Near the end of March.
Ultimately, the Imperial Army led by Grand Duke Leopold began its advance, and we imdiately convened a military eting.
“Their deployed force is estimated at around 100,000.”
“That’s a lot. Their total strength should be around 110,000, so that number ans they’re barely thinking about the rear.”
Chief of Staff Alexandre Berthier nodded at my words and continued speaking.
“Furthermore, they are not approaching the Verdun fortress, but heading south to Valois.”
“It seems their intention is to force a Short-Term Decisive Battle, even if it ans taking risks.”
Just as Louis Desaix said, their intention is clear.
Verdun is an area fortified from the start, making a quick capture difficult.
Therefore, the Grand Duke seems to intend to bypass Verdun, which would take ti, and fight a Decisive Battle at Valois to strike the capital Lumiere directly.
“Whew~ Acting recklessly, aren’t they? How about luring them in completely and using Verdun to harass their supply lines? Since they mobilized 100,000, they should wither away quickly.”
In response to Jero Morelle’s opinion, I shook my head.
“No, we can’t. Alsace-Lorraine, where the residents have finished evacuating, is one thing, but the Central Region is the core of Francia’s national strength. Besides, this ti the Grand Duke must have hardened his resolve.”
For the Grand Duke to bypass the fortress and head straight for the capital route, ignoring the risk to his supply lines, is a declaration of his will to force a Short-Term Decisive Battle, even if it ans plundering every city along the way and resorting to local conscription if the supply route is destroyed.
“Tactically, General Morel’s opinion might be effective, but politically, the National Assembly would be overturned. The idea of winning a war by using the people as disposable pawns is not a choice we can make.”
In the Southern Region, we could expect the Grand Duke to show more restraint for the sake of his subordinates, but now isn't the situation to care about such things, is it?
“Difficult~ Then are we to face them head-on in a Decisive Battle? Annoyingly, they still have more troops.”
“However, they are coming off a major defeat. There will also be the influence of the prisoners of war Her Majesty the Queen has swayed, and an army with low Morale, despite its numbers, is unlikely to show high combat power in an offensive Battle.”
“General Desaix is right. Still, they must break through us to reach Lumiere, and since we can decide the battlefield……”
I pointed to the Rolling Hills area east of Valois on the map.
“The battlefield will be here. Our side has many high hills, so our intentions will be hidden, while the enemy will co from the Plain Area beyond the forest, aning they’ll fight under our complete observation.”
“Yes, Your Excellency Marquis! A wise decision!”
I nodded at Berthier and opened my mouth.
“General Nicolas Nere, you will command the vanguard infantry.”
“As you command!”
“General Louis Desaix, as always, you will oversee the Northern Army and act as substitute Commander-in-Chief in my absence.”
“Yes!”
“General Jero Morelle, you will command the Chasseurs. This ti, I will grant you the frontline deploynt you so desired.”
“Whew~ Thank you!”
Next, I turned my gaze to Damien De Millbeau, who had erased his presence, not uttering a single word during the eting.
“Then, Count Milbeau?”
“Ye-Yes?”
Why the long face? Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?
“Since you had a rather comfortable role in the last Battle, this ti you’ll have to take on a difficult one.”
As I watched Damian’s face rapidly contort, I twisted the corner of my lip upwards, but Berthier spoke up.
“Ah, there is one peculiar matter, Your Excellency Marquis.”
“Hmm? Peculiar matter?”
“Count Albert von Wittelsbach, who ca with their Reinforcents this ti, is said to be a young prodigy, considered the Empire's most outstanding knight.”
“Hmm, is that so.”
I shifted my gaze to et Gaston’s eyes, and Gaston imdiately bowed respectfully to .
“It seems your rival has appeared. Command your n and assist Count Milbeau.”
“As Your Excellency Marquis commands!”
The Empire’s finest knight, huh. I don’t know how great he is, but I doubt Gaston will be pushed back.
I might doubt others, but I absolutely trust Gaston, so he should cover for the slightly unreliable Count.
*
After the strategy eting ended.
