105. That's Why Quick-Witted Princesses Are...
Battle is all about leadership.
Whether it's a small elite force or a massive army, every unit has its representative figure, and the outcome between those leaders heavily influences the battle's result.
That's because one overwhelmingly powerful individual can turn the tide.
And right now, the empire's center was unmistakably the Crimson Dragon Knights.
The knight order's captain led them.
The black sword protruding from his chest seemed to symbolize the imperial army's defeat.
"You bastard...!"
"Long live the Southern Alliance! Long live Prince Pablo Barkat! This is His Highness's foresight. He knew exactly how scum like you would react and kept me in reserve."
"Shut your mouth!"
Thwack—
The Crimson Dragon Knight Captain smashed the knight's head with his elbow and yanked out the sword. Blood gushed out in spurts.
"Captain!"
"That fucking dog!"
The captain staggered.
It was a sudden situation, a sudden incitement, but Pablo wasn't one to miss a golden opportunity.
"Well done!"
His greatsword spun like a windmill. The knights threw themselves forward.
Crunch—
The massive hunk of metal crushed the armor and sank in. The knight screamed as he flew back. But his life didn't end so pointlessly.
"Protect the captain!"
"The captain's been ambushed!"
"You cowardly bastards!"
After the initial charge, the Crimson Dragon Knights who had scattered to ravage the alliance forces regrouped.
"His Highness beheaded the Crimson Dragon Knight Captain!"
"The cowards are ganging up!"
"Follow His Highness!"
The surviving alliance members, who had been collapsing in despair, began to fan the remaining embers at the knight's agitation and the unexpected good news.
But the battle didn't reignite with the same ferocity as before.
With their captain injured, the Crimson Dragon Knights began to retreat. The tide, which had been overwhelmingly against them, started to shift the other way.
"Out of my way!"
Pablo Barkat strained desperately to finish off the Crimson Dragon Knight Captain, but the resistance was fierce.
In the end, he couldn't kill him.
But he had seized victory in the battle.
He raised his bloodied sword high.
Roooaaar—
The alliance knights roared in cheers.
Fewer than half remained.
"Where's that knight?"
"Pardon? Which knight do you mean, Your Highness?"
"The alliance knight who stabbed his sword into the Crimson Dragon Knight Captain's back! He was from the Torkan Kingdom!"
The survivors and the soldiers arriving late for support began searching.
And then.
"...Cough."
A knight from Torkan was found buried naked in the ground. Fortunately, he wasn't dead, but he wasn't the one who had provided the turning point.
The alliance realized someone had intervened.
"...What the?"
Who?
* * *
"Did I hear that wrong?"
The man laughed. It wasn't a pleasant laugh.
"The Crimson Dragon Knight Captain suffered a major injury, and because of that, they retreated despite holding the advantage. They didn't reclaim the vein, but the Southern Alliance took heavier losses."
"The losses aren't what matter."
No matter how many losses they inflicted or suffered.
"The key point is they didn't reclaim the vein, right? No one's going to pretend they don't know that."
People see what they want to see. Hear what they want to hear.
The empire has many enemies, and even more who want to tear it down.
To those on high alert for every imperial move, the details didn't matter.
All that mattered was that the empire lost and failed to retake the vein.
"Who knows this fact?"
"Not many. But..."
"The real issue is how the Southern Alliance bastards will react."
"Even if they wag their tongues and spread exaggerated rumors, nothing changes. The empire stands firm."
"Our prestige will suffer. The empire's honor will be tarnished, and by extension, mine. Have you forgotten I orchestrated this?"
The five knight orders permitted to bear the dragon's name were the empire's pride.
They must always win.
Defeat meant the empire's pride crumbling.
And it had crumbled.
To ants from the Southern Alliance they had scorned and dismissed.
Those on bad terms with the empire would pounce like hyenas and tear in. It might only be a minor scratch, but the imperial citizens who revered their nation were a problem too.
"This calls for all-out war."
Those who tolerate no defeat have been defeated.
There are two ways to fix it: conceal the fact entirely, making it as if it never happened, or achieve a great victory that erases it all.
The man leaned toward the latter.
After all, the Southern Alliance—bitter rivals—wouldn't bury their great victory against the empire.
Especially with a mana stone vein at stake.
"Pablo Barkat. A Star lives up to his name. Who'd have thought he'd hold off the Crimson Dragon Knights."
The man ground his teeth.
There would be no third failure.
* * *
"...We must give up."
Pablo Barkat.
Brash and selfish enough to call him a male version of Luize Berft, but he had an eye for the world.
He could read the broader situation with a wide perspective.
Otherwise, no matter his status as crown prince of Barkat or a Star, he couldn't represent the entire Southern Alliance.
"What do you mean by that?"
"We crushed the Crimson Dragon Knights. We touched their reverse scale."
There are lines you don't cross. Even if the Southern Alliance and empire were enemies, if they weren't going to finish each other off, they had to respect those lines.
The five imperial knight orders bearing the dragon's seal were that absolute line.
"The Dragon Knight Orders cannot lose. If they do, we must erase the loss itself."
Knight orders that must never lose.
Their defeat was the empire's—and the dragon's—reverse scale.
"It won't be like before. They might come at us with venom, intent on wiping out the Southern Alliance."
"That's too much of a leap."
"Are you saying they were supposed to lose from the start?"
"Didn't Your Highness drive them off?"
"Exactly. That's why I'm telling you we have only two choices now. Beg for peace on our knees as we are, or stand against the empire's tidal wave hoping for a victory grand enough to bury the Dragon Order's defeat."
"......"
"......"
The alliance nobles swallowed hard.
They had banded together against the empire for years and faced it. No one misunderstood Pablo's words.
