Chapter 357
Side Story – Memories of an Imperial Princess (73)
Princess POV
As expected, my eldest brother seemed to have lost his mind.
“You’re blessed, sister. I’ve never seen such talent in the Empire.”
As soon as he returned, his face flushed red with excitement as he started praising Ast.
“What a shame. If I had him, I wouldn’t have suffered such a futile defeat!”
That’s right, brother.
I guarantee, with your personality, if you had Ast under you, you would have died from stress before fighting Duke Raisha.
“Is that so?”
“Of course, absolutely!”
I watched my brother as he nodded his head.
This person is completely broken.
“Ast.”
‘What exactly did you do?’
Unable to finish my words, I stared intensely at Ast.
“Your Highness.”
‘I am innocent!’
Though Ast also held back his words, he looked at me with an expression of genuine innocence.
“Well done.”
‘Though I don’t know what you did.’
“It’s only natural, Your Highness.”
‘I don’t know what I did either, but I’ll accept the praise.’
We could communicate without speaking.
Looking at my brother who was again praising Ast’s abilities while watching our interaction, I smiled brightly.
“You must be tired from various matters, so I think it would be good for brother and sister to rest.”
“You speak wisely, Your Highness.”
“Yes, Ast. Call someone and tell them to help ensure that both people and soldiers can rest comfortably.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
I sent Ast outside, who seemed desperate to escape this awkward situation.
“Really, he is…”
Even after Ast left, brother’s praise of him continued for a while.
“Sigh… Really.”
Thankfully Ast quickly prepared accommodations for the two, otherwise I might have had to endure a third round of praise for Ast.
“Really, what have you been up to?”
“I am innocent, Your Highness.”
Though the barracks had been bustling with people until lunchtime, now only Ria, Ast, and I remained.
Therefore, we could speak our minds without worrying about others.
“The one who should claim innocence is me, Ast. Do you know how many times I had to hear my brother repeat the same things because of you?”
I had to repeatedly hear that he was a genius, a general who would go down in imperial history.
“So tell me. What exactly did you do to make my proud brother break down like this?”
When I asked about my brother who was blindly praising Ast as if enchanted by dark magic, Ast began explaining his plan and subsequent events with an embarrassed expression.
“That’s how it happened.”
“What is this…”
It’s scary.
The scattered troops somehow defeated the enemy forces on their own, and by occasionally retreating defeated forces, they managed to completely surround the enemy.
“I’ve heard similar stories somewhere.”
“It’s similar to how the two princes were defeated by Duke Raisha, Your Highness.”
I knew that too. That’s why it was terrifyingly scary.
“Wasn’t war supposed to be a battle of skill?”
How well-trained the soldiers were, and how excellent their commander’s abilities were.
The war I knew was about competing in these elements, not about competing in luck.
“I knew luck was important in war. There have been cases where sudden weather changes or monster migrations reversed the course of battles.”
Luck was always better to have more of, regardless of the situation.
If an ordinary commoner is lucky, they might find a coin while walking, and if a student at an academy is lucky, they might guess correctly on an unknown problem and improve their grades.
The same applies to war.
For individual soldiers, it starts with not getting hit by a rain of arrows, and for army-scale situations, there are cases where it rains in enemy territory but not a single drop falls in friendly territory, even though they’re not far apart.
But this case…
“This is just a battle of who’s luckier.”
It literally felt like a pure battle of luck.
“We believed in Duke Raisha’s abilities and worked hard to make him Grand General!”
All the information was pointing to Duke Raisha’s excellence(?).
That’s why Ast’s crazy operation was permitted by me and His Majesty the Emperor.
But to think it became a battle of luck! And to think that among the princes, my outstanding older brother and younger sibling were affected!
“What are you going to do, as all those plans are about to come to nothing?”
“……”
Ast kept his mouth shut at my words.
I thought he was silent because he had nothing to say, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“What does that matter, Your Highness?”
“Huh?”
