"Are we really withdrawing, Viscount?"
"I've already told you twice, Hunter. If you ask me one more time, I don't care who your father is—I'll throw you out of my coalition army!"
"But we clearly have the advantage. Why should we—"
Viscount Frey looked thoroughly impatient. As he directed servants to load his favorite armchair onto a carriage, he patiently explained to the young man before him:
"Because nobody cares whether the Resistance Army lives or dies—no, actually, I do care. They can't be finished off yet!"
"Uh, why?"
"Did your father only teach you to read those stupid books? Tell me who you are, and why you're standing here!"
Hunter instinctively straightened his back.
"Your Excellency, I am Hunter Godfrey Watts, a scholar of the Duchy of Alvaray. Following the Grand Duke's will, I came here to assist you in wiping out—"
"Stop. That's enough." Viscount Frey cut Hunter off. "The Grand Duke sent you to assist me, not to cause me trouble!"
"But—"
"The Grand Duke doesn't care about the Resistance Army. This is Bazel's territory. The Grand Duke would love nothing more than for there to be as many Resistance Army troops as possible. Tell me, since I came here, how many sieges have I commanded?"
"Not one. You always seemed to be busy with other matters."
"Exactly. Since arriving here, I occupied five castles in the County of Bazel without spending a single soldier. It was all thanks to the Resistance Army. They gave us an excuse to remain here, but now that the nearby lands have all been divided up, we need to go somewhere else."
Hunter's eyes widened in disbelief, though he also seemed to vaguely understand something.
"I attended the Royal Army Academy for three years. I was among the final batch of