“Georg intends to have the nobles use their dark money to hire mercenaries from Zem, and then he’ll recoup the money from Zem by making them pay ransom for their captured mercenaries?” I asked.
“That is correct.”
The mercenaries Zem sent wouldn’t be anyone of high status, but the amount they would have to pay as a lump sum would be considerable.
Honestly… it was a well thought out plan. That made this all the more irritating.
“Why do I have to waste a man who can think things through this well?” I protested bitterly. “I’m already short-staffed as it is, so if he’s that determined to help, he should just help me normally!”
“Please understand, sire,” Glaive said, looking me straight in the eye. “Duke Carmine has entrusted you with the future.”
I gulped. “…How could he believe in me so strongly? We’ve never even met before.”
“That, I do not know. When you meet Duke Carmine for yourself, I suggest you ask him.”
I fell silent.
At that time, there had been no answer, but later, when issuing the ultimatum, I had tried to subtly ask Georg what his motivations were.
“What is it that drove you to this?”
To my question, Georg had answered, “My pride as a warrior.”
He’d continued, “Being more than fifty years of age, my body will only grow weaker from here, but now I have been given the greatest of opportunities. I will decide the fate of Elfrieden with my own talents. Once in his lifetime, it is every warrior’s wish to accomplish something that will be remembered by later generations.”
Depending how you interpreted them, those words sounded like something an usurper setting out on the gamble of a lifetime might say. However, the fact of the matter was, he had been declaring that he was ready to give his life for this country.
To decide the fate of Elfrieden with his own talents and to accomplish something that would be remembered by later generations… That was why he’d had to destroy the corrupt nobles, even if he had to sacrifice himself to do it.
I didn’t know if those words were the truth. However, I could tell that his resolve was unshakable. Liscia’s steadfastness may have come from this man, her teacher.
Let’s get back on topic.
The information brought to us by Glaive had been tucked away inside the hearts of all those present. There had been six people present: myself, Liscia, Hakuya, Aisha, Kaede, and Hal. If word of this had leaked out by some chance, the whole plan could have come undone.
That was why we couldn’t communicate this plan to Excel, who was already cooperating with us, or even to Ludwin, the commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Army. Because of that, Excel remained suspicious of Georg, and there was another miscalculation made.
Castor’s rebellion.
Because the plan had advanced in absolute secrecy, Castor harbored doubts about me, and so his Air Force ended up siding with Georg. For us, and for Georg, this event was completely outside our predictions. No matter how simple Castor might be, it hadn’t occurred to me that he would side with Georg when Georg was acting in such a blatantly suspicious manner.
I had never once thought that he would take only one hundred of his personal troops and throw his lot in with Georg, ready to martyr himself for their friendship.
Thanks to that, the battle at Red Dragon City had been a completely ad-libbed etude, one not found in Georg’s script. While it was fine, since we’d won, it was a situation that could have turned the entire script into improv theater.
Perhaps Excel might have been able to foresee that Castor would act like this. However, because we’d been keeping Georg’s plan a secret from Excel, there had been no way to consult her. Looking at the results, my failure to use the people I had available to me had caused the situation to become confused, so I probably had a lot to reflect on here.
Well, it was a battle with many twists and turns, but somehow I think we managed to play Georg’s script out to the end. Finally, the curtain could fall on the stage for Georg’s script.
Now, this was where it would start. Finally, we could get to the main event.
Hakuya and I would be the scriptwriters for this new stage about to start. We took the long route to get here because of Georg, but, finally, we were now able to raise the curtains on our stage.
“Now, let the subjugation begin.”
That was what I had declared.
Subjugation is a word used to describe putting down a revolt in one’s own country, but, more broadly, it can also refer to the suppression of a hostile foreign power.
Here, I would like you to remember one thing. Amidonia was invading from the southwest because of their correspondence with Georg, and it had been timed to coincide with his rising up.
However, Georg himself was only focused on domestic matters.
Of course, that meant he was never connected to Amidonia to begin with. Now then, who, I wonder, was it that assumed Georg’s name and sent those letters to Gaius VIII?
— Now, let the true subjugation begin.
Chapter 8: Declaration of War
— Evening, 1st Day, 10th Month, 1,546th Year, Continental Calendar — Near Altomura.
The Amidonian army had agreed to break their siege at the request of the lord of the castle, Weist Garreau, but when noon came, there was no sign of Altomura’s gates opening.
The sovereign prince of Amidonia, impatient with the current state of affairs, ordered that the siege be resumed. Then, once the encirclement was complete, he gave the order for an all-out attack. However, having broken the siege of the city, it took a considerable amount of time to encircle the city once again. It had grown close to evening by the time the task was complete.
“Curse you…” Gaius swore. “To think I’d be played for a fool by a petty man of no significance like Weist.”
Sitting on a stool in Amidonia’s main camp, Gaius tapped his foot impatiently. When they saw him like this, it put all of the officers and men standing at his side on edge. They knew if they did anything to set off his short temper now, it might cost them their heads. That naturally caused a heavy air to fall over the camp.
In the middle of it all, the crown prince, Julius, did his best to pacify Gaius.
“That just means a petty nuisance did as petty nuisances do,” he said. “He’s making a futile attempt to buy time. We’ll just have to ensure that we crush him this time. What is there to be so irritated about?”
“…Hmph,” Gaius said. “Yes, his struggle certainly has been in vain.”
He seemed mollified by Julius’ words, but continued:
“It’s too late for them to beg for their lives now. I’ll destroy that country town by the time the sun goes down. When that time comes, Weist, I’ll hang your head from the castle gates, but not before I torture you until you beg for death!”
“…I believe that would be appropriate,” Julius said.
Unlike Gaius, who had let the blood rise to his head, Julius wore an icy expression. Still, uncertainty was beginning to take root in his mind. He sensed a suspicious presence on the other side of those walls. Had Weist truly just been buying time with no hope of winning?
As he was contemplating that, a single Amidonian soldier rushed into the main camp. “I–I have a report! A woman has been spotted on the walls of Altomura!”