Rene looked anxiously between Saito and Louise… and then, ran after Saito.
Louise, left behind, trembled with anger.
She bellowed towards the direction where Saito left.
“What was that?! Come over here!”
And waited for a while. But... he was not coming back.
Wha-w-w-what a selfish thing!
Louise was really pissed off.
Even though I feel insecure in the middle of the war…
I am being exploited… And what kind of compassion do I get?
Saito seemed completely not in the mood to explain anything.
Steadily, her eyes grew teary. Lately she just wanted to escape it all.
Separately, well, that's ok. Bad, but it's ok. I‘ll forgive him. That boy is like that, can not be helped. I don’t like him, really, I don’t like, aah, maybe a little.
Louise shook her head.
Don’t think. No good. Absolutely no good.
Honestly, well, he said he likes me, she thought.
However, what is this “love”. Is it true?
But if it’s love why he does treat me so coldly? She could not understand.
Besides, he would not be hanging with that maid.
Really he must be saying that to all girls. Idiot. Not only to the maid.
He said ‘love’ to me as well.
Inexcusable. Fibber. Dislike. Dislike.
“That’s enough” Louise muttered while biting her lips.
Chapter Three: The Priest of Romalia
The Tristain and Germania united army landed in the port-town Rosais, which was located about 300 leagues south of Albion's capital Londonium.
Upon landing, the allied forces expected an enemy counterattack. First of all, land units formed a circle around Rosais.
Yet… Albion made no counterattack.
The Supreme Commander of the united army, De Poitiers, lost the momentum to invade. Their strategy assumed the enemy would attack after the landing. The “decisive battle” was to happen near Rosais, where it would let them destroy the enemy’s large army in one blow and march to Londonium unopposed.
They planned for the campaign to finish in three weeks, when Yara’s month would begin… essentially, before Founder Brimir's Advent Festival, or “New Year's Day”.
In other words, they had prepared for a quick, decisive battle.
This strategic failure could not be helped now. A large amount of food is necessary to maintain a large army of 60,000 people. To recite strong spells, specific medicine (especially Water element-based healing medicine) is needed, along with war materials like bullets, gunpowder and cannons. And it all had to be carried from their own country to the army in the front.
Fighting a long war in the enemy's territory would be nothing but a nightmare. Besides, Tristain’s economy made such a long war impossible.
Albion's main army successfully retreated from Dartanes, and barricaded itself in the capital city Londinium.
The enemy army avoided fighting a decisive battle; after Albion's air force received damage beyond imagination, and lost control of the sky, the Albion army might've abandoned counterattack tactics.
The allied forces were prepared for Albion’s attack.
But because expectations went down the drain and physical damage did not occur, constructing positions and preparing for a decisive battle became pointless. The allied forces wasted food for a week and a half.
The allied forces could not plan anything but a quick decisive battle, so they only brought a food supply for six weeks. But now it became necessary to carry food and gunpowder from their own country by ship. For the two countries that organized the expedition army with very limited finances, the situation was worrisome.
By the eighth day after the landing, a tense atmosphere surrounded the future invasion plans.
The air base in Rosais began as the Royal Albion Air Headquarters before turning into the Sacred Albion Republic Air Force Headquarters, and had finally become the Tristain-Germania United Martial Army Command Base. These walls of red brick had changed masters three times in one year. A great hall on the second floor was where history was made.
The Supreme Commander of coalition forces, General de Poitiers, sat at the round table on the central seat. He listened to two opposing opinions.
First one came from Germanian General Marquis Handenburg, who insisted, while shaking his fist and white mustache, upon a quick, decisive battle.
“Let’s march! March! March! We have food only for four and a half weeks. Make a detour at a fort on the way and march straight to the castle! Anyway, let's aim for Londonium. Fortunately, we control the sky. We have to end the war before Founder Brimir's Advent Festival, for morale will drop after advent festival!
Seems like Germania’s General insisted upon advancing like a flame.
‘Ending before the Advent Festival is fine, but I wonder why there are no such short war stories in Halkeginia’s history?’
Wimpffen, Chief of Staff, objecting coldly stared through the pane of his glasses.
‘Then, we'll be the first,’ Marquis Handenburg said and gave a piercing glare to Wimpffen.
‘By circling Londinium, we would expose our back to their castles… We can’t act without strategy. Moreover, if we start marching, the supply lines would be left behind. Without supplies we would end up in a deadlock. Although it is troublesome, we should proceed carefully, step-by-step. We should advance by capturing fortresses and castles along the way.’
‘Capturing fortresses and castles would inflict too much damage! Supplies? We only have to take over Londonium before Advent Festival!’
‘As the Marquis said, we control the sky, right? So the damage upon capturing will be kept to minimum. Londonium taken over by the Advent Festival? That’s nonsense!’
Marquis Handenburg exclaimed with a face full of contempt,
‘…this is Wind-element thinking, wind that evades obstacles in its cowardice.’
‘As if Fire-element thinking, which hastily burns itself out, is any better.’
The two men glared at each other.
‘Courage is what cowardly Tristains need to be taught.’
‘There’s nothing to learn from barbarians.’
They both pulled their wands out at the same time. Supreme General de Poitiers stepped in between them.
‘We argue too much! Marquis! Marquis! Show Germanian courage in the battlefield! Wimpffen! Stop disgracing yourself!’
At last, they both calmed down.
‘For now we have to admit that the first plan, beating Albion's main forces and then advancing to Londinium, getting Cromwell’s head, and raising white lily’s flag in Whitehall, failed. but completing the war according to plan is still possible.’
After overthrowing the Albion's revolution government, they would rule in the name of Henrietta. Of course, part of the territory would be ceded to Germania. Afterwards, the remaining survivors of Albion's royal family will be searched for and placed on the throne of the territory under Tristain’s rule, thus reviving the monarchy. To avoid possible revolutions they decided to look for Albion’s surviving royal family members, once a suitable noble with royal blood was found, the throne would be passed to him.
De Poitiers shook his head, trying to brush off these thoughts.
It was not the time to think about it. Right now they needed to think how to annihilate the enemy.
De Poitiers bit his lip. My promotion depends on this.
If he could win this war, he would be promoted to Field Marshal.
Everything could have been easily settled by one decisive battle… De Poitiers felt a grudge against the Albion army. Why would Cromwell barricade himself in Londonium?