There is only one major trend in the Arxian army wartime strategies.
Stop the enemy’s attacks.
Wait for the withdrawal, destruction or annihilation of the enemy forces and then launch an offensive attack.
Quickly achieve the established goal, such as capturing a base.
That very simple pattern is maintained by the vast number of standing armies that Arxia has.
Now that the enemy scouts have invaded, Ergnard has taken his troops to the frontline, but the troops he had taken with him are only performing the first part of the strategy; they were the advance troops who were defending Arxia. The main force is still in this fortress.
As soon as Marquis Lorenzorell returns from giving orders on the frontline, I’m going to ask Eric to act as the King’s representative in front of the main force ――― but he has other work to do.
“What work am I doing?”
When I visited Eric, who was bored in his assigned room, and told him that I was going to guide him through his work, he turned around with a troublesome expression on his face. He did ask what his work was, so he hadn’t forgotten why he had come here.
“You’re comforting the injured. This fortress has a clinic for wounded soldiers. I’ve been told by Marquis Lorenzorell that comforting wounded soldiers in the Royal Army is the job of those who hold the title of Duke and above.”
“Hmm… So, why are you guiding me there? You have nothing to do with the Royal Army.”
“I hold a private Knight Order, which gives me the status of an external military officer in the Royal Army.”
A person who holds a private Knight Order isn’t included as a member of said order. But, formally, they are registered in the Royal Army list as military officials, in name only.
This was apparently a system to show that the private Knight Order ultimately belongs to the state and is not the private army of the holder. It is only a position on paper, and you don’t get paid like a regular military official.
… However, Ergnard and the others are often used as the Royal Army’s military officials, so they take on duties like babysitting Eric. It’s something I can’t agree with, even though they get rewarded afterwards for their actions. I didn’t want to become military personnel at all, and I felt that it was a little unreasonable that I was included in that category somehow.
Well, I know that Ergnard and the others added more to the reward money, so I can understand why this was happening. This was probably their roundabout way of supporting Kaldia fief, which has almost recovered, but still lacked an outstanding industry and is as shabby as ever.
Under the Royal Army’s military laws, the duties of an external military official are treated almost like outsourcing. And since there is no concept of outsourcing fees, the rewards are paid out from the private funds of the commissioner instead of the military budget.
“I’ve been told by the Earl that Baron Dorvadine needs to complete his visit to the clinic before the Commanding General returns.”
“… Hah, fine, I got it. I’ll go.”
Perhaps it was because he had been too bored during the past few days, but it was easier to move Eric than I thought it would be.
The clinic was simply an extension of the fortress’s infirmary.
Although, the clinic was treated as the rear base and it is also a facility that houses many seriously injured people who can no longer fight on the frontlines nor return to their home fiefs.
“Uag…!”
Eric quietly entered the nursing room with a scowl on his face, but he choked as soon as he stepped into the room.
The soldiers lying in the nursing room, or perhaps I should call them ex-soldiers? Many of the ex-soldiers were missing their arms or legs or had severe burns, and their pain was instantly recognisable.
“Eric-sama, can I ask you to speak to each of them individually? The patients in this room can no longer stand on the battlefield. They can only wait to be picked up by people from their fief or their relatives.”
The doctor spoke to Eric. But Eric shrunk away from the patient’s bed.
“… Uh…”
The doctor and I looked at each other and shook our heads at Eric’s stunned expression. I had expected this, but it seemed that it was still too shocking for him to see the people who were staying here.
There were no soldiers with minor injuries in this clinic, because those with minor injuries are never brought back from the frontlines. There were only seriously injured soldiers who had managed to escape death but had been injured so badly that they couldn’t move on their own.
I’m sure I had explained to him what kind of place the clinic was beforehand, but Eric has lived his life far away from injuries, so he didn’t understand how shocking it was until he actually saw this scene, even though he thought he understood.
If that had been the Crown Prince or Grace, then they probably wouldn’t show how shook up they were by that. The two must have been trained not to show it.
How should I calm Eric down and get him to comfort these people? I’m only a guide, and I’m not directly related to these soldiers, so I can’t go around and talk to the soldiers on his behalf since it would completely destroy Eric’s position.
… How troublesome. Why do I have to be some kind of educator for a guy my age?
I sighed.
“Heeee! Why, why is the vampire here?! Nooooooooo! I don’t want to kill anymore. I don’t want to kill anymoreeeeee!”
