The Empire's Intrusion (2)
The Empire's Intrusion (2)
The Grand Prince tilted his head at the unexpected name.
"Knight Alex?"
"He defeated the imperial knights still in the royal palace and saved us."
The Grand Prince remembered the audacious young knight.
Surely, the boy should have returned to the Princess?
"Is he here now?"
He didn't know how the boy had ended up helping them, but since he had saved the people, the Grand Prince had to express his gratitude.
But the Chief Steward shook his head.
"No. When he heard that the Grand Archduchess had been taken away, he left the royal palace."
"After hearing about Frida?"
"It sounds absurd, but it seems he followed the imperial army to rescue the Grand Archduchess."
The Grand Prince stared at the Chief Steward, dumbfounded.
A knight setting out to rescue a princess kidnapped by the enemy.
It was the sort of story that appeared only in the storybooks he had read as a child.
"Did he have feelings for Frida to that extent? He clearly said last time that his low status would only bring harm to Frida..."
He heard his son muttering beside him.
That made it all the more remarkable.
The fact that he understood reality so well meant he wasn't entirely without feelings.
Not just any knight, but a low-ranking one, setting out to rescue a princess.
It was childish, yet it brought a faint smile to his face.
Perhaps thanks to that feeling, the Grand Prince was able to pull himself together.
He couldn't afford to collapse like this. First, he had to pick up the pieces of his shattered duchy.
There was much to be done from now on.
Before moving, the Grand Prince took one last look at the northern sky.
The people kidnapped and taken to the Empire. Among them was his daughter, Frida.
'Knight Alex. I leave my daughter in your hands.'
For the first time, if only in his heart, he pleaded with someone else.
While the Grand Prince gazed at the northern sky,
I was running at full speed beneath that very sky.
I had just crossed the border and set foot on imperial soil.
Since I couldn't shamelessly stroll along the main road after sneaking across the border, I was making my way through the forest, far from the path.
There was nothing particularly different about the Empire's land.
But perhaps because this was the north, I saw more conifers than autumn foliage.
It was colder, too.
But I couldn't feel the cold.
Steam rose from my entire body, and my breath came in short gasps.
Just how many days had I been moving without sleep?
I was confident in my stamina, but moving this much was bound to take its toll.
I had run without rest from where the Epirus army was to the Duchy, fought a battle in the Kingdom, and was now running toward the Empire like this.
I was sure I wouldn't make it in time on horseback, so I ran as hard as I could with mana enhancing my speed. Unfortunately, I still couldn't make it in time.
But I couldn't rest.
The ruins I saw while passing through the Duchy were far more devastating than I had imagined.
They bore clear signs that the Empire hadn't intended to occupy the Duchy, but merely to inflict damage and leave.
To me, who associated superpowers with places like the United States from my past life, these ruins served as a harsh reminder of this world's reality.
The Tsar Empire, with no intention of occupying the Duchy, was no different from the Mongol Empire, the great empire of my past life.
Until now, I had kept the Organization and the Empire somewhat separate in my mind, but it seemed I could no longer do so.
"I knew things were going too smoothly."
Running through the forest, I sighed again.
I couldn't help it.
I thought I had been living diligently, but looking back, I had been constantly dragged around by others ever since I escaped the capital.
Since I hadn't regressed in a long time, I had let my guard down too much.
Without thinking it through, I had even set my Save Point this time.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have saved my point...
But that was water under the bridge.
When I heard about the Empire's invasion from Lesty, I thought long and hard about what to do.
I wanted to help the Grand Archduchess, but right now, I was the Princess's escort knight and a knight of the unit.
Besides, the Duchy where the Grand Archduchess resided was too far away. Since I had only just heard the news, it would be too late by the time I got there.
Still, practical considerations like that couldn't easily put my worries to rest.
The Princess's words resolved my dilemma.
"Grand Archduchess Frida is my friend too. Please go."
Once the Princess gave me permission, the conflict in my heart vanished.
It was a relief.
Now I could go to the Duchy and find out what on earth had happened.
I also needed to understand the meaning behind the Empire's actions, and perhaps I could even find a way to get our army moving.
No, honestly, all of that was secondary.
I simply wanted to save my friend and comrade.
I had opportunities that others didn't.
There was no reason not to use one of them to save a comrade.
Fortunately, moving independently wasn't difficult for me.
The unit was currently tied down by the Epirus army.
When I explained the situation in the Duchy and said I would go on a reconnaissance mission, almost no one objected.
Some nobles even seemed pleased to see me go.
And that was how I ended up running to find the Grand Archduchess.
The Grand Archduchess probably didn't know it, but this wasn't the first time I had set out to rescue her.
Back then, I had failed once.
And the situation now was even worse than it had been when I failed.
A massive imperial army would be waiting ahead.
Honestly, I didn't think there was much chance of rescuing her.
I was simply doing my best, as I had promised myself I would, hoping to gain something even if I failed.
Dragging my exhausted body along, I continued to run forward.
Located in the south-central region of the Empire.
Anhalt Fortress.
