The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 45
After leaving the military council chamber, I was looking for a place to take off my helmet.
Everywhere I went, gazes followed me, so there wasn’t a suitable place to remove my helmet.
Even civilians, hearing that Wade had appeared, were stealing glances at me as if a celebrity had shown up.
‘Should I just go straight back to Pollack?’
I had planned to stay here for about a day to meet with Yumir, as well as to deal with the aftermath, but with this atmosphere, it didn’t seem like I’d be able to rest comfortably.
Just then, a familiar face appeared.
“Pleased to meet you, Lord Wade. I am Erina Saleon, granddaughter of Duke Saleon.”
Erina curtsied politely, lifting the hem of her skirt. In contrast, Joan, standing behind her, glared at me with a wary expression.
“Oh! Miss Erina is talking with Wade!”
“Everyone, come over here and see!”
The territory’s residents were making a fuss.
‘Come to think of it, this is Grancel.’
Duke Hellian was quite nasty in his own way. He deliberately held the military council meeting in the Saleon duchy’s territory. It was like advertising the incompetence of the Saleon ducal family.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Saleon. What business do you have with me?”
“I came to express my gratitude. Really… Thank you so much. Thanks to your efforts, it seems my father will be able to return safely.”
Thanks to my capture of Ushis and Julian as prisoners, a high-level prisoner exchange could proceed.
They would probably release those two and retrieve Marquis Millias and Gilbert Saleon. Duke Hellian would take a stance opposing this and squeeze the Saleon faction.
But in the end, a prisoner exchange would be agreed upon along with an armistice.
“If that’s the case, there’s no need to thank me. I simply carried out the task I was assigned. If you really want to express gratitude, do so to the soldiers who risked their lives fighting.”
“Of course, I should thank the soldiers as well. But I believe it’s proper to express gratitude to the person in front of me first. If it’s not too presumptuous, I’d like to invite you to the Saleon mansion. Would that be alright?”
“I appreciate the gesture, but I’ll have to decline.”
Visiting the Saleon mansion as Wade could cause unnecessary commotion.
She seemed to have anticipated my refusal, showing no signs of disappointment, but she pouted her lips slightly, apparently still feeling regretful.
Then suddenly, her eyes lit up.
“In that case, I’ll pay you a personal visit later.”
“A personal visit?”
“Hehe, yes. Please look forward to it.”
Joan was wondering how on earth she planned to pay a personal visit to Wade, but I had a hunch about what method she might use.
After parting with Erina, I somehow found a place without any presence and took off my helmet to catch my breath.
“Wearing a helmet in this season is truly grueling.”
My face was a mess of sweat and pollen that hadn’t been properly expelled from inside the helmet.
Eo’s face, who had also removed her helmet, was in a similar state.
Nevertheless, Eo took out a handkerchief and tried to wipe my face first instead of her own.
“It’s okay. I’ll do it myself. More importantly, when is Yumir supposed to arrive?”
“It seems she has already arrived and is resting at an inn.”
“So we were a step behind. Well then, I’ll go see her. Eo, please arrange for a carriage to Pollack. We’ll depart this afternoon.”
“Didn’t you say you’d rest here for a day?”
“If we do that, it might get troublesome.”
“Yes! I’ll arrange for a carriage then.”
After parting with Eo, I headed to the inn on the outskirts of the city where Yumir was waiting. It was the inn we always used when coming to Grancel, and Yumir was sitting quietly on the first floor.
As soon as she saw me, she approached and gently wiped away the pollen still remaining on my face.
“Geez. First Eo, and now you’re treating me like a child too.”
Well, for Yumir, who has been with me since I was an infant, this might be natural.
“You’ve worked hard, young master. I haven’t heard the details, but I heard it was a splendid victory.”
“I was lucky.”
It wasn’t just a figure of speech. Luck was on my side in this war.
It was because Rutger, who knew the enemy commander Julian Craig’s tendencies inside out, was under my command.
After hearing about his tendencies from Rutger, I was able to outline the big picture of the strategy early on.
‘If it hadn’t been for that, it might have been quite a difficult war.’
If it had turned out that way, they wouldn’t have changed their strategy to use cavalry as arrow fodder, but anyway.
“What did father say?”
