What was an intelligence war? It seemed that the people who worked in this secretive area in Westland were never told an accurate depiction of this noun. But according to His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette's own understanding, an intelligence war was the fighting that revolved around intelligence.
As the ‘private' student of the Marshal of Imperial Guards, Marquis Robin Sparse, Oscar had some pride in himself, even just for a bit. This was because he could take advantage of the name of Marshal and search on all documents that were of highest confidentiality under the Imperial Army Division. The matter that got Oscar interested was not the defense mechanism and division of army force of each and every hierarchal country in the West. Instead, it was the investigation and depiction of the intelligence department in every country.
Titan's Secret Service Department, the oldest special agent organization in Westland, was formed at the beginning of Morisette's Empire. At that time, it was only a secretive police department that specifically dealt with anti-government nobles for the Emperor. Along with the four-hundred-year advancement, the Secret Service Department had already become the most efficient, highly confidential intelligence department with the quickest and cruelest actions in Westland.
It was probably unimaginable to people that ‘Etha' of West Percy Kingdom was used to be the terrorist organization that haunted the Persian. It was around the end of the division of Ancient Roman Empire that the Persians came to the land of West Percy by ships and began their two-hundred-year reign. ‘Etha' was the ethnic liberation organization that was most active and extreme in the land of West Percy during this period of time. The people who knew about this history knew the growth of ‘Etha' was accompanied by immeasurable bloodshed and terror. When the Persians had finally been chased back to the sea, ‘Etha', who had seen blood for too long found themselves left with no war to fight. In order to completely use ‘Etha' to its advantage, Holmes Dynasty of West Percy who had just reclaimed their political reign began to reorganize this terrorist organization. To this day, ‘Etha' had become a secret agent organization that made people shudder at the word of it. The methods ‘Etha' used to deal with their enemies and collect information made even the Secret Service Department shudder.
The secret intelligence department of Deiss Kingdom was simply called ‘DeKTer'. According to the rankings, DeKTer was definitely the top 3 of the intelligence force in Westland, but it only has a short history of slightly more than 100 years. It was the product of a sudden urge of the King of Deiss, but he valued this secret police department formed from the Ministry of Justice more and more afterward. Not only did the King of Deiss provided an independent right of justice to the investigators of DeKTer, but he also supported their activities with a huge amount of wealth. The effects of such support were apparent. DeKter's spies had once successfully infiltrated the Ollier Federation and assassinated the King of Ollier at that time.
Then what had the Farans done in the area of intelligence work? Even though there were no accurate physical records or real life evidence, at the Vanier Palace at the outskirts of Faran's capital Paris, the people always talked about secret armed forces that operated in that area. No one knew that they did, nor had anyone seen what they looked like. The people only knew that that was the station of Pluto Knights. In this way, the most secretive investigation force in Westland quietly hid in Vanier Palace. Their peers called that the ‘Aragon'. This was the name of the magic mirror that Pluto used to travel between parallel worlds in legends.
Fortunately, Oscar found that there were not many future enemies. It seemed that only the intelligence department in the Engels Kingdom that was surrounded by sea was not clear. The Engelish's intention to invade had been hidden perfectly well for four hundred years. During this time, they simply worked on the island until the West Percy's ship had successfully sailed across the Western Ocean and reached the farthest east side known to Westlanders. Even though it was still the ruling area of the Persians, the effect of this news was huge for the Engels Kingdom. At this moment, the secret force formed by the Department of National Ocean Measurement of Engels carried out thorough investigations of the manufacturing technique of West Percy's ship. Finally, on the 6th year after West Percy's ship successfully sailed to a long distance, Engel also built its own long-distance ships that utilized five sails and hanging rails. Thus, the secret agent department in Engels was reformed to become the Department of National Ocean Measurement. Their people on land loved to call them the ‘fur seal'. It was a kind of fierce carnivore that lived in a pack in the sea.
"Ola! It seems that... these guys have all had a glamorous war experience and long traditions." Oscar shook the secret documents in his hands.
"Hmph!" Marshal Robin shrugged. "I don't understand why you are so interested in these spy organizations."
Oscar thought about it for a while. He felt the need to talk to the old Marshal about his future.
"Sir Marshal, maybe... the battlefield I will involve in the future may just be this invisible area."
"You must be kidding. That is the matter of the Secret Service Department."
Oscar looked at the old Marshal with a little surprise. It seemed that this Marshal had truly been excluded from the decision-making group in the Army Division.
"Urgh... how should I say this?" Oscar touched his nose. He was talking to a Marshal. Maybe such things should not be said by him. "My teacher, I am afraid that you are not too clear about this. Do you know what other things Marshal Alan worked on except rearranging the army forces in the north and west?"
Marshal Robin shook his head. "The old guys sure had their own matter in mind. They won't report it to me anyway. How will I knew what Alan was doing?"
Oscar nodded. "Let me tell you, Sir! Marshal Alan is choosing smart strategy staff officers with excellent analytical skills and good background from the Guards."
"Strategy staff officers?" Marshal Robin asked in confusion. "Are you sure? You sure it is strategy staff officers?"
"I am absolutely sure. The Silverfox have already carried out this job secretly for two years. He has gathered a whole bunch of professionals from all areas. These people include geographical mapping specialists, war examples analysts, and military affairs observers and so on. Most of them were intelligence officers who had upheld the duty of diplomatic attaché in all countries in the West. No matter what, they are all military officers with superb abilities in the Guards!"
"Let me think! Let me think!" Marshal Robin waved his hands and stopped Oscar from speaking further. He believed that he would be able to come to a conclusion by his own analytical skills.
"Could it be that....Alan is planning to build up an intelligence unit in the Army Division?"
"As expected of my teacher!" Oscar nodded in excitement. "Alfa III His Majesty had already given silent permission to this matter five years ago. The preparation work of Military Intelligence Bureau began at that time."
Marshal Robin suddenly widened his eyes. "You entered this school at around that time, then you majored in intelligence war. After that, when you are about to graduate, the preparation work of the Military Intelligence Bureau is almost done. You...."
"Your guess is completely correct. My future lies in that place!"
Marshal Robin was stunned for a while. He suddenly shook his head. "I... I always thought that you will become an excellent military commander. Maybe.... Maybe you can think about joining the first-ranked army unit and train for a while. You are more suited to...."
"Teacher!" Oscar took hold of the old Marshal's skinny hands all of a sudden. "I understand how you feel. I will forever remember your teachings and motivation for me, but my future is planned by Alfa III His Majesty just like my wedding, my study, and my life. Dulin has not given me any other choice."
"Oh....." Marshal Robin held the young man's hand. The two years they had together was just like a glittering surface of the lake. It sent ripples quietly in the mind of the Marshal. Oscar was no longer the small and reckless Lieutenant General who just moved in here. He was growing without stopping! Marshal knew that he would even look at this kid with the eyes of a father. He knew that this guy had once imitated his way of acting and working, but this guy soon found the way that suited him. He began observing the objects and matters around him carefully. He began to treat all sorts of professional knowledge with care. The Marshal knew that this young Lieutenant General would be the future General and Marshal. Maybe one day he could enter the main Army Division. He could definitely do that! When he led the Guards onto the battlefield, all enemy would bow before him, trembling. The Marshal believed in this. He believed in his student! Or in other words, he believed in this son that lived with him every day.
