Cloak...

The sound of the wagon rolling over a random bump in Sinclair’s capital road didn’t change the atmosphere in the wagon’s cabin even a little.

The four of us sat across from the Kloc... cock... I-don’t-know guy, on a long wooden makeshift slab being used as a bench. Beside me sat Sera, then Lydia, then Merin in that order.

The general sat directly across from Lydia, but his eyes never left me.

I understood that Ilya had warned him not to let me out of his sight even for a second... but hey! I wasn’t that bad... was I?

The prisoner’s outfit didn’t differentiate by gender. All of us wore the same orange clothes and brown boots. I was guessing orange covered the stains from brick-red dust better than other colors.

The general, in his sturdy shining armor, which I think would give him a hard time if he had to pee urgently, sat with a stern expression on his face.

Back at the guest house, I’d observed each wagon stuffing at least ten to fifteen prisoners inside and locking the cabin, with a jailer or inquisitor sharing the seat with the wagon’s driver. But ours contained just us four and the general.

Guess this was one of the perks of having a general in the cabin.

Did the Duchess keep in mind us potentially getting stuffed with other prisoners and make this Kloc.. guy escort us specifically?

No way, right? I mean, it was just me who knew them. They didn’t know me at all outside of these couple of days.

Ilya had said she’d bring our weapons in her carriage with the architects. Then again, this mission’s success rate depended on her talks with them as much as it did on us.

I looked at the stern-faced guy who was already and always looking at me.

Did he know about the mission? I was guessing he didn’t.

"What are you looking at? Thinking of doing something funny?" he asked, finally breaking the thick silence in the cabin, interrupted only by occasional bumps.

Those tamed beasts weren’t doing a fine job pulling the wagon.

"Uhh... not at all, General," I said, trying to smile at him.

Better to be in his good books.

"I’m not lenient like Lady Ilya," he said, smirking at whatever misunderstanding he was currently having.

Since when was Ilya lenient? News to me.

"I don’t know what wordplay you used to get her to allow you to walk around the castle... but your trickery won’t work with me."

Yeah, this dude didn’t know anything.

Lydia sighed. So did Sera.

He looked at us, confused for a second. He must not have seen a single prisoner react that way to an open threat.

Can’t these women hold back a sigh like I did?

"What? Do you think I’m all empty words, you cocky bastards?" he snapped.

Crap.

"Calm down, General~," Lydia spoke, with her usual sultry edge to her voice.

She slowly got up despite the threat of occasional bumps... and sat beside the general.

Bold move.

The man in shining armor had his lips parting slightly, his eyes darting as Lydia settled beside him. Her movements were deliberate, graceful but calculated.

Dude’s a pervert.

[Did you say something like "pervert"?]

’I didn’t! Can’t you pass even a single moment without being rude to me?’

[What do you mean? I didn’t know reminding facts is considered rude!]

’You’re lucky you don’t have a body.’

[Do you plan to touch me if I did? Eww... pervert.]

’Just shut the fuck up and take a nap, you creep!’

The general’s eyes darted with every bump. Lydia’s chest responded to every jostle of the wagon, thanks to the shirt clinging tight to her curves.

This dude was more of a per..creep than me.

I remembered telling Lydia her seduction methods wouldn’t work on people back at the forest... but it seemed like she was here to prove me wrong.

"General~," Lydia said softly, her voice dropping to something warmer, more intimate. "Can’t you tell us where we’re headed~?"

They had the windows closed, and the only light source was the slit across from the general. They weren’t letting prisoners know where they were heading.

"I’m... not... supposed to say... that," the general replied, though he didn’t sound very reluctant.

His eyes followed the curve of her shoulder as she leaned slightly closer.

"Come on..." Lydia said, her lips curving into a small, playful smile. "Who would know you told us anything?"

She moved closer, her hand resting lightly on the bench between them.

The general literally gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing visibly.

Sera watched Lydia in awe, her eyes wide. Merin had that same bored expression she always wore.

