episode_0016

Episode 15 has been extensively revised. If you haven’t read it yet, please check the updated version first!

(This notice will be removed in a week.)

If war, as Antoine-Henri Jomini said, is a drama filled with passion, then where in that drama does this scene belong?

At the very least, if this were the climax, what role am I playing in this play?

A ruthless villain who would even shoot his own allies?

Or a tragic protagonist who had no other choice?

Which one it is depends entirely on whether this gamble succeeds or fails.

And of course, I didn’t want to be the ruthless villain who dies at the hands of the righteous Princess. I wanted to be the tragic protagonist who fights to win.

Because I wanted to win.

“Guh…!”

After barely breaking free from the infantry holding the carriage, the sudden maneuver cost me a third of my remaining guards.

Not only that, but the archers firing from the rear were also caught by the infantry rushing to block our escape, suffering significant losses.

Yet once we managed to break through, the situation progressed with absurd speed, as if the restraints holding us back had been nothing but a joke.

“Push forward…!”

The centaurs clung stubbornly to the heavily armored knights, sacrificing themselves to enemy fire if necessary, faithfully executing their orders.

The flaw in the system—their blind obedience to such absurd commands—was something I exploited to the fullest, tying down the knights’ mobility with relatively few losses.

The remaining arrows were fired without hesitation, and the centaur heavy cavalry charged at the dismounted knights, trampling and subduing them to whittle down their numbers.

‘I can’t kill them all. There’s neither the time nor the manpower for that.’

Even if this strategy was working, I was still sacrificing my own forces to do it.

Looking at the bigger picture, while I could deal a heavy blow, my own losses wouldn’t be insignificant either.

Naturally, the Princess’s infantry wasn’t idle either, cutting down stragglers who couldn’t keep up as they rushed forward.

But one decisive strike would be enough.

‘Inflict as much damage as possible on the knights.’

If I could kill their horses and strip them of their mobility, chasing down the archers would become far more difficult.

In the meantime, I’d use the remaining cavalry’s mobility to harass what was left of the Princess’s forces.

No matter how solid and disciplined infantry may be, repeated hit-and-run attacks and arrow volleys from all directions would inevitably wear them down.

Even those who were sturdy and skilled at fighting cavalry couldn’t defend against attacks from behind, could they?

‘Well, expecting it to go that smoothly is probably too optimistic…’

And indeed, it didn’t.

Just as the Princess’s infantry had been exhausted by the arrows, my centaurs were also worn out from firing, and my guards, who had been fighting in close combat, were equally fatigued.

Meanwhile, the Princess’s heavy cavalry, who had been resting until now, resisted fiercely, trading losses and steadily reducing my forces despite their own casualties.

“Kieeeeeeek……!!”

Their resistance was so desperate that even as I led my heavily armored centaurs in a charge, I could see my soldiers’ heads flying from the swords of imperial knights.

No sense of self, yet the kill-cam was horrifyingly vivid.

Still, concentrated volleys visibly whittled down their strength.

And then—

“Waaaaaah!!”

The Princess’s infantry, gasping for breath but still rushing to support their allies.

They were following the same path I had taken with my centaur heavy cavalry, and if I stayed put, I’d be the one surrounded.

“Move…!!”

Sensing that this was as far as I could push against the heavy cavalry, I yanked the reins, and the centaurs entangled in the melee struggled to break free.

A quick headcount showed that most of my centaur archers caught in the close combat had died, while a good number of the Princess’s heavy cavalry still lived.

But even the survivors had mostly lost their horses, reduced to infantry, and the chaos meant they needed time to reorganize.

Effectively, they had lost their purpose as a fighting force for now.

Before they could recover and rejoin the battle, I could hunt down the remaining troops with my archers.

It had been a gamble, but the results were nothing short of a resounding success.

“……Regroup, regroup!!”

Unless.

Unless there was someone here who could instantly rally them, reform their ranks, and reignite their fighting spirit.

“Not yet──! It’s not over!!”

Unless there was a woman who, despite being riddled with arrows, gritted through the pain, rode back, and gathered her soldiers.

This battle should have been mine. ……It should have been!

‘……Why does someone like that actually exist?’

I watched from afar as the knights, pierced with arrows, instantly realigned at just a few shouts, and couldn’t help but think that.

‘Ah, this is exhausting.’

I’ve never been the type to envy talent.

Because I believe that talented people are simply those who’ve found what they’re good at.