"This.... Is this farewell? It is only the fourth month now!" The voice of the old Marshal was actually trembling slightly.
"Of course not!" Oscar replied with certainty. "I still have to have a few matches with you on the sand table! I will place the army force of sixty Divisions on the front. I will also place two Knights Army Groups each on the left wing and right wing. Hehehe! What do you plan to do?"
The old Marshal smiled a little. "Come you kid!" He walked towards the sand table first.
"It seems that your confidence is not completely lost!" Marshal Robin looked at Oscar with a mocking gaze. "Placing sixty Division on the front? That is one hundred eighty thousand people! To be honest, I have never heard about it before! It appears that you want to use a war strategy that had never been used before, but let me tell you this: Do you think you can win just by letting your sixty Division coming from the front? Such a simplistic guy."
The wide sand table was right in front of them. The excited Oscar took the flag that represented his team out. The old Marshal shook his head as he laughed. "Little guy, you have forgotten the most important question. The Guards had never fought in this army combination as you have arranged before."
Oscar shook his head as well. "No, Sir Marshal, they will! This is how the future battlefield will look like. I have imagined the scenario of the World War. Do you know that? According to my rough estimates, if the Western Kingdom Alliance utilizes all of their forces, they will at least utilize five hundred Divisions and that will be 1.5 million people. If Titan wants to win this war, then we will drastically change the army combination at the Division level, Corps level and Field Army level."
Even though the old Marshal did not say a word about this, but his smile gave a hint of relief.
"So...Look at this! This is the final battle that I have designed! To go against large Divisions, we must make three Corps as a base and form an infantry unit of thirty thousand people. I call this unit Column. And this....."
Oscar said as he took a small flag from the sand table. "This is my Column 1, Column 2, Column 3, Column 4, Column 5 and Column 6."
"Then where is your Knights Army Group?" The old Marshal finally asked.
"At the left wing is the private army forces of the local nobles. I checked Titan's Law. When the Empire is under an invasion, the nobles who had titles of Marquis and above can organize and form armed forces without receiving the authorization of the Emperor. But these individual armed forces must obey the orders of the leader of its military district. Hence I utilized this individual Knights Brigade to form a fore that holds down the enemy. This is my left wing! Its weakness will make it the target of the enemy. But my right wing is also Column 11! This is an attacking base formed by excellent knights. It will definitely win against the enemy's knights first."
"How are you so sure? There is nothing so definite on the battlefield as you said!"
Oscar shook his head as if it was a rattle drum. "My Marshal, you do not know of the true Army Group of Knights before! No one can stop the warriors chosen by God!"
"What you mean is...… Column 11 is made of Narcissus Knights?"
Oscar laughed sheepishly. This was his pride and his beliefs!
"That is correct! The warriors chosen by God will attack the enemy's knight's base from the right wing! A destructive assault! They will support the central battle once they have defeated their enemies. If my assumption is without error, they can rearrange themselves from the right side of the battlefield towards the center. Then, they will stop the central enemy force right in the middle. At this time, the enemy who is attacking the left wing will definitely go to support the central battlefield and my left wing will turn back and prevent them from doing so!"
Marshal Robin nodded! O God of Light! He actually nodded to this young man! This was the first time! It might as well be the last time!
As expected, Oscar was a little stunned as he stared at the old Marshal who kept nodding his head.
"Alright!" Marshal Robin finally begin to place his ‘army' on the sand table. "I have heard enough of your strategy! Let us discuss the problem involved while we fight! If the Western Kingdom Alliance is to place five hundred Divisions, then we can at least utilize two hundred Divisions to engage in war with you up front and that will be six hundred thousand people. You only have the poor two hundred and forty thousand people. Do you still have the confidence of winning this war?"
But just as the old Marshal was placing his army in place, he suddenly thought of a question.
"Little guy! Your Knights Army Group is the eleventh column. Your first to sixth Column are all at the central battlefield. Then.... Where is the rest of the columns? Don't tell me you don't have any. According to your arrangement, you must have a Column 7, Column 8, Column 9 and Column 10!"
Oscar rubbed his hands. "My dear Sir Marshal, your entire army forces are here. Then, for you to think of this question now, isn't it a little too late?"
The Prince pointed at the position of the central battlefield. "This! This is our expected battlefield. According to this geographical position, it is located on an empty land that is simply not more than two hundred kilometers from Don River."
"And here!" Oscar pointed yet again to another area on the sand table that was marked as light grey with a huge area. "This is the uninhabited Zorangash Wetlands that is full of swamps and slimes. I calculated the distance. My seventh to tenth columns will bring food sufficient for half a month and go across Zorangash. They will reach the back of the battlefield at the allocated time and place!"
Oscar looked at Marshal Robin who was half conscious and could not help but smiled. "Do not doubt that my four columns will miss the war opportunity. If this is the final battle, I will write a letter for every warrior to build up their absolute confidence to defend against foreign threats! Going across Zorangash is a death mission. This will be an unbelievable march. To prevent the enemy scouts from discovering our army, they can't even build fire and cook their meals during the last stage when they go through the wetlands. Since the scouts will be able to see smoke and fire from a far distance away, so they can only rely on dry food. Their members will decrease greatly due to sickness and exhaustion. But I believe that four of my columns will definitely appear at a certain time and a certain place as planned to join the fight! They will overcome the exhaustion that hit them along the way. They will use their highest spirit to kick the enemy's asses, then.... I will attain the final victory of this final battle! Even though your army forces is double of that of my army, but do not forget that I am involving in a defensive war. My soldiers and officers will definitely hold an absolute will to win whilst they joined the battle!"
"Wait! Wait! There is a deadly flaw. You do not even know what the lone army units are going to experience in Zorangash Wetlands! This is not the problem of will. If they can't reach in time...."
"I will fight until our last man! But do not forget that I have four columns right at the back of the enemy. When I lose, they won't! They will turn the tables over and began guerilla tactics! Burn the enemy's food storage down and cut off the supply route of the enemy! They will hold on until their country has begun a new round of attack!"
Marshal Robin was stunned for a moment. His gaze towards the young man was extremely complicated. But he suddenly left the sand table without turning back.
"It is lunch time!"
Oscar quickly went after him. "Hey! Old thing! You can't be scared, right? Come! I am not done yet."
"You stinking kid! I have seen a lot of kids who love to think nonsensical stuff! You should just drink mushroom soup obediently!"
"O God of Light! Mushroom soup again? Are you sure?"
"I am more than sure! I set the menu."
"O... la..... You are an abusive old man!"
"No! It's just that you like to be abused."
...
At the dining table, Marshal Robin who had stayed quiet all this while suddenly said. "Little Oscar, if you don't command a unit, this will be the greatest regret of the Imperial Guards."
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Regardless, the spring of Year 796 passed just like this.
The blazing hot summer made people less energetic from morning until night. Oscar was no exception. He just wanted to jump into the pond with the ducks that were gradually becoming fat as he watched them.
Rayshure had already been a father for half a year. His son was getting taller and sturdier. Thus, this father did not like Oslu at all because this little guy had already made his father sense a thick male aura. Rayshure always chased his son out of the stables. Little Oslu who already had some conscious thoughts could only follow his mother.
