by Ryota Hori
“So... What’s left to do now...?” Those words escaped Ryoma’s lips, now that he was left alone.
Ryoma knew the importance of making detailed plans, but he had no intention of adhering to them too persistently. His style was more to play it by ear.
I ended up using my ace in the hole ahead of time. Well, it was hard to see our achievements over the defensive line, and not killing the enemy off when we can might end up making things harder down the line...
Ryoma wondered if it would have been wiser to keep that ace unused, but discarded that idea after a moment. Forming a mountain of corpses with his flood tactic greatly elevated his forces’ morale, putting the effectiveness of his command in tangible form. Cutting down the enemy’s numbers was a great achievement, too. Ryoma could confidently say his tactic yielded significant gains.
It’s all good, then. This makes that tactic easier to pull off, too... The only question now is how the enemy’s main force will react. It’d be best for us if they stayed put until Princess Lupis arrives, but... Next time the enemy shows up, they’ll be ready for us.
The pressing question was just how long it would take them to make those preparations.
It would take them a day to get information out of the survivors, and two to three days to prepare for attack. This means we’ve bought ourselves at least three to four days... And Princess Lupis’s reinforcements will only arrive seven to nine days from now...
A smile played over Ryoma’s lips. Everything was going according to the scenario he’d planned so far.
The more time the enemy spends on preparations, the more it places us at an advantage. And if they panic and try to charge us, we still have plenty of hands we can play. We’ll likely manage to handle Duke Gelhart’s side... And all that’s left after that...
It all hinged on whether Ryoma’s prediction of the situation was correct. But no one could know that before it was all truly over.
Duke Gelhart’s castle stood in the center of the citadel city, Heraklion.
“I’m surprised you have the gall to show your face before me, cur...” Duke Gelhart said coldly, gazing down on Kael’s bowed head. “I suppose I should praise you for your audacity, if nothing else.”
The time was late at night, when Duke Gelhart would usually be asleep. Today was different, though. This was no night Duke Gelhart could sleep through. Kael left that noon in high spirits, leading a force of eight thousand men, only to return in defeat with less than two thousand remaining.
“My deepest, sincerest apologies, milord,” Kael kowtowed his head even lower.
It was the one thing he had no choice but to do.
“Three to four thousand of the commoner soldiers conscripted from the nearby villages... And nearly all of the knights I lent you. All wiped out... A truly remarkable defeat.”
An aide handed Duke Gelhart a document, and he read the casualty report with a grimace. People had a way of acting most calmly and rationally when gripped with anger. Duke Furio Gelhart, if nothing else, was one such person. Kael bowed his head silently once again.
“I care not about the common rabble, but don’t believe you can claim that you don’t know the value of the knights I lent you,” Duke Gelhart’s voice grew stronger.
In fact, he’d spent many years gathering up his treasured knight order. And so, having lost a third of them to a defeat by the enemy’s ploys, Duke Gelhart couldn’t help but be overtaken with anger.
Especially since the one helming them was Kael, whom he had taken in after he turned his back on the princess’s faction specifically for his talent as a commander. The more he had initially valued his talents, the greater his disappointment was at his failure.
“Yes...! My deepest apologies, milord...!” Kael kept his hands down, blurting out apologies like a parrot.
The situation probably called for him to say something a bit more articulate than just abject apologies, but the atmosphere didn’t allow for it. Poor excuses would just make Duke Gelhart more likely to turn his back on him, and Kael didn’t have the leisure to make excuses.
“Still... I’m surprised you’re alive. The reports say you took to the frontlines...” Duke Gelhart whispered, his eyes on the document in his hand.
“My horse swam away with me on its back... We were fortunate enough to get caught up in a muddy stream...”
“Oh, aren’t you lucky. And to think I suspected you shamelessly abandoned your men and fled. Just like how you betrayed Princess Lupis...” Duke Gelhart said, stressing the scathing irony of it all.
Still, Kael desperately withstood Duke Gelhart’s insults. He had no other choice. Indeed, Kael’s survival was nothing but sheer luck. He was on his way to the frontlines and was halfway through the moat when the flooding happened.
Kael had knights on all sides and couldn’t move to get away. Clad in metal armor, Kael would have shared the fate of the other knights and drowned to death.
But what prevented that from happening was Kael’s beloved horse. Kael throwing away what he could remove from his armor contributed to his survival, too.
Was it coincidence or a stroke of good luck? His horse struggled to swim away even as it was caught in the muddy stream, and somehow managed to return to the other bank with Kael on its back...
“Well, so be it. I’ll deal with you later.”
Kael sighed with relief at those words. Given Duke Gelhart’s personality, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was sentenced to death. No, if anything, it was almost odd that he didn’t have him executed. Kael’s failure was that great.
“But don’t get the wrong idea into your head. I won’t have you killed, but that’s not to say I forgive you, either.”
Duke Gelhart’s words froze Kael in place and sent a chill down his spine.
“That will be all. You may leave for today. Go and rest.” Duke Gelhart shooed him away with a wave of the hand.
