529 The Princess and the Lawyer

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Ulfric walked out from the Dare Tower with some heavy expressions. What Jon told him made him think twice about the war he already started.

The World-Eater Alduin devours the souls of the dead Nords to attain his former power and bring about the End of the Kalpa. It didn't make any sense but Jon wasn't lying either, Ulfric would have known.

The problem is that Ulfric can believe Jon because Ulfric is a Nord and a believer of the Old Prophecies. Other than that, the Imperial would probably never believe these prophecies and will wage war against Ulfric either way. Ulfric also can't afford to stop the war like this.

"My Jarl, what shall we do?" Ulfric's Bodyguard spoke.

"The War continues and the Dragons are to be avoided once spotted." Ulfric said.

"And Winterhold?"

Ulfric stood in the main street of Saarthal and looked back at the tower thinking of what he heard.

"If you think about it, Jon Dare may have a wild temper but he never really gets angry. He only acts." Ulfric said.

"Acts?"

"His true face is always kept for himself. He doesn't trust people easily and he didn't let any outsiders in his hold unless they were under his control. Lucky for us, Jarl Korir is on our side and unlucky for the Imperials, General Tullius couldn't make friends with Jon."

Ulfric smiled and began walking away. His trip to Winterhold wasn't a victory of a loss but rather a mind-opening one. He asked for Jon's cooperation with the Dragons and promised to support the Dragonborn.

As Ulfric walked away in a good mood, others were in a messy situation and these were Legate Julia and Sulla. Their mission was a sure success according to the information they had on Jon Dare but for some reason, Legate Sulla's involvement proved to be a bad influence on the operation as he rushed it because of his personal grudge against Jon Dare. In truth, the Command Center of the Imperial Legion may have also wanted them to fail so they allowed Legate Sulla to go so that Jon Dare may assault him once his contract is confiscated. Legate Julia was also to be blamed for this failure either way as many officials thought a commoner like her shouldn't be one of them not knowing her true identity that took Jon a few minutes to figure out.

Even though an excellent Diplomat, Legate Julia always had to go through unfair treatment. Jon saw Legate Sulla with her and called her unappreciated right away knowing that she was sent to be a scapegoat.

Right now, Legate Julia was about to have an audience with Jon Dare once again but in the meeting room up in the Quarters, the surprisingly lavish social club of Saarthal.

The Tower's interior is exactly like that of the buildings of Solitude. The rooms are fancy and the hallways are wide. However, after taking the stairway up, the Quarters proves to be a bit of a maze. This place was probably designed to receive high profile guests and trap spies and Intruders. Still, nice service and clean interior, nothing like the old castles and palaces.

There, Jon Dare was waiting for Legate Julia with two women. Jullanar and Vittoria Vici.

"Oh! Princess. Join us please, your highness."

"Thank you, my Lord."

Legate Julia sat exactly where Ulfric sat right opposite to Jon. Vittoria was on a chair really close to Jon and Jullanar was standing behind him. Legate Julia was knowledgeable about Jullanar, a very high profile individual in Jon's entourage and probably his most loyal retainer. Some rumors about them being lovers but the most important piece of information is that Jullanar is probably the key figure behind Jon Dare's secret force, the one called the Black Pigeons by the other agencies.

"I hope that your Highness has found the accommodation to your liking." Jon said.

"Indeed, thank you for the hospitality, my Lord. And please drop the titles with me, I am but a Legate Diplomat on official business at the moment." Julia said.

"Alright, Lady Julia. Please excuse my enthusiasm. It is just that I have met queens before but I haven't met a princess just until today… an official one, I mean." Jon apologized and excluded many characters in that past sentence.

"I see." Julia replied gently as a servant poured her wine and retreated.

"So, Vittoria here told me how good friends you two are. Never expected it to be honest but to make my standing clear, any friends of Vittoria are friends of mine. I apologize for my behavior in the Hall earlier, you see, I am not the kind to take well to threats, especially in public." Jon said.

Julia took a sip of her drink and exhaled.

"Lord Jonhild, I am sure that your intentions about staying off the war are noble and to be admired but the Empire won't take lightly to…"

"What did I just say about threats, my Lady?"

"This is not a threat, my Lord. It is a fact and right now, the Imperial Legion considers you to be completely out of control with a huge potential for disaster. Cooperating with the Imperial Legion is in everyone's best interest to withstand what is to come." Princess Julia dropped the act and spoke bluntly.

Her mission is already a failure and Jon exposed her true identity that she put a lot of resources into concealing. He may be a wild card and all but she had every urge to punch him in the face at least once.

