Northern Fortress Defense (6)
As I stood frozen, staring at Kalintz in stunned disbelief, Irene spoke to me in a gentle voice.
"Ah, Swen. You were unconscious, so… of course you wouldn't know."
I turned my head to look at her.
And from her, I learned everything that had happened while I was out cold.
Turn the clock back.
Having successfully broken out of Cherien Castle's prison, Kalintz had stolen a soldier's horse and was racing toward the fortress as fast as he could ride.
From what he'd overheard, Serpina's army was marching on Cherien Castle with some fifty thousand troops — the very castle whose defenses he himself had gutted by throwing his own soldiers into a meat grinder and stripping the garrison bare.
He'd managed to exploit the inevitable chaos and escape. That much was fine. The problem was everything that came after.
I was a fool.
Locked in a cell with nothing but a cold, clear head, he finally understood just how stupid he had been.
For one thing, the soldiers of Cherien Castle hadn't lost their fighting spirit at all.
Kalintz himself had known perfectly well that while Serpina had conquered the north, she had never fully won the hearts of its people — which was why unrest kept flaring up across the region.
If he'd thought it through, he could have deduced that the rebels might prove surprisingly loyal to Ian. But he hadn't.
And the result of the battle he'd forced? Catastrophic.
He had done the enemy's work for them — a general of a hostile nation, cleaning up a mess so Serpina's army wouldn't have to lift a finger.
Thanks to none other than Kalintz himself, Serpina's forces would crush the rebellion with ease.
He had earned military glory, all right. Just not for the Brans Army. For the enemy nation of Serpina.
Damn it all!
How humiliating could a situation get?
Only after everything had fallen apart did his arrogance and stupidity finally hit him.
And now that he had ruined everything — the fortress he had personally championed and built would inevitably fall into enemy hands.
He had been the one who insisted on constructing it in the first place.
After the humiliating thrashing he'd taken against the small Lunarien force, and with nothing of note to show for himself in the north either, he'd needed to do something — to prove something.
He wasn't just any general. He was blood kin to Lin Brans, sovereign of the Brans Army.
He was already constantly measured against his older brother and younger sister. The last thing he wanted was to hear people say, That incompetent only holds his position because of his bloodline.
Objectively speaking, he was an outstanding commander. But relative to his siblings, he was always undervalued — and that had made him desperate.
So what would it mean if a fortress whose strategic value had been questioned from the very planning stages — a fortress barely finished — was recaptured by the enemy?
And all because of a reckless battle that had done nothing but hand the enemy free favors?
During construction, he had been advised more than once: If this fortress falls, it will only benefit the enemy. Better not to build it at all.
At the time, his vision had been clouded. He'd ignored them and pushed ahead. Now he knew.
They had been right.
Looking back, every single thing he had done was pointless.
Damn it!
Kalintz made a decision.
Now that he had fallen this low, the least he could do was refuse to beg for his life.
He would rather die fighting at the fortress.
For the honor of House Brans, he had to die on the battlefield.
If he had committed such a colossal blunder, then at the very least he had to take responsibility for it himself.
Otherwise, he would never be able to face his younger sister — his lord — or his older brother, the greatest swordsman of the Brans Army.
But no matter how he turned it over in his mind, one anxious thought wouldn't leave him: his sister Lin had almost certainly ordered a retreat.
It was her nature never to stake her neck on a battle she couldn't win.
If he arrived at the fortress and found not the sky-blue banners of Brans but the brilliant yellow of Serpina's army flying overhead…
Kalintz was even prepared to storm the fortress alone.
Please… just hold on a little longer. Just a little longer…!
Perhaps his desperate prayer had been heard.
Fortunately, the flag flying over the fortress was sky-blue — proof it still belonged to the Brans Army.
But something about the atmosphere felt wrong.
…What is that?
Atop the walls, some man was doing something bizarre.
He seemed to be bellowing at the top of his lungs between two drums.
Drawing closer, Kalintz saw that it was a white-haired man.
There had been a young white-haired man at the fortress, hadn't there…?
But he was given no more time to think.
"…Huh?"
He looked up at the sky.
And there—
Having heard the full story from Irene, I finally understood the situation.
So. An escape, then.
Commanders with high stats were hard to capture as prisoners in the first place — and even when they were, they escaped with surprising frequency.
That was why you either recruited them quickly or used them as diplomatic leverage just as fast.
Given the circumstances, Ian's forces clearly hadn't handled the matter with any particular shrewdness.
Not that I could blame them. How was a freshly raised rebel army, mid-battle, supposed to manage its prisoners properly?
Serpina's forces had almost certainly been dispatched by now.
Kalintz nodded as though something had overwhelmed him, then turned toward me. The look in his eyes was… intense.
"Swen! Your name is Swen, correct?"
"It is."
"Good! Your name… I, Kalintz Brans, have committed it to memory. I shall never forget it."
?
I had no idea what had gotten into him, but dumping cold water on the moment didn't seem wise. Better to play along.
"Thank you."
"Thank me? No — I am the one who should be thanking you. I hear that when everyone else had given up on this fortress, you alone declared you would fight for it — even going so far as to disobey orders. Is that true?"