Suddenly, a deranged scream came from the corner of the nursing room.
The doctor turned towards that corner at the same time as when I clicked my tongue at the word ‘vampire’.
Eric was petrified, so he was late to react. His shoulders shook and he looked around restlessly.
“Calm down, don’t get too worked up! Someone! The sedative!”’
“No! No! I’ve had enough of this! I’m not going to hurt others for her food anymore!”
“Why did you come back!? Didn’t you go to the noble’s academy!?!?”
“I can’t fight anymore! Please stop. I don’t want to die or kill anymore! I can’t fight! I’ve lost my legs!”
As if in response, there was a succession of screams and collapsing noises everywhere and the room suddenly became noisy.
A number of glances pierced at me with clear gloomy emotions such as condemnation, scorn and fear.
The doctor urged me to immediately leave the room and Eric staggered after me as if he was following me.
I closed the door behind me as if trying to stifle the commotion, and my heavy breathing became sighs that wanted to come out.
My reputation among the Royal Army soldiers is often not a good one. There seemed to be a strong emotional backlash to my treatment of the war prisoners, and my attacks on the enemy troops, because my methods had differed greatly from theirs.
I don’t think I was the cause of their trauma, but… I bit my lips since my thoughts had been too naïve when I heard the sounds of the doctor subduing a soldier who was panicking and screaming with tears in his eyes through the thin door.
It seemed that to them ――― that to the Arxian soldiers who are supposed to be my allies ――― I am a symbol of death, violence and the battlefield. The longer the commotion in the room went on, the more I felt like my stomach was filled with lead.
“… I apologise, Viscount Dorvadine. It seems like I’ve disturbed the comforting atmosphere. I will inform Earl Einsbark to have someone else show you here at a later date, so let’s go back to your room.”
I called out to Eric, who was unable to comprehend the situation at all and was staring at the nursing room door with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
He turned his gaze to me and looked terribly confused.
“Wh-what happened just now? Why are the kingdom’s soldiers that afraid of you?”
“… The battlefield is a place where one’s heart can be easily wounded.”
I prompted Eric to walk as I walked down the corridor while deciding to talk to him. I needed to educate him a bit and this was a good opportunity to do so. I chose my words carefully, thinking that it would be better for him to be aware of the situation next time he came to comfort them.
“The fact that we have to fight and kill each other, even if we are enemies, causes natural rejection and is mentally draining. As you know, Eric-dono, I am more or less famous for killing a lot of my enemies mercilessly. Their hearts have weakened since they can’t stand on the battlefield ever again, and they must be terrified of anything that reminds them of the battlefield, ally or foe alike.”
“Trauma…”
“Injury and death can happen not only to the body, but also the mind. Just as a person who has been burnt has a strong fear of fire, it is natural for all living beings to fear the pain that they have experienced. This is so they can live, so that they don’t die and so that they won’t be hurt any further.”
My mind drifted back to my citizens as I explained to Eric about psychological trauma.
Everyone was deeply hurt by the hellish life my father had created for them. Even though it was necessary, what Earl Thelesia and I did afterwards was just a drastic measure. I felt regret, wondering if there was something I could have done to heal their hearts.
“… You…”
The voice that came from Eric wasn’t to show that he understood nor was it to ask a question; his voice sounded as if he didn’t understand my point.
“What about me?”
I tilted my head and asked him back since I wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. Eric frowned as if he also didn’t know what to say.
“You weren’t trying to kill those soldiers directly, were you?”
Of course, I nodded my head at his somewhat roundabout question.
Even though they’re commoners, I’ve never thought of committing such a callous act against the Royal Army soldiers who should be respected. In the first place, we operate under a different chain of command, so they have never directly participated in my evil plans.
“… Is it alright? You’ve done nothing to them, yet they…”
Scream and glare at you. He stopped the words he was about to say, but I knew exactly what he wanted to say.
“They are not my citizens.”
I shrugged and answered. I didn’t answer if I was alright with it or not.
If I say I’m fine, then I’m fine. If I say I’m not, then I’m not. I felt depressed, but unlike my citizens, I didn’t feel like clinging to them in hopes that they would one day understand.
“… No way, so…”
“Excuse me?”
I thought I heard Eric mutter something, so I asked him to repeat himself. Then, Eric looked up and I was pierced by his strong gaze.
