“Young M— I mean, Milord. The situation calls for urgency.”
At the words of the old knight, who served as his tutor, Sivara knew that he had to decide the fate of the people of the fief that he had to protect.
Germion Kingdom was already on the verge of destruction; therefore, both as a noble and as the feudal lord walking in the footsteps of his late father, Sivara had to make the decision.
One path was to protect the east to the very end and endure the attacks of the goblins.
Choosing this path meant he would have to rely on reinforcements from the Holy Shushunu Kingdom to protect his own fief. It was the same thing as abandoning Germion Kingdom. A plan wherein he protected only his fief while the goblins overran the capital of Germion Kingdom.
But it was a firm decision. Germion Kingdom could no longer be saved. It only made sense to protect what could be saved.
So long as Sivara himself was mentally prepared to walk this path, as well as become a vassal state of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom, then it was not a bad plan by any means. After all, the goblins were focused on the western region and the imperial capital and were not looking toward the east one bit.
The second path was to rescue the king and Jize, who had been confined, and relocate the capital to the east.
Frankly, this plan was essentially a gamble. If he were to walk this path, he would have to fight the goblins, break through them, and save the king or a member of the royal family. Although risky, it was an attractive option, for it meant saving his friend, Jize, and it held the possibility of rallying the forces of Germion Kingdom.
The third path was to abandon the east and flee to the Holy Shushunu Kingdom.
The goblins have already invaded half of Germion Kingdom. Defeat was certain no matter how one looked at it. It only made sense to rely on the Holy Shushunu Kingdom and flee with his whole clan. It was an attractive proposal so long as Sivara was willing to turn a blind eye on his duties as a feudal lord and his pride.
Sivara could still make it in time. If he wanted to prioritize the safety of his family, he should choose this path. The Holy Shushunu Kingdom has just come out of a civil war. They should be more than interested in people who know how to manage a fief or serve as a commander that can lead an army.
“Yes, I know.”
As Sivara felt the tension in the air, he exhaled.
“We’ll go to the capital. We’ll move our army to the west.”
When he clearly said that, the old knight, who served as his tutor, knelt to give his gratitude.
“A gallant decision, milord. All of us shall accompany you.”
“Thank you. This is the hardest path, but I am a holy knight. A holy knight is someone who must protect his country. I can’t lie to myself.”
Sivara took his eastern division army and marched for the capital.
They numbered approximately 1,500. Despite including private soldiers into that number, it was not a reassuring number as far as contesting the goblins went.
◆◆◇
It was only after Gulland finished going around the minor nations with Blanche the War Princess that he found out that Germion Kingdom was already on the verge of destruction.
“Impossible!”
When Gulland got word of the news, his face paled and he yelled angrily, then he told Blanche that he was going back to Germion Kingdom.
“There’s no need to hurry so. Even if you go now, you won’t make it in time. And even if you do go, you won’t be of much help. It would be best if you just stayed here—”
“Gulland-dono, any further won’t be acceptable.”
Blanche couldn’t finish her sentence because Gulland had drawn his great sword. In a flash, the great sword he held in his hand was pointed right at Blanche’s neck. But at the same time, so was the short sword of Blanche’s feeble aide.
“—Why don’t you stay behind here and wait for an opportunity to take vengeance?”
Gulland’s eyes tore open when Blanche said that.
“Don’t make me laugh! I am! I am a!”
Gulland was gritting his teeth so hard from anger that he couldn’t say anything coherent. The aide just looked at him calmly, but the moment his master gave the order, he would immediately lop off Gulland’s neck with his short sword.
“Oh Gulland. The precious holy knight of a country, Gulland. Why do you fight? For your friend? For loyalty? For vengeance?”
Blanche gently pushed away the great sword with her finger tips and approached Gulland. She stretched out her arm to Gulland, but Gulland turned around.
“I am a knight. It is my duty to defend my country. This time for sure, I will…”
Gulland didn’t reply to Blanche’s question. His eyes merely wandered about blankly, then he quickly made his way through Blanche’s extended arm and walked away.
“…He rejected me.”
Blanche said as she exaggeratedly puffed up her cheeks. After chiding her aide for saying too much, she spoke in a somewhat angry tone.
“Why don’t you choose your words better next time?”
“It’s a problem I’ve had since birth. Please forgive me.”
“Forgiven.”
Blanche became thoughtful for a moment, then asked her aide.
“Hmm… So, I take it a request for reinforcements has come from Germion Kingdom?”
“Nothing official. But a request did come from a man who named himself Sivara, the holy knight defending the east.”
“So even the central pillars of the country have been paralyzed…”
She looked coldly at her aide, then she turned over the cuffs of her luxurious overcoat and headed for her room.
“I will seek an audience with my dearest king. Make arrangements. Also, prepare 500 mana guards. Hurry.”
“As you command.”
Blanche went back to her room without sparing a glance for her aide, then she changed her clothes into something more suitable for an audience with the king.
After being permitted an audience, she appeared before the king to ask that he break their alliance with Germion Kingdom. Saying that Germion Kingdom no longer had any power and – if anything – should be a target of invasion instead.
When she said that, not only the king, but even the officials were surprised.
“Germion Kingdom is no different from a sick person that can no longer be saved. It is only proper that the last rites be given for the deceased.”
“B-But… If we just break our alliance like that, won’t the other country start to doubt us?”
The king, who was still in the prime of his life, spoke while evidently being pressured by this girl before him.
“My dearest king. At this rate, Holy Shushunu Kingdom will be crushed by the influx of refugees from Germion Kingdom. The goblins are intentionally leaving the east alone.”
The reason they were attacking the north, the south, and the west, while intentionally ignoring the people fleeing was because they wanted to gather all of the refugees to the east and drive them away to the Holy Shushunu Kingdom, Blanche pointed out.
“Can you spare anything for the refugees? Minister of the State, I believe the supplies from Fatina have currently been stopped.”
Under that clever gaze, the minister of the state couldn’t say anything but groan.
“Could monsters really be so wise—?”
“Whether they can or not isn’t the problem. The issue is that we are currently being driven toward such a situation.”
Blanche laughed as she cut the words of the minister of the state.
“O beautiful war princess. Will we able to avoid such a calamity if we were to attack Germion Kingdom?”
“Your Majesty!”
As the king silenced the civil officials that cried out, Blanche laughed.
“If you give permission to declare war against Germion Kingdom and the Kushain Believers, then certainly.”
The king closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them next, he gave her permission.
It was only a matter of time now before Gulland made his way back home and the declaration of Blanche Ririnoie the War Princess would reach Germion Kingdom. It was a shocking event, but even then, there was no stopping the attack of the goblins as chaos continued to ripple.
