“‘Might have been better off?’” Juliette sighed. As always, she was impressed by Erin’s facility for improvisation, but it was a pity the subject was so dark. “I can’t tell you how much I wish I could be there for my soldiers. And how much I wish we could have won some major battle, and had Aserit come crawling to us to sue for peace.<br/><br/>“But this is where I think I can do the most good. As for what can be sacrificed... I suppose that depends on whether one is referring to me personally or the kingdom as a whole. Speaking only for my own fate, I just don’t consider it worth prolonging the war over. If I’m married off to some abusive tyrant to end all this suffering on both sides, so be it. But as far as what our kingdom can sacrifice... We can’t weaken our land with appeasement. Any agreement would have to come of both sides compromising and being treated equally.”<br/><br/>She shook her head. “The Aserit leaders probably think they have the upper hand, and they’ll come into this arrogantly. But their situation is just as precarious as ours.” Juli was not at liberty to discuss it with Erin or even Nira, but the Aserit military supply lines were well scouted by the Ghosts and badly compromised by spies. This was unfortunately not enough of an advantage to drive Aserit back. But in the case of a full-scale invasion, they would run mysteriously low on supplies. And soldiers weakened by hunger were vulnerable to counterattack.