As everyone left for their respective units, Demian requested a private audience with .
“What is it? I have no intention of changing the plan.”
“Th-That’s not it……”
Demian stealthily gauged my expression.
What’s wrong with this guy?
“I’m busy preparing for Battle, so I’d appreciate it if you spoke quickly.”
“Why has a woman co to my unit as an officer?”
Ah, that’s it?
“You an Giselle Davy? Her grades are outstanding. Especially in tactics. There shouldn’t be any problem with her service, but do you dislike her because she’s a woman?”
Demian nodded.
“Apologies, but I would appreciate it if you could transfer her to the Northern Army……”
A female officer, certainly unprecedented, but.
“No. I have no intention of causing confusion by changing the organization right before a battle just for a single officer candidate, and Her Majesty the Queen herself stands on the battlefield, so is there a law saying won cannot?”
“Th-That’s why, Your Excellency!”
“Huh?”
Demian, surprisingly, looked tearful.
“I, I have a phobia of won……”
“……”
Montarily, the image of Demian having seizures whenever he saw Christine, and screaming while being whipped by Eris, flashed through my mind.
Hmm, certainly.
Living through what Demian has, it might be possible…….
No, wait.
What am I agreeing with right now?
“Are you telling to go to Desaix and say that the Commander of the Southern Army is scared of won and asked for a re officer candidate to be transferred?”
“N-No, that’s not it. Please keep it a secret, Your Excellency Marquis! I will pledge absolute loyalty!”
As Demian began to beg, I let out a small sigh.
“Look here, Count Milbeau. Shall I tell you sothing?”
“Ye-Yes?”
“Regarding that officer candidate, Countess Aquitaine is interested in her.”
The color drained rapidly from Demian’s face, leaving him completely pale.
“Now, if that candidate is suddenly transferred, will she ask about it?”
I grinned at the stamring Demian.
“You wouldn’t expect to lie to her, would you?”
“I-I misspoke! Your Excellency Marquis!”
Demian imdiately snapped into a salute and turned away, moving stiffly like a broken doll. I chuckled and called out after him.
“Be careful and raise her well.”
*
East of Valois, the Rolling Hills.
Grand Duke Leopold frowned as he observed the Francia army’s deploynt atop the hill through his telescope.
“They have chosen an appropriate battlefield.”
With this setup, their movents are clearly visible from below, while we cannot observe the deploynt of their Reserve Unit behind them.
“But it is a Decisive Battle of this scale. There will be limits to Tactical Maneuvers.”
“Hmm……”
The Grand Duke tilted his head at the words of his Chief of Staff, Duke Heinrich.
Is that really so?
Didn’t they themselves bring a hidden trump card for this battle?
“The initial engagent is crucial for them, Your Highness Grand Duke.”
At Count Wittelsbach's words, the Grand Duke also nodded.
Knights fundantally fight while protecting their bodies with a Magic Barrier.
They are formidable opponents ordinary soldiers dare not face, but precisely because of that, they are accustod to their Magic Barriers.
Assassins who can break through that Magic Barrier and deliver a fatal poison in one strike are truly the natural enemies of knights.
However, if their existence is discovered, the enemy will naturally start conserving their knights. Therefore, the Grand Duke did not want to deploy them rely to take down a few ordinary knights.
The Grand Duke narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Revolutionary Army encampnt, then turned towards Count Wittelsbach.
“I will give you all the Cuirassiers. Move together with the assassins. And then……”
Their Cuirassiers are commanded mainly by two people.
Marquis Lafayette, or General Gaston.
Marquis Lafayette, the Commander-in-Chief and effectively the symbol of the Revolutionary Army, and the strongest knight capable of taking on a hundred n or more.
They were beings one wouldn’t even dream of defeating on previous battlefields, but a surprise attack by assassins is a different story.
The Grand Duke hesitated for a mont before speaking, but recalling his subordinates dying from eating contaminated food, he spoke coldly.
“Lure out their Cuirassiers. Draw them out, and have the assassins attack the key figures leading their vanguard.”
