The March of the Duchy
The March of the Duchy
It wasn't very far from Morena Territory to the Duchy.
It was a short distance, requiring us to cross only three small territories to the northwest.
Thanks to intelligence from the Celine Cult and Lesty, who had extensive mercenary experience, we were able to pass through those territories without encountering any knights or soldiers.
The first territory we passed through was just as cluttered and desolate as the others, but the second was in an uproar, as if war were about to break out.
Knights and soldiers were rushing north, while people packed up their belongings and fled southeast.
But this territory wasn't embroiled in a civil war with its neighbors, nor did it border the Duchy directly.
Even so, the entire territory felt as if it were on the eve of battle.
A small territory whose name I didn't even know.
I asked Lesty about the territory.
"Which side does this territory belong to?"
"Formen Domain is probably closer to the First Prince's faction. But since it's a small territory ruled by a minor noble with the rank of baron, you can assume he's simply supporting the Crown Prince out of custom."
The First Prince probably didn't even know who the lord of this territory was.
Whatever was happening, there was no way the First Prince would come to their rescue.
Watching a worn-out wagon pass by, Balea asked.
An exhausted-looking family was riding in the wagon.
"Is it because of the Duchy?"
I nodded at Balea's question.
It wasn't as if monsters would suddenly launch an attack.
I couldn't think of any other reason besides the Duchy.
"Has the Duchy already started a war?"
Lesty answered Balea's muttered question.
"No. I haven't heard any news of that."
That meant no such rumors had reached the believers of the Celine Cult.
Since it was the most impressive intelligence network I knew of, I had no choice but to believe him.
"But it seems their soldiers and knights have crossed the border."
Balea and I couldn't help staring at Lesty.
They'd crossed the border, yet there was no fighting?
Balea's and my doubts were answered in the next territory.
The territory bordering the Duchy.
An immense number of knights and soldiers had gathered at the border of Granmera Domain.
Clearly, this wasn't the northern border facing the Duchy.
And yet, so many soldiers and knights were gathered along the domain's southern border.
Some were local soldiers from Granmera Domain, but the vast majority were knights and soldiers from the Duchy.
The Duchy's soldiers were setting up camp inside the border as if Granmera Domain were their own land.
We barely managed to slip into the domain without being seen by the soldiers.
It was the same inside the domain.
The village inns were packed with the Duchy's knights and mercenaries, and the Duchy's soldiers had set up camps outside the village.
It was as if the Duchy had occupied the domain.
"But their relationship with the locals doesn't seem bad enough for this to be a forced occupation."
Balea said, pulling back the robe that had covered her face.
She was right.
Although I'd heard that commoners didn't really care who their ruler was, the people of this domain seemed to get along far too well with the Duchy's soldiers.
On top of that, public order was decent, and everyone seemed so relaxed that not a single soldier inspected us as we wandered around dressed as mercenaries.
The reason was written on the bulletin board in the village square.
[The rightful successor to the late King Carlos is his younger brother, Grand Prince Julian de Carlos.
I, the Lord of Granmera, swear to serve King Julian and declare our domain to be the territory of King Julian.
...
Let all residents of the domain continue to pursue their livelihoods diligently, and welcome the soldiers and knights arriving from the Duchy like family.]
Balea and I stared blankly at the announcement posted on the bulletin board.
"Should we call this a surrender? Or cooperation?"
No matter how you looked at it, this was neither surrender nor submission.
Judging by its contents, this had clearly been planned for a long time.
The lord here had prepared in advance and, as soon as the King died and the civil war broke out, immediately switched sides to the Duchy.
And so, the lord of this domain flung the gates wide open, welcoming the Duchy's soldiers and knights.
"So that's why there was no battle even though the Duchy's soldiers crossed the border."
It could hardly be called crossing a border. It was safe to assume that this domain was already part of the Duchy.
None of the Kingdom's nobles would ever acknowledge that, of course.
Just then, Lesty, who had left to gather information, approached us.
He spoke in a low voice.
"I've found out why this place is crawling with the Duchy's soldiers."
At Lesty's words, Balea and I looked at each other, then pointed at the bulletin board.
Sorry, but Lesty had arrived too late.
"Ah..."
Lesty groaned as he looked at the bulletin board.
Although they said believers of Celine could be found anywhere in the Kingdom to gather information, finding those believers was no easy task.
A cult that recognized no religion but its own.
To avoid the Order, the believers of Celine were connected through a clandestine network of isolated cells.
This time, he'd been too slow to locate the believer who served as a contact point in that network.
We left the square together with Lesty, who looked slightly depressed.
Now that we knew the reason, it was time to head toward the Duchy.
As we mounted the horses tied outside the square, Balea spoke to Lesty.
"Excuse me, Divine Sword Tracker?"
At Balea's question, Lesty's expression brightened.
After all, a pretty girl was speaking to him. There was no way he could feel bad about that.
Could she perhaps be trying to comfort him?
I, too, listened closely to Balea's words.
"By any chance, Divine Sword Tracker, do you know why we're going to the Duchy?"
