Shortly after the night raid, another war council was held. Because there were three warfronts, information had been flowing in at an alarming rate, which necessitated frequent meetings. Kamil, Cezary, Raem, and Nestor were gathered in the same room as before. There was an updated map on the table.
“Let us begin,” Kamil declared.
Cezary informed everyone. “The enemy army that besieged Fort Reen had retreated to Kuka.”
Raem wondered aloud, “To Kuka? Not back to Fort Tebevo?”
Kuka was a fort city. They didn’t know whether it was the only port city since the full map for Estana wasn’t known. It was generally understood that the land further South was most inhabitable due to having scorching temperatures and the lack of rainfall. At the same time, it was understood that there was another country south of Estana. In short, they had conflicting information, and further scouting was certainly required.
Cezary confirmed, “Yes, they withdrew to Kuka. Makarlika should have been a better choice if they wanted to reconstruct siege engines. Kuka has no forest nearby, thus they wouldn’t have enough lumber unless the city has supplies stored already which wouldn’t be a far fetched idea. It is a port city after all.”
Kamil folded his arms and eyebrows furrowed.
He asked the room, Cezary specifically, “So, what does that mean ultimately?”
“They are sending mixed signals. I am not quite sure what they want.”
“Didn’t they want me? But they withdrew. Does this mean they gave up?”
“Uncertain,” he gave a mixed answer. “What seems to be clear, to me at least, is that this doesn’t feel like an invasion.”
“If this is not an invasion, what is it?” Kamil raised his voice a little, becoming a little frustrated that nothing seemed to be concrete.
Cezary explained, “The battle in the East and then the recent battle at Fort Reen. It doesn’t feel like they are trying to invade. It feels more like they are …” He trailed off, not finishing the sentence.
“They are?” Kamil indirectly asked him to continue.
“It is my opinion that they are training.”
Everyone, bar Cezary, looked at each other, looking amused and confused at the same time.
“Training?” Raem repeated.
“It’s clear that they are not invading to expand their territories. Well, historically, Estana has been an extremely stable nation. Their border hasn’t changed for hundreds, if not over a thousand, years. This has made them known as a peaceful nation although it’s clear that they’ve got fangs.”
“That does not explain your claim that they are training, Sir Waszak,” Kamil pressed.
Cezary elaborated, “Armies require training and something called combat-readiness. The latter is not something you can teach. It is learned from real battles. It’s how soldiers react in life and death situations.”
Kamil knew what he was talking about, for he experienced it the first hand. It was during the Siwen invasion where he tagged along with Edmund’s army. He participated in a battle against a rebel force where he couldn’t do anything but fight to stay alive. Raem seemed to have the same thought as well. He, too, was there, guarding Kmail. Those without combat-readiness were likely going to have panic attacks in tight situations.
“For us, those in the Kingdom, we can sort of let men train for combat-readiness by sending them out to fight monsters and we’ve had several wars in the past decades. Naturally, combat-readiness is not our concern.”
For Estana, it was a different story. With the giant spiders roaming in the desert, they had a rather limited access to monster hunting, and they had always been a peaceful nation on the surface at least.
Cezary added, “I looked into this and found that their last conflict was about 40 years ago with a nation in the East. A whole generation passed without any conflict. So, it is my opinion that they are training.”
“That’s … just awkward,” Raem blurted. “You start a war just to train? That’s just absurd.”
“I am with Raem here,” Kamil added.
“They must be confident that they won’t lose. They will probably sue for peace when they feel it’s enough,” Nestor said.
Cezary added, “I am not concerned about the Southern border. My concern is the Eastern border where the king is actively partaking. If we push too far, we might get clawed back.”
Besides, Noah’s army at the Southern border was just too weak to launch a counter invasion. All they could do was defend.
“So, what do we do now?” Kamil asked the grand question.
“Nothing, Milord,” Cezary replied. “Do we have an army? No. The night raid won’t probably work again, and I am out of exploding fire crystals. Our job is probably done in this war.”