“It’s because you’re like this that they call you a vampire and are even traumatised by you. I hate… that you don’t pay any attention to anyone but those within your circle.”
He said he hated it, but for some reason, his expression was not one of disgust, instead, he looked as if he was going to cry.
… The night before I left for Jugfena.
I visited Earl Thelesia’s mansion as a courtesy before going to the battlefield. Even I know that I might not be able to see him again.
“I’m sorry for not coming to greet you.”
“No, it’s fine. I should have been there for your entrance ceremony.”
The Earl leaned gently against the couch. He seemed to have a slightly more relaxed expression on his face since his return to the capital. The situation in Kaldia was very bad when he had arrived, so perhaps the man I knew was more stressed than he usually was.
“I heard you weren’t feeling well then.”
“It was only a mild cough, but the people at home were making too much of a fuss, so I took precautions and slept for two days, now I feel better. There’s nothing wrong with me.”
“Is that so? I’m glad that you’re alright.”
“Everyone treats me like I’m a dying old man even though my older brother is still energetically going to the castle every day to work. I don’t understand why they treat me like a dying old man when I live so carefully compared to him.”
When I celebrated my 10th birthday, the Earl began spending more time in the capital. He gave me back the feudal lord title almost at the same time as when I raised a rank, and was now living back at his own mansion.
He had no children to inherit his title, so he still held onto his Earl title, but he rarely attended the House of Lords meetings anymore. While he takes care of his job at the castle’s treasury, which was the basis for his title, he already feels like he’s retired and is probably enjoying the rest of his life in his mansion.
“… Well, whatever. More importantly, how’s life at the academy? You’ve only been there for two days, but there already seems to be little rumours about you everywhere. They say that Earl Kaldia is in His Highness, the Crown Prince’s good books.”
The reason why he still holds more information than the average noble is because nobles of all positions all over the capital still frequently visit him for advice.
As usual, the Earl is a guardian with too much influence for an Earl.
But well… I can’t say much since people also bring me information and ask me for advice. I’m being relied on more and more by other nobles because of my position as an Earl.
“Yes, actually…”
I explained everything that happened at the academy to Earl Thelesia.
“… The Crown Prince wants to be your friend, the two Archduke’s… or Eric is especially hostile towards you and the only decent person is Lorenzorell’s heir?”
I nodded at his brief confirmation.
“Yes. I don’t understand why Eric-dono is so hostile towards me, when we’ve only had that kind of conversation. I was hoping to distance myself from His Highness, the Crown Prince, by giving him a bad impression of me… But since we’ll be working together tomorrow, I thought I would need to understand him a little better.
“I haven’t spoken to Grace since the first day, apart from saying hello.”
“I understand Grace-dono’s attitude better. It’s natural if you think about the status of an Archduke and an Earl. Is this the result of an Archduke’s education?”
I didn’t know much about Archduke Dorvadine since he rarely appeared at the House of Lords. He is a key member of the Upper House of Lords as a royal prince, and in my position, he is someone who I would normally not be involved with.
“… Hmm… An Archduke…”
However, Earl Thelesia knew what kind of person Archduke Dorvadine is since he was once a member of the Upper House of Lords. He seemed to be at a loss for words to say as his normally stern expression was particularly grim, which was unusual for him.
I sipped on my tea and waited for him to continue, while thinking about what the Earl was trying to say about the Archduke’s situation.
――― Even though he’s a child, he’s from a prestigious Archduke House ――― and even though he’s an illegitimate child, he’s the son of a royal prince, so his behaviour and conduct were too strange. The way he behaved was too ――― inelegant, and without thought. He is unsuitable to be the Crown Prince’s close aide.
He is the Archduke’s illegitimate son, born from a mistress, but the fact that he can behave like he is Grace’s twin brother means that he has been treated the same as Grace. If that is true, then they should have received the same education.
I think Grace was the only person who didn’t take note of me. I think he has already set his sights on becoming the next Archduke, so he acts as if he doesn’t care about a lowly rising Earl. And I felt that he was right. Aside from Seighart, who is also a noble from a military house, it was strange for the Crown Prince and a son from an Archduke House to exchange more than a greeting with me.
The question lied in the difference between Eric and Grace. If Eric has distanced himself from me as a member of an Archduke House, then Grace must place the same distance between us.
If they did receive different education and were treated differently at home, then the relationship between Eric and Grace would be weird. Why can they behave like twins, despite one being a legitimate child and the other an illegitimate child? Why do they have such contrasting attitudes towards me when they are allowed to behave in such a way?
