"Then let us try something different instead. Rather than playing the role of a noble commander, why do you become a bandit leader instead?" Edsel suggested while leaning back in his chair.
Cecilia raised an eyebrow at the sudden shift. "Me? A bandit?"
"Don't back down just because the role has changed. Or is my lady too scared to play a character beneath her station?"
Her eyes narrowed. "No. I am not scared."
"Then listen carefully. You are the leader of a bandit group with fifty men under your command. You are hungry, hunted by the lord of this territory who wants to capture you and your men. If you lose all fifty men, you will no longer be a leader. You will be nothing. So instead of attacking the lord directly, you set your sights on a village protected by two hundred soldiers. How do you attack?"
Cecilia frowned at the impossible odds.
"Those are terrible numbers for an attack. Any leader with sense would retreat and find a weaker target."
"Even if that village holds the supply lines for the entire region? Even if retreat means watching your men starve to death one by one?"
Her fingers drummed against the table as she thought. The rhythm was quick, impatient.
"Then I do not attack the main force directly. I split my men into small groups and hit them at night. I burn their supply camp while they sleep. I poison their water before dawn. I make them hungry and tired and afraid long before I ever commit to a real battle. When they are weakened enough, then I strike."
Edsel smiled. "That is not a very ladylike strategy at all."
Cecilia's eyes flashed with something dangerous.
"You asked for my strategy. I gave it to you. If you wanted something pretty and polite, you should have asked one of the first years who giggles when you look at them."
"I did ask for your strategy. And it is a good one." Edsel nodded slowly. "A brutal one but good."
She smiled at the praise. It was strange, she thought. The only other person she enjoyed being her real self with was Edwin. But now that she thought about it, did Edwin ever truly feel comfortable with her? Whenever they talked, there was always a hesitation in his voice. A pause before he answered. A distance she could never close.
She shook her head, pushing the thought away.
Edsel stood up from his chair.
"This was fun. We can talk more another time and Play more games, if you want. In secret, of course. I would not want anyone to think that we are close friends. Especially not your friends."
Cecilia opened her mouth to respond, but the words caught in her throat.
She wanted to tell him that she wanted to discuss more, to play more games, to talk about war and strategy without the mask she wore for everyone else. But perhaps it was better this way.
"Sure," she said quietly.
Edsel nodded and turned to walk away.
"Wait." Cecilia's voice came out softer than she intended. She looked away, her cheeks warming. "If you ever want to talk more about this... I am still here. In the library. Most days."
Edsel paused and looked back at her with a smile. "How sweet of you. I never knew that you would miss my company so much."
Her face burned red. "Forget it! I take it back! I do not miss you at all, you idiot!" She gripped her hands into fists at her sides.
Edsel grinned and walked away.
As he turned the corner, he nearly collided with Edwin, who was walking in the opposite direction.
They both stopped and stared at each other.
Edwin's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. He remembered what the old man turtle had told him. Stay away. Do not provoke him. He let out a breath and stepped aside.
"Never mind," Edwin muttered while looking away.
Edsel watched as Edwin walked past him, scanning the library tables before heading directly towards Cecilia's corner.
"Is that lady to your liking?"
Edsel turned his head slightly. Silas was standing behind a shelf in the corner, his arms folded while pretending to browse the books around him.
Edsel glanced back at Cecilia, who was now sitting with Edwin across the table.
"Of course not. She simply reminds me of someone I knew." He paused and watched them for a moment longer. "Besides, I only wanted to test something."
Silas studied Edsel's expression. He was indeed unpredictable, Silas thought. Suddenly being nice to Cecilia, engaging her in conversation, playing games with her. But then again, Edsel was still young. Perhaps it was natural for a child his age to seek out close friends, even if he did not realize it himself.
"Now that we are here, how has the plan progressed?" Edsel asked while turning away from the table.
Silas straightened up with pride.
"My lord, the plan has been largely successful. With my apologies, I must admit that I made a few errors along the way. I did not watch Mery as carefully as I should have."
Edsel's eyes sharpened.
"Go on. Tell me exactly what kind of errors occurred."
Silas felt the pressure of that gaze pressing down on him.
"The breeding facility is still intact and operational. However, because of that foolish woman's failure, I ended up killing all the men from the village. I did not have time to use them for experiments as we originally planned."
Edsel's expression softened unexpectedly.
"Well, it is a good thing that this happened."
Silas blinked. "Huh? I do not understand. How can it be a good thing?"
"The important part of the plan was securing the women. The men were always secondary." Edsel paused and looked toward the window. "As for Mery, her failure was my fault. It is good that I made this mistake now rather than later."
Silas was confused. "You mean you predicted that she would fail? That you allowed it to happen?"
"No, I did not predict anything. I simply made a natural mistake." Edsel's voice was calm, analytical. "My authority works perfectly fine, and my strategies are sound. But even I can make errors in judgment. Mery was a good woman, obedient and loyal. She even brought you the first woman to capture without hesitation."
Silas nodded slowly while watching Edsel carefully.
"That is precisely why her failure was valuable." Edsel turned away from the window. "She was an ordinary woman with no special skills, no training, no talent for deception or coercion. I tasked her with something that she was never equipped to handle. That is why she broke." He looked at Silas with cold clarity. "Now I know the limits of what I can ask from ordinary people. From now on, anyone without skill or ability will only be used for minor tasks. Major operations require people who are built for them."
Silas was stunned. Edsel had just analyzed his own failure, corrected his own thinking, and extracted a lesson from the disaster. He was not angry about losing Mery. He was pleased about what he had learned.
This child was truly peculiar, Silas thought. Most lords would have raged at the loss of a servant. Edsel simply filed the information away and moved forward.
"I understand, my lord. I will keep this lesson in mind regarding my own shortcomings as well," Silas replied with genuine respect.