“So, we just sit back and watch?”
“We do what we can in Laufeld. We are going to start building stone walls and train more soldiers. If you have any better ideas, please tell us.”
The room went silent, and the meeting was soon over. Laufeld had 50 soldiers as guards and had six airships. While Raem was tasked to train a hundred soldiers, that wasn’t going to finish any time soon. The night raid was already a big achievement enough for such a small settlement that wasn’t expected to make any contribution in the war efforts. Additionally, in spite of the current wars, Laufeld was peaceful since it was far away from any actual conflicts, thus everyone went on with their lives. Cezary would continue to use three airships as scouts to gather information, and that was pretty much all Laufeld was doing for the wars.
Then, one day, Nestor Vogel requested an audience which was a rare occurrence.
“Sir Vogel, it’s rare that you request a private audience,” said Kamil at his desk.
“Yes, but I require your approval in this … case.”
Nestor displayed some hesitation in his words as if he was also surprised that he requested an audience.
“Oh? What might that be?”
“Ehm…” After a moment of clear reluctance, he spoke, “I thought I had left my family behind, but apparently that wasn’t the case.”
He was indeed discarded by his family and joined the Fenchel in Laufeld. However, after finding out that Nestor was doing quite well and was one of the most trusted staff under Kamil, they sought to bring up an arranged marriage for him.
“Oh, so they let you go. But now that you seem to be doing well, they want to get back to you. Typical, isn’t it?”
Nestor beamed a bitter smile; Kamil had hit the jackpot.
“Anyway.” Kamil chose to clear the mood. “Who’s the woman?”
“They said it’s someone you may know. Her name is Amy Wallen from Lux.”
Oh, my. That is a name I haven’t heard in a long time…
“I do know her although I’ve met her only a few times.”
Amy Wallen was a young woman with shoulder length red hair and
brown eyes. The color wasn’t deep as Esther’s. Hers was a light strawberry color. She was around 16 years old when he met her for the first time, meaning she’d be around 19 years old or so at this point, a prime age for a marriage for low nobles. She was also an earth mage with an affinity of six. Coincidentally, Nestor had an affinity to earth as well although his was four.
He added, “About 19 years old, a young woman with strawberry hair color…. Yes, I do remember her. A beautiful lady, might I add.”
Nestor’s face brightened up a bit after listening to the description of the woman from him. It was as if he was deeply concerned that the woman might have been ugly. The Wallen, being a newly promoted noble house in Lux, might have been more inclined to accept such a marriage proposal to establish connections. They were probably banking on a sim possibility of Nestor becoming a landed noble in which case they would leave Lux to join him wherever he would settle down.
Not a bad idea to be honest.
Should their plan bear any fruit, the Wallen would transform itself into a pillar house from a no-name noble house under another noble house. But then again, it was a slim chance.
Gotta say, whoever is the head of the Wallen is quite an ambitious guy.
It had been only a few years since they were taken in by the Fenchel in Lux. Yet, they were working toward climbing higher.
“So, Sir Vogel, are you going to accept?”
He grimaced immediately. “May I be brutally honest?”
“Of course, everything you say here will stay here. I swear.”
“If she was ugly, I was going to refuse. A woman’s appearance is very important to me.”
Kamil chuckled. “As a fellow man, I cannot show any disdain at you for thinking so. It IS important although I do feel personality should also play a part.”
“True, but this is an arranged marriage. Personality is something I will find out later only after marriage. In such a case, appearance is the only aspect I can rely on.”
“True enough, Sir Vogel.”
“So, please tell me; Does she look really beautiful? Or were you just being respectful?”
Kamil gave it a deeper thought. Nestor indeed had a point. A woman’s personality was something he would find out only after the marriage. He could still refuse, and this was the only time he had an actual choice. Once married, a divorce was virtually impossible. He could only divorce a woman if she was found guilty of infidelity. Even that would take years; The Flissing was going through it at the moment although it had something to do with Lillian being a royalty.
