Egor still hadn't returned. Several hours had passed, which Klaus spent on the bed, while Lilith was enthusiastically reading something.
"Can you read?" he asked.
"Yes, I was taught to write and read so that I could do my duties. I was usually given a list, like the other children, so that we wouldn't bother the others."
"And what are you so enthusiastically studying there?"
Not that Klaus was interested, he just couldn't think about where Egor had disappeared to.
"Lissa gave it to me," Lilith answered evasively, and the prince didn't bother to clarify what exactly the former slave of the pleasure house had given her to read.
"Is he even going to come?" the man couldn't resist, abruptly getting up from the bed.
"Who?"
"Egor. Who else lives in this room besides us?"
"But today he asked to be moved to another one."
"How so? Why?"
"He said it was too cramped for three, Lilith shrugged."
It was even better for the girl. Her master always paid more attention to the first slave, and now she had the opportunity to show that Lilith could be useful too.
"If you want something, just say so. I can do everything no worse than him."
"No, I just need to talk to him. Which room did he move to?"
"I don't know. He promised to take me to Lissa every day, and the rest doesn't interest me."
Klaus left the room. The search was unsuccessful. He found out where Egor had moved, but that room was empty too. The prince, having hung around doing nothing all day, returned, spread out his mattress and fell asleep without talking to his friend.
"So you want to start with the small fry?" Klaus asked August when he told him the plan of action.
It was the next morning, and they were sitting together in the captain's room. Discussing the plan of action distracted Klaus from Yegor, who did not leave his mind even in his sleep.
"Yes. Most of the small nobles live on the borders. It will be easier to negotiate with them."
"Yes, but their support will not help us much. They do not have large troops and most often they consist only of guards, and they buy slaves. What good does it do us to start with small fry?"
"Klaus, you are not thinking clearly today," August sighed. "Didn't get enough sleep?"
"Yes, I slept poorly, but that is irrelevant. You want to recruit remote noble estates in order to..."
"They are on the border," August said the last word with emphasis. "What follows from this?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm mentally retarded. Yes, they are on the border, but what's the point?"
"Klaus!" the captain couldn't stand it. "Use your brain! You just said that they are on the border, where skirmishes with our neighbors happen almost every day, and at the same time, the highborn rarely have an army to defend themselves from attack!"
Klaus began to understand what he would not have paid much attention to before. Yes, these families do not have an army, because soldiers from the royal family and the council of six confidants are sent to the borders, and they have the most significant military power.
The highborn living on the borders must also, in all likelihood, always be in danger, but even when our country is losing, these families do not panic and live peacefully.
"They have some agreements with their neighbors!" it dawned on Klaus.
"Exactly! What do you think will happen if a civil war starts inside the country?"
"It will be a great opportunity to attack and win."
"And what should be done to prevent this from happening?"
"Improve relations with neighbors."
"Exactly. The border highborn already have their own small agreements. They will quickly find common ground that will help you, if not make peace with your neighbors, then at least contain them until you ascend the throne."
"I didn't think about external danger at all - Klaus said annoyed."
"Brother, you have me for that!"
"Okay, who shall we start with?"
They scheduled visits to border nobles without an army for the next month. According to August's calculations, they would be able to visit everyone during this time, but there was one problem. Because these families were small and remote, August had not been able to find out the leverage, which meant that Klaus would have to improvise and find out everything on the spot.
"At the moment, we have five teleportation stones. You know that to create them, you need information about the destination. In total, we need to visit six houses. I sent scouts to all of them."
"What a convenient thing."
"Of course! These stones also work both ways!"
"How many people can one stone carry?"
"Will your retinue go with you? Are you still not sure about the safety of this place?"
"That's not it. I want Lilith to visit different places and learn about the world while it's relatively safe."
"The stone can carry up to five people at a time. I thought we'd go just the two of us and take a few guards. You know that it's not proper for the Crown Prince to appear in public without an entourage of at least four people."
"Then we'll need at least eight."
"You mean me? I've renounced my family, especially since I don't plan on revealing my identity. It's better for me to remain dead for a while. I'll play the role of one of the guards. We'll take another useful and formidable one with us, and we'll dress your inferior ones in military uniforms. I'll ask the master to adjust the armor to fit them."
