Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Deception, and Stratagem 36: Hasty Retreat (3)
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Our 7th Division had barely entered Dolphino Castle when, the very next day, the massive army led by Duke Switceland arrived right at the gates.
Truly, their pursuit speed was astonishing—I couldn't not say it.
That's because the soldiers of my 7th Division, even those laden with gear or leading baggage horses, had all ridden horseback from Richen Hill to Dolphino Castle.
Duke Switceland surely lacked the spare mounts to do the same for his troops, so they must have marched here entirely on foot...
One can only imagine their exhaustion, and now that they'd caught up, it was like a dog chasing a chicken that's already perched on the roof.
The Imperial soldiers jeered from atop the walls, their voices booming loud enough to reach the general's quarters where I was staying.
"Look at those Switceland bandit bastards! Pissed off, huh? Feeling hard done by? But you can't do a damn thing about it!"
"Tough trek here on shank's mare, eh? Here, have some of this and head back!"
"Oh dear, oh dear. How pitiful. So pitiful I'm tearing up. Absolutely heartbreaking!"
It was hard to believe that just a few days ago, our Reich Empire forces had been the ones getting thrashed by them—they were reveling in it.
Moreover, with around 60,000 Imperial troops garrisoned in and around the castle to repel them, Duke Switceland could gnash his teeth all he wanted but wouldn't dare attack.
So this was their chance to hurl insults at the enemy, even if they couldn't avenge themselves with a direct assault—enough to make the foe's blood pressure skyrocket, at least.
Now that I was feeling somewhat better, I wanted to show my face, crush their morale completely, and toss in a round of abuse to twist the knife. I started donning my armor to head out.
"Charlotte, help me with the armor. I'm going up to the walls to taunt the Switceland army a bit. No dangerous stuff, so don't worry."
She, who'd been stuck by my side nursing me nonstop, gave me a look of utter disbelief and said,
"The priestess said it yesterday while using her healing rites: 'You need absolute rest for a month. Please, just stay in bed quietly for that time. What will you do if you ruin your health?'"
"Sure, I pushed too hard, but I'm fine now. No slashes or stabs like the other soldiers got."
"Instead, you overdid it so badly your cheeks are sunken in from how gaunt you've become. Plus, your whole body's burning up like fire from the stamina drain. And when you collapsed yesterday, His Highness came by and ordered, 'If Jaeger tries anything reckless, stop him no matter what.' Colonel Kerzhit will be here soon too..."
Laura had always been like a loyal, capable secretary on the surface—stoic but dependable— from our first meeting until we married.
But ever since I'd started pushing myself during the Richen Hill battle, Charlotte had occasionally acted like my mother, fussing over me.
Like now, using His Highness's orders as an excuse to keep me from overdoing it, or wiping my sweat for me even though I could do it myself.
She took such good care of me that I had no real complaints, but with a girl this pretty doting so much, it felt a bit burdensome in several ways.
"So just rest easy. The colonel's coming soon anyway. Chat with him and relax. If you go out to rally the troops, the rest of the 7th Division will worry sick..."
Hearing that, I gave up on going out.
Because right now, Charlotte looked on the verge of tears, fretting that I might overexert myself and worsen.
"Alright, I'll rest properly. Now you go rest. I overdid it, sure, but you pushed yourself plenty coming from Richen Hill to here."
Though she was devoting herself fully to my care now, for a civilian without military training, following our week-long flight from Richen Hill must have been grueling.
No exaggeration: it demanded more stamina than running a 20km marathon every day for seven straight days.
She probably wanted to collapse into bed and rest like I did.
"What if you collapse from nursing me? Go to another room and get some proper sleep."
But Charlotte shook her head and pointed to the small cot in the corner of my room.
"I'll rest here. You sleep first, master. Then I'll rest too."
With that, she wiped the sweat from my forehead with a damp cloth.
Even after marrying Laura, I'd never gotten care this attentive...
As I drifted into such thoughts, the door opened and Anya entered with porridge and a spoon.
She naturally sat in the chair by the right side of my bed, propped me up, and said,
"I asked the castle cooks to make this—porridge with flour, cheese, and meat. Eating it will help you recover. Don't leave any behind."
I had no idea what merits I'd racked up in my past life, but in the capital I had a beauty like Laura for a wife.
And here Anya and Charlotte were nursing me so devotedly—who knew? Either way, I was truly grateful.
Without those two, I'd probably have died on Richen Hill with high odds, or keeled over from exhaustion the moment we returned.
So I couldn't bring myself to tell them to leave now.
"If it's hard to hold the spoon, I could feed you..."
Anya said that, then lifted a spoonful of porridge—her face flushing as if embarrassed, despite offering to do it herself.
I was about to say I'd eat it myself, leave it be.
But then came a knock, and His Highness the Crown Prince strode in with a beaming grin.
"Haha, I heard you just woke up. How's the b—"
His expression turned baffled at the sight of me sandwiched between the two women.
If I'd visited Colonel Werner or another subordinate's home and found a similar scene, I'd have been just as startled.
Especially now: Charlotte on my left dabbing sweat with a cloth, Anya on my right—in her Imperial uniform—poised to feed me porridge. Utterly mortifying.
Though orders had gone out for Colonel Anya and Charlotte to focus on my care, this was still a warzone.
"Ahem, well, thanks to your 7th Division's heroics at Richen Hill, I and countless other Imperial troops made it back home. Truly grateful—from the heart."
"Just doing my duty, Your Highness."
"Duty? Don't say that after pulling off a miracle no one else could. You're my lifesaver and the hero who saved the Empire from crisis."
With that, His Highness placed hands on both their shoulders and patted reassuringly.
Anya might not have minded, but Charlotte seemed overwhelmed by the praise from the Crown Prince—unsure how to react, flustered.
He brushed it off casually.
"Without you two, who knows what would've become of Major Jaeger here. Horrifying to think. I'll personally reward your efforts later. Thank you."
Imperial royals—even the Emperor or Crown Prince—rarely uttered "thank you."
One word from them could send massive political ripples.
Hence the joke among nobles: a single "thanks" from the Emperor or Crown Prince sprouts a baron's house from the soil.
Anya and Charlotte would reap enormous rewards after the merits were tallied.
"But for now, I'll borrow Major Jaeger a bit. I won't keep him long—go get some food."
At that, they left the room. His Highness stopped me as I tried to rise.
"No need for a sick man to strain on formalities. I'm here to ask how we end this war. But first, some news."
"How's Laura?"
"Heard she birthed a healthy boy. Already sent a good name to your wife in Reichsburg: 'Friedrich.' Friedrich von Jaeger. You skip the 'von' yourself, but your son's a proper Imperial noble. Like it?"
For some reason, it evoked that potato king from Earth I'd known.
The great general famed for endless wars for Prussia.
The legendary commander who laid Germany's foundations.
"Yes, I love it. Feels like he'll be a commander greater than me, somehow."
"Greater than you? Got it—I'll pass that to your wife in the next report. Raise him well to engrave his name in Imperial history, as the name I gave foretells."