“An intelligence network?” Aeliana uttered with a startled look.
“That’s right. An intelligence network.” Eniwse calmly nodded before speaking, “As you may already know, Vaan has an inhuman capacity for learning. Knowledge is his weapon.”
“However, no matter how intelligent he may be, a person without information is like a bird without wings. As a man living in the Black Rose Kingdom, much information isn’t privy to him. And seeing how much he has grown in the time I haven’t seen him makes him all the more desirable, let alone to others.”
“Thus, an intelligence network that can provide him with crucial information about his possible enemies will allow him to make full use of his intelligence,” Eniwse stated with a sharp glint.
She had been too passive.
If she had used excessive force to teach Isabelle Gleriath a harsh lesson that she would never forget and put her in her place, a tragedy would never have taken place.
Vaan had placed his trust in her to protect him, and she had failed him.
It was a mistake she would never forget, nor will she repeat it.
That’s why she didn’t say anything, even though Vaan seemed to have more women around him. She didn’t have the right to monopolize him after she failed to protect him.
Furthermore, her power alone was not enough to protect someone extraordinary like him. So having more people on his side was for the better.
Perhaps she put up with Isabelle’s atrocious behavior because they didn’t have the power to be high-profile at the time.
Thus, they couldn’t afford to attract attention.
Nevertheless, since she was given a second chance, she would never make the same mistake again. This time, she will set things right and keep Vaan from harm’s way.
Aeliana immediately felt the clear difference between them after she listened to Eniwse’s explanation.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she had to accept the fact that Eniwse deserved to be the head witch in Vaan’s harem.
It wasn’t that long since Eniwse recovered from her Abomination state, but she had already come up with a plan that could help Vaan in the long run.
Meanwhile, she had recovered from her Abomination state much earlier than Eniwse, but all she could think about was monopolizing Vaan’s affection.
She had done nothing to help him and had been on the receiving end of his kindness.
“You have won me over, Lady Eniwse.” Aeliana softly sighed with despondence before stating, “I have to admit that I am inferior to you. While your power is lacking, you have the right mindset. You deserve to be the head witch.”
“As I said, none of that is important to me, Lady Aeliana,” Eniwse said with a calm smile before continuing, “Since we are both Vaan’s people, there’s no need for us to compete and compare with each other. Vaan’s interest comes before ours.”
“Furthermore, even if there has to be a head witch, it’s not up to us to decide, so we shouldn’t worry about it. We only need to consider what we can do to make Vaan’s life easier. That said, I feel like there will be difficult times ahead of us,” Eniwse mentioned.
Aeliana softly sighed with even more dejection.
The longer she listened to Eniwse speak, the inferior she felt. She was like a child before Eniwse, fighting over trivial things while the person in question was pondering over adult matters.
She thought her loyalty to Vaan was strong, but it was only a feeling. On the other hand, Eniwse’s loyalty was more practical.
Nevertheless, Eniwse could sense Aeliana’s feelings.
“There’s no need to be dejected, Lady Aeliana, ” Eniwse consoled her before mentioning, “I have been with Vaan longer. Thus, I’ve heard and learned much from him, Lady Aeliana.”
“Even the idea to set up an intelligence network to collect information isn’t my original idea, but something inspired by a quote Vaan once mentioned in passing. It went like this: Know thy enemy, know thy self. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.”
“Supposedly, a great strategist called Sun Tzu came up with this quote. Although I’ve never heard of such a name in history, I can feel that this person was very wise,” Eniwse added.
“Know thy enemy, know thy self… A thousand battles, a thousand victories…” Aeliana softly muttered before her eyes gradually widened with surprise.
It wasn’t a big quote, but the meaning was clear and powerful, full of wisdom.
“Setting up the intelligence network… Can I help you with it, Lady Eniwse?” Aeliana asked.
“Of course, Lady Aeliana! I thought you would never ask,” Eniwse quickly permitted with an enthusiastic smile and said, “It’s not something I can pull off on my own. For starters, we would need a base for our operations and hire trustworthy people to run it.”
“Let us work together and do what we can for Vaan, Lady Aeliana,” Eniwse extend a hand to Aeliana for a handshake.
“It would be my honor, Lady Eniwse.” Aeliana accepted the handshake happily before mentioning, “As for the base of operation, you don’t have to worry about that.”
“You might not know this, but I am the Lord of Sunpeak Town. Although the place is a little rundown now, it will become the most prosperous trading city in the central region in the future. Furthermore, Dahlia and I assisted Lord Vahn in purchasing several dozen properties and listed them all under his name. Thus, we won’t need to worry about funds for the intelligence network’s operations—”
“Ah, but of course, we will need Lord Vahn’s approval,” Aeliana suddenly added.
“I see. That’s reassuring to hear,” Eniwse commented with a self-deprecating smile, feeling she had missed out on a fair bit of Vaan’s life. Then, after a brief moment, she quickly shook her head and asked with doubt, “But who is Dahlia?”
“Ah, Dahlia is…” Aeliana proceeded to explain the details to Eniwse and fill her in on Vaan’s plan for Sunpeak Town.
After Eniwse understood the gist of the situation, they began brainstorming ideas and planning the structure of their intelligence network.
They wanted to devise a concrete plan before proposing it to Vaan together.