Chapter 329: Take The Clothes and Get Ready

Adrian turned his head to look at her.

"Well that is true," Adrian said. "But you know I’ve been gambling for the past few days under the assumption that we will be the ones launching the attack. In these past three days, if the Avarice Kingdom attacked us while the soldiers were busy clutching their stomachs and crying, we would have faced a massive slaughter. Giving them a stomach ache is not really a permanent solution."

He rubbed his face.

"I need a real solution. I need these nobles to team up with me against the Emperor. I know they are sly enough to not make dumb decisions, but right now their judgment is completely clouded by the shiny rewards they might get if this assault succeeds. So I just don’t really know what to do anymore."

Claire thought about it for a second.

"Well why don’t you just win the soldiers’ hearts instead?"

Adrian looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You can just win the soldiers over to your side," Claire explained quietly. "Recruit them over to the Oresfall army. Of course this is highly underhanded and completely frowned upon by noble society, but I really don’t think you would mind something like that."

Adrian’s normal looking face suddenly completely shifted.

His lips curled upwards into a massive smirk.

"You are a genius," Adrian said. "And I am incredibly glad you are by my side right now."

He paused and tapped his chin.

"But there is another issue. How do I even win their hearts in a few days? Their families are literally living in different territories. I don’t think a lot of them would be willing to just abandon their homes and migrate into Oresfall."

Claire shook her head.

"The entire Empire is already talking about us," Claire said. "Everyone talks about how multiple families are living in prosperity and happiness. They talk about how Oresfall is blessed by the Goddess and how our Lord doesn’t take insane taxes from his people. It really wouldn’t take you any effort to convince them. You just need to give them a few perks and they will gladly head over."

Adrian listened closely.

"The one thing you need to understand is that not a lot of people actually join the army because they are passionate about fighting," Claire continued. "They are literally doing it just for the sake of survival. And even that is a very minor population. Most of these men are literally forced into war. The nobles make draft rules where they forcibly recruit one man from every family and just march them to the front."

She looked at him.

"All you need to do is convince them and offer them a stable job or a peaceful place to live. Make a few promises where they will not be forced into the military. That will be more than enough for you to win their hearts entirely."

Adrian slowly nodded.

"You are not wrong. But if I actually do that, the nobles might just get a bit too angry to the point where they might try to go against me."

"And what are they going to do?" Claire asked blankly. "They won’t even have an army to fight you with. All they can do is cry and go back to their empty territories or complain to the Emperor."

She hesitated for a second.

"Well I mean, if that happens it will be a huge issue because the Emperor might literally use it as an excuse to attack us. Based on what you’ve told me before, he already dislikes you. He just needs a small reason."

"Well you don’t have to worry about the Emperor," Adrian said dismissively. "Honestly I kind of hope he comes here."

Adrian sat up straight.

"I am not really going to make the soldiers just refuse to fight. I have a slightly different plan now. But you have given me the perfect seed to grow a beautiful tree. I will definitely treat you to a great meal once we get back to Oresfall."

Claire chuckled softly. "You don’t have to."

"Well I am just really glad that you are my general, and you’re not allowed to say no." Adrian said, smirking as he knew that she couldn’t really say no to official orders.

The way he said the first part carried so much warmth that she could clearly sense the sincerity in his tone.

Claire just sort of melted inside.

She had always wanted to be a respected knight. But when she actually became one, she was automatically tossed into the role of a general. She just wanted to be praised as a strong knight, something she barely got from anyone. Most of her validation literally came from this exact same guy.

And now, forget about being a knight. He was actively telling her that he was extremely glad to have her as his general.

She thought back to just a few moments ago when he said he was glad to have her by his side. And then her mind drifted back to almost a year ago when he said something extremely similar.

And then came his infurating smirk right after.

She let out a soft internal sigh.

’This man really has no tact,’ Claire thought to herself. ’He does not realize what his words do to people. I don’t know about anyone else, but I really need to stop him from saying things like this or I might just go over the edge.’

It would get really bad.

’Or maybe I should just actually tell him about my feelings instead of constantly running away.’

Right as she was in the middle of her deep internal crisis, Adrian suddenly patted her on the back.

"Okay then, off you go," Adrian said. "Take your armor pieces and your new clothes and get yourself ready. We will need to go back out to start cooking in an hour or two."

He grabbed one of the heavy steel plates off the floor and handed it to her.

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