The military carriage advanced slowly in the darkness of the wilderness with the aid of the oil lamp head lights.
The fortress in front was erected over a mountain.
In the middle of the mountain, black cannons were arranged neatly in a row,
The gate in the middle opened slowly to the side as the torches in the surrounding were lit one by one, strong soldiers held on to their pikes warily.
Two months ago, this was still Varden Duchy's famed invincible fortress. But now, it was part of the Belgaria empire, Fort Volks under the Marie Quatre army.
The driver picked up the oil lamp and passed the information to the soldiers as dictated by the doctrines.
The guard at the main gate confirmed the contents before reporting to his commander.
A moment later.
The guard commander appeared and saluted Regis with his right hand on his left chest.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sir strategist."
"... Ah, same to you... Thank you for your hard work."
Regis who was seated beside the driver lowered his head in a panic. The commander was a old veteran noble of the empire, and held an important post in the army.
Regis was known as 'the strategist that took down Fort Volks' and was highly evaluated in the empire.
-- the one who was victorious was Altina.
Regis didn't say it out loud and just mumbled in his heart.
The carriage stopped at a cave dug from the walls. Regis thanked the driver politely and prepared to return to his room.
Regis carried his luggage and headed towards his room via the stairway. He pondered about the problem of there being too many stairs in this fort.
"Hmm?"
"You are finally back, Regis."
Regis met the young girl Altina, commander of the army who was on her way down.
"Ah~, Altina."
In the presence of others, Regis would think about their social position and address Altina as 'princess'. Being too informal might affect the morale of the troops.
But Altina had requested him to use her nickname whenever possible.
Normally, people won't need to worry when talking to a 14 year old girl... But Altina's beauty could make Regis lose himself sometimes.
Her long flame like hair flowed down her back, bright ruby eyes, and porcelain white skin that didn't become damaged because of her swordsmanship training.
Her alluring pink lips were pouting.
No no no, don't think any more, Regis composed himself and walked towards Altina.
"Regis, did you go to town again?"
"Ahh, yes, don't worry. I didn't splurge any money."
"I will stop worrying when you return all the money you owe me."
"Ugh, well... Soon, soon."
"Really, it had been so long I almost forgot your name."
"Eh? It hadn't been long, just 3 days right?"
"Not just 3 days! And you didn't tell me you were leaving."
"Well..."
Regis knew if he told Altina in advance, she would come up with all sorts of reasons to stop him.
But if they went together, they would need a security party for the commander. And a long trip was coming up, so Altina would have to put up with this for now.
"Why did you leave without saying anything..."
"I went to town because of errands, doesn't Altina have duties in the fort too?"
"Alright, I get it. But tell me if you are going out next time."
"Erm... Yeah."
Altina had been acting like this since fort Volks was taken. Recently, she had been acting like a lonely child.
It wouldn't be surprising for a normal man to harbor feelings for Altina. But Regis had low self esteem, had never thought much about women, and their social gap was really big.
-- Altina's uneasiness probably stemmed from her upcoming meeting with the 2nd prince Latreille.
To make the strong willed Altina so meek, the 2nd prince is a terrifying existence-- Regis thought.
"Altina, it will be fine. Prince Latreille was the subject of bad rumours, no matter how weak your position may be, it is still better than him."
Prince Latreille poisoned the first prince Auguste so he would be next in line to the throne-- such baseless rumours were spreading in the empire.
Between July and August last year, Auguste suddenly vomited blood when he was having dinner and fainted. He had always been frail and never left his residence since then.
Hence, if Altina was attacked in the capital, Latreille's reputation would plummet. Latreille would definitely want to avoid that.
Under such circumstances, Regis was more worried about the nobles on Auguste's side sending assassins after Altina.
Altina tilted her head and said:
"Hmm? Why are you mentioning Latreille suddenly?"
"...Ah, huh?
"As a man, it was mean of you to leave without saying anything."
"Well, I am a man who is serious about work."
Eh, only the protagonist in novels could soothe the uneasiness of a lady's heart, it's impossible for me-- Regis shrugged.
Altina changed the topic.
"By the way, Auguste's residence caught fire recently."
"Ahh, I heard about that... From the information gathered from the streets, the empire's official stance says it was the work of bandits, there are no rumours about it being an assassination attempt."
"Assassination?"
"The empire's guard regiment announced 'this incident was caused by bandits who were after the valuable paintings in the residence'. The guard commander Baudouin resigned because of that."