"We must offer peace to the empire and pretend the battle never happened. The Crimson Dragon Knights were never here."
"Do we really have to go that far?"
"Didn't you all anticipate the Dragon Knight Orders when you decided on war?"
"A mana stone vein is at stake! Just recently you said we'd pay any price to take it, and now after winning, you're scared?"
The nobles rebelled.
It was natural. The empire's might worried them, but the Southern Alliance wasn't weak. Proclaiming the Crimson Dragon Knights' defeat would skyrocket morale.
Then, one noble asked.
"I know the empire's terror well. But I don't think we need to humble ourselves and damage our own honor after victory. If Your Highness still thinks that way, there must be a reason."
"Yes, in a normal war, I wouldn't push this hard. I'd consolidate the win and block the empire somehow. That's why I tried so hard to kill the Crimson Dragon Knight Captain."
"What is it?"
"A third party has intervened in this war."
"...!"
"...!"
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when I found the vein alone and got ambushed?"
"Yes."
"I thought it was just an excuse then, but looking back, Austin Kroin of the Blue Griffin Knights seemed genuinely unaware."
"Someone ambushed Your Highness to provoke the war?"
"Couldn't it have been an act?"
"And it's a mana stone mine. Giving up after coming this far would be the real folly."
"If that were all, yes."
But there was more.
"While talking with Austin Kroin, an imperial knight suddenly attacked me out of nowhere. That sparked the battle. Normally, no knight acts rashly while their commander speaks with the enemy leader. I don't think imperial knights lack discipline."
"The empire might have orchestrated it."
"Then what about this? While I was fighting the Crimson Dragon Knight Captain, a Torkan knight ambushed him from behind. Thanks to that, he took a heavy wound, and we barely escaped defeat."
"One of ours?"
A smile crept across the face of Torkan's representative noble at the mention of great merit.
"Isn't that good news?"
"But after the battle, the man vanished. We searched the camp thoroughly and found the real Torkan knight buried naked underground."
"...My god."
"Is that true? Your Highness, even you can't lie about something like this!"
"Every alliance member there can testify. Confront them if you want."
Pablo slammed the table.
"We're dancing on someone else's stage right now. This Southern Alliance is being used by some filthy worms."
And that someone.
"Wants a bigger war."
We should catch him instead of fighting among ourselves.
"Because that bastard."
Pablo added finally.
"Cried out to his god."
"...My god, no way?"
"Those cockroach bastards are still around?"
The nobles' faces paled.
* * *
Crimson Dragon Knights.
One of the five knight orders bearing the dragon's seal.
They were all too familiar to Berge.
After kidnapping Jespain's crown prince, they had led the imperial army to breach the tower.
No heroes among them, but stronger than most. United, even Star heroes couldn't match them.
Truly the continent's strongest force.
'Close, but no cigar.'
Was it because he was the Crimson Dragon Captain, or still lacking in mana sense?
He'd aimed for the heart originally. But the moment he thrust, the man sensed Berge's presence.
Too late to dodge fully, but he twisted just enough to save his heart. That bought his life.
But the Southern Alliance won anyway, so it was enough.
"In any case, the empire can't back down now—not with their honor and prestige at stake."
Just like when the crown prince was kidnapped, they went berserk with every means.
The Dragon Knight Orders meant that much to the empire.
"But there could be other scenarios."
"Like what?"
"Like both sides reaching a dramatic compromise?"
"No chance."
Berge scoffed.
"Jumping to conclusions isn't good."
"This isn't jumping—it's inference based on solid evidence."
"But the empire's arrogant. If they knew someone was using them, they wouldn't play along. Same for the Southern Alliance."
"Sure, possible. But with juicy gains and revenge dangling in front, humans have no choice."
"What if there's another way?"
"Another way?"
"The Southern Alliance compromises with the empire before rumors spread, sweeping it under the rug. Accepting some losses."
"Why bother?"
"Because you intervened too much, Demon King."
"No one knows it was me."
He hadn't used magic at all, always wore a mask or disguised as a knight with a helmet.
"It doesn't matter that it's the Demon King. What matters is a third party."
"So you think it won't escalate?"
"Maybe?"
"You're wrong."
Berge shook his head firmly. At least this time, he saw it clearer than her.
"The empire's greedier than you think. They're obsessed with honor. The Crimson Dragon Knights are their reverse scale. They won't let it go easily."
"You know the empire well?"
"At least about the empire, better than you."
"Hmm, true enough."
"Cocky expression."
"No expression here."
"That's not no expression."
Berge glared. Ernan averted her eyes.
This is what happens when you spoil her.
"Fine. Let's bet. If I'm right, you hand over at least five Hildean noble vaults."
"And if I'm right?"
"What do you want?"
"Nothing specific, but..."
Her eyes curved slyly.
"Can I claim whatever later?"
"As much as you want. If you're right."
Berge growled.
It wouldn't happen anyway.
* * *
Ahem.
Ernan shrugged her shoulders.
She murmured like a whisper.
"Where'd the guy go who claimed to know the empire better than me?"
"......"
"Pardon?"
The elf who rushed in reporting the rapidly spreading rumors tilted his head.
"You said the Crimson Dragon Knights were their reverse scale, so war was certain. You sounded like an imperial yourself, knowing them so well."
"...Shut up."
"I can claim my prize later, right?"
"......"
"The great Demon King wouldn't go back on his word, would he?"
"I swear on the Demon King's Canon and the first Mahwang—I don't pull that crap."
"You don't believe that yourself."
This is why quick-witted princesses are...
"...I'll stake my honor."
"That, I'll believe."
The battle didn't turn into war.
Damn it.
< 105. That's Why Quick-Witted Princesses Are... > End