Arthur's first impression of Lissop was that of a soldier who had retained his blunt honesty. Perhaps he had a few tricks when it came to conversation, but not many.
As their conversation deepened, however, Arthur gradually saw this lord's true face-an opportunist!
An opportunist wearing a soldier's mask.
Without a doubt, he was remarkably successful at it.
Had the information he offered not pointed repeatedly toward Old Lion, Arthur would never have uncovered his true nature.
He ran into a wall with Old Lion!
So he decided to test the waters with Mother Tiger?
No!
More precisely, Lissop wants to use Mother Tiger to put pressure on Old Lion!
What a bold bastard!
Having seen through his intentions, Arthur assessed him inwardly.
That boldness lay not in playing both Old Lion and Mother Tiger, but in his willingness to use his own son as bait!
Lissop could not possibly have been unaware of Young Lissop's plan.
Yet despite knowing, the lord had still let Young Lissop go through with it.
Did he have that much confidence in his son?
Or did he simply not care whether his son lived or died?
Judging by his behavior, it should have been the former.
But Arthur was beginning to have doubts.
Because whether Young Lissop succeeded or failed, Lissop stood to benefit.
If Young Lissop succeeded, he could use that success to gain more bargaining chips, either proposing an exchange with Mother Tiger or holding out for the best offer from Old Lion.
If Young Lissop failed, things would merely end up as they were now, with him using a little "information" to put pressure on Old Lion.
But beyond success and failure, there was also...
The unexpected!
If anything unexpected happened during Young Lissop's plan...
Young Lissop would certainly die.
Did