Maybe his wife was the reason, but Rayshure did not hate little Catya at all. He knew that his daughter loved to be with him. The father would share fresh grass with her. Sometimes, this father would even teach his daughter to apply force with her hooves. Of course, this sort of force applying only applied in situations like dealing with enemies.
The people were not worried about little Oslu. His mother cared for him a lot. When he was chased all around the place by his egoistic father, Esmeralda would always come in time and kick her husband. Even though Rayshure was not particularly pleased with this, but he did not like to fight with his wife. Moreover, he did not think that he did anything wrong. This was how his own father treated him as well. Thinking about it now, if it wasn't for the training by his father, it was possible that Rayshure would not have his build and strength now. Therefore, males must grow up in a destructive environment. If it was not this way, he would lose his way. If there was a day that this child would take over his place, Rayshure hoped that the small Master of Andrew would be satisfied with him.
Rayshure was a father. In the end, he still gave his blessings to his own son.
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The War History Theory class of the 39th batch was still the same as usual, though the most intense learning phase had passed. Just like every university, everyone was a little out of things to do during their graduation year. Even so, life still went on. Even though these middle-ranked military officers were not too rich, they still had quite a sum of money to spend. Therefore, the farewell party with all sorts of themes began from the end of the third month. This was because that there was a huge portion of people that could not make it in time for graduation especially the military officers who came from the north Army Group. Deiss had already placed more than forty Divisions at its border in these two years. Titan's six military districts in the north had already been readied for battles for a year. The northern military officers of the 39th batch of war history class had the possibility of being called back to the army at any time. So, they did not care about alcohol poisoning. Maybe.... This was their last chance to play around with their cute classmates.
He couldn't remember the time, but when Oscar introduced Princess Catalina of West Percy to his fiancé, the two Princesses had a really nice chat. But Oscar knew they were simply talking about some trivial matter. This was already good enough. According to news, when she attended to the Princess of Faran, the wife of First Prince Lobble Alfa Morisette, Alanis once put a needle in the seat of her sister-in-law.
Oscar asked about this matter to the Princess. Alanis first told him that it was all unreliable words of the reporter, but she truly could not stand the exhausting barrage of questions from the Prince. At last, she finally admitted it. She only wanted to see if that pretentious Princess would scream as she held her ass at the imperial dining hall and curse loudly in Faran language!
In the end? Alanis admitted that that Princess was an absolutely boring person! She held on until the dinner was finished and then she did not leave her bed for half a month.
Oscar's eyes popped. "Did anything happen between you and Faran?"
Alanis said. "That is right! The Farans made me an embarrassment numerous times during my visit. Now, do you know how you could get away from that matter with the Faran Prince?"
"Why?"
Alanis suddenly took hold of her fiancé's ears. "Slowpoke! It's because I cried non-stop at the Imperial Mausoleum to our ancestors!"
"Ola! You are truly my dearest!" Oscar said as he kissed the Princess with a twisted expression.
Then... How did Catalina show her friendliness to Oscar? To be honest, this Princess did not use much thought on it. She simply showed herself as it is. Sometimes, she was kind; sometimes she was arrogant; sometimes pitiful yet sometimes generous. Even though Oscar though Catalina was acting a lot when she conversed with him, this young man who was used to being surrounded by noble, beautiful women truly could not stand this girl.
But Oscar would not be head over heels for her. He still had a cautious attitude towards Catalina, but Catalina was, to be fair, rather young. In order to gain the trust of the little Prince as soon as possible, she actually talked to him about the organization and working situation of Etha. This truly surprised Oscar a lot! He contacted the Secret Service Department and received confirmation from the Secret Service. Catalina was speaking the truth! Even though the Prince had his doubt on the intelligence of this Princess, he still tried to accept her because.... It was not such a bad thing to have a beautiful person always appearing by your side. Moreover, he could receive many news and information about Etha and West Percy Kingdom from this beautiful lady. If this was the case... why not?
More or less, Oscar was feeling a little bit too contented. First of all, Catalina was extremely happy about his change. Second of all, the information given to Oscar was all filtered and chosen by the local person-in-charge of Etha at the Titan area. That was to say that those things were simply used to strengthen the place of Catalina in the heart of Titan's Prince. This did not do any damage to West Percy Kingdom at all.
To be fair... socializing was simply this way. People were calculative against each other, calculating how much they had lost. When they thought that everything was still acceptable, they became friends. When they felt like they were giving more than they were receiving, everything would finish following that. There might truly be friendship involved, but friendship did not have much of an advantage being one of the components of socializing.
There was yet another notable thing that happened in the first half of Year 796 in Church's Calendar. The King of Sins Doramy Basinger contracted very serious cholecystitis. His aging rate was terrifying. His imprisoned life at Damorga had completely destroyed his health. On top of that, he had a few unrestrained years at Lobb Oscar Hotel. The people beside him had advised him against it, and even Oscar had continuously scolded him for a while, but this old man with a foot already in his coffin did not even care. He still did it his way. Look at his condition now! Doramy Basinger would never know the taste of smoke, wine, and women ever again. To save his old friend's life, Poison Doctor Percy completely isolated him from others, but those who knew this ultimate criminal all knew that this old man did now want to live any longer. He had always been searching for a way out.
For some reasons, Miss Aeolia who was always straightforward with the prisoners from Damorga always visited the King of Sins. After Oscar asked about the reasons, he only knew that the old Duke Cara Siva had mentioned the many times that he had received selfless help before from the King of Sins in Damorga.
"About this..... Doramy actually did something good!"
Aeolia nodded. "But.... Most of the time, people don't know if what they did was a good thing or a bad thing!"
"Regardless it's good or bad, I can see that..... You have something weighing on your mind!" Oscar stared at Aya's eyes without looking away.
The Countess avoided him. "No, you are too sensitive!"
Oscar shrugged. "Aeolia, you! This is the part of you that I don't like. You hide everything in your heart. If I don't force you, you will never share it with others. Maybe I was wrong. I should say that.... Even if I force you, you won't say it!"
Aeolia suddenly smiled. "Your Highness, the thing on my mind is always work-related. Do you want me to share all sorts of information and data in the Military Investigation Bureau with others? Please do not worry about me. All that in my mind is work-related. Nobody can help me with that."
"In the future, you have a candidate available for you to discuss data analysis," Oscar said with certainty.
"Who?"
"Me!"
"You?"
"That's right!" The Prince nodded, then he chased the Countess who was extremely confused away.
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Since a while ago, reading letters from home had been one of Oscar's favorite things to do. The messenger from Narcissus was punctual every time. In his four years and a half year in the University Town, Oscar already received more than a hundred letters from home. No one knew what this Prince thought. After he burnt every letter that involved sensitive problems, the rest of them were hidden under the Polar Bear Sofa.
Then.... Quickly get it open! Oscar used a pocket knife and carefully ticked open the melted wax in the shape of his family crest. Then, he treated the letter inside as if it was his first-born child. It was his father's handwriting. He could recognize it at one glance.
"Dear son, my dear Oscar!"
"Is everything alright? Is Sasha well? Oh! I almost forgot. Sasha has a similar letter as well. I hope both of you will exchange the letters and have a look! Have a look at both of them!"
"Your mothers are alright. They missed you and Sasha so much. But they have nothing much to do every day. It appears that there is nothing much to do except thinking about both of you. So, you and Sasha should understand your mothers' feelings and write more to them. They need this more than anyone else."