“He was skeptical about moving to Rainpol immediately. After all, Ribel is the land that the Elaine family has protected. It seemed he wanted to send master Max to Rainpol and leave the management of Ribel to master Miller…”
“I see. This war has resulted in Ribel being completely burned down.”
Even for me, that choice wasn’t easy. Even though it was to win the war, I had exposed my hometown to danger.
I secretly hoped that the enemy’s guerrilla forces would just plunder supplies and leave the city as it was, but they mercilessly burned everything down.
“Now there’s no choice. We’ll have to hurry the move to Rainpol for the sake of the territory’s people.”
“Yes, Miss Ilya will probably be conveying such a message already.”
“As expected of my master.”
In this war, master was the person I could trust the most.
Using Rutger against Alvard was actually close to a gamble. Anton isn’t at a stage where he can be fully trusted either.
Eo has a strong tendency to cause trouble, and Yumir doesn’t have the ability to lead an army.
On the other hand, master Ilya is different.
No matter what role she’s given, she performs above average. Perhaps because she’s a mercenary, she lacks the ability to view war on a large scale or command a large army, but she shows the best skills in local battles or guerrilla warfare.
“Let’s say we’ll do that… What’s Estelle doing?”
“She’s resting in her room. It’s not quite the stage where she can freely wander outside.”
“Well, it might be possible in Rainpol, but it would be difficult in a foreign land.”
“Still, she seemed to enjoy visiting Ribel. When she learned it was young master’s hometown, she looked around various places herself. Among them, she happened to have a conversation with Madam.”
“With mother? That’s unexpected. How was it?”
“Madam also learned that Estelle is young master’s schoolmate and seemed to want to hear about your academy life, so they had a long conversation.”
“Ugh… I can guess what they talked about. Alright. Yumir, for now, go back to Rainpol with Estelle. I’ll return after handling the post-war matters.”
“Yes, young master, don’t rush too much…”
Yumir suddenly cuts off her words. She turns her gaze to the second-floor stairs and says, “…Miss Estelle. Is something the matter?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Yumir. I think the food I ate for lunch didn’t agree with me. My stomach doesn’t feel well, so I was going to take a walk outside. Is that okay?”
“Then please wait in your room. I’ll prepare shortly.”
“Okay… But who were you talking to?”
She apparently didn’t recognize me immediately since my back was turned, but I could feel her staring intently at my back.
Feeling it would be pointless to hide, I turned around first.
“It’s been a while, Estelle. About two weeks, right?”
“Oh, it was indeed Ars! Why on earth are you here…”
Tap tap tap! Estelle quickly comes down the stairs. She seems to have forgotten about her stomach ache, her expression bright.
“I stopped by briefly on my way to Ribel. I ran into Miss Yumir by chance.”
“Then you should have contacted me too.”
“I heard you were resting, so I thought it might be rude.”
“Rude? Not at all!”
Although it had only been two weeks since we last met, her condition seemed much improved from before.
She seemed to know this too, smiling as she took off her hat to show me.
“Ars, would you look at this?”
“Oh… Your hair is growing.”
“I was surprised too. I thought I’d never see my own hair again.”
Sparse red hair was growing.
“It will take a long time to return to the long hair I had before, but I’ll definitely grow it out and show you, Ars.”
“Haha, I’ll look forward to it.”
“More, more than that… If you have time, would you like to take a walk together? I heard from Miss Yumir that Grancel is incredibly beautiful after sunset, with fireflies flying up from the river. I’ve really come to like this city too.”
“I’d like to, but it might be a bit difficult.”
I had come to this out-of-the-way inn to meet Yumir specifically to avoid unnecessarily wandering outside. If I went out, I might run into her.
However, such efforts proved futile as she appeared.
Bang! Erina forcefully opened the inn’s door and appeared. This is what she meant by visiting personally.
She would come at the point when I had taken off my helmet and become Ars.
“So you were here, Ars Elaine!”
“That person is…”
Estelle frowns.
I had a feeling that some kind of storm was about to pass through.
* * *
Erina found it difficult to contain her overwhelming emotions. To her, it felt as if Ars had gone to war and achieved a splendid victory solely for her sake.
‘To fulfill my request…’
Joan had once said that boys tease girls to hide the fact that they like them.
Thinking about it that way, she could understand why he pretended to forget her name out of spite.
“I’ve been looking all over for you. Why are you staying at such a remote inn? There are much better inns in the city center.”