“Understood, Your Highness Grand Duke.”
Killing them would be best, but even injuring them is fine.
The assassins' weapons are said to be coated with potent poison, so if they let their guard down, relying on their Magic Barrier and allowing an attack, they will be poisoned.
“If their important figures are hovering near death, their Saintess Queen will be tied up with healing.”
If it's the Marquis, the battle is already won, and even just removing Gaston and the Saintess Queen from the equation would make the assassins exceptionally valuable.
“Understood, Your Highness Grand Duke. Please trust .”
The Grand Duke silently gazed at Count Wittelsbach, the son of his old comrade-in-arms, then nodded heavily.
“I trust you.”
“It is an honor to stand on the sa battlefield as Your Highness Grand Duke.”
*
The roar of cannons echoed, and the familiar deafening sound of incoming shells filled the air.
Revolutionary Army General Lan Gaston, mounted on his horse, watched as the enemy shells flying towards them were blocked by a barrier of light and fell powerlessly.
On the battlefield spread out below the Rolling Hills, the white uniforms of the Imperial Army surged like waves.
As Gaston watched the acrid smoke of black powder rise with the sounds of gunfire from below, a familiar voice reached him.
“It’s fierce down there, but we’re quite idle.”
A brown-skinned woman, dressed in the uniform of a Revolutionary Army cavalry officer instead of the exotic attire she wore when they first t.
“Lady Shandra.”
“Just Shandra is fine, I told you.”
He had heard it several tis already, but Gaston gave the sa reply this ti too.
“I cannot do that to soone His Excellency Marquis treats as a guest.”
“This man...”
Shandra clicked her tongue.
At first, the incredibly forward Shandra made him very uncomfortable, but now, perhaps because she had realized and restrained herself a bit, or perhaps because he had gotten used to it, he felt relatively comfortable.
“It strikes anew, you speak as if you live completely for the Marquis. A General, no less.”
General.
Gaston still considered himself Lafayette’s knight rather than a General.
In the first place, it was a General’s position received by following Pierre as a knight, which was also the truth.
“Are you not also His Majesty Kroxx’s confidant, Lady Shandra?”
“That’s true, but the reason we confidants follow King Kroxx varies for each of us; it’s not just because he’s the king. He wasn’t king by bloodline in the first place, but acclaid.”
Gaston thought for a mont before answering.
“I too do not pledge loyalty simply because he is the Marquis.”
“Really? Surprising. Judging by your attitude, you seem like a knight who simply offers absolute obedience.”
Gaston smiled lightly at Shandra’s words.
It was only eight years ago.
-You piece of trash.
When the Marquis shattered the sword of Pierre, who was the Young Marquis at the ti of the knighting ceremony, and spat those words, the resentful gaze Pierre directed at him still remained vivid in Gaston’s mind.
A catastrophe brought about by the conflict between the reason he shouldn't win against the Young Marquis, and the emotion that he couldn't helplessly abandon the path of a knight he had admired since childhood, just because of the misfortune of crossing swords with the Young Marquis.
Fortunately, the rcenary’s son who admired knights and dread of becoming one beca a knight, but the honor of a knight he had expected was nowhere to be found.
Despite the civil war, the stage where knights should fight, he was treated as if he didn’t exist, let alone assigned knightly duties. To the point where he himself was inwardly prepared to be cast out from the Marquisate soon.
It wasn't that he didn't feel wronged. Out of spite, he tried even harder to appear like a perfect knight.
He trained fiercely, comforting himself. Even if the Marquisate didn't recognize him, he would offer his loyalty to such a Marquisate.
Because that was all that remained for him, who had left his hotown saying he would beco a knight after his father, who worked as a rcenary and told him not to live like him, finally died.
Surprisingly, Pierre de Lafayette avoided him for several years but allowed him to remain a knight.
Then, one day.
-This ti, I will ensure your loyalty is rewarded.
Pierre, who had avoided and ignored him, suddenly changed.
Not just anyone in the Marquisate, but the very person who ca to be called the sha of the nobility because of him, treated him as a knight. He began to trust, rely on, and employ him heavily.
