Mia raised an eyebrow at him questioningly as he went on to say that punishment wasn't the only option. As he went on to explain what he meant, the baroness listened in a rather stoic silence as he suggested forming an alliance between them. The idea of working with criminals wasn't one that she was fond of. The baroness prided herself on the abilities of her trustworthy comrades rather than getting involved with thieves and other such people.
However, the effectiveness of using thieves in this war was something she had seen first hand and it made her think over his words with a bit more interest as well as care. Younis hiring those thieves to attack them had left them extremely vulnerable and honestly, if it hadn't been for Penelope working with this particular thief, there was no telling if they would have been able to recover from such a blow in time. A mixture of wanting to end the war as well as wanting further revenge over the devastating attack that Younis had launched, she suddenly found herself being surprisingly swayed by his offer.
But can he be trusted? The baroness studied him for a moment. There may have been enough gray area because of the war like he said but it would be difficult to trust that he and the others he spoke of would work effectively for her battalion. Perhaps he was just using it as a way of escaping after all. As she thought on it more, the more she doubted he would go back on his word, even if it was from desperation to keep his hands. After all, this was a thief who the previous king had used to retrieve the staff from Younis and who had worked alongside her lieutenant to bring down the other thieves. He had completed both tasks from what she had heard, which was enough to make her believe they could potentially work with him.
Especially if they had Penelope, who seemed plenty able to work with this thief. Though Mia originally didn't want them growing closer than she already suspected them to be, it might be a risk she'd have to take in order to regard an upper hand in this war that constantly seemed to be a stalemate.
"Interesting." Mia mused finally after taking a long pause to think it over. "All is fair in love and war I suppose. Even though I'd prefer not to resort to dealing with criminals, I'd rather secure our kingdoms victory than worry about maintain pride on the war front." The baroness crossed her arms and offered a small smile. "I like your offer... I'll present the idea of working with you and these others that you have mentioned to the other barons."
Figuring there wasn't much more for them to discuss, she began to stand up to leave. She then paused to warn, " Unfortunately, if I can't convince them on working with you, we'll likely stick to the original plan. I intend to give them a fair argument for this option on your behalf but the other two barons are much less fond of you and I want a solid decision by the end of tomorrow."
However, the effectiveness of using thieves in this war was something she had seen first hand and it made her think over his words with a bit more interest as well as care. Younis hiring those thieves to attack them had left them extremely vulnerable and honestly, if it hadn't been for Penelope working with this particular thief, there was no telling if they would have been able to recover from such a blow in time. A mixture of wanting to end the war as well as wanting further revenge over the devastating attack that Younis had launched, she suddenly found herself being surprisingly swayed by his offer.
But can he be trusted? The baroness studied him for a moment. There may have been enough gray area because of the war like he said but it would be difficult to trust that he and the others he spoke of would work effectively for her battalion. Perhaps he was just using it as a way of escaping after all. As she thought on it more, the more she doubted he would go back on his word, even if it was from desperation to keep his hands. After all, this was a thief who the previous king had used to retrieve the staff from Younis and who had worked alongside her lieutenant to bring down the other thieves. He had completed both tasks from what she had heard, which was enough to make her believe they could potentially work with him.
Especially if they had Penelope, who seemed plenty able to work with this thief. Though Mia originally didn't want them growing closer than she already suspected them to be, it might be a risk she'd have to take in order to regard an upper hand in this war that constantly seemed to be a stalemate.
"Interesting." Mia mused finally after taking a long pause to think it over. "All is fair in love and war I suppose. Even though I'd prefer not to resort to dealing with criminals, I'd rather secure our kingdoms victory than worry about maintain pride on the war front." The baroness crossed her arms and offered a small smile. "I like your offer... I'll present the idea of working with you and these others that you have mentioned to the other barons."
Figuring there wasn't much more for them to discuss, she began to stand up to leave. She then paused to warn, " Unfortunately, if I can't convince them on working with you, we'll likely stick to the original plan. I intend to give them a fair argument for this option on your behalf but the other two barons are much less fond of you and I want a solid decision by the end of tomorrow."