Becoming a winner in life starts with becoming a shadow

If you believe that Claire can fight the Mist Dragon to a draw, does that mean you believe that the eldest daughter of the Border Baron has the power to destroy a country?

Unless there is an indisputable fact in front of her, Alice will definitely believe it.

In other words, you can’t believe it!

But believe it or not, a ruthless man who started fighting alone with thieves at the age of eight will definitely be won over.

After all, if you don't win over yourself, if you are win over by other factions, you really won't be able to sleep.

Apart from anything else, Alice at least felt that Jeno Guliffi should have been eliminated instantly.

After all, if a fight breaks out on the forest trail not far from the dormitory inside the college, it would be difficult not to attract attention.

And no one mentioned hearing any movement on the forest trail that night, which proved that Geno Gulifi and his men were killed without any resistance at all.

Being able to kill Geno Guliffi so easily, his strength is no longer something that should not be underestimated, but something that must be taken seriously.

After all, Alice really didn't think that even if she had a sneak attack, she might not be able to kill Jeno Gulliffe instantly, let alone that there were several helpers from the Knights nearby.

"Sister, can you approve that application now?" Alexia asked.

"Alexia, what's the situation at Siyue Chamber of Commerce?" Alice asked.

When she heard her sister ask, Alexia's eyes flashed with a look of success.

After all, if you don't ask, it means that your plan will not be implemented.

"President Luna of the Siyue Chamber of Commerce was saved by Claire, and Claire is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce." Alexia said briefly.

"What conditions did they give you?" Erza continued to ask.

"An annual donation of one thousand gold nuns, and when necessary, we can even provide a free loan of ten thousand gold nuns. In addition, the guard group will accept command and dispatch under the leadership of Claire." Alexia did not care about herself. The sister is hiding and tucking.

"It is indeed a very soft and heart-warming condition, but Alexia, how can you guarantee their loyalty?" Alice asked again.

Facing her sister's problem, Alexia felt a little tired.

After all, the relationship between her and Li De is actually reversed!

"Sister, I don't know about other kingdoms, but in the Kingdom of Midgar, no one can bid higher than me. And for a chamber of commerce, instead of asking them to be loyal, it is better to give them conditions that no one else can offer. Only when the price of betrayal is high enough will they be relatively loyal." Alexia thought about it and said it in a different way.

"Alexia" Alice said with a frown after hearing this, but she was interrupted by Alexia before she spoke.

"Sister, there is no need to say any more. You should know exactly what this application means. As for whether you want to accept it or not, you can think about it yourself. Claire will come to the palace tomorrow, and it is up to you to decide who will see her. "

After hearing Alexia's words, Alice opened her mouth, but said nothing more.

She is not an idiot, how could she not understand the meaning of this application form brought by her sister.

In fact, strictly speaking, for chambers of commerce in the medieval setting, especially those with branches everywhere, when information is far less developed than modern times, it is difficult for the kingdom to know the true strength of the other party, so it wants to hide the escort team. Existence is really not that difficult.

In addition, the formation of the Siyue Chamber of Commerce escort team actually does not require anyone's approval at all.

In fact, as long as Alexia stands up and endorses it, the nobles within the Kingdom of Midgar will not make a fuss about the escort even if they embarrass the Siyue Chamber of Commerce without wanting to conflict with the royal family.

Then why did Alexia take a nondescript application and put it in front of Alice?

The reason is simple, because if Alice agrees, it means that the Siyue Chamber of Commerce has been endorsed by the eldest princess who has the first line of succession, and is basically a confirmed royal family exclusive businessman.

And this is the reason why Alice keeps asking, because once she speaks, it is equivalent to standing up and endorsing the special status of the Siyue Chamber of Commerce.

Because of this, Alice needs to be cautious.

If it were someone else sent by the royal family to talk about this matter, Alice would refuse without hesitation.

As the eldest princess, as the first heir to the royal family, how could she publicly stand up and endorse a chamber of commerce?

But Alexia's suggestion was different, because it was Alexia's good intention.

As mentioned before, Alexia pointed out the fact that the Knights cannot be trusted.

Under such circumstances, the choice Alice can make is basically the same as in the original work, which is to choose someone she trusts to reorganize the Knights.

Although this matter is very simple, there is a problem that must be faced, and that is how to solve the source of money to operate the Knights.