"The situation of the Knights are generally well. I read your last letter numerous times and also let a few long-winning generals have a look at it. They are all impressed with your war strategy especially Figg. He has the most positive review for you. I know you kid, you must be snickering when you read this part, but listen carefully to me. War is not as easy as a script on blank paper. Nor it is as easy as imagining on the sand table. War is a long and difficult period to overcome. To overcome others or to be overcome. It all boils down to your one strategy."
"So son, do not just think about it on the sand table. Do not just write it down on a blank paper. After your graduation, bring Red Tiger around. Look more at the borders. Take a close look at the topography of the places you went. Experience the life and battle of the warriors. This is the correct way to become a qualified military general."
"Alright, son! I know you must have a sour face now, but I am not scolding you. I am simply giving you suggestions. You have grown up. Even though you are ten thousand miles away from me, I am still glad to see this growth."
"Speaking of the Knights. My cute little knights. Haha! They are still the same as usual. They rush here and there without resting all the time. But worry not, the Persians at the borders are no longer organizing large-scaled attacks! The knights at home are simply gathering the fugitives that secretly enter through the borders. Have I mentioned it? The inner war of the Persians has continued for 3 years now. There seems to be a trend escalating. The military is very busy. The people in the family hates those Persians. If we don't gather the fugitives who ran away from there, they will probably be pinned to a cross by us people of Narcissus. Oh god! This was the first time the instructions of the family was ignored. The people have already gotten used to it. Even if they are Persian fugitives without any weapon, they still have to be killed."
"Alright! Don't think that the family is about to win! Because I am about to say something devastating. Your Uncle Menda died in battle. It was terrifying! When I participated in his funeral, I could still see the blood on his armor. That armor was the most loved object of Menda. His last request is to wear it to meet God of Light even though it is already so old! I used my shirts to wipe the blood stains, but it was still not clean. The relatives at the funeral all cried, but I didn't. I only tried harder to wipe it clean. But damn it! Until Menda was buried, I still wasn't able to wipe it clean. I let my last cousin see the God with dirt! At last, I cried, but no one saw!"
"That's about it. I can't say any more! But don't tell anyone about me crying for Menda. If I heard someone talking about this, I will come to you and beat you up! Alright, my dear son. Do your best in your studies! Don't feel lost and feared. Just go forward!"
"Finally, I give you my blessings and kisses!"
"Oh, one more thing! I almost forgot! Send my regards to Marshal Robin. He is a respectable senior. You ungrateful kid should respect him. He is helping me to teach my son! That's all!"
"Your father, Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel. Night. Church Calendar Year 796 fourth day of the fifth month. Andrew Haila's base camp."
Oscar rubbed his eyes. It had a stinging sensation. He carefully closed his letter and lightly gave it a kiss. When he was about to keep the letter, he hesitated. Father mentioned some arrangement of the Narcissus Knight. It seemed that.... He could not keep this letter. Oscar lighted a cigar. When he brought the red bright cigar end near the letter, he hesitated. Maybe...Maybe keeping it would not be that much of a problem! No one would dare to touch his Polar Bear Sofa except for Sasha!
But... But... It was best not to cause trouble! The young man sighed. At last, he shook his head as he burnt the letter.
"O God of Light!" Oscar could not help but jumped as he looked at the ashes on the floor. "Father said to exchange it with Sasha! This is bad! How could I forgot about this?"
The young man blamed himself for a whole summer until he received the third letter from home. Ola! It was good that his father forgave his carelessness, but Dortmund still scolded Oscar badly. Oscar simply scratched his head. He was already used to the harsh words of his old man. To get back at his strict father, Oscar told Sasha secretly about the crying event, but Sasha did not mind about it that much.
The little miss perked her mouth and said. "Don't you know? I heard from Mam Celia that father cried even worse when your mother passed away! Even though father locked himself in his room, everyone in the mansion still heard it!"
Oscar was silent for a bit. He did not say anything and let little miss leave him just the way he chased Aeolia away.
"Maybe I really don't understand him!" Oscar said as he kept his third letter from home this year. He appeared to be rather happy because he could keep this letter.
Time passed until the ninth month of Year 796. Oscar began to sort out the messy things lying around at Marshal Robin's mansion. The old man avoided it. Oscar was feeling really melancholy as well. But it was indeed the time for him to leave this place.
"Aren't you asleep?" Marshal Robin who just returned home looked at the young man who sat at the corridor strangely.
"We didn't even fight. Why are you always avoiding me?" Oscar pulled a seat for the Marshal.
The old man turned his head away, troubled. "Enough! Don't say it as if I have that sort of interest!"
Oscar laughed. "Alright! The old man who is afraid of loneliness, come and sit here with me. I am not leaving yet!"
Marshal Robin let out a ‘hmph' sound. He did not refute this time. He simply sat there in silence. Towards this child, he had too much hope for him. He did not want this child to leave.
Oscar poured a full glass of Authentic Rum that had a pleasant smell. The depressed moments were sumptuous ones. Oscar believed in this statement.
"In the future..... What do you have in mind?" The old Marshal finally spoke. He stared at the lone lamp at the ceiling as if he had something on his mind.
"I received confirmation that the formal establishment of the Military Intelligence Bureau still needs a while. Maybe there won't be any news even next year. So I will follow the will of my father and ask for the duty of inspector from Alfa III His Majesty. This way I will travel to the few borders and dangerous forts."
"Yep! Your father's opinion is correct. You, young man, should go out and see the world. The important borders of the Empire are mainly focused at the Don River area and the forest border area at the north. Due to the differences in area and enemies guarded against, the military districts at the river and the north have completely different battle methods. You will learn a lot from this."
Marshal Robin took the wine glass, but he immediately put it down. "My child, where do you plan to go first?"
Oscar's eyes were a little red. His tear glands were broken. Usually, it used clear water to moisturize his eyes. He did not if it was a thing to be relieved about because he need not worry about that he would cry in front of people.
"I.....I planned..... first, go to the north, then change my route towards the land of Steinberger Family in the northwest. Then.... Oh, I am sorry.... My eyes are blurred!"
This was the first time Marshal Robin called this child so clearly. Even though two years were not a very long time, but an old man and a young man had gained an emotional bond with each other during this period.
"Are you alright? You are trembling!" The Marshal held little Oscar's shoulder.
"I am alright! You..... Do you still want to hear it?"
"Of course!" The old Marshal nodded. "You still haven't explained about your choice of route. I thought you will first travel to the Don River area that has the weakest defense in the Empire."
"Ola! It was because I promised Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi that I will visit him once I graduated. His family land is in the north, so I chose this route."
"Oh...." The old Marshal gave a long sigh. "The north..... It is not peaceful there."
"Please rest assured. I will be fine!"
Towards the reassurance given by the child, the old Marshal simply nodded lightly. The two people fell into absolute silence. None of them were talking. They were simply drinking their wine.
For Oscar, his university life was about to end. Bidding farewell to the respectable Marshal Robin was exceptionally difficult.
For the old Marshal, he was relieved. The child had finally grown up. He could spread his wings and fly! But..... The Marshal was a little lost. What if this child met with bad weather like strong wind and snow? What if he met the wolf packs? Were his wings fully grown?
He should stop thinking about it. He should give his blessings to this young man called O'Neil Andrew Morisette! His journey had finally begun. His life had finally won the most brilliant dawn.
