"Sister, thank you for coming. I know you are busy, so forgive me," Alfred said politely as a servant came over and poured some tea for the two of them.

"Never apologise, Your Majesty. It is my duty to heed your summons." Alice flashed a beautiful smile at Alfred and picked up the glass of tea. Taking a small sip, her entire body relaxed. "But why have you called for me, your Majesty? Have I done som..."

"No. You have been a perfect help, Alice." Alfred leaned forward and looked into her eyes. "I called you for two reasons. First," Alfred paused and softly smiled at her. "You have been such a great help, so loyal, and I feel you deserve a reward." Alice’s eyes lit up, and her face went red.

"I am undeserving, Your Majesty. I simply do the Gods will." Alice tried to shake her head and refuse, but Alfred ignored her and reached into his pocket. Taking out a folded piece of paper, he slid it over.

"I won’t take no for an answer. You deserve it. That is the ownership rights to a large portion of land in the capital. Part of it has long gone underdeveloped. I believe you know what should be built here." Alice grabbed it with shaking hands.

"I will not fail you, Your Majesty." Tears nearly fell from her eyes, causing Alfred to smile stifly before clearing his throat.

"That leads me onto the next thing. I need your help. In the coming war, I need you to send help; send in priests to convert the people. I will ensure they are protected, but we need to spread the truth to them quickly, before the Church can react. After all, we need to save their souls."

Alice took a deep breath and fixed her appearance. "Of course. Whatever you wish." Hearing her words, he couldn’t help but smile. Having someone like Alice in charge of the Empire’s religious matters was truly a blessing.

Bluntly putting it, she was insane. It was a strange type of insanity. She didn’t see things that didn’t exist, nor was she some sadistic murderer. In fact, he would describe her as pure, even after the purge she helped take part in. Her insanity came from how she viewed him and herself. She wanted to be a martyr. She truly believed she was destined to save others. And Alfred was her living God. The thing she could use to justify everything.

It was terrifying but amazing. She was the perfect person he could use. She was unquestioning and ready to carry out any act if she believed it to be for the good of the Gods and people.

"I heard you have been getting close to my wife." But there was one thing he didn’t understand. The relationship between her and Isra.

Alice’s smile widened, and she happily nodded. "The Empress. Bless her, for she understood. She wanted me to teach the young prince the way of the Gods so he can be a just ruler in the future."

’So that how it is.’ Alfred squinted and looked to the ground. ’She is already getting the Pantheon to back Edward.’ He didn’t care that Isra was rallying support for their son, but something about it made Alfred feel strange. She was consolidating too much power behind him. He knew she was scared by the bastard’s arrival, but it was becoming dangerous. Edward was still too young. He couldn’t have this much power behind him.

There was no telling what Edward might learn at his age, and they couldn’t always be around him. The idea that his son was slowly being manipulated entered his mind, and looking at Alice, he smiled and stood up. Going behind her, he rested his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed.

"Who is in charge of the Prince’s religious teachings?" Alice didn’t notice the underlying threat in Alfred’s voice and happily smiled, believing Alfred to be interested in it like Isra.

"A sister I trust very much. Eva." Alfred put a tiny bit more pressure into the grip on Alice’s shoulder, not enough to hurt her but enough to get his point clear.

"I’m glad the Empress is enthusiastic, much like I am. But the Prince is still young."

"That’s why it is good. He will understand the Gods’ teaching at a young age. Much like you did." Alice’s tone was flooded with joy as she looked at the sky and clasped her hands.

"Alice," Alfred said coldly. "If you provide any teachers for my son, let me see them first next time. Tell Eva I wish to see her."

"Of course. I should have done so before. The Empress said it would be fine, but of course." Alfred finally let go. Even with how he acted towards her, Alice didn’t change. ’She isn’t trying to trick him.’ He was sure of that much.

He didn’t like it, but Alice felt like a dog. Always doing her best to please him, she was suffocating. He loved her loyalty but couldn’t stand how she acted because of it. "I must go now. Thank you, sister." Alice clasped her hands and bowed deeply toward Alfred, saying a silent prayer.

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Marcus looked around the wooden fort. It was the first of the many to come, but although it was better than nothing, it still wouldn’t be great. The walls were the only good part, with logs closely placed together and not a single gap in them. Yet, that was it. There was barely any room for archers, and only a couple hundred men could fit.

"It will do. Have the peasants work on the rest." Marcus gave the order to Arek, who ran off. Feeling a pair of eyes dig into him, Marcus sighed and faced his second-in-command. "What is it, Adam?"

"We have had news. The Commonwealth is on the move." Marcus froze at the news but recovered in a second.

"Give me all details. Levae nothing." The two paced back to the camp as Adam rattled off all the information Marcus wanted.

"They are slowly pulling away from the fronts, leaving behind the bare minimum. Where they are gathering is unknown, but my guess is the southern coast. Those on the front have held off advancing, believing it to be a trick like the one you used, as the Commonwealth has no reason to retreat."

"When we return, gather all those we need." With Adam’s nod, Marcus fell into thought. ’What are they trying to do?’ Closing his eyes, a map of the southern island appeared in his mind, and Marcus carefully thought about the position of all his and the enemy’s troops. "Adam. Where have the majority retreated from?"

"The North, sir." Marcus nodded and closed his eyes again. He knew that the North had the least troops but was the hardest area to attack. It made sense that they would be willing to pull more soldiers out there. ’What do they want to do? What would I do?’ Marcus could see it. The southern island. He could see every viable front the enemy could use.

The south made the most sense to him to attack. Its forts were destroyed, and it was easy to move an army across. But it was also where the majority of his army was. He had already proven he could win a pitch battle even when outnumbered; would his enemy really risk it again?

Turning around, the sprawling forest filled his view, and Marcus smiled, realising, "He’s coming through here."

"Sir?" Adam asked in confusion to the low muttering.

"he can’t beat me in battle, and he can’t attack the north. So what would you do? Go around. Charge the weak point, force troops away from other fronts, and then attack through them when they are weak." ’It’s good.’ Marcus couldn’t help but give a compliment in his mind but felt sorry for his opponent.

It may have tricked others, but not Marcus. He would have done it himself. He knew it was a gamble to march through the forest, but which defender would have most of his troops on a natural fortress? Marcus smiled. "Don’t tell anyone what we have found. I need him to think he has won."

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Kacper looked at the forest in the distance and smiled. Whilst it was time yet, Ludwick had been quick. He had been able to get the support he needed, and whilst the reinforcements weren’t a lot, it was enough to cover the flanks. All he had to do was be patient and wait for them.

"He will have noticed something by now," Ludwick warned, walking beside Kacper.

"I know. So we will need to trick him. We’ll attack the south before charging through the forest. He is a smart man, but not all-knowing."

Lucdwick sighed but smiled. "This can’t fail."

"It won’t," Kacper said with a confidence that he had lacked for the past week. Seeing it, Lucdwick smiled and gently patted his shoulder.

"We need to find a route through the forest to march such a large force." Kacper fell into thought hearing that.

"There are many things we must prepare. We can’t take cavalery, and our supply lines will be slow." Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a second. "I must prepare. Tell me when our renifrcoments have arrived."

Ludwick gave a small bow and watched as his friend ran off. Looking at the forest, he felt slightly conflicted but chose to trust Kacper.