That day, after finishing all his meetings with nobles negotiating ransoms and the other tasks he was required to perform as a prince, Shurus finally went to bed in the middle of the night, when almost everyone else was already asleep……no, considering the eastern sky was already starting to light up, the time would be better described as early morning than the middle of the night.
Of course, members of the royal family were often envied, but did those people know about the tedious work that had to be done each day? Shurus could only manage somehow thanks to the help of his aide, Amare……while thinking about that, he was about to give himself over to his tiredness that washed over him……
Bang, bang, bang, a constant banging sound echoed through his bedroom, bringing Shurus back to reality after almost falling asleep.
「What is it!」
Having been disturbed, it was inevitable that his voice was grumpy.
However, his grumpy voice, which was enough to make an ordinary person shrink back, was not enough to dissuade someone who had been with him since childhood.
「Your Highness Shurus, the knights that accompanied the punitive force have returned. They want to report to Your Highness immediately.」
「……What?」
Hearing Amare’s voice from the other side of the door, Shurus thought for a moment that he was still sleeping and dreaming.
After all, the punitive had only just departed today, or rather yesterday, as the date had already changed.
So, why had they returned already ? Shurus’ confusion was only natural.
「I haven’t heard the details yet, but it seems the punitive force has been annihilated.」
「……What?」
Shurus’ voice was once again filled with confusion as he wondered if there was something wrong with Amare, who was reporting all this to him.
It was true that he had been busy for a while as a result of the defeat of the previous punitive force……or more accurately, busy with the ransom negotiations.
As Shurus was thinking about that, the voice from the other side of the door sounded out again, as if seeing through his thoughts.
「Your Highness Shurus, it’s as I said. The punitive force was attacked by the rebels as they set up camp for the night and were literally wiped out.」
It wasn’t as if Amare had seen through his thought, she actually had seen through his thoughts.
Shurus might have been born and raised with Amare, but Amare had also been born and raised with him.
That was why Shurus realised that Amare wasn’t sleep talking or joking, she was serious about the fact that the punitive force had been annihilated.
Hearing that much, Shurus’ brain forcibly expelled the drowsiness in his head as his mind returned to an awake state.
He hastily got up from his bed and opened the door.
He was wearing a nightgown, but that wasn’t important to Shurus right now. What was important was that the punitive force had been attacked this night.
「So, that means……that the rebel army is marching on the Imperial Capital with all their forces!」
He shouted as he opened the door, where he was greeted by Amare, already dressed in full uniform even thought the sun had yet to completely rise.
Seeing Amare like that, Shurus wondered for a moment if she had even had the time to sleep, but he didn’t have the time to pursue that question right now.
Amare saw Shurus dressed in his nightgown as he emerged from the bedroom, but spoke without seeming to mind.
「No, according to the report from the knights that were sent with the punitive force, only a single person attacked at night.」
「……What?」
Are you crazy? Shurus was about to ask, but he knew better than anyone that the woman in front of her wasn’t the type to say something like that.
That was why he just used his eyes to urge her on.
「The one who attacked was Crimson Rei. The attack method was a fire tornado, just like in the Spring War. However, unlike last time, the fire tornado this time moved around. Also, considering that it didn’t leave the camp the punitive force had built, it’s movements were completely controlled.」
「Tch, what a cursed name.」
The information that Rei might be working with the rebels had already been told to him by the prime minister.
The punitive force that Shurus sent last time was also intended to determine whether Rei was with the rebels.
「He didn’t come out when we went, but he did this time. Now then, what’s the reason? Had he not joined the rebel army yet during the last battle? If so, I can only say that Kabajid is unlucky.」
The reason for sending out such a punitive force this time was because they believed that Rei, with his wide area annihilation magic, wasn’t present.
That was how troublesome it was to fight Crimson, who had enough combat strength to take on an entire army as well as high mobility with his Griffon familiar.
And yet, this result……it was a rare blunder for Kabajid, who was perfect at everything he did.
He couldn’t help but smile at his brother’s blunder. Was there something that even his perfect brother couldn’t foresee?
「That is right. We also have information that Sobble-dono, Prince Kabajid’s trusted aide, was killed during the retreat……or taken prisoner.」
「……How accurate is that information?」
Shurus erased the smile that had been on his face as he asked Amare with a serious expression. Amare immediately answered his question.
「It’s a report from the knights we sent, so there’s no mistake.」
「I see. For him, that is a more painful result than losing the punitive force. So, what about our losses?」
「All the knights we dispatched returned safely. Some of them suffered minor burns, lacerations, and bruises, but those are all minor injuries. If they rest for a few days, they should be able to return to work immediately.」
「Is that so, that’s good to hear. Tell them to get plenty of rest to recover from their fatigue.」
「Yes.」
After their brief exchange, Shurus left Amare at the door while he went back inside to change his clothes.
As a soldier, Shurus didn’t need the help of a maid to get changed, like the ordinary members of royalty.
He quickly changed into a set of clothes that a maid had previously prepared for him before leaving his bedroom and heading to his study.
He didn’t say a single word along the way and just thought to himself as he walked down the hallway.
Amare knew that when her lord, Shurus, behaved like this, he was thinking about something, so she just followed while being careful to not get in the way.
They continued walking and eventually reached the study, where Shurus sat down, not at his desk……but on a sofa meant for guests in the room.
