Temporary Alliance

Hudson had made quite an impression along the way and was now perfectly at ease. None of the nobles present were ordinary people; every one of them spoke pleasantly.

There was no sign of the usual melodramatic nonsense—looking down on others, provocation, contempt, and deliberately stirring up resentment.

As the youngest person there, Hudson was quite popular among the crowd. If the occasion had been different, they would probably have started trying to marry off their daughters to him.

The only regret was that the banquet was full of grown men. None of the noblewomen or young noble ladies he had imagined made an appearance.

There was nothing to be done about that. Who brought their families with them when traveling? Since the outsiders had not brought their families, the nearby nobles naturally would not bring female companions either.

Everyone had come to build relationships and band together for warmth. Faced with the pressure of survival, romance and courtship had to take a back seat.

As he ate the atrocious food, Hudson found himself looking down on Chers's invention more and more. The magic dining table was great for showing off, but the taste was truly indescribable.

Still, that was normal. It was like the automatic cooking machines from his previous life. All the ingredients and side dishes were added according to the most scientific proportions, yet the final food was merely barely edible. It had no soul at all.

Seeing Chers drinking alone in gloomy silence, Hudson had an idea. He picked up his wineglass, walked over, and said with a smile, "Uncle Chers, are you planning to become a bard?"

Already in a foul mood, Chers's expression darkened further at those words. Even the way he looked at Hudson was no longer friendly.

Bards seemed glamorous, but in truth, it was not a respectable profession. In the eyes of nobles, they were just a bunch of people with nothing better to do after filling their bellies.

Listening to their stories from time to time was fine, but if a family's child actually became a bard, the family would be mocked for decades.

Though the joke had gone a little too far, Hudson did not panic in the slightest. He calmly continued, "Uncle Chers, there is an opportunity to make a fortune. Are you interested?"

Realizing that Hudson was not joking, the anger that had risen in Chers instantly died down.

A few days earlier, he had gone overboard during a magic experiment and nearly bankrupted his territory's finances. If he did not find a solution quickly, more than a thousand of his subjects would have to go hungry along with him.

His beard was practically turning white from the stress of raising money. To make matters worse, Count Pierce's summons had arrived at the worst possible time, leaving Chers with nowhere to borrow money from.

War was a money pit. In compulsory mobilizations like this, everyone had to bring their own provisions into battle, and all expenses had to be covered by the noble lords themselves.

One only had to look at the scale of the mobilization to know that everyone would have to tighten their belts in the days ahead. Even those who still had some reserves would keep them for emergencies.

Chers could not even bring himself to ask for a loan. The pressure he was under was easy to imagine.

If his territory truly went bankrupt, his days as a lord would be over. Nobles did not merely enjoy rights; they also had to fulfill obligations.

No matter how successful the indoctrination was, the subjects still had to be fed. At the very least, their basic survival had to be guaranteed. Otherwise, when hunger drove them too far, they would rebel.

Chers had a wife, children, and elders to support as well. He absolutely could not afford to lose the family estate. That was why he had been forced to hold this banquet today.

So far, this had already been a disastrous loss. He had not managed to sell anything, yet he had spent money hosting the banquet.

Even a mosquito was still meat. For Chers, who was on the verge of bankruptcy, hosting a banquet was no small expense.

Hearing that there was a chance to make money, Chers did not hesitate. He immediately asked, "Hudson, my most adorable nephew, what opportunity to make a fortune are you talking about?"

Hudson took a small sip of wine and replied unhurriedly, "Naturally, war profits!"

"This rebellion is no small matter. The accumulated wealth of many nobles and wealthy merchants has fallen into the hands of the Rebel Army. Those people are swimming in money now."

"As long as we wipe them out, our gains will certainly be considerable. If we are lucky enough to catch a few big fish, it will be an absolute windfall."

Upon hearing the answer, Chers immediately lost interest. He said irritably, "Hudson, you are still too young.

"Everyone knows about war profits. But how many people have actually become rich through war?

"No matter how much loot there is, it all goes to the big figures above us. We can only pick up a few scraps. We cannot even recover the cost of sending troops, so how can we talk about getting rich?"

That was the truth. Since ancient times, very few people had built their fortunes through war. It was not that war lacked wealth; it was simply that the powerful and influential took all of it for themselves.

If minor nobles could get a sip of the soup, it meant the higher-ups had a conscience. If they encountered someone who wanted everything for himself, they would not even get to drink the bathwater.

"Uncle Chers, don't rush."

"Ultimately, strength is what speaks in this world. A single family like ours naturally has no say on the battlefield, but if everyone joins together, things will be different.

"There are more than thirty noble families here today. If we gather everyone's troops together, that will amount to several thousand men.

"If Uncle Chers can take the lead and unite everyone, then we will have a place on the battlefield no matter what.

"If we are lucky, we might even secure responsibility for a region of our own. When that happens, won't we be the ones deciding how the spoils are divided?"

Hudson did his best to entice him.

Originally, he had not planned to stir anything up. But since an opportunity had been delivered to his doorstep, he would be an idiot not to make use of it.

Knight Chels might not hold a high rank, and he might be poor, but his strength was formidable. His influence among the nobles was far from insignificant.

If he was willing to take the lead in forming an alliance, few of the nobles present would refuse. After all, no one wanted to become cannon fodder on the battlefield.

With an alliance, they could at least send someone with troops to attend military meetings and avoid being left completely in the dark.

As for whether the alliance's existence would displease the big figures above them, what did that have to do with Hudson?

If the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up first. He was not going to be the leader anyway. As a nobody, who would have the time to pay attention to him?

"Would everyone really be willing to join?"

Chers asked uncertainly.

He was fine when it came to fighting, and he could get by with research too, but politics was truly beyond him.

After all these years, not only had he failed to expand the family estate, he had nearly bankrupted it instead. That alone said enough.

"Why would anyone refuse something that benefits them?"

Hudson smiled and tossed the question back at him. Their earlier exchanges had not been for nothing; he had already figured out most of the other nobles' little thoughts.

If he had not been confident, Hudson would not have come over to provoke Knight Chels. After all, offending a Great Knight was troublesome.

After hesitating for a moment, Chers suddenly let out a breath, as if he had made a major decision.

"Fine. I'll do it!"