Reborn To Change My Fate-Chapter 183 - Hundred And Eighty Three

She squeezed his knees.

"Once you have the army," she said, painting the picture for him, "the title will follow. Fame and fortune will follow. You will be the most powerful man in the kingdom. And then... then we can deal with Marissa and Derek properly. We can crush them under the weight of your authority."

Carlos looked at her. He saw the belief in her eyes—or what he thought was belief. It fed his starving ego.

But then his gaze drifted back to the book on the table. The excitement faded, replaced by the heavy, sullen resignation of a lazy man facing a mountain of work.

He reached out and grabbed the book, but he didn’t open it. He just held it, weighing it in his hand.

"Taking over the military is not easy, Ashlyn," he said, his voice heavy. "It is not just reading books. It is politics. It is command. It is... work."

He looked at the thick volume with distaste.

"Even reading all these books won’t help much," he muttered, tossing the book back onto the table. "The old generals... General Croft, Commander Thane... they are loyal to Derek. They served with him. They served with Theodore. They look at me like I am a joke. They don’t respect me. They see me as the second son who likes dice and wine."

Ashlyn’s hands stilled on his knees. She knew he was right. He was lazy. He wasn’t a soldier. He had never held a sword in anger in his life. But she couldn’t let him give up. If he gave up, she lost.

She needed to inflate him with ego. She needed to fill him with so much hot air that he floated to the top.

"They don’t respect you because they don’t know you," Ashlyn lied, her voice full of false confidence. "They are old men, stuck in their ways. They worship Derek because he is what they are used to. But you..."

She stood up and cupped his face in her hands.

"With your talent," she said, staring deep into his eyes, "I am fully confident in you. You are smarter than them. You are more adaptable. You just need a chance to show it. You just need to get your foot in the door."

Carlos smiled. It was a slow, greedy smile. The doubt was fading, replaced by the comfortable warmth of arrogance.

He stood up. He turned to face her, towering over her.

"You are right," he said. He puffed out his chest. "I am smarter than them. I am a Thompson."

He closed the distance until he was standing right in front of her. He took her hand in his. His grip was warm, almost affectionate, but there was a sheen of sweat on his palms.

His smile widened. It didn’t look loving anymore. It looked hungry. It looked like the smile he wore when he was about to roll the dice at a high-stakes table.

"I know how to definitely get it," Carlos said.

Ashlyn looked at him, hopeful. Had he actually thought of a strategy? Had he found a loophole in the military code?

"How?" she asked.

"I have a plan," he said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "A way to bypass the generals. A way to bypass the training. A way to get the King’s attention directly."

He squeezed her hand.

"I don’t need to win their respect," Carlos said, his eyes gleaming. "I just need to win their greed."

Ashlyn’s heart sank. She knew where this was going. It wasn’t a strategy. It wasn’t a brilliant maneuver.

"The generals," Carlos whispered. "They are old. They have families. They have debts. Everyone has a price, Ashlyn. Even loyal soldiers."

He bent closer, invading her personal space.

"If I can buy their loyalty," he said. "If I can buy the support of the captains... then when the time comes to choose a new commander, they will chant my name. Not Derek’s."

He looked at her, his eyes pleading and demanding at the same time.

"But," Carlos added, his voice dropping to the crucial point, "it requires money."

Ashlyn stared at him. Of course. It always came back to money. He wanted to buy the army.

"Money?" she asked warily. "How much?"

"A lot," Carlos said simply. "Bribes are expensive. Gifts. Influence. Fine wine for the officers. Gold for the sergeants. I need to buy my way into the inner circle. It is the only way."

He looked at her. He wasn’t asking for a small loan. He was looking at her dowry. He was looking at her jewelry. He was looking at her security.

"I need more, Ashlyn," he said, his grip on her hand tightening. "The last amount... the necklace... it wasn’t enough. I need liquid assets. Gold."

"But I have no money left," Ashlyn whispered, her voice tight with panic. "My dowry... the gold, the jewelry... it is nearly exhausted, Carlos. You have taken almost everything for your debts and your ’connections.’"

She look at him as he went to slump in his chair, looking like a petulant child who had been denied a toy. His handsome face was twisted into a scowl.

"Then what?" Carlos snapped, throwing his hands up. "Should we just watch this chance slip away? Should I sit here and read this useless book while Derek remains the Commander? While he keeps the title that should be mine?"

He stood up and kicked the leg of the table. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Without money," Carlos muttered, pacing the room, "I cannot buy favor. Without favor, I am nothing. I am just the second son. The spare."

Ashlyn watched him. She saw his desperation. She saw his weakness. But she also saw his utility. He was a vehicle, a tool she could use to break Marissa’s hold on the family. If she couldn’t fund him with gold, she had to find another way to elevate him. A way that didn’t cost coin, but belief.

She needed to change the narrative. She needed to make Carlos look like destiny, not a gamble.

She walked to him, her skirts swishing softly. A slow, calculating smirk spread across her lips.

"There is another kind of currency, my love," Ashlyn said softly.

Carlos stopped pacing. He looked at her, confused. "What? Favors? Land?"

"Influence," Ashlyn said. "Faith. Superstition."

She placed her hand on his arm. She felt the tension in his muscles.

"This opportunity is very crucial," she said, her voice dropping low and intense. "Think about it. If the whole estate supports you... if the servants, the guards, and most importantly, the Dowager herself, believe that you are the chosen one... if they pray for your success... would Marissa be able to ignore that?"

Carlos frowned. "Marissa ignores everything I say. She thinks I am a joke."

"She ignores you," Ashlyn corrected him, her eyes gleaming. "But she cannot ignore Grandmother. And she cannot ignore the will of the heavens. If the ancestors speak, Marissa must listen."

She took his hand. Her grip was firm, reassuring.

"If the stars say you are the future Grand Duke," Ashlyn whispered, "then even the King might listen. Fate is a powerful weapon, Carlos. Stronger than gold."

Carlos’s smile widened slowly. He understood. It was a play. A performance. A way to bypass the logic and appeal to the heart.

"You have a plan?" he asked, hope returning to his face.

Ashlyn nodded her head. "I know a man. A holy man. Master Orion. He is expensive, but he is convincing. He will tell them exactly what they need to hear."