Cain had a thousand thoughts in his mind. He was born much later than the others and everyone had already formed a group. He also had to stay here until he reached the level of Sword Expert. From the moment he was born, he was locked in this cage like a bird.
In fact, he was worse than a bird. A bird has owners or family who love it. But Cain knew nothing except his mother's face and his brother's name. They hadn't visited him even once since he was born.
So Cain had to organize his own group on his own. Although he had never wanted to fight in this war, he had already faced death several times.
He would get out of here in the future. He wouldn't have a shield like Dark Sword Castle, so he would have to fight everyone alone.
He could not do that.
He needed someone to support him until he was the strongest.
"As much as you want to remain neutral, you will not be able to do so. The Ashborne family will end up in a civil war. My brothers and sisters are too greedy. Deciding on a new head will not be easy."
"I know. That's when we'll give our answer."
Cain laughed bitterly, Constantine seemed to have forgotten something.
"You mentioned there were others here before me. Although the Dark Sword Brigade is one of the three major Dark Knight units, you are currently confined to a fortress. You have no influence and no one cares about you in the political arena. You are isolated and as alien to the outside world as I am, kept out of battle and prevented from achieving military success... Why? Someone sees you as a threat."
The Dark Sword Brigade had three thousand Dark Knights under its command. They were among the most powerful knight brigades in the entire Holy Alliance. The carnage they could cause in battle was incalculable. Led by a good commander, the Dark Sword Brigade was worth a hundred thousand men.
The army protecting the Ashborne Family's lands numbered three hundred thousand men. This ignored the garrisons and corps that were directly loyal to the Holy Alliance. In short, the Ashborne Family was like a country on its own.
The armies of the kingdoms under the Holy Alliance were limited to a hundred thousand. They could only keep a fraction of that number of soldiers in their kingdoms. Most were sent to the frontiers for war.
Although the Ashborne Family's territory was not as big as a country, its power was more concentrated.
Especially as they were a landlocked region, they were able to take conquered islands under their protection. With an army of three hundred thousand men, there were very few people who could bully them. The most important force of this army was the Dark Knight Division, which was fifteen thousand strong.
With every soldier at the level of a Sword Expert, this army was the Ashborne Family's main strength.
The Dark Sword Brigade was one of the three best brigades among the seven Dark Knight Brigades. This was despite the fact that they were not on active duty.
Constantine continued to listen in silence, sipping his wine. He had already finished three glasses without realizing it.
"My brothers were born luckier than me. They have mothers, uncles and even families somewhere they can trust. They were born earlier, so they were not threatened like me. The environment was ready for them to thrive and they were at peace until they started the war. But I am not like that. I have been in the middle of the conflict from the moment I was born. I have no support, no family. I am on my own, just like you..."
When Constantine had finished the last drop of wine in his glass, he put it on the table and tried to refill it. But the wine was gone. He realized he had finished it all without realizing it. He took a deep breath, nervous for some reason.
He was a veteran who had spent years on the battlefield. But for some reason what the boy had said had brought up the worries in his mind again. He had a strange voice. He had never been trained as a leader, but he had honed his oratory skills.
Constantine looked at the boy before him. The six who had come before him had come with knights or gifts. Cain was the only one who had come alone and without gifts. And he was only eight years old. With no support, he had to make his own decisions.
Like other heirs, he had no butlers to advise him.
Nevertheless, what he said was right. There was only one seat. More than one person could not sit on that seat. But unfortunately, the number of those who wanted to sit on the seat was not small. A war was inevitable.
"I cannot deny what you say, Young Master. You are right in every word. But you have misunderstood something. We are an army. A big army of three thousand men. If we are careful whose side we choose, we will get what we want in the end."
Constantine knew what Cain was thinking. Because those who came before him had said the same thing. That they had to choose a side... But Constantine refused to take any side. He would maintain his policy of neutrality to the end.
"At the moment, the balance between the sides is breaking down. I hear that the war between Vladimir and Valentine has polarized not only the political arena but also the military. If the patriarch continues to ignore this war, eventually civil war will break out. Isn't the plan in your mind to remain neutral until then and support whoever is closest to winning?"
So they would only be on the side of the winner. They wouldn't suffer any losses and they would make the most profit. Constantine couldn't help being surprised. He couldn't believe that an eight-year-old could understand his thoughts.
He was right. Constantine knew he had to choose a side in this war. There was no way he could not choose sides. After all, the war would affect everyone. If he did not support the new chief, he would be treated the same as those who opposed him.
So he would not choose sides until the very end.
Constantine said nothing.
"You are a soldier."
Cain picked up a glass from the table and poured himself a glass of wine from the bottle Constantine had just opened. He was good with alcohol. He had started drinking alcohol when he was very young because he thought too much and had nightmares. A wry smile appeared on his face as he sipped the red wine.
"You seem to have misunderstood something, despite your management skills. But it is understandable. You are a soldier after all. It's not your fault you don't understand human nature well."
It was a common mistake. People always try to read the motives behind behavior and try to use predictability. It was something everyone who spent time in politics did. Of course, Constantine, a soldier, didn't know this.
It took experience to know how predictable it was.
A very painful experience.
"What do you mean?"
Cain smiled.
"I'm sure everyone knows what you want to do."
"What do you mean?"
"Sigh..."
Cain sighed. As talented and brilliant as he was, Constantine had a problem. All his life he had only ever done strategy and tactics. He had never dealt with the longer-term politics.
"At the end of the day, everyone is a player in this game. You are a player too. But there is a difference between you and other players. You have isolated yourself by stepping on everyone's toes. Because you are not on one side, you are ostracised by everyone."
"Everyone wants to take us to their side..." Constantine intervened.
"This is not that kind of exclusion. Those who seek to eliminate you after they have you on their side will try to forge false alliances with you. You have stepped on the toes of your predecessors and been eliminated before the game has even begun." He took a sip of his wine, his mouth dry, and continued sarcastically. "You are still an important influence, but you cannot be trusted. Personally, if I were patriarch, I would eliminate anyone who might cause me trouble, just as my father did and those before him..."
Bam!
Constantine stood up in a huff. His chest was heaving, his calm expression replaced by anger.
"Young Master!"
Cain continued unperturbed.
"You have lost the possibility of being one of the main pieces on the table. You are now a pawn. A pawn to be used and then discarded... It's all very well to be confident, but don't underestimate people's anger. You're on your own because you've angered everyone. Unfortunately, you have no choice but to embrace the snake."
In his arrogance, he had not realized the truth. The Dark Sword Brigade was influenced by its glorious past. He thought they were untouchable, but the situation was very different. It was true that they were an important factor. They had the capacity to completely change the balance of power in the army wing.
But that was during the war of succession. After the war was over, the Dark Sword Brigade would be worthless. It would be ostracized by the others.
Those who chose sides at the last moment were always the least valuable at the table.
Cain looked fearlessly at Constantine's face, black with rage. It made Constantine come to his senses. The man took deep breaths and sat back down. He hadn't expected loyalty to be such a problem.
"Are you ready to listen to me now?"