… I don’t know why I have to stick my nose into another family’s problems, but I know that Eric and I will be travelling to Jugfena tomorrow in the same carriage, and I won’t be able to leave him until he has fulfilled his role. It would be annoying if he abandons his duty because I put him in a bad mood by stepping on a landmine without knowing his circumstances.
“… How much do you know about the Archduke’s wife?”
The Earl finally said after I had finished my tea.
“I’ve heard that Grace-dono’s mother is the legal wife and Eric-dono’s mother is the mistress of the Archduke when he was still in the royal family registry.”
“His mistress, Marlene-dono, was from the Provenzale House… She was from Marquis Zereulterziwizia’s branch house, and his legal wife Otilia-dono, is from Duke Zastin’s house. They joined the Archduke’s house at almost the same time, and also had a child within a year of each other. I don’t know how their relationship was. Marlene-dono rarely left the castle.”
“She’s from the Zereulterziwizia house…”
“She was a princess in her vassal state. Their marriage was intended to deepen the ties between the royal family and the independent Marquis fief, but it seemed to be a roundabout way of doing things, since the Marquis at that time had already spread his allegiance to the nation.”
The independent Marquis fief, located in the mountain ranges of Amon Kraan, is a rather unique piece of land even within the nation. I didn’t know that Eric had such a background. Well, this piece of information isn’t useful unless you think that Eric’s violent temper is a mental disorder that originated from the Zereulterziwizia bloodline.
“Now back to the topic, Marlene-dono, who had such status even though she was the mistress, seemed to have been treated almost the same as Otilia-dono, the legal wife. Eric was treated in a higher position than the second child of the legal wife because of that.”
“‘Was treated’, so does that mean he’s not treated like that anymore?”
“Marlene-dono has been dead for about five years now.”
I stared silently at Earl Theleisa.
“… I wasn’t aware that she had passed away. It seems that little is known about the death of the Archduke’s mistress who was treated the same as the legal wife.”
The things I know about the Archduke and the royal family is common knowledge. If information is leaked from there, then it means that this information should not be known by someone of my status.
“The Archduke kept Marlene-dono’s funeral a private event. He also only told those involved of her death.”
“Does her death have something to do with how Eric-dono is treated?”
“I started hearing about Eric’s bad reputation after Marlene-dono’s funeral. It’s not strange for his personality to get warped after losing his mother and being in a complicated position all by himself.”
… I felt the Earl look at me with indescribable eyes when he said that Eric’s personality had warped.
My personality was already warped before I lost my parents, so Eric’s situation was different from mine.
“Are you saying that you’re unclear of what is going on?”
“Marlene-dono and Otilia-dono were very close, according to what I’ve heard. And Marlene-dono died in an accident… when she broke her neck protecting Eric from falling down the stairs.”
I stopped talking. I didn’t want to hear anymore than that. That was enough.
People in high society already talk about how cold the relationship between Eric and Otilia is.
The eastern end of the Great Plateau is dotted with hills that look like islands floating on flat land, called remnant hills, and castles have been built on these hills to serve as defence bases.
A season has already passed since the Rindarl armies moved back from their front lines. We occupied these abandoned castles and were using them as our frontline bases. Even though it was difficult to mount an attack during winter, a month has passed since the snow thawed.
Marquis Lorenzorell had left the defence of these strongholds to the Jugfena troops that Ergnard had brought with him and brought back the main troops of the Royal Army, which had been assigned to protect the strongholds, back to Jugfena Fortress.
It was a bad decision to leave the frontline empty under these circumstances, but I couldn’t take Eric any further out, and I also don’t know what kind of accident would occur if I continued to deploy a demoralised army.
“Maintaining the frontline is also nothing to scoff at. It’s not worth it to further extend out lines to try and make Densel a vassal state.”
Marquis Lorenzorell, who had been watching the situation in the frontline, grumbled as soon as he returned. The meeting was held immediately after the march, so he was probably tired and irritated, but he was also probably frustrated at Rindarl since they wouldn’t surrender, and we didn’t know what they were thinking.
It seemed that during the eight months that they had occupied the bases, they had made a lot of changes to the facilities such as the base and the roads, in order to make life more comfortable for the soldiers.