“She was sixteen when I met her. I wouldn’t honestly say she was beautiful but cute. She should be nineteen now. The bottom line is she wasn’t a bad-looking girl at that time.”
In general, young women, especially noblewomen who led an easier life, tended to be at least better looking than commoner women. Sadly, women were like flowers. Once they started to wither, some women aged pretty badly. Men were like fine wine as long as they took care of themselves.
“I see…”
“I also found her playful if that suits your fancy.”
“Playful, huh…”
He probably had a lot going on in his mind. The guy had been buried in work for a few years and then he was suddenly hit by a marriage proposal. For single men, marriage was something they desired and, at the same time, something to be afraid of because, by marrying a woman, they had to change. Their lifestyle would change dramatically. For Nestor, he had been sleeping in his study after working overnight frequently. Once married, that wasn’t going to be an option. He would have a duty to go back to his wife at night. Basically, he would need to bear more responsibility. This was probably why Cezary refused to marry, Kamil thought. He refused to bear more responsibility. In such a case, staying single was probably better than leaving his wife in the dark.
“So, Sir Vogel, are you going to accept?”
It wasn’t a bad deal, he thought. Nestor was 22, and Amy was 19. Their ages were a perfect match. He wasn’t sure whose idea it was, but ultimately it looked to be a decent deal and a decent match for both.
“I am inclined to accept… I simply wish I could see her at least once…”
“That can be arranged, can it? She is in Lux probably? Use the airship.”
Nestor’s eyes widened. Apparently, he had completely forgotten that he could use an airship to reach Lux and get back. It wouldn't even take half a day.
“I can give you a letter which should allow you to meet her. Nobody has to know that you are Nestor Vogel.”
A tip of Nestor’s lip curved into a partial smile.
“You would do that for me, Milord?”
“You are getting a woman for your life. This is the least I can do for you. Meet her in person and you can make an informed decision.”
Nestor bowed deeply toward him.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Milord!”
Kamil recalled how Theo Ros wasn’t pleased with his future wife. Even after his marriage, he didn’t look overly pleased with his wife. He absolutely did not want Nestor to go through the same experience. Thankfully, he and Flora were on better terms. However, if avoidable, a man should absolutely make an informed decision before choosing his wife. After writing a quick letter with his signature as well as a wax seal, he handed it over. The letter stated that Nestor needed a book from the Fenchel Lux library on his behalf. Since nothing important was there, Nestor should be allowed an entry. Taking the letter with both of his hands, Nestor left the room and headed straight to Cezary to inform him of his situation so that he could commission an airship.
He requested another audience the next day and brought a twist.
“You… what? I mean…, I beg your pardon?”
He returned and brought an interesting twist. He did manage to meet Amy but also managed to meet Rose Ros as well. It made sense since both of them were librarians. While Kamil didn’t exactly know how he ended up meeting both, that wasn’t important at the moment because he brought news.
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“If possible, I’d like to marry Rose Ros,” he declared with a smile on his face. Apparently, he fell for Rose.
“That’s … what a twist you’ve bought there, Sir Vogel.”
“Yes, I do admit that. But, after conversing with both of them, I am positive that Lady Ros will be a better fit for me.”
Rose Ros was the third child of the Ros. She was a young woman with shoulder length brown hair and green eyes. More importantly, she was the younger sister of Theo Ros. She had no magical affinity as far as he was aware although he could be wrong. At this point, there were two ways to go about. As his lord, Kamil could send a formal marriage proposal on his behalf to the Ros. Another way was to have his family send a marriage proposal. Nestor would obviously prefer the former where he had more control. Besides, he didn’t have a good impression on his family.
“I would like you to send a marriage proposal on my behalf,” he said. Kamil didn’t really have any reason to refuse this. Thus, he agreed to send a marriage proposal to the Ros on his behalf.
