"Are you running final drills?" he asked.
"Yes, Young Lord," Aldric replied. "His Grace ordered couple more drills before the royal procession enters the inner duchy. Formations, reception posture, emergency response routes. We are refining the last of it now."
Julian gave a small nod, then glanced again at the assembled soldiers.
"The number is higher than before," he said. "Why?"
There was the briefest pause before Aldric answered.
"Lord Liam has enlisted his own private soldiers into the formation," the commander said. "He stated that, with His Majesty's arrival at hand, the family must be united. Whatever internal conflicts exist among us should be set aside for the duration of the visit."
Julian's expression did not change much, but inwardly he remained skeptical.
Liam was not the sort of man who offered anything without calculating the return. On the surface, the gesture looked proper.
Even admirable.
