The fundamental spirit of strategy lies in setting up a board you can win on. Then what matters most in tactics? Striking fast and finishing fast, swiftly enough to execute that strategy to perfection.
But then Mühe asked me a question with an enigmatic smile.
Her mindset had shifted to calculation.
"Sir Streit, may I sell this information to a few nobles I know? It would benefit you as well, of course."
Selling the information that the Gale Knights were about to move would benefit me? She maintained a cooperative relationship with the Shadows, but her true trade was that of an information broker. That was why her salon sat near the slums.
Vermeer glared in disapproval at Mühe, who was so casually preparing to peddle information. The two of them were partners in a practical sense, but on a personal level they didn’t seem to care for each other much.
"The Viscount Neunil family sits in the northwest district off Neuden Boulevard. To get there, you’ll have to pass the mansions of other nobles. Won’t they take offense at seeing the Gale Knights conduct a military operation?"
"I’m prepared to accept some backlash, but I’ll admit that adding more enemies is a burden."
"It will take some time for the Gale Knights to mobilize anyway. Within that window, my retainers will make their rounds diligently and sell the information."
"Lady Mühe! Won’t it reach Viscount Neunil as well?"
As Vermeer feared, there was no doubt it would reach Viscount Neunil’s ears.
But after mulling it over, I decided it wouldn’t matter much even if it did. From the moment I arrived in Breisburg, the Neunils would have been anticipating military action from the Gale Knights anyway.
The bold attack on the slums was proof enough of that.
The instant Bodo was taken back from them, their options narrowed.
"Lady Mühe, could you make contact with the Viscount Neunil family as well?"
"Are you planning to show mercy to rats that ought to be clubbed to death?"
"The Neunils are an old house, so there are bound to be people who resent the family head. Is there a way to reach them? With your connections, I imagine it’s possible."
Even if I arrest Viscount Neunil, I cannot execute a titled noble unless the charge is treason. Since I’m attacking them on the grounds of Bodo’s kidnapping, the matter is confined to a fight between one family and another.
And in a fight between families, the victor can usually demand rightful compensation from the loser, but even so, a long-established house like the Viscount Neunil family would be able to get back on its feet.
I, however, had no intention of stopping there. I meant to stir up internal division so that the Neunils would squander their time frantically putting out fires at home. Every group, without exception, has its feuding factions.
"Sir Streit, you truly are a cruel man. Inciting internal division to grind them down to the very last. If I were Viscount Neunil, I would count making an enemy of the Gale Knight as the greatest mistake of my life."
"Can it be done?"
"I’ll attempt contact."
Mühe gave no firm promise, but even without going through her, there might be those who would approach me on their own. There is never a shortage of people who turn hardship into opportunity.
And this was by no means someone else’s problem.
The Streit bloodline currently consists of me, Hilda, and the child on the way. Just the three of us. But what happens when, in time, our blood relatives swell to Neunil’s numbers?
Like it or not, vested interests grow in proportion to a family’s size, and political battles over power inevitably follow. It was a problem that could never be avoided. The same went for quarrels among retainers.
I had weeded out the seeds of discord by screening for temperament, but no one could know how things would turn out down the road. So controlling that discord effectively and quieting discontent were among the crucial tasks laid before me.
"Baron, I have a request."
Vermeer, who had been biding his time while Mühe hurried out to sell her information, spoke up. Unlike moments before, his expression had turned desperately earnest.
"Shall I consider it repayment for rescuing Bodo?"
"You may think of it that way if you wish."
His expression was utterly serious.
He had changed a great deal since marrying the young lady of Mainhof.
"Fine. But if it’s unreasonable, I’ll refuse."
"It is not unreasonable. Unlike Lady Mühe, I simply wish to return to Lord Franz’s side. Please help me so that Lord Franz will accept me once again."
The bond between Franz and Vermeer had been built up since childhood. As the old friend who had always been at his side, Vermeer feared drifting away from the crown prince like this and losing his influence as a close confidant.
For him, loyalty to the crown prince was his entire life. That was why he had begun to guard against me when I started gaining influence over His Highness, only to become tangled in the queen’s schemes and end up estranged from him instead.
And so, profiting while others fought, I was able to take Vermeer’s place as the crown prince’s confidant. The title of chief of staff was an honor given to the supreme commander’s inner circle, but the merits I had earned outstripped anyone’s.
By now, my power had grown too great for me to be called a mere confidant of the crown prince. The only man who can keep a prince as a confidant is the realm’s foremost noble, the grand duke himself, and for the crown prince to make use of me strained propriety in more ways than one.
That must be why Vermeer judged this to be his chance. Our relationship had grown quite distant, but through Bodo, he meant to rebuild that trust.
Thoroughly calculating, yet simple and easy to read.
Should I grant Vermeer’s request?
Then again, when it comes to the human heart, persuasion isn’t a cure-all.
Persuading someone and winning their genuine acceptance are entirely different matters.
"Sir Vermeer, even I can’t guarantee that. I’m grateful you saved Bodo, but..."
"I beg you. I only wish to return to the way things were."
Desperate eyes. And I like desperate men. Grant a favor to a desperate man and you win his goodwill easily, and can build a solid relationship on it. Calculating, yes, but the other side is doing the same math.
Besides, it’s hard to betray someone who helped you in your hour of need.
Especially in noble society, where justification and face mean everything.
Barring a rotten disposition or a special situation like Mort and Adelbert’s, it was even possible to bring a man inside the same fold. For the record, the royal family’s attendants did not much care for me.
Because the royals summoned me so readily, I was an eyesore to the gatekeepers who guarded access to them. They stayed quiet for now, while I was close to the royal family, but once I returned to my domain, they might slander me without end.
All the more reason that restoring Vermeer, who was friendly to me, as the crown prince’s confidant would be a fine move. I couldn’t stay in Breisburg forever, and I was a prince with much to do.
"If things go well and you regain your place at his side, what help will you give me? Setting aside the rescue of Bodo, this is a deal between us."
"I cannot tell you everything, but if anyone moves to slander or undermine you, I will inform you. In exchange, Baron, please remain a supporter of His Highness the crown prince to the very end."
Vermeer was on the crown prince’s side to the last. Demanding support for His Highness as the price of our deal, of all things. As things stood, I had no reason to betray the crown prince, and I intended to support that justice-minded man to the end anyway.
"You’re the one who shouldn’t burden His Highness, Sir Vermeer."
"...I have learned much as well."
"Sir Vermeer, we need only fulfill our duties."
Vermeer was a loyal hound who, the moment he judged something harmful to the crown prince, would sink his teeth into it without hesitation. But there are times when too much of a thing is as bad as too little.
That was exactly how Vermeer got swept up in the queen’s scheme. He was a hound armored in loyalty, but the crown prince found him terribly suffocating, and so His Highness pushed him away. If he would just rein in that temperament a little, he’d be a decent enough fellow.