Thanks to the airship, exchanging messages was a breeze. Kamil’s formal marriage proposal for Nestor Vogel was sent and received within the same day. He expected several days for a reply to arrive. Interestingly however, a reply arrived on the same day. He was eagerly waiting while Kamil was reading the reply.
“I see.” He nodded along. “Well, Sir Vogel. I have good and bad news. Which one would you prefer to hear first?”
“Eh, doesn’t matter which to be honest. Let’s go with good news first.”
“Alright, Sir Vogel, the Ros is more than willing to entertain the idea. Now, the bad news is that they cannot offer any dowry.”
Kamil understood what was going on instantly. Greta went through a similar situation. Her family could not afford any dowry for her, and thus she was on her own to find her own husband. A noblewoman who could not afford a dowry was going to have a hard time finding a husband unless she was naturally really beautiful.
“I don’t care about money,” Nestor declared, no hesitation in his voice. “If that’s what’s stopping them, tell them not to worry. I simply want lady Ros.”
Their case was awfully similar to Noah and Greta.
“In that case, this is pretty much a done deal then,” Kamil said with assurance. “I suppose Lady Rose will have a final say in this. If you don’t mind me asking, why are you choosing her over Lady Wallen? The Wallen is willing to offer 3 gold pieces as a dowry.”
“I have nothing against Lady Wallen. If Lady Ros wasn’t there, I would have probably accepted the marriage.”
He went on to explain how the meeting went. Kamil’s letter enabled him to enter the Fenchel manor for a book from the library. He went there logically and found both women working on a project, which was how he ended up conversing with both of them.
“I do admit that Lady Wallen is indeed prettier. Her strawberry hair was marvelous. But, personality wise, I feel I am more compatible with Lady Ros. We share the same hobby and seem to share the same concerns.”
It was clear that Nestor had thought this through. Therefore, Kamil decided not to question him further. He had every right to choose what was best for him; He was an adult after all.
“Very well, Sir Vogel. I will send a reply. The Ros was clearly willing. I guess the next step is that they will send Lady Ros over here?”
He wasn’t sure. But this was a low key arranged marriage. There weren't going to be many obstacles.
“Milord, I’d like to make a request.”
“Oh? Do go on.” He was a bit surprised to see Nestor change the subject. He was even more surprised that he was making a request. The man rarely demanded anything.
“I’d like to build the Vogel manor here, now that I am about to start a family,” he said with a careful tone with his upper body slightly bent forward.
A noble’s manor was basically his HQ. The manor would employ maids, chefs, butlers, and guards, creating jobs as well as an establishment. In Laufeld, so far, there was only the Fenchel manor with about 15 staff employed which included maids, a chef, and a few guards. Establishments of more noble manors would mean one thing: An increase of service industry within the town which had been lacking. Daniel was also building a manor of his own to spend time with Esther. Therefore, Kamil had no reason to refuse his request except for one aspect: Funding. It wouldn’t have been an issue if he was marrying Amy since the Wallen was sending a few gold coins with her. Now, he didn’t have an issue with providing Nestor with enough funds to build his own nest. The issue was money or the lack thereof. Money flow was very, very, active. In other words, what went in, came right out to develop the town because the town had numerous large projects. The first one was the stone wall construction which was more about having manpower more than anything else. The second was the underground city project which required time more than money since digging was a time-consuming process. Those two were the big ones. Then there were house and road constructions. In short, the whole town was immensely busy. This actually helped refugees from Gonne settle down quickly because they had no time to look back and sulk. As soon as they chose to settle, they were working a day after.
“Sir Vogel, a manor costs money. Do you have it?”
“I …,” He trailed off. “I have about 50 silvers saved.”
It was nowhere enough to build a manor, a proper luxurious house maybe.
“Sir Vogel, you do know my financial situation, don’t you?”
Kamil didn’t make any excuses about it since Nestor had been acting like an accountant for him. He’d know that the money wasn’t there to begin with.
