Encounter with Serpina's Army (2)
"Is it true that Hisphil Castle has fallen?"
"It is."
At Vanessa's words, Karelia stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"……It feels as though Serpina's army has come right to our doorstep."
Roland's forces and Hesna's forces still stood to the north, so they remained outside Serpina's sphere of influence for the moment. Even so, the fact that the Brans Army—which they had assumed would hold the center indefinitely—had collapsed like autumn leaves in a storm was a shock even to Karelia.
"What a lightning campaign. The moment Kelstein Castle fell, they came charging south like a true thunderbolt."
"We must begin preparing as well."
"Preparing how?"
Vanessa nodded.
"Even if the Brans Army has not yet been fully driven back, at this pace Serpina's forces will soon share a border with Roland and Hesna. We should strike at that precise moment."
"Vanessa, I understand your thinking…… but even Serpina's army cannot hold a front stretched that thin. And to the east sits the Asius Army, which has already consolidated the surrounding states. Roland Jennis is no fool—he is unlikely to move first while Hesna still stands beside him."
At present the four southern nations maintained a perfect, frozen balance. No one could strike first, nor could anyone easily propose an alliance—an ambiguous stalemate. That carefully balanced equilibrium among the continent's lords had begun to shake to its foundations with Serpina's advance into the central continent.
"The opportunity will come. Serpina is an extremely aggressive woman, after all."
"Hmm…… But even if we do manage to time an attack on Roland's forces well, that would put us in direct contact with Serpina's army and lengthen our own front…… Can our current strength handle that?"
At present, the Karelia Army bordered two nations: Roland's forces to the north, and the Ohana Army to the east. To the west rose rugged mountains linking to the western continent; to the south lay the sea. If they invaded a nation under attack by Serpina, they would inevitably clash with Roland.
But—
Hearing this, Vanessa shook her head.
"My lord. That is not it."
"Not it?"
"We must not attack Roland's army."
"……What?"
Vanessa spoke with firm emphasis.
"When Serpina invades Roland and Hesna, the place we must strike is the Ohana Army right beside us."
"……!"
Karelia stared at Vanessa in surprise, then nodded as understanding dawned.
"……I see."
"Yes. Exactly."
Vanessa bowed her head and explained in a most respectful tone.
"Roland will be too busy dealing with Serpina to spare us any attention. Attacking Roland would not be a poor decision in itself. But it would inevitably force us to share a border with Serpina. Therefore we must use the window when Roland and Hesna are preoccupied with Serpina to strike Ohana."
If the Karelia Army could conquer Ohana without interference from the two northern states, the tedious four-nation standoff that had dragged on for years would end. Which meant the odds of becoming the hegemon of the south would rise dramatically.
"I see. So the time has finally come……"
Karelia fell into quiet thought. To attack Ohana, the most critical point would of course be the forward base of Teppelo Castle.
"My lord. Will you entrust everything to me?"
"Entrust it to you?"
"Yes. To prepare for war efficiently, I would like to borrow absolute authority as sovereign for a short while."
Power in the Karelia Army was concentrated in the hands of its sovereign, Macana Karelia. This was less a product of her own temperament than the result of Vanessa—the State Strategist who enjoyed Karelia's deep trust and considerable autonomy—having deliberately shaped the power structure that way with her own hands.
In any case, to be granted full authority by Sovereign Macana Karelia in this nation was tantamount to becoming the de facto number one who could steer the entire state.
Karelia hesitated briefly, but a moment's reflection made clear there was nothing to hesitate over.
……When it comes to war, Vanessa is objectively far more capable than I.
Her principle was to place talented officers in the right positions regardless of their past achievements. That was why she had been able to appoint Lunarien as lord of Teppelo Castle so soon after her arrival. She was simply operating under the same iron rule now.
"Very well. Vanessa, I leave it in your hands."
"I will bring you good news without fail."
Vanessa bowed at the waist. It was the first moment in the Karelia Army that anyone other than Karelia herself had seized power.
"You want me to conscript soldiers?"
"That is correct."
Luna, lord of Teppelo Castle, looked troubled.
"But as you know, a plague recently swept through our castle. If we raise troops at a time like this…… I believe many of the people will lose their protectors."
A vicious plague had struck Teppelo Castle and several territories on the Ohana side. Fortunately it had been brought under control to some degree…… but the scars it left still ran deep throughout the domain. Conscription would inevitably mean drafting healthy adult men, and pulling those men away under these circumstances would place an enormous burden on the people.
Yet the officer delivering the order spoke in a thoroughly resolute tone.
"The sovereign's command is that you somehow expand combat-ready forces beyond a certain scale."
"The sovereign's command? Is that truly so?"
Luna could scarcely believe it. Karelia, who cared about the people's livelihoods as much as—no, more than—Luna herself, had issued such a ruthless order?
Then—
The officer let slip a peculiar remark in passing.
"Yes. It is effectively the same as the sovereign's command, so please carry it out at once."
"……Excuse me? What do you mean by that?"
The officer hesitated a moment, then bowed his head.
