The Final Siege Approaches
The time until the Rotinzel army's arrival grew short. The few who remained in the fortress were preparing to face their enemy from their assigned positions.
Ileang Castle had been fortified as a stronghold. Naturally, it housed a military training ground and a knightly practice field.
“Here’s the place.” Heini entered the practice field.
The knights immersed in their training paid her no mind.
Only one knight approached her. Knight Ethan.
“My lady, what business do you have here?”
“My lady?”
“This is the knights’ practice field. Tell me, my lady, why you have come.”
The word “my lady,” which fit her terribly, made Heini furrow her brows.
“Tch. Do you think I came because I wanted to?”
“If you are referring to that one uncle, who do you mean?”
“The uncle who is incredibly strong. Uncle Fabian.”
“Knight Fabian?”
Ethan was genuinely surprised. The woman calling him “uncle” was shocking enough, but what truly stunned him was that Fabian had summoned someone to the practice field.
There were only two reasons Fabian ever summoned anyone to the practice field.
The first was for sparring.
The second was to teach someone.
Given the girl’s appearance—someone who hadn’t even held a sword yet—he could only assume it was the latter.
Ethan had never heard of Heini being Fabian’s disciple after Jeanne lied to Diego. At the mention of the fact, he asked again out of confirmation.
“So Knight Fabian has taken you on as his disciple?”
“What nonsense is that? Why would I be his disciple?! Just… because the uncle is strong, I figured I’d try using a sword like him.”
“We call that being a disciple.”
“No, you fools! You don’t understand the relationship between master and disciple! Anyway, stop calling me my lady. It gives me the creeps.”
“Then what should I call you?”
“Um… hmm…”
Heini seriously tried to think.
Meanwhile, Fabian arrived at the practice field.
He had taken a break from the meeting summoned by Gaspar after Jeanne left.
Even if Fabian had been there, he wouldn’t have spoken. Soon he would be too busy fighting. There had been no other chance.
The moment Fabian arrived, Ethan bowed and stepped aside.
Only then could Fabian see Heini hidden behind him.
“You’ve been waiting a while.”
“Uncle, here’s a knight saying you’re my master?”
“Do you have the mind to become my disciple?”
“No. I just want to steal your swordsmanship.”
“If you say that in front of me, I’ll teach you, but the desire will vanish.”
“Even a knight can be that cowardly?”
“Hah.”
Though he was older now, young Fabian had been the undisputed greatest knight.
If those who wanted to become his disciples lined up, they would stretch the length of a full castle circuit. Yet Heini, oblivious to such an opportunity, acted as she pleased.
Ethan, watching her, looked astonished.
Meanwhile, Fabian’s gaze fell on the bow Heini had brought despite the training.
Noticing his gaze, Heini lowered the bow from her back and held it forward.
“Isn’t it magnificent?”
“I’d like to inspect it for a moment. Would that be all right?”
“Um… well, sure.”
Heini had considered for a moment because it was her beloved bow, but she readily agreed.
After all, Fabian wouldn’t run off with the bow.
Though she had no faith in knights, she knew Fabian’s nature would prevent him.
“The bow frame is made from the horns of a water buffalo, polished. The string is twisted from silk thread and the tendons of a black jaguar. Even knights like you would have never seen a bow like this.”
The black jaguar was a forest hunter that roamed with flexible movements.
Its leg tendons, the source of its explosive power, were tough and resilient.
Fabian handed the bow back and spoke.
“Having such a fine bow and superb archery skill, why do you want to learn from me?”
“Because I have to win against whoever I fight from now on!”
Heini held pride in her skill.
But after seeing Fabian effortlessly defeat the soldier who killed Maxwell, her uncle, her thoughts shattered.
Even for revenge on her uncle, she needed to become stronger.
Although archery would remain her main strength, learning the sword would prove useful when enemies closed in.
Fabian nodded slowly, having seen the resolve in Heini’s eyes.
After all, he had been watching the girl with talent.
“First, hold the grip lightly with both hands.”
Fabian handed Heini a blunted sword meant for practice.
Normally, when teaching swordsmanship to beginners, one started with physical training, then arm muscle exercises, footwork, and only then let them hold the sword.
But Heini already had solid foundations.
As a hunter, her stamina was exceptional. Archery demanded even greater arm strength than swordsmanship. Moreover, the bow she used was exceptionally powerful, so her strength rivaled that of most knights.
“Is this all right?”
Unlike most who felt awkward holding a sword for the first time, Heini instinctively took the optimal grip.
As if she had already learned swordsmanship somewhere.
“Your stance, grip, posture—everything is excellent. The longsword has four basic stances. All movements stem from combining and applying them. Follow me.”
