Chapter 175 - War preparation (1/2)
'Are you planning to use their fight as a distraction to attack?' L.u.s.t thought she knew Lucien's intention. Still, she couldn't help but ask in his mind.
Lucien quickly explained. 'Yes. Even if we are not as strong as we could be if we waited longer, I think now that our enemies are killing each other, it is the best time to attack.'
'Well, first we have to check our equipment with Rebecca.' Lucien sent the spy to report to Ron while he telepathically told his wives about the situation in Portgreen and headed for Rebecca's workshop.
Lucien quickly arrived at Rebecca's workshop, which was close to the barracks. He saw her many assistants working on armor and weapons.
He went to Rebecca's office, where she was drawing sketches for the equipment that her assistants use to make the unfinished equipment.
*Knock* *Knock*
Rebecca heard the knock on the door and thought it was one of her assistants or some messenger. She neither moved nor stopped writing on her project. "You may come in."
Lucien came into the room and greeted Rebecca. "You seem very busy."
She jumped out of her chair when she heard Lucien's voice. "Lucien! Hey there... Ehhh... I'm sorry for not receiving you properly."
Rebecca didn't know why she was so embarrassed in Lucien's presence. She turned around subtly, took a small mirror out of her storage ring, and checked her face and hair.
'Crap!' She couldn't help but exclaim in her mind when she realized that her face was dirty with crumbs from her last snack, and her hair was totally messed up, probably because she has the habit of sleeping at her desk.
Lucien didn't need to really pay attention to what she was doing to know what Rebecca was doing, and he couldn't help chuckling.
"You don't have to do that, Rebecca. I admire you a lot because you're so hard-working, and I understand that's why you sometimes don't have time to care about how you look and things like that."
Rebecca was not happy with Lucien's words, on the contrary. Because that was the affirmation that she looked dirty and messy, and it made her very embarrassed.
"Ah... I... I'm sorry about that... I didn't know you would come here today... I usually take care of myself better... It's just that..." She tried to find justifications for her condition.
Lucien sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "You really don't have to apologize for anything. Your work is incredible, and that's the most important thing for me."
Then he looked around on her office while thinking out loud. "Your next office will be bigger. Also, it will have a bathroom with a big bathtub so that you can relax sometimes."
Rebecca was very focused on fixing her appearance as much as possible, so she could face Lucien. But then she turned around, surprised by his words.
"Next office? What's the problem with this one?"
Lucien realized that he was already making plans before he even asked Rebecca if she wanted it. The fact that almost all the women around him are his wives made Lucien think that everyone would always be together.
"My bad. I didn't explain it well. We will be going to Portgreen soon, so I thought you would come too."
"You know, after the war. My troops will need to repair their armor, improve it, and other blacksmith work. Of course, I will continue paying you well and taking care of any other needs you may have."
Lucien hadn't given Rebecca much information about his plans to re-conquer Portgreen for Cassidy yet. No matter how he told her that he is going to fight the whole city with around 1200 soldiers, it would sound crazy.
He didn't want to make Rebecca think he was crazy and refuse to make the equipment for him or create any other problems. So it made sense for her to be confused when he said that they were going to Portgreen.
"But the city is in chaos with the mercenaries doing everything they want. If I remember correctly, you are not welcome there, either by mercenaries or adventurers."
Lucien didn't really need to avoid talking about his plans now because they would be going to Portgreen as soon as possible, so he went straight to the point and told her the spy's report about Ivan's arrival.
Rebecca quickly understood the situation and therefore asked Lucien again. "If the situation is even worse, wouldn't it be better to stay away from Portgreen and not run into the conflict?"
Lucien wanted to explain everything to Rebecca, but he didn't have much time now. "You will understand everything soon. I came here to find out about the troops equipment."
She knew it was not her place to question Lucien's actions as she was only making equipment for him. Although she already saw him as a friend, Rebecca couldn't do anything if he wanted to go to Portgreen, but she didn't know if she should go with him.
Rebecca focused on what Lucien is here for and started picking up some papers from her desk. "Hum... Actually, the progress has been going much faster than I expected, of course, thanks to the good assistants that Ron sent me."
Then she took a list and showed it to Lucien. "Look, we've already managed to make all the female armors for the troops. I also personally finished the special female equipment you asked for. I guess it's for your wives."
Lucien looked at the list, which showed the progress of the female armor sets, as well as their weapons and shields, were all ready. Still, the male equipment just started production.
He couldn't blame Rebecca because she had promised everything ready in about a month and a half, but things had to be rushed because of the situation with Amelia, and now this new opportunity has come up.
Lucien was thinking about how to march to Portgreen as quickly as possible. He thought about using the Bluewind soldier's armor, but the kingdom had a very precarious military situation and was only getting better now under Angela's government, so taking the equipment from her soldiers didn't seem right.
Then he remembered something and asked Rebecca about it. "What about all of the damaged Light Empire soldier armor sets?"
"I was totally focused on creating the new equipment, so I only left two people working on them," Rebecca replied and quickly started looking for another list on the desk.
She found the list, read it, and passed it to Lucien. "Almost half have been repaired and are ready for use."