“I-I shall take my leave, then.” Kael left the room quickly, practically fleeing, with his head still hung.
“Hmph. Incompetent cretin!” Condemnation slithered from Duke Gelhart’s mouth a few moments after Kael left.
The words themselves were brief, but the malice they contained was intense.
“Are you quite sure it was wise to leave him be?”
“You mean to say, I should have disposed of Kael immediately?”
Duke Gelhart’s aide nodded in response to his words.
“Imbecile. Do you think that fool’s life can make up for these losses?!”
Duke Gelhart had already given up on Kael. He didn’t let him go out of clemency, or to offer him a chance to regain his honor. It was to give him a fitting place to die, one that would at least somewhat fill the gaping hole his current failure had left, and it was for that reason alone that his execution was stayed.
“The commoner soldiers matter not to me. But losing such a great portion of my knight order... That damned idiot!”
There are no absolutes in war. No matter how superior one’s position may be, a loss is a loss. But despite understanding this, the flames of anger in Duke Gelhart’s heart could not be extinguished.
Sending his aides away, Duke Gelhart sunk into his office’s long chair and heaved a long sigh, starting to calm down.
This came at a bad time... Now that General Albrecht’s joined forces with me, I can’t allow myself to take any more blows he could take advantage of...
He was in the middle of negotiations with General Albrecht over which of them would hold the right of command, and any result that would make the general put his ability over commanding the war into question considerably weighed down Duke Gelhart’s position.
General Albrecht had served as Rhoadseria’s general for many years, commanding over its military affairs. Duke Gelhart, on the other hand, was in charge of internal affairs.
In any other situation, relinquishing military command to the experienced expert would be the natural course of action. But if he did that, General Albrecht would steal
everything away from him.
His ambition is obvious. If I carelessly give him the initiative, he’ll come for my life. That’s the type of man he is... Blast! If only he was a bit less ambitious, I could give him the right to command without any concern...
From Duke Gelhart’s perspective, General Albrecht’s skills were precious. This was why he accepted him now, when he was on the wane. But upon meeting him now, the duke found he had remained every bit as greedy and ambitious as before.
No, when he still served the knights’ faction with Princess Lupis as his banner, he still made some effort to hide his intentions. But now there was no more need for that, and the man was simply exuding greed, much like a starved wolf.
I can’t rely on Sudou’s counsel here... Perhaps believing his words and accepting Albrecht was a mistake on my part?
The face of a single man surfaced in Duke Gelhart’s mind. He, who always acted in Princess Radine’s shadow, was also the one who advised Duke Gelhart to accept General Albrecht to his side. And, it was also him who had introduced Princess Radine to Duke Gelhart in the first place.
His facial features were plain, like that of a man one might find on any corner. His physique was of medium build. His only notable feature was his eyes and hair, which were as black as sheer darkness.
Since he was always at Princess Radine’s side, few people, including Duke Gelhart, had ever met the man.
No... I’ll make use of Albrecht, like Sudou advised. He’s a precious source of fighting power... Given the knights I just lost in this war, he’s all the more valuable... The only issue is that greed of his...
Strictly speaking, Duke Gelhart wasn’t entirely opposed to giving General Albrecht command over the military. He knew that gaining control over the entire country, including internal affairs, military affairs and diplomacy, was easier said than done. Duke Gelhart wanted control over everything, but rationally analyzed the situation.
But I don’t have much time... If Princess Lupis arrives with her main force, the war will swing in their favor at once.
The commoners were weak, but at the same time, they held great strength. They obeyed his call to arms both because he was their governor, and because they knew they could overwhelm Princess Lupis’s forces with sheer numbers.
But if they could not wipe out the force of two thousand at the bridgehead, what would happen when Princess Lupis’s main force arrived? The commoners would come to doubt Duke Gelhart’s strength. With this taken into account, Kael’s failure was so crippling that the word “defeat” didn’t even begin to describe it.
Is this a fatal blow? No, not yet... I can still turn this around. Duke Gelhart shook his head, as if to shake off his weakness. I can attend to Kael’s punishment later... But the enemy commander is extremely sharp... If I take him out, can I still win?
Though he could disparage him now, Duke Gelhart did accept Kael out of faith in his talents. Both his skill as a swordsman and as a commander matched those of Mikhail. But a few strokes of bad luck and his pedigree not being quite as respectable as it could be, lowered other people’s opinion of him.
But, from Duke Gelhart’s perspective, he was far more of a useful pawn than Mikhail was. And removing any commander sly enough to defeat him would put Duke Gelhart’s side at an advantage.
Duke Gelhart’s lips curled up in a vicious smile. The assassin was a disposable pawn one way or the other, and the enemy was elated from their victory, which would mean their security would be light.
Now’s the time...
Duke Gelhart rang a bell, summoning an aide from the adjacent room.
“Order the spy we’ve sent into enemy lines to assassinate their commander! And make haste!”
“Yes, milord! At once!” The aide immediately left his office.
“Now, just how will the cards fall...?” Duke Gelhart’s voice reverberated through his office.
His ambition and greed hadn’t wavered in the slightest...