For Gaston, who grew up admiring stories of knights pledging loyalty to their lords and seizing honor, Pierre’s change was a greater salvation than anything else.
Only then did the rcenary's son who had admired knights beco a true knight. For Gaston, that was truly enough.
That's why he receives Pierre's orders and wields his sword, even declining the Commander position.
“I too have my reasons for following His Excellency Marquis Lafayette.”
“I-Is that so. Well, if that’s the case, that’s good.”
As Shandra shrugged her shoulders, a ssenger galloped up.
“General Gaston! Enemy Cuirassiers! They are circling around to target the left flank of our engaged allied unit!”
“Hmm. Good, we move out.”
“Tsk, envious. When will we be deployed?”
To Shandra, who muttered and clicked her tongue, Gaston smiled, now a little less awkwardly, and said.
“Then, I shall be going.”
“Yes, yes, go smash everything again this ti.”
Gaston smiled faintly at Shandra’s words and spurred his horse.
At his order to advance, the sound of horns echoed, and the cavalry, already prepared, began to gallop down the hill in unison.
Gaston loved this mont.
The wind rushing against his face, the trembling of the earth transmitted through the horse.
The sensation in his legs, the mont his own taut muscles and those of the horse harmonized.
Above all, the feeling of himself having beco the knight he yearned for, crushing the enemy for his lord.
It would have been nice if his father, who used to co ho from rcenary work, lanting his scarred body and telling him not to beco like him, could have seen this.
What expression would his father have made if he heard about the kind of person his lord, whom he served as a knight, was, and what his lady was like?
Gaston, galloping on his horse, saw the enemy cavalry drawing near and stopped his thoughts, raising his greatsword.
His muscles swelled at the sensation and weight of that heavy hilt—
“Ga-Gaston—!”
“Hiiik—”
The mont he sensed the enemy’s bewildernt and shock, his mind entered a state of trance.
He simply swings.
The spear shafts aid at him simultaneously snap, and enemy cavalryn unable to withstand the wind pressure from the massive greatsword fall from their horses.
Enduring the recoil with strength and swinging again, this ti three cavalryn are dismbered, along with their warhorses.
Forgetting the enemy's fear and screams, the heat of the charge, he swings the sword entrusted to instinct, swings, and swings.
When only the weight of the greatsword and the recoil from it remain in his world.
He felt an instinctive sense of wrongness.
‘A dagger?’
A dagger, just like the ones Pierre uses, is flying towards him.
If Pierre had thrown it, perhaps, but even a dagger thrown by Pierre could not pierce his Magic Barrier.
So he should ignore it, but sothing.
The mont he felt puzzled by his senses sounding an alarm.
The dagger touched his Magic Barrier, and a cracking sound occurred.
Goosebumps ran down Gaston’s spine.
He had seen it before.
It was the sa phenonon as when Countess Aquitaine shattered Halphas's Magic Barrier with a Consecrated Bullet!
“Kugh!”
Gaston hastily twisted his body, and the dagger that collapsed his Magic Barrier grazed past his chest by a hair's breadth.
“Be careful! There are enemies using hidden weapons that break Magic Barriers!”
“Kuaaack!”
“Ugh!”
Gaston shouted urgently, but several of his subordinates, struck simultaneously by hidden weapons, scread and fell from their horses.
Gaston’s gaze fell upon the figure turning his horse away and fleeing. Instinct told him that person was the owner of the hidden weapon.
“How dare you……!”
“U-Ugh, stop him!”
He cut down all the charging Cuirassiers, but in the anti, he lost the assassin.
As he let out a short sigh to catch his breath, for so reason, he felt a persistent pain in his chest.
It should have just grazed —
The mont he thought that, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
“Ge-General Gaston!”
Watching his subordinates rush towards him urgently, Gaston commanded with blurred eyes—
“Spread the word imdiately. The enemy uses weapons coated in poison that break Magic Barriers. His Excellency Marquis Lafayette is in danger-”
His consciousness ended there.
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