Chapter 822: Volume 25: Beating the Current, - 9: Submission
"Fran, perhaps it’s time I met with Sir Lecler. He has always been my idol since I was young. Last time, I barely managed to escape from those people of the Church of Light thanks to his help at the pub with Puber and others," Komer mused. "I wonder if now is the best time to enter Cyprus?"
"Lord, if you really intend to take over and reorganize the entire Homer Knights regiment, Sir Lecler would be an excellent talent. As long as you can convince him to serve you sincerely, I believe it would not be difficult for the Homer Knights to rise again. I think that would be the most appropriate time for you to enter Cyprus City," Fran considered for a moment before saying, "Isn’t it good to keep the people of Cyprus in such a state of unease? We must make them realize that without Cyprus, Homer is still Homer, and maybe even better. Only in this way can we strip away the masks of those nobles and the pitiful supremacy of the traders."
"Hmm, there is some truth to that. I don’t like Cyprus; there isn’t much there for me to reminisce about, but the knights of Cyprus are indeed a valuable asset, especially for me right now. Do you understand, Fran?" Komer said with a profound gaze into the distance.
"Lord, I understand maintaining a necessary balance is the best strategy to stabilize a regime. You now control too many and complex territories and the forces entrenched within them, so it is even more essential to handle the balance properly," the young man replied.
Fran was evidently no longer the same man who led the infantry division of the Myron Duchy. Having been influenced by Komer, he was increasingly adapting to the Lord’s style. Komer had always adhered to the principle of not putting all eggs in one basket: Half-Beastmen, Barbarians, and the Indigenous People of Caucasus were all eggs, of different sizes and shell thicknesses. And now the egg of Odessa’s traders had been added to the basket, and it seemed inevitable that the egg of the Homer Knights would be next. This was what Komer often referred to as the art of politics.
Komer was growing more and more appreciative of Fran’s tact. While a military leader did not have to master politics deliberately, having some awareness in this area was undoubtedly more suitable—at least, it could save Komer lots of energy in mentoring.
"Sir Lecler, welcome, please come in!" Neither Shatima nor Fran had ever seen Komer treat someone with such courtesy, not even Lecler himself had expected Komer to wait for him at the door of the Lord’s Mansion. This stunned Lecler greatly. Regardless of how Komer had been before, he was no longer the same reckless young noble he used to be; even if he were at his core, being a noble with the title of ’Lord’ added to his status made a world of difference—he was a true noble, not just someone with a noble title like a hollow pretense.
Lecler paused and carefully scrutinized the man before him, who did not seem to have changed much from the troublemaker he once knew, except for a bit more composure in his gaze. Especially that melancholic expression in his eyes was still as conspicuous; it was said that it was with this captivatingly sorrowful charm that he had seduced countless naive girls in Cyprus City, earning him the top spot among the Three Wolves of Cyprus.
"Viscount, you flatter me too much with that address. Properly speaking, it should be Lecler who has come to see you, Viscount," Lecler said, his heart full of mixed feelings, but he did not wish to defy the surface courtesies. After all, the man before him was recognized by both the Kingdom Star Chamber Court and the Romanov family as the Lord of Homer, and as long as Lecler was a part of Homer, this relationship could not be denied.