Different Soldiers

When Karl woke up again, the sunlight outside the window had become bright and dazzling; it was clearly noon.

The headache from the hangover had subsided considerably, but my throat was still dry, and my body felt sluggish, like after a good night's sleep.

He sat up groggily, rubbed his eyes, and found that there was no one beside him, and the warm scent on the pillow had dissipated.

He got dressed, and groggily walked out of the bedroom and into the small living room on the second floor.

This place was quite different from his usual quiet demeanor. Several neatly dressed maids were busily setting the table and preparing lunch, and the aroma of food filled the air.

Since his mother, Lady Eileen, arrived with her family servants, Karl's old habit of having simple meals delivered from the barracks by orderly was forced to change.

Especially now that the Princess has moved in, the Lord's Residence's manor can no longer be as casual as a military camp. He had no choice but to cancel the arrangement of orderly soldiers and leave everything to the servants brought by his mother.

Just then, Mrs. Lady Eileen and Princess Louise came up the stairs, both with relaxed and cheerful smiles on their faces, as if they had just returned from a walk or a chat outside, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

They spotted Karl standing at the living room doorway, his hair disheveled from sleep, his eyes still glazed over.

Seeing this, Lady Eileen couldn't help but laugh, her tone both loving and teasing. "Oh dear, what's wrong with our hardworking Lord Carnford today? The sun's already high in the sky before you get up? I've never seen you sleep in before, why are you making an exception on your wedding day?"

Karl felt a little embarrassed by his mother's words and subconsciously explained, "Mom, don't overthink it, I just drank a little too much yesterday..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly felt something was amiss. Louise was now his legal wife, so what was there to think about about sleeping in late? This explanation only seemed like a cover-up.

Lady Eileen clearly understood this implication, and her smile deepened. She gave him a meaningful look, then glanced at Louise beside her, whose cheeks were slightly flushed and who had lowered her head in embarrassment.

Louise felt her ears burning when she heard Karl's words, combined with the lady's teasing, but she didn't feel disgusted. Instead, she felt a kind of ordinary warmth in the interaction between the mother and son.

"Alright, alright, I won't talk about you anymore. Go wash up and get ready for dinner," Lady Eileen said with a smile, ending the conversation and calling to Karl.

The atmosphere at the lunch table was fairly harmonious.

Lady Eileen would occasionally try to start a lighthearted conversation, and Louise would respond softly.

But Karl didn't seem to have much of an appetite, only eating a few bites of the food in front of him, his mind clearly elsewhere.

He quickly put down his cutlery, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said to his mother and Louise, "Mother, Your Her Highness the Princess, I've finished eating. I have some urgent official business to attend to in the territory, so please excuse me."

Lady Eileen nodded understandingly. "Go ahead, business is more important."

Louise replied softly, "We're alright."

Karl stood up, straightened his robes slightly, and strode out of the living room toward his office downstairs. His figure quickly disappeared at the top of the stairs.

Karl hurried to the Intelligence Department's temporary office, which had been converted from an old document room.

Richter had clearly been waiting, and upon seeing Karl enter, he immediately rose and bowed.

"My Lord."

"Hmm," Karl nodded, getting straight to the point, "How's the personnel preparation going?"

Richter, with a hint of confidence on his face after completing the mission, reported, "Sir, the initial core team of ten has been fully selected, and all personnel are in place."

"Oh? Who are they? Tell me." Karl sat down at the only simple wooden table in the room and gestured for Richter to sit down as well.

Richter produced a short list and began to introduce the others, "Besides Franz, whom you already know, the other recruits come from diverse backgrounds. Five are from newly arrived refugees, and the other four are 'old residents' of Carnford."

Karl raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of doubt in his voice. "Didn't Brendan prioritize picking out the fittest and promising young men from the refugees? Can you still find suitable candidates?"

Richter smiled. "Commander Brendan wants excellent soldiers, soldiers who can fight head-on on the battlefield, but the people I want have completely different standards."

He explained in detail, "These five people are from the refugee community, but their background is very special. One of them used to be the head of a caravan guard who traveled all over the country. He is very knowledgeable and has dealt with all sorts of people. He is extremely good at reading people."

"Two of them are wandering knights-errant who used to make a living alone in the border regions. Their skills may not be top-notch, but they have extensive experience in wilderness survival, tracking, and infiltration; the most special ones are the other two..."

Richter paused, then lowered his voice. "They both had murder on their hands; they were genuine fugitives. One killed the Lord's tax collector in anger because he couldn't bear the oppression of the nobles; the other was ruthless in black market battles and offended someone he shouldn't have, forcing him to flee."

"Commander Brendan would never recruit such people into the Main Corps, or even the militia. They are undisciplined and difficult to manage."

Karl listened, tapping his fingers lightly on the table without interrupting.

Richter continued, "But it is precisely these people who possess psychological qualities far exceeding those of ordinary people, are well-versed in human relationships and even the rules of the dark side, are bold yet meticulous, and will stop at nothing to survive."

"These qualities are actually extremely rare 'advantages' for intelligence work, which requires operating in the shadows, dealing with all sorts of people, and even carrying out special missions."

"As for those four old residents," Richter's tone softened, "Their backgrounds are relatively clean, and their loyalty to the territory is even higher."

"One is the tavern owner who used to be the most well-informed person in town; another is an old hunter who used to guide passing caravans and knows the Northern Territory like the back of his hand; another is a meticulous former town clerk who is good at recording; and the last one is an old scout who retired due to injury but has extremely keen observation skills. They can serve as the backbone of intelligence analysis, organization, and internal surveillance."

After listening, Karl pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Hmm... Their backgrounds are complex, but they each have their strengths. They are indeed a pragmatic choice when needed, and we can use them. However, Richter, you must understand that employing these people is a double-edged sword. The more outstanding their abilities, the greater their potential destructive power may be."

"Most importantly, we must absolutely guarantee their loyalty. I don't want the sword of Carnford to one day turn against us."

Richter's expression hardened, and he nodded solemnly. "Rest assured, sir! I will always keep this in mind and will never dare to be negligent in the slightest!"

He then explained his management approach, "Since there are few people at present, all ten of them will be directly led and monitored by me, with the strictest single-line contact and task isolation implemented."

"They don't even fully understand each other's identities and tasks. If the department expands and the number of people increases in the future, I will definitely prioritize selecting those from this group of veterans who have been tested over a long period of time and proven their absolute loyalty and reliability to serve in middle management positions, ensuring that the core is always in the hands of trustworthy people."