Chapter 355
Side Story – Memories of an Imperial Princess (71)
#92 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Villain
The princess’s tent was in complete chaos when she rushed over after receiving contact from Maref, her junior butler.
“They lost? Even with that much of a difference?”
“While it’s not a complete defeat, it’s a critical blow. It wouldn’t be strange if both their Highnesses were mentally broken.”
“Is the rescue team not ready yet? It’s been 5 minutes since the support request came in!”
“Send the fastest mages first! Use new magic bombardments to delay the enemy forces!”
“We must protect their Highnesses!”
The commanders were moving busily, and the markers were moving back and forth on the map. It reminded me of the scene from my past life when everyone panicked because a corps commander was coming.
“No, is it more serious than that?”
That was people making a fuss for show, but this wasn’t for show. They were just genuinely busy.
They might be too late.
No, how did it come to this? Were those so-called princes not human? Or had Duke Raisha been acting all this time?
“What is this mess?”
Even though it was a royal tent, it was still a temporary shelter set up on the battlefield. While it was larger than other tents, it wasn’t suitable for people running around. As a result, people were bumping into each other and dropping things everywhere.
“You’re here?”
The princess sighed deeply while holding her head and handed over a document.
“What is this?”
“Orders.”
Looking down to read the contents, it was an order to quickly retrieve the two princes who were getting beaten up.
“Your Highness, let me say one thing.”
“…What is it?”
Seeing how she avoided my gaze, she seemed to know everything already.
Well, I understand wanting to pretend not to know.
“Did they really lose?”
“Uh… Um…”
“…”
“W-what.”
“Nothing.”
I decided to let it go as I got goosebumps from seeing her slightly blushing and turning her head away.
“I understand for now.”
I nodded and left the chaotic tent.
“That was fast.”
The personnel were already prepared.
“Is this everyone, Aderu?”
“Yes, General.”
“All familiar faces.”
Indeed, they were the soldiers I had trained with a paddle in the past.
“There are no personnel more suited for this mission than them, General.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
In terms of skill and achievements, they could have become officers or knights. They remained as soldiers only because they wanted to fight on the frontlines themselves and had critical personality issues, but when it came to ability alone, they were more useful than newly appointed knights.
They would be the optimal personnel in a situation requiring an elite few.
“I see.”
I nodded and took out a piece of paper from my chest to hand to my adjutant Aderu.
“This is…”
“Royal orders. Go rescue the princes.”
Aderu looked at the orders with trembling eyes.
“Is there a problem?”
“Uh, that… Aren’t you going, General?”
Me? Of course I have to go.
“I am. With the main force.”
“What…?”
I smiled brightly at his expression that seemed to ask what I meant.
“I’m going with the main force.”
“Then, we…”
“You’ll have to take charge.”
“Whaaaat?”
I patted Aderu’s shoulders as he panicked.
“The mages will handle all the interference anyway, and you just need to find the princes and bring them back.”
“B-but!”
“I need to lead the main force, don’t I? Then this unit should be led by you, my adjutant.”
“I-I’m not yet…”
Though he tried to find a way out by rolling his eyes around,
“This is an urgent situation! What if something happens to their Highnesses while we’re like this!”
“Kuk!”
In a rushed situation like this, sometimes you just have to push forward and make people move whether they like it or not!
“Can, can I really do this?”
Eyes wavering with uncertainty.
Being my adjutant led to quick promotion, but Aderu lacked experience accordingly. It was understandable to feel burdened with such a big task.
“Aderu, you can do it.”
“Is, is that really true?”
“Yes. You can do it. You can. You’re my adjutant. Do I look like someone who would keep an incompetent adjutant around?”
“Ah, Lord Ast…”
Seeing Aderu look at me with moved eyes made me feel slightly guilty.
Actually, I was just using the adjutant sent by the Imperial Princess… Any adjutant would do just fine!
“Yes. I believe in you, Aderu.”
“Understood.”
Nodding with determined eyes, Aderu shouted with a voice full of confidence.
“As the General’s adjutant, I will escort the two princes back!”
“Good. I’ll trust you. But don’t overdo it. I’ll be following right behind you.”
“Don’t worry, General!”
Aderu confidently said and began leading the troops out.
Watching Aderu’s departing back, I let out a sigh.
“Fortunately, they turned out to be quite gullible and easy to use.”
Having to rescue the princes with only a small force without knowing the exact situation – one wrong step and it would be perfect for getting killed.
“Well, now that I’ve set that up, shall we prepare the main force?”
Even excluding Aderu, the cavalry and magic bombardment units had already departed for reconnaissance. What remained were the infantry and mages.
Leading them and advancing slowly, we should be able to meet the princes. Well, if we die before that, there’s nothing we can do about it.
“Prepare faster! Our allies’ lives depend on you!”
After taking a deep breath and shouting, the soldiers began running around more quickly.
With the vanguard commander right next to them, they had no choice but to get busy.
“Lord Ast? Aren’t you supposed to have departed?”
“Oh, Sir Ria, are you going too?”
Looking at Sir Ria who had an expression asking why I was still here, I gave a bright smile.
Though it was said to be poorly maintained magic bombardment, Ria was the one who endured it by cutting through the bombardment with a sword. Having such a skilled person along would make things a bit safer.
“I am supposed to stay by Her Highness’s side. I’m only here now to command the soldiers because we’re short on manpower.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
At the palace, she was the Princess of Swords (laughs), but here she was truly worthy of being called the Princess of Swords, no, the Imperial Princess of Swords. It’s really unfortunate not being able to take such a skilled person along.
