Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Personality Play Before the War (1)
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And just like that, the year and a half of preparation time flew by in the blink of an eye, bringing us to Imperial Year 222, July 30th—the day the war with Chechovia began.
As planned, His Highness the Crown Prince personally led five divisions, a force of 40,000 men, into Bruno territory to seize the Visochia region.
In response, my estate's administrators and I treated the Crown Prince and the nobles with the utmost courtesy, successfully keeping all the highborn guests in good spirits without any issues.
Now, with the banquet praying for victory in the war concluded and the nobles all retired to rest, the Crown Prince had summoned me to his chambers.
I hurried to the door of the room where he awaited and knocked before speaking.
"Your Highness, it is Major Peter Jaeger. May I enter?"
"Come in."
With his permission, I carefully opened the door without a sound and said,
"Then, if I may, Your Highness."
The moment I entered the room, I knelt on one knee and bowed my head in accordance with Imperial etiquette, declaring,
"Major Peter Jaeger greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"We have much to discuss, so rise and lift your head."
"Understood, Your Highness."
As I raised my head and stood, I could see a complex mix of emotions playing across his face.
Unlike our previous meetings, where he had shown only goodwill toward me, now there was the heavy pressure of personally commanding 40,000 soldiers, anxiety over defeat, and anticipation of victory.
These were feelings any commander heading into war—high-ranking or low—had to face.
"Before we talk war, Jaeger Major, Count Venner was curious, so I must ask: is Second Lieutenant Laura performing her duties as aide well?"
In truth, Count Venner was probably meeting with Laura right now, the father and daughter reuniting after a year to catch up on lost time.
He would hear from her about whether we had built a friendly rapport, whether she was carrying out her aide duties effectively, and so on—details he would relay to the Crown Prince privately at any opportunity.
Even before, he had received periodic reports through the count or others on whether our relationship was mutually beneficial.
So there was really no need for the Crown Prince to ask me this directly.
The fact that he did meant he wanted to ease into the serious conversation on a positive note.
"As one who graduated top of her class at the Academy, she has carried out her assigned duties almost flawlessly from day one as my aide. Even though she had no experience commanding so much as a platoon, there was a time she had to oversee company-level training, and she handled it so perfectly that the other company commanders were impressed."
"Count Venner has always bragged about his daughter until he was foaming at the mouth, but even I didn't imagine she'd be this capable in the army, not just at the Academy."
"That said, she shows great interest in the strategic and tactical doctrines, operational theories, and military principles I possess. Whenever she has a spare moment, she pesters me with questions on military studies, which can be a bit troublesome at times. It makes me feel less like her commanding officer and more like an Academy professor of military science."
Hearing this mock complaint, the Crown Prince patted my shoulder and said,
"When you have such a capable aide, that's a burden you just have to bear."
And so we chatted lightly about Laura, who had become my aide.
Once the conversation had warmed up sufficiently, the Crown Prince's expression shifted entirely; with a serious gaze, he looked at me and asked,
"I'd love to hear more, but let's get to the main topic. First off, when I granted you this territory and ordered preparations to invade Chechovia, how have things progressed?"
This was a question from the Crown Prince, who wielded more power than a four-star general or even the Minister of Defense back in Korea.
A typical commander might tense up and fumble their answer, but I had prepared thoroughly for everything.
So I replied with confident assurance.
"We have secured enough hardtack—made from salted turnips, beans, wheat, and barley—for 40,000 men to eat for three months. We've also stocked luxuries like salted meat and cheese sufficient for the entire army to consume for a month. Additionally, to ensure no discomfort for the supply merchants passing through, we've fully refurbished the inns, lodgings, and even the territory's roads."
The Crown Prince looked astonished at my words and said,
"Beyond expectations. For a territory with only about 3,000 serfs to prepare this much preserved food... even Deus would be impressed. And in the worst case, if the supply merchants can't make it here, what then?"
"In that event, I've prepared to compensate my territory's serfs appropriately and requisition the food they have on hand."
"More thorough than I imagined. Excellent. Then I'll assign you your first mission for this operation right away."
His words caught me off guard inwardly.
I had assumed my role would simply be to march alongside the Crown Prince's army into Chechovia tomorrow or the day after.
But he was the exalted Crown Prince, higher than four stars, so I couldn't object unless he outright ordered me to die.
Thus, I lowered my posture in accordance with protocol, ready to receive his orders.
"As Supreme Commander of this war and Crown Prince of the Reich Empire, I order Major Peter Jaeger as follows: Our forces will soon clash with the Chechovian army in the Visochia region, but we lack proper intelligence on the terrain in enemy territory of Visochia. Therefore, take your battalion immediately, advance three days ahead of the main force, conduct reconnaissance to gather detailed information, and report back regularly."
In peacetime, leading a single battalion into enemy territory would be tantamount to begging to be killed.
But in the current situation, scouting the area around the prospective battlefield with one battalion wasn't particularly dangerous.
After all, with over 40,000 Reich Empire troops marching just three days behind the Jaeger family lands,
the enemy would be mustering soldiers from across Chechovia, including the Visochia region, to prepare for battle here.
That would make it hard for them to garrison enough troops to challenge our 500-man battalion in every nearby area.
As long as we didn't loiter openly in enemy territory, move too slowly and reveal our position unnecessarily, or stray too far from major strongholds, we wouldn't face great risk.
Thus, provided we stayed alert, serving as the advance reconnaissance battalion was a relatively safe way to rack up merits.
Still, since we were going to war anyway, it was only natural to seize every opportunity to build achievements.
"I shall obey your orders, Your Highness. That said, may I ask how much discretion I'll have in battalion operations?"
As if expecting the question, the Crown Prince smiled with a knowing look and replied,
"Battalion-scale combat is prohibited unless we are attacked first. No massacres or killings of civilians either. However, if you deem it necessary, you have field commander's discretion for small-scale engagements, looting, sabotage, and disruption operations. That said, since any such actions are at your discretion, you alone will bear the responsibility."
A perfectly reasonable directive.
After all, if an advance reconnaissance battalion got into a prolonged fight with an enemy battalion and our position was exposed,
we could be wiped out by concentrated strikes from nearby enemy units if the main force wasn't there—or even if it was, we'd suffer casualties and delay the Crown Prince's arrival,
potentially forcing them to set up camp in an unfavorable position for battle.
"Understood, Your Highness. When shall we depart?"
"Prepare to set out right after breakfast tomorrow morning. I wish you good fortune in battle."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
With that, I quietly paid my respects and left the Crown Prince's chambers.
There were countless ways to harass the Chechovian army without massacring civilians, committing war crimes, or engaging in battalion-scale battles.
The question was how to make Chechovia's friends shower me with curses mixed with rave reviews when they received my cute little gifts.
With that in mind, I headed to the expeditionary supply depot, borrowed about 20 Chechovian army uniforms, and muttered to myself,
"I'll teach them how war is really done."