Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: The Fall of Madon
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It felt like I'd been hit with a sucker punch.
"So that's what it was!"
What Juras had been aiming for from the start was this.
He had foreseen from the beginning that Albad would join forces with Madon to attack Caliper, and that Caliper would repel them and emerge victorious in the war.
"He used me as insurance for that."
When I asked for troops from Kurabel, Juras willingly paid 800 million silane. Even though he risked taking the fall if we couldn't extract it from Caliper.
There was a reason for that. I needed to fight on Caliper's side to provide insurance for the grand scheme he had drawn up.
Once I led Caliper's forces to victory and Albad signed a one-year non-aggression pact with Caliper, Madon would be left defenseless.
"Three hundred warships are ready in the port city of Gos in Crossing. They'll strike south in a surprise attack and hit Madon from behind. If we push down at the same time, Madon will be caught in a pincer from above and below."
In that case, Madon wouldn't be able to respond at all. They couldn't block this assault amid the chaos.
"Then the war will be a quick decisive battle."
"Exactly. It'll minimize food consumption. Or we might even seize Madon's stockpiles and end up richer."
I glanced sideways at Anton.
"Anton. Did you know about this?"
"No. I knew shipping volumes in the port cities had increased since last year, but I thought it was for maritime trade. I had no idea it was to load troops and stab Madon in the back."
"Since last year? That Juras bastard...."
How far ahead was that guy seeing?
I couldn't read him at all. It was downright frightening.
"In that case, Madon will fall nine times out of ten. But how do you plan to divide the territory? Since it's a joint operation, you'll have to split it with Crossing."
"We'll take Madon's northern territories, and Crossing gets the south. They've always wanted the granary regions."
"But that would leave Crossing's territory split top and bottom. It's fine now, but if the alliance with Caliper breaks, they'll be in trouble."
"I thought the same. That's why I figured you were involved in this."
"Me?"
"I thought Crossing would take our northern territories in exchange for giving them all of Madon's land."
"Ah."
"Yeah. In that scenario, Rainpole would be fully annexed into Crossing. But that Pamilyon guy was stubbornly fixated on Madon's southern territories. He said even if our alliance broke and land routes were cut off, they could just open sea routes."
"That's not as easy as it sounds. Caliper's territorial waters are in between, so sea routes would get blocked quickly too."
"I agree, but they seem to have their own plans."
"...."
What Juras was scheming through Madon's southern territories—I had a gut feeling it was anything but ordinary.
"The reason I came to see you today was partly to ask about the success of this plan, and partly to apologize."
"For putting the fake Wade out front."
"Yes. Even a fake claiming to be Wade marching out from our military would instill massive fear in the enemy. It has strategic value."
"You don't need to apologize for that. Salleon was the one who pushed the fake forward."
"Even so. I hope you don't harbor any ill feelings."
"Don't worry about it. More importantly... with things turning out like this, it ties into the western situation in a weird way."
"The alliance between Europer and Tunkai? That worries me too. Come spring, the continental balance is going to shake up big time."
Madon's fall this time would impact the Chimera War to come.
It meant cracks were starting to form in the story I knew.
Winter, closing out my tumultuous sixteenth year.
With my admission to the Higher Academy confirmed, I spent my time training in martial arts with Master Iliya.
In between, I learned writing from Estelle, steadily preparing to pen some erotic tales.
Amid all that, the joint operation between Crossing and Caliper kicked off.
Crossing sent three hundred warships south in a surprise raid, hitting Madon's south with twenty thousand troops. The next day, as if waiting, Caliper came down with sixty thousand.
Madon, struck from above and below, fell into chaos. Seizing the chance, Crossing's Second General, Creeper Nollak, assaulted and captured the capital.
With the king and royals captured, normally the provincial nobles would band together to retake it—but Madon lacked those solid foundations.
Many key nobles had been recruited from other nations, so their loyalty to the kingdom was weak.
Julian Craig, the prime example, broke house arrest and immediately rebelled, taking his soldiers west. Other key nobles fled west with their troops and domain folk.
