Chapter 63

Ramposa III: I see. This is what our Warrior-Captain actually believes. Can you give us a reason for that?

Gazef: Yes, your Majesty, that is―

The image of a certain person set alarm bells ringing through his heart.

Gazef: ―That is to say, it is because of the ruler, the White Sovereign. Even other than that, the Arcanian Empire holds the single greatest forces in the world. They have explicitly stated that our Kingdom will fall one way or another.

Ramposa III: That being the case, the only one of us who has actually seen her face to face would be you, Warrior-Captain. That means we must give some weight to your words. Can you tell us what makes you say that?

Gazef: What we saw at that village was none other than God. The letter has stated that the World bends to their will. Your Majesty, they meant that literally. Every word that was said out of her mouth was done. She ordered the bandits to kill themselves painfully, and they were forced to do so, screaming in pain and begging for forgiveness they split their own stomachs open and died.

He took in a deep breath before he continued.

Gazef: She did all that without raising a single finger. Next, I heard that she revived all the villagers who died at the Bandits’ hands before our arrival. Not even Lakyus of Blue Rose could resurrect that many at once. Even without their army, they are a true threat your Majesty.

Gazef turned to the King before saying his plea.

Gazef: My King, could you not try negotiating with the Arcanian Empire? To give them parts but let the Kingdom keep our independence and rule? I truly fear that even I cannot win against her.

After a moment’s silence, angry shouts flew through the air..

Noble: You craven coward! How shameless can you get, you chicken-heart?!

Those shouts came from the nobles of the Royal faction.

Noble: After his Majesty showed you such kindness, you turn around and tell him to surrender his demesne to outsiders? When did you start serving the false ruler?!

In the face of such deserved castigation, Gazef could not answer. Had he been in their position, he would probably have done the same thing.

Ramposa III: Enough.

Noble: But, your Majesty!

Ramposa III: I am deeply grateful that my subjects would be so moved on my behalf. It is because of that reason that I ask you to remember that my Warrior-Captain would never betray me. He has fearlessly thrust himself into danger countless times for me. Someone like that would never do anything which would harm me.

The nobles who had shouted at Gazef bowed to the King. While he acknowledged this fact, he continued speaking to Gazef.

Ramposa III: Warrior-Captain, whom I trust like my right hand. Even if you are the one who puts forth that proposal, I cannot agree to it. Giving up one’s domain without a fight is not befitting of a ruler. Such an act cannot be allowed for the sake of those who live upon it. It would ruin their peaceful lives

Handing land over while moving all the residents off without harming them was nothing more than a fairytale. Even if it was possible, there would be no way to allow the displaced residents to live like they used to, and in the end their lives would be worse off for it. Or that was what they imagined for the people of the Kingdom.

Gazef: That is undoubtedly so, your Majesty, and I hope you will forgive me for my foolish words.

Gazef lowered his head as his King, who loved the people so dearly, spoke to him. If he was a foolish noble ― a landlord who simply saw his people as a means of making money, the King would not have said what he did. It was because of the King’s compassion that Gazef was willing to pledge his life to him.

He recalled the words he spoke to his vice-captain half a year ago.

Gazef: When you seek help, the ones who will come are the nobles. The strong will bring aid. Those are the ones who will come to the aid of the weak, regardless of the danger.

The Gazef from before he had entered the grand martial tournament would never have said such things. Much like his vice-captain, he would have thought that there were no nobles who would risk themselves for the commoners.

After he began serving the King, however, Gazef realized for the first time that such nobles existed. Regretfully, said nobles lacked power.

There had been many lives that he could not save, and just as many incidents where the nobles’ pointless pride had led them to throw obstacles in his way.

Even so, the man he served had not given up. He had continued working toward building a kingdom where its people would be able to live better lives day by day.

Gazef was proud of his King, Ramposa III. If that was not the case, he would have defected to the former Baharuth Empire to the Emperor himself (Jircniv) when he had tried to win him over on the battlefield.

But it was precisely because he was such a man that dark clouds loomed heavy over his heart.

What the King spoke was the truth, and he had the right view of things. The King had always been full of compassion, but Gazef knew the reason why the King had taken such a harsh tone.

After the riot of the people since last year, and the greatly disheartened people now, the balance of power shifted greatly.

For a long time, the Kingdom had been divided into two factions that had been largely even until recently, but now the Royal faction had expanded, while the Noble faction had shrunk.