"Well… that is regrettable then." Jon said and made a sad face, "I was hoping to convince our friends from the Imperial Legion to withdraw from Winterhold while they still can."

"Withdraw?" Julia couldn't comprehend what Jon was trying to say.

Currently, the Imperial Legion sent a Declaration of a State of Emergency in Winterhold and this means they can move in with bigger numbers and throw all their weight.

"Julia, please listen to what Jon has to say." Vittoria spoke.

"What?"

"It is regrettable but I am honest when I say that I am very sad to inform you that earlier this morning, Jarl Korir met with Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak and the two reached an agreement after your Imperial Colleagues dropped the declaration over there. I have sent my brother Wulfur to Fort Kastav so that he may inform the Legion force over there of the change of policies and help them to swiftly retreat…"

Jon kept speaking in a formal tone but Legate Julia has lost him somewhere amidst the chaos in her mind right now.

Winterhold… it moved to the Stormcloak Camp.

Until this morning, Winterhold was still considered to be an Imperial Territory. The moment the Imperial Legion declared the State of Emergency was the same moment they were kicked out and had to retreat right away.

If news of this reached Cyrodiil, General Tullius' reputation would turn into an absolute joke.

And there is no way to stop it at the moment.

"… as you can see, it is truly regrettable." Jon finished what he was saying and looked at Legate Julia who was no longer calm.

"Regrettable?" Legate Julia asked in disbelief.

"As I said, it is the Jarl's call, not mine." Jon said.

"Are you kidding me? You are the one who is controlling Winterhold. The Jarl listens to you." She said.

"Are you by any chance suggesting that I am the De Facto Ruler of Winterhold? Lady Julia, this is a very serious crime you are accusing me of." Jon said.

"Are you being serious right now?"

"I am being very serious at the moment, my Lady. There are a lot of things you misunderstand about me. I am not the Puppetmaster you think I am. I am indeed very rich and very able but my role up until today was to act as the Monopolizing Investor of the major resources of Winterhold. My deal with Jarl Korir was to make economical and social reforms in the hold in exchange for Property and Rights. My Political role in Winterhold was to act as the Jarl's advisor and my Military Role was to act as a Thane.

As for being an Investor, you've completely ended my monopoly by forcing me to tear up the contract. As an Advisor, I advised Jarl Korir not to join the senseless war until you came to his doorstep with your brazen declaration of a State of Emergency. As a Thane, I am bound to the Will of the good people of Winterhold. Until this very moment. I haven't broken any law or upset any Divine. My Imperial Constitutional Rights protect me and if you want to take it to a Court, I am very happy to play with you till the end.

Other than that and as a Citizen of the Empire and the Proud Kingdom of Skyrim, I am heartbroken to see the peace I worked so hard to maintain crumble this way and what saddens me more is that I know that I was stabbed in the back by the ones I tried to keep from bloodshed. I have already filed an official complaint to the Elder Council and the Emperor through various connections. Vittoria here has already guided me through the whole legal process."

Jon laid out his threat and this time, there was no escape from the way he slapped the Legion back. As a Diplomat, Legate Julia didn't only fail her mission (which was mostly bound to fail) but ended up returning to her superiors with a curse that will haunt the members of the Imperial Strategic Center for the rest of their careers. Jon even started beating the dead dog and complained about the Legion to the Elder Council of the Empire, the highest authority on Tamriel.

Julia looked at Jon and didn't know what to do. She then turned to Vittoria with glares.

"Don't blame me! I tried to stop you back at Solitude, remember? If you have given me more time, I could have worked something out with the General. Do you have any idea how that move the General took may have cost us? 20% of the East Empire Company's interests exist in Winterhold and the Dare Dragon Company is the only trading entity that can safely conduct business all over Morrowind. There are things we can't simply afford." Vittoria defended herself.

Legate Julia was looking at the pair of snakes with no more tolerance for their bullshit. She knew very well that Jon Dare has the ability to influence the Jarl but he just didn't do anything either on the positive or the negative side which can't be held against him. Legally, he is the most innocent person in the room, he is even tipping off the Legion to withdraw before their supply line is cut from Winterhold.

"Damn you to Oblivion, Jon Dare." Julia said as the stress was killing her.

"Yeah… been there." Jon sarcastically replied, "I understand your frustration and while I want to gloat over the blunder of General Tullius, I want to offer something as a sign of good faith."

Julia looked at him doubtfully and replied.