The situation was such that it was impossible to return the land to Rindarl as it is, and the restoration of the land couldn’t be included in the peace agreement. It’s the theory that it’s unfortunate for the enemy country to have to develop their infrastructure while also fighting a war. As a result, we are currently experiencing the mysterious phenomenon of the nation expanding, even though we didn’t want it to.
“The economic effect of researching the new weapons we have seized should be enough to make up for the losses, though.”
“That’s the thoughts of a military person who has no citizens, Wiegraf. You can’t directly increase livelihood by increasing the variety of weapons you have. The citizens won’t be satisfied if we don’t have any war trophies.”
I touched the metal cylinder in front of me that was about 120 centimetres long.
It was a gun. It was apparently stored in the abandoned base on the frontline.
It looked very different from the one that was used in the battle that had earned me an Earl rank. That one was a thin metal cylinder about 180 centimetres long and had something like step ladders attached to it, but this one looked like a gun. I even felt a chill at the fact that it had become much smaller and more manoeuvrable.
“Well, we have no rights to interfere with the national interest, so we have to leave that to the Commanding General… But still… Since the battle at the Great Plateau, it had already changed to this form at the time of the last simultaneous defence battles, but this seems to have been modified further.”
“… It’s this stone.”
A white stone that had been cut into a hexagonal shape was attached to the side of the handle, where it connected to the handle through a small hole in the cylinder. The mechanism seemed to function as the trigger of the gun, and when the latch is removed, the stone returns inside the gun with great force.
“Hmm. It seems to be used to ignite the gunpowder. It looks like a luminescent light made of hardened phosphorescent moth scales…”
“The phosphorescent moth’s luminescent light is only made to glow. They can’t create fire.”
The Commanding General and I nodded at Wiegraf’s words.
“This is probably the reason why we seized them so easily. The mechanism probably works really well, but we can’t use it without knowing the principle behind it.”
“So, we can use these short-barrelled arrows if we can come up with another mechanism to light them and rebuild it. Even though I brought up the mechanism, we can’t use the big cylinder as reference.”
Apparently, they called this gun a short-barrelled arrow in Arxia. There was a cannon-like weapon called the ‘big cylinder’ several hundred years ago, which was simply a huge cylinder in which explosive barrels and stones were thrown into and launched.
The technology to make the exploding barrels have been lost, and most people didn’t know what it was, or had forgotten about it, until the short-barrelled arrow came along.
“It’s no use thinking about it now.”
“Don’t say that, Earl Kaldia. This is really a great weapon depending on how you use it. I want to popularise it throughout the kingdom armies as soon as possible.”
I quietly turned away from Marquis Lorenzorell whose eyes were sparkling as he said that. This man has a personal interest in all things related to warfare.
“But what’s more important right now is the imperial decree the Baron Dorvadine will be giving.”
This is the event that I came here for in the first place. Eric will act as proxy for the King to deliver his message about allowing the Royal Army to fight, and he will also give a speech to encourage them. Even though it’s called a ceremony, it isn’t a big deal.
But the problem was Eric.
“―――－Kaldia.”
Eric came out of the medical office and spoke to me. I lowered the frontline report I was reading while waiting for him.
“Baron Dorvadine. I would like to thank you on behalf of my foster father for your kindness towards the soldiers today.”
Eric grimaced as I stood up and thanked him. But he probably thought that it was a bad idea if my voice was heard in the medical office, so he urged me to move to a new location by jerking his chin down the corridor.
When we turned around the corner and approached the stairs, he finally turned his head towards me as if he thought we had placed enough distance between us and the medical office.
“I don’t know how many times I have to repeat this, but I won’t fulfil my duties as His Majesty’s proxy. I will return to the capital and petition His Majesty the King and my father to immediately call for a ceasefire.”
“――― Please reconsider. If you don’t deliver those words, then the Royal Army won’t be able to do anything against the slave soldiers, who are treated as the enemy soldiers’ allies. The enemy will surely use the slave soldiers as shields and go on the offensive, and then the Arxian army will…”
“You’re too repetitive. My answer is the same; withdraw. If we retreat the soldiers back to Jugfena Fortress, then we can fight any opponent under the stance of preventing them from entering our nation, right?”
Eric and I have been having the exact same conversation for the past few days.
――― This was Eric’s new ‘problem’.
“It’s against the teachings of Xia to take land and property by force. And yet, how is it like in the frontline? You are not only driving back the enemy but have also taken the lands of Planates and Densel under your control, and are working hard to defend that land without thinking about how exhausting it is on the soldiers!”
