Margrave Vayne had immediately sent out a scouting party.
While they waited for the party to return with information that proved that the man’s confession was true, the Margrave wanted to make a report and discuss the situation with Reggie.
Reggie looked like he wanted to say more, but was hurried along. Shortly after, a servant came for me as well.
“Young lady, you are to go to the war council. Madame is calling for you. But really, with that scrawny body of yours, are you really alright going out of the castle so often and fighting monsters?”
This old woman would often encourage me to eat more during meals as she heaped the biggest morsels onto my plate. She must have had business in Madame Beatrice’s room and been asked to call for me.
I felt both thankful and apologetic that she worried for me.
…Also, I felt like I was now fully pulled back into reality.
Yes, it was a few seconds ago where I was in an unreal, almost weightless state. It had caused me to think of things that I never would have otherwise. Like wanting to embrace Reggie, wanting to get even closer to him…
I think back on all that, and a rush of embarrassment catches up to me.
What was I thinking!
Had things continued like that…we, we…might have ended up kissing?
No, no. It’s impossible. Reggie is a prince.
He holds me in a special place in a way, because there are things that only we can understand about each other. He was worried about me and he didn’t know what to do. That’s what caused him to act like that.
Even I had been confused for a moment. What could I say to make him understand?
Reggie, I am fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I don’t want to die either. I will run for my life. I’m not so stupid as to walk into danger. That’s why I have Cain there to help me.
I should have said that.
But the words wouldn’t come to me at that moment.
I was being swept away by that strange atmosphere…we both were.
But now I realized something after hearing this old woman’s words. What I wanted to protect was no longer Reggie alone. The Margrave, even Alan, the other servants who were kind to me, the cooks, I wanted them all to be safe.
I thanked the old woman for bringing me back to reality, in my heart, as I headed for the conference room on the second floor of the main tower.
The Margrave and Margravine were there as well as Alan and Sir Cain. In addition, the captains of the cavalry and defense regiment, and Reggie and Grol, who had arrived shortly before me.
As her handmaiden, I stood behind Madame Beatrice who sat next to Margrave Vayne.
Maia and Clara were also there, which a great relief as I stood next to them.
I would have felt very small if I were the only handmaiden present.
However, as soon as Margrave Vayne began to talk, such thoughts were erased from my mind as I stood in shock.
“From the north!?”
That was an unexpected invasion route.
In the game, they would break through the walls and gates of the border on the east side. As it was a surprise attack, it was not well protected and the gate was easily opened to allow merchants to go through.
The Margrave could do little besides holding the castle. As they battled, Ruain manipulated the flow of information and hid soldiers all over the land before moving on to the capital.
The soldiers left in the Everal territories were able to spring surprise attacks as well, which led to the disaster.
But according to the man we arrested, Ruain would invade from the north.
The old magician whom they were protecting had the role of distracting the Margrave’s attention towards the south.
But if they really were invading from the north, that meant they would have to go through Salehard which we were about to negotiate with…
“Has Salehard betrayed us then?”
Reggie asked. He was sitting at the head of the long table. Margrave Vayne, who sat to his right, shook his head.
“The prisoner was not given that much information. He was only told that the army would come from the north. They were to attack the castle in concert with the army.”
So then the monsters and magicians will join in the attack?”
“Yes.”
The Margrave nodded at Alan’s question.
I bite my lip. If only we had killed that magician we wouldn’t have to worry about them and could focus on the army.
“Do we know how many men they have?”
“He was not told this either. Our enemy must have considered his capture a possibility. However, we know that they must march through Salehard. While it should be a large army, they would be harder to detect than if they had gone right through Ruain’s border. We must anticipate a sizable force.”
Margrave Vayne answered Madame Beatrice’s question, but everyone present was now reminded of the harsh lack of information.
“But first, we must discuss how we will react if everything he said is true.”
Reggie says, and Margrave Vayne begins to talk about strategies that would be possible in the present situation.