"The Imperial Legion will hold an endless grudge against you, whatever you do won't be enough to appease the Legion at this point." Julia said while looking away.

"Fuck the Legion." Jon said.

Julia silently looked between Jon and Vittoria feeling something awful at play.

"Vittoria, you are the Emperor's cousin. This man can't be…" Julia spoke angrily.

"Oh, please. Julia, are you listening to yourself?" Vittoria stopped her from continuing, "By now, the Legion will realize that they messed up big time and you guys from the Strategic Center will face the consequences for the whole thing. Jon wants to offer you a way out here."

"Do you think we will act like you traders always switching sides where coins are?" Julia slammed her arm rest.

"The Legion is causing more harm than good with its current policies and you of all people know that without the East Empire Company's money, you guys wouldn't have survived over a month." Vittoria replied.

The relationship between the EEC and the Legion seemed to be worse than Jon anticipated but the worse it is, the greater the reward from what he has in mind.

"Princess Julia, let's calm down for a moment here. You haven't heard my proposition yet." Jon said.

"And why would I accept anything you say?" Julia asked.

"I understand that on a personal level, your relationship with Vittoria is quite good." Jon said.

Julia looked at Vittoria disdainfully before nodding.

"She can be too much most of the time but yes… we are best friends." Julia said.

"Then… are you by any chance interested in saving your friend's life and gaining the favor of the whole Colovian states at the same time?" Jon asked.

"Saving… her life?"

Julia looked at Vittoria who by her part was making a troubled face.

"Jon intercepted an important piece of information that there is someone targeting me…"

"Hold on a minute! Targeting you? Are you serious? You are the Emperor's Cousin and the one in charge of the EEC in Skyrim, who is NOT targeting you?" Julia lashed out.

"I'm afraid this will be coming from the Empire itself. Someone with a lot of money and a seat in the Elder Council will go after Vittoria." Jon said.

"How do… Vittoria, you are not believing him, right? This man is bluntly saying that there is a traitor in the Council."

"I didn't point fingers at anyone. I just happened to know a guy who knows a guy who knows another guy. The information is legit though." Jon said.

"I trust Jon." Vittoria added as she grabbed Jon's hand.

Julia looked at their hands and her eyes widened looking between the two as if she had lost a few brain cells in her most recent realization.

"You two… you're sleeping together?"

Jon and Vittoria looked at each other and laughed.

"Duh! Everybody knows."

"Like… it has been forever now."

Jon and Vittoria have been having an affair for three years and she can be considered the only outside affair Alina barely approved.

"But you're… you're getting married soon." Julia said.

"It is just business. Jon and I are serious."

Julia was baffled by Vittoria and Jon.

"Marriages are business? Affairs are serious? Remind me again why I left Daggerfall?" Julia requested more liquor to drink as she needed to process the current situation.

She looked at Jon Dare and the only thing she could think of is a devil. A devious and dangerous businessman, an influential and sly statesman, a powerful warlord and a dangerous mage; he was ignored long enough by the Empire and it became impossible to contain him now. Not only his power was frightening but he had too many talented people and endless resources around him. Controlling him was impossible as he deepened his own pockets and extended his reaches making himself a necessary person in every field. He killed, stole, cheated and fucked his way to power, the last attempt from General Tullius to contain him ended with a disaster.

Of course Jon had Vittoria on his side so the plan was bound to fail even if his friends in Solitude hadn't tipped him off regarding the plot against him. What the Imperial Legion wanted to do was to take the "Exclusive Exploit \u0026 Benefit Contract" from Jon (by Martial Law) and keep it with them to threaten Jon and order him around. Supposedly, Jon would have wanted to preserve his company so he would agree to help the Empire defeat the Stormcloaks.

General Tullius had a more sinister idea and that is to use this chance to make the Penitus Oculatus investigate Jon's illegal Intel Gathering Organisation, the Black Pigeons, and use their existence to charge Jon with Espionage completely discrediting him and pushing him completely out of the political scene.

That devious plan would have certainly worked any day of the week except that Jon didn't really need the Contract anymore. All he did was to tear it to pieces and end his monopoly. He then opened Winterhold for investment. With so many people in the hold that became rich thanks to Jon, he already had his selected and loyal investors ready and waiting.

The Legion? Julia can no longer see anything good happening in that direction. Jon completely obliterated them. Now, he is playing the devil and giving her an offer she can't possibly refuse.

"Before I agree to anything, answer one question." Julia said, "What are you?"

"Me?" Jon smiled, "I am just a Lawyer."