“Please, rest assured. I am not going to ask you for any financial aid. I am going to talk to carpenters and masons about payment plans. What I do ask from you is that I want you to be my guarantor.”
He was basically going to get a loan and would need someone to vouch for his credibility. Having the lord of the town as his guarantor would pretty much seal the deal without any complications. He certainly thought this through.
“Very well, Sir Vogel. I shall be your guarantor. Consider it as my gift to your marriage.”
“Thank you, Milord. I will work extra hard to repay you for your kindness.”
“Actually, don’t.”
Nestor blinked a few times, unable to understand what he meant.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. I mean, don’t you work hard enough already? Besides, you are about to get married. Spend more time with her so that you will be off a good start. Objectively speaking, you should have chosen Lady Wallen for her dowry. Instead, you’ve chosen Lady Ros. You’ve better make it work.”
Tears formed in Nestor’s eyes. He didn’t expect such warm words from his lord. In order to hide his emotions, he bowed deeply.
“I thank you for your consideration.”
The situation escalated quickly once both parties agreed to the marriage. In just two days, they were informed that Rose Ros would arrive via an airship. Apparently, the Fenchel had constructed two airships. At the same time Cezary informed Kamil that they had received two orders to construct airships for them.
“It’s from the Ulme and the Blind, the two new lords. I can see why they chose to hire us for the job.”
Kamil nodded along. The Harga asked them to build one as well. The newly established houses simply did not have resources and infrastructure to construct airships. Additionally, the two houses did not purchase the schematics.
He pointed out the fact, “They didn’t purchase the schematics, did they? If we build them airships, that’s like selling the schematics on the cheap, no?”
They could dismantle the airships to find out how it was made.
Cezary explained, “True, but the technology has already been spread. I don’t think the schematic holds any significant value now. We do need their business though.”
With a displeased pout, Kamil folded his arms. “I will leave the pricing up to you but do add a bit on top of the regular pricing.”
Cezary beamed a crooked grin. “Of course. Cheaters won’t get preferential treatments.”
The airship was becoming the norm in the Kingdom of Egra. Estana will soon follow the suit as well. Soon enough, the whole world will use airships to travel.
The next day, an foreign airship arrived. The design was the first iteration, meaning the Lux Fenchel built it based on the schematic. Since the first iteration, Cezary went through five more iterations: Version 6 was the most recent one and “the final one” as he told Kamil some time ago.
Anyway, once the airship landed, wooden stairs were lowered where Rose Ros carefully descended down from, her green eyes sparkling as she came down. Nestor was there to greet her. Nestor was waiting for her while Kamil was a distance away.
“Greetings, Lady Ros.”
She looked up and down on him for a brief second. “Oh, it is you. Ehm…, I seem to have forgotten to ask your name the last time.” She treated him as if he was a butler or something.
A tip of Kamil’s lips curved into a mischievous grin, immediately realizing what was going on. The guy never revealed his identity to the two girls when he met them.
“Milady, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nestor Vogel,” said he with a faint grin on his face.
Initially, Rose didn’t show any reaction. However, soon enough, her eyebrows furrowed, followed by an ever-reddening face; She was coming to a daunting realization that she had just looked down upon her future husband. With her mouth agape, she covered her mouth at once while taking a step backwards.
“I…, I…,” she stammered out of pure embarrassment. “I APOLOGIZE, SIR VOGEL!!!” She bowed at once, a 90 degree bow.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA -!
In Kamil’s mind, he was rolling on the floor, laughing internally. He loved it. Pulling pranks on girls has been the man’s domain after all since ancient times.
“Please, Lady Ros, we are to share our lives together for the rest of our lives. Let us not be too stiff.”
Dude, the guy’s smooth as fuck.
It didn’t take long for Rose to snap out and get a hold of herself although her face was still deep red. It must have been pretty embarrassing for her. She may have doubted his true identity, but, with Kamil standing a distance away, Nestor couldn’t lie.