What was an intelligence war? It seemed that the people who worked in this secretive area in Westland were never told an accurate depiction of this noun. But according to His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette's own understanding, an intelligence war was the fighting that revolved around intelligence.
As the ‘private' student of the Marshal of Imperial Guards, Marquis Robin Sparse, Oscar had some pride in himself, even just for a bit. This was because he could take advantage of the name of Marshal and search on all documents that were of highest confidentiality under the Imperial Army Division. The matter that got Oscar interested was not the defense mechanism and division of army force of each and every hierarchal country in the West. Instead, it was the investigation and depiction of the intelligence department in every country.
Titan's Secret Service Department, the oldest special agent organization in Westland, was formed at the beginning of Morisette's Empire. At that time, it was only a secretive police department that specifically dealt with anti-government nobles for the Emperor. Along with the four-hundred-year advancement, the Secret Service Department had already become the most efficient, highly confidential intelligence department with the quickest and cruelest actions in Westland.
It was probably unimaginable to people that ‘Etha' of West Percy Kingdom was used to be the terrorist organization that haunted the Persian. It was around the end of the division of Ancient Roman Empire that the Persians came to the land of West Percy by ships and began their two-hundred-year reign. ‘Etha' was the ethnic liberation organization that was most active and extreme in the land of West Percy during this period of time. The people who knew about this history knew the growth of ‘Etha' was accompanied by immeasurable bloodshed and terror. When the Persians had finally been chased back to the sea, ‘Etha', who had seen blood for too long found themselves left with no war to fight. In order to completely use ‘Etha' to its advantage, Holmes Dynasty of West Percy who had just reclaimed their political reign began to reorganize this terrorist organization. To this day, ‘Etha' had become a secret agent organization that made people shudder at the word of it. The methods ‘Etha' used to deal with their enemies and collect information made even the Secret Service Department shudder.
The secret intelligence department of Deiss Kingdom was simply called ‘DeKTer'. According to the rankings, DeKTer was definitely the top 3 of the intelligence force in Westland, but it only has a short history of slightly more than 100 years. It was the product of a sudden urge of the King of Deiss, but he valued this secret police department formed from the Ministry of Justice more and more afterward. Not only did the King of Deiss provided an independent right of justice to the investigators of DeKTer, but he also supported their activities with a huge amount of wealth. The effects of such support were apparent. DeKter's spies had once successfully infiltrated the Ollier Federation and assassinated the King of Ollier at that time.
Then what had the Farans done in the area of intelligence work? Even though there were no accurate physical records or real life evidence, at the Vanier Palace at the outskirts of Faran's capital Paris, the people always talked about secret armed forces that operated in that area. No one knew that they did, nor had anyone seen what they looked like. The people only knew that that was the station of Pluto Knights. In this way, the most secretive investigation force in Westland quietly hid in Vanier Palace. Their peers called that the ‘Aragon'. This was the name of the magic mirror that Pluto used to travel between parallel worlds in legends.
Fortunately, Oscar found that there were not many future enemies. It seemed that only the intelligence department in the Engels Kingdom that was surrounded by sea was not clear. The Engelish's intention to invade had been hidden perfectly well for four hundred years. During this time, they simply worked on the island until the West Percy's ship had successfully sailed across the Western Ocean and reached the farthest east side known to Westlanders. Even though it was still the ruling area of the Persians, the effect of this news was huge for the Engels Kingdom. At this moment, the secret force formed by the Department of National Ocean Measurement of Engels carried out thorough investigations of the manufacturing technique of West Percy's ship. Finally, on the 6th year after West Percy's ship successfully sailed to a long distance, Engel also built its own long-distance ships that utilized five sails and hanging rails. Thus, the secret agent department in Engels was reformed to become the Department of National Ocean Measurement. Their people on land loved to call them the ‘fur seal'. It was a kind of fierce carnivore that lived in a pack in the sea.
"Ola! It seems that... these guys have all had a glamorous war experience and long traditions." Oscar shook the secret documents in his hands.
"Hmph!" Marshal Robin shrugged. "I don't understand why you are so interested in these spy organizations."
Oscar thought about it for a while. He felt the need to talk to the old Marshal about his future.
"Sir Marshal, maybe... the battlefield I will involve in the future may just be this invisible area."
"You must be kidding. That is the matter of the Secret Service Department."
Oscar looked at the old Marshal with a little surprise. It seemed that this Marshal had truly been excluded from the decision-making group in the Army Division.
"Urgh... how should I say this?" Oscar touched his nose. He was talking to a Marshal. Maybe such things should not be said by him. "My teacher, I am afraid that you are not too clear about this. Do you know what other things Marshal Alan worked on except rearranging the army forces in the north and west?"
Marshal Robin shook his head. "The old guys sure had their own matter in mind. They won't report it to me anyway. How will I knew what Alan was doing?"
Oscar nodded. "Let me tell you, Sir! Marshal Alan is choosing smart strategy staff officers with excellent analytical skills and good background from the Guards."
"Strategy staff officers?" Marshal Robin asked in confusion. "Are you sure? You sure it is strategy staff officers?"
"I am absolutely sure. The Silverfox have already carried out this job secretly for two years. He has gathered a whole bunch of professionals from all areas. These people include geographical mapping specialists, war examples analysts, and military affairs observers and so on. Most of them were intelligence officers who had upheld the duty of diplomatic attaché in all countries in the West. No matter what, they are all military officers with superb abilities in the Guards!"
"Let me think! Let me think!" Marshal Robin waved his hands and stopped Oscar from speaking further. He believed that he would be able to come to a conclusion by his own analytical skills.
"Could it be that....Alan is planning to build up an intelligence unit in the Army Division?"
"As expected of my teacher!" Oscar nodded in excitement. "Alfa III His Majesty had already given silent permission to this matter five years ago. The preparation work of Military Intelligence Bureau began at that time."
Marshal Robin suddenly widened his eyes. "You entered this school at around that time, then you majored in intelligence war. After that, when you are about to graduate, the preparation work of the Military Intelligence Bureau is almost done. You...."
"Your guess is completely correct. My future lies in that place!"
Marshal Robin was stunned for a while. He suddenly shook his head. "I... I always thought that you will become an excellent military commander. Maybe.... Maybe you can think about joining the first-ranked army unit and train for a while. You are more suited to...."
"Teacher!" Oscar took hold of the old Marshal's skinny hands all of a sudden. "I understand how you feel. I will forever remember your teachings and motivation for me, but my future is planned by Alfa III His Majesty just like my wedding, my study, and my life. Dulin has not given me any other choice."
"Oh....." Marshal Robin held the young man's hand. The two years they had together was just like a glittering surface of the lake. It sent ripples quietly in the mind of the Marshal. Oscar was no longer the small and reckless Lieutenant General who just moved in here. He was growing without stopping! Marshal knew that he would even look at this kid with the eyes of a father. He knew that this guy had once imitated his way of acting and working, but this guy soon found the way that suited him. He began observing the objects and matters around him carefully. He began to treat all sorts of professional knowledge with care. The Marshal knew that this young Lieutenant General would be the future General and Marshal. Maybe one day he could enter the main Army Division. He could definitely do that! When he led the Guards onto the battlefield, all enemy would bow before him, trembling. The Marshal believed in this. He believed in his student! Or in other words, he believed in this son that lived with him every day.
