Chapter 791: One More Condition

Selaser frowns. "Grand Marshal, I hope you're joking. Do you really want to escalate this?"

Clifford gestures for his subordinates to leave, and Selaser waves his own men out as well.

Once they are alone, Clifford says, "I will be blunt. Your soldiers may leave, but they cannot take our citizens with them!"

Selaser replies, "We rescued those people. When we attacked that nest, a young man had already been accepted into our Eighth Legion."

"That young man was unfortunately killed during the operation. Under Peace Haven's laws, his younger brother is now one of our military dependents."

"We have the right to take the boy back to Peace Haven and care for him. That right was explicitly included in the entry agreement we signed."

Clifford says evenly, "The agreement also states that you may not take the private property of our nobles."

"That includes a noble's serfs."

"The boy's family failed to pay their taxes this year, so the local viscount enslaved them. They are now the noble's private property."

Selaser's gaze hardens, and his voice turns cold. "Grand Marshal, this is an insult to the Eighth Legion and to Peace Haven's Military Dependents Law!"

Clifford waves a hand. "Easy. I didn't do this. I'm only telling you how things stand."

"You aren't planning to hit me, are you?"

"These old bones wouldn't survive a beating from a young man like you. Judging by that aura, you must be a Grand Knight already!"

Selaser answers in a low voice, "Iron Rank. Fresh from the forge."

Clifford goes still, then lets out another long sigh. "All right. I clearly have a great deal left to learn."

"I did not orchestrate this matter, nor did His Majesty give it his tacit approval."

"Your people mishandled the situation. If they meant to take the boy, they should've slipped away in secret or taken every survivor with them."

"If they wanted to be ruthless, they could've killed every survivor who knew the truth."

"Instead, they took one child and left everyone else behind. Once the survivors told their stories, people immediately realized the boy was special."

"I ordered your squad detained. What you don't know is that if I hadn't stepped in, someone else would've seized the boy, perhaps after silencing every witness."

Selaser sneers. "Then they're far bolder than they should be."

Clifford pours him a glass of water. "That's why I said some people don't care whether humanity survives."

"They've never been responsible for a nation, much less all of humanity."

"Yet they stand above ordinary people, so every crisis reaches them last."

"Their own interests come first, even at the expense of the greater cause. Perhaps they don't care. Perhaps they've simply never understood."

Selaser gives a small nod. "I trust you, Grand Marshal. The Eighth Legion owes you a favor for this."

Clifford studies him. "I thought you understood all this already. You should know how these things work."

Selaser shakes his head. "My lord said soldiers need to understand politics, but must never take part in it."

Clifford chuckles. "He teaches you politics so no one can manipulate your army, then keeps you out of it to preserve the army's integrity."

"Henwell's ambitions truly are vast. He isn't merely training officers. He's training military-civil governors who can command and safeguard entire regions!"

"Doesn't that resemble the way nobles are raised? The only difference is that Henwell focuses on governance and war rather than intrigue!"

Selaser replies, "Nobles without titles! Nobles with a greater sense of responsibility! Or rather, this is what nobles should have been all along!"

"We have no titles, no fiefs, no private armies, and no privileges!"

"But we possess something the nobles of other territories do not. We have honor, and we have a duty to safeguard the people entrusted to us!"

Clifford remains silent for a long moment, then waves a hand. "Enough. Let's leave that alone. Those are your ideals, and I won't judge them."

"Are you unwilling to judge them, Grand Marshal, or afraid to?"

"Is there a difference? I'm unwilling because I'm afraid, and fear makes me unwilling."

Clifford continues, "Let's get back to the squad and the boy. I still don't know why you want to take him home."

"But if even those nobles sensed something special about him, then he must matter greatly to you."

"What I want to know is how far you're willing to go for this child."

Selaser answers solemnly, "Far beyond anything you can imagine. The fact that I came in person should tell you that much."

"Be more specific."

"The Military Intelligence Office's Wind Raider Battalion has reached Peace Haven's Southern District, and the Lord Iron Guards have assembled."

"The Iron Guard Legion can march for the border at any moment, and the Southern District's army has completed its prewar mobilization."

"Lady Melissa signed the order herself. We must bring the boy back."

"That is our position."

Still reeling, Clifford asks, "Is the boy really that important?"

"Far more important than you can imagine."

"Can you tell me what this is about? Could he be one of Henwell's descendants, lost somewhere beyond his territory?"

Selaser replies, "First, if the boy carried my lord's bloodline, believe me, our response would look very different. I wouldn't have come alone."

"I would've marched an army into the city, taken your seat, and then discussed the matter with you."

"Second, you just slandered my lord. If he hears about this, he'll come and beat you himself!"

Clifford laughs awkwardly. "It was a joke. Don't repeat it."

Selaser pauses. "The boy is connected to the Calamity War. He may possess intelligence about the Subterranean River Bandits that could change the course of the war."

Clifford shoots to his feet. "Are you serious?"

"There's a very high probability. That's the conclusion our Technical Research Institute reached after analyzing the intelligence."

"We still need to study him carefully. That's why we must take him back."

Clifford's eyes turn fierce. "Do you know how many people we've lost in this Calamity War?"

"If the boy truly is connected to the Subterranean River Bandits, if he carries a secret that could change the course of the war,"

"then we're just as willing to pay a price beyond anything you can imagine!"

Selaser shakes his head. "You can't. You don't have the research capabilities to uncover this secret. Only we do."

"Heh. Don't you think you're underestimating us?"

Selaser shakes his head again. "No. Very few people in Lumir truly understand us, and you're one of them."

"You know our research and development capabilities. We can focus every resource on a single problem and solve it properly."

"I believe you could uncover the boy's secret eventually, but how long would it take?"

"Time is the one thing none of us can afford to lose!"

"Besides, whatever you discover will end up serving a privileged few."

"Whatever we discover will be placed in the hands of ordinary soldiers!"

"Do we protect the interests of a privileged few and let them grow stronger from this crisis?"

"Or do we save the lives of most ordinary soldiers? The choice is yours, Grand Marshal!"

After a long silence, Clifford says, "You must share your research with us!"