The Duel Awaits
“I will evacuate all the people of Roire.”
“Do you truly believe that is possible?”
“If we mobilize every soldier still in the capital, it can be done.”
“If they are not fools, they will not simply sit and watch.”
“They will not.”
Devan rubbed the space between his brows. In his common sense, the words made no sense at all.
“Let us assume for the sake of argument. What then? When the soldiers are spent, will the ancestors come to stop them?”
“You dare speak so to royalty?”
“Whether you call me royalty or not, you should speak words that make sense. Facts are facts. If we are pierced, the fleeing civilians will simply become the next targets.”
“I shall say it again. I have no intention of stopping the enemy. I will only buy time until everyone can flee.”
“Hah.”
Whether true or false, the words rang hollow. Yet Devan had watched Jeanne for years. She was not one to utter nonsense.
“I trust my own eyes. How do you propose to do it?”
Jeanne fell into thought. She recalled the situation of the war she remembered from her past life. Rotinzel’s army had split into two columns climbing toward Roire. Aaron Occident led the First Unit, Nicolas Wisteria the Second. Of the two, Aaron’s unit arrived in the capital first.
‘Aaron’s character is one who pursues perfection. He will not move until everything is exactly as he desires.’
Aaron was slow, cautious, and methodical in every respect. Rather than launching a blind all-out assault, he would first examine our strength.
“Aaron’s soldiers will arrive in Roire first. I intend to duel them.”
“A duel…”
“They may initiate it, or if not, we will. They will not refuse.”
A duel was a custom unique to Rotinzel. Before open battle, each side sent forth a knight to settle the matter one-on-one. Because Rotinzel was an island nation divided into small territories, resources were scarce. The duel was created to minimize damage to either side when conflict arose. Over time, its influence grew until defeat in a duel often meant immediate surrender.
Jeanne would challenge Aaron in a duel. A duel consisted of three knights in succession each fighting one-on-one. Since it was real combat, there was no need to spare the opponent even if victory was declared.
“Summoning only one knight from our side, with so few remaining, is a heavy burden. But we are already at a disadvantage. We must accept some risk if we are to face the enemy.”
“Then your goal is to defeat all three knights that emerge from the duel, is it not?”
“Exactly. If I defeat the three, there will be no immediate assault.”
Jeanne shuddered at the memory of Aaron’s suffocating strategy.
“Aaron is exactly that sort of man.”
Aaron’s meticulous nature, even in the smallest details, meant he would not attack on the day of the duel. There were also matters of military morale, and Rotinzel held the superstition that three consecutive losses in a duel meant defeat on that day.
Worrying even about superstition, Aaron’s cautious and meticulous nature shone in slow, deliberate battles but clashed with the sudden speed of a blitzkrieg.
“Then at least one day will be bought. I have heard of Aaron. If that is true, he will not attack immediately after defeat.”
“Agreed.”
“But that requires us to win all three. Is that even possible?”
Jeanne looked at Diego. The young knight, who had been crushed against the wall after receiving a scolding earlier, stood with a bright expression and struck his chest once. It was a silent message: believe in us.
“The enemy is terrifying—superior new weapons, forces several times larger than ours, and years of war experience. But the personal skill of their individual knights is inferior to ours. Especially when compared to our Second Knight Order, which values martial strength above all.”
Objectively, Bluisol’s forces were weaker, yet they had held against Rotinzel for six years thanks to the Duke of the South, Matthias, and our high-quality knights.
“The real problem is Nicolas…”
In Jeanne’s memory, Nicolas arrived in Roire two days after Aaron. He was the opposite of Aaron in temperament—fiery, impetuous, and overflowing with ambition. Jeanne did not know what Aaron thought, but Nicolas regarded him as a rival.
“If Nicolas arrives first, he will certainly attack. Our troops will have a hard time stopping him. And if we send soldiers to help the civilians evacuate, it will be even worse.”
“No. This is Aaron who will come first. It is certain.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“I will explain when the time comes.”
With those words, Jeanne gave a strange smile. It was not something she could say outright, as it came from the future, but Devan understood it differently.
‘It seems the princess has her own source of information. She created such a thing at this early stage. She really is remarkable.’
Devan accepted it without question and asked what came next.
“Even if we conduct the duel, what will you do afterward? It is impossible for the knights alone to defend the vast outer walls.”
“Afterward, we will abandon the outer walls and defend the palace. We will buy more time.”
Jeanne explained her plan to Devan and the knights. Devan pointed out a flaw.
“The biggest problem will be their pursuit of the fleeing civilians.”
“If they were a single force, yes. But we are isolated. We are like rats in a bag—harmless until caught. However, they are divided into two units that watch each other. And they do not yet know the king has fled. Therefore, they will assume the one left in the castle is the king.”
