They were helpless to do anything about the Northern Army's tendency to marginalize its own Vassals.
"Don't worry. Once you succeed the throne, you can crush the arrogance of these Northern People to let me vent a little." Levi seemed to be imagining the day Liya ascended to the Duke's seat, with him at her side as the Duke's Hand, wielding a Holy Sword and clad in shining Golden Plate Armor.
'If anyone dares to speak out of turn, I'll just lop their head off with one swing.'
"Mhm." Liya pumped her little fist, as if cheering herself on.
...
The soldiers spent two days gathering timber, and the army's carpenters and Blacksmiths spent another five days building war machines.
That week became the last period of peace both inside and outside Black Stone Castle.
One side hunkered down, avoiding battle and defending Black Stone Castle to the death, while the other worked in full swing to build siege weaponry with great fanfare. This formed a brief, unspoken understanding.