With the assumption that the enemy would attack from two sides established, it was also possible that Ruain’s other detached forces would do something to delay Everal’s ability to deal with the oncoming attacks.
If that happened, there could be three battles simultaneously.
I have to stop myself from groaning.
In the game, it had all come down to a siege because they had been unable to do anything before the enemy arrived.
With that considered, we might be in a better position to avoid the siege this time.
But while Everal had enough men to protect its borders, would that really be enough to go against the might of an entire country?
In the first place, in the game, you could actually see the knights, soldiers, mercenaries or heavy infantry and archers and characters positioned on the map. Then you just fight your way through them.
I supposed that each individual character represented a platoon or squadron unit but… It was very difficult to imagine it. It was like the positions of each unit was shown as a chess piece.
Also, siege battles were shown as video clips with expressions like ‘overwhelming majority’ and no actual numbers.
There wasn’t really an opportunity to learn anything about actual warfare or the positioning of troops. With this being the case, there was no choice but for me to follow the lead of others who had experienced multiple battles.
Margrave Vayne was anticipating that the enemy would invade with great numbers, so it was unlikely that he would make any grave mistakes. I had to believe that.
“We will have to leave some men to protect the border. They should not be able to enter outside of the border walls, due to the canyons and mountains. So we will leave three hundred. The other three hundred will be called back and join our army.”
They could gather one thousand men to the castle by tomorrow morning.
This was the number that would be stationed within and outside of the castle. The reason for the unusually large number was to deal with the monsters that might attack. After that, more troops from surrounding branch families would arrive and the final number of men would be three thousand and three hundred.
Apparently, they had over twice this number during the last conflict, but as both countries had created a pact of peace through a marriage alliance, it was seen as distrustful to maintain the same number of armed forces. Which meant that the numbers had to be reduced.
Though, these number did not include drafted civilians. It would take some time for that to be organized.
Once it was done the total number would be ten thousand. But we had no choice but to make due with three thousand for the present.
Margrave Vayne had immediately sent out a scouting party.
While they waited for the party to return with information that proved that the man’s confession was true, the Margrave wanted to make a report and discuss the situation with Reggie.
Reggie looked like he wanted to say more, but was hurried along. Shortly after, a servant came for me as well.
“Young lady, you are to go to the war council. Madame is calling for you. But really, with that scrawny body of yours, are you really alright going out of the castle so often and fighting monsters?”
This old woman would often encourage me to eat more during meals as she heaped the biggest morsels onto my plate. She must have had business in Madame Beatrice’s room and been asked to call for me.
I felt both thankful and apologetic that she worried for me.
…Also, I felt like I was now fully pulled back into reality.
Yes, it was a few seconds ago where I was in an unreal, almost weightless state. It had caused me to think of things that I never would have otherwise. Like wanting to embrace Reggie, wanting to get even closer to him…
I think back on all that, and a rush of embarrassment catches up to me.
What was I thinking!
Had things continued like that…we, we…might have ended up kissing?
No, no. It’s impossible. Reggie is a prince.
He holds me in a special place in a way, because there are things that only we can understand about each other. He was worried about me and he didn’t know what to do. That’s what caused him to act like that.
Even I had been confused for a moment. What could I say to make him understand?
Reggie, I am fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I don’t want to die either. I will run for my life. I’m not so stupid as to walk into danger. That’s why I have Cain there to help me.
I should have said that.
But the words wouldn’t come to me at that moment.
I was being swept away by that strange atmosphere…we both were.
But now I realized something after hearing this old woman’s words. What I wanted to protect was no longer Reggie alone. The Margrave, even Alan, the other servants who were kind to me, the cooks, I wanted them all to be safe.
I thanked the old woman for bringing me back to reality, in my heart, as I headed for the conference room on the second floor of the main tower.
The Margrave and Margravine were there as well as Alan and Sir Cain. In addition, the captains of the cavalry and defense regiment, and Reggie and Grol, who had arrived shortly before me.
