Volume 12 Chapter 2 The War-Torn Northeast Region
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Lady Austronesia!! Watch your step!! We have set traps here! It would be bad if you fell and got hurt on that important chest of yours!!”
Nioh laughed while warning to watch my feet.
As soon as I heard that, the cavalry under me suddenly slowed down and started looking around.
”Fools! That’s the enemy’s nonsense! They had no time to set any traps like that! Move forward!!”
”Hahaha! Just as expected from Lady Austronesia. So smart!”
Nioh kept acting like he was mocking me.
Seeing that made my insides boil with anger.
Soon, the dark forest area opened up and my view cleared.
”Alright!! Let’s close the distance fast!! Everyone, full speed ahead!!”
When I gave the instructions, my cavalry surged forward with more power.
”This is bad! Don’t let them catch up!! Hurry, get into the forest!!”
Nioh, looking panic-stricken, ran desperately towards another forest without caring about anything else.
Coming into an open area, our cavalry’s pursuit speed increased rapidly, closing the gap with the enemy.
The soldiers who couldn’t escape fell to the ground.
”Nioh!! I’ll take that head of yours!!”
Just when I got close to Nioh, the ground I thought was solid collapsed, and I was thrown down the cliff with my beloved horse.
What the heck!
What just happened!!
Not understanding what had happened, I looked around, and many of my troops had also fallen down the cliff with their horses, suffering serious injuries.
Thankfully, I was only lightly hurt because my beloved horse cushioned me.
”Lady Austronesia, the enemy is coming down the cliff. If we stay like this, we’ll be captured, so we have to regroup with Sir Marselo and Sir Stefan…”
My deputy, who had also fallen and was lightly injured, advised retreat.
Looking around, I saw that most of the cavalry I led had fallen and were injured.
I didn’t think we could fight in that condition.
”There’s no choice. Those who are lightly wounded, follow me. I’m sorry, but those who are badly hurt, surrender to the enemy.”
I decided to reorganize my soldiers, abandon the horses, and run away before the enemy’s pursuit arrived.
As if mocking me, Nioh’s voice echoed down from the cliff below.
”That’s why I told you to watch your footing.”
I bit my lip hard and held back from arguing.
Somehow, we managed to break away from the enemy’s chase and regrouped with Marcelo and Stefan.
But both of them had lost many soldiers to Scarlet, dropping their troops to less than half before the battle even started.
”That’s why I said it was a trap!! If we had only protected them, we wouldn’t have lost so many soldiers!! I’m sick of Lady Austronesia ignoring how dangerous it is, no matter how much I say so!”
Avoiding the enemy’s pursuit, we set up a new camp deep in the forest and talked about what to do next.
Marcelo, who was cautious, showed signs of trying to push the blame for the defeat onto me.
”Then, die!!!”
Stefan, who had been silent, sharply cut down Marcelo’s back with one sword stroke, and Marcelo fell to the ground like a broken puppet.
”At this point, our defeat is just a matter of time… From now on, I will surrender to the Kingdom Liberation Front! Sorry, Lady Austronesia, but let’s say this is a parting gift as a traitor’s souvenir.”
Stefan’s drawn sword was aimed at my neck.
”If you do that, your soldiers will cut you down.”
I didn’t think Stefan, the traitor, could survive and slip out of this camp.
”Rest assured. I’ve already made contact with our ally, Poplar, who is on their side. I’ve told him our location, so soon the Kingdom Liberation Front’s soldiers will come here.”
I don’t believe Stefan could have been communicating with the enemy in just this short time; perhaps he had been secretly approached long before.
”Then, cut off my head. Living to become a prisoner after all this shame is unthinkable.”
”That cannot be done. As a condition for ensuring my safety, I must hand over Lady Austronesia alive.”
Stefan made me bite a bit and tied up my limbs, taking away my freedom.
Then, just as he said, before dawn this place was surrounded by the Kingdom Liberation Front, the remaining soldiers were disarmed, and I was led to the camp of Nioh with Stefan.
* * *
Upon arriving at the camp, there was Nioh, lounging in a chair with a relaxed posture.
”Lady Austronesia, it’s not very nice to bind your breasts with rope like this. It ruins such a beautiful shape.”
Saying this, Nioh untied my ropes.
”Lord Nioh… As promised, I have brought Lady Austronesia unharmed. The talk of being granted land in this place instead of the Kingdom must be true!”
Stefan was urging Nioh to fulfill his promise.