“You’re saying that right in front of the innkeeper.”
“Ah, it’s been a while, Jason. Is this the first time since the last bear hunt?”
The innkeeper let out a hearty laugh. “Hahaha! I’m honored that you remember a mere laborer like me.”
“Would it be alright if we talk here for a moment?”
“Of course.”
Having obtained permission in an instant, Erina was about to pull Ars towards a table when she hesitated. She frowned at the bizarre smell.
“What’s this? This stench…”
She soon looked at the source of the smell and her eyes widened.
Before she could be more surprised, Ars quickly provided an explanation.
“This is Estelle. She’s suffering from an illness.”
“Oh my… Poor thing.”
Estelle bit her lip hard at Erina’s sympathetic gaze. Countless people had looked at her with disgust, contempt, mockery, and pity until now, but for some reason, this one felt more humiliating and shameful than any of the others.
“Ah, you’re here too. Ars’ maid, Yu… mmph!?”
Ars quickly covered Erina’s mouth and whispered. “We’re pretending not to know right now. Play along.”
“…”
Erina shakes her head. Nod. Nod.
Seeing the two of them huddled close together, the light in Estelle’s eyes rapidly faded away.
“I must have mistaken you for someone else. Anyway, Ars? You haven’t had dinner yet, right? If you’d like, why don’t you come to our mansion? We’ve prepared a feast fit for a royal palace.”
“A feast…”
For Ars, who had only eaten tasteless military rations recently, it was an attractive offer that was hard to refuse.
He was about to reflexively say he would go. Erina, seeing through this, was about to drive the point home, but.
“I’m sorry, but he has a prior engagement with me.” Estelle said firmly, pulling Ars towards her. “Ars, you promised to go for a walk with me.”
“Huh? No, I haven’t agreed yet…”
At this, Erina burst out. “What are you doing, suddenly interrupting while someone else is making an offer!”
“I was the one who first suggested a walk to Ars. You’re the one who suddenly interrupted.”
“Ugh…!?” Erina flinched upon seeing Estelle’s deep eyes. Then, as if understanding the situation, she smiled leisurely. “Hmm… So that’s how it is. I see now. If it’s a prior engagement, it can’t be helped. Ars, it’s fine if you go for a walk with that young lady first. Please visit the mansion afterward. It might be late at night, but… I don’t mind if you stay over for a day or so?”
“…”
“Hehe, what’s wrong, Miss Estelle?”
It seemed as if sparks were flying between their eyes as they faced each other. Unable to watch anymore, Yumir offers a compromise.
“Then how about Estelle also joins us for dinner at the mansion?”
It was an excellent compromise, but Erina firmly refuses.
“We can’t let just anyone into the mansion. Besides, if Estelle were to come along… The servants at the mansion might cause unnecessary commotion. I’m sorry, Estelle. You understand, don’t you?”
“I don’t want to go either. Don’t talk as if you’re doing me a favor.”
A suffocating atmosphere.
Ars, who had decided to refuse both, was trying to carefully choose his words when suddenly.
Neigh! The sound of a horse’s cry comes from in front of the inn. Eonia had brought the carriage. Ars seized this opportunity and shouted, “Come to think of it, I was planning to leave today! I don’t want to keep my companions waiting, so I’ll be going now!”
“Ah, Ars…!”
Ars leaves in a hurry.
Snap, clap! Erina fidgeted with her fan as if annoyed. Estelle also glares at Erina.
“Hmph, I have companions waiting for me too, so I’ll be going. I look forward to seeing you next time, Miss Estelle.”
“Likewise.”
Erina returns, leading the attendants who were waiting outside the inn.
Estelle stared at her figure for a long time before asking Yumir. “When you say Saleon… Do you mean the Saleon ducal family that’s said to rule this Grancel?”
“Yes. That lady is the granddaughter of Duke Saleon.”
“I see.”
Estelle turns and heads towards her room.
“Estelle, didn’t you say you wanted to go for a walk?”
“It’s fine. More importantly, let’s go back to Rainpol soon. I’ve come to really dislike this city.”
It might have been a desirable thing for her. After all, this encounter had raised her motivation to cure her illness to the highest level.
TL NOTE:
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Ars knows that the best tactic to deal with yanderes is to get away as fast as possible.
go boi save your life