“Lord Maferus and Lord Bayard are preparing. Both are excellent knights, so you shouldn’t worry too much.”
Maferus and Bayard were Swordmasters in the Imperial Princess’s unit.
Two Swordmasters…
“Having those two move means the battle situation isn’t good, doesn’t it?”
“Well… That’s true.”
Not even denying it? It seems sending Aderu as vanguard was the right choice after all.
“Then would you answer my question too? You received orders, so why haven’t you departed yet?”
“Ah, I gave those orders to Aderu and sent them off. I plan to move with the main force.”
“What? You gave the orders to someone else?”
“It wasn’t specified who should lead them out.”
“No, but that’s…”
Given the chaos, they probably couldn’t write proper orders. It’s hard to pay attention to such details when time is of the essence.
“Lord Ast…”
“I just judged this to be the best option. Trust my adjutant Aderu.”
Yes, it was the best choice.
If we find the princes, since my personal adjutant followed my orders to find them, it’s practically the same as me finding them.
If we fail? Well, I can simply cut ties and say Aderu failed the mission.
If successful, I get some merit though small, and even if it fails, I’ve managed to reduce the risk I have to bear. Where else could you find such a good plan!
“I see.”
Sir Ria also nodded as if acknowledging it. Though she sighed heavily, she didn’t say anything else, so she must have accepted it.
“By the way, is there any new information?”
It was revealed that the princes were not human offspring, or that in fact Duke Raisha was a man of plot twists that easily surpassed Six X Sense. [TL/N: Six X could reference too many things to be certain]
“Ah, there is.”
“Is there really?”
With a pounding heart, I waited to hear whether the princes were not human, or whether there would be a mention of Duke Raisha having an incredible twist.
And… A shocking statement came out of Sir Ria’s mouth.
“I heard that Duke Raisha’s troops are not being led by Duke Raisha.”
“What?”
It was the greatest plot twist since Six Sense. Of course, I’ve never seen Six X Sense!
“N-no way…”
Were we all played in Duke Raisha’s palm? Or did he awaken after realizing his shortcomings from being a mass of cancer cells?
No. We’re talking about Duke Raisha. He might have been secretly imprisoned by a military coup and reduced to just stamping orders.
“What do you mean? How could someone like Duke Raisha, with such strong desire for power, not be leading his own army…”
One step, then another. As I drew closer while raising my voice, Ria stepped back matching my pace.
“Lord Ast, please calm down. Please stop coming closer. What if rumors start spreading again?”
“What rumors?”
Was there anything between us that could cause rumors?
I gave Sir Ria, who was getting excited alone, a very cold look.
“Ugh… That’s rather the expression I should be making. Have you forgotten? We were once in talks of engagement.”
“You should speak correctly. It was only sent from Sir Ria’s household. I never sent anything.”
The phrase ‘in talks’ should only be used when both parties have spoken about it.
At my correction, Sir Ria’s face turned red again and screamed.
“I-I didn’t want that either!”
“Then it shouldn’t matter if rumors spread, Sir Ria. So would you please answer my question?”
“Really…”
Sir Ria glared at me while grinding her teeth audibly, but when I casually urged for information quickly, she sighed heavily and answered.
“The day before the two Highnesses attacked, Duke Raisha…”
My heart raced. From what’s being said now, doesn’t it sound like Duke Raisha did something!
What exactly does one need to do to achieve victory against the First Prince who occupied the North and the youngest prince who was acknowledged as quite capable by the princess! Is he really a genius? Or was it like the princess who suffered three consecutive hits, did an unsophisticated charge defeat genius!
To me, who was watching Sir Ria’s mouth with a pounding heart,
“He overate.”
They delivered truly the greatest plot twist since Six X Sense.
“What?”
“He overate.”
“W-what are you saying?”
“Well… Isn’t the weather a bit unstable these days? They say during seasonal changes, digestive functions weaken and immune functions lower, causing various problems.”
“No way…”
I opened my mouth wide. It was truly an unexpected twist.
“Are you saying Duke Raisha collapsed from overeating and couldn’t command?”
“That’s right.”
“…”
“…”
A strange silence lingered between Sir Ria and me.
Wow, it was truly an unexpected twist. To think Merdea’s army won because Duke Raisha wasn’t leading!
Or should I say it’s fortunate? At least the two princes are still human offspring.
“So I should think of the enemy as the proper Merdea Kingdom army.”
“That’s right.”
Though overshadowed by the great light that was Duke Raisha, Merdea Kingdom was one of the strongest military powers on the continent. It wasn’t strange to experience one defeat against such an enemy. Our army’s victory was also only achieved by one-sidedly pounding them with magic bombardment.
“Therefore, Lord Ast, you shouldn’t underestimate the enemy.”
“I know.”
I don’t think I have military talent. I wasn’t a protagonist who could surround and annihilate 5,000 magical beasts with 300 ordinary villagers. The only light I believe in is Duke Raisha. With Duke Raisha temporarily retired, I couldn’t make bold judgments!
“You don’t need to worry, I have all the methods.”
“I’ll trust you.”
For the sake of Sir Ria who trusted me, I had no choice but to make the best decision I could.
And that decision was,
“Now, since we don’t know what might happen, I’ll delegate command authority to each commander. Unless special orders come from above, handle things on your own!”
The method by which Duke Raisha’s troops defeated the alliance of the First Prince and youngest prince! It was the method of passing command to subordinates and letting them fight on their own.
