Knight Alex (1)
Knight Alex (1)
Soroka Fortress, a natural stronghold whose single wall blocked a canyon.
That fortress city, which had remained unconquered for ages thanks to the surrounding hills, knolls, cliffs, and mountain ranges, was now surrounded by a massive army.
They weren't under siege because they had lost a battle; they were under siege because they hadn't stopped the troops marching toward the fortress.
Then again, it must have been difficult to fight recklessly.
Both the soldiers defending the fortress and those laying siege to it were soldiers protecting the Kingdom—they were part of the standing army.
They weren't troops scraped together from local fiefs, but comrades who had stood shoulder to shoulder defending the Kingdom for a long time.
Unlike the generals and officers who followed the Second Prince, Count Bador apparently couldn't bring himself to order his men to strike down their own comrades under the pretext of maintaining neutrality.
As a result, Soroka Fortress was now under siege by their fellow soldiers in the Kingdom's army.
We stood atop a hill overlooking both the fortress and the besieging forces.
This was the first campaign of the Princess's camp—her knights.
Now, we could no longer stay out of others' sight as we had before.
Rather, it was time to reveal ourselves.
"Raise the banner!"
At Miguel's shout, the knights raised a banner bearing a burning lion, the symbol of Princess Aisha.
The design combined the lion—the symbol of the royal family—with the firebird passed down from the Princess's maternal family, making the entire banner look as if it were ablaze.
As the banner rose with the shout, both the fortress defenders and the besieging soldiers stared in our direction.
Some looked bewildered, while others were astonished.
After all, this was a knightly order carrying a banner they had never seen before.
It seemed no one was willing to act rashly before figuring out whose side we were on.
In that case, we had to let them know who we were.
"Well then, I shall be off."
As everyone stared in our direction, Senior Benjamin galloped down the hill alongside Knight Axel.
The two of them stopped halfway down the hill.
It was a distance from which, if they amplified their voices with mana, their words would reach both the besieging forces and the fortress.
With Knight Axel holding up his shield slightly to one side to protect Benjamin, Benjamin channeled mana and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Princess Aisha, a royal of the Carlos Kingdom and successor to the throne, has arrived at Soroka Fortress! Everyone, show proper etiquette and welcome the Princess!"
Benjamin's words swept across the hill and reached the top of the fortress walls.
He was playing the role of a herald announcing a noble's arrival.
Normally, that task fell to one of the soldiers, while a subordinate noble should handle it for royalty or high nobility.
There were other nobles here besides Benjamin, of course.
The young nobles who had separated from the knights were the children of nobles who had joined the Princess's camp.
Although they had come along hoping to earn military merit, they refused to do even the most trivial tasks.
One such task was precisely the role of herald.
They were only busy trying to push that role onto others.
They offered various excuses, but in the end, it was because they considered the role of herald beneath them.
They had been unpleasant from the very beginning, but with each passing day, they became even more of an eyesore.
I'd rather they were enemies...
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger boiling inside me.
In any case, they were still allies for now. I couldn't let petty feelings ruin things.
Since they turned a blind eye, the role of herald ultimately fell to Senior Benjamin.
Fortunately, Senior Benjamin actually enjoyed the role of herald, for the hard-to-understand reason that it let him display his eloquence to his heart's content.
As soon as Benjamin finished speaking, both the top of the fortress walls and the besieging forces erupted in commotion.
It was only natural for things to grow noisy when a princess suddenly appeared at the head of a knightly order.
We remained atop the hill, waiting for them to reach some sort of conclusion.
I was staring blankly at Senior Benjamin when a woman's voice drifted over from beside me.
"You look somewhat bored."
I wondered when she had come to my side...
Balea spoke up beside me.
It was a sudden remark, but, just as Balea said, I was indeed feeling a bit bored.
"I knew there would be many formalities to follow when moving with an established force, but experiencing them in person is certainly tedious."
We had to send a herald to announce who we were, wait for the other side to reply, and then respond once their answer came.
I'd expected it, but, just as I'd thought, the formalities of nobles and royalty were incredibly boring.
When I thought back to the old days, when we would swing our swords without a word upon meeting, the boredom only deepened.
Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long before someone emerged from the besieging forces.
Judging by his uniform, he was a low-ranking noble officer.
He stopped a short distance from where Benjamin stood and shouted toward the hill where we were.
"First of all, we cannot believe that the Princess has come in person. Also, we are here under orders from Prince Duardo, the commander of the military and the true successor. What is happening here is an internal matter of the Kingdom's army, so we hope any third party will simply withdraw."
Oh, that was a better response than I'd expected.
Coming up with three counterarguments in such a short time.
It seemed the Second Prince's side had a capable writer or strategist, too.
"This might get a bit interesting..."
At my murmur, Balea chuckled.
At the same time, Senior Benjamin's counterargument rang out.
"We can immediately verify that the Princess has come in person! And we can also prove that she is the true successor to the Kingdom!"
Before Senior Benjamin had even finished speaking, the Princess rode forward.