Eric shouted as if he was going to strike me. It was a little different from the outburst he had thrown at me at the Academy; it was an outburst of righteousness. His face was flushed with anger, purely out of concern for others, and I couldn’t see the slightest hint of self-denial or self-loathing that he had shown in the past.
… The impact of the traumatised soldiers had on him was greater than we had anticipated.
We knew that he was sensitive to the psychological traumas, but no one imagined that he would leap past refusing to care for the soldiers and onto rejecting the war itself, which was the cause for their trauma.
“Baron Dorvadine, you also understand that abandoning the land that we have occupied and pulling back our frontlines would hinder the peace negotiations, don’t you?”
“Pfft, what are you talking about? You know this don’t you? You know that we don’t need that for peace negotiations. Didn’t Rindarl demand that the First Prince receive better treatment?”
“…”
That is something that everyone involved in this war has thought about at one time or another. That’s why I didn’t know how to reply to him.
“I’m going to bring Prince Albert back from the monastery, and then back to the Academy. I’ll also get Alfred’s Crown Prince title revoked, and then the cause of this war will disappear. It’s foolish to use the lives of the citizens for such a pointless conflict… Woah?!”
I dragged Eric into a nearby room before he could rant any further in the corridor.
It wasn’t good for him to say anything more than that even if he is a member of the Archduke’s house. It was clearly an insult to the Upper House of Lords ――― the highest-decision-making body in this kingdom. Even if he is from the Archduke’s house, he was born from the mistress, so if he were to say those words out loud, then he wouldn’t be able to take them back.
“What are you… Argg!”
“Calm down a little. You know the repercussions of saying that His Majesty the King’s decision is ‘foolish’ in a place like that, and that information gets around?”
I shut his mouth with my hands since I knew it was disrespectful, and whispered for him to calm down. I made him change his tone of voice to a normal one and forced his attention from the injured soldiers and onto me. Hopefully, this will cool his head a little.
Eric widened his eyes at my words and then slowly nodded his head. The moment I let go off his mouth, he quickly moved to the side to distance himself from me.
“I’m sorry for being rough with you.”
“No… It’s alright. I was, uh… I was careless.”
Eric turned pale and slumped into a nearby chair. His inflated emotions punctured like a deflated balloon, and he seemed to have lost the figure he was supposed to maintain.
When Eric had calmed down enough, I pulled out a chair and sat down.
This is a good opportunity, although it was a sudden one. I had to convince Eric in one or two days.
“I understand what you are thinking, Baron Dorvadine. If there’s one thing I’d like to say, then it’s that everyone, including me, agrees with you.”
“Then!”
“However, you can’t do that. If you are a member of the Archduke Doravadine’s House, then you must stand here as a politician and not a knight.”
When I told him this in a slightly strong tone, Eric looked dubious for a moment, but then his expression immediately became tense, and he bit his lip… I wanted to sigh. Judging from his reaction, he understood this somehow even without being told.
“… You knew, didn’t you? That’s why you brought me here.”
I didn’t answer his question. I didn’t know how Eric would react once he saw the wounded soldiers. The only reason he was sent to comfort the soldiers was because we thought that seeing the injured soldiers in person would make him a little enthusiastic while delivering the King’s orders and while encouraging the soldiers.
Rather than being enthusiastic about that, he reacted the opposite. ――― He was more on the side of the knights and soldiers, while retaining his perspective as a politician. It hurt him too much to see the citizens get hurt on the battlefield, that he didn’t think about the national interest as a politician and can only proclaim powerless words.
“You will never stand on the battlefield; you weren’t born to be a knight. It’s improper for you to think like a knight.”
Those who stand on the battlefield need to be prepared to risk their lives and the lives of their comrades on the battlefield.
Politicians also need to be prepared. They need to be prepared to use someone else’s life to protect their own and those of their citizens. I am able to be in both positions because, unlike Eric, I am replaceable.
“… Even soldiers are afraid of death. So, only those prepared to die will stand on the battlefield. Those who lose heart will withdraw from the battlefield. It would be an insult to ask them to flee the battle when they haven’t lost heart yet. Baron Doravadine, you came all the way here and still you want to insult those who fight for their lives with swords? Can you face Sieghart again after you run back to the capital?”