She’s alone, huh. Not even a maid…
She was indeed alone, which made it as if she was an unwanted child from the family. The Ros may have had the money but may have chosen not to spend it on her. There was not even a bag with her. She arrived in Laufeld truly alone although it may perhaps have been due to a fact that the distance between Lux and Laufeld was very close. Unlike Flora who had to leave everything behind, Rose’s home was pretty close. He approached the couple and showed respect to her.
“Lady Ros, I, Kamil Fenchel, welcome you to your new home.”
She bowed in return.
“Lord Fenchel, it’s great to see you again.”
Neither of them expected to meet each other in this manner probably.
“How is Sir Theo? He should be with the army, yes?”
She nodded. “Yes, he is leading the Fenchel army in the North right now.”
It was highly unlikely that the Ros would inform Rose’s marriage to him since it was clear that they didn’t care much about her. He would find out when he returned to Lux. It was quite sad to see a noblewoman be treated in such a manner. He really didn’t like how Greta was treated, either.
“Before I forget…,” she said while pulling something out of her sleeve. She was wearing a robe with a belt to tighten her waist. Women usually did this to emphasize their waist lines were narrower than men. What she handed over to Nestor was an envelope. It was probably the marriage contract. Nestor would go over it in private and notify her if he wanted to make any changes. Once both agreed, they’d sign the contract, sealing their marriage effectively. The fact that she arrived here alone while carrying her own marriage contract indicated clearly that the Ros couldn’t care less about her.
I don’t know what kind of childhood she has had, but I will make sure that she is treated as fairly as possible.
Just because one smiled, it didn’t mean he was happy or content. Every smile had its dark side.
“Sir Vogel, I trust that you can take it from here?”
“Of course. I thank you for coming.”
Giving him a firm nod, Kamil turned around to leave the scene, giving them the private time they needed to settle things up. Interestingly, the Wallen didn’t give up after learning that Nestor rejected the proposal. A separate marriage proposal was sent to Cezary Waszak which was rejected immediately. To make it even more interesting, a mistress offer was sent to Kamil himself, offering Amy.
“It’s clear that the Wallen wants some kind of connection to Laufeld in one way or another,” Kamil said with a letter from the Wallen on his desk. He had called Cezary to discuss the matter. He was going to call Nestor but chose to leave him out of this.
“Sir Waszak, perhaps you should reconsider the offer?”
“No, Milord. I will not marry. I don’t have time for women.”
“You should at least start a family.”
“No, sir. I will probably be a bad father. Better to save my children from ordeals.”
Cezary was firm.
“How about you, sir? A man of your stature should have at least two mistresses.”
At least, that was the norm in the kingdom.
“No, Flora is enough for me. I will not have any other woman. I will consider a mistress only if she is found to be barren.
“Reasonable enough. What should we do about the Wallen however?”
Kamil shrugged. “Nothing? I am going to formally reject the idea. We let them be. What else could they do?”
There were no eligible noble males who they could offer Amy to. Meanwhile, he couldn’t help but to feel sad for Amy who was being offered like an object. She deserved more respect than this. But there was nothing he could do, and his plate was already more than full.
The next day, Nestor and Rose appeared before Kamil after requesting an audience. Given the fact that the duo appeared together, it likely meant that their marriage contract was signed and that they were officially married at this point.
“May I call you the Vogels?” He indirectly asked whether their marriage was a done deal.
“Yes, Milord,” Nestor replied with a nod while Rose had her eyes downcast with a rapidly reddening face. It looked like she had no poker face.
“Congratulations, you two. I am happy for you.”
“Milord, we’ve appeared here before you to make the announcement, and I would like you to employ her as a fellow scholar under my wing.”
It made sense. The guy was overworking, and Rose was a librarian before. Whatever she was doing fell under Nestor’s job in a broad sense. He would have a trustworthy assistant.
