Chapter 21

Chapter 21 - Approaching War Clouds (2)

“Hmm!”

With a servant’s guidance, Father appeared as the doors to the grand hall opened.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere in the grand hall, which had been growing increasingly heavy, settled down in an instant. However, it seemed impossible to hide the disorderly current running through the room, and forced coughs broke out here and there.

“…….”

“Ahem!”

The disorder continued for quite some time, and only after Father took his seat upon the throne did it finally dissipate.

Father soon brought up the main issue and announced the start of the state council.

“You must all have already heard the news that came in not long ago.”

Of course they had.

The nobles nodded.

After confirming that, Father nodded as well.

“The Federal Empire has entered an all-out war. And even at this very moment, the barbarians are gathering on imperial soil.”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

“However, Esteban is by no means safe either.”

Even now, the barbarians were pushing south.

No matter how much the Federal Empire drew their attention, we could not avoid battle.

Everyone present knew that fact.

“Does anyone have a suitable proposal for how we should resolve this situation?”

“May I speak first, Your Majesty?”

At that moment, the one who raised his hand more confidently than anyone else was a young noble who had been quietly holding his place in the northern Margrave’s stead.

Father seemed to think for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

“You are Margrave Romert’s grandson.”

“That is correct.”

“Very well. Speak first.”

Once Father gave his permission, the Margrave’s grandson nodded.

“Even the number of barbarians confirmed at the border alone reaches at least several thousand. At this rate, the barbarians truly will ravage the border region.”

“……Mm.”

“The Romert Territory is taking the lead, but the military strength of the northern nobles alone cannot hold out for long. Please raise troops by Your Majesty’s command and support the north.”

Raise troops?

Father slightly lifted his eyebrows and spoke.

“It sounds as though you mean to move the troops of the south. Are you saying that this cannot be resolved merely by sending royal soldiers as we did last time?”

“That is correct. The current situation in the north is……”

“That is impossible!”

The one who swiftly cut him off and stepped forward was a southern noble.

His lips twitched as he sneered at the Margrave’s grandson, then he began speaking in a leisurely voice.

“Is this not, in the first place, merely the same sort of barbarian raid as usual? Why make such a fuss over something of that scale?”

“This is not a situation we can simply dismiss in that manner.”

“This? As far as I know, the nobles of the north were granted advantages in various obligations, including tax rates, so they could organize a standing army in preparation for situations like this.”

As the gazes in the hall focused on him, the southern noble shrugged and opened his mouth again.

“We are already bent under the burden of making up for the reduced taxes in the north. Should blocking the barbarians not be something you handle with your own strength?”

“…….”

Margrave Romert’s grandson closed his mouth as if he had been rendered speechless.

Why were they weighing gains and losses when faced with a grave matter of state?

Yet the southern noble merely looked straight at the situation in the north with the same leisurely voice.

“In other words, you mean to keep the benefits for yourselves while sharing the losses, do you not? It feels like a remarkably cunning double standard.”

“What did you……!”

“The more I listen, the more outrageous your words become!”

The nobles, split into the factions of south and north, began baring their teeth at each other.

Thanks to that, the state council, which should have proceeded in a grave atmosphere, instantly turned into chaos.

Was it not said that another man’s rice cake always looked bigger?

In truth, it was not uncommon for the north and south to be divided and show hostility toward each other.

This time, however, they were acting so violently that they seemed to have forgotten where they were standing.

Even though they knew that something more dreadful than ever before was about to happen.

I began to find this blatantly contrived situation amusing.

“How pathetic.”

“Y-Your Highness!”

The words that slipped out before I realized it pierced through the commotion and seeped into the nobles’ ears.

The startled baron widened his eyes and hurriedly grabbed the hem of my clothes, but I merely stepped forward with an ice-cold smile.

“To think you would struggle to protect your own interests even when your homeland is in danger.”

“…….”

“Anyone watching would think this place was your private playground.”

“Th-That is too……”

“Shut your mouth.”

My cold gaze pierced the southern noble precisely.

Then……

“Urgh, kuugh……!”

A powerful wave of killing intent, strong enough to rob him of breath, tightened around his throat. Soon, his eyes rolled back as if he were about to faint, and he collapsed on the spot.

The nobles stared at the noble who had suddenly fallen with bewildered faces, yet they began trembling from an inexplicable chill.

I walked toward the place where the nobles stood in rows and continued speaking.

“Which country’s nobles are you?”

“…….”

“And you?”

A noble standing where my finger pointed flinched and opened his mouth.

“I-I am a noble of Esteban.”

“Oh?”

It was surely close to the correct answer.

However, I still smiled as I looked down at them.

“Yet to split into factions and fight when you cannot even add your strength to the cause seems to me like nothing less than deliberately inciting internal strife.”

I looked at each of those who avoided my gaze one by one, and at last, my eyes reached Count Valmons, whose flesh was twitching.

Yes, almost……

My smile deepened.

“As though someone were moving matters to make it happen.”

“N-Never! Absolutely not!”

“Is that so?”