She reached the very peak of the hill, drew the sword at her waist, and held it high.
Then she unleashed her mana with all her might.
Whoom.
Light burst forth from the sword I had given her and from her body.
It was light infused with 'Mana Resonance'.
There was no way ordinary soldiers could distinguish 'Mana Resonance'.
But they knew very well that the King of Carlos possessed the ability to emit light.
In the end, this light was nothing more than a performance, but it was an incredibly effective one.
As the brilliant light spread from the hilltop, Senior Benjamin's voice echoed beneath it.
"Do you not know that the rightful successor to the throne holds command over the Kingdom's army in the field! Clear the way at once!"
His claim that he could display his eloquence to his heart's content was indeed true.
Benjamin was in his element, like a fish in water, while his opponent was struck dumb and had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
The brilliant light soon faded, but the soldiers continued to stare at the hill where it had vanished.
On the hill where the light had disappeared stood a girl who was still young.
Though she was a small girl beside the large horse she rode, those who remembered the light couldn't look down on her.
'What a splendid debut.'
The Princess had made perfect use of the stage Benjamin had set for her.
A wonderful performance and a grand entrance.
This spectacle would surely remain in people's memories and be talked about for a long time to come.
Now, all that remained was to handle the matter here properly.
If things went awry after such a grand entrance, the Princess would probably be too frustrated to sleep.
Perhaps because they had witnessed such an awesome sight, the soldiers laying siege to the fortress began to shift slowly.
They were all parting to the left and right, seemingly intending to let us through.
It seemed we would be able to enter far more easily than expected, and everyone's expressions began to brighten. Unfortunately, things didn't proceed so smoothly.
A single knight burst out from among the moving soldiers and shouted.
"We've also received orders, and we can't simply back down. If you're knights of the Kingdom, let's settle this with a duel. If I lose, I shall clear the way!"
At the knight's words, the soldiers came to an abrupt halt.
The noble officers, having come to their senses, shouted at the soldiers, and the parting formation returned to its original state.
'My ass, they can't back down because of orders! You guys were parting just fine a moment ago!'
I grumbled inwardly, but now that the other side had regained its composure, there was no undoing it.
At the knight's words, the Princess turned to look at her knights.
Since a knight from the other side had stepped forward, we had to send one of ours to face him.
Besides, since he had said he would clear the way if he lost, the knights would surely be eager to step forward.
But contrary to my expectations, not a single knight stepped forward to fight.
They all either looked flustered as they stared at the opposing knight or shook their heads.
I blinked. Why on earth were they acting like that?
Knight Miro, who was standing beside me, answered my question.
"I didn't expect that man to step forward."
That man? Was he someone that famous?
At my blank stare, Knight Miro looked puzzled in turn.
"Do you not know? He served as the Vice-Commander of the Royal Knights before throwing himself into the military ten years ago.
He joined the military to build a force as strong as the knighthood... I never expected him to side with the Second Prince."
The Royal Knights from ten years ago. There was no way I would know.
"When the Commander and the two Vice-Commanders were around, the Royal Knights were truly magnificent."
I shook my head at Knight Miro, who looked lost in reminiscence, and surveyed the other knights.
They were all either reminiscing like Knight Miro or shaking their heads with troubled expressions.
A few young knights tried to step forward, but lowered their hands under the older knights' disapproving looks.
Just then, Miguel, who had been watching the situation, came over to us.
He stopped before the Princess and bowed his head.
"I shall try to step forward. Though my skills are lacking, it seems I'm the only one who can face him."
Hearing Miguel's words, I surveyed the order of knights.
Even considering the abilities of both the knights I knew and those I didn't, I couldn't see anyone who surpassed Miguel.
What a disastrous level of skill...
I scoffed inwardly, then realized I was mistaken.
Having faced the Royal Knights and other formidable figures in the capital, my standards had grown too high.
Aside from the Royal Knights, the knights gathered here weren't bad.
Miguel's skills had also improved a great deal, enough for him to hold his own in a match against a senior knight of the Royal Knights.
Even with that level of skill, though, there was no way he could defeat the knight who had once been a Vice-Commander.
In the end, he was saying that, as someone with at least a measure of skill, he would step forward and lay down his life to protect the Princess's honor.
Hearing Miguel's words, the Princess looked at me.
I nodded to her.
If the opponent had played their strongest card, we had to play ours as well.
The civil war was beginning now.
It was no longer the time to hide.
I drew the sword from my back and began walking down the hill.
The startled knights and nobles stared at me, and I could feel the gazes of those atop the fortress and among the besieging forces on me as well.
The middle-aged knight standing before the soldiers also showed clear signs of surprise.
It seemed to be because of my still-youthful face.
Ignoring the many gazes, I stood before the knight.
Then, gripping my sword with both hands, I paid my respects.
"I, Alex, son of the Duke of Gracia and escort knight for Princess Aisha, greet you."
This was the first appearance of Knight Alex, known as the Hero of the Civil War and called the Nightmare Knight by his enemies.