A Short Speech
The Count was a more than decent orator and knew very well how to speak to subordinates. Gaining the willing support and loyalty of subordinates was a delicate task and needed certain soft skills that were often not found in many nobles these days.
But Count Gabriel was not one of them. His father had inculcated the proper values in him that had allowed him to gain a hold over his warriors which was unlike many other nobles.
"Today… we have fought… we have fought and we have WON! But this has come at a cost of course, a cost which I would have liked to have avoided." The Count said, saddening the expression of many a soldier.
"But this was a necessary fight. You have seen… how the enemy forces fought! They brought deceit into the battle and used forces that were certainly not their own. We have long been suspicious of this and had thus prepared on our own as well.