"I... ah... I think... we’re heading to Fableton town..." the general said, his voice trailing off as he watched Lydia’s hand make slow advancements across the bench toward his shining armor.

His fingers gripped the edge of the bench tightly, like he was fighting every instinct to reach out.

I am guessing his current greatest regret was wearing that armor.

If I remembered correctly, Fableton town was Kael’s birthplace and also the place with the highest contentment rate with Cass’s rule.

"Contentment rate" is the near-perfect analogical mertric for today’s "approval rating". Except the former’s a more non-democratic term.

I needed to know more about the places the Saint was targeting to spread his branches.

As if guessing my intent, Lydia moved even closer to the general. Her shoulder nearly brushed his now.

His eyes stopped darting and shamelessly looked down at the cleavage exposed by Lydia’s shirt. His hands were doing everything they could to stay glued to the bench, trembling slightly from the effort.

"Ugh... I have to break stones in this hot sun?" Lydia said, making a face, pouting as she pushed her lower lip out slightly and made her eyes round and glistening, almost teary.

It was an incredible performance.

"Ah... You... uh... can join me in my cabin..." the general said, despite knowing it was impossible to let a prisoner enter the cabins allotted to staff at the estate we were heading to.

His lips parted as he spoke, his breath coming slightly faster.

"Thank you, General~" Lydia said, her expression now practically radiating like a bright sun.

Damn! I should be careful around her. It was hard to tell fake from real with her.

"Can you tell me where else I’ll be taken with this rude bunch?" Lydia asked, her hand reaching up to gently catch his chin, tilting his face slightly toward hers.

He was now probably gulping down whatever drool was betraying his stern projection. His eyes were locked downward, utterly captivated.

He started listing the places in the plan the SBV had submitted to construct branches and cathedrals. Fableton town, Greyvale, Thornhaven, Ashbrook, and several others.

How does he know about SBV’s plans more than what they submitted to Ilya?

There are some places that are not in the plan submitted to Ilya in his list.

Lydia’s lips twitched a bit as she realised the same.

The prices of the land they were demanding weren’t high, but one thing was common: all the places they’d mentioned were in the direction the duchy was expanding.

In other words, all those lands they were getting cheap from the Duchess now would explode in price once development expanded to those regions and rail routes formed around them.

Smart move.

And with increasing infrastructure around the cathedrals they built, the more believers they’d gain, and the more influence the priests they appointed there would hold.

Most efficient way to strip the Duchess of her power in the long run.

But that wasn’t the most pressing issue about these places. They were areas where the Duchess’s hold was strong and rich in farmland. They were pushing rumors through the new establishments in these lands, spreading them to more farmers in these regions.

They might face repulsion at first, but as they kept preaching and talking about these rumors... more and more would start having second thoughts over time.

That’s what they were planning.

I was surprised Cass had managed to stop the miracle crop from flooding her duchy despite all these attempts, even from the Saint himself.

"You are such an influential man, Sir General..." Lydia said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she leaned even closer. Her breath must’ve been warm against his ear. "I want to witness it myself when you talk to the architects and important people."

The general started leaning into her, his body unconsciously drawn toward hers.

"Of course... I can talk to them..." he said mindlessly, repeating what Lydia had suggested like it was his own idea.

His lips moved slowly, almost slurred.

"Wow, Sir General," Lydia breathed, her eyes widening with feigned admiration. "Can I stay with you to witness the commanding hold of your charisma as you talk to them?"

She was pushing now, sensing the general was almost at his wit’s end.

Who the fuck needed charisma to talk to engineers?

"Sure... just follow me..." he said, smiling with an evil smirk that made my skin crawl.

Lydia glanced at me and winked sneakily, as if sounding her triumph.

I really couldn’t believe she’d managed to pull that off.

I nodded subtly.

It would be helpful to Ilya if another voice, especially a general’s, supported her when she tried to push our names into the registry.

I didn’t think Lydia had to do this at all. This Kloc.. or whatever guy was already submissive to Ilya. But considering his terrible impression of me, I’d definitely need Lydia to vouch for me too.

So yeah. First step was done.