In the capital, a young man ran while panting at the top of his lungs. He was being chased but knew how to navigate narrow street lanes and make sharp U-turns making him a weasel slipping through the pursuers' grasps.
The young man in a dark hooded robe was on the run both day and night and barely got any moments to rest. It was physically inhuman but he thought nothing of it.
'How did it turn like this? Those cunning bastards. I will get you for this.'
In truth, the young man was formerly a very successful businessman who had rare items which he used brokers to sell thus growing his industry in the capital exponentially.
He put blood and sweat into the growth and stability of his business making it become the fastest growing one of the century.
He trusted his business partners and let them handle the complex processes such as taxation marketing and also calculations. He was not a business type at all. He simply dealt with the continuous supply. Only he knew how hard it was to maintain a continuous stream.
However, what would a child barely an adult know when he didn't have the power over his business like he was made to believe?
His business partners used silver tongues to twist the truth into half-baked lies that he never doubted. He signed papers as a trust agreement with them as they lied through their teeth.
His business partners were brokers who sought clients and merchants whom he used names of to supply to his clients since he was a minor. He wouldn't have the power to maintain his power if word got out. This is what he knew from their lies.
They soon got impatient and could no longer keep up their flawless deception toward the young man. They demanded the source of materials. He was getting legal age soon and their claim of his age being detrimental would come to light soon.
"You brat. You will not be leaving unless you leave the secret to your sources. It would be better to give it as soon as possible. Then we would have less time to waste on an orphan bastard like you. What an undeserving wretch."
The trusted merchants taunted him by disregarding remarks. Their words were not short of insults.
"If you value your lives then make a wise choice. It is my way of looking out for you since I have known you for some time. Please understand."
Those he had trusted were ones to use their snake-like tongues to make it look like they cared for him while their words held poison underneath.
"Just give it already. Do you have any idea how much I wanted to punch that smug face every time you looked cherry?"
Others didn't even hide their scorn while they scuffed at him. A look of distaste was visible on their faces.
"You might as well die, but that will be disadvantageous to us. So I will make your life a living hell."
"Hahahaha! Look at you looking like the beggar that you were. We made you as you are. Don't you think you should show some gratitude?"
The young man had been locked up and forced to endure all this horrible treatment. Reality fell on him and he soon came to terms with the fact that he was betrayed and deceived.
Those he trusted hurt him in more ways than they could imagine. His betrayed heart had shattered into smithereens.
He was a child at the time he met them and he came to trust them thus the betrayal hurt more than needles stabbing his heart. It hurt with each hurtful comment they made. As if finding it not enough, they resulted in torture.
They were cutting him and stabbing him and treating only fatal wounds. He was forced to endure burning and other forms of physical pain.
'I have had enough.'
When he thought that, he decided to run from there and found a way to bring the truth to light. He could not hold much contempt for those he had grown up looking up to. At the back of his mind, he wanted this to be a whole misunderstanding and could be resolved peacefully and go back to how it was.
He could never tell the secret he held. That was something that would not only risk his life but, telling his secret entailed more than just simply his life. He would never live a day of peace if his secret was revealed. He wouldn't die in peace either. These were the final words of his last deceased relative.
His plan was soon brought to a halt since was a wanted criminal by the public. They made it so that he was a criminal thus he was being chased on both sides. Those in authority would exploit it to their benefit thus even the security was bought off. He had an inkling as to how that was possible. A noble must have been involved.
'How dare they betray me? When I helped them rise to that position...'
This was when he understood that it was deliberate all along. There was no misunderstanding or anything of the sort.
The young man's name was Delvin. He was a commoner living and striving for his life in the capital. He was aspiring to make it big one day thus he worked his ass off to build a business while making connections all around. He was young and had no real-life experience thus was fooled by the smiling faces of hypocrites who worked together to pull him down when he thought he was almost there.
How cruel. To raise his hope so high and drag him on the salt-sanded ground. It was too much for his innocent and naive mind to remain the same.
Back then, before he met the was even a business person, he started as a simple jewel seller assistant. From there he found out and learned about his ability to enhance jewels. Simple pretty jewels gained attributes that magicians could later turn into artifacts of specific use. These enchanted stones came about naturally at mana-saturated places They were as rare as they could come, thus the place he worked became a bestseller.
His greedy boss who thought it was nothing but a stroke of luck fired him and went off to work for nobles instead, feigning his ability to select the best jewels. However, That very shopkeeper was brought down his high horse soon enough when he realized things too late and he had been sent off to prison for deceiving nobles.
Moving from there he hid his identity as a broker boy who sold items in place of his master. It worked out fine since he would enchant any sought of rock. It was a sight never seen before in the capital. Magic stones were a natural occurrence and could not be crafted artificially. This made his so-called master a prevalent person thus he even got enough capital to set up shop. He could work on jewels and other stones. His business was one of its kind since it was not talent or skill, it was an inborn ability only he could perform.
As the growth of his business grew he worked with merchants who later found out were the seller. He made an exclusive contract with them thus he could supply to a broader audience. But growing up he found it strange he could have supervised his funds. This was when he didn't want to work much more and opted to live a life of luxury for the repayment of his hard work over the years.
His business partners gave different excuses for not getting access to them. Sooner or later they came off straight forward and that was when Delvin understood he had been fooled. His life was at risk at the time and trying to find and plausible solution he found out that the documents he had so signed gave all power and authority to the merchant.
The merchant was not an official worker but a nobles follower who was to work to find the source of the enhanced stones from Delvin. From the start, he had been fooled and manipulated. His work was taken advantage of and he simply lost everything in a few days. His status as the most aspiring bachelor who was upcoming with his successful business fell much faster than it rose.
Delvin learned the hard truth about the mask hidden behind faces.
'I was really stupid. I was so lame. How could…I fall for those petty tricks. I should have known better.'