As her handmaiden, I stood behind Madame Beatrice who sat next to Margrave Vayne.
Maia and Clara were also there, which a great relief as I stood next to them.
I would have felt very small if I were the only handmaiden present.
However, as soon as Margrave Vayne began to talk, such thoughts were erased from my mind as I stood in shock.
“From the north!?”
That was an unexpected invasion route.
In the game, they would break through the walls and gates of the border on the east side. As it was a surprise attack, it was not well protected and the gate was easily opened to allow merchants to go through.
The Margrave could do little besides holding the castle. As they battled, Ruain manipulated the flow of information and hid soldiers all over the land before moving on to the capital.
The soldiers left in the Everal territories were able to spring surprise attacks as well, which led to the disaster.
But according to the man we arrested, Ruain would invade from the north.
The old magician whom they were protecting had the role of distracting the Margrave’s attention towards the south.
But if they really were invading from the north, that meant they would have to go through Salehard which we were about to negotiate with…
“Has Salehard betrayed us then?”
Reggie asked. He was sitting at the head of the long table. Margrave Vayne, who sat to his right, shook his head.
“The prisoner was not given that much information. He was only told that the army would come from the north. They were to attack the castle in concert with the army.”
So then the monsters and magicians will join in the attack?”
“Yes.”
The Margrave nodded at Alan’s question.
I bite my lip. If only we had killed that magician we wouldn’t have to worry about them and could focus on the army.
“Do we know how many men they have?”
“He was not told this either. Our enemy must have considered his capture a possibility. However, we know that they must march through Salehard. While it should be a large army, they would be harder to detect than if they had gone right through Ruain’s border. We must anticipate a sizable force.”
Margrave Vayne answered Madame Beatrice’s question, but everyone present was now reminded of the harsh lack of information.
“But first, we must discuss how we will react if everything he said is true.”
Reggie says, and Margrave Vayne begins to talk about strategies that would be possible in the present situation.
With the assumption that the enemy would attack from two sides established, it was also possible that Ruain’s other detached forces would do something to delay Everal’s ability to deal with the oncoming attacks.
If that happened, there could be three battles simultaneously.
I have to stop myself from groaning.
In the game, it had all come down to a siege because they had been unable to do anything before the enemy arrived.
With that considered, we might be in a better position to avoid the siege this time.
But while Everal had enough men to protect its borders, would that really be enough to go against the might of an entire country?
In the first place, in the game, you could actually see the knights, soldiers, mercenaries or heavy infantry and archers and characters positioned on the map. Then you just fight your way through them.
I supposed that each individual character represented a platoon or squadron unit but… It was very difficult to imagine it. It was like the positions of each unit was shown as a chess piece.
Also, siege battles were shown as video clips with expressions like ‘overwhelming majority’ and no actual numbers.
There wasn’t really an opportunity to learn anything about actual warfare or the positioning of troops. With this being the case, there was no choice but for me to follow the lead of others who had experienced multiple battles.
Margrave Vayne was anticipating that the enemy would invade with great numbers, so it was unlikely that he would make any grave mistakes. I had to believe that.
“We will have to leave some men to protect the border. They should not be able to enter outside of the border walls, due to the canyons and mountains. So we will leave three hundred. The other three hundred will be called back and join our army.”
They could gather one thousand men to the castle by tomorrow morning.
This was the number that would be stationed within and outside of the castle. The reason for the unusually large number was to deal with the monsters that might attack. After that, more troops from surrounding branch families would arrive and the final number of men would be three thousand and three hundred.
Apparently, they had over twice this number during the last conflict, but as both countries had created a pact of peace through a marriage alliance, it was seen as distrustful to maintain the same number of armed forces. Which meant that the numbers had to be reduced.
Though, these number did not include drafted civilians. It would take some time for that to be organized.
Once it was done the total number would be ten thousand. But we had no choice but to make due with three thousand for the present.
