by Ryota Hori
“Lad! Isn’t that a little...?”
True, he could escape without his men, but would a knight that climbed to the rank of general ever make that choice? A king or a noble was one thing, but knights stubbornly clung to their honor and good name. So abandoning one’s men and retreating, and before a decisive final battle, at that?
Even Boltz and Lione, who had seen countless battles, had trouble remembering anyone that shameless. But Ryoma still considered the possibility. He knew some people would stop at nothing if it would ensure their survival.
“I mean, it’s all in the realm of possibility so far...” Ryoma shrugged. “It doesn’t change the fact our side needs to attack Heraklion. But a force of our size isn’t gonna influence the outcome of that battle, you know? So I asked Princess Lupis for permission to act in a separate group.”
I see. Lione turned an exasperated gaze at Ryoma. So the general holed up his forces in the city so they can serve as a decoy to draw attention off of him. He basically ordered his men to die for him... A nasty old man to the end, ain’t he. But still, the boy read through the weasel’s actions and moved accordingly. Damn...
Lione cussed at the old general in her heart. Ryoma didn’t make any definitive statements, but everyone present didn’t think it was fifty-fifty like he said. They felt like that future would definitely come to pass. And it was true that with this much of an advantage, it hardly mattered if Ryoma and his group took part in the attack on Heraklion.
But considering their reward after the war, their decision to not participate might not put them at a disadvantage, but it certainly didn’t help them. Ryoma being here despite that meant the probability of Albrecht trying to escape was exceedingly high.
“Still unconvinced?” Ryoma asked, to which everyone shook their heads.
It seemed his explanation was enough.
“All right. Now we just need to wait for Gennou to return...”
“Gennou?” Laura asked, looking around.
Sure enough, Gennou and Sakuya weren’t in sight.
“Oh, don’t worry... I just sent them to get in contact with our people inside the city... Oh! Speak of the devil, here they are... How did it go, Gennou?”
The mercenaries he had disguised as merchants were scattered all around Heraklion, working undercover. Most of their work consisted of leaking rumors to the commoners regarding Ryoma Mikoshiba, while some also infiltrated the city itself and reported on the enemy’s movements. With Duke Gelhart’s turning coat, they focused their investigations on General Albrecht.
Gennou and Sakuya snuck into Heraklion to serve as their contacts, and Ryoma had just caught sight of them approaching.
“We’ve kept you waiting, milord.”
“Pardon our tardiness.”
The two lowered their heads at Ryoma, apologizing for taking too long to return before turning to the main topic at hand.
“Your guess was accurate, milord... The ones watching the general’s estate report that he summoned merchants just yesterday, and apparently negotiated some kind of deal with them.”
Ryoma nodded at Gennou’s words.
“Negotiations, huh? Do they know what it was?”
Ryoma anticipated Gennou’s report, but didn’t plan to jump to any conclusions regarding General Albrecht’s motives yet.
“Yes, they asked one of the merchants on his way out. Apparently he sold off clothes and some title deeds. Looks like he liquified his assets in a hurry.”
“Right... So that means...”
Turning his assets into cash could only mean one thing. He was trying to escape the country, after all.
“I think it’s safe to assume he was gathering funds to escape...”
“He apparently bought a lot of preserved foods, too,” Gennou said.
“Preserved foods... Yeah, he’s definitely cutting off his men...” Ryoma’s gaze sharpened.
If he was going along with his men, he wouldn’t need to buy food, since the army had units that dealt in provisions. The supreme commander wouldn’t need to rely on a merchant for food, and yet he did. Which meant he didn’t want his men to learn about what he was doing.
“He likely drew everyone’s attention to Heraklion so he could escape during the battle.”
“What about his escape route? Any ideas, Gennou?”
“Nay.” The old ninja shook his head. “Sadly I could not dig that deep. However...”
“What? Does something seem off to you?”
“If he intends to take his family along, I do not think it likely he will escape on foot. I’ve seen carriages being loaded, so I suspect he may use the highway.”
“Master Ryoma! Here!” Sara swiftly spread out a map she’d been carrying in front of Ryoma.
“So this here is Heraklion... There’s about four roads he could take.”
Ryoma quickly found the seven highways extending from Heraklion. Three of them were already seized by Princess Lupis’s forces. There was the possibility that Albrecht would pick those roads precisely for the sake of slipping right under the princess’s nose, but it was a dangerous choice to make if his family was with him. Ryoma kept in mind that Albrecht’s name and face were well-known within Rhoadseria’s borders as he narrowed down his choices.
“That leaves the southeast, south, southwest and west highways...” Laura pointed out. “And since he’s taking his family, we can probably rule out the west one leading to Xarooda.”
Ryoma nodded.
Right... The land of iron, Xarooda, has steep mountains. The terrain is too harsh for him to escape with his family...
“I think Laura is right.” Sara said. “We have been specially trained so we would be able to pass through that terrain, but ordinary women and children would have trouble. In which case, we can rule out the southwest for the same reason.”
Lione peeked into the map, and pointed at two roads extending south.
“Which leaves the southeast and south.”