Seeing that, Amare used the utensils in the room to make some tea.
The scent of tea spread through the study. As a cup of tea was placed on the table near the sofa where Shurus was sitting, he reached for the cup and spoke.
「Amare, I think……not many people participated in this night attack. Even including Crimson, there were probably only 70……no, maybe even less than 50 people」
「……You really think so? The punitive force was 6,000 strong. Taking on such a force with less than 100 troops seems insane.」
Amare, who had sat down on the sofa opposite Shurus and was reaching for her own cup of tea, paused for a moment as she asked back without much thought.
6,000 against 70 or 50. Normally, it would be a suicidal act.
However, Shurus shook his head at Amare’s words, seeming to be confident in his thoughts.
「What’s important in a night attack is training, not numbers. Quality over quantity. Of course, it’s better to have both, but if you can only have one, quality is more important.」
「I understand what you’re saying. But launching a night attack with less than 100 people……」
「Don’t forget. Among the enemy, only Crimson actually attacked. The others were just killing those who ran out of the burning camp. ……Besides, the night attack took place less than a day from the Imperial Capital……a day at a slow marching speed. If hundreds or thousands of troops were to move to such a place, it would be strange if they weren’t found out. If they wanted to evade our scouts, they would have to be a small group.」
It would be impossible for a large group to get close to the Imperial Capital without being found.
Even Amare had to agree with Shurus’ thoughts.
「How do you think things will progress from here?」
「The order so far has been me, and then my brother, Kabajid. The safe bet would be that Frizione would send out a punitive force, but……well, I’m not so sure. The firs tthing to do is to make sure we have a good idea what she plans to do.」
「Indeed.」
Growing up with Shurus, Amare also had many interactions with his sister, Frizione.
Based on her experience, she had to wonder if Frizione would organise a punitive force of her own in this situation.
Shurus’ punitive force aside, which had been sent to get rid of useless people, the punitive force that Kabajid had sent out in earnest was also annihilated without doing anything.
Of course, such a tatic couldn’t be used many times. If they knew that night attacks could be conducted, it wouldn’t be difficult to prepare some kind of countermeasure. But……this night attack aside, now that they knew Crimson was in the rebel army, from the next battle onwards, they would have to deal with both Crimson and the rebel army.
It essentially meant that they would have to deal with two armies at the same time.
Frizione, who already had fewer forces than Kabajid and Shurus, didn’t look like she would be able to fight against such a rebel army.
「I’m negotiating ransoms, Kabajid will be rebuilding his forces, and Frizione lacks power. Does this mean we will be in a stalemate for a while?」
「If you think about it logically, it should be.」
「……But, if we waste time now, it will be to Mercurio’s advantage. It’s true that we should do something, but……」
As he drank his tea, Shurus once again began engrossed in his thoughts.
At the same time that Shurus was receiving the report, Kabajid was also receiving a report from Bratta.
It was early in the morning and Shurus had been about to go to sleep, but Kabajid was still reading and signing documents in his study. At that point in time, Bratta came straight in, having just returned from the battlefield.
「……I see.」
A gentle looking noble with a mild expression. That was the impression anyone would get when they saw Kabajid.
That much was true, but it was rare to find someone whose inner self was so different to their outer appearance. Many who were close to Kabajid thought the same when they learned of his shrewd……even ruthless personality.
Hearing the report from Bratta, Kabajid let out a small sigh.
Even Kabajid hadn’t expected the punitive force he sent out to be annihilated so easily.
「Bratta, I’m glad that at least you returned safely.」
「Your Highness……but I couldn’t protect Sobble, and even the few remaining Dragon Knights……」
As Bratta murmured in frustration, a few tears fell from his bowed head onto the carpet.
He had been standing in front of the desk, but his tears left stains on the carpet.
If anyone knew the price of the carpet, they would have considered it completely unacceptable, but Kabajid didn’t blame him, instead standing up from his chair and placing his hand on Bratta’s shoulder as he spoke.
「It’s true that I regret the loss of so many in this battle. But it’s a relief that you managed to survived. If you had challenged Crimson and lost……I would have never known how the punitive force had been destroyed.」
「But then……Sobble would have let you know……」
「yes. It was only because of you and Sobble that we were able to get the information this time. And……it’s highly likely that Sobble wasn’t killed and taken prisoner instead.」
When Kabajid said that, Bratta instinctively raised his head.
「Really!?」
「I can’t say for sure, but you managed to escape when the night attack was more or less over, right?」
「Yes, most of us had already been killed by the rebels.」
「In that case, it’s probably fine. They’ll probably want to get information about us as well. And they’ve managed to get hold of Sobble, who is known to be my trusted aide and a perfect candidate to take prisoner at the end of a battle. They won’t let this opportunity slip away, whether it’s to extract information or negotiate with me.」
「Sobble……」
Crimson’s night attack could be described as his worst nightmare.
The only silver lining gave Bratta a hopeful feeling.
「Well, anyway, tomorrow……no, it’s already today. Regardless, things will get busy from today onwards. You should rest a bit, Bratta.」
「……I understand. And, here.」
Saying that, Bratta handed over the map that Kabajid had given him before the punitive force had set out.
He had managed to save it somehow when the night attack had occurred.
After receiving the map, Kabajid nodded slightly and said a few words to Bratta, letting him leave the study to rest.
As Kabajid watched Bratta leave, a faint smile appeared on his lips.