Because the peasants had rallied on the back of Second Prince Zanac and the Golden Princess as well as he, Warrior Captain Gazef. As King Ramposa had supported this movement, seeing it as an opportunity to flush out some of the nobles, he was seen by the people as a strong ruler, and a fair number of nobles had thrown their support behind the King. Thus, the King could not afford to show weakness here. However, saying that would mean―

Noble: Still, the Warrior-Captain has a point, no? We can avoid a war if we try negotiating and giving them some land. A king also has a duty to prevent undue suffering to his people. Would not a true king be willing to rend his own body for the sake of the people?

The one who spoke was from the Noble faction. The words were pretty, but they were calculated to reduce the amount of land controlled by the King, and as such, the Royal faction instantly rebutted them.

Noble: The land of the Kingdom is the demesne of the King! If you would give up land to the enemy, why not surrender yours first?!

The reply came just as swiftly

Noble: What nonsense is that?! The land closest to the empire is E-Rantel! So shouldn’t we recede that land first?! Think before you speak you imbecile!

The Royal faction had grown stronger, while the Noble faction had gotten weaker. That simply made the Noble faction even more desperate to hamstring the King.

The upset balance between the two factions was the source of Gazef’s unease. Once the balance between factions crumbled, the Noble faction’s efforts to weaken the King would only intensify. That might lead to the Kingdom splitting down the middle in the near future.

That being the case, the King would have to show off his strength to quell any attempts at revolt from the potential rebels. However―

Was the inability to admit weakness not a dangerous thing in itself?

Lost in his thoughts, Gazef only snapped back to reality after several hard stares from members of the Royal faction. They must have thought he had secretly gone over to the Noble faction because he had suggested handing over the Kingdom’s territory. At the same time, they were looks of reproach for Gazef, for being an up-jumped peasant who had forgotten the King’s largesse.

Noble: Hmph! Then, why don’t you ask the King to exchange of your lands with the region around E-Rantel, and then hand it over?!

Noble 2: As though land could be so easily traded! You fools!

Noble: You are the fools here!

The flames of this childish squabbling engulfed the entire meeting hall. In the past, disputes like this would have ended in a stalemate due to the even balance of power, but now the voices of the Royal faction were louder than those of the Noble faction.

Normally, the King would have stopped this. He did not seem inclined to do so now, probably because the Royals had the advantage. Just about any human being would find it hard to put an end to circumstances which favored themselves. The King must also have wanted to vent his frustrations with the Noble faction.

It’s like he’s drunk a sweet poison…

Slowly, Gazef began to feel a cold, black conviction in the eyes of the Noble faction. A chill flowed down his spine

The rebellion of the peasant class and the stark contrast of life from the Arcanian Empire had been the source for all of this.

With the corruption in the noble class laid out for all to see, the people rebelled against much of the nobles in the Kingdom and rallied towards to Royal Faction. While this may have helped the Royal faction and the King, it did nothing for the Kingdom itself. The Nobles have refused to help with anything in fear that their influence will decrease.

However, as Gazef looked at the scene unfolding in front of him, he could not help but wonder if they should have done something else instead.

What would this court session have been like if the standings of both factions had been even?

I don’t know, but… ah, that’s right, what if we lost this war with the Empire? Would we continue resisting to the end? Would we not? Would there even be anything left in the Kingdom? What would happen if we succeeded in negotiating with the Empire? Depending on how the negotiation goes, the faction that was in charge of it would instantly rise or fall.

He disliked this feeling, the feeling that despite making his own choices, he was ultimately still dancing to the tune of someone else.

Could it be that all this had been planned from the beginning by someone? No, I don’t want to think that might be the case. We only spoke to each other briefly, but he didn’t feel like such a person to me.

From the way Gazef addressed him with honorifics even in his speech ― and his thoughts ― it was clear that he bore no ill-will toward the enemy ruler, the White Sovereign, even though she was now the ruler of an enemy nation.

…Maybe they could peacefully take control of… ah, no, if I continue thinking like this it’ll be treason. After all, it wasn’t just a city they were talking about. It was the entire Kingdom that was on the line.

Raeven: I think it’s about time we stopped this petty squabbling.

A deep male voice cut through the commotion ― everyone fell silent as they tried to find its source.

Gazef bit his lip as someone else usurped the role the King was supposed to play.

That victory was like sweet honey…

He did not think it was a big deal. However, would the King forget himself in that sweetness? Would the King that Gazef was so proud of disappear? He could not erase such thoughts from his mind.

Raeven: Your Majesty, if the Empire’s invasion is a foregone conclusion, then we must prepare ourselves.