“That’s easy.”
Heini nodded.
When Fabian demonstrated, she copied flawlessly. Though it wasn’t enough to enter battle in a day or two, she would be ready soon.
Ethan, who had always respected Fabian deeply, paused his own training to watch.
“It’s rare to see Knight Fabian teaching someone.”
Ethan glanced at the knight who had approached him. Ines, quiet and rarely showing herself. She continued.
“Calling her Knight Fabian’s disciple… you, Knight Ethan, and Captain Jeanne are all not it. Accepting a new disciple means she has great potential. It will be interesting to face her later.”
Ines had a calm image and equally composed personality. She felt like a knight of quiet slumber.
But she was still a member of the Second Knight Order. Like Fabian, she liked facing strong opponents, and now she observed Heini’s hidden talent with interest.
“Did you know? That lady is Knight Fabian’s disciple.”
“Deputy Captain Diego told me. The reason you, Knight Ethan, didn’t hear it was because you would obey Captain and Deputy Captain’s orders anyway.”
Ethan harbored no doubt or complaint about Heini’s joining, only that Jeanne had brought her.
The fact that Heini was Fabian’s disciple had been a lie when Jeanne spoke to Diego. She had whispered it only to him, and Diego had quietly informed only the knight who disapproved of Heini’s joining.
“Not knowing what others know is not a pleasant feeling.”
“Now that you know, that’s enough. More importantly, shall we loosen our bodies a bit?”
Ines drew her sword and spoke. Ethan accepted her challenge for sparring.
“Very well. It has been a while since I saw Knight Ines’s skill.”
“This time I will win.”
Fabian and Ines stood facing each other, swords pointed.
***
Gaspar’s summoned meeting included Jeanne, the Ileang defense commander, Divine, and several knights.
“Hah. If only Lord Perzan were here.”
Gaspar expressed his regret that Captain Perzan of the First Knight Order was absent.
But it was too late. They had to stop the enemy with the troops present.
“You all know the situation. The enemy is coming here now. The commander is Nicolas Wisteria, one of Rotinzel’s twin commanders. This will not be an easy fight.”
“What is the enemy’s size, and when will they arrive?”
“Scouts reported they looked like at least three thousand. And they should reach here by tomorrow.”
Gaspar’s aide answered in his stead. Sighs echoed from all sides.
The enemy outnumbered the soldiers left in Ileang Castle.
Yet Jeanne felt hopeful.
‘Back then Aaron and Nicolas’s units came to Ileang together.’
The king’s escape had left the castle gates wide open, allowing the enemy to enter Roire easily.
With no losses and no clash between the two commanders, Rotinzel’s forces had marched straight to Ileang.
They then surrounded the castle tightly, sealing every entrance, and used the textbook siege tactics to starve the defenders.
The garrison, short on supplies, had no choice but to sally out. The ensuing battle was a crushing defeat.
‘This time the situation is far better.’
But Jeanne and the soldiers had intercepted Rotinzel’s advance from Roire and disrupted their intact forces with every possible trick. Unlike the previous regression, only Nicolas’s unit had reached Ileang.
The first cornerstone of victory—reducing the enemy’s strength—had been laid. Bluisol could endure the siege far longer.
“Now, let us discuss countermeasures.”
Gaspar led the meeting. But everyone stayed silent, exchanging wary glances.
Even in this heavy situation, Jeanne observed calmly.
Gaspar glanced sideways at Divine, as if saying “It’s odd that you, the one who likes to speak up, are silent.”
Divine cleared his throat loudly to draw everyone’s attention.
“Of course we must lock the gates and hold.”
Divine had held back because he had lost his position, but when no one spoke, he stepped forward.
“Ileang was built as a fortress from the start. It has its own water source inside, so cutting off supply means little. The enemy’s forces are rushing here and lacked proper siege weapons. From what we saw, they seem to have brought only a few dozen prefabricated ballistae and catapults. Our weapons will suffice.”
Jeanne’s group had sent knights out for scouting during their rapid march to Ileang.
They confirmed that the massive ram, like a giant pillar, and the catapult, a kind of trebuchet, were too difficult to transport, so they were not brought.
Thinking they could conquer the castle in a swift assault without proper siege engines meant Nicolas had pushed his knight unit’s rear guard to the breaking point.
“Why overthink? The turtle hides its body in its shell and endures even if the lion scratches and bites.”
Jeanne spoke up.
“An elephant would be flattened if stepped on. By military size alone, this place is an elephant.”
Countless eyes turned to her.
The atmosphere in the meeting room grew tense after Jeanne’s rebuttal.