The Courtesan's Grace and the Northern March
The news of the Battle of Peale Castle had reached Matthias in La Rochelle as well.
That very moment when he believed he had won was the most dangerous. Though he had driven the enemy back, the allies had suffered heavy losses. Matthias therefore gathered every ounce of power he could muster and dispatched support to Peale Castle.
Converting the navy into land forces was difficult, but he had already sent a portion of his own army, his knights, and the volunteers who had pledged to aid La Rochelle—prioritizing them for the journey. Since Jeanne had not yet departed Peale Castle, the reinforcements could be supplied with relative ease.
In La Rochelle, Matthias worked as if he had multiple bodies. Because only La Rochelle was functioning properly in Bluisol, it was no exaggeration to say that feeding the entire nation from here was merely the bare minimum.
It was all his duty: to assess the enemy’s strength, develop weapons through technicians, produce paper and other necessities, stockpile supplies for the interior, and monitor the grain situation. Between those tasks, he squeezed in personal sword training, leaving him sleeping no more than three hours a day.
“Eventually you will collapse, my lord.”
His adjutant Kalen worried about his health.
But Matthias pretended not to hear and changed the subject.
“Speaking of which, how is the fishing industry progressing?”
“Excellent. The military is protecting and supporting it.”
The grain harvested last autumn had long since been consumed. This was the period when supplies would be tightest—after winter, before spring.
Although La Rochelle possessed vast plains and high yields, the entire kingdom depended on it. Securing food was therefore a problem. Military rations required a generous reserve against any contingency, far exceeding initial expectations.
Matthias sought solutions not from the agronomists but from other quarters.
Instead of individual citizens launching fishing boats, the duchy itself organized systematic fishing.
Fish were caught, a portion eaten immediately, and the rest preserved by drying. Because the residents of La Rochelle who were not mobilized for combat threw themselves into the work with zeal, substantial quantities could be secured.
Matthias looked at the ship still under construction with satisfaction.
He had gathered shipwrights from La Rochelle and fugitives from Plamont to develop new vessels. In naval combat, the role of ships was so critical it was almost laughable to explain twice.
The rumors about Emperor Edward II were well known even in Bluisol. From what he had heard, the man would not withdraw merely because he had lost. If he had been the type to retreat, he would never have risen to the throne by slaughtering his brothers while the empire stared him down.
Matthias therefore thought that if it were Edward II, he would send even more troops.
*If only we can strike the reinforcements.*
When Leonard arrived as reinforcements, there had been no prior intelligence, so they had not set sail in time.
This time, however, they would certainly send more troops—even to replace the commander. All that remained was to determine the exact timing.
“I have somewhere I must go. Ensure that no one outside learns that I have abandoned the duchy.”
“Are you planning to go there, my lord?”
Kalen had already guessed where Matthias was going. Matthias nodded.
Matthias trusted Kalen to handle the duchy’s overall management.
“Be careful.”
Leaving Kalen behind in La Rochelle, Matthias departed with only a single escort.
Matthias had visited Nantes, beside La Rochelle, once a month in secret.
Since he could not have his movements traced, he wore a hood to conceal himself. There were already many such figures in Nantes, so he stood out no more than usual.
Matthias moved to the largest building deep in the heart of Nantes.
Madame Elena, rumored to possess more wealth than even many nobles, operated Salon de Lis.
Though he had visited several times, the atmosphere there always felt oppressive to Matthias. Still, necessity demanded he come.
Receiving a token from the guard, Madame Elena examined it before smiling at the newly arrived Matthias.
“You are quite fortunate.”
“What do you mean?”
A knight spoke for Matthias.
Here, Matthias had revealed himself to no one except the proprietor, Madame Elena. Always the escort had spoken for him.
Elena, who believed that guests who paid were never asked to reveal their identities, had no reason to probe further. Thus the secret of Matthias’s visits here could be maintained.
“Yesterday a customer came looking for that girl. If the timing had been different, the two of you might have met. Since you did not, one might say fortune smiled on you.”
Matthias showed no reaction upon hearing Elena’s words. The woman was someone he had come to meet, yet he felt no desire to possess her.
Guided by the messenger, Matthias was led to a room.
On the prepared table stood only liquor; there were no refreshments. The escort stood guard beside him.
Eventually a woman with blue hair entered.
“It has been a while since you came in person. The girl was almost in despair.”
Emma naturally slid into the seat beside Matthias.
During that time Matthias had sent messengers to Salon de Lis to exchange news with Emma. It had been months since he had visited directly.
Matthias removed his hood.
Emma ran her fingers through her long hair and spoke.
“I dyed my hair with indigo. Does it suit me?”
Matthias stared at her before slowly nodding.
“It suits you.”
“I am glad you said so, my lord.”
Emma smiled brightly. It was a pure smile unlike anything one would expect from a woman who worked in such a place.
Then Emma leaned close, resting her hand lightly on his thigh.