"Ara, forget the villa, even the palace was burning, I'm glad Auguste is okay."
Altina was the 4th in line for the throne and was aiming to be empress. Considering her position, the first prince being safe wasn't a good thing-- Altina probably didn't consider that and was just happy her brother was safe.
What if Altina hoped for her brother's demise? Regis didn't think deeper and advanced the topic.
"Major general Baudouin is a noble supporting Latreille. Allowing his resignation without further investigation is baffling."
"Hmm? What do you mean? As guard commander, he has to take responsibility for not being prepared for the bandits?"
"Well... Think about it, no matter how valuable the painting, the bandits won't target prince Auguste's villa right? Doesn't this imply that the guard commander became an abandoned chess piece after failing to assassinate prince Auguste?"
Altina frowned.
"Regis, you are making it too complicated, I don't understand."
"Oh, is that so? From the looks of things, we should plan for the worst."
"Are you confident with your deduction?"
"Yes, the poisoning incident half a year ago was definitely the same, a scheme acted out by the people in the palace. They just changed the script. Instead of a drama, this is closer to the story in a novel."
"Quoting your books again?"
"Ah, no... No matter what the truth is, we have to take all precautions right? The destination for our trip is the capital this time, so it can't be helped."
"Right, Be it a snake or ghost that is causing trouble, we would feel safer with a sword in hand. Isn't that right?"
"That proverb is probably not meant to describe courage though."
"Ah, eh, right."
As they were chit chatting, the sound of clanking armor drew near.
Looking towards the source of the sound, they saw a large man appearing in the stairway with loud footsteps.
Sharp wild eyes stared right at them, His face had a hint of unhappiness on his lips. The broad shoulder and tight muscles made the man look dignified.
He was the hero with the notoriety of the black knight, Margrave Jerome Jean de Beilschmidt.
"What are you two doing?"
"Erm... I'm making a report about Major General Baudouin's resignation to take responsibility."
"Baudouin? Major general? I never heard that name before."
"He was appointed as the imperial capital's guard commander recently. Because of the bandit attack on the villa, he took responsibility and resigned."
"Oh, the capital's guard commander, the trash who was great at sending his charges to death while hogging the glory to himself."
Jerome was a veteran general who left the safety of the capital. He was criticized strongly by the soldiers who grabbed the glory during the civil war. That was the norm for the front line soldiers.
"Regis, putting that trash aside, how did that matter go?"
"... Everything is in place."
The relevant personnel were gathered in the commander's office.
Fort Volks, commander's office--
Germania built the fort into the mountain, so this place had nothing to do with elegance. The white walls and plain black tables decorated this simple room. After capturing this place, the only decoration was just a vase.
Hung on the wall was the flag designed by Altina personally. It had green as its base colour with a giant shield in the middle.
Four people were seated around the sturdy table.
Altina who was wearing gauntlets and shin guard over her gown, the tactician Regis, general Jerome and the knight Evrard who was at the prime of his life.
After Regis finished his report gathered from town--
There was a sudden knocking on the door.
"This is Eric Michael de Blanchard."
"Ah, enter."
"Yes!"
A young knight who was not yet 16 walked, his blond hair flowing down his back. He wore his military uniform neatly, the perfect example for the term pretty boy. His voice had a high pitch befitting a girl too.
Eric was Evrard's grandson... But Evrard's bald head, thick black beard and muscles like a gorilla bared no similarity with Eric.
Regis looked towards Altina and explained the situation in detail.
Regis stood up and took the files from Eric and said:
"You are volunteering to be Altina's escort, recommendation was made by Evrard, is that it?"
"Yes! Please allow me to take on this appointment!"
"... The safety of her highness outside of the fort will be in your hands. I am counting on you!"
"I swear on my life!"
Eric closed his lips tight and saluted.
Altina smiled when she saw this scene.
"I will be in your care."
At this moment, Evrard who made the recommendation had an unexpectedly heavy expression.
"I wanted to protect her highness with my own sword."
"That would be troubling for me... Evrard is the guard commander of the fort after all."
Beilschmidt Border Regiment was currently based in Fort Volks. A regiment with 6000 troops, its scale is closer to a brigade. Recently, the soldiers had been calling themselves the Marie Quatre army.
The command structure of the regiment was as follows;
Working under Commander Altina is General Jerome, Strategist Regis and Guard Commander Evrard.