I had no idea when he'd heard that, but it was accurate enough.
"It is."
"Yes! Swen… you defied orders and risked your life to defend this fortress! For me — for Kalintz Brans himself!"
???
What on earth was this man talking about?
Why would I fight for you?
But Kalintz, blissfully unaware of my thoughts, pressed on with undiminished fervor.
"Swen! I witnessed the miracle you wrought with my own eyes! I saw it on the road as I rode for the fortress!"
Ah.
Hearing that, everything suddenly snapped into focus.
When I'd been running my calculations, I'd figured that if Kalintz became my backer, my insubordination might be papered over somehow.
But no — he had personally watched me put on that entire spectacle.
Which meant Kalintz Brans hadn't merely come to see me as "an extraordinarily capable man." He was now utterly convinced of it.
…Terrifying.
The foresight of Intelligence 100.
I was the one who had done it, and even so, there were moments when it sent a chill down my spine.
"You built an altar, sustained yourself on the barest scraps of food day after day so you could commune with the heavens, and beat the drums without rest to knock upon the gates of the sky — all of that is true, is it not?!"
The story seemed to have gained a few embellishments somewhere along the way.
But he looked so invested that I decided to just let him run with it.
"Hah! That look on your face — wondering how I knew!"
Kalintz didn't even wait for my answer. He was too busy talking himself into a frenzy.
"The soldiers who fought beside you on those walls! I heard every detail from them! Swen! I am truly proud of you! To think a talent of your caliber has joined our ranks — our lord's eye for people was never wrong after all!"
"Thank you."
"Mm! As you should!"
Kalintz grinned. His confident tone made it clear he fully expected me to be moved to tears by his words on the spot.
"I will never forget that you staked your life for me in this battle! So long as you serve the Brans Army, no one will dare look down on you! I swear it on the name of Brans!"
"…"
I couldn't deny a flicker of annoyance — but having him praise me of his own free will was still preferable to having him turn hostile.
After making his grand scene, Kalintz finally left the room.
Once again, only Irene and I remained.
I turned to look at her.
She was watching me with anxious eyes, as though something deeply worried her.
"…Swen. For a little while, at least, I would like you to rest and recover."
"I slept for about a day. I'm fine."
"Please listen to me. I'm asking you."
"…"
I felt ready to get up, but… well. Might as well accept the kindness.
I could think of it as replenishing my already meager stamina.
"Understood. But if anything comes up, please call for me."
"Mm. I will."
And then silence settled over the room once more.
Only then did something strike me as odd, and I asked:
"Ah… Lady Irene."
"What is it?"
"Do you plan to stay here the whole time?"
"Yes."
Irene nodded without hesitation.
"Looking after you is my duty, Swen. As for the fortress — General Kalintz has returned. He can handle things from here."
"…Are you sure? Don't you have other work to do?"
"No. Right now… taking care of you, Swen, is more important than anything else."
Her tone was utterly resolute.
But the eyes that met mine weren't cold — they were warm.
Her demeanor had shifted somehow since before I lost consciousness…
Honestly, I didn't mind this side of her at all.
"Then I'll leave myself in your care."
"Mm."
She smiled at me.
I was able to protect that smile—
For the first time, in that moment, I felt genuine gratitude that my Intelligence was 100.
Several days passed at the fortress.
Word arrived that every castle under Ian's control — including Cherien Castle and Mati Castle — had fallen to Serpina's army. Ian's forces had been annihilated, and Ian Laschphalt, the man who had raised the rebellion, had met his end on the executioner's block.
Not only Ian — every general who had joined the uprising, including Solana Laschphalt and the rest, had lost their heads.
A remarkably short-lived rebellion.
It was never going to last long anyway. But knowing that, why had they risen up at all?
The question crossed my mind, but there was no longer any way to find the answer.
Ian was dead.
What becomes of the north from here?
The total suppression of the rebellion and the mass executions sent a clear message:
Anyone who raised a hand against Serpina's army would die. Without exception.
Serpina's authority in the north would only grow stronger.
And once the north was fully stabilized… the tip of that spear would inevitably turn toward the Brans Army.
My lord will need to prepare carefully.
Well. She would manage on her own, no doubt.
All I needed to do was pick the right moment and make my escape with Irene.
Then several more days passed.
The reinforcements Lin had dispatched from Anel Castle finally arrived at the fortress.
Irene and I joined Kalintz in the council chamber to greet the newcomers.
"By our lord's command, I, Taltin, have just arrived, General Kalintz."
"Mm. Good."
"We were greatly relieved to hear of your successful escape, General. Our lord must have been overjoyed by the news as well."
"…"
Kalintz offered no particular reply. He simply changed the subject.
"Right. These reinforcements will be stationed at this fortress going forward, I take it?"
"Well… I'm afraid that won't be the case."
"What?"
At Kalintz's question, the general who had introduced himself as Taltin spoke in a firm voice.
"This is an order from our lord. Kalintz Brans and all officers under his command are to return to Anel Castle at once."
"What? Return? Then who remains at this fortress?"
"…"
Taltin hesitated for the briefest moment, then carefully continued.
"And second… after gathering every supply that can be salvaged… you are ordered to destroy the fortress."