The rarity of talent in the world is just a matter of luck—whether someone discovers their calling or not.

Like how someone born in modern times might excel at making flint tools, while someone born in ancient times might have been a crack shot with a gun.

So.

Charlotte Laura von Ahnermetis.

That golden-haired girl must have been born under a cascade of miracles.

Something she loved.

A talent she was given.

An environment where she could flourish.

What are the odds of someone being born with all of that aligned?

I never resented her for it.

Compared to her stacked fortunes, someone like me—imperfect but living a second life with memories of the past—was far luckier.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little bitter.

If I didn’t have my past-life knowledge, would I have even been considered a match for her?

The gap between us was that stark.

‘The gamble worked. I gained the upper hand.’

But all that advantage was undone in an instant by just a few words from the Princess.

‘Isn’t this just cheating?’

And that wasn’t all.

While I was busy dealing with the imperial heavy cavalry, the Princess, for reasons beyond me, had the audacity to borrow her guards and charge back into the fray.

I don’t know the extent of her injuries, but if it were me, I’d have collapsed long ago.

In that sense, she was beyond my comprehension in every way.

“Damn it…! Navek archers…!”

I called for the centaurs armed with crossbows to fire at the Princess’s guards, who were still at a distance.

Many of them had also been caught in the fighting and suffered losses, so their effectiveness wasn’t what it had been at the start.

The only silver lining was that the Princess wasn’t hiding behind her guards—she was leading the charge at the very front.

Recklessness.

If she were struck by a bolt and fell or died here, that’s how history would remember her.

The Princess and her guards, fewer than fifty, were pelted with another volley.

And not just that.

The archers who had been focusing on the imperial heavy cavalry now turned their arrows toward the Princess.

It was ironic—without committing treason, they were pouring fire onto the Emperor’s daughter.

……But recklessness and courage are two sides of the same coin.

Success turns recklessness into courage, and failure turns courage into recklessness.

“Haaaah───!!”

With a battle cry that didn’t suit her, the white-helmed cavalrywoman at the front didn’t stop, even as the knights beside her fell from their horses with wet thuds.

Even when arrows bounced off her armor, she gritted her teeth, kept her lance steady, and charged straight at me, who stood at the center of the centaur formation.

‘This is ridiculous.’

But I couldn’t dismiss this as mere stubbornness—not when the reorganized heavy cavalry began advancing toward my archers.

And not when the exhausted infantry was still trying to close in on us.

The encirclement I had formed around the heavy cavalry was now breaking as they pushed out, while the guards and infantry closed in from the outside.

‘Déjà vu.’

Somehow, this was playing out like the last mock battle.

No matter what I prepared, she countered it. I broke through, and in the end, we were back to facing each other.

The only difference was that this time, there was nowhere to run.

The Princess in front, heavy cavalry behind, infantry to the left.

No matter which way I turned, I’d run into one of them.

……Had I been led here, or had I led myself? It was hard to tell.

But either way, running wasn’t an option anymore.

‘……Nowhere left to retreat.’

I raised my hand, and the centaur heavy cavalry with me clumsily formed ranks again.

At the same time, the Navek archers and crossbowmen maneuvered through gaps in the forces to flank.

‘If I run, they’ll chase, and the archers won’t even have a path to flank.’

Then it was better to face them head-on.

I don’t know why I keep ending up in this situation—

But when you’re cornered like this, what else can you do?

‘It’s not like I ran because I wanted to.’

Maybe there was a bit of frustration mixed in.

Some might call it an irrational decision.

───I want to win.

That feeling, that impulse, finally forced my voice out.

“───Charge!!”

With a near-screamed command, the centaur heavy cavalry clashed with the Princess’s knights.

Twenty paces before impact, both sides accelerated sharply.

Ten paces out, weapons were raised.

At the moment of collision, the sound of metal shattering and flesh tearing filled the air.

“……Haaah!”

And through the gaps, the Princess charged. Like a hero, she forced her way through the centaurs, who dwarfed her in size.

‘I had a feeling she’d do this…!’

She was smaller, weaker—by all rights, she should’ve been outmatched.

And yet, I knew.

If it was her, she’d break through this wall and come straight for me.

Just like she’d defied my expectations again and again, she’d do it once more.

And she did.

A one-on-one situation, formed naturally.

Now, tactics didn’t matter. Only individual skill would decide this.

Of course, I never once thought I could beat the Princess in close combat—not when I was outmatched in arms, skill, and everything else.

