Ch.127Chapter 127. Prediction, and Result (3)

* * *

Amir Castle.

Located in the eastern outskirts of the northern continent, it wasn’t situated on any notable route nor did it possess any special resources, so it hadn’t seen remarkable development. However, being somewhat removed from the turmoil of the world, it maintained its own peaceful existence. Currently, it had only a minimal garrison of about 3,000 men with no special defensive preparations—

And now, a new order from Sovereign Serpina von Einhart was just being issued.

“You’re saying we should use the conscripted troops to strengthen the defense and security of our castle?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And this is the lord’s command?”

Pablo von Amir, the lord of Amir Castle and the 13th head of the Amir family—one of the seven influential families that had served the Einhart house since the old empire—stroked his chin questioningly.

“That is correct.”

“Not to send additional reinforcements to other castles?”

“No.”

“…Hmm.”

Stationing troops in such a remote place, what could this mean?

He wasn’t doubting his lord’s decision. To Pablo, Serpina von Einhart was a far more exceptional person than the Emperor, and most of her decisions thus far had good reasons behind them.

Nevertheless, it was difficult to comprehend.

‘Is something happening in the surrounding area?’

There were no signs of trouble, and the neighboring villages were as peaceful as could be…

Pablo shook his head, dismissing the thought.

‘Never mind. My lord must have her reasons.’

There was nothing particularly unethical about it; it was simply an order to strengthen defenses, so there was no need to question it unnecessarily.

“I understand. I’ll issue the conscription notice immediately. Please inform the relevant departments.”

“Yes, sir!”

And so, a conscription notice was issued in Amir Castle.

Since there had been no conscription for a long time during the extended period of peace, there were plenty of young men available.

Without any particular resistance from the territory’s residents, they were able to gather about 18,000 soldiers who would become a formidable force.

Among these 18,000 soldiers was a young man named Louis, who had just turned twenty and had been helping with his family’s farm work without any particular occupation.

At first, being forcibly conscripted wasn’t particularly pleasant—

But public sentiment toward Serpina in Amir Castle was quite favorable, creating an environment where soldiers could easily take pride in their service.

The ordinary young man Louis was also quite pleased with patrolling for security duties while wearing impressive armor.

Most of the conscripted soldiers, including Louis, were trained as specialized defensive forces to protect Amir Castle.

For days and weeks, they continued their training, constantly being told to “prepare mentally for an imminent surprise invasion.”

Though he wondered how anyone could launch a surprise attack on such a remote location, Louis, who was illiterate and had never even set foot in basic education let alone an academy, didn’t dwell too deeply on the matter.

‘The higher-ups must know what they’re doing.’

Anyway, he enjoyed the time spent training with a spear.

Being a soldier in Serpina’s army and working for her increasingly gave him a sense of being alive.

The fact that no forces had actually invaded was a trivial matter compared to that.

How many weeks had passed?

By the time his identity as a soldier began to feel more distinct than his identity as a farmer,

Louis was on patrol for security enforcement, just like any other day.

With the addition of 18,000 soldiers who took turns patrolling various parts of the territory, security had improved considerably.

Wherever the soldiers went, they were always met with gratitude from the residents.

Despite the tedious shift work, Louis was convinced that it was the honor that came with the residents’ appreciative gazes that made this job worthwhile.

So, while performing his patrol duties as usual today.

“Is anyone home?”

Louis gently knocked on the door of an old house.

It was also part of the patrol’s duty to roughly identify who lived in the territory.

It served as a simple census, but places like this were sometimes used as hideouts for thieves.

While Amir Castle’s security wasn’t particularly bad, the garrison had been small until now, so they were catching up on checking the details they hadn’t been able to before.

Soon after—

A young boy appeared through the slightly opened door.

“…What do you want?”

“I’m patrolling this area, son.”

“Is that so? Um… my parents aren’t home right now. They said they’d be back soon…”

He’s just a young child.

His clothes were dirty, and his skin was dry and rough, showing signs of malnutrition.

Thinking of his own younger siblings at home, Louis felt a pang in his heart and displayed the typical meddling nature of a young man.

‘That’s right.’

He had packed some food to eat during patrol if he got hungry in the evening.

Since it would be dark soon anyway, maybe he could share a meal with this boy today.

“Hey. Can I come in for a bit?”

“What? Why…?”

“I’ll make you something delicious.”

“But… but…”

Growl—

Embarrassed by his stomach’s reflexive response to the mention of something delicious, the boy quickly lowered his head.

Louis smiled kindly and said:

“It’s okay. No need to hold back. I need to eat too, and it’s better to use cooking utensils.”

After pondering for a while, the boy carefully nodded.

“May I come in?”

The inside of the house wasn’t as dilapidated as it appeared from the outside.

Of course, the lack of visible food ingredients suggested they weren’t well-off.

“Where’s the kitchen?”

