Our Family Has Fallen-Chapter 660 - 394: Report_1

Silence fell. Amanda's mind raced, and she soon understood something. Then she said to Lance solemnly, "I am who I am—your friend, Amanda."

Lance was taken aback by her words, then smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I like friends~"

Her words indicated she wasn't speaking as a Romani, but as herself.

"Sit." He gestured for her to sit, his demeanor much more relaxed.

As she sat, Amanda's racing heart calmed somewhat, and she secretly sighed in relief.

She knew she had guessed right.

She realized that his use of the term "you Romani" in reference to her stemmed from her identity; this was the barrier to his acceptance of her.

"My friend, what can I help you with?"

"No!" Amanda shook her head earnestly. "It's what I can do for you. Please, make full use of me."

Hearing this, Lance realized that Amanda was an interesting person, and at the same time, a very pragmatic one, entirely lacking Tamara's slick cleverness.

"We are friends; we should help each other. How can you talk about being used?" Lance said, regarding Amanda unhurriedly. "Just speak directly. Let's see what I can help you with."

"The organization is preparing to withdraw from the Empire, and I..." Amanda dropped her composed facade and shared her situation, looking worn out.

Lance understood why she was so eager to find him. He realized she feared Tamara, once in power, would seek revenge on her, and Amanda now believed this retribution had already begun.

"I will mediate the conflict between you two. After all, it concerns an organizational mission. You were merely the executor, not the decision-maker."

Since she had made her position clear, Lance naturally had to state his own.

Having received Lance's promise, Amanda seemed to sigh in relief. Of all the things she was unsure about, the one thing she knew for certain was that this man always kept his promises.

And this was just the beginning; she knew she had to hold on tightly to this man...

But just as Amanda wanted to discuss matters more deeply with Lance, the door was knocked abruptly, and Susan's voice came through.

"My Lord, Miss Dai'er has returned and wishes to report to you."

"Let her in."

This response made Amanda, whose hopes had just risen, falter. The words she was about to say had to be swallowed, and she turned her gaze to Lance.

"Then I... should leave?"

"Sit down. It's just a report; there's nothing that can't be heard." Lance waved his hand casually, unconcerned.

However, this attitude pleased Amanda greatly, and much of her resentment at being interrupted dissipated.

The sound of Grendel's footsteps was nothing like the aggressive impact associated with Amanda; they were soft, yet not lacking in strength.

Grendel walked in with poised steps. Her demeanor was entirely different from Amanda's. Her wide skirts lent her an air of dignity, and her calm visage exuded a gentleness that naturally put people at ease.

Clearly, Susan wasn't one to gossip and wouldn't reveal what the Lord was doing.

So when Grendel entered and saw Amanda also there, she was somewhat surprised, but she still nodded to Amanda in greeting.

Although Amanda was inwardly irked by Grendel for interrupting her important moment, she didn't show it, instead nodding back with a faint smile.

"Let's get to business," Lance said, breaking the odd tension between them. "How is the follow-up progressing? Have the losses been tallied?"

Grendel was straight to the point. "In this war, Hamlet suffered a total of forty-seven deaths, of which fifteen were soldiers..."

The first figure Grendel mentioned made Lance frown. Eleven of those soldiers had perished at the outpost. Furthermore, the Warwolf's attack and the Heretics' killings throughout the land had resulted in additional deaths of soldiers and civilians.

But he said nothing, continuing to listen to the report.

After completing the inventory and registration, Grendel had the supplies and captives moved back from the farm. She found an open space in the outskirts to temporarily set up a camp for them. Since all the captives were injured, the medical soldiers and nursing apprentices were assigned to care for them—giving the apprentices a chance to practice their skills—or rather, to guard them.

The two leaders were held separately under guard in the town. As long as these two were controlled, the others would not be a concern.

Grendel was in charge of these matters, while Reynard and Barton handled army movements.

Reynard took the refugees who had caused trouble to the wilderness development area for labor. This was timely, as the outpost needed repairs, and a number of them could be put to work there without delaying the overall development progress.

Meanwhile, Barton took the fifty Musketeers, newly equipped with bayonets on their muskets, to the outpost to bring back the wounded, thereby relieving the pressure there.

The soldiers at the two camps in the development area had not been attacked and their units were intact, so adjustments were needed for them as well; the soldiers stationed at the farm were to be rotated back.

These matters were summarized in a single sentence in the report, but the logistics involved were quite troublesome, especially transporting the wounded.

To manage so many movements, they ultimately had Bastia to thank for the warhorses provided. Otherwise, where would Hamlet have found the transport capacity for all these tasks?

"Initial estimates place the losses at over two thousand Gold Coins," Grendel concluded. "Tiffany will report the exact details to you after a thorough tally is completed."

Perhaps because Amanda was present, Grendel's report focused almost entirely on the negative aspects. She mentioned no positives, dwelling solely on the hardships.