"My lady. All I can tell you is that this is the sovereign's command. I ask that you take that into consideration."
"……."
He had ended by calling it the sovereign's command. But the phrase "effectively the same as the sovereign's command" meant it had not come from Karelia's own lips. That detail nagged at her. If not Karelia, then who had issued such an order?
Luna thought that far, then gave a slight shake of her head. No. This man had simply come to deliver orders from above. She knew well that pressing him further would only put him in a more difficult position.
"……Understood. I will obey the sovereign's command."
"Thank you for your understanding, my lady. Then."
After the officer withdrew, Luna sat in the lord's chair and sank into thought.
Expanding the forces……
She had no desire to conscript adult men from the people right now. But it was the command of Karelia, who had accepted her without conditions, and she wanted to follow it. Setting aside whether she wanted to or not, once her lord had given an order, carrying it out was her duty.
Isn't there some better way……?
As Luna fretted, a certain man's face flashed through her mind. The white-haired man who had always lit her path whenever she did not know what to do.
Lord Swen…… What am I supposed to do at a time like this……?
Luna repeated the unreachable question over and over in her mind. Was it simply that she wanted his counsel? Or did she miss the air of Zeiland Castle, where they had held hands and danced together? She could not name the precise reason, yet one shining certainty remained.
Luna wanted to see Swen. Very, very much.
After the talk of marriage with Reika, quite a few things had happened.
Ernandof had transferred to Lacline Castle, where Anima served as lord, while Epinel and Emma had been posted to Gelstrom Castle, once Charam territory. There Epinel had risen to become lord of Gelstrom Castle.
The reason for this division was almost certainly that both castles shared a border with Serpina's army. Valharat Castle also shared that border, but it was the farthest of them, and with Sovereign Yuuri present, a certain level of readiness could be assumed. In short, Asius's core officers had been dispersed to hold the border like iron.
There had originally been talk of hastily scraping together troops to attack a Brans castle—but with Serpina's army descending and now sharing a border with them, they no longer had that luxury. If they got tangled fighting Brans and Serpina struck first, it would be their side that ended up in danger.
That aside…… Serpina's advance seems to have slowed a little.
After Kelstein Castle fell, Serpina's army had been surging south with such ferocity it seemed determined to swallow the entire Brans-held central continent in one gulp. But from the moment they took Hisphil Castle, the front had suddenly gone quiet. No word of battles between Serpina and Brans had reached them either.
Something feels off.
Wasn't the calm before the storm always the quietest?
As he thought that, a woman's voice he had grown somewhat used to reached him.
"Um, Lord Swen……?"
"……Ah."
I turned toward the source of the voice. Reika's pink eyes were looking at me, bright and clear.
"Is something…… b-bothering you, by any chance……?"
"Hmm? No, well……"
Where we were: the garden of the Nighthart estate. I was meditating with Reika. I had considered going out, but the weather was poor, so we were spending the day in the garden instead.
"It's nothing. More importantly, you should focus on your meditation."
"Ah, I-I'm s-sorry…… It's just, you, um…… looked like you were worrying about something, Lord Swen……"
"You can tell that?"
"Y-yes…… I'm good at reading the room……"
Reika answered in a voice that shrank smaller and smaller. Had her manner toward me changed after the marriage talk? Not particularly. We simply continued training as usual and checked her magic.
She could now cast Ice Spear with fair success. She still seemed to think of it as little more than "a spear made of ice," but the fact that she had expanded her repertoire of usable spells was an extremely encouraging achievement.
What remained was Thunder Storm. A lightning-strike spell which, together with the fireball spell Fire Ball, formed the three most basic elemental magics that existed in this world. They looked marvelous and formidable now, but once mages began appearing everywhere, they would no longer count as particularly powerful.
Of course I was not worried about that. This was Reika, after all—she would grow on her own and reach the next tier of magic. Even now, mastering two spells in this era was an extraordinarily rapid rate of growth.
"Anyway, you don't need to worry about me. Aren't you the one with the bigger problem, Miss Reika?"
"M-me……?"
"The marriage discussion."
"Ah……"
At my words her face flushed pink. She ducked her head, at a loss…… and then once again said nothing. Was it that embarrassing? Well, the only servants who attended her at the estate were women, and the only man she faced was her adoptive father Zinor—so of course men would be difficult for her.
"You don't need to overthink it. Just decide however your heart leads you. Whatever you choose is fine."
"……I-I'm sorry……"
"There's nothing to apologize for."
While we were talking, a maid came running from the distance.
"Lord Swen……!"
"?"
Since it was a maid, I assumed she was looking for Reika, not me.
"There you are……!"
"What is it?"
"They're looking for you at the royal castle, Lord Swen."
"For me?"
She was thoroughly flustered, cold sweat beading on her brow despite the chill. If it were merely a summons, her expression would not be this grave.
A moment later, just as I expected, she delivered thoroughly unwelcome news.
"It's…… th-there's a war……!"
"!"
At the word "war," Reika whirled toward me in shock. And right around then, I had a feeling I knew what she was about to say.
"Serpina's army…… seems to have invaded our territory……!"