“My lord, do you not take an interest in women? When I tempt them, they all fall for it. Your lack of reaction is so frustrating.”
Matthias was a man of stone. His extreme celibacy had even prompted rumors that he might have secretly converted to religion.
“The girl dares not even dream of becoming a duchess. If the second or third best would do…”
Matthias removed Emma’s hand.
“Enough.”
“Hmph. What if word reaches the duke that I am incapable?”
“Drop that joke.”
“Tsk, understood.”
Emma poured Matthias a drink.
Matthias only moistened his lips with the cup. He had not come here to drink.
When he set the cup down, Emma changed her expression and lowered her voice.
“Yesterday Leonard Plaren came here.”
Matthias’s gaze sharpened. Emma continued.
“He said his country is sending a new person. There will be many changes, he claimed, though he gave no details. His hint was that his own mission would change.”
“When?”
“Yesterday he told me he would take me in ten days. So before that.”
Matthias did not know the exact date, but this was already an enormous success.
“Thank you.”
Matthias had used Emma to obtain information for some time.
Emma was also a high-ranking employee in Salon de Lis. The guests she met were men of wealth or position—people with influence.
The information she provided was genuinely useful.
Who could have imagined that even a Rotinzel naval commander would come to meet her?
The moment Matthias learned Leonard was a Rotinzel commander, Emma had been troubled.
According to Salon de Lis rules, even if a guest’s identity was discovered, the employee was forbidden to reveal it. Otherwise she would face massive compensation and expulsion for breach of contract.
If that had been all, it might have been bearable, but rumors said Madame Elena quietly disposed of those sent away in such a manner. Emma had suffered alone.
Eventually, however, Emma had confided in Matthias, with whom she had a past connection.
“If it becomes dangerous, you may stop at any time.”
“I am still fine. This is work I enjoy.”
When he was seventeen, Matthias had saved Emma from a violent sailor.
Emma had been born the daughter of a courtesan and treated worse than commoners because of her lowly birth.
Despite such a vast difference in status, Matthias had never held any prejudice against her and helped her in both material and moral ways.
The debt of gratitude she owed him had weighed on Emma’s heart. She had agonized over what she could do to repay him until she reached this point.
She touched her blue-dyed hair.
“Why do you think I dyed my hair this color?”
“Why that color?”
“Because the man I hold in my heart loves blue.”
“…”
Matthias loved blue because it was the color of the sea.
If he had put it so plainly, even the most oblivious person would understand. Matthias had suspected it for some time.
That Emma had feelings for him.
Yet he had kept his own heart closed. He used her while feeling guilty and aware of what he was doing.
“I am sorry.”
“You need not say that to me.”
Emma smiled.
“Although I sell wine and laughter, I do not sell the country.”
And Emma knew. She knew that to Matthias she was merely a source of information.
Still, she did her utmost for him.
*And I will never sell even the duke of La Rochelle, Matthias.*
***
With Peale Castle largely secured, Jeanne led the Second Knight Division northward to Ileon. The castle lord had been lost, so the highest-ranking knight among those who had come from La Rochelle would take charge.
The Rotinzel army, leading the majority of their forces, had besieged Peale Castle but failed.
In that situation they faced a choice: either withdraw completely to Plamont or, somehow, take and hold only the capital, Roire, by crawling into it. The Rotinzel army had chosen the latter.
Thus they had now gathered all remaining troops in Roire and were simply hiding. It was the opposite of the situation when Jeanne had been in Ileon.
Thanks to this, Jeanne could move north without worry, taking shortcuts while evading enemy eyes.
As she rode, Divan spoke to Jeanne.
“When do you think the war will end, Your Highness?”
“If we can drive the enemy out of Roire alone, it will not be long.”
“Then the empire will need to help, it seems.”
Although reluctant, Bluisol’s army alone was insufficient to face Rotinzel. Jeanne nodded, for she had no choice.
“Still, for us to win, La Rochelle must maintain its current situation. How long do you think Matthias can endure?”
“He will hold until the war ends.”
Divan looked at Jeanne steadily.
“I have wondered about this for a long time. As his friend, I will say so, but why do you trust him so, Your Highness? He has shown nothing until now in this war.”
Divan could well think that way. Many others still saw Matthias, the newly elevated duke, as a greenhorn.
But not to Jeanne.
*Because he has shown much in the war.*
Jeanne’s trust in Matthias was profound, especially now that she was gazing at the man who had faced his end in the war’s final moments.
Divan sighed as he studied Jeanne’s expression.
“Ugh. From your face, I think I have misjudged. I am relieved.”
“What did you think?”
“I feared that you had fallen for that man.”
“Impossible.”
“I know. But when he attended the academy he was popular, so I wondered. I simply cannot understand women who like such a scoundrel in the sea.”
“His face is even, and he is the duke’s son. Popularity is only natural.”
“Really?”
Jeanne and Divan continued their light conversation as they rode north.