As a younger sister, Alexia knew very well how much inventory her sister had in her little vault.

Naturally, I can understand whether my sister can afford to raise an exclusive knight group.

The answer is no!

Yes, let alone Alice, the same goes for everyone else in the Kingdom of Midgar, even the King of Midgar.

Let's put it this way, if you want to raise a knighthood in the Kingdom of Midgar, it is not an ordinary expense.

Although the exclusive knight group formed by Alice does not have to be fully staffed, it can only be called a knight group if there are only a few people. It must be at least three digits to reach a certain scale.

But even if it is a three-digit scale, apart from the kingdom's finances, basically no force can afford it alone, let alone a fully staffed knight group.

Yes, in fact, due to financial reasons, there are actually few knight groups in Midgar that are truly fully staffed.

Why do the knight groups dislike each other? The noble faction is only one problem, and the other problem is the limited financial allocation.

With so much money to share, some people will get more, and naturally some people will get less. This is the source of the irreconcilable contradiction.

Then looking back, if you still want to form a knight group when you can't basically apply for the kingdom's financial support, you need other sources of funds.

Once Alice nods and agrees to Alexia's application, it means that the conditions prepared by the Siyue Chamber of Commerce for Alexia will be obtained by Alice.

As for Alexia herself, she withdrew directly.

After all, the Siyue Chamber of Commerce could not prepare donations for both princesses at the same time, nor did it need both princesses to endorse at the same time. Even Alexia's endorsement was enough, not to mention Alice.

The only thing to note here is that once Alice agreed, Claire's personal guard status would change from Alexia to Alice's.

After all, there has been no actual public introduction yet, so even whose personal guard status is can be changed.

Alexia actually used this to show that she had no intention of competing with Sister Alice for the throne.

And the final outcome of this matter is no longer important.

Alice accepted, and Alexia was not prepared to lose much, after all, Li De also recruited another knight group for her. As for pocket money, Alexia believed that as long as she asked, Sid would not lose her.

As for not accepting, it is also no problem. Alexia's move is mainly to shut up other people.

After all, I have let my sister choose, she didn't want it herself, what else do you want. So the look of "getting it done" in Alexia's eyes before refers to the establishment of the guard team. As for who will come out to endorse it, it doesn't matter.

For Alexia, as long as Sid's words are handled properly, that's enough.

"Oh, by the way, elder sister, there is one thing I forgot to say." Alexia added before Alice made a decision.

"What?" Alice looked at Alexia with a little doubt.

"This guard team will be composed of orcs." Alexia said to the point.

After hearing this, Alice knew that her sister was reminding herself that even if she accepted the good intention, she should not think about inserting people into the guard team.

And even if Alice really wanted to insert people, it would be difficult, because the circle she was in contact with were all human nobles, how could she be willing to mix with orcs.

"Did you negotiate this with Claire?" Alice couldn't help asking.

"Not really. It's mainly because the Siyue Chamber of Commerce needs to control operating costs when forming a guard team. So compared to humans, orcs are cheaper to use. In addition, orcs who advocate the rule of the strong are more loyal. And that's it." Alexia shook her head and said.

After all, she had never discussed the issue of placing people with Li De before, and she hadn't even mentioned the transfer of quotas.

But as I said, as long as the guard team can be established in a legitimate way and Claire can get the status of a personal guard, the meat will be rotten in the pot, so it doesn't matter who comes forward.

And it's easier for my elder sister to fight for the title for Claire than for me.

This is why Alexia wants to transfer the quota to Alice.

As for Alexia's need to do this to show that she has no intention of competing for the king and to destroy the sister's relationship, it is also crucial.

After all, once the rumor of competing for the king spreads, the royal faction will definitely split internally and reduce its authority, which is not the result Alexia wants to see.

Especially at this time when the King of Midgar is still in his prime, it would be a great loss to Alexia if the rumors were spread.

"Anything else?" Alice asked after hearing this.

"Yes, there is more!" Alexia nodded after thinking for a while.

"Tell me all, I also want to know what conditions Claire has." Alice knew that Alexia was going to talk about the other party's conditions. After all, she really didn't think that the other party would offer such generous conditions in the name of a guard team.

