“…Marquis Raeven.”
“Yes, your Majesty!”
“I’ll leave it to you. Conduct the army safely to the Kattse Plains. From there, you will also be in charge of the encampment and entrenchment.”
“Understood.”
Raeven nodded in acceptance of the royal decree. Although the spot Bowlrob wanted had been snatched away from him, if it was Raeven, Bowlrob could not complain. He knew the man was talented, and as a result, criticizing him would be very difficult. More importantly, Raeven had broad connections, and many of Bowlrob’s men owed him favors. If he tried to criticize Raeven in front of them, they would only doubt him instead. As such, Bowlrob had no choice but to grin and bear it.
“Marquis Raeven, my troops will be in your hands. Please let me know if you need anything.”
“Many thanks, Marquis Bowlrob. I will be counting on you in that event.”
Gazef was as happy over the King’s brilliant decision as though it were his own.
“Is there anything else?”
The King waited for a while, but nobody replied.
“…Then let us begin the preparations to move out. We shall leave tomorrow. It will take us two days to reach the battlefield, so do not grow lax in your preparations. Then, you are dismissed.
Marquis Raeven, carry on.”
“I understand, your Majesty.”
The nobles steadily filed out of the room to begin their marching preparations, leaving only the King and Gazef.
Ranpossa III slowly turned his head. A cracking sound reached Gazef’s ear. He must have been very stiff. After stretching, an expression of relief bloomed on the King’s face.
“Thank you for your hard work, your Majesty.”
“Ahhh, it was hard work indeed. I’m tired.”
Gazef smiled wryly to his king. ‘Tiring’ was a capsule summary of managing the Royal and the Noble factions. However, there were still people who were more fatigued than Ranpossa III.
“It’s about time―”
Just as Ranpossa III was about to continue, several knocks came from the door. Then the door slowly opened, and the waiting guest entered.
He was a plump, piggish man who seemed otherwise unremarkable. His hair was sparse to the point of nonexistence, and what little remained was snowy white.
His body was round, his belly was fat, and his chin and jowls were flabby.
Yet, the light of intelligence sparkled within the eyes of this otherwise unimpressive man. Ranpossa III smiled amiably to him.
“Welcome, Panasolei.”
“Your Majesty,” said the Mayor of E-Rantel as he bowed to his liege lord. Then, he shifted his gaze.
“It’s been a while, Stronoff-dono.”
Panasolei was a noble, but yet he was exceedingly courteous to Gazef, a commoner. It was precisely because he was a man like that which resulted in him being posted to this place.
“You took care of me back then, Mayor. My thanks for arranging to heal my subordinates. I was in a hurry to report to the capital, so I rushed off without properly thanking you. Please accept my apologies.”
“Ah, no, no, think nothing of it. I understand the importance of the Warrior-Captain reporting about the ambush. How could I be so inflexible as to hold a grudge against you for that?”
Seeing that both parties were bowing to each other, the King laughed in joy.
“Panasolei, aren’t you doing that wheezing thing with your nose?”
“Your Majesty… There is no need to do so around people who do not patronize me. Or perhaps his Majesty and Stronoff-dono feel I am a jester who trades on that particular act?”
“Sorry, sorry, it was a joke. Please forgive me, Panasolei.”
“Ah, no, your humble servant overstepped his bounds. It is I who must beg your forgiveness, your Majesty. Then… shall we begin?”
“No…” The King hesitated, and then replied, “No, there’s still one more person who’s yet to arrive.
Let’s wait for him.”
“Is that so. Then, may we discuss the issue of food costs within the city? After that, I shall report the projections on our national power for the next year, based on the data collected by the Marquis.”
“Umu. The sooner we get these headaches out of the way, the better.”
As Panasolei began to speak, even Gazef, who was unused to managing domestic affairs of state, ended up frowning.
His report concerned the alarming state of the country’s present and future expenses. The collection of food throughout the territories was making the shortages of food even worse. Of particular note was the fact that the country would continue declining even after the citizens here were released from their conscription.
Panasolei’s predictions were on the optimistic side, and they still painted a dire picture of things.
As for the King, his face was a blank mask.
“How did it get like this…”
“If… if the Empire continues its yearly attacks, the chances of civil war will be quite high. Given the state of taxes now, a lot of people will end up starving to death, and if we reduce taxes, we won’t have enough to fund our policies.”
Ranpossa III placed his hands on his forehead, covering his face.
This was the result of responding to years of saber-rattling with the Empire. By the time they realized the Empire’s aim, it was far too late ― the Kingdom was already in decline.
“Your Majesty…”
“How… disturbing. If we’d known earlier… if we’d dealt with this before the nobles had fully split into their factions… how foolish.”
“Certainly not, your Majesty. It might have been that while dealing with the factional split, the Empire might have taken the chance to invade and conquer us.”
Gazef was certain of this ― the King, Ranpossa III, had done a good job.
The conditions that had led to this situation were the result of the previous kings’ poor decisions. It was impossible for one generation to erase the accumulated sins of all its ancestors.
“I just want to leave a decent Kingdom to the next ― to my children.”
Although the King spoke slowly, every word was laced with powerful purpose.
“Then… is this not an opportune time? I have many supporters now due to the disturbance. Should we not strike a telling blow to the Empire, no matter the cost, so we can win a few years of peace for the Kingdom?”
Gazef could see a light in the King’s eyes. That light made him worry. By rights, he should have opposed this, but he could not make a sound.
If the King had spoken to advance his own desires and ambitions, perhaps he might have been able to bring himself to chide him. But as he realised the King was speaking of ensuring the safety of his people and country, the words caught in his throat.
As a first-hand witness to the King agonizing over his country, the Warrior-Captain could not speak out against him.