His face was pale and the sensual pleasures made him look tired and dispirited. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was smeared with white pollen, giving him a rather devilish air.
Prince Wedrick glanced at Claude and didn't say a word. He poured himself another goblet of wine and took a sip from the golden goblet. Only then did he turn to Claude and raise his chin slightly. With an air of arrogance, he sized Claude up. "You're Claude Ferd?
Are you the student my aunt took in in that rural town of Whitestag? "
Your aunt?
Claude immediately realized that the aunt the second prince was referring to was Maria. It was no wonder many people said that Stellin X saw her as his own sister. It seemed that the rumors were true. Prince Wedrick had just admitted that Maria was his aunt.
"If you're talking about Baroness Maria, I believe I'm her student.
She's given me a lot of pointers in herbalism, "Claude replied respectfully after saluting Prince Wedrick.
"Hmph …" Prince Wedrick humphed. "My aunt said that you have great talent in herbalism, but I don't think you're doing too well. You're still just a soldier.
It seems that you've let her down. You didn't develop well in herbalism.
To think that she even told me to take care of you when I came. "
Claude didn't want to say anything. Prince Wedrick was obviously an arrogant person who made conclusions based on first impressions and didn't listen to excuses.
But what was there to argue with him about?
I don't have anything in common with the second prince at all.
"Thank you for your concern, Baroness Maria. I've disappointed her, but I'm doing quite well in the camp.
However, I'm having a good time in the camp and don't need Your Highness's care, "Claude politely declined.
But it was obvious that Wedrick didn't hear Claude's rejection. He furrowed his brow and said, "How about this? I'll talk to General Phillip tomorrow and have him transfer you to my side as a guard with the rank of first lieutenant. That way, I'll be able to answer to my aunt when I return to the royal capital."
Claude's expression changed. "Your Highness, I told you I don't need your care. I'm doing well in the army. Also, I don't want to be your guard!"
His voice was a little loud, so much so that the people in the tent stopped talking and turned around to look at him.
Prince Wedrick's face darkened. He didn't think that Claude would reject his kind intentions and care, not to mention saying it out loud.
"You … you're good …" Prince Wedrick said as he stared at Claude.
I've offended the prince in the end. Claude felt bitter, but he still saluted the prince. "Please tell Baroness Maria that I've let her down.
Since I've entered the army, I'll serve the kingdom with my blood on the battlefield.
I'm currently acting as a sergeant and I can't bear to give up my men to serve you. Please forgive me, Your Highness. "
Those words were rather well-said and the anger on Prince Wedrick's face dissipated.
Claude continued, "Your Highness, I'm a boorish man. I won't disturb you any longer. Please allow me to take my leave."
Prince Wedrick opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't. He waved and turned around, no longer looking at Claude.
Claude naturally understood that. He hurriedly saluted again and walked out of the command tent that made him feel rather aggrieved.
Before he reached the entrance, he heard the servant who brought him there ask, "Your Highness, are you going to let this ungrateful brat off just like that?"
Claude paused and slowed down. Prince Wedrick said nonchalantly, "He's just an ignorant country bumpkin. Why should I bother with him? I really don't understand why my aunt took him in as a student.
For my aunt's sake, I'll let him off this time. "
After leaving the tent, Claude wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and grumbled inwardly about Maria.
Why did the herbalism teacher he took in keep doing more harm than good?
He appreciated her kind intentions, but Claude felt that even if the baroness wanted to take care of him, she should have left it to someone reliable. Was Prince Wedrick someone reliable?
From what he'd heard and seen with his own eyes, he was certain that the second prince wasn't good enough to accomplish anything. Not only did he think too highly of himself, he didn't listen to advice and only indulged in sensual pleasures. Claude had to be crazy to put the second prince's label on him.
Maria probably asked Prince Wedrick to take care of Claude because she knew he was going to be an overseer in Bluefeather. Placing Claude by his side would indeed keep him away from danger and he wouldn't have to serve as cannon fodder on the battlefield.
However, she didn't understand Claude's current situation. It was as the second prince had said, having Claude as a guard with the rank of first lieutenant was truly a waste of resources.
If Claude had been a regular soldier, he might have agreed. But now that he was a sergeant major of Bluefeather and the acting jarl of the garrison, the prince's promise of an honorary first lieutenant wasn't attractive to him at all.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Claude was giving up his rank as a sergeant major and his position as a sergeant to the second prince. That was a rather low position. The second prince didn't even understand Claude's situation and yet he made such a presumptuous request. What a joke.
There were two types of military ranks in Aueras. One was official and the other was honorary.
An official rank would accompany a person for life and would be engraved on a tombstone even after death.
An honorary rank, on the other hand, could only be used for a certain period of time. For example, Claude could only be an honorary first lieutenant when he was Prince Wedrick's guard, but he wouldn't have that rank if he wasn't a guard.
In addition, during the war, the Kingdom would grant honorary military ranks to wealthy people who donated assets to aid in the war, or to nobles who were interested in a military career and hoped to make meritorious contributions in the war by donating a large sum of money to obtain honorary military ranks and join the army.
Most of these honorary officers who joined the army halfway would serve as temporary staff assistants or something like that. They might be officially retired because of their meritorious service, but there were very few cases of such success. Even if they were to become official officers, they would not be given the same rank as honorary ranks. Usually, they would be demoted by three or four ranks.
