Leading his men across the Southern Island made him realise how amazing Marcus’s victory was. The opposition they had to face was extremely minimal, with only a few strongholds existing. They were easy enough for his men to deal with, even when split.

"You give a great amount of autonomy to your men," Kacper said, impressed. He was still being escorted by guards, after his offer, the man accepted. William knew he couldn’t trust him completely and didn’t divulge any secrets that could jeopardise their conquest, but he allowed him to follow. He wanted his loyalty, and the best way to do that was to have him trust and understand him.

"Commanders of the military go under a scrutinising selection process. Once we deem someone able to lead, they undergo a special training. They are men who have been selected because they can lead independently. My job is simply to hold everything together."

Kacper could tell that was a lie. He knew that William had planned the entire war. Each individual segment of the army that was moving separately from him was all part of his plan, not the individual commanders’. "So, Commander Hardly. He’s your second, right? What about him?"

"Being Second only gives a commander a single special privilege. To be made General if the current acting General is killed in combat. Otherwise, when I retire, my position will be down to a vote. All the Commander and His Majesty have a say, and if His Majesty doesn’t like who is voted in, he has the power to deny it."

"huh." Kacper looked ahead at the long line of Ammary soldiers marching. "I’m surprised the military has so much power." William looked at him in confusion. "What I mean is, your commanders are given a chance to vote their own leader. I thought his Majesty would have made it his own decision."

"Ahhh." Finally understanding, William smiled and shook his head. "It’s not so simple. There are three branches to the armed forces in the Empire: us, the Unyeilding, and the Royal Guard. If any General dares be so bold in the future and misuse their power, those two will keep them in check, especially the Unyeilding. As for the position of General, it was like how you described it a few years ago, but I persuaded his Majesty. It will inspire those in the military to work harder if they think they have a chance to be voted General."

"Meritocracy." William nodded as he watched his men stop. A soldier from the front ran over to him and saluted.

"The bridges have been destroyed here aswell, General."

"Snowid." Saying the name under his breath, William sighed. "Can we repair it?"

"It will be hard. They have men stationed on the opposite bank to slow anything."

William clicked his tongue and looked into the distance. "Okay. Set up camp. We will rest for now." The soldier nodded, grabbed his horn, and blew into it. The men all knew and quickly moved to the carriages to prepare. "Kacper. See me at midnight. I have something to discuss." Kacper nodded as William rode off to his men to help prepare the camp.

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"I’m here, General." Kacper walked into the tent and saw William in casual clothing, polishing his armour. Putting it to the side, he got up and grabbed a seat for him.

"Sit." Kacper smiled and did so as William took his own. Taking a bottle form under his chair, he poured the two a glass of whiskey. Taking a sniff, he took a small sip and smiled. "A drink from Vladmire. His Majesty loves it, and I came to appreciate its taste."

Kacper smelt it before taking a sip, his face scrunching from the strong taste and burn. "Not my thing." He put it down and looked at William, who was sitting watching him. "Why did you call for me?"

"Well. I’ve been thinking about the role you could play after the war. I doubt you swore allegiance to the Empire because of loyalty. After all, we invaded your lands. I watched you for a while, however, and have noticed you haven’t done anything to undermine our war effort, even when I gave you a chance. So I’m curious. Why?"

"I wanted to live. Is that not enough?" William chuckled at the answer and shook his head.

"No. If you wanted to live, you would have even if you didn’t swear allegiance. His majesty may purge some of the nobles, but you showed enough talent to be spared. So, why?"

Kacper took a deep breath and picked up his glass again. Dowining its contents, he fought through the taste and burn. "A couple of reasons. Part of it was respect for the Empire. Respect for how you treat your dead. Part of it was to try and find a way to murder Commander Hardly and slow your advance." William nodded and got up. Going to his desk, he threw a knife over to Kacper.

"If you still feel that way. Kill me then." It shocked Kacper to his core as the old General retook his seat and drank his drink. Grabbing the knife, Kacper looked at it for a couple of seconds before staring at William. The old man sat with his eyes closed, and Kacper knew it would be easy.

But he didn’t and put the knife down. Opening his eyes, William looked at him and smiled. "You changed your mind?"

"There would be no point. I kill you, and I would die. But also, it would make you a martyr." William raised his eyebrow and saw through Kacper. "Also, even if I wanted to kill you, it wouldn’t be like this. You don’t deserve such an undignified death." Kacper picked the knife back up and played with it.

"The war. I don’t think we can win it. I’ve seen what your men are capable of. We lost the moment we didn’t put an end to Henryk’s rebellion. I didn’t believe it until I got lost in that forest, but I can see that now. Unless Sol blesses us, I see no way forward other than with the Empire."

William watched Kacper. He could see he was struggling with his future. He could tell he wasn’t a traitor but someone who knew the inevitable. He still loved the Commonwealth, even with its flaws. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"You see." Pausing, he took a sip of his drink. "I know you love your homeland. But the Empire will claim it. The inevitable can’t be stopped. You are at a crossroads. Either do nothing and let fate decide what happens or become an active part in fixing it in the future."

"My home dose..."

"It does." William could tell what he was going to say. "A place that restricts teaching basic things to the rich. A place that values blood above everything else. I used to think like this, but I saw the truth. Results are all that matter. Why limit a peasant from climbing their way to the top because he doesn’t have a good name? They can change the world, and we would never know."

"You wish to protect your home. An honourable trait. You are a good man, Kacper, and that is why I’m offering you the chance to have a place to guide the future. His Majesty predicts that subjugating the Commonwealth land will be a tough task. You could help. Make it so no more blood then nessacary has to be spilt. We could make you a Duke if you wish."

"I thought you said blood and title don’t matter in the Empire." William laughed.

"Not top the extent of the Commonwealth. We still need people to manage the lands for His Majesty."

Kacper looked to the ground. "Become a Duke or risk fate." Kacper sighed. "Do you even have that power?"

"I am the closest confidant to the one who does." Looking at Kacper, he could see his doubt. "You know, Commander Hardly was nearly executed once for treason."

"Him? He is one of the most loyal men I have ever seen. To his people an cause."

"He was in charge of Nakhla when ArchBishop Raven died. Before me, that was His Majesty’s closest aide. In his rage, His Majesty couldn’t think straight. His friend just died; it’s understandable. He wanted someone to blame. Marcus was that person. It took a lot of work, but I stopped him from doing anything he would regret, and instead, he was punished for dealing with the Chent Pirate Lords."

"So when I say I have the power to give you what you want, you must trust me. But this is on the condition that you honestly help the Empire and do not try anything." William leaned forward, his eyes going icy cold with a deep bloodlust in them. "Or I will execute you and your family personally."

Kacper felt his back go cold. He had seen William for a while, but it was the first time he had seen the General of the Ammary Empire. It was brief, only lasting for a few seconds, but it made him wonder how many the old man had killed. "I need to think about this."

"Of course. Just don’t take too long. There are always others. Maybe not as good as you, but definitely more greedy."