Back to Soroka Fortress
Back to Soroka Fortress
The petite Princess was surrounded by over a hundred mounted knights and squires in full plate armor—a truly imposing sight.
Among the knights were both familiar and unfamiliar faces.
It seemed that, in addition to the knights of the Gracia Dukedom, knights from other territories had come along as well.
A short distance away, people dressed in luxurious traveling attire rather than armor were also visible.
They appeared to be local nobles who had come to offer their support.
Two knights stood guard beside the Princess.
They were Axel and Sir Miro, who until recently had been academy knights.
Another familiar face stood beside the Princess.
It was Senior Benjamin. Fortunately, it seemed he had arrived without being late.
I greeted the Princess first.
Balea greeted her beside me, but Lesty had already slipped away into the crowd of mercenaries who had followed the group.
"I have returned."
"You have worked hard."
Although she looked more tired than before, the determination she had shown during the Council still remained on the Princess's face.
Fortunately, she seemed to have fared well at the Duke's estate.
"Everyone was very kind, but Duchess Amanda in particular helped me a lot."
Perhaps because she was speaking to me, the Princess referred to my mother as the Duchess.
I noticed the young nobles frowning at the Princess's words.
What pathetic fools.
In the past, I would have made sure to remember their faces, but now I couldn't care less.
Instead, I exchanged greetings with the others.
After a brief greeting to the two knights, I went over to Senior Benjamin.
"You made it in time."
At my words, Benjamin shook his head.
"I wasn't late, but I almost couldn't make it."
"Did something happen?"
"Both the academy and the capital have become a complete mess. Well, if my family had been in the capital, I really might not have been able to come."
It seemed the academy had finally declared a temporary closure.
After the Princess and I took leaves of absence, other students followed suit one after another.
Consequently, by the time the academy declared its closure, less than a third of the student body remained.
On top of that, public order and the economy in the capital seemed to have gone to ruin.
With so many people returning to their hometowns and territories, many houses were left empty, while soldiers and knights brawled everywhere, filling the air with hostility.
"The two princes agreed not to fight in the capital, but that only means their main armies aren't clashing. Skirmishes are breaking out every single day."
No matter what anyone said, this was the capital of the Kingdom, where the royal palace stood.
It was only natural that whoever seized the capital would be that much closer to the throne.
That was precisely why neither of the two princes could leave the capital.
Everyone believed that a massive battle would eventually erupt there.
"On top of that, because the Capital Guard sided with the Second Prince, the checkpoints became incredibly strict, making it difficult to slip out."
Since it would be problematic if the capital emptied out any further, inspections were bound to tighten.
"Still, I'm glad you managed to get out."
"Well, I am a noble, after all."
Benjamin's words were no different from saying that commoners were no longer allowed to leave the capital at will.
Sensing that the gloomy conversation would only drag on, I changed the subject.
"Now that you're here, how does it look? Pretty chaotic, isn't it?"
At my question, Benjamin smiled bitterly.
"Well, it's the same everywhere."
Judging by his expression, I had chosen the wrong topic to steer the conversation toward.
Benjamin stealthily scanned our surroundings, and I immediately dispersed my mana to erect a soundproof barrier around us.
Once the barrier was in place, Benjamin let out a deep sigh.
"I don't know why people have to be so incredibly greedy..."
He pressed his fingers to his temples as if nursing a headache.
"Right now, half of the nobles gathered around the Princess belong to the Duke of Gracia's faction, and the other half are landless nobles who flocked here hoping to scavenge some scraps."
Indeed, if it weren't for the Duke of Gracia, there wouldn't be any nobles willing to gather around the Princess.
Those transient nobles were far more likely to have come for the Duke of Gracia than for the Princess herself.
"Because of that, the meetings either go exactly as the Duke of Gracia wants, or devolve into utter chaos. It's always one or the other."
Looking at the exhausted Benjamin, I could easily picture how the meetings had gone.
"The Duke of Gracia at least seems to show some consideration for the Princess, but the other nobles treat her like nothing more than a decorative ornament."
That was exactly what I had expected, and why I had been running around so busily on the outside.
In any case, it seemed I had misread the Princess's expression earlier.
She wasn't holding out because everyone was treating her with care.
It was because she was far stronger and more resilient than I had thought.
Seeing some familiar knights approaching, I let the soundproof barrier around us dissipate.
There was still plenty of time to talk later. And there was still time to change the current situation.
And I was entirely capable of changing it.
I firmly grasped Miguel by the wrist. I hadn't seen him in a long time.
My childhood mentor, now in his mid-thirties, exuded an air of seasoned dignity.
Hugo was there too, along with Juan, who had accompanied him as a squire.
I got to see everyone I had been close to at the Duke's estate again.
Although I was disappointed I hadn't seen my mother, traveling with them helped ease that regret.
While I caught up with the knights I was close to, Balea seamlessly mingled with the crowd of young nobles.
To think she could befriend those nobles in an instant, even though they had kept their distance from the knights...
Once again, I was struck by Balea's remarkable social savvy.