"Claire's first condition is the title, and it is a title for military merit. Of course, she will earn the military merit herself, and we are only responsible for helping her operate it." Alexia said immediately.

"Title? Isn't she the eldest daughter of Baron Kageno and has the first right of inheritance? What about military merit?" Alice frowned immediately after hearing this.

"Sister, Claire loves her brother Sid just as much as you do me. So she would rather obtain the title herself than leave the title of Baron Kageno to her brother Sid. As for military merit, the current plan consists of two parts." Alexia said slowly.

"Which two parts?" Alice asked hurriedly.

"The first is that the Kageno family is already preparing to expand the territory of the Misty Mountains. That is to say, after Claire's tea party, she will bring the people from the Siyue Chamber of Commerce back to the Kageno Barony to start the war of expansion." Alexia said slowly.

After listening to Alexia's words, Alice's eyes were slightly surprised.

She didn't expect that the Kageno family actually planned to start a plan for external expansion, but after thinking carefully, the Kageno family was fully qualified.

There are strong leaders, troops, and funds. In addition, the direction of expansion with the Kageno Barony is not the territory of other nobles, so there is no war opponent.

After all, the Misty Mountains have always existed and are considered public areas. Indeed, anyone can make a move.

But why has no one developed the Misty Mountains?

The answer is simple. The cost of development is too high, and it is also a very energy-consuming thing to defend the developed territory.

You must know that the territory around the Misty Mountains, even if there is a knight group, its strength is the weakest, mainly used to guard against thieves and beasts.

It is unrealistic to expect them to fight against the orcs or monsters in the Misty Mountains.

"Does the Kageno family plan to be promoted to a noble?" Alice asked.

"No, it is stuck under the Viscount's territory." Alexia shook her head and said.

"Well, what about the other two parts?" Alice continued to ask.

"The second part is that after the development is completed, Claire will lead the team to the Impossible City to prepare to destroy the Crimson Tower." Alexia continued.

"Is it related to the rumored blood moon tragedy a thousand years ago?" Alice has also heard rumors about the blood moon tragedy recently.

"Yes, Claire is very sure that the blood moon that occurs once every thousand years will appear again during the autumn holiday." Alexia said briefly.

"A blood moon that occurs once every thousand years, but the Impossible City is too special." Alice couldn't help but shook her head and said.

After all, leading the army into the Impossible City and developing Baron Kageno are completely different concepts. If it is not done well, the kingdoms around the Impossible City may be extremely sensitive, and even cause diplomatic incidents, becoming an excuse for other noble factions to attack the royal family.

"Claire also saved the life of the ruler of the Black Tower, and that ruler will send an invitation for help in advance. In addition, Claire also saved the life of the fox in the Pure White Tower, and she can't object." Alexia said faintly.

"Uh" Alice was speechless after hearing this.

This life-saving grace is a bit too much!

"Alexia, even if you can enter the Impossible City and destroy the Crimson Tower, you can't turn it into a military merit." Alice said to her sister.

"Sister, once the group of vampires fall, it means that there will be a vacant force in the City of Nowhere, and there are many people who want to get involved and share a piece of the pie. With Claire's relationship, I can have some say, and these can be used as bargaining chips.

As for military merit, sister, although saving the City of Nowhere is not a military merit, don't forget that the most lacking thing in the City of Nowhere is criminals. With Claire's connections, it shouldn't be difficult to bring back some heads of people with bounties from various countries. These heads can be counted as military merit."

After listening to Alexia, Alice realized that she had overlooked this point.

Indeed, most of the people with bounties from various countries are concentrated in the City of Nowhere, and these people can indeed be used to accumulate merit.

Especially some people with bounties from other countries, they can be used to sell favors.

With enough heads, it is indeed easy to operate the title.

Especially for warriors who dare to go and exterminate vampires during the blood moon, as long as they complete the mission and quell the unrest caused by vampires, it will be enough to bring considerable glory to the Kingdom of Midgar.

Needless to say, Claire, who has accumulated the title of nobility by relying on glory and merit, is already a rising star of the Kingdom of Midgar.

And the person who discovered and promoted Claire will naturally receive high evaluation.

This evaluation can only be said to be icing on the cake for Alice, but if Alexia gets it, especially after Alice refuses, it will definitely affect Alice's evaluation.

After understanding this, Alice was a little entangled.