Stability is Key -- the Road to Lady Camilla

Camilla, you thought, is a good, beautiful name to give to a daughter. You hope perhaps she'll be as beautiful as her name. Duke Renard is a powerful man and influential within Ostgrenze. Your grandfather Arminius was close friends with Duke Renard's father. Your father was good friends with Duke Renard himself. The Duke's family were the former sovereigns of the Westgrenze before it was won by your family in battle. While Renard's family had long since accepted the status quo and had remained quite loyal to your family, you believe appeasing and appealing to the Duke would do you a lot of good especially considering your ambitions of uniting the Confederation under your kingdom.

Duke-Elector Jan of Bohi maybe a more influential and powerful man but you couldn't rely on him. He will most certainly not help you unite the Confederation. You will deal with him when the time comes but for now, he is placed deep in the recesses of your mind.

Dietrich and Otto would join you. As you travel a long, you start a conversation. The topics would change or diverge to another. But for the most part, you and your men laugh. You and they also take a good listening to Dietrich's tales of from his youth. The man had a long life and preferably would live much longer. He has had plenty of experience which you are wise enough to listen and pay heed to. He tells a tale of the duality and the chance and randomness of life. Your grandfather had taken several risky political moves and gambles during his reign. Moves and gambles that could have ended disastrously and that at any point something could have happened to further add danger to his gambles. But in the end they paid off and the people of Ostgrenze greatly benefited from it.

But in a dark tone, he tells you and everyone else that had it ended in disaster, the people would have revolted against him. "Conquest and war may sound like glorious adventure. But those who think that have had the blessing of never experiencing it." Be it to you, someone who is still innocent of war or to the men who have some experience in battle, he makes it clear to all you. "Taking all is easy. Stabilizing and keeping it under your control is a different matter entirely."

Dietrich tells more of this tale and this time ends with, "... and so in making a decision, it is always best that one keeps a cool head. Decisions should be done with rational thought and pragmatism. Jumping to conclusions, emotion-based decisions and snap judgments can lead to ruin." He chuckles with a head tilt, "Well that's my opinion on the matter. But do you all understand what I'm getting at?"

The men all mutter their own answers. Otto compliments the older man and thanks him for his wisdom. You say, "I will bear those words in mind as much as I can, Dietrich." The elder man was clearly hinting to something which will happen in the near future. But whatever it is, you'll have to wait for the situation to arise. No point worrying about something that hasn't happened yet.

"Now, now, Lord Dietrich. Our young King has done a spectacular job so far as king. Toscana is an example of that." Otto vouches for you and the men cheer somewhat at that. "But do tell, my King. Do you have any further plans of territorial expansion?"

The answer here is yes but you aren't arrogant enough to brag about it. Not even to loyal men. You'll let your future actions be your answer. But for now, these men will have to be contented with, "We shall see. But at the moment, I need to get myself a wife." The men and Dietrich laugh.