“Even with good luck, it’s just Duke Raisha. Wouldn’t it be strange if he doesn’t lose?”
“No, there are actually people who lost, aren’t there?”
“That would be the First Prince and Ninth Prince, wouldn’t it?”
“Uh……”
“Excluding intentional defeats, our army has had no losses. Even this battle’s defeat can hardly be called a defeat in the grand scheme of things.”
That was true.
Although my older brother and younger sibling lost troops, they ultimately managed to annihilate most of the enemy forces.
Though some personnel retreated through relatively weak areas of the encirclement, their numbers were less than 10,000.
Even combined with the forces waiting to protect Duke Raisha, the enemy forces would not exceed 30,000.
“Is the enemy lucky?”
“Uh……”
Duke Raisha collapsed at a crucial moment, allowing for an equal match with the imperial army, resulting in a great victory for the Kingdom of Merdea.
Two reinforced imperial corps suffered near-total destruction.
However, afterward, the Merdean army that had achieved a great victory was in turn annihilated by the imperial corps searching for the surviving princes.
The Merdean army, which had exceeded 100,000, was reduced to less than 30,000.
“This is… Profitable?”
In the end, my older brother and younger sibling were the ones who suffered losses.
My unit suffered no losses, and the military achievements were piling up like mountains.
“Ultimately, we have better luck too. So what is there to worry about?”
It was nonsense, but coming from Ast, it sounded convincing.
“Ria, am I strange? That nonsense sounds like human speech.”
“Well, since he’s speaking in human language, that could be why. First, let me translate it into dog language……”
“Why are you translating others’ words into dog language, Sir Ria?”
A battle of nerves broke out as Ast responded nervously to Ria’s words, and Ria replied.
Quietly observing this, after synthesizing various thoughts in my head, I could conclude that Ast was right.
“That’s true. If things continue like this… It will be our victory.”
If we push forward like this, it will ultimately be our side’s victory.
Once Duke Raisha’s forces all fall, we’ll naturally be able to secure territory up to near Fort Pesra, and furthermore, we could advance into the Kingdom of Merdea’s territory.
“There’s still something left, Your Highness.”
“What?”
But Ast’s big picture was larger and more reckless than what I had thought.
“There’s an even better way, Your Highness.”
“What are you trying to pull now?”
When I narrowed my eyes and looked at him, Ast shrugged as if it were nothing.
“Someone might think I’m doing something strange.”
“Aren’t you…?”
“No, Your Highness. Do you not trust me?”
“…A little?”
Looking at achievements alone, Ast had only achieved the best results, but right now, Ast’s expression wasn’t trustworthy at all.
“Should I show you a mirror?”
It was like the expression of a con artist who had found an incredible mark.
Ast’s appearance, smiling so wickedly that it could even cause disgust in viewers, was trustworthy in some sense, but ordinary people would probably not want to associate with him.
“Please trust me. I can repay that trust with the best results, Your Highness.”
“…Didn’t they say you shouldn’t trust even a trusted axe?”
“If it’s not your foot but the enemy’s foot being chopped, wouldn’t that be fine?”
Very suspicious, but Ast’s achievements were too great to ignore.
Finally, after letting out a sigh, I asked him to tell me the strategy in advance, and Ast began to talk about his strategy as if it were nothing special.
“Our General Raisha is a great Grand General.”
“What nonsense are you going to say again……”
It was nonsense from the very beginning.
“His genius mind was not inferior to the two legions led by the Empire’s 1st Prince and 9th Prince.”
“Yes, let’s hear how far this continues.”
I grumbled at Ast who ignored my words and continued speaking, then started to focus on his words.
“Thanks to his activities, Merdea Kingdom’s army was able to achieve continuous victories. But perhaps the gods feared his amazing talent. General Raisha, who had been showing outstanding abilities, suddenly collapsed from illness.”
It was a truly regretful voice.
Like the storytellers in the marketplace, Ast was putting emotions into it and increasingly building up the tension.