If Eric goes back to the capital, then, as he mentioned earlier, the Arxian army will retreat to Jugfena Fortress without being able to do anything against the Rindarl army who are advancing with slaves as their shields. They will abandon all that they’ve gained from the previous battles… No matter how you look at it, it’s a clear defeat. The honour and power of Marquis Lorenzorell, the commanding general, will drop to the ground.
Eric’s expression distorted as soon as I mentioned Seighart’s name. He looked very young as if he was trying to hold back tears.
――― 13 years old is still a very young age, if I look at it from the view of a woman in my previous life. Well, I’m also the same age as him though. However, thirteen is the age of a pre-adult in this world. It means that you are treated almost the same as an adult.
Perhaps that was why I didn’t feel much pain even though I was aware that I was mentally overwhelmed.
“Do your duty.”
… It is also annoying to leave Eric alone when he’s behaving like a child.
It was sad to think that this was probably the way he learned to plead to the woman who took his mother’s place, but he and I aren’t close enough for me to sympathise with him.
“You should have made up your mind a little before you came here.”
It was foolish to try and improve his mood when there are only the two of us here. I spoke as if I was trying to hit him with words. Eric’s expression twisted to the point where tears were almost falling from his eyes, but he didn’t take his gaze off me until the very end.
This may have been the first time we’ve looked each other in the eyes for this long and talked.
“… Okay, I got it. I’m… I’m sorry for what I’ve done.”
He was unusually honest while speaking, and then he hung his head down.
As I walked out of the room with an emotional Eric, Paul appeared from around the corner of the corridor.
“Eliza-sama, the Earl has summoned you.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. He also has a message for Baron Dorvadine. The scouts have sent a message that the Densel army is moving out of their capital, so we need to send the Royal Army onto the frontlines right away…”
“Alright,” I nodded in reply. I glanced at Eric who was still looking down. When he noticed that I was looking at him, he turned his back away from the medical office for a second and nodded clearly.
When I returned to the conference room with Eric, Wiegraf and Marquis Lorenzorell, who had been waiting in the room, welcomed him as if nothing had happened. Then they began to schedule the imperial proclamation. Since there were no benefits in revealing that Eric had refused to do the imperial proclamation, publicly, I was the only person who knew about it as I was the messenger between the Marquis and Eric. However, it’s an open secret that he refused.
At any rate, I’ve resolved the troublesome problem.
I couldn’t give my opinion on the imperial proclamation schedule. All I could do was wait for orders.
Ergnard and I left the conference room earlier, since there was also no point in him contributing to that conversation, in order to do another task or miscellaneous matter so that our time wouldn’t be wasted.
“Did you pay a lot of attention to him?”
“… That’s pretty rude.”
“I didn’t say to who, did I?”
When we finished checking the details of the food and medical supplies, which had been brought in this time from the room next to the operations room, Ergnard smirked triumphantly. I felt a little annoyed at his smug expression that said, ‘I knew this would happen’ and sighed.
“You could have persisted a little longer, though. If you had, I would have won the bet.”
“Can you please not use people in your bets?”
“If I remember this next time, then I won’t.”
The bet was probably about when I could get Eric to give in or if I wasn’t able to get him to give in at all.
The wagers were probably these three: Ergnard, the Marquis and Wiegraf. Considering their personalities and their understanding of me, Wiegraf probably won. He used to be the chief of staff, so he can read people.
“I thought you wouldn’t want to pay a lot of attention to him, since your attitude didn’t soften at all when he came. He acted like he wanted a lot of attention, but you treated him coldly…”
“I can’t be that friendly to someone who I’ve only known for less than ten days. Besides, I also had a plan to use him as cushioning material.”
“I see. But you think of ways to save a person’s life the moment you meet them.”
“… I think about whether I should kill them or torture them more often than not.”
“You have a unique mindset.”
Ergnard laughed cheerfully while letting my comment slide.
“I hadn’t expected him to give up his duty at the last moment. There are other ways of fighting in this war without you having to make him give up and give the imperial proclamation.”
I know that. This Royal Army’s morale will drop incredibly, but as a last resort, we planned on killing all the slave soldiers, that the Royal Army couldn’t attack, with my army and the Earl’s army. If necessary, we could have asked for reinforcements from Margrave Junas.
“I couldn’t let it get that far.”
“Well, I thought it was like that since you hadn’t done that before. But why did you act so coldly towards him instead of mending your relationship? You said you wanted to use him as a cushioning material, but with your attitude, you’re completely making yourself unapproachable.”