If those who fled west had united, it might have been different—but they split into five factions, fighting among themselves over who would be king.
Crossing and Caliper aimed for quick annihilation, but those five western factions were bigger than expected.
Most of Madon's military might and over sixty percent of its people had converged there, enough to muster a hundred thousand if pushed.
Missing the window for annihilation, the Bullan Union extended its claws.
It swiftly absorbed the puppet factions into its union.
Once they crossed into Bullan proper, there was nothing more to be done.
And so, Caliper took Madon's north, Crossing the south, and the Bullan Union the west. The Madon Kingdom fell.
Not a total victory, but occupying over sixty percent of Madon's land secured the continental far east for Crossing and Caliper.
Unwilling to let that stand, Albad Kingdom pulled in Bekavia to invade Crossing—but Juras led a hundred thousand in defense.
Unlike southern Madon, northern Crossing had harsh winters, so when the Albad-Bekavia coalition saw the war dragging, they withdrew without gains.
*
*
*
Spring of my seventeenth year arrived before I knew it.
Sensing this year would be far more eventful than the last, I prepared to head to the Higher Academy.
The capital Alpenserd, where the academy was, wasn't far—I planned to commute by carriage. But cadets had to board for the first month or so, so I needed to pack.
Normally Ymir and Eo handled it, and I just showed up—but the luggage they'd packed towered over me.
"What is this? There's way too much stuff."
It was so much even one carriage struggled to hold it.
Eo tilted her head, puzzled.
"But aren't you staying a whole month?"
"That doesn't mean packing clothes for every day. Three outfits are plenty. They'll issue uniforms, and worst case, I can wash them myself."
"Pardon? You, Master Als, doing laundry yourself?"
"Sure, I usually leave it to you or Ymir, but I can handle laundry just fine."
Eo smiled warmly, like she was watching a kid boast about becoming president someday.
"Master Als, laundry isn't just soaking it in water."
"You think I don't know that!?"
She was treating me more and more like a child lately. Well, I was the one dumping it all on them for convenience.
Packing just one bag's worth, I headed to the gathering spot for Rainpole cadets and got seen off by acquaintances.
"Master Als...! Please take this."
"Thanks, Cassie."
"Do your best!"
A ten-year-old girl, blushing as she handed over a bouquet.
Daughter of the flower shop; we'd gotten familiar while I lived in Rainpole.
"Master Als! Take mine too!"
"Mine as well!"
Besides Cassie, five other girls brought bouquets, so I boarded the carriage cradling an armful of flowers.
Seeing this, my peer Banningss sighed in envy.
"You're something else, Als. Not that I don't get it.... Can you spare one for me? You've got Estelle anyway."
"It's the giver's sentiment. Would you toss it?"
"Fair point."
Thanks to trimming my luggage, I could neatly arrange the bouquets inside the carriage.
Hours later, the carriage arrived at a midpoint stop.
They were holding something like a send-off ceremony; all the students gathered.
That's when the awkward travels with cadets from other academies began.
"Tch! Having to ride with those Julia beggars. Ruins my mood."
The Gransel Academy kids were the ones voicing their displeasure.
"Beggars? Watch your mouth, you Gransel hicks."
The Salleon and Helian factions growled. But Salleon clearly had the edge.
Thanks to the fake Wade, Casper Milias.
Casper stood there with a scowl. As a former Julia Academy student, the Julia kids gave him complicated looks.
"It's Wade. Wade's here."
"That traitor bastard. Heard he racked up merits in the Madon War too?"
"Guy's impressive. Why hasn't Duke Helian grabbed the Milias Marquisate? Even with Wade there...."
Kids gonna kid—they actually bought the cheap impersonation. Overseas, the Bayolaf Wade theory dominated, but in Caliper, Casper was getting the spotlight.
Even some clueless nobles and soldiers thought Casper was Wade.
'Good luck or bad for the guy?'
Originally, Casper couldn't impersonate Wade—he'd been captured in the Albad war.