The three generals Claude saw in Prince Wedrick's tent were all honorary ranks and not official officers of Bluefeather.
That was obvious from the epaulets on their shoulders.
The honorary epaulets and proof of identity were surrounded by a circle of golden roses. They looked much more luxurious than the epaulets of official ranks. As expected of an honorary title.
To Prince Wedrick, it was very embarrassing for the servants and guards of the royal family to be ordinary soldiers. Thus, the ranks of second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and captain were free. Even his groom could be a second lieutenant.
On the other hand, the servants officially hired by the royal family, such as the one who went to look for Claude, were clearly the prince's trusted aides. He didn't have any military rank on him and didn't need to go through all that trouble.
So, Claude felt that giving up his rank as sergeant major and acting jarl to become an honorary first lieutenant for Prince Wedrick, only to be ordered around by the second prince and his trusted aides like a dog would be something truly wrong with his head.
While the advantage was that he wouldn't have to serve as cannon fodder on the battlefield and could even use the second prince's influence to intimidate others, the prideful Claude didn't even want to suck up to Maria. All he wanted was to maintain a simple teacher-student relationship. How could he possibly become the second prince's lackey?
He would rather risk his life on the battlefield than lower his pride to serve Prince Wedrick, who he viewed as a good-for-nothing.
As Claude expected, the second prince was too tired from dancing the night before and couldn't get up in the morning. He only packed up after three in the afternoon and set out. After walking for two hours, he ordered his men to set up camp.
It was the same on the third day. The higher-ups of the Blue Feather Army could no longer tolerate the prince's procrastination and procrastination. They ordered for a large number of pack horses and carriages to be allocated to the Eleventh Field Battalion and the Battle Battalion of the Imperial Guard Battalion, as well as the entourage that followed the second prince. This way, they could finally increase the daily journey by a little. After all, riding a carriage was faster than marching on foot.
By the time the honorable second prince arrived at the Odin Mountain Range, the journey that should have taken him five days on foot had been dragged into half a month by his carriage.
However, the upper echelons of the Blue Feather Legion already had some understanding of the noble prince's nature. They had already prepared a palanquin and a porter to carry him up the mountain, ready to carry him across the Odin Mountains.
The higher-ups of the Bluefeather Legion couldn't help but feel anxious. Putting everything else aside, just the Sidins Duchy's army at the two defensive lines in the Odin Mountain Range alone had surrendered seventy to eighty thousand captives. They had been imprisoned in Aimis City on the other side of the Odin Mountain Range, waiting for His Royal Highness' arrival to host the surrender ceremony.
In addition, Bluefeather's progress in the Siddings Principality was smooth. They had already occupied the two port cities that the Admiralty had set their sights on. The only major city left in the Siddings Principality was the capital, Efenasburg.
However, Bluefeather didn't have the strength to do so. Even though 2nd Field Division had reached Efenasburg, they couldn't launch an attack due to their lack of manpower.
The 3rd and 4th Field Divisions remained in the two port cities to maintain order. As for 1st Field Division, they were stationed in Emis to watch over the large number of captives with the 2nd Field Division.
If Prince Wedrick didn't reach Amis by then, the 1st Field Division wouldn't even be able to hand over the captives and Amis to the 2nd Line Division. This was because this was Bluefeather's contribution and had to be acknowledged by Prince Wedrick.
What made the higher-ups of Bluefeather anxious was that Prince Wedrick's delay had a negative effect on the war situation in Sidins.
Sidins used this rare period of free time to recruit troops in Efenasburg and build defensive structures. They also sent envoys to ask for reinforcements from their allies.
However, none of that mattered to Prince Wedrick. He was always grumbling about how his father, Stellin X, had given him such a tough job. If possible, he would rather stay in the royal capital than be an Overseer of Bluefeather. He even treated this journey as a sightseeing tour.
As they passed through the Odin Mountain Range, Prince Wedrick, who kept complaining about the tiredness of climbing, got down from his palanquin from time to time and ordered the soldiers to fire at the empty defensive structures. He then stood beside the bullet-riddled defensive structures and made a victory sign with his hand. He then ordered the painters who followed him to draw his heroic posture. These portraits were to be sent to the newspapers in the capital for publication. The general meaning was that under the wise Prince's command, the brave soldiers had once again conquered the enemy's stronghold …
Apart from faking it, the prince even went on a hunting trip.
Just because of a hare running on the mountain path, the noble prince decided to organize a hunting competition on a whim. The participants were his friends and the honorary officers who followed him.
Of course, these honorary officers weren't going to the battlefield to earn merits, but to get rich. Even though most of the spoils would go to the army and treasury after occupying Sidins Duchy, as long as they won the prince's favor and were authorized to plunder the commoners, they would still reap great rewards.
The hunting contest delayed the prince's journey in Odin Mountain Range by a day and a half, but the higher-ups of Bluefeather couldn't do anything about it. They couldn't even complain to their superiors.
Everyone knew that Stellin X loved his second son the most. Compared to the elder prince's steadiness, the third princess's craftiness, the fourth prince's cowardice, and the fifth princess's greed, the second prince was just a playboy. He was extremely filial to his father and was the favorite of Stellin X.