Both roads led into the southern countries’ regions. It was a gathering of countries and the site of some of the most tumultuous fighting in all the western continent. But that only meant that it was the perfect place to hide.
“Two roads, huh... So which one...?”
Ryoma looked up. He had about one hundred men on hand. They were all skilled, bright warriors, but the enemy would be resisting desperately. It would probably be wise to assume they matched his men in strength. In which case, the deciding factor would be how many men they had.
General Albrecht wanted to avoid being seen, so he couldn’t bring a large army along to defend him. That said, ten or twenty knights simply wouldn’t be enough to guard him and his family.
Splitting my forces would be a bad idea... But we can’t let Albrecht get away, either. What do I do here...?
Considering Rhoadseria’s future, they had to kill General Albrecht here. And there was the promise he made to Helena, too. Ideas popped in and out of his mind. As intelligent as he was, everything had a limit. He only had so many men and two roads to take, and he couldn’t think of a tactic that would compensate for that.
“Master Ryoma,” Sara whispered in his ear, pulling him from his thoughts.
“What, is something wrong?”
“We’ve received a report of a unit approaching us.”
“The enemy?”
Sara shook her head.
“It’s Lady Helena.”
Ryoma’s expression changed upon hearing her name.
“Helena... She should be attacking Heraklion with Princess Lupis... Are you sure?”
“Yes. They should arrive soon.”
“All right. Show them the way.”
Sara nodded and left. Eventually, the sound of hooves reached his ears from the road ahead as a group of twenty to thirty people arrived on horseback.
“Oh, thank goodness. I got here in time!”
Helena got off her horse in front of Ryoma, greeting him with a calm smile. Ryoma felt there was some dark passion
to her smile.
“What are you doing here, Lady Helena? Shouldn’t you be helping attack Heraklion right now...? Are you sure it’s all right for you not to be there?”
Helena met Ryoma’s natural question with an implicit smile.
“Oh, but you’re not taking part in the attack either, are you? So the same holds for me... You see? It’s not that I don’t believe in you, but...”
It’s no wonder she became a national hero... She might be old, but her mind is still sharp. And she wants to deliver the finishing blow herself...
Ryoma realized what Helena was after. She came to cut off Albrecht’s escape, same as Ryoma did, and settle the score with her own two hands.
“How many men do you have, Lady Helena?”
“About three hundred.”
God, she’s really out to kill him... Figures, I guess...
The black flames of vengeance burned in Helena. Helena had roughly three thousand men under her direct command in this war, and she took the three hundred closest to her in order to come here. It was a show of just how resolved she was. It meant that she would stop at nothing to claim Albrecht’s head. Even if General Albrecht were to choose to surrender, she would ignore it.
“So, what’s the situation? Has Albrecht escaped Heraklion yet?”
Ryoma shook his head.
“I see... And there’s no chance of him trying to hide in Heraklion and dying honorably, is there?” she asked anxiously.
It was all speculation, and Helena wasn’t foolish enough to think her predictions were always right. And they couldn’t afford to be wrong this time, because if they were, Helena’s vengeance would end right then and there.
“No, I don’t think so. I had my people look into it, and apparently he liquidated a lot of his assets to fund his escape... I think it’s a safe bet that he’s trying to escape to the border and try for a comeback in another country.”
“I knew it... That does feel like something he’d think of,” Helena spat out bitterly. “Any ideas on which way he’d go?”
Ryoma took the map from Sara and spread it out for Helena to see.
“We narrowed it down to two options. Considering they were preparing carriages and that his family isn’t used to harsh journeys, we think he’ll go south.”
“Hmm, yes... If he went north or east, he’d have to go through the capital.” Helena nodded lightly. “He’d probably avoid going through there. He could try to go around it, but those regions are under the nobles’ faction’s control. If he tried to go through them, they’d probably sell him out to the princess to buy her favor... Plus, it’s the longest path to the border.”
Princess Lupis was on the verge of winning the war, and the ones who’d simply looked on from the sidelines or opposed her were scrambling for ways to garner her favor and retain their status. Heading to the capital’s vicinity at a time like this would be suicide for Albrecht.
It was very likely he’d avoid it. Everyone was out to offer his head up as tribute, after all.
“The east isn’t likely, either... Xarooda’s border areas are mountainous and steep... Which leaves...”
Helena came to the same conclusion as Ryoma, though she didn’t seem at all conflicted. She was confident, somehow.
“Ryoma, are you torn between the south and southeast?”
Ryoma nodded quietly.
“Then let me solve that problem for you.” Helena said and pointed to a certain point on the map. “Albrecht will be trying to escape from the south. I can’t see him going anywhere else.”
Helena was completely confident.
“Not to be disrespectful, but what’s your basis for saying that?” Ryoma asked.
He felt the confidence in Helena’s words, but didn’t intend to trust her blindly until she told him what the foundation behind it was. But the next words to leave Helena’s lips made that clear.
“His wife is descended from a noble family in the kingdom of Tarja.”
The kingdom of Tarja was located several hundreds of kilometers south of Heraklion. His wife’s country of origin would indeed be a good place to flee to. Her connection to them would help when they sought refuge.
