Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Before the Grand Glory, There Was a Humble Beginning (1)
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As with most things of this sort, the initial decision was the hardest part; once it was made, there was no choice but to dive in headfirst.
"Johanna von Bauer. Affiliated with the Astoria Southern Army, 4th Legion stationed at Lenkamp Fortress, Hausken Battalion."
Her response to my question was so compliant it was hard to believe this was the same uncooperative woman from before.
"My official rank is Ecuyer."
An Ecuyer in Thracia terms was a shield-bearer—a seasoned squire.
"Before leaving the fortress, Baron Hausken handed command over to me. On the surface, it was to hold the fort until he returned with reinforcements, but no one bought that after watching him march out with every last one of his personal guards."
"Why you, of all people?"
"Because I'm Baron Hausken's Ecuyer."
Setting aside her newfound docility, the answer itself wasn't all that convincing.
Squires sometimes stood in for knights, sure, but there were limits.
A knight? Maybe.
But deputy commander of a fortress? That was far too heavy a burden for a squire—especially with enemy forces closing in.
"...Before being his Ecuyer, I was family to the Hausken house."
And it turned out there was a reason.
She wasn't just Baron Hausken's squire; she was his daughter-in-law.
A knight making his daughter-in-law his squire? What kind of people were Astoria's nobles?
Of course, calling her his "real" daughter-in-law was a stretch.
"...A pretext, then."
I'm not abandoning the fortress.
Look, I've left someone from the Hausken family behind, haven't I?
That was the extent of it.
Given how he'd delayed their marriage for over a year, then rushed it through in front of the troops right before bolting, it was clear from the start the baron had no intention of truly welcoming her into the family.
In short, the Bauer house had fallen, rendering their would-be bride useless, so they used her as a discard.
"I see."
I accepted it matter-of-factly, and Johanna von Bauer frowned.
"What? So what do you want me to say?"
Maybe she'd hoped for some human compassion from me.
Setting aside her absurd leadership, she was still just a girl not even twenty.
Too young to grasp that what crushed her life might be just another passing tale to others.
And I was from Thracia, where familial betrayal and idiocy reigned supreme even by continental standards.
A father betrothing his son's fiancée to serve as squire?
Rushing a wedding then ditching the fortress?
Novel, sure—but nothing more, nothing less.
Still, I had to admit one thing.
I'd thought no one could match Thracia's record for depravity and folly.
But the world was vast, fools were plentiful, and Astoria had its share of contenders.
Thracia, step it up.
If we're going to be idiots, we might as well be the continent's biggest.
"Yeah, sure, that must feel like the unluckiest, most special tragedy to you. But things aren't exactly peachy over here either."
Honestly, at this point, it was reasonable to write off all nobles across nations and eras as fools.
You could curse them for it, but you couldn't treat them like it—not if you wanted to win.
Baron Hausken was a case in point.
"If the fortress fell to Thracia and you died fighting to the end, the Hausken family stood to gain serious political capital."
The heroic daughter-in-law of House Hausken, slain after a valiant last stand. Quite the tale.
On the flip side, if the fortress held, they'd claim the fame of their kin defending it to the bitter end.
Either way, it profited the baron who'd abandoned it.
So Hausken's stunt was rational in a perfectly noble way.
Not something to say to her face, though.
No doubt her revenge list included not just her deadbeat dad but the Hausken house too.
Nobody wants to be a political pawn for the people who tossed them aside.
In that light...
"Perfect."
Things were off to a smooth start between Johanna von Bauer and her new life in Thracia.
"What...?"
"Baron Hausken got butchered by our forces shortly after fleeing the fortress."
Not our intention, but Thracia had handled part of her vengeance anyway.
"See? Good call switching sides to Thracia, right?"
Even my teasing drew no reply.
She looked stunned that vengeance had come so unexpectedly.
"Let's see."
But this was just the beginning.
"I heard the baron got killed, but nothing on that son of his. Might need to check if he's still kicking."
I could grant her much.
For instance...
"If he's alive, I'll hand him over to you."