”Granting land? I don’t recall saying such a thing… Did Lord Poplar proceed with this?”
Nioh was speaking to a young officer standing next to him.
”Ah, regarding that matter, it was my own decision. I apologize, but I have not received any settlement from Sir Aldo.”
”Idiot!! There’s a document right here, isn’t there! This is an official document with the seal of Kingdom Chancellor Aldo Dracul!!”
Stefan, with a grip that could tear it, spread out the document to show Nioh and Poplar.
”Ah, that is a forgery. I apologize to Lord Stefan, but since I acted on my own, let’s pretend it never existed.”
The young officer called Poplar spoke to Stefan in a calm tone, conveying the facts.
”Poplarrrr!! You, how dare you act without permission, what kind of judgment is this!! You’ll be executed as a traitor!!”
The red-haired female officer standing next to him suddenly raised her voice and drew her sword, decapitating Poplar.
Poplar’s body and head separated, his body falling to the ground with a thud, and the severed head landed in Stefan’s hands.
”Kekekeke! Sorry things turned out this way. Lord Stefan, you must carve your own path.”
Poplar’s head, wide-eyed, just conveyed that much before vanishing into black mist.
”Kuh! I can’t believe I got tricked by some punk! If it’s come to this, I’ll join this army and take my land back with my own strength!”
Stefan, who betrayed me, seems to serve Aldo as a part of the Kingdom Liberation Front, but the Front will eventually disband once they free the northeast.
Stefan knows that if he doesn’t rack up victories and earn his land──maybe even his life──he’s pretty much done for.
”I see… If Lord Stefan is fighting hard, then maybe the day we’re freed is near.”
”Young master, someone who drinks both clear and dirty water, I believe if Lord Stefan shows loyalty, he’ll be rewarded. But if you act rashly, like Poplar, there’s no guarantee your head won’t be cut off.”
A woman officer, probably Scarlet, was holding a sword tip to Stefan’s neck.
”I understand.”
And so, I was captured as a prisoner by the Kingdom Liberation Front.
The northeast land I should protect has become territory controlled by the Front, under Chancellor Aldo’s command.
This will probably put my father Gwain in even worse trouble.
* * *
※Aldo’s perspective
While finishing some government work in his office, there was a knock on the door.
The person who entered was a chubby man, looking like a trader.
For a moment, I wondered who he was, but the only person who would boldly barge into my office with the butler present was Poplar.
”Poplar, huh. Welcome back. Since you’ve returned, it means the plan was a great success, right?”
”Oh, young master, you can tell before even hearing the voice… there’s not much point in disguising anymore. As you say, the bandits in the northeast have been defeated. The territories near the Capital City in the northeast now belong to the Kingdom Liberation Front, and they accept commissioners from the Kingdom. Plus, Nioh and Scarlet are on their way back, and I’ve left the remaining areas to Stefan Schuwelt. The Kingdom’s funds are stretched thin as it is, so they’ll be busy just reviving the nearby territories.”
Poplar seems to understand that I’m working hard to manage the national treasury, and he’s thinking of gathering the fleeing subjects back to the revival area by giving the desolate, tasteless territories to Stefan, who rules with an iron fist.
”Poplar, you’re up to something clever too. If the Kingdom Liberation Front, which Stefan now leads, starts misruling, you’re planning to use that as an excuse to mobilize the Kingdom’s army for an attack, right?”
”As expected of the young master. You read deeply. By the time Stefan’s infamy spreads, the Kingdom’s army should be reformed as well.”
Poplar speaks with a calm expression, showing no sign of embarrassment.
He doesn’t abandon his position as my retainer, and basically seems to have little interest in what happens to me, often finding himself at odds with Scarlet.
But I’ve realized that it’s difficult to tie down a free man like him, so I let him do as he pleases out of interest.
”Well, never mind. Poplar, are you taking a break for a while?”
”No, this time I’m thinking of visiting Lord Kent’s mansion with Lady Austronesia as a gift.”
”Oh, you’re busy. I was just wondering who to send as a messenger to Kent, so I’ll leave it to Poplar. Just make sure not to anger Lady Miriallia too much.”
Poplar chuckles and shrugs his slightly plump shoulders.
”Don’t worry, she won’t see through me.”
With that, Poplar vanished in an instant.
”Anyway, let’s send a letter at least. If Lady Miriallia flies into a rage, it might cause trouble here too.”
So, I started writing the letter, sitting alone.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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