Although the fortress had been built as a military stronghold hundreds of years ago, long years of trade with the Duchy had made it more of a trading hub than a military fort.
Even so, today the fortress was showing its true colors for the first time in centuries.
Bright fires blazed, and flags crowded the ramparts.
Beneath the flags, soldiers and apprentice knights kept a sharp lookout, monitoring their surroundings.
The area around the fortress was also filled with tents. They were all encampments for the soldiers.
These were all imperial soldiers who had returned after plundering the Duchy.
Both the encampments and the fortress were incredibly rowdy.
A drinking party was underway to celebrate the success of the operation.
Even on the ramparts of a somewhat isolated corner of the fortress, apprentice knights were standing guard.
Normally, ordinary soldiers would stand guard there, but the officer on night duty had stationed apprentice knights there, thinking that a night like tonight would be even more dangerous.
Understandably, the apprentice knights forced to stand guard couldn't help but complain.
One of the two apprentice knights grumbled as he looked down into the fortress, then turned at a sound from beside him.
It was clearly a grumble just like his own, but the subject of the complaint was a little strange.
"I wonder if they didn't go a bit too far."
At the sudden remark, the knight asked his companion,
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm talking about the Duchy, of course."
At his companion's words, the knight frowned.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Even the Order had remained silent about the Empire's actions.
Unlike when they occupied or disciplined other kingdoms, they had slaughtered everyone and swept through the Duchy, but that, too, was entirely part of the operation.
He must have heard enough about it already. Had he picked up some talk about equality among kingdoms again?
Vowing to report this to the knight tomorrow, he refuted his companion's words.
"No, this operation was meant to recover from the damage caused by the recent monster attack. The Empire suffered so much damage, yet they were the only ones left unscathed. They definitely deserved to be punished."
He was merely repeating what the scribe had babbled before they set out, but he nodded along to his own words.
Just how many territories had been damaged by monsters? The Empire had been thrown into an uproar over damage on a scale unseen in hundreds of years.
On top of that, rumors were bound to run rampant at the news that the kingdoms had suffered no damage at all.
There were rumors that the kingdoms had used hidden spells, employed abilities to lure the monsters, and even made a wish to the sealed Demon King.
He, too, believed there was some truth among those rumors.
"But those are the Epirus and Carlos Kingdoms."
"The Duchy or the Kingdom, they're all the same lot."
He snorted at his companion's words.
It was a country founded by the younger brother of the King of Carlos, so how could it be any different?
Besides, he had heard that the Grand Prince had marched out this time as well to take over the Kingdom.
He crossed his arms and glared at his companion.
He had grown tired of listening to him go on.
He asked his companion directly.
"So, what exactly is your complaint?"
His companion shrugged.
"I mean, we've arrived at the fortress, so why do I have to stand guard here? I want to have fun too."
He stared at his companion, dumbfounded.
"Geez, I wondered what you were on about, but it was just nonsense! You got me worried for nothing."
He was annoyed that he'd worried over nothing, but since it wasn't worth reporting, he let out a chuckle.
"Just wait a bit. The next shift will be up soon."
He spoke kindly, but this time, no answer came.
What was it this time...
He turned his head with an annoyed expression.
But standing where his companion had been was a different person.
A man wrapped in a robe.
A short dagger was in his hand.
"Enem—!"
He reflexively drew his sword and shouted, but before he could finish, he felt a sudden heat in his throat.
The dagger that had been in the opponent's hand was nowhere to be seen.
He seemed to realize why his throat had grown hot.
And that was his final memory.
"Phew... To think they'd stationed apprentice knights instead of ordinary soldiers. That was a close call."
Watching the apprentice knight collapse, I sighed in relief.
Killing even an apprentice knight was no problem, but getting caught was another matter.
Even just now, if I had been a moment slower, the apprentice knight would have cried out.
I was relieved because of the drinking party, but as expected, the Empire was different.
"More importantly, they used the monsters as an excuse?"
From the Empire's perspective, it might have been a decent excuse, but to the other kingdoms, it was nothing but an absurd pretext.
So they were retaliating just because they alone had been attacked by monsters...
Did that mean the kingdoms, which had been suffering from monsters all this time, should have retaliated against the Empire?
I shook my head at the Empire's absurd venting of anger.
I wasn't entirely unrelated to the monster attacks, admittedly, but still.
"Anyway, it doesn't seem to be my fault."
Concluding thus, I peered into the fortress beyond the ramparts.
The brilliantly illuminated fortress.
Countless soldiers and knights were enjoying food and drink amid the bright lights.
It wasn't a quiet moment, but if I wanted to slip into the fortress, now was actually better.
Perhaps because of centuries of continuous expansions, the center of the fortress resembled a castle.
The lights shone brightly.
But those lights only illuminated the lower floors.
The higher floors, perhaps the bedrooms, were all dark, except for a single spot that remained lit.
I knew where I needed to search first.
After summoning my dagger once more, I began to descend the ramparts.
As I climbed down the wall, I had a backpack slung over my back.
And nothing remained atop the ramparts. The dead apprentice knights were already tucked away inside my artifact backpack.