With that answer, I turned and returned to my place.

However, the one still controlling the atmosphere in the hall was me, the 1st Prince.

“If there is still a noble who wishes to divide into factions and protect his own interests, I will regard him as one who dares to betray the will of the royal family.”

“……Ahem!”

“It seems there are no objections.”

Then I took one step back and gave a slight bow to Father, who had been waiting for the situation to settle down.

A moment later.

Over the grand hall, which had already changed into a solemn place, Father’s dignified voice struck down like a thunderbolt.

“I will levy troops.”

It was the correct decision, beyond question.

There was no telling how many more barbarians would swarm in from now on, and as had been said, it would be difficult for the north’s forces alone to stop them.

However, that did not mean there were no problems at all.

“Your Majesty. May I offer one more word?”

This time as well, it was Margrave Romert’s grandson.

Father silently nodded, and the Margrave’s grandson continued.

“The current north is in such a precarious state that it seems as though it may collapse at any moment. The barbarian warriors are in an aggressive posture, as if they will take up their weapons and scale the walls at the slightest opening, and the forces opposing them are far too insufficient. That is the reality of the situation.”

“Are you saying that even if we levy troops, the north will not be able to hold out until they arrive?”

The Margrave’s grandson, who still bore traces of youth, nodded immediately.

“That is correct. To make matters worse, this raid is different in nature. If we pull back the defensive line temporarily as we did before, it would be the same as abandoning the advantage of the walls.”

Even retreating in order to hold out was dangerous.

During the barbarians’ southward advance before my regression, the situation had been so desperate that we had to give up three castles.

Had the Federal Empire not drawn their attention this time, we would have had to face an even fiercer offensive ourselves.

Even so, Father firmly shook his head.

“We will not pull back the defensive line.”

“Your Majesty the King!”

“Those wretches will not trample this land. Nor will I even consider defeat.”

It was a firm belief that things would certainly turn out that way.

Father’s resolute gaze soon turned toward me.

“Those who will aid the defense of the border region have already reached the north.”

“Pardon?”

“With them, the north should be able to hold out until the troops arrive.”

“……When you say them……”

Amid the flood of questions, Father’s lips moved slowly.

“The Sun Knights will aid the north.”

“Th-The Sun Knights!”

The nobles could not hide their astonishment at the name they had heard.

They were the royal family’s directly controlled 2nd Knight Order, formed only from the kingdom’s most elite knights.

Worthy of that glorious name, they possessed astonishing power, as every member was an Aura user who could wield Aura. They were truly one of the representative knight orders of the Northern Continent.

“But were they not guarding the border that touches the two empires?”

The lands of the northern barbarians were certainly dangerous, but there was no place more important than the lands bordering the Divine Empire and the Federal Empire.

For that reason, the Sun Knights’ main range of activity had been fixed in southeastern Esteban.

For those Sun Knights to have reached the north meant……

“Surely you anticipated the barbarian invasion and……!”

“Ooh!”

The nobles’ admiring gazes focused on Father.

The wretches’ movements had only become visible a few days ago.

In other words, the King had foreseen this entire situation and moved the Sun Knights in advance.

However, while Father acknowledged that, he shook his head.

“It is true that the invasion was anticipated, but I was not the one who did it.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

“Are you saying someone else provided the information?”

“That is so.”

Questions clouded the nobles’ faces once again.

At that moment.

Father’s gaze, which had been on me from the beginning, changed into something pleased and warm.

“Allen Esteban. Do you intend to make me explain your achievement for you?”

“Gasp!”

“What……!”

Once again, my eyes met those of the nobles, and I soon spoke with a light smile.

“Even if I arranged for the Sun Knights to be deployed north, that was the will of Your Majesty the King, who permitted every order. It was not mine.”

“No. If not for your judgment that the barbarians would invade, we would have had to face them without any preparation at all.”

“I see.”

It was only natural.

I shrugged and stepped before the astonished nobles.

Of course, my gaze remained fixed straight on Father.

“Now that all of the Sun Knights have headed north, I believe they will become the force that allows the north to hold out until the kingdom’s troops arrive.”

“That is so.”

“Then what do you intend to do after that?”

“Mm?”

Father was flustered by my question, but he slowly gathered his thoughts and spoke.

“After breaking the barbarians’ offensive, we will have to watch the situation closely and finish preparing for the next attack.”

“But the situation will not change.”

Even if they withdrew this time, they would target Esteban as they always had, and that pattern would continue for ten years, or perhaps even twenty.

Just as Esteban had been before my regression, and just as it had remained until now.

Father’s expression creased at once, as though he had sensed something strange.

“Then what do you wish for us to do?”

“We must use this war with the Federal Empire.”

“……Use the war?”

There would be no other chance unless we acted now, while those wretches were starving, and a complacent move would soon snowball and crash down upon Esteban.

Therefore.

I smiled and revealed my true intention.

“Send me to the north. I will break the barbarians’ momentum with my own hands.”

Father’s eyes widened in shock.

“What…… are you saying?”