But issues arose during captivity.
'Albad and Madon clashed over prisoner distribution, right?'
Albad took key figures like Marquis Milias and Gilbert Salleon; Madon got the rest. But Madon didn't properly ID Casper.
Amid the standoff with Albad, and with so many prisoners, verification slipped.
Then Madon's army got crushed by me, loosening prisoner management. Hundreds escaped.
Since Casper wasn't in the exchange, he must've been one of them.
With that alibi, Gilbert Salleon deemed him perfect as a scapegoat and ruthlessly made him impersonate Wade.
'Does he know he's a scapegoat?'
If not, pity the fool.
Besides Casper, all the key peers were Salleon-aligned.
Ruan Chase, Erina too. Julia Academy only had Kate, who'd once applied to partner with me.
Banningss poked my side and whispered.
"That Kate Macmillan leading the peers? Our faction's got talent after all."
"Can't deny that."
"Als, shouldn't you step up? Grades-wise, you're top in the Helian faction. Maybe top three overall."
"It's not about grades."
"True, family power matters more."
Our Rainpole Academy stayed neutral, watching from the sidelines.
Amid the kids' faction sniping, a man who seemed like an escort shouted.
"Board your carriages! Load personal luggage on the baggage carts as much as possible!"
With varying luggage amounts hurting carriage efficiency, they wanted it consolidated.
"Oof."
Loading the flowers on a baggage cart would smash them flat.
"Can't just toss them.... Guess I'll find a separate carriage."
"Hey, mind if I tag along? I'll chip in."
Worried about getting caught in the faction crossfire, Banningss followed.
"If that's the case, can I join too?"
Another male cadet trailed us.
Freckle-faced kid.
His skin was so pale the freckles popped, giving off a sickly vibe.
"You are...?"
"Dorothy Grimwood. From Nardan Academy. Nice to meet you."
"Hm... Als Ilrain. From Rainpole Academy."
"Rainpole—the one where Crossing merged academies to run it?"
"Yeah."
"Wow. You guys come from a really unique place."
Banningss next to me got excited.
"Wait, Grimwood—like Grand General Dunan's family? No way...."
"Haha, you caught on? He's my dad."
"Gasp!"
Grand General's son. Dorothy had peer-leader creds.
"Oh, don't be on guard. I wanna get along with the Gransel kids too."
"That's fine. Me and Ilrain are Helian faction."
"Forget that stuff. You were looking for a carriage? That baggage cart over there has space. We can hitch a ride without paying extra."
Accepting his offer, we followed Dorothy.
That's when we bumped into Erina, about to board a VIP carriage.
"Oh my, oh my."
To the peer kids, Erina was practically a goddess.
Banningss was enraptured just seeing her.
For me, with the Wade mess and prying eyes, it was awkward.
I'd sent a letter ahead asking her not to acknowledge me in public.
"Nice to see you all."
Flutter! She opened her fan and greeted. Her presence drew eyes.
Light greetings with the others, then her gaze landed on me holding the bouquets.
"You're quite the spectacle, Lord Ilrain?"
"Yes, the pollen's flying everywhere—barely managing to hold them. Mind if I head out first, Leona?"
"Leona...? Nailed one letter again, as always."
Banningss scolded, 'You don't even know her name!'—but she knew it was deliberate.
"Sorry. Must've mixed you up."
"Goodness. Throwing a tantrum again? If the flowers are heavy, I can share the load."
"No need to trouble yourself. I'll just be on my way."
Sticking with Erina here would spell hassle.
Prying eyes were already converging. Salleon kids glared like they wanted to pounce; Helians watched meaningfully.
Dorothy's higher clout kept it okay—for now.
"So, may I go?"
"...."
Flutter, snap! Flutter, snap!
Erina folded and unfolded her fan, signaling her displeasure.
"Where's your carriage, everyone?"
That question—and Banningss spilling everything—was the problem.
Erina smiled brightly and proposed.
"Then why not ride with me?"