“However, the genius strategist General Raisha used even his illness as a deception. As a result! The forces of the 1st Prince and 9th Prince suffered near-total destruction due to the great General Raisha’s stratagem!”
Ah! General Raisha! Our great general, Grand General Raisha!
Adding such exclamations, he was just like a storyteller.
“The great hero, General Raisha, defeated all enemies before falling. But enemies still remained. The Empire’s evil 1st Princess! The army of that evil witch did not miss the fall of the great hero, General Raisha.”
“My treatment seems a bit strange?”
“That snake-like Imperial Princess struck at Merdea’s army’s throat as soon as General Raisha fell. The proud soldiers of Merdea Kingdom resisted that evil princess’s touch, but they began falling one by one in succession.”
“Ria, am I imagining that Ast seems to be enjoying himself every time he insults me?”
“If it’s acting, it’s truly excellent acting skills… But isn’t it more likely that it’s not acting, Your Highness?”
“So you think so too.”
Ast began criticizing me with all his might, portraying me as an evil and vicious woman.
“Ah! When General Raisha awoke, most of the soldiers had already died by the evil witch’s hand. Knowing this, General Raisha led his illness-weakened body to command the soldiers, but the tide of battle had already begun to turn! Now our hero, General Raisha, has also fallen into crisis!”
Bang!
Ast even made sound effects with his mouth, maintained silence for a moment, then looked at me.
“How was it, Your Highness?”
“What……”
“How was my wholehearted acting and scenario?”
“It was excellent. Especially your acting when describing me as an evil woman, vicious woman, and witch-like woman – I won’t forget it.”
“It’s called method acting. Going beyond empathy to become the very subject you’re acting.”
“Yes. It was so perfect I almost cut off your head thinking you were the enemy.”
When I smiled brightly, Ast slightly averted his gaze.
“Ha, haha! You’re too kind, Your Highness.”
“Right. So why did you do this act that almost got you killed?”
“After surrounding Duke Raisha, we plan to spread this throughout the Merdea Kingdom.”
“Why?”
“Then won’t the kingdom provide support to Duke Raisha at the national level? Scraping together all their troops.”
“You……”
While Merdea Kingdom was certainly a great power, it was still just a kingdom in scale.
In a situation where hundreds of thousands of soldiers had already been consumed, drafting more soldiers would be a very big blow even from Merdea Kingdom’s perspective.
Moreover, to have Duke Raisha lead the troops recruited at such a great cost!
“You’re planning to completely finish off the Merdea Kingdom.”
“Isn’t it better to end it all at once?”
Smiling with a very evil expression, Ast tempted me to consider the number of Swordmasters and Great Mages remaining in the Merdea Kingdom.
“They still have eight Swordmasters. How troublesome would it be if they hide in the castle and resist? Now is the chance to face Swordmasters under the command of the great General Raisha! Such opportunities don’t come easily!”
Such opportunities would never come again.
Watching Ast speak as if we would never be able to buy- no, save such Swordmasters again if we missed this chance, I found myself nodding unconsciously.
“What will you do, Your Highness?”
Though he didn’t say it, his behavior seemed to ask if I would really eliminate such a capable talent as Duke Raisha.
I had to keep my mouth shut at this.
“Fine……”
After thinking briefly, I surrendered to Ast because it was too good an opportunity.
“Do as you please.”
If it goes well, the Merdea Kingdom will be finished, and if it fails, in the worst case, our army might be finished.
“Will it be alright, Your Highness?”
To Ria who looked at me worriedly, I didn’t hide the smile that somehow emerged.
“Well… I just don’t feel like we’ll lose.”
“Your Highness……”
Looking at me like that, Ria said with a truly worried expression.
“Your expression resembles Lord Ast’s expression.”
“……”
“It’s true, Your Highness.”
“…Really?”
At Ria’s words, I briefly wondered if I should proceed with the plan, but in the end, I fell for Ast’s temptation.
And so, the heroic tale of the Grand General, Duke Raisha, began to spread throughout the Empire and the Merdea Kingdom.