A chance to get even with the husband who'd ditched her—mere hours after their vows.
"But first, you'll need to play nice with me."
Of course, not right away.
People change their tune before and after getting what they want.
Too quick a revenge might breed regrets.
"Anyway, let's pick up where we left off."
Where to start...
"Right—from when you recognized Otto. When exactly did you spot him?"
I pressed her with more questions after that.
"While splitting the army into three to retreat, he approached me. That's when I knew."
"Why pretend not to recognize him?"
"Planned to capture him after escaping the fortress. Things were too chaotic then; I couldn't risk losing him."
Her answers came more earnestly now, which was only natural.
Truth be told, I wanted to hand her a detachment right then, but that wasn't feasible.
Our forces had taken heavy losses in the siege.
Not having a grudge against Astoria's commanders would be weirder.
Farther back, Major Varnych had been biding his time; closer in, Lieutenant Staretska was sharpening her knife.
Regardless of the 8th Legion commander's protection or my influence, troop morale had to come first.
So I found another way to use her.
For example...
"Behold this young girl, saddled with every burden while Astoria's cowards fled their posts!"
She became my witness, dragging her across the front lines to expose the atrocity at Lenkamp Fortress to the world.
I even paraded Astoria survivors—barely spared from our own mages' barrages—to corroborate the tale.
This netted us two big gains.
First, it boosted our morale and seized the moral high ground.
Offensives always lacked the personal drive of defense, so "liberating Astorians from their tyrannical overlords" was a decent rallying cry.
Second, it sowed doubt in Astoria's ranks and eroded trust in their command.
Their troops would start questioning orders.
And armies crumble the moment "why?" enters the conversation.
Soldiers would fight with eyes and ears on their rear, constantly checking if their officers had bolted.
Astoria's commanders would have to stay visible, making them prime targets for our mages, snipers, and saboteurs.
High command rattled by rumors of rear instability.
Troops distrusting superiors and frontline officers.
At this rate, Astoria's army might collapse before we even attacked.
"Tell them we'll open an escape route if they hand over their nobles' heads and surrender the fortress."
I hammered this to every legion commander I met.
Not that it'd be that easy, but no harm in trying.
Why pass up a bloodless victory, slim odds or not?
And incredibly, it was happening in spots.
"Infighting's rampant in Astoria's ranks."
"Most failed, but some did deliver their commanders' heads and surrendered."
Six Astoria fortresses fell to us.
Two handed over by their own troops, four seized amid the chaos.
Even I, who'd devised the plan, was floored.
Who could've guessed?
Fortresses that held for three months crumbling to mere words.
But Astoria's woes made it plausible: Kazan invading out of nowhere, their top commander hauled to the capital, officers abandoning posts for their estates despite the sieges.
After holding on desperately, all they heard were defeat reports.
Looking back, it would've been weirder if even one hadn't fallen in three months.
"I expected you'd rack up merits, Major, but not like this."
The 6th Legion's commander—who'd toured fortresses with me and contributed heavily to two forceful captures—now eyed me like a monster.
"You could've won this war single-handedly."
Words I'd have scoffed at before, but now? No laugh, not even a smirk.
Every Astoria setback had my fingerprints on it.
"How far do you plan to climb?"
"Straight to general?"
It got me wondering too.
What would become of me when this war ended?
As always, no need to worry—it was pointless.
What a rotten world this was.
How much it despised me.
"K-Kazan forces routed!"
The main reason our troops roamed the border freely.
"Of Kazan's forces that crossed alive, only thousands remain! Annihilated!"
The Kazan army pinning Astoria's northwest had been smashed.
"Astoria forces from Kazan sector advancing here en masse!"
Someone asked the scale.
"At least ten legions! Up to 30,000!"
The courier screamed it like a death knell; commanders groaned.
30,000 outmatched our forward troops across the border.
Bad news didn't stop.
"Enemy supreme commander confirmed: Oscar von Nightheart!"
Astoria's genius who'd crushed our Thracia forces last year was heading here.
"Oh?"
Now we're in deep.