Unfortunately for Lesty, it wasn't comfort. It was a question he didn't know the answer to.
Lesty replied with a slightly awkward look on his face.
"Because the Holy Knight has work he must do. I'm simply assisting the Holy Knight."
Balea tilted her head at Lesty's words.
"That means you don't know. We're traveling together, yet you're just following along without even knowing why?"
Lesty furrowed his brows, and I shook my head.
That was so like Balea.
There was no way she'd offer comfort.
"...Does Lady Balea know the reason, then?"
After sputtering for a moment, Lesty launched a counterattack of his own.
But it had absolutely no effect.
"I don't know either. I only came along because Young Lord Alex said he was going separately. So, I know ab-so-lute-ly nothing."
I'd ended up taking a stray bullet for no reason.
No, it wasn't a stray bullet. It had been aimed at me from the very beginning.
I let out a sigh.
"If you were curious, you could've just asked..."
The horses carrying us moved slowly north.
Following behind me, Balea smiled.
"Then it would make it seem like I'm the only one who's curious."
At that, Lesty sighed too. What she'd said wasn't wrong, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for Lesty, who'd been caught in the crossfire.
I'd intended to tell them even if they didn't ask.
"First, I have to deliver the letter the Princess gave me to the Grand Archduchess. She also wrote a letter to the Grand Prince, but whether we can deliver that one will depend on the situation."
It seemed unlikely that we'd be able to deliver the letter the Princess had written to the Grand Prince.
Since it proposed that they join forces to deal with the two princes, it would likely be meaningless in a situation like this.
"And I also need to meet with the Grand Archduchess. We had a promise."
The promise to fix the Orb Ego still stood.
I'd helped her so diligently; I couldn't just let it slide on the pretext of a civil war.
When I said that, Balea spoke, counting down on her fingers one by one.
"You made a promise to Lady Ivana, a promise to the Grand Archduchess, and a promise to the Princess, didn't you?"
Indeed, the Princess and the Queen had promised me a title and territory.
"Hmm, but it seems you haven't made any promises to me..."
Balea rode up beside me and suddenly thrust her head forward.
Her face was filled with dissatisfaction.
But I could have bet my dagger that the expression was a complete act.
"Let's make a promise together, too."
"I'm not doing that."
I had absolutely no intention of making any promises with Balea beyond our secret contract.
"Then, instead of making a promise, tell me something else."
As expected, it was an act. She wanted something else.
"What are you curious about now?"
"Did you kill Viscount Morena back then?"
It seemed she wanted to know what I'd done when I participated in the war.
Only Balea and Lesty were here. They were both people who had agreed to keep my secrets.
I laid out the events of that time without hesitation.
"No. I didn't kill him."
"Mhm, mhm. So you didn't kill him."
Balea kept nodding.
"Then what about Viscount Murasen?"
"I'm not sure. I did strike down the nobles on Murasen's side... but I don't know if he was their lord."
The way Balea listened to my story made her look just like a reporter I'd seen in my past life.
Thanks to how intently she listened, the words flowed smoothly from my mouth.
"That means you ruined a territorial war all by yourself."
Balea looked at me with genuine astonishment.
Ruining a territorial war all by myself... I don't think it was quite to that extent...
"It was only because the Viscount's ability didn't work on me. I was lucky."
"Right. You said that was the Viscount's ability? The knights were cutting down the opposing knights as if they were mowing grass..."
Lesty also nodded at Balea's words.
It seemed the half-destroyed house where Balea and Lesty had been hiding offered a much better view than I'd expected.
It was close enough for an awakened noble to make out a person's face easily.
She seemed to have watched my entire performance from that house.
Was that why she'd become so curious?
"Blocking the Viscount's ability all by yourself... Could it be because of Ivana's ability, the one you received the day before?"
I was inwardly startled.
I'd barely realized it myself, thanks to the Viscount's boasting, but Balea had deduced it just by listening to my story.
"It's not certain, but it seems so."
"An ability that blocks weakening abilities... You've obtained a good ability. It was definitely worth passing through Morena Territory."
Balea nodded, silently organizing her thoughts.
"Then, we shouldn't kill Ivana—no, I mean, she shouldn't die."
But Lesty and I both flinched at her next slip of the tongue.
It was a common slip of the tongue, but coming from Balea, we couldn't help being startled.
No, it was a slip of the tongue... right?
Crossing into the Duchy was much easier than entering Granmera Domain.
There were no inspections, and crossing the border felt just like entering any ordinary territory.
But in the opposite direction from us—to the south—soldiers kept marching past.
Not just territorial soldiers, but even soldiers who were clearly conscripts.
There were far too many of them to be considered soldiers sent merely to absorb the territories adjacent to the Duchy.
The people of the Duchy also wore expressions that showed they were ready for war.
Their faces showed that they took being conscripted and sending soldiers to the Kingdom completely for granted.
None of this could have been achieved in just a year or two.
The Duchy had been preparing for a very long time.
And the Grand Prince was truly intent on becoming the King of Carlos Kingdom.