"This.... Is this farewell? It is only the fourth month now!" The voice of the old Marshal was actually trembling slightly.
"Of course not!" Oscar replied with certainty. "I still have to have a few matches with you on the sand table! I will place the army force of sixty Divisions on the front. I will also place two Knights Army Groups each on the left wing and right wing. Hehehe! What do you plan to do?"
The old Marshal smiled a little. "Come you kid!" He walked towards the sand table first.
"It seems that your confidence is not completely lost!" Marshal Robin looked at Oscar with a mocking gaze. "Placing sixty Division on the front? That is one hundred eighty thousand people! To be honest, I have never heard about it before! It appears that you want to use a war strategy that had never been used before, but let me tell you this: Do you think you can win just by letting your sixty Division coming from the front? Such a simplistic guy."
The wide sand table was right in front of them. The excited Oscar took the flag that represented his team out. The old Marshal shook his head as he laughed. "Little guy, you have forgotten the most important question. The Guards had never fought in this army combination as you have arranged before."
Oscar shook his head as well. "No, Sir Marshal, they will! This is how the future battlefield will look like. I have imagined the scenario of the World War. Do you know that? According to my rough estimates, if the Western Kingdom Alliance utilizes all of their forces, they will at least utilize five hundred Divisions and that will be 1.5 million people. If Titan wants to win this war, then we will drastically change the army combination at the Division level, Corps level and Field Army level."
Even though the old Marshal did not say a word about this, but his smile gave a hint of relief.
"So...Look at this! This is the final battle that I have designed! To go against large Divisions, we must make three Corps as a base and form an infantry unit of thirty thousand people. I call this unit Column. And this....."
Oscar said as he took a small flag from the sand table. "This is my Column 1, Column 2, Column 3, Column 4, Column 5 and Column 6."
"Then where is your Knights Army Group?" The old Marshal finally asked.
"At the left wing is the private army forces of the local nobles. I checked Titan's Law. When the Empire is under an invasion, the nobles who had titles of Marquis and above can organize and form armed forces without receiving the authorization of the Emperor. But these individual armed forces must obey the orders of the leader of its military district. Hence I utilized this individual Knights Brigade to form a fore that holds down the enemy. This is my left wing! Its weakness will make it the target of the enemy. But my right wing is also Column 11! This is an attacking base formed by excellent knights. It will definitely win against the enemy's knights first."
"How are you so sure? There is nothing so definite on the battlefield as you said!"
Oscar shook his head as if it was a rattle drum. "My Marshal, you do not know of the true Army Group of Knights before! No one can stop the warriors chosen by God!"
"What you mean is...… Column 11 is made of Narcissus Knights?"
Oscar laughed sheepishly. This was his pride and his beliefs!
"That is correct! The warriors chosen by God will attack the enemy's knight's base from the right wing! A destructive assault! They will support the central battle once they have defeated their enemies. If my assumption is without error, they can rearrange themselves from the right side of the battlefield towards the center. Then, they will stop the central enemy force right in the middle. At this time, the enemy who is attacking the left wing will definitely go to support the central battlefield and my left wing will turn back and prevent them from doing so!"
Marshal Robin nodded! O God of Light! He actually nodded to this young man! This was the first time! It might as well be the last time!
As expected, Oscar was a little stunned as he stared at the old Marshal who kept nodding his head.
"Alright!" Marshal Robin finally begin to place his ‘army' on the sand table. "I have heard enough of your strategy! Let us discuss the problem involved while we fight! If the Western Kingdom Alliance is to place five hundred Divisions, then we can at least utilize two hundred Divisions to engage in war with you up front and that will be six hundred thousand people. You only have the poor two hundred and forty thousand people. Do you still have the confidence of winning this war?"
But just as the old Marshal was placing his army in place, he suddenly thought of a question.
"Little guy! Your Knights Army Group is the eleventh column. Your first to sixth Column are all at the central battlefield. Then.... Where is the rest of the columns? Don't tell me you don't have any. According to your arrangement, you must have a Column 7, Column 8, Column 9 and Column 10!"
Oscar rubbed his hands. "My dear Sir Marshal, your entire army forces are here. Then, for you to think of this question now, isn't it a little too late?"
The Prince pointed at the position of the central battlefield. "This! This is our expected battlefield. According to this geographical position, it is located on an empty land that is simply not more than two hundred kilometers from Don River."
"And here!" Oscar pointed yet again to another area on the sand table that was marked as light grey with a huge area. "This is the uninhabited Zorangash Wetlands that is full of swamps and slimes. I calculated the distance. My seventh to tenth columns will bring food sufficient for half a month and go across Zorangash. They will reach the back of the battlefield at the allocated time and place!"
Oscar looked at Marshal Robin who was half conscious and could not help but smiled. "Do not doubt that my four columns will miss the war opportunity. If this is the final battle, I will write a letter for every warrior to build up their absolute confidence to defend against foreign threats! Going across Zorangash is a death mission. This will be an unbelievable march. To prevent the enemy scouts from discovering our army, they can't even build fire and cook their meals during the last stage when they go through the wetlands. Since the scouts will be able to see smoke and fire from a far distance away, so they can only rely on dry food. Their members will decrease greatly due to sickness and exhaustion. But I believe that four of my columns will definitely appear at a certain time and a certain place as planned to join the fight! They will overcome the exhaustion that hit them along the way. They will use their highest spirit to kick the enemy's asses, then.... I will attain the final victory of this final battle! Even though your army forces is double of that of my army, but do not forget that I am involving in a defensive war. My soldiers and officers will definitely hold an absolute will to win whilst they joined the battle!"
"Wait! Wait! There is a deadly flaw. You do not even know what the lone army units are going to experience in Zorangash Wetlands! This is not the problem of will. If they can't reach in time...."
"I will fight until our last man! But do not forget that I have four columns right at the back of the enemy. When I lose, they won't! They will turn the tables over and began guerilla tactics! Burn the enemy's food storage down and cut off the supply route of the enemy! They will hold on until their country has begun a new round of attack!"
Marshal Robin was stunned for a moment. His gaze towards the young man was extremely complicated. But he suddenly left the sand table without turning back.
"It is lunch time!"
Oscar quickly went after him. "Hey! Old thing! You can't be scared, right? Come! I am not done yet."
"You stinking kid! I have seen a lot of kids who love to think nonsensical stuff! You should just drink mushroom soup obediently!"
"O God of Light! Mushroom soup again? Are you sure?"
"I am more than sure! I set the menu."
"O... la..... You are an abusive old man!"
"No! It's just that you like to be abused."
...
At the dining table, Marshal Robin who had stayed quiet all this while suddenly said. "Little Oscar, if you don't command a unit, this will be the greatest regret of the Imperial Guards."
******************************************************
Regardless, the spring of Year 796 passed just like this.
The blazing hot summer made people less energetic from morning until night. Oscar was no exception. He just wanted to jump into the pond with the ducks that were gradually becoming fat as he watched them.
Rayshure had already been a father for half a year. His son was getting taller and sturdier. Thus, this father did not like Oslu at all because this little guy had already made his father sense a thick male aura. Rayshure always chased his son out of the stables. Little Oslu who already had some conscious thoughts could only follow his mother.
Maybe his wife was the reason, but Rayshure did not hate little Catya at all. He knew that his daughter loved to be with him. The father would share fresh grass with her. Sometimes, this father would even teach his daughter to apply force with her hooves. Of course, this sort of force applying only applied in situations like dealing with enemies.