“Very well, I see no problem. Lady Vogel, I assign you under Sir Vogel.”
“I thank you, Milord,” Rose responded with a curt bow. Her red face reverted back to a normal color at this point. When their meeting was about to end, a quick succession of knocking was heard, which was a sign that it was urgent. Nestor recognized the manner of knocking as well and stepped sideways. Rose quickly followed the suit.
“Enter!” Kamil said powerfully.
A man he recognized entered at once. He was one of the pilots for the scouting airships.
“Milord, I bring urgent news!” He exclaimed once he kneeled down.
“Go on.”
“The Fenchel army has clashed with the Siwen army. It was 6,000 versus 18,000. Lord Edmund Fenchel has emerged victorious!”
The fools never learned a fucking lession, did they?
It looked like the Siwen and incompetence were synonymous with each other. Their incompetence cost them a war. Normally, they should have realized their mistake and should have made efforts to correct themselves. Alas, it was clear that they did not. Just having a large army wasn’t everything in war.
“There is more! The Siwen has fallen!” he declared loudly. For a moment, everyone in the room had no idea what he meant.
“Fallen? As in …?” Kamil wondered aloud.
“A rebellion broke out in their capital as soon as they heard that their army was defeated. Their whole royal family was put to the sword. The country has literally fallen apart!”
“Oh, my word…,” Nestor mumbled with his eyes wide. Rose looked equally shocked next to him.
“There is more, Milord! Atra has diverted and is invading what is left of the Siwen! Likewise, Lord Fenchel is also pushing to the North!”
Oh, wow, that’s some developments.
It took a moment for Kamil to respond to the shocking series of news.
“I thank you for your diligent report.”
Opening a drawer, he took out a silver coin and placed it on edge of his desk. The scout stood up and approached the desk at once while looking down. He took the coin and swiftly walked backwards while facing Kamil.
“I thank you, Milord!”
“Dismissed.”
Once the scout left, Nestor let out an exhausted long sign.
“It looks like a lot happened over a short span of time,” he remarked.
“The Siwen is no more…?” Rose trailed off.
“Good riddance, I’d say,” Kamil declared. Atra and the Siwen were supposed to have been in an alliance. “I suppose the Northern front is no more unless Atra decides to continue tackling us.”
“Probably not,” Nestor argued. “They will want to take as much land as possible from the Siwen.”
Stroking his chin, Kamil said, “I don’t like how Atra is acting but I suppose I might have done the same in their shoes…”
The Siwen had three major cities left and a few more remote villages. Those three cities had a very large population which enabled them to reinforce their depleted army quickly. Obviously, being incompetent they were, they probably didn’t adequately train and equip their new soldiers. It was also clear that they conscripted forcefully and earned the ire of commoners. Given what he learned from the folks of Gonne, the rebellion was coming sooner or later. Siwen nobles were arrogant and violent toward them. The pressure had been building up. Their breaking point was the news of the fresh defeat at hands of a much smaller army. Having been fed up and lost trust in their upper class, the folks rebelled, perhaps rightfully so. Of course, the bigger question was how the whole affair was going to affect them. With the Siwen fallen, Atra had clearly lost their interest in his kingdom for the time being at least. At the same time, with the Siwen out of the picture, their only enemy became his kingdom. They were clearly not afraid of starting wars unlike Estana who was going through their first conflict in 40 years. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he shut his eyes for a moment of peace. He kind of missed the quiet life of a hunter where he had nothing to worry about but himself and his family. The silence and solitude as he hid himself in a bush to pray on unsuspecting animals, it wasn’t a job for everyone but he had taken a liking to it.
Well, can’t exactly go back to being a hunter now, can I?
Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes to find Nestor and Rose looking at him, probably waiting for his order. He paraphrased Cezary’s words from before.
“We will do what we can in Laufeld and will maintain the Southern border.”
There is no need to seek out glory. I am not interested in glory. I will do what I can from where I am.