The first dawn since Ryoma and his forces set up the bridgehead rose.
“Just like I expected, they didn’t raid us during the night...”
“Yes, it seems they weren’t able to reorganize their forces in such a short time.”
“I think it’s fair to assume the enemy’s scrambling to gather their forces right now... I guess using that ace was worth it after all.”
“It’s likely they’ll have to squander a few days away to regroup,” Laura nodded.
“Then we’d better prepare for what comes next, now that we have the time...”
“You mean what you said earlier?” Laura’s eyes lit up at Ryoma’s words. “I think the timing is ideal for it. The enemy is quite shaken after your flooding tactic.”
“They would be. It’ll take time until it produces tangible results, so it’d be best to set it up in advance... And the rest depends on Lione, I suppose...”
“Yes. I have been informed that the required preparations are all in place...”
“All right. Then after breakfast, call everyone for a meeting...”
Ryoma’s stomach had been yowling in complaint for some time now.
“I’ve already prepared breakfast.”
Normally, there would be someone in charge of cooking, and so there was no need for the Malfist sisters to prepare Ryoma’s meals, but the two never relinquished taking care of him to anyone else. That was an unwritten rule, from back when they lived in the palace.
“Let’s eat it while it’s hot, then,” Ryoma said, and made way for his tent.
Thus began the morning of their second day on the battlefield.
“Well, I ain’t got no complaints about it myself.”
“Me neither. If we prepare ahead of time, we can put it to use whenever we need to.”
Concluding their breakfast, Lione, Boltz and the Malfist sisters were all seated in Ryoma’s tent. The plates lined along the table sat empty, their contents having already been consumed.
“Could I have you pick ten people, then? I’d like to have them sent out by midday...”
“You got it, boy.” Lione and Boltz nodded at his words, after which Lione downed her glass in one go and slammed it on the table. “We’ll handle it.”
“All right, that’s taken care of... Sara, how much did you figure out about her?”
Ryoma steered the conversation toward another pressing topic.
“Yes, about that girl...”
Immediately grasping who he was getting at from his question, Sara nodded gingerly.
“Her name is Sakuya. There’s no doubt that she’s been in constant contact with someone when we were in the capital, but I don’t know exactly who with...”
“Aww, so all you figured out was her name?” Lione sighed.
“My apologies. Master Ryoma did order me not to do anything reckless...”
Sara didn’t seem the slightest bit pleased with her accomplishments either, and regarded Lione’s displeasure with an apologetic bow of the head.
She may have confirmed this Sakuya individual was a spy, but she couldn’t figure out anything else. But in opposition to everyone else’s pessimism, Ryoma’s smile was more peaceful than usual.
“I see... Well, just keep an eye on her for now, I suppose.”
Everyone’s gazes focused on Ryoma at the sound of those words.
“Are you sure, lad? We could get a confession out of her...”
Lione grimaced at Boltz’s whispered suggestion. She knew just what he meant. His many years as a mercenary meant he wasn’t above torture. He wasn’t the type to derive some kind of sick pleasure from doing so, but he could be cold-hearted when the situation called for it.
“Well, this isn’t a burning issue. If we just carelessly try to make a move against her, they’ll just send someone else, and that would put us right back at square one... Right? Besides, I get the feeling she’ll be making her move soon...”
The four nodded silently at the meaning hidden behind Ryoma’s words.
Ge
tting rid of the corpses was important work that had to be done swiftly. Corpses left unattended could cause an outbreak of plague. And between the soldiers, moving about busily, was one girl.
“Miss Sara, where are those soldiers going?”
Sakuya, who had gone about disposing of a corpse lying nearby, stopped when she noticed a group crossing the flooded moat on a raft.
“Oh, those are merchants from the nearby town.” Sara answered briskly. “They’re heading back from negotiations.”
“Merchants...?”
“Yes. What of it? Is there anything suspicious about them?”
Sakuya couldn’t say anything in response to Sara’s inquiry.
“No... Nothing...” Sakuya said and returned her glance to the corpse lying down before her.
What is the meaning of this? Merchants? In the middle of a battlefield...? No, I’ve never seen them arrive to begin with... Did they cross the moat in secret? No... If they did, they’d be leaving in secret, too.
Sakuya restrained the agitation rising up in her. Only natural, as it had now been over a month since she’d infiltrated this band of mercenaries. But she hadn’t collected much information during that time.
Could there have been... some kind of movement?!
Her conclusion was hardly a long shot. And as a matter of fact, the group crossing the moat was indeed given an important role to play, but Sakuya would only come to learn that a bit later on.
Well, it is what it is. I can figure that out later. But why won’t this girl leave my side...? Is she keeping her eye on me?
The thought crossed her mind while she gazed at Sara’s golden locks as she worked next to her. Since she had been working beside her often as of late, the two likely appeared as friends to everyone else. But if Sakuya was one to fall for such gullible thoughts as that, she wouldn’t make for much of a spy.
Still, Sakuya discarded that doubt. There were few women among the mercenaries, and there was nothing unnatural about Sara spending time with her, given they were close in age.