Chapter 105 - This Is Why Sharp-Witted Princesses...
11 min read ·
A battle depends on its commander.
Whether a small band of elites or a vast army, every force had someone who represented it, and victory or defeat between those figures greatly influenced the outcome of the battle. One overwhelmingly powerful individual could turn the tide.
And the core of the imperial force now was clearly the Red Dragon Knights. More specifically, the commander who led them.
The sword protruding through his chest seemed to symbolize the imperial army’s defeat.
“You bastard...!”
“Long live the southern alliance! Long live His Highness Pablo Barkat! This is His Highness’s foresight at work. He knew what scum like you would do and kept me waiting in reserve.”
“Shut up!”
THUD
The commander of the Red Dragon Knights smashed his elbow into the knight’s head and pulled out the sword. Blood gushed from his mouth in great heaves.
“Commander!”
“You son of a bitch!”
The commander staggered.
The turn of events and the rallying cries had come out of nowhere, but Pablo was not about to miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
“Well done!”
His greatsword swung in a vast arc like a windmill. Knights threw themselves into its path.
CRUNCH
The massive lump of steel crushed through armor. A knight screamed as he was sent flying. But his life had not been lost in vain.
“Protect the commander!”
“The commander’s been ambushed!”
“You cowardly bastards!”
The Red Dragon Knights, who had scattered to trample the alliance forces after their initial charge, regrouped.
“His Highness has struck down the Red Dragon commander!”
“Those cowards are ganging up on him!”
“Follow His Highness!”
The alliance’s survivors, who had been losing heart and falling one after another, began fanning their remaining embers in response to the knight’s rallying cries and the unexpected good news.
But the battle did not burn as fiercely as before. With their commander wounded, the Red Dragon Knights began retreating. The tide, which had been flowing entirely one way, began to turn in the other direction.
“Out of my way!”
Pablo Barkat fought desperately to finish off the Red Dragon commander, but the resistance was formidable. In the end, he failed to kill him.
But he had won the battle.
He raised his bloodstained sword high.
RAAAAAH
The alliance’s knights roared in triumph.
Less than half of them remained.
“Where is that knight?”
“Pardon? Which knight do you mean?”
“The alliance knight who drove his sword into the Red Dragon commander’s back! He was from the Kingdom of Torkan!”
The survivors and the soldiers who had arrived late as reinforcements began searching.
And then...
“... Cough.”
They found a Torkan knight buried naked in the ground. Fortunately, he was alive, but he was not the man whose actions had turned the tide.
The alliance realized someone had intervened.
“... Who in the world?”
Who?
* * *
“Did I hear that wrong?”
The man laughed. It was not a cheerful laugh.
“The commander of the Red Dragon Knights reportedly suffered a grave injury, forcing them to retreat just as victory was within reach. Though they failed to recover the deposit, the southern alliance reportedly suffered greater losses.”
“The losses are not what matters.”
However much they had lost, however much damage they had inflicted.
“Surely you won’t tell me you don’t understand that what ultimately matters is whether they retook the deposit?”
People saw only what they wanted to see. Heard only what they wanted to hear.
The Empire had many enemies, and even more people eager to disparage it. To those watching its every move with keen attention, the details did not matter.
All that mattered was the result: the Empire had lost and failed to recover the deposit.
“Who knows about this?”
“Very few people. But...”
“The question is what those southern alliance bastards will do.”
“Even if they run their mouths and spread exaggerated rumors, nothing will change. The Empire remains strong.”
“Its prestige will change. The Empire’s honor will be tarnished, and mine along with it. Have you forgotten that I spearheaded this operation?”
The five knightly orders permitted to bear the dragon’s name were the pride of the Empire.
They had to win. Always.
Defeat meant the collapse of imperial pride.
And it had collapsed.
At the hands of the very ants of the southern alliance they had so scorned and dismissed.
Those hostile to the Empire would descend like hyenas and tear into it. That alone would amount to little more than a scratch, but the imperial citizens who considered their nation great were another problem.
“Then this means all-out war.”