Lucien looked at the list. Of the five hundred armor sets he recovered, two hundred had been repaired while the weapons were almost all in good condition.
"Can you repair the other three hundred armor sets by tomorrow?" He asked Rebecca.
Creating new armor took much longer than just repairing it. If Rebecca focused all her assistants on that task along with her, it was possible to repair the three hundred armor sets in one day.
She nodded at Lucien. "Yes, it's possible."
Lucien smiled. "Good. I'll still need a hundred more sets of armor. Some of my troops have old armor that they wore before. I'll have it brought to you, and you do what you can until tomorrow."
"Alright. I will do the best I can." Rebecca smiled at him.
Lucien stood up and held out his hand to her. "I will send a group to get the female equipment right now."
"Also, if you want to know more about our plans in Portgreen, I will be discussing the situation with everyone in the castle, and you are a friend, so you are always welcome."
Rebecca blushed a little when Lucien held out his hand for her, calling her a friend. Still, she shook his hand.
"I will focus on work now so I can deliver the repaired armor to you tomorrow. About your proposal to return to Portgreen... I need some time to think about that."
Lucien continued to shake Rebecca's hand gently, and then he started to stroke it with his thumb while smiling at her.
"I know it seems confusing now, but that doesn't change the fact that our cooperation is very beneficial for both us. I will not give up on an incredible blacksmith like you."
Rebecca blushed even more but did not withdraw her hand and just enjoyed Lucien's gentle touch. "I... I really appreciate your consideration. I'll think about it and tell you my decision tomorrow."
Lucien was very fond of flirting, but now was not the time for that, so he said goodbye to Rebecca and left her workshop.
He knew it was very complicated to explain everything to her now, and maybe she didn't trust him to be able to conquer Portgreen. Either way, he could convince her to join him after he took the crown if she didn't want to follow him now because he found her very talented and cute too.
Lucien sent a mental message Kylee to lead a group to Rebecca's workshop to collect the armor sets for the female troops while he put his wives armor sets in his storage ring.
Then he started calling his wives, Ron, and Alden to an assembly in the living room of the Bluewind castle.
Everyone quickly arrived in the living room and sat at the big table. Lucien wasted no time and went straight to the point, explaining the situation to everyone.
Cassidy was already aware of everything since Lucien had told her about it mentally, so she got straight to the point.
"You plan to attack now and use their fight to our advantage, right?"
Lucien stroked Cassidy's hand as she was always sitting next to him, maintaining the posture of the second wife since L.u.s.t, on his lap, was inflexible about the first position.
"Yes, my love. We will recover your crown soon and make those who hurt you in the past pay with their lives."
Olivia and Scarlett, on the other side of the table, could not help bowing their heads, still remorseful for their past actions.
Lucien could feel his negative emotions for their connection and smiled at them. "You two, are already part of our family, and I would never demand anything that you don't want to do."
"But in this situation, you can help prevent the death of innocent people while helping Cassidy to recover her crown and apologizing for your past mistakes."
Lucien knew that Cassidy hadn't forgiven Olivia and Scarlett yet. He would not demand that she forgives them, and he also knew that he was a bit of a hypocrite for accepting them into his family even though he knew everything that happened.
He didn't know Olivia and Scarlett's whole story or what motivated them to attack Cassidy.
Still, he thought they had already suffered part of their punishment and would always be suffering the consequences of their actions, especially when they saw as Cassidy one of Lucien's most important wives and not treating them really kindly.
Knowing that they hurt their husband's beloved wife would always be a thorn in Olivia and Scarlett's hearts, but that kind of punishment could not be applied to everyone.
At that point, Lucien knew that he could be hypocritical, overprotective, and possibly more. Still, he would kill those who led the attack on Cassidy, mainly Ivan and the traitor knight.
So, he continued explaining his plan. "While the city is in chaos, we will kill the leaders on each side of the conflict and take control of the groups using Olivia and Scarlett's influence."
"When people know that the true queen is alive and has brought peace to the city, I believe most people will be happy."
While everyone thought the plan looked good, Olivia couldn't help but be a little worried. "Are you going to kill Ivan? Can't you just arrest him?"
Lucien understood that Olivia was Ivan's friend. Still, he knew the whole story of how Olivia and Scarlett didn't really want to kill Cassidy but to take control of the city while Ivan wanted to kill her to avoid any future problems.
He would not allow anyone who threatens his wives lives, stay alive. Even if that was not the most reasonable option.
Lucien looked Olivia in the eyes. "If I cut his head off and drink wine in his skull, will that bother you?"
Olvia was shocked by Lucien's words because she knew he wasn't kidding. Despite everything that happened, Ivan was always her friend and treated her with respect.
But now she was the woman of a man who was going to kill him brutally. Olivia knows that Lucien is overprotective and that if she tries to stop him from killing Ivan, she would probably end up losing his respect and affection.
When Olivia compared the importance between a man who isn't a very good person but has been her friend for a long time and the devil who now occupied the most significant space in her heart and is helping her to become stronger, the decision was very obvious.
She looked into Lucien's eyes as she spoke honestly. "I am loyal to our family and to you, above all. If you want to drink wine from his skull, I have nothing against it."
Lucien laughed. "Maybe I'll drink."
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