"Your insight is absolutely correct, but what does that have to do with what we're discussing now?"
Even as she marveled, Ambessa's confusion deepened.
She knew well enough that Noxus's enemies lay to the east and west.
The warship she used had been built by her family's elders during the campaign into Ionia.
"Swain seized power in Noxus overnight. What do you think his next move should be?"
Caleb withdrew his hand and went right back to eating.
"You mean..."
Ambessa fell into thought with him.
"An eastern campaign," Caleb said firmly. "That's the best strategy available to Swain."
"So that's it..." Ambessa's eyes filled with disbelief.
This kid, just by speaking a few sentences over dinner, had already figured out how Swain was thinking?
So those two really were operating on the same level.
If this kid were advising under her command...
She briefly found herself wondering whether her daughter would be willing to give him up.
While she was indulging in that thought, Caleb lowered his head again and kept slurping noodles from his bowl.
The food in Piltover really was excellent, and the flavors were blessedly straightforward.
"So," Caleb said loudly after swallowing another bite, "as long as you actively volunteer for the eastern campaign, your life will be safe."
"You might even expand your influence even further."
"And where exactly does that come from?" Ambessa asked, puzzled.
"Lady Medarda, you came to Piltover, and the one sent after you was an executioner like Urgot."
Caleb picked up the knife beside his steak and spoke in an orderly, unhurried tone.
"Did you notice? Urgot wasn't a professional assassin."
At those words, cold sweat was already running down Ambessa's back.
"Noxus has plenty of people capable of killing enemy commanders before a war even begins."
Caleb was not making that up. He personally knew of two Noxian assassins.
Back in his old life, both of those Noxian champions had been famous.
Though as far as Caleb was concerned, he really did not want to meet either of them right now.
Katarina was one thing, but Caleb definitely did not want Talon's face to be the last thing he saw in this life.
There were still way too many places he wanted to visit.
"You mean General Swain deliberately spared me?"
The haze of doubt in Ambessa's mind vanished at once.
"Urgot was more likely the real target," Caleb explained.
That lunatic had turned himself into something neither human nor monster inside the Dredge.
If he had remained in Noxus, he would have become a major threat sooner or later.
"It's a strategy of setting a tiger loose against a wolf."
Caleb spoke slowly.
"It doesn't matter whether the tiger or the wolf survives in the end."
"What matters is...?"
By now, Ambessa was completely following Caleb's line of thought.
"What matters is whether the survivor can be used."
Caleb laid out the conclusion.
"That's exactly right."
Ambessa was fully convinced now.
"The royalists in Noxus are absolutely Swain's first problem."
"Compared to a woman like you, enjoying Piltover snacks over here, I'm sure there are plenty of warlords building up their strength."
"They'll do everything they can to put a new king on the throne, one who serves their interests."
"Noxian culture worships force and bloodshed. That energy has to be given somewhere to go."
"And if nobles preparing to restore a king happen to meet with accidents on some distant battlefield, well, that wouldn't be so surprising."
"So all you need to do is request a command from Swain and head to the front lines in Ionia."
"Naturally, no one will bother causing you trouble while you're out there fighting for him."
By the time Caleb finished, Ambessa felt as if a veil had been lifted from her eyes.
For all the luxury she had been indulging in these past few days, it was a trivial expense compared to the upkeep of the forces under her command.
That relaxed image she showed in public had only been a disguise. Even while bathing, she never let her guards leave her side.
Tension, anxiety, and constantly searching for a countermeasure, that was her real state.
And after Caleb's analysis, she was finally ready to return to Noxus.
He was right. Judging by the warlords she knew, many of them were terrified that once the king fell, they would no longer be able to preserve their privileged positions.
Swain's lightning-fast seizure of power may have kept them from acting openly.
But that did not mean they had given up.
Under those circumstances, as Noxus's new ruler, not a king but its new leader, Swain's best move was to open a new war in Ionia.
First, it would cover over internal conflict and redirect the people's attention toward an external campaign.
Second, it would make it much easier to eliminate certain stubborn enemies on a battlefield far across the ocean.
Urgot, all by himself, was a perfect example.
Now Ambessa finally felt secure.
Her spirits rose at once, and she laughed out loud.
"What a shame, young man. If you weren't tied down by your post in Zaun, I'd dig you out of there and bring you under my banner!"
Caleb really was exactly her kind of person.
Ruthless when it counted, sharp-eyed, and full of nerve.
That was the same reason Swain had been able to seize Noxus in the first place.
Zaun's prosperity might not compare to the Immortal Bastion, but Caleb had built his position there with his own hands.
Second-in-command under her?
He might not even think that post was worth taking.
Why would he give up a Zaun where he called the shots just to come work under her, dealing with a bunch of disgruntled Noxian fighters who refused to obey?
Anyone with common sense knew that was impossible.
Unless...
What if she made him her adopted son?
Looking at Caleb as he kept eating, Ambessa had a bold thought.
"Hm?" Caleb was still immersed in the expertly prepared food, but the look in Ambessa's eyes made him pause in confusion.
"I heard you're all alone, Mr. Caleb."
Ambessa probed carefully.
"Yeah, but that's fine. It's pretty comfortable, actually." Caleb was chewing a mouthful of beef and spoke unclearly through it.
"What a pity. If Mel didn't already like that Talis boy, I'd marry her to you myself."
Ambessa smiled. Compared with Jayce, the man in front of her really did satisfy her far more.
"That's fine with me. I'm not interested in Mel."
Mel was beautiful, sure, but she was a little too shiny.
Her headpiece, the corners of her eyes, her jewelry, even her clothes, everything seemed to glow with gold.
It was too much. Caleb was half afraid he'd go blind.
And besides, knowing she and Jayce were a thing, Caleb, firm believer that romance should stay exclusive, was not about to wedge himself in between them.
"So then, do me a favor, and become my son."
"My adopted son wouldn't have it any worse than the Governor of Zaun."
After thinking it over, Ambessa extended the offer in the direct Noxian way.
"Uh..."
Mel and Caleb both fell silent at the same time.
Caleb had assumed she was just testing the waters before trying to arrange some political marriage or something.
Who would've thought, of all people, you'd be into this move too.
"Let's not do that." Caleb waved a hand and glanced at Mel.
She was glaring daggers at her mother. The woman really never stopped unless she said something outrageous.
"You better not be drunk. Your brain's gone soft."
Mel's voice came out sharp and sour. As a daughter who had been deeply doted on in childhood, she naturally understood exactly what her mother was thinking.
"I would give you the whole world, child, so long as you prove you can take it."
That was what her mother had once told her when she was little.
And now she wanted to make Caleb her adopted son.
Which clearly meant she was preparing to hand the entire family over to him.