Those who would not tolerate defeat had been defeated.
There were two ways to remedy that. One was to conceal the very fact and make it as though it had never happened. The other was a great victory that would wipe it all away.
The man placed greater weight on the latter. The southern alliance, their bitter enemy, would never bury its great victory over the Empire.
Especially not with a mana stone deposit at stake.
“Pablo Barkat. A Star truly is a Star, I see. To think he would stop the Red Dragon Knights.”
The man ground his teeth.
There would be no second failure.
* * *
“... We must give it up.”
Pablo Barkat.
He was so hot-tempered and headstrong that Berge called him a male version of Louise Berft, but he had an eye for the world. He could take a broad view and read the political situation.
Otherwise, even as the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Barkat and a Star, he could never have represented the southern alliance itself.
“What do you mean?”
“We defeated the Red Dragon Knights. We touched their dragon’s forbidden scale.”
There were lines one must not cross. Even if the southern alliance and the Empire were enemies, they had to respect those lines unless they intended to fight to the bitter end.
The imperial family’s five knightly orders bearing the dragon’s seal were that absolute boundary.
“The dragon orders must never lose. If they do, they must erase that defeat.”
Orders that must never suffer defeat.
Their defeat was the forbidden scale of the Empire—of the dragon.
“Things will be different now. They may come at us with venom in their hearts, intent on wiping out the southern alliance.”
“That is far too great a leap.”
“Are you saying we should have lost in the first place?”
“Weren’t you the one who defeated them, Your Highness?”
“I was. That is why I am telling you we have only two choices left. Humble ourselves and beg for peace, or fight the imperial tide that seeks a victory great enough to overshadow the dragon’s defeat.”
“...”
“...”
The alliance nobles held their breath.
They had banded together and faced the Empire for many years. Not one of them failed to understand what Pablo meant.
“We must propose peace to the Empire and treat the battle itself as though it never happened. The Red Dragon Knights were never here.”
“Must we go that far?”
“Once we decided on war, surely you had already taken the dragon orders into account?”
“There is a mana stone deposit at stake! Until recently, you insisted we must obtain it at any cost. Have you grown frightened after winning?”
The nobles objected.
It was only natural. The imperial tide was troubling, but the southern alliance was by no means weak. Besides, widely publicizing their victory over the Red Dragon Knights would send morale soaring.
Then one noble asked a question.
“I know well how fearsome the Empire is. But I do not believe we need to humble ourselves after a victory, even at the cost of damaging our own honor and prestige. If Your Highness still believes we should, you must have a compelling reason?”
“Yes. Were this an ordinary war, I would not argue so strongly for this. I would consolidate our victory and stop the Empire by any means necessary. That was why I tried so hard to kill the Red Dragon commander.”
“What is it, then?”
“A third party is involved in this war.”
“...!”
“...!”
“What do you mean?”
“You will remember that I was attacked when I first went to find the deposit alone.”
“Yes.”
“At the time, I thought it was merely an excuse. But looking back, Austin Kroin of the Blue Griffin Knights seemed genuinely unaware of it.”
“Are you saying someone ambushed Your Highness to instigate a war?”
“Could it not simply have been an act?”
“And regardless, it is a mana stone mine. Having come this far, giving it up would be stranger.”
“If that were all, you would be right.”
But something else had happened.
“While I was speaking with Austin Kroin, an imperial knight suddenly acted on his own and ambushed me. That started the battle. No sensible knight would intervene without permission while his commander was speaking with the enemy commander. Nor do I believe imperial knights are that undisciplined.”
“It may have been an imperial ploy.”
“Then what about this? While I was fighting the Red Dragon commander, a Torkan knight attacked him from behind. Thanks to that, the commander suffered a grave wound, and we narrowly escaped defeat.”
“One of our knights?”
A smile spread across the face of the noble representing Torkan at the news of such a great achievement.
“Is that not good news?”
“But when the battle ended, there was no trace of that man anywhere. And when we searched the camp thoroughly, we found the real Torkan knight buried naked in the ground.”
“... Good heavens.”
