Interlude
Interlude
"The mercenary company was annihilated? When exactly?"
They said it happened yesterday, at dawn.
At the report, the Governor of the Riklant Autonomous State, Maximilian Schmidt, felt his face momentarily brighten. But the pleased expression did not last long.
"Did the Empire mobilize additional troops?"
"That is...."
The high-ranking officer in the blue uniform furrowed his brow as if slightly troubled. His stylishly long grey mustache, its ends curled up just a little, twitched. Something seemed to be bothering him.
Still, Schmidt did not think the Imperial Army had mobilized a large force and crossed the border. If that had happened, the commander's face would have been flushed red the moment he entered the room. The Autonomous State was fundamentally a 'republic' in form, but its aristocratic aspects had not entirely disappeared.
In a manner of speaking, it was a state that resembled the Empire with the imperial family removed.
Of course, that was only its political shape. Its territory was far smaller, and its military power was insignificant compared to the Empire. Considering that the mercenary companies the Autonomous State's army was originally supposed to command had exploited the chaos of the revolution and become outright warlords, comparing its military power to the Empire was nearly impossible.
That was why they had no choice but to request support from the Empire while simultaneously fearing that military power, and 'requesting' that the Imperial Army not be brought in beyond a certain level. It was not only Schmidt himself who thought this way, but also the nobles within the Autonomous State. The army, as if its pride were wounded, could not openly oppose it but often let its dissatisfaction show on the surface.
... In truth, even if the Imperial Army ignored that request, there was no way to stop it, but for now the Emperor was honoring it.
"They say there was one person."
"...... One person?"
Schmidt fell into thought for a moment before speaking.
"Has General Winterfield returned to service?"
"No."
"Then perhaps his daughter...?"
"...... My apologies, but it is not her either. The fact that it was a woman is the same, but she was much younger than General Winterfield's daughter. There is talk that she was an Imperial Princess...."
"...... An Imperial Princess? You are telling me they deliberately sent an Imperial Princess to the battlefield? And that princess became the key to victory?"
Schmidt stared up at the ceiling with a blank expression for a moment, then lowered his gaze back to the commander and spoke.
"Could it be that, upon learning an Imperial Princess was with the army, the Imperial Army accepted casualties and struck the enemy to protect her at all costs? If so, they will demand enormous compensation."
'Protection' was never free. Even if the compensation for the damage was not made directly in money, the corresponding price had to be paid. Otherwise, there was no telling where the Imperial Army's bayonets would be pointed next.
Right now the borderlands were teeming with warlords, but once the Empire finished mopping up those warlords one by one....
That was one of the reasons they kept requesting that the Imperial Army not enter beyond a certain scale.
"No."
But Schmidt's speculation was denied by the commander.
"They say the Imperial Army suffered truly minimal casualties. The warlord's base collapsed, bunker and all. This morning a man came from the unit stationed nearby. He even took photographs himself, so please have a look."
The commander gently placed the thin yet high-quality wooden board he had been holding in his right hand onto Schmidt's desk.
"......."
Schmidt flipped through the report page by page and scanned it.
It was just as the commander had said. The base that the Autonomous State's army had been unable to breach lay in ruins. Imperial soldiers were cheering everywhere, and the shabby-looking mercenaries were all kneeling on the ground with their hands raised above their heads.
Among the many photographs, one showed the figure of a girl.
It had not been taken from close range. In the picture, taken from a slight distance and almost as an incidental capture near the collapsed bunker, was a short-haired girl wearing a coat nearly identical to the Imperial Army officer's coat but slightly different in design.
Her expressionless face was turned away, so only her profile was visible, but she did not appear to be seriously injured.
"That girl is the imperial princess."
"...... So, what are you saying this princess did? Even if they sent one princess, that would not change the battlefield. Are you saying she was deployed to build experience as a staff officer?"
"That does not appear to be the case. The intelligence is confused, so I cannot ascertain the exact details... but from what I hear, the talk is that that girl performed the greatest meritorious service in this battle."
"......."
Schmidt pressed his lips shut and looked down at the photograph again.
The girl's expression was rigid, but there were no visible injuries. Stains on her clothing were not clearly visible. It was a blurry black-and-white photograph, and the focus was not perfectly sharp. So it was impossible to determine exactly whether or where she might have been wounded.
"According to the dispatch sent by the Empire,"
The commander began speaking in a flat tone, as if to render his voice entirely objective by stripping it of emotion.
"The Imperial Princess was deployed directly onto the battlefield. Several tens of minutes later, gunfire and explosions were heard from within the enemy camp. After that, there was a large explosion. The Imperial Army began advancing as if conducting a diversionary attack in response to the sounds of fighting from within. The defensive line collapsed around where the princess was located, which allowed the Imperial Army to enter the garrison. That is the account we received."
"Propaganda, no doubt."
Schmidt snorted and said that, then closed the report and held it back out toward the commander.
"...... There is also the case of Lady Winterfield, is there not? If she has the Emperor's blood—"
"Even Lady Winterfield does not possess the ability to cross no-man's-land alone, infiltrate an enemy camp, and detonate an ammunition depot. That is not the kind of act within human capability. Are you telling me this princess is someone who can even dodge bullets?"
"......."
If he put it that way, the commander had nothing more to say. In truth, the very reason the commander had stripped the intonation from his voice throughout the report was because he himself could not fully believe the story.
"However."
Schmidt added as an afterword, sweeping his hair back with his hand. With his forehead coolly exposed and his jet-black hair neatly combed back, his face was one anyone would call the very image of a 'gentleman.' He looked a little young, but he was actually older than his face suggested.
"Even if it is propaganda, a certain amount of truth may be mixed in. Like Lady Winterfield's case the commander mentioned. She might have provided tremendous help in the battle."
Even if the Imperial Army had filed a false report to conceal their own casualties as much as possible, since it appeared in the photograph, it was possible that the princess's participation in the battle was fact. The Governor thought it might be necessary to send someone to extract the truth from the Imperial troops.
"...... Hmm."
"...... Is something the matter?"
When Schmidt narrowed his eyes and looked at the commander, the commander asked in return as he took a step backward.
"Do you not have a daughter, Commander?"
"......I do, as it happens."
Seeing the commander's profoundly dubious expression, the Governor spoke.
"My own daughter is still too young to enter the Imperial Academy, you see."
"......."
"If you wish to send your daughter to study in the Empire, the Autonomous State is prepared to support her wholeheartedly."
"......."
The commander closed his mouth for a moment.
"There is one condition, of course... well, it does not matter if you are unwilling. There must be many young ladies in the Autonomous State who wish to study in the Empire. Or young gentlemen would be acceptable as well."
"I will consider it."
When the commander spoke, Schmidt nodded and leaned back in his chair.
"I hope you can decide as quickly as possible, if you would. I wish to put the exchange student on the same train the cadets will take when they return home from their field practicum."
Of course, the procedure would require a complicated process, but Schmidt believed the Emperor in the imperial capital would readily accept his proposal.
He still had not accurately grasped the Emperor's character, but Schmidt knew at least that the Emperor was very interested in 'amusing matters.'
"But what do you intend to do after obtaining information about the imperial princess?"
"Well, information, once you have it in hand, always finds its use someday. If this princess's military power truly proves to be useful... I will have to think of ways to utilize it for the Autonomous State's benefit. We do not know this princess's personality yet, after all."
Schmidt shrugged his shoulders once and spoke.
"Ah, by the way, Commander. Does your daughter enjoy socializing with people?"
"Ah, that is—"
Seeing the commander's eyes shift this way and that, Schmidt gave a wry smile.
That told him enough.