“I see... Yeah, her having a connection to the place makes Tarja a good option... Except, what if he assumed we’d think that and goes the other way?”
Ryoma didn’t intend to nitpick, and admitted her idea was convincing. But when Ryoma planned to escape the Empire of O’ltormea, he knew that picking the optimal way didn’t always yield the best possible result. Because it was precisely that path that drew the most attention and was the easiest to predict.
That was why at times intentionally picking the less optimal way would throw one’s opponents off-guard.
“So you’re saying he might intentionally pick the other way. But I don’t think we need to worry about it this time... Because if he goes southeast, he’d find himself in the kingdom of Britannia.”
Helena pointed at the country neighboring Tarja.
“It’s about the same distance as Tarja, isn’t it? Can’t he flee there?”
Helena smiled wryly.
“I doubt he can. Tarja and Britannia have been rivals for years. If it was just Albrecht, perhaps he would have gone there, but his wife is Tarjan. Taking her there would be dangerous. And he can’t discard his wife, either. If he does that, he really will run out of factions that would help him...”
“You think he’s aiming to rebuild his power in Tarja? That he’s still looking to build up his influence?”
“Oh, yes. There’s no way he would back down even after this... He’s not that naive of a man, you see.”
If Helena was right, then there really was no doubting he was heading for Tarja. He’d rather go to the country his wife was related to over the country that had nothing to do with him.
But Helena’s words only made another doubt surface in Ryoma’s mind. He hadn’t considered Albrecht’s wife until now, but now realized Helena’s vengeance wasn’t limited to Albrecht himself. The blade of her revenge would extend to his family, too, which naturally included his wife...
The problem was the potential that the kingdom of Rhoadseria would make a new enemy for itself by letting Albrecht’s wife die.
Helena knows Albrecht better than I do... I should probably work according to her judgment here, but... I’m worried about his wife being a noble of another country. Should we really let her kill someone like that...?
Ryoma didn’t think a country would put up with one of its people being killed by a foreign country’s army. They’d ignore the circumstances and react emotionally, which was how many wars broke out.
Ryoma shrugged that concern away.
In for a penny, in for a pound. This isn’t my world. So long as we get rid of the corpse in a way it won’t be found, Rhoadseria can act dumb.
For better or worse, the technological standards of this world were low. Burying a corpse would be enough to make sure it wasn’t found. There was no means of identifying DNA in this world, so once a corpse decomposed enough there would be no way of knowing who it belonged to.
“Very well. I’ll abide by your commands.”
By saying that, Ryoma showed he prioritized Helena’s vengeance. Helena nodded quietly.
“Very well. What shall we do then?” Ryoma asked. “Attack them as soon as they leave Heraklion? Or wait further ahead and ambush them?”
Killing him near Heraklion would make it easy to make excuses in case her motive of revenge came to light. Killing him far away from the city, however, enabled them to move more openly and dispose of the bodies without fear of being seen.
“I think here would be a good spot...” Helena said, indicating a certain point on the map. “What say you?”
It was a forest that stood relatively isolated from any towns or cities, an ideal spot for deploying their men.
“Right... Then we should probably split our forces in two... I’ll take two hundred and play the role of the hunting dog. That
should make it easier for you, right?”
Helena closed her eyes, feeling the intent behind his words.
“Ryoma... Thank you.”
Those words reflected the emotions in her heart... and spelled doom for General Albrecht and his family.
“No one’s coming after us, right, Kael...?” General Albrecht asked as he peered out the carriage, looking at Kael who rode his horse parallel to him.
“Yes, milord... For the time being... I don’t think anyone’s realized we’ve escaped.”
“I see... It’s a good thing I abided by your advice and made to escape as soon as Lupis’s forces moved in on us.”
“Yes! I’m grateful for your kind words!” Kael bowed his head respectfully.
Hmm, it was essentially a gamble, but... Looks like it’s going well. This man was more useful than I thought. Good manpower to pick up, considering what’s to come...
General Albrecht nodded, appreciating Kael’s performance so far. Albrecht had liquified his assets and gathered his aides in his estate, waiting for the right time. For the chance to escape Heraklion.
That time was that day’s afternoon. When Princess Lupis’s armies began marching to take Heraklion.
The city itself was in a state of chaos. The news of Duke Gelhart’s turning to Princess Lupis’s side hadn’t spread to the commoners, and so it seemed to them that the princess was marching to purge the duke’s rule.
Normally, what the ruling classes did had nothing to do with the commoners, but an army marching on a city meant there would naturally be civilian casualties. And so, the commoners elected to flee the town, all to protect their lives and meager fortunes.
General Albrecht and his entourage used the chaos that resulted from the commoners’ flight to escape the town.
“Hmph! They’d do well not to delude themselves into thinking this is over. I will get back at them for humiliating me... Lupis! Gelhart! You will rue the day you crossed Hodram Albrecht!”
Relieved by the fact that there were no pursuers in sight, words of vilification slipped from General Albrecht’s lips. He’d become completely indignant. Calling a member of royalty by their name and nothing else was usually a crime punishable by death, but he had already given up on his position in Rhoadseria.