The people were not worried about little Oslu. His mother cared for him a lot. When he was chased all around the place by his egoistic father, Esmeralda would always come in time and kick her husband. Even though Rayshure was not particularly pleased with this, but he did not like to fight with his wife. Moreover, he did not think that he did anything wrong. This was how his own father treated him as well. Thinking about it now, if it wasn't for the training by his father, it was possible that Rayshure would not have his build and strength now. Therefore, males must grow up in a destructive environment. If it was not this way, he would lose his way. If there was a day that this child would take over his place, Rayshure hoped that the small Master of Andrew would be satisfied with him.
Rayshure was a father. In the end, he still gave his blessings to his own son.
******************************************************
The War History Theory class of the 39th batch was still the same as usual, though the most intense learning phase had passed. Just like every university, everyone was a little out of things to do during their graduation year. Even so, life still went on. Even though these middle-ranked military officers were not too rich, they still had quite a sum of money to spend. Therefore, the farewell party with all sorts of themes began from the end of the third month. This was because that there was a huge portion of people that could not make it in time for graduation especially the military officers who came from the north Army Group. Deiss had already placed more than forty Divisions at its border in these two years. Titan's six military districts in the north had already been readied for battles for a year. The northern military officers of the 39th batch of war history class had the possibility of being called back to the army at any time. So, they did not care about alcohol poisoning. Maybe.... This was their last chance to play around with their cute classmates.
He couldn't remember the time, but when Oscar introduced Princess Catalina of West Percy to his fiancé, the two Princesses had a really nice chat. But Oscar knew they were simply talking about some trivial matter. This was already good enough. According to news, when she attended to the Princess of Faran, the wife of First Prince Lobble Alfa Morisette, Alanis once put a needle in the seat of her sister-in-law.
Oscar asked about this matter to the Princess. Alanis first told him that it was all unreliable words of the reporter, but she truly could not stand the exhausting barrage of questions from the Prince. At last, she finally admitted it. She only wanted to see if that pretentious Princess would scream as she held her ass at the imperial dining hall and curse loudly in Faran language!
In the end? Alanis admitted that that Princess was an absolutely boring person! She held on until the dinner was finished and then she did not leave her bed for half a month.
Oscar's eyes popped. "Did anything happen between you and Faran?"
Alanis said. "That is right! The Farans made me an embarrassment numerous times during my visit. Now, do you know how you could get away from that matter with the Faran Prince?"
"Why?"
Alanis suddenly took hold of her fiancé's ears. "Slowpoke! It's because I cried non-stop at the Imperial Mausoleum to our ancestors!"
"Ola! You are truly my dearest!" Oscar said as he kissed the Princess with a twisted expression.
Then... How did Catalina show her friendliness to Oscar? To be honest, this Princess did not use much thought on it. She simply showed herself as it is. Sometimes, she was kind; sometimes she was arrogant; sometimes pitiful yet sometimes generous. Even though Oscar though Catalina was acting a lot when she conversed with him, this young man who was used to being surrounded by noble, beautiful women truly could not stand this girl.
But Oscar would not be head over heels for her. He still had a cautious attitude towards Catalina, but Catalina was, to be fair, rather young. In order to gain the trust of the little Prince as soon as possible, she actually talked to him about the organization and working situation of Etha. This truly surprised Oscar a lot! He contacted the Secret Service Department and received confirmation from the Secret Service. Catalina was speaking the truth! Even though the Prince had his doubt on the intelligence of this Princess, he still tried to accept her because.... It was not such a bad thing to have a beautiful person always appearing by your side. Moreover, he could receive many news and information about Etha and West Percy Kingdom from this beautiful lady. If this was the case... why not?
More or less, Oscar was feeling a little bit too contented. First of all, Catalina was extremely happy about his change. Second of all, the information given to Oscar was all filtered and chosen by the local person-in-charge of Etha at the Titan area. That was to say that those things were simply used to strengthen the place of Catalina in the heart of Titan's Prince. This did not do any damage to West Percy Kingdom at all.
To be fair... socializing was simply this way. People were calculative against each other, calculating how much they had lost. When they thought that everything was still acceptable, they became friends. When they felt like they were giving more than they were receiving, everything would finish following that. There might truly be friendship involved, but friendship did not have much of an advantage being one of the components of socializing.
There was yet another notable thing that happened in the first half of Year 796 in Church's Calendar. The King of Sins Doramy Basinger contracted very serious cholecystitis. His aging rate was terrifying. His imprisoned life at Damorga had completely destroyed his health. On top of that, he had a few unrestrained years at Lobb Oscar Hotel. The people beside him had advised him against it, and even Oscar had continuously scolded him for a while, but this old man with a foot already in his coffin did not even care. He still did it his way. Look at his condition now! Doramy Basinger would never know the taste of smoke, wine, and women ever again. To save his old friend's life, Poison Doctor Percy completely isolated him from others, but those who knew this ultimate criminal all knew that this old man did now want to live any longer. He had always been searching for a way out.
For some reasons, Miss Aeolia who was always straightforward with the prisoners from Damorga always visited the King of Sins. After Oscar asked about the reasons, he only knew that the old Duke Cara Siva had mentioned the many times that he had received selfless help before from the King of Sins in Damorga.
"About this..... Doramy actually did something good!"
Aeolia nodded. "But.... Most of the time, people don't know if what they did was a good thing or a bad thing!"
"Regardless it's good or bad, I can see that..... You have something weighing on your mind!" Oscar stared at Aya's eyes without looking away.
The Countess avoided him. "No, you are too sensitive!"
Oscar shrugged. "Aeolia, you! This is the part of you that I don't like. You hide everything in your heart. If I don't force you, you will never share it with others. Maybe I was wrong. I should say that.... Even if I force you, you won't say it!"
Aeolia suddenly smiled. "Your Highness, the thing on my mind is always work-related. Do you want me to share all sorts of information and data in the Military Investigation Bureau with others? Please do not worry about me. All that in my mind is work-related. Nobody can help me with that."
"In the future, you have a candidate available for you to discuss data analysis," Oscar said with certainty.
"Who?"
"Me!"
"You?"
"That's right!" The Prince nodded, then he chased the Countess who was extremely confused away.
******************************************************
Since a while ago, reading letters from home had been one of Oscar's favorite things to do. The messenger from Narcissus was punctual every time. In his four years and a half year in the University Town, Oscar already received more than a hundred letters from home. No one knew what this Prince thought. After he burnt every letter that involved sensitive problems, the rest of them were hidden under the Polar Bear Sofa.
Then.... Quickly get it open! Oscar used a pocket knife and carefully ticked open the melted wax in the shape of his family crest. Then, he treated the letter inside as if it was his first-born child. It was his father's handwriting. He could recognize it at one glance.
"Dear son, my dear Oscar!"
"Is everything alright? Is Sasha well? Oh! I almost forgot. Sasha has a similar letter as well. I hope both of you will exchange the letters and have a look! Have a look at both of them!"
"Your mothers are alright. They missed you and Sasha so much. But they have nothing much to do every day. It appears that there is nothing much to do except thinking about both of you. So, you and Sasha should understand your mothers' feelings and write more to them. They need this more than anyone else."