I pouted my lips. He made it seem like we were having a conversation and eventually pointed this out.
“… Because if I worry about him, then I’ll get emotionally attached. That’s…”
Ergnard burst into laughter when I said that with another deep sigh. I glared at him as he laughed loudly. That’s why I didn’t want to say it.
I started thinking of ways to get him back, such as calling Rashiok and making him coil around Ergnard.
――― With a distant thud, the floor shook and rattled for a moment. Ergnard and I stopped moving for a moment and looked at each other.
“… Explosives?”
“Impossible. Where from?”
We said as we quickly returned to the next room just as Marquis Lorenzorell and Eric ran out of the room.
“They’re going to do the imperial proclamation?”
“Yeah. The sound just now… is probably the sound of the Rindarl army in action.”
Wiegraf was slightly pale. Ergnard silently put his arms around his brother’s shoulders and looked me in the eye.
The battle is about to begin, his eyes said.
“In the frontline, Densel’s army began a massive march from Eris, a large city in Densel Dukedom, towards the fortresses in remnant hills. It appears that they are facing the troops at Di Lo Yun, the first defensive stronghold, on the plains below the remnant hills.”
Ergnard and I nodded as Wiegraf began to compile the information that had been brought by the messenger soldiers who were rushing in and out of the room.
The unforeseen situation occurred while the Arxian army was distracted by what was happening in their own bases. Naval ships came up from the seaside and landed in Teve River, which was the midway line between the second defence point, Di Loe Das Fortress.
The troops from the ship, which seemed to be under a different command structure from Densel’s army, attacked from behind and defeated the soldiers at Di Lo Yun. They were forced to retreat back to the fortress and were now surrounded by the enemy troops.
On the battlefield, the two enemy troops are engaged in battle with the soldiers at Di Lo Yun and the soldiers from Di Loe Das and the third stronghold, Di Loe Tros who came to the rescue of Di Lo Yun.
It was a good thing that the scouts, which included draconis, were able to detect the enemy troop’s advance as soon as possible, since each of the defensive strongholds were able to smoothly shift from alert status to being battle ready.
However, the battle commenced without Arxia’s Royal Army’s main unit, as well as Marquis Lorenzorell, or the remnant hills’ cavalry unit’s supreme knight commander, Ergnard. It was a very disadvantage situation for the Arxian side, as the Di Lo Yun troops were mainly composed of scouts and field soldiers, who were fighting to defend the stronghold, and the Di Loe Tros troops, who had come to back them up and were composed of cavalry troops were forced to fight on the riverside to suppress the troops on the ships. Additionally, the Jufgena Fortress troops would take at least half a day at the earliest to arrive at the battlefield.
“… Isn’t it possible for our formations and movements to leak to the enemy?”
Even in this state of emergency, Wiegraf remained, and seemed busy with some tasks, while he explained the current war situation to me. Wiegraf had suggested that we temporarily move the most rear base from Jugfena Fortress to a liaison base located halfway between the remnant hills and Jugfena in the documents that I had glimpsed at.
The liaison base was in a Densel farming village that we were occupying. What Wiegraf was suggesting was denied by the nobles who were cautious about aggressive acts from the farmers. We were in the worst situation for war, since we had outstretched our communications, so we couldn’t afford to listen to the nobles.
“I don’t want to think about the possibility of there being spies among us Arxians, but…”
In the gloomy Wiegraf’s mind, information about not only the 2000 knights and soldiers of Jugfena, but also the 1000 Royal Army soldiers, must be swirling around in his mind.
He glanced at me for a second, but then averted his gaze in less than a blink of an eye. I’m glad to see that he trusts me.
“… Oh, more importantly, I have a favour to ask of you. I would like to borrow the knight named Claudia Lorenzorell from the Kaldia army.”
“You want to borrow Claudia?”
“Yeah. I feel really bad since the situation has worsened, but I’d have to ask her to evacuate Eric-sama back to Kaldia. Of course, I’ll send some soldiers from Jugfena to go with them as well.”
“Oh…”
I understood why he needed Claudia. Even under these circumstances, it’s necessary to attach a good number of soldiers with Eric while he’s on the move. Claudia is a member of the Lorenzorell House, and she’s also a knight, so she can be used as my proxy.
“I’m glad you’re quick to understand. Now then, shall we leave the fortress as well? We need to set up that liaison base by the end of the day.”