General Jerome commands 500 black knights, 500 mercenary riders, 1000 artillery, 1000 infantry and 2000 mercenaries.
Guard commander Evrard had 1000 fort guards and escort officer Eric.
As for others such as doctors, cooks, armorers and drivers, they had no clear supervising officers.
For the Belgarian empire, all matters within the regiment was decided by the commander.
In this era where communication is done through physical letters, it’s impossible to expect detailed instructions from the capital. Hence, the border commanders were the highest authority in their territory.
Since the previous commander Jerome wasn't concerned with the matters of the brigade, the command structure was severely lacking.
As the command system didn't include cooks and armorers, they were rostered right next to the strategist Regis in the organization chart.
As the seniority of appointments were not clear for some cases, addressing someone could be confusing during staff meetings.
Looking at the saluting Eric, Jerome laughed through his nose.
"Hmm, does this princess really need a guard?"
"Didn't you think the same in the beginning?"
"Fufufu... Compared to the escort, the one being protected is stronger instead."
"Ugh..."
Eric lowered his head and pursed his lips.
Compared to you, Altina is stronger. It is normal for most people to think that way, since the princess was a match for the hero Jerome.
When he thought of this, Regis shook his head.
"... The princess' sword is too prominent, especially in the capital."
Upon hearing this, Altina looked impressed.
"I got it. Please do your best in places where I can’t bring my sword."
"That's right, there would be a 3 day festival on founding day, and her highness would be attending in the position of the royal princess."
It’s inconvenient to move with that sword which was taller than a man while wearing a gown.
"I hate gowns! Being armed with a sword should be the norm if I am attending as a soldier."
"Don't say such rash words."
"But Latreille wore a sword!?"
"... Because he is the commander in chief of the first army."
"I am the commander of this regiment too."
"... I know, but... Latreille is a man."
"Ugggghhhhh... how frustrating! I won't acknowledge this!!!"
In this era, there were wide distinctions between a man and a woman. Even if their status were the same, the men enjoyed more privileges than the women.
For example, if the child of a noble was a girl, the other male in the family wouldn't treat her as a successor of the clan. The line of succession would fall onto her younger brothers.
Among royalty, this posed all sort of problems.
Altina gestured to Eric.
"Well, forget it. Take a seat."
"Ye, yes!"
Eric sat down after receiving the order.
Regis put the next document onto the table.
"Sir Jerome, these are the files for that issue. I have written down in detail the things to prepare."
"Hmmp, buying things again? Where did you get the money?"
"Some of the prisoners of war were nobles in the Varden Duchy... It's not much, but we won't be able to use it anyway if we lose."
The nobles captured during wars could be repatriated for a sum of money, which was an important source of funds for the army.
"It must be hard to have prepared this much."
"In terms of combat prowess, we are still the underdog, we have to make preparations to make up for it."
"They outnumber us several folds, and that is not something that can be settled with just fighting spirit."
"It's great that Sir Jerome thinks this way too... We can't afford to take any losses for our knights, so we need to avoid battle."
"Even if it’s me, I won't make unnecessary sacrifice on the spur of the moment. So stop using those annoying tricks of yours."
"Thank you, I will definitely do that."
"Erm, using stratagem in the battle field isn't bad. But remember Regis, cowards on the battlefield are the ones closest to death.
"... Thank you for your advice, I will keep that in mind."
Jerome took the documents from the table and put it in his pocket after a glance.
Altina said with a stunned expression:
"What was written on it?"
"... A back up plan in case of emergencies. Preparation others won't see if we don't do anything... The next time the empire summon us, I will set up camp near the capital with my black knights, I think that would be better."
"I feel the same way, but is it okay to act so arrogantly within the empire's territory?"
"That might be so, but it’s not strange to have an escort of such scale for royalty."
"Isn't that just putting up a false front?"
Altina refuted the statement with a hand gesture.
"... But as a royalty, wouldn't bringing too few escorts invite ridicule?"
These words had the opposite effect and Altina's eyes turned sharp.
"Wouldn't we be the same as those nobles if we do that? I think splurging our tax money out of vanity isn't right! We should travel the same way as commoners in coaches."
"What, what did you say? Isn't it obvious that that is impossible?... Ah, no, I mean this is beneath your status, your highness."
"Didn't Regis travel this way from the capital to Tuonvell? