Of course, those cavalry’s gazes at most made him somewhat vigilant. He believed the White Mane Legion wouldn’t go so far as to be so inconsiderate.
As per his previous plan, Brand had no intention of entering the rotten system of Erune, but the refugee issue couldn’t be hidden, he’d foreseen this long ago. Thus, the pursuit of freedom, money, and experienced mercenaries became the best candidates to steal the spotlight in his place.
A halo cast over a group of people is always dimmer than that cast over one individual. When people think about a group of seasoned, battle-hardened mercenaries leading the refugees through a bloody path amidst thousands of troops, it feels naturally justified.
This is true for the common folks.
But the fall of Ridenburg is like a ticking time bomb. Regardless, the Knight Group originated from the White Mane Legion soldiers could hardly escape the blame after the war. Hence, a small highlight at this moment would rather emphasize their incompetence. If he himself played the role of the leading figure, it might satisfy his vanity, but the local nobles would surely be the ones laughing happily.
Brand did not want to be marked by any faction. Therefore, after his arrangement, the situation changed:
Because the more people involved in the story, the easier it is to change the way the story ends—
Brand knew those shrewd nobles would certainly understand this. What followed depended on whether these crafty fellows could clean things up well enough; at least finding a scapegoat to take all the blame and then embellishing the entire story was key to saving their face.
But actually, none of this had anything to do with him anymore. He actually didn’t want to deal with these people at all, but right now he had no choice but to do so.
At least one benefit remained: the name ’Amber Sword’ was gaining fame.
People’s interest in excitement is limited, so apart from those few young lads around Little Phenix, the citizens outside the Silver Winged Cavalry Headquarters soon dispersed.
Brand quickly met Old Madden. This elderly guard captain had been looking worried these few days, to the point that more wrinkles had formed on his face. Brand guessed what he was worrying about—most likely it was about figuring out the dynamics among the nobles.
Within Brags, the struggle between the local noble faction represented by Earl Najin and the military aristocrats had reached a white-hot stage. In such circumstances, only carefree youngsters like Little Phenix would be wholeheartedly pursuing those rumors and legends in the city—
Thinking of this, he walked over and greeted Madden. Madden remembered this fearless youngster; this veteran of the November War couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows upon seeing him—although the old man secretly celebrated Lord Martha’s blessing upon hearing that Brand and Frey were safe.
Then his gaze fell on Frey, the ponytail girl immediately placed her hand on her chest and bowed, replying: "Captain Madden, I’m back—"
Madden nodded and showed a relieved smile: "Good, good, it’s good you are back."
But before he could finish his sentence, he couldn’t help but be touched by the scene, recalling that Buqi’s villagers were still homeless while the nobles were busy fighting for power. Though he was not a Buqi person, he was momentarily speechless.
Seeing Madden looking like he had aged ten years in an instant, Frey also remembered Aunt Sier’s family who died at Madara’s hands, her eyes reddened.
Brand saw Little Roman constantly throwing glances his way and couldn’t help but sigh. This dead girl, being brazen yet sometimes so sharp and clever. But when you turn your attention to this merchant lady, she starts acting cute and petty.
Thinking of this, he walked over and patted Frey’s back to soothe the ponytailed girl. Then he said to Madden, "Captain Madden, speaking bluntly, there’s no need for you to concern yourself too much with the matters of the nobles. We small folks just need to obediently wait for their final decision—"
Madden was taken aback, not expecting Brand to see through his troubles. Though a veteran of the November War, he was not skilled at these intrigues that had mentally exhausted him these few days, sometimes really envying that kid Little Phenix for having a mind free of such concerns.