"Excellent. How do you plan to increase our military power? The logical way to do this would be to lure at least half of the Council of Six."
"Yes, I thought about that too and gathered some information. They have the largest troops and their main power is concentrated in the center."
"How can we lure them?"
"So, the Council of Six close advisers to the king currently includes: Stig Mor, Slash Digger, Krop Truk, Sivel Murphy, Lucius Krik and, of course, Jiro Deffender."
'Yes, I know who is on the council."
"I just decided to remind you. So, there is no need to talk about my father. He is responsible for magic, tests free children, keeps records of slaves with magic. He has everything he needs and, in addition, is quite cunning. It will be possible to lure him to our side only if we promise him the throne and leave the old way of life."
"Yes, our opinions are similar here, but I still cannot understand what he has in mind and why he needs me? This issue also needs to be resolved before the decisive moment. I am afraid he may throw a spanner in the works."
"I agree. You need to go back and pretend that you support his ideas."
"These intrigues do not give me any pleasure at all," the prince grimaced. "Who is next?"
"Stig Mor. His symbol is an owl and he is responsible for education, or rather for ensuring that everyone receives the education that the crown requires. He is greedy, but the king does not allow more mentors to be trained than required. He can be offered freedom of action, allowed to open schools for the middle and lowborn, to arrange additional education for the highborn, for example, the languages of neighboring countries, their customs. Anything! Give him the prospect of expanding, and most importantly, to earn money in this field and he is yours."
"I understand that you started with an easy target?"
"Absolutely right. He is the most dissatisfied with the restrictions and secretly provides his mentors to those who pay enough. By the way, your girl has his brand on her stomach."
"How do you know? Even I did not see her first brand,' Klaus was indignant.
"Calm down, I didn't touch her! The girls told me. Usually the old brand is removed, but in her case they apparently haven't had time yet or decided that it's not necessary."
'That's why she can write and read!" Klaus realized, finding it strange that the owner teaches all slaves such literacy, regardless of their purpose.
'Next is Slash Digger, a military adviser. He has the largest number of slaves in the army. He practically never takes mercenaries, preferring to raise soldiers himself. His retired generals teach high-born gentlemen how to use various types of weapons, well, you know that yourself. Fazli is just his protégé."
"And how can I attract him?"
"It won't be easy with him. He's obsessed with the art of war and revels in skirmishes on the border, the seizure of territory. He's not interested in power or money, he needs war."
"Yes, you're right, it will be difficult with him. As I understand it, he doesn't care about the prospects either?"
"If it's not the prospects of war."
"I have one idea, but it needs to be thought through carefully."
"I'm glad you're in such a good mood. Next up, we have Krop Truk. He's responsible for food and regulates the middle-born with their agricultural activities. He, like Mor, also craves more money, but the king demands that the supply be controlled so that the middle-born cannot rise above their heads."
"How so?"
"The king forbids growing wheat, breeding cattle, adapting new varieties of vegetables and fruits beyond what is necessary, and demands reports on each field or pasture."
'This is too much. Why didn't I know that?"
'Have you ever been interested in politics? If you look at it from his point of view, there is some logic. A middle-class person can't get rich, hire an army and uproot someone of high birth. A person who can feed his family and nothing more is not a threat."
"I would say the opposite. A person deprived of opportunities can be terrible in his desire for revenge."
"Not in our country. Here, no one will risk it without laying down some straw, and the king doesn't give any straw."
"What about Sivel Marfi?"
"Ah, this cunning rogue rolls in gold and high-flown slaves. He is responsible for controlling the population's finances, but he does not deny himself too much. The king turns a blind eye to this, since Marfi practically licks his boots. I have absolutely no idea how to lure him away. I do not have a single one of my own in his house."
"Okay, let's leave him for last. Lucius Creek?"
"He got the role of "overseer of the lower slaves", as they called him at court. He is the least influential of the six and the most dissatisfied. He is a coward and is afraid to go against the king. Creek is madly thirsty for power, so he is cruel to his slaves. For them, he is a king and a god. So you can only offer him influence and the opportunity to join at the very end, when he sees that you have a chance to win."
"And if I don't have a chance?"
"Then he won't come under any circumstances. I repeat, he's very cowardly."
"Okay. We still have a whole month of visits to the border guards ahead. I'll think of something."
"That's what I'm counting on."