At the banquet, laughter and cheerful voices filled the air, but Chrysus was not in particularly high spirits.
After hearing Grand Duke Mayers explain the terrifying profits and wealth the Highland Warhorses could influence, Chrysus inevitably clenched his fists.
"Father, how old is he?"
Grand Duke Mayers laughed.
"Yes, how old is he? From his territory far away in the Northlands, he changed the direction of a political struggle in the Imperial Capital. But you needn't be too discouraged."
"No one could have imagined that he would use the Highland Warhorses to stop the Imperial Second Legion from appearing in Northwind.
"But that came at a cost. He had to possess bargaining chips equal to the Highland Warhorses. This time, it was the Northern Warhorses. All one could say was that he was lucky to discover a herd of horses in the Otherworld Plane and meet that groom, Macken."
"In political struggles, those who win are never simply the cleverest. They win because of how many resources and bargaining chips they control."
"Many times, I have wondered whether nobles are truly smarter than slaves."
"Yet when I see those fellows who only know how to eat, wait for death, and toy with female slaves, I know that is not the case. Some slaves are far smarter than those nobles with brains full of fat maggots."
"But slaves can only ever be slaves. Their cleverness can only be dangerous little tricks."
"Do you understand why?"
"Because those foolish, bloated pig nobles hold the most crucial bargaining chip: every right within their territories."
"Wisdom cannot win disputes. Bargaining chips can."
Grand Duke Mayers looked at the nobles at the banquet, who controlled most of the Florian Empire's power.
"The Mayers Family possesses nearly one-fifth of this Empire's bargaining chips."
Chrysus's eyes lit