"The situation of the Knights are generally well. I read your last letter numerous times and also let a few long-winning generals have a look at it. They are all impressed with your war strategy especially Figg. He has the most positive review for you. I know you kid, you must be snickering when you read this part, but listen carefully to me. War is not as easy as a script on blank paper. Nor it is as easy as imagining on the sand table. War is a long and difficult period to overcome. To overcome others or to be overcome. It all boils down to your one strategy."
"So son, do not just think about it on the sand table. Do not just write it down on a blank paper. After your graduation, bring Red Tiger around. Look more at the borders. Take a close look at the topography of the places you went. Experience the life and battle of the warriors. This is the correct way to become a qualified military general."
"Alright, son! I know you must have a sour face now, but I am not scolding you. I am simply giving you suggestions. You have grown up. Even though you are ten thousand miles away from me, I am still glad to see this growth."
"Speaking of the Knights. My cute little knights. Haha! They are still the same as usual. They rush here and there without resting all the time. But worry not, the Persians at the borders are no longer organizing large-scaled attacks! The knights at home are simply gathering the fugitives that secretly enter through the borders. Have I mentioned it? The inner war of the Persians has continued for 3 years now. There seems to be a trend escalating. The military is very busy. The people in the family hates those Persians. If we don't gather the fugitives who ran away from there, they will probably be pinned to a cross by us people of Narcissus. Oh god! This was the first time the instructions of the family was ignored. The people have already gotten used to it. Even if they are Persian fugitives without any weapon, they still have to be killed."
"Alright! Don't think that the family is about to win! Because I am about to say something devastating. Your Uncle Menda died in battle. It was terrifying! When I participated in his funeral, I could still see the blood on his armor. That armor was the most loved object of Menda. His last request is to wear it to meet God of Light even though it is already so old! I used my shirts to wipe the blood stains, but it was still not clean. The relatives at the funeral all cried, but I didn't. I only tried harder to wipe it clean. But damn it! Until Menda was buried, I still wasn't able to wipe it clean. I let my last cousin see the God with dirt! At last, I cried, but no one saw!"
"That's about it. I can't say any more! But don't tell anyone about me crying for Menda. If I heard someone talking about this, I will come to you and beat you up! Alright, my dear son. Do your best in your studies! Don't feel lost and feared. Just go forward!"
"Finally, I give you my blessings and kisses!"
"Oh, one more thing! I almost forgot! Send my regards to Marshal Robin. He is a respectable senior. You ungrateful kid should respect him. He is helping me to teach my son! That's all!"
"Your father, Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel. Night. Church Calendar Year 796 fourth day of the fifth month. Andrew Haila's base camp."
Oscar rubbed his eyes. It had a stinging sensation. He carefully closed his letter and lightly gave it a kiss. When he was about to keep the letter, he hesitated. Father mentioned some arrangement of the Narcissus Knight. It seemed that.... He could not keep this letter. Oscar lighted a cigar. When he brought the red bright cigar end near the letter, he hesitated. Maybe...Maybe keeping it would not be that much of a problem! No one would dare to touch his Polar Bear Sofa except for Sasha!
But... But... It was best not to cause trouble! The young man sighed. At last, he shook his head as he burnt the letter.
"O God of Light!" Oscar could not help but jumped as he looked at the ashes on the floor. "Father said to exchange it with Sasha! This is bad! How could I forgot about this?"
The young man blamed himself for a whole summer until he received the third letter from home. Ola! It was good that his father forgave his carelessness, but Dortmund still scolded Oscar badly. Oscar simply scratched his head. He was already used to the harsh words of his old man. To get back at his strict father, Oscar told Sasha secretly about the crying event, but Sasha did not mind about it that much.
The little miss perked her mouth and said. "Don't you know? I heard from Mam Celia that father cried even worse when your mother passed away! Even though father locked himself in his room, everyone in the mansion still heard it!"
Oscar was silent for a bit. He did not say anything and let little miss leave him just the way he chased Aeolia away.
"Maybe I really don't understand him!" Oscar said as he kept his third letter from home this year. He appeared to be rather happy because he could keep this letter.
Time passed until the ninth month of Year 796. Oscar began to sort out the messy things lying around at Marshal Robin's mansion. The old man avoided it. Oscar was feeling really melancholy as well. But it was indeed the time for him to leave this place.
"Aren't you asleep?" Marshal Robin who just returned home looked at the young man who sat at the corridor strangely.
"We didn't even fight. Why are you always avoiding me?" Oscar pulled a seat for the Marshal.
The old man turned his head away, troubled. "Enough! Don't say it as if I have that sort of interest!"
Oscar laughed. "Alright! The old man who is afraid of loneliness, come and sit here with me. I am not leaving yet!"
Marshal Robin let out a ‘hmph' sound. He did not refute this time. He simply sat there in silence. Towards this child, he had too much hope for him. He did not want this child to leave.
Oscar poured a full glass of Authentic Rum that had a pleasant smell. The depressed moments were sumptuous ones. Oscar believed in this statement.
"In the future..... What do you have in mind?" The old Marshal finally spoke. He stared at the lone lamp at the ceiling as if he had something on his mind.
"I received confirmation that the formal establishment of the Military Intelligence Bureau still needs a while. Maybe there won't be any news even next year. So I will follow the will of my father and ask for the duty of inspector from Alfa III His Majesty. This way I will travel to the few borders and dangerous forts."
"Yep! Your father's opinion is correct. You, young man, should go out and see the world. The important borders of the Empire are mainly focused at the Don River area and the forest border area at the north. Due to the differences in area and enemies guarded against, the military districts at the river and the north have completely different battle methods. You will learn a lot from this."
Marshal Robin took the wine glass, but he immediately put it down. "My child, where do you plan to go first?"
Oscar's eyes were a little red. His tear glands were broken. Usually, it used clear water to moisturize his eyes. He did not if it was a thing to be relieved about because he need not worry about that he would cry in front of people.
"I.....I planned..... first, go to the north, then change my route towards the land of Steinberger Family in the northwest. Then.... Oh, I am sorry.... My eyes are blurred!"
This was the first time Marshal Robin called this child so clearly. Even though two years were not a very long time, but an old man and a young man had gained an emotional bond with each other during this period.
"Are you alright? You are trembling!" The Marshal held little Oscar's shoulder.
"I am alright! You..... Do you still want to hear it?"
"Of course!" The old Marshal nodded. "You still haven't explained about your choice of route. I thought you will first travel to the Don River area that has the weakest defense in the Empire."
"Ola! It was because I promised Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi that I will visit him once I graduated. His family land is in the north, so I chose this route."
"Oh...." The old Marshal gave a long sigh. "The north..... It is not peaceful there."
"Please rest assured. I will be fine!"
Towards the reassurance given by the child, the old Marshal simply nodded lightly. The two people fell into absolute silence. None of them were talking. They were simply drinking their wine.
For Oscar, his university life was about to end. Bidding farewell to the respectable Marshal Robin was exceptionally difficult.
For the old Marshal, he was relieved. The child had finally grown up. He could spread his wings and fly! But..... The Marshal was a little lost. What if this child met with bad weather like strong wind and snow? What if he met the wolf packs? Were his wings fully grown?
He should stop thinking about it. He should give his blessings to this young man called O'Neil Andrew Morisette! His journey had finally begun. His life had finally won the most brilliant dawn.