“Ah… it’s over there.”

Following the boy’s guidance to the kitchen, Louis found various miscellaneous items piled up.

‘I’ll clear these away for a moment.’

Louis roughly gathered them up, then took out the cooking ingredients from his pocket.

The menu was homestyle vegetable stew. Though it didn’t have a single piece of meat, the buttery flavor made it a fairly tasty special dish and his own creation.

It wasn’t a time-consuming recipe, so before long, they had something warm to fill their stomachs.

“Delicious, right?”

Nod, nod.

Yes. After all, I’m now earning my keep in Serpina’s army.

Our lord Serpina was receiving support from the territory’s residents through her wise governance, even more so than during the old empire.

To avoid bringing shame to such a lord, it was only right to care for each resident of the territory as much as possible.

And so, after a dinner that was a bit more special than usual,

After parting with the boy and patrolling for a few more hours, he returned to the barracks for his shift change.

“Everyone, good work today. Even during rest, be prepared to deploy at any time as the enemy might launch a surprise attack.”

“Yes, sir!”

Though they had been warned every single day without fail that “the enemy might launch a surprise attack,” honestly, it didn’t feel that tense… just as he was thinking this:

“Hey, you.”

“Ah, yes sir!”

Louis responded with a sharp, disciplined voice to his superior who was pointing at him.

“What’s your name?”

“Louis, sir!”

“Right, Louis. What’s the most important thing for a soldier belonging to Serpina’s army?”

“To maintain proper conduct and keep oneself neat and tidy, sir!”

“For someone who knows that so well, why are you walking around with your pockets bulging with junk?”

“…?”

Looking down at his superior’s words, he saw that his pocket was indeed bulging unpleasantly.

Ah.

That’s right.

It seems he had accidentally taken the miscellaneous items he had cleared away at the boy’s house when he took out his food ingredients.

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

“Clean it up right now.”

Louis hastily took out those miscellaneous items.

Come to think of it, it was too dark in the kitchen to see clearly… what is this?

Relying on the torchlight, he examined the round object he had taken out.

‘…Huh?’

This is… an emblem.

The Einhart family emblem.

Though uneducated, he wasn’t so ignorant that he couldn’t recognize the emblem engraved on his own armor.

So is this some kind of brooch with the family emblem on it?

More than wondering why it was there, a much more fundamental question struck Louis.

‘The emblem looks a bit different?’

Where the eagle should be, there were three diagonal lines that shouldn’t be there…

“What are you doing instead of cleaning up quickly?”

“Ah, yes! It’s just…”

“?”

The superior approached Louis and, examining the brooch he was staring at blankly, spoke sternly:

“I don’t know what it is, but hurry up and put it away so you can change shifts…”

More precisely, he tried to speak sternly… but he too lost his words.

The Einhart family emblem with three diagonal lines.

As soon as he confirmed it, his face turned pale, and…

Slowly, looking at Louis who was standing there with a dumbfounded expression.

“…S-soldier?”

Drawing the sword from his waist and aiming it at Louis’s neck, he asked:

“You’d better answer honestly, boy. That object… where did you get it?”

* * *

Einhart Royal Castle.

Seated on the throne, Serpina was lost in thought with a bored expression.

The conscription order issued to Amir Castle had been smoothly processed, adding about 18,000 troops to the castle.

The troops remained at the castle for training and were assigned to Amir Castle without being deployed elsewhere.

The forces assigned to the castle patrolled within Amir Castle, handling the territory’s security.

With the territory’s soldiers increasing from just over 2,000 to about 20,000, it certainly helped secure the castle’s safety.

After all, 2,000 men wouldn’t have been enough to properly patrol every corner of the territory.

But.

That was all.

Serpina was waiting for the “time” Swen had mentioned.

If he was right, the flags of the Aeshus army should have been visible across the river by now.

But the area around the river was eerily quiet. Even when sending scouts deep into the mountains, there was no sign of troops advancing.

If his words were correct, they should have been arriving with just a few days to spare, but peaceful days continued to pass without incident.

By this point, she couldn’t help but have doubts.

Just because he was a man who appeared in a dream, just because he seemed to use magic, just because she saw a glint in his eyes—had she overestimated him?

At that moment.

Opening the door to the royal castle, a man walked toward her.

A young man with white hair in a somewhat unique attire, hiding the green rapier at his waist with his cloak—it was Swen.

“Swen, in the presence of my lord.”

He had come here because Serpina herself had summoned him.

She thought she had waited long enough.

“Raise your head, Swen.”

Serpina looked directly into Swen’s eyes as he raised his head.

Now was the time to talk with him.

To understand what he was thinking. And what his true intentions were.

After taking a light breath, she tensed up as if facing an envoy from another country despite him being a general under her command—

Slowly, she parted her glistening pink lips.

“Swen. Don’t you have something to tell me?”