“Is that true? Your Highness, even you must not lie about something like this!”
“Every alliance member present witnessed it. You may confront them with my account.”
Pablo slammed his hand on the desk.
“We are dancing on a stage someone else has set. This southern alliance is being used by some vermin.”
And that person...
“Wants a greater war.”
We must catch that bastard, not fight among ourselves.
“Because that person...”
Pablo added one final point.
“Invoked a god.”
“... Good heavens. Surely not?”
“Are you saying those cockroaches are still around?”
The nobles’ faces went pale.
* * *
The Red Dragon Knights.
One of the five knightly orders bearing the dragon’s seal.
Berge knew them all too well. After he had abducted Jespine’s Crown Prince, they had broken through his tower at the head of the imperial army.
There were no heroes among them, but they were stronger than most heroes. United as one, the order was a force even Star heroes dared not confront head-on.
They were truly the continent’s mightiest fighting force.
‘So close.’
Was it only to be expected of the Red Dragon commander, or was Berge’s proficiency with mana still lacking?
He had meant to stab him through the heart. But the instant he thrust his sword, the man sensed his presence.
It was too late to dodge, but he twisted his body in that split second so the blade missed his heart. That had saved his life.
Still, the southern alliance had ultimately won. That was enough.
“In any case, the Empire can no longer back down, for the sake of its honor and prestige.”
Just as it had lashed out by every means at its disposal when the Crown Prince was kidnapped.
That was what the dragon orders meant to the Empire.
“But there are other possibilities.”
“Such as?”
“Such as the two sides reaching a dramatic agreement?”
“Not a chance.”
Berge snorted.
“You shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”
“This isn’t jumping to conclusions. It’s reasoning based on clear evidence.”
“But the Empire is arrogant. If they realize someone is trying to use them, they won’t simply go along with it. The southern alliance is no different.”
“Of course, that is possible. But when tempting profits and a debt of vengeance loom before their eyes, humans cannot help themselves.”
“But what if there’s another way?”
“Another way?”
“The southern alliance could compromise with the Empire before the rumors spread and cover it up as though it never happened. They would accept some losses.”
“Why bother?”
“Because you’ve interfered too much, my lord.”
“No one knows it was me.”
He had used no demonic energy at all and had always worn either a mask or a helmet while disguised as a knight.
“It doesn’t matter that it was you, my lord. What matters is that it was a third party.”
“So you think the war won’t escalate?”
“Perhaps?”
“You’re wrong.”
Berge shook his head firmly. At least this time, his assessment was more accurate than hers.
“The Empire is greedier than you think. Obsessed with honor. The Red Dragon Knights are its forbidden scale. It will never give up easily.”
“You know the Empire very well, don’t you?”
“At least where the Empire is concerned, I know more than you do.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“That’s an insolent look.”
“I’m not making any expression.”
“That is hardly no expression.”
Berge glared. Ernyan averted her eyes.
This was what happened when he indulged her.
“Fine. Let’s make a wager. If I’m right, you will hand over at least five vaults belonging to Hilderan nobles.”
“And if I’m right?”
“What do you want?”
“Nothing in particular, but...”
Her eyes curved into smiling crescents.
“Can I leave it open and tell you what I want later?”
“By all means. If you’re right.”
Berge growled.
It would never happen anyway.
* * *
“Ahem.”
Ernyan shrugged and murmured, almost in a whisper.
“Where did the person who said he knew the Empire better than I did go?”
“...”
“Pardon?”
The elf who had rushed over to report the widely circulating rumors tilted their head.
“He said the Red Dragon Knights were their forbidden scale, so the war would definitely escalate. He knew the Empire so well, he sounded like an imperial himself.”
“... Shut up.”
“I can tell you what I want later, right?”
“...”
“Surely a great Demon King wouldn’t go back on his word?”
“I swear upon the Guide and the first Demon Emperor that I would do no such thing.”
“You don’t believe in those.”
This was why sharp-witted princesses...
“... I pledge my honor.”
“That I’ll trust.”
The battle had failed to become a war.
Damn it.