With the three of us joining them, the group resumed its march north.
Fortunately, they moved at a brisk trot, allowing our horses to keep pace.
If we had galloped again, the horses might have collapsed and died before we got much farther.
During the journey, Benjamin filled me in on the details of the operation.
Although I had already heard some of it from Lesty, I listened attentively to understand the perspective of the Princess's faction.
Benjamin first laid out the background, which everyone already knew.
"Just as the First Prince seized control of the high nobility and a portion of the Royal Knights, the Second Prince secured the Capital Knight Order and the military."
In hindsight, the Second Prince's choice had been an unparalleled masterstroke.
Originally, he had turned to the military out of sheer necessity, to avoid the First Prince, who held the legitimate claim.
But the military was composed of young, landless noble officers and aging generals who had been pushed out of central politics.
By bringing them under his command, the Second Prince had been able to present himself as the leader of a reformist force breaking down the old, entrenched establishment.
The "old establishment" in this scenario was, naturally, the First Prince, who held sway over the high nobility and the Royal Knights.
And so, the military became the bedrock of the Second Prince's support.
The only reason the Second Prince could stand toe-to-toe with the First Prince now was the military's backing.
"While many generals and noble officers in the military followed the Second Prince, there were also plenty of soldiers who did not."
That was only natural.
There was no way everyone would favor the Second Prince, and there were bound to be those who wished to protect the Kingdom without getting entangled in politics.
"For a long time, they left those neutral parties alone, but now that the civil war has begun, they can no longer afford to ignore them."
Once a civil war erupted, neutrality ceased to exist.
Claiming neutrality in a civil war was no different from saying one would avoid all risks and simply side with whoever won.
The factions risking their lives in combat would, naturally, never take kindly to that.
"That's why the Second Prince decided to dispatch troops to Soroka Fortress, the most prominent neutral faction. If he can secure Soroka Fortress, it will be practically equivalent to having the entire military in his grasp."
Having explained that much, Benjamin raised his canteen and took a drink of water. As expected, delivering a long explanation on horseback was no easy feat.
Up to that point, it was no different from what I had heard from Lesty.
Still, it was quite remarkable that they had mobilized the knights based on such information alone.
And to think they would send the Princess, who had visited Soroka Fortress before, as the direct commander.
This wasn't a strategy anyone could come up with easily.
While Benjamin paused, the Princess, who had been riding along in silence, spoke up.
"Originally, everyone was highly skeptical about mobilizing the knights and soldiers."
The Princess pointed at Benjamin, who was scratching his head.
"If Sir Benjamin hadn't stepped forward, we would still be staying in the territory, merely watching the conflict unfold."
"It was only possible because you supported my opinion, Princess."
"It is only natural to raise one's hand in support of a good opinion."
A smile naturally crept onto my face as I listened to their exchange.
This expedition was something the Princess and Benjamin had forged together by joining forces.
Benjamin, who had voiced his opinion before the nobles, was a bolder strategist than I had thought, and the Princess, who had backed that opinion, was already a fine commander.
It was as if I had aligned myself with some truly remarkable individuals.
It was a very heartwarming sight, but I still had questions to ask.
"It couldn't have been easy for you to set out, Princess..."
"We brought up the fact that the Princess is close with Count Bador, the fortress commander. Once they heard that the Princess had personally led the fortress troops to clear out the monsters, much of the opposition quieted down."
"Though the one who actually did the work was someone else," the Princess interjected, correcting Benjamin.
Benjamin, though, wore an expression that said it didn't matter.
"Well, what actually happened doesn't matter. In the end, what's important is how the public perceives it."
Benjamin pointed toward the knight order.
"Even so, there was quite a bit of chatter, but the Duke of Gracia took the Princess's side, which is how we were able to set out like this."
I had no idea what the Duke was planning this time, but his intervention had certainly helped.
Benjamin continued, looking at the Princess.
From this point on, he was no longer explaining things to me but speaking to the Princess as her advisor.
"Regardless of who provided the actual help, it remains true that we aided Count Bador, so he will not refuse our assistance."
Even I thought it highly unlikely that Count Bador would turn down our help.
Senior Benjamin went on to outline the plan for after the operation was concluded.
"It would be ideal if Count Bador and Soroka Fortress fell under your sphere of influence after we force the Second Prince's troops to retreat, but even if they merely maintain their neutrality, it will be of immense help to us."
It was an excellent, entirely feasible strategy.
"They may claim to be neutral, but if we assist them in repelling the Second Prince, others will have no choice but to view them as being on your side, Princess."
Senior Benjamin was a far more cunning strategist than I had given him credit for.
The Princess nodded with a solemn expression.
It was an incredibly underhanded scheme for a young girl to accept, but the Princess had already lived in a royal palace rife with far worse conspiracies.
As a princess rather than just a young girl, it was a concept she could easily grasp and accept.
We continued to gallop forward, and before long, we crested a hill from which the fortress came into view.
Soroka Fortress, which I hadn't seen in a long time, was completely surrounded by a massive army.