“……?!”

The next moment, she let out a sharp breath inside her armor, caught off guard by what I did.

Because when she thrust her sword, I forcibly wedged my own blade—which I’d been holding like a decoration—against hers.

“What the…?!”

Last time, I just ran. This time, I swung my sword, however clumsily. Guess she wasn’t expecting that.

Her breath hitched, but her shock wasn’t my concern.

Because this was exactly what I’d planned.

“……Fire!!”

A second later, the sound of shattering metal nearly split my eardrums.

The flanking Navek archers had raised their prized crossbows and unleashed everything they had at the Princess’s body, which I was blocking.

“Ba──.”

She might’ve been about to call me an idiot.

Firing arrows in the middle of a chaotic melee like this risked hitting our own forces—or even me.

But against this insane woman, who shrugged off arrows and broke through heavy cavalry, what else could I do?

And that complaint didn’t matter to us, tangled together and rolling across the ground.

Thud!

A sharp pain crossed through me, heat flaring from my body as we tumbled roughly across the dirt.

Fucking hurt.

The clang of metal, the scrape of dirt, the weight of armor pressing down as we rolled, still locked together.

“Guh…!”

“Kgh…!”

By the time the distant sounds of clashing knights and centaurs reached us, we were already a mess of indistinguishable grunts and groans in the dust.

“……Hah… hng.”

“……Hah, hah.”

……For a moment, I found it funny. Even in a life-or-death struggle, here I was, rolling around on the ground hugging the Princess.

If the Emperor heard about this, I’d lose my head.

But ironically, the one with something thick and heavy lodged inside them was me.

“……Kuhk!”

In the midst of the charge, the Princess had somehow managed to drive her sword into my stomach, and rolling around only made the wound worse.

And the fact that the game wasn’t over yet meant the crossbows hadn’t managed to kill her.

Some secret weapon this turned out to be.

At that disastrous ending, I muttered under my breath.

“Damn it… Guess the same trick doesn’t work twice…”

“……I told you it wouldn’t work next time… Did you think I was joking?”

Hearing my complaint, the Princess, still with her sword buried in my gut, answered matter-of-factly.

Of course, from the blood dripping off her, it was clear she’d only avoided instant death—this was still a fatal wound.

“What kind of lunatic… throws their own troops into the fray and then sacrifices themselves as bait…?”

“Well… It’s fine, right? It’s not like I actually did it…”

“…….”

The strength in her armored body, pinning me down, slowly faded. My consciousness was growing distant, my breathing ragged.

As my vision blurred, I whispered something I could only say now.

“……Hey, Your Highness.”

“…….”

“That sense of responsibility… It’s heavier than you think.”

Even after pushing through such unfavorable odds, she’d caught up in an instant.

And from now on, the people I’d have to face might not be as extraordinary as her, but they’d still have something formidable about them.

To never lose to anyone but you, in a world like that—

Suddenly, the difficulty of the task ahead felt overwhelming.

“……It’s fine.”

“…….”

“……I’ll… you.”

“──?”

A response I hadn’t expected, words left unfinished.

With my blood-drained mind, I couldn’t grasp what she meant or the context.

But.

“……Heh.”

I could’ve sworn, just for a moment, I heard her laugh.

『Draw』

Click, click.

The indifferent white text flickered, announcing the end of consciousness.

When I came to, all my senses felt numb and hollow.

“…….”

“…….”

The hall was just as quiet. My senses were too dull to make out much, but I could faintly hear murmurs here and there.

Not that it mattered. I was too busy pressing a hand against the phantom pain in my stomach.

‘I didn’t even get stabbed for real, but it hurts like hell.’

Maybe that’s why.

Even as the instructor came over to explain something and I returned to my seat, I barely registered what was being said.

‘The Princess…’

From what I could see through my dazed vision, she didn’t look much better, but she at least managed to sit properly beside me.

Awkwardly, I took my seat next to her.

“…………Haa.”

Meanwhile, Professor Montecuccoli, standing on the podium, remained silent for a long time.

Instead of speaking, he let out an endless sigh.

With an expression of deep dissatisfaction, he irritably rubbed the papyrus on the podium, but as the atmosphere grew heavier, he suddenly raised his voice.

“Enough! I’ve seen all I need to of your fundamentals!”

Then, after sweeping his gaze over us, he declared flatly—not looking at anyone in particular.

“……Having to teach such superficial students makes me want to retire in disgrace!”

Or so he said.