Initially, when Lord Bernard heard that General Achillas had survived his fall, he was not able to stop cursing his luck feeling he was so close yet so far.
But now, hearing the man was tethering along the brink of death instead of being actually dead, suddenly brought great joy to the handsome lord. Because if Achillas had been already dead, he would have had no value in the upcoming ransom negotiations with Alexander.
Thus, Achillas's survival inadvertently led to the worst outcome for him and the best outcome for his hated rival.
Now, just by exchanging the Heeat family's general, Lord Bernard would be able to get rid of his arch enemy, have his father back and take command of the allied army, all in the same single stroke.
It was like shooting three birds with a single stone.
So how could the man not get excited? The golden opportunity he was presented with was too intoxicating.
'Hahaha, I really have to thank Alexander when I see him next. And ask him to reward whoever made that great shot. Hah hah, maybe I should even make him a lord hah hah!'
Thus the 'over the moon' lord could not even stop himself from rejoicing as such inside his mind, roaring out in pleasure. If he could have, he would have surely kissed that fateful servant.
Hearing Lord Bernard's plan, the others without exception were stunned. Even the usually stoic and always in control Anoon was caught off guard by it.
'Take the other ship and hand over Achillas to Lady Miranda? Swear our loyalty? Feet in both boats?'
All this might sound very sophisticated to a flashy man like Lord Bernard, but to the down to earth Anoon, it sounded awfully complicated. And learning from past experience, complicated plans had the tendency to fall apart like wet sand castles the moment push came to shove.
The man could nitpick several flaws just off the top of his head.
First of all, the other ship was not easy to get to given all the floating debris and human obstacles on the way. They had not approached it yet for this precise reason.
And even if they did manage to navigate the perilous waters and reach the vessel's deck, then there was the grave challenge of getting it out safely.
And from how things stood at his end, Anoon wondered whether that was even possible- for the complexity of the deadly maze in front of him seemed too obtuse to solve.
The floating debris was all shifting constantly in the waves, while new, smaller chunks were being regularly added to the pile every few while, as more and more of the leftover bridge crumbled to dust, thus making the place even more impermeable.
The surrounding waters had long turned unconductible for any kind of ship maneuver.
And if they could find a way, the adjutant genuinely worried whether the vessel would be able to even make those turns, given the battering he had seen it take.
Surely its hulls had to be cracked and leaking in water, while its steering rudders were most likely smashed to bits, making moving it in any direction other than in a straight line mostly likely impossible.
The experienced sailor thus wisely determined the ship was mostly likely not worth calling a ship anymore, but more of a mere floating platform, barely held together by ropes, nails, and sheer will. The man did not think it would be wise to disturb this trinity.
But he did not dare outright object to Lord Bernard's plan, afraid the golden goose would fly the coop.
So what advice he was giving was undoubtedly sincere. And combine this with his belief in the gods, he indeed came to realize that his excuse would likely not hold under the scrutiny of the gods.
Hence he began to get cold feet at the very last second.
'Fuck!' And seeing this reticence emerge within his target when he was so close made Anoon produce a bubbling hatred for Ser Ballmer like no other in his heart.
This old veteran had always hated him due to various reasons, as clearly revealed by how the other side had just called him 'less than mortal scum'. And Anoon very much reciprocated those feeling ounce for ounce.
The black adjutant however did not get to dwell on the man for now but quickly forced his attention to the mercurial Lord Bernard, who was by now giving him some very obvious looks.
It was apparent that he wanted Anoon's help in arguing his case.
"...." But try as he might, even the swift black man found himself tongue tied at the moment. He seemed to have said all that he had to say.
'Fuck!' Thus, as his mind produced a blank, Anoon cursed himself, fearing that he might have to start swimming after all.
"Technically speaking, Lord Bernard has sworn nothing to Lady Linda." Until this sweet chime released him from this prison.
And the salvation came from the unlikeliest of places- Ser Robert.
This man had seemingly managed to notice a flaw in the argument that no one had and steeping up with sparkling eyes and a confident gait, he claimed,
"The person who Lord Bernard swore his oath to is the head of the Margraves family. But as of today, that seat is empty!"
"Lady Linda to date is officially only the duchess of the Heeat family and is still fighting for her throne with Lady Miranda. Thus it could be argued that anything she asked of Lord Bernard was only a favor and not bound by the gods!"
The entire cast of men was stunned by Ser Robert's surprising eloquence and wondered where all that came from.
Well it came from the fact that the man was always a real stickler for oaths and thus had found some of the words used by Miss Linda during their talks to be breaking protocol.
Who knew it would come in handy here like this?
(Next chapter before today ends).
Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!
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