topple a tyrant, many were unwilling to let go of the opportunity.
Outside of the law community, in the general local political stage of Colohen City, the loss was less about the Nelmont Family and more so about the elite family political class and the Headmistress and the Elendir Institute of Magic, along with her backers.
From the perspective of the larger political stage, the defeat of the Nelnmont Family signified more than the Headmistress winning the political battle and tug of war over the slums.
In their mind, the legal battles were just a tool to pressure the Headmistress. The fact that they had been rescinded most likely meant that they weren't useful or that she had enough of an upper hand in some to completely negate this line of attack.
The academic activists and the political commentators all had their own theories as to what had happened, each not true, even if they contained elements of truth to them.
Naturally, it was almost impossible for anybody to have figured out the truth about the rescinding of the lawsuit, since it involved information that none of them could have possibly known about.
So much so that not even the other elite families understood why the Nelnmonts had suddenly back-tracked on the plan that they had agreed on.
They had no intention of letting it slide.
"Patriarch Nelnmont."
The cold, authoritative voice of a woman addressed the man as his expression grew more severe.
His eyes remained focused on the icy golden eyes of the matriarch of the Karjakin Family. Her hands were steepled while her expression remained calm, even as her chilling gaze sent shivers down his spine.
"Would you like to take this opportunity to explain yourself?"
Her tone was frosty, yet composed.
Her impeccable, absolute control over her body language left her inscrutable to read.
She conveyed the faintest hint of displeasure.
And yet, that was enough to inspire goosebumps in him.
It didn't help that the others around the round table in the Karjakin Manor glared at him with a ferocious anger.
The air boiled with hostility.
The atmosphere tingled with peril.
Not even the bright light of the morning Sun illuminating the spacious conference room within the Karjakin Manor could ameliorate the dark mood that had settled.
Patriarch Nelmont gritted his teeth.
"I… found myself running into an irreconcilable conflict of interest, Matriarch Karjakin."
His tone was strained.
Tense.
"BULLSHIT!" An old man across the table exploded, almost spitting with the sheer amount of contempt on his face. Any attempt at self-composure disappeared at the flimsy excuse that the Nelmont Patriarch offered as his stiffened anger creased the extravagant, formal, custom-tailored suit. "You ran into an irreconcilable conflict of interest in a lawsuit against your enemy?! You expect us to believe that?!"
Patriarch Nelnmont glared at the older man. "Patriarch Woulven, it is the truth. I have found… an unavoidable conflict of interest in this case and have decided that I cannot pursue this matter."
"My, and pray tell, just what is this alleged irreconcilable conflict of interests?" A middle-aged woman remarked with a light tone as she held up a hand fan, covering the sneer on her face. "Rather interesting that the Patriarch of the Nelnmont Family has something to lose by continuing on with a lawsuit, is it not?"
She donned a blue hat with flowers adorning the rim, matching the colors of her formal, gaudy frock, as well as the family crest of flowers embroidered above its chest.
His expression darkened.
"Matriarch Feloven, I'm afraid I cannot divulge that."
His tone contained a hint of resignation amid the grim severity.
He understood how bad this looked.
He had withdrawn the lawsuit without even giving any of his fellow family leaders any forewarning.
He had done so after all the times he boasted successfully getting the Headmistress to cave.
And now, he had walked it back and had done so in the most humiliating manner possible.
"You're not helping your case here, Patriarch Nelnmont." The vigorous voice of a young man drew his attention. "I'm unable to understand what irreconcilable conflict of interests you can possibly have. I'm also unable to understand why you're unwilling to divulge what the problem is. Perhaps we can ameliorate the matter."
The Nelnmont Patriarch shook his head at the strapping young man. "I'm afraid you cannot, Representative Shirnouel."
The young man sharpened his eyes.
"I can only conclude that you have either been bribed or blackmailed, Patriarch Nelnmont. The latter is bad enough, but the former…"
A hint of hostility flickered in his blue eyes.
"My family will not forgive the former."
"I have not been bribed!" the Nelnmont Patriarch gritted his teeth. "I have had no choice with this decision. I understand that all of you feel slighted, and rightfully so. I will even return all the magicapita that you have lent to me to pursue the case. However, I have not betrayed our common interests, and I cannot undo my—"
"Patriarch Nelnmont."
He flinched as the chilling voice of the Karjakin Matriarch cleaved right through his desperation.
Her unnerving golden eyes bore deep into his.
"How is your daughter?"
The Nelnmont Patriarch shook at those words.
The question came out of nowhere.
And yet, it pierced right at the heart of the issue.
"She is…" he gritted his teeth. "She is fine."
"You see…" she continued with a calm, yet perilous tone. "I can't help but notice that, despite running into 'irreconcilable conflict of interests,' as you put it, your daughter is still a part of the Elendir Institute of Magic, is she not?"
His expression grew ugly.
"…Yes."
Matriarch Karjakin's piercing golden gaze left him feeling naked.
"My intelligence sources inside the magicademy tell me that you visited the Headmistress that day."
The others stirred at those words, frowning at the Patriarch with a suspicious gaze.
"They reported that you stormed out of her office with anger and displeasure," she continued with a chilling tone. "They also reported that your daughter has visited the Headmistress's office, returned home, and then returned to the Headmistress's office."
The Patriarch's expression grew more grim.
Her analysis was on point.
"Is your daughter truly alright?"
He clenched his fists.
"…Yes."
He managed to squeeze out.
"She's doing just great at the Elendir Institute of Magic. I have allowed her to attend there because I have one of a presence to know if something is wrong," he continued with a stressed tone. "Regardless of what misgivings I have with the Headmistress, it can't be denied that she's an excellent educational leader."
The unnerving, icy golden eyes of the Karjakin Matriarch pierced into the depths of his soul.
"Be that as it may, your untimely and unwarned withdrawal of the lawsuit has been devastating for the optics of our political conflict with the Headmistress," she continued with a darker tone. "You have compromised an important political battle. Now, we have not only lost in our sustained attempts to destroy the talent acquisition, but also in the legal battle. At this rate…"
Her golden eyes sharpened.
"…we will lose the war over the matter of slum talent acquisition."
A wave of displeasure and frustration washed over the various leaders and representatives around the table. Over the past month, they had attempted to crush the Headmistress's slum talent acquisition program in a variety of ways. From compromising the task force with bribes and blackmail, to interfering with the logistics, to supplying the Colohen Mafia with weapons and magicapita, to attacking the operations, and of course, legal attacks.
Not a single one of them had yielded satisfactory results, much to their shock.
The Headmistress proved to be incredibly formidable as an opponent.
The Karjakin Matriarch closed her eyes.
"In hindsight, she has prepared for this for a long, long time."
The woman opened her eyes with a glint of ferocity within their depths.
"Regardless, our failures are unacceptable. There are only a few more days left before the program ends and will be deemed an absolute success, only to be adopted by the other twelve branches of the Elendir Institute of Magic and the rest of the magicademy sector."
The expressions of the various leaders grew ugly at those words.
Not a single one of them could tolerate the notion of the filthy mongrels of the slums gaining the power of magic and moving upwards to threaten their dominance and increasing competition.
"We no longer have any choice."
Her tone tingled with peril.
Her eyes glinted a hint of malevolence.
"We must adopt the most extreme and crude approach to crush this initiative."
The air grew tense.
"We must crush this program in the most destructive manner."
The atmosphere boiled with danger.
"We must make sure that this program and initiative will only be remembered with the greatest of fear and aversion by the time we have destroyed it."