“Since they are competing against each other, they will try to capture the king rather than chase after the commoners.”
“Exactly. Fortunately, this place is the palace. When it was built, the king was a knight, so it was constructed to be close to a fortress. Defending it will not be impossible. Twenty-two men can hold out for at least two days.”
Diego, who had been silently listening to the conversation between Jeanne and Devan, spoke up.
“That is… difficult.”
“I believe in all of you.”
“…”
Tap. Tap.
Jeanne patted Diego’s shoulder. His expression, neither smiling nor crying, twisted in an ambiguous way.
“Hold out for exactly two days. After that, leave everything to me.”
Diego nodded reluctantly.
The two hundred soldiers left in Roire had focused on evacuating the civilians of the capital. At first they were bewildered, wondering why they had to leave their home. Some stubbornly refused, citing that it was their homeland, or they questioned why the king had done nothing while the enemy approached.
Small disturbances were settled personally by Jeanne. To ordinary people, royalty was the heavens themselves—something glimpsed only once in a lifetime, an existence of special blood. Jeanne knew royalty was no different from an ordinary person, but she had to use their authority now.
With the intervention of royalty, even those resisting eventually obeyed.
A long line of refugees stretched on. Every civilian in Roire, accompanied by the two hundred soldiers who guided them.
Jeanne watched them depart from the walls.
“Honestly, I cannot be sure I made the right choice.”
“Did you not declare it confidently before Devan’s army? By believing in your words, he has been made to follow the princess’s will.”
“If I had not, Devan would not have followed me.”
Fabian spoke gently.
“If you lack certainty about something, it is good to think of the alternative you would have chosen instead.”
“Instead?”
“Devan said to abandon Roire. If he had followed his own words, what would have happened?”
That was the situation Jeanne had experienced before her regression. From a military perspective, one could not call Devan’s opinion wrong. They could have safely sent the soldiers of Roire to Ileang Castle without risking anything. Instead, the civilians of the capital, unaware of the truth, were looted, raped, and massacred by the Rotinzel army that entered the city.
Afterward, the Rotinzel side spread the rumor that the king had abandoned his people and fled. The news spread across the entire kingdom, and the royal family’s support collapsed.
“The princess took the risk of saving the civilians. I am weak in strategy and tactics, so I cannot know the long-term consequences. If we are wiped out, it will be a very… serious matter for this country. But if we succeed, I believe it will have a great positive impact.”
“Yes, of course it must.”
Jeanne gave a light laugh. She turned her gaze once more to the soldiers guarding the refugee column. The soldiers would help the civilians to a certain region, then part ways with those leaving beyond Ileang.
Before the soldiers completely left Roire, Jeanne summoned Mateo, the captain of the Capital Defense Force.
“What is the matter?”
“Find one soldier among the capital soldiers and leave him here.”
“Do you have a personal acquaintance among them?”
“You could say that. Hughes. The name is not special. It is common, but with only two hundred soldiers, I will recognize him myself.”
Mateo’s expression showed his bewilderment. How did the noble princess know the face of an ordinary commoner soldier? The order was not difficult nor improper, so he obeyed.
“As you wish.”
After Mateo left, Jeanne thought about Hughes. ‘I heard he is an artilleryman.’
Even Jeanne could not remember the names and faces of every soldier she met during war, but she remembered him because he had helped her. He was the one who first tested Rotinzel’s new weapons before her eyes and explained them.
Jeanne was not an expert in gunpowder or firearms, so she needed someone who understood that field. Within Roire, much gunpowder remained that had not been disposed of. To handle it, Hughes was essential.
Afterward, Jeanne began preparing in earnest for the duel. The first step was selecting the three knights.
This duel could not be approached lightly. It was a battle she had to win. Therefore, the best knights were needed.
The selected knights were to sharpen themselves completely and calm their minds before entering the fight.
Diego, the captain of the entire knight order, practiced alone in the training ground, swinging his sword.
Knight Ethan meditated to calm his mind. His swordsmanship was clean and concise, like an ink painting from the East.
And Fabian.
A knight of sufficient skill to command an entire order even now. Jeanne believed Fabian would defeat anyone he faced and therefore chose him as the final knight for the duel.
Even the other knights of the Second Order had no objection to his selection.
It had been a long time since real combat. Seeking a sparring partner to train, a young knight approached Fabian.
“Sparring, if you please.”
A young knight like that? Fabian accepted with interest. It was the first unfamiliar face he had seen since he became captain.
Fabian accepted with the intention of lightly testing him.
And soon he realized he had misjudged.
Tap. Clatter.
The wooden practice sword rolled across the ground.
Fabian stared in shock at the knight before him, his wrist still gripped. At that moment, clouds of dust rose beyond the walls. Rotinzel’s army had arrived.