Noble: Marquis Raeven, it is his Majesty alone―

Marquis Raeven interrupted those words from the Noble faction.

Raeven: ―A moment, please. If his Majesty’s troops are defeated at the plains, who knows where the Empire will attack next? Therefore, I will cooperate fully with his Majesty for the sake of protecting our domain.

Silence fell.

The Kingdom’s troops were conscripted civilians. There was no way they were a match for the united army of all the nations, not to mention the legendary soldiers that they were reported to have. The only way to defeat the Empire’s advantage in troop quality was with numbers, and from the reports, even the numbers seemed to be equally matched.

After hearing Raeven’s words, the members of the Noble faction imagined the Imperial knights ravaging their lands as well.

The first to announce their support for the King were the nobles who held land between the capital and E-Rantel, followed by the nobles who held close ties to the first group, and in the end, all the nobles pledged their support.

Ramposa III: All right. Then, we shall delay our reply to the Empire as much as possible, and gather our troops at E-Rantel before we declare war. Naturally, I will be going as well.

Prince Barbro:Please let me join you on the battlefield, father!

The one shouting was Prince Barbro, who had been waiting silently at the side until now.

Zanac: …No, no. There’s no need to trouble you ― as the first in line to succeed the throne ― to take the field. I will go this time

First Prince Barbro turned to the person who had spoken from beside him, the Second Prince Zanac. Barbro’s answer was short and to the point.

Barbro: No need?!

His retort was filled with hostility.

Zanack’s proposal was a reasonable one. Since the king was already headed to the battlefield, it would be far too dangerous to bring his eldest son along with him. Barbro understood this, but even so, his refusal came from his hatred of Zanack.

That too had stemmed from the rebellion of the commoners.

As the people rallied behind the ideals shared by Princess Renner and Prince Zanac, their popularity rose while Barbro, who hid behind the nobles and the shadows of his father was called a coward.

At a glance, Zanack did not look particularly heroic, and the contrast between his looks and his brave deeds made him stand out. Conversely, Barbro looked impressive, but his inaction made him appear cowardly. In order to erase this shame, Barbro wanted to go to the battlefield to show his martial valor.

The First Prince (Barbro) was a reasonably talented warrior, in keeping with his appearance. That said, he had still led a sheltered lifestyle, and he was not strong enough to beat someone like Princess Renner’s bodyguard Climb, who had trained himself until he had thrown up blood. Even so, he could still be said to be the strongest fighter of the royal family. Someone like him could not endure losing to Zanack, whose weight meant that he could barely keep his balance after swinging a sword once. Although Marquis Raeven had once said, “What good is a king’s swordplay?”, Barbro knew that he was Zanack’s intellectual inferior, and as such, he was even more determined not to lose out in his chosen specialty.

No matter what, one could not keep trailing behind one’s opponent in the game of thrones.

Gazef’s gut ached as he considered the potential crises hiding within the Kingdom.

Although he wanted to resign his commission after the King abdicated and dedicate himself to protecting Ranpossa III, realistically speaking, it would probably be very difficult to do that.

In addition, he would probably not qualify as a loyal subject if he did not work as the Warrior-Captain to save lives which could be saved. The King might not even allow him to do so in the first place.

If there was someone on his level who could replace him as Warrior-Captain, then he would gladly hand his position over. However,he could not think of any such people. There was one person who was as strong as Gazef, but that person would never agree to become the Warrior-Captain in his place.

What’s Brain planning to do in the future? Does he have something in mind? More importantly, what was he doing now?

Bowlorobe: I certainly agree!

Marquis Bowlorobe’s voice interrupted Gazef’s thoughts. Now was not the time to worry about the distant future.

Bowlorobe: If you will permit me, I would gladly contribute my strongest troops to the effort and to the protection of his Majesty’s person. How about that, your Majesty?

Ramposa III: Umu. Warrior-Captain, what do you think?

He could not pretend that he had not heard it. That would be a lie. Gazef put on a show of earnest consideration, while ignoring the twitch of Raeven’s eyebrow.

The suggestion for Barbro to fight at the front had probably come from Bowlorobe, who supported Barbro for the next king. However, Gazef had no proof of this, so there was only one answer he could give.

Gazef: I believe it all depends on his Majesty’s opinion.

The King nodded deeply, and Gazef suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

Ramposa III: Is that so… well, if that’s the case… then you shall come along as well.

Barbro: Yes! Allow me to present the false emperor’s head to you, Father!

As he listened to Barbro’s enthusiastic reply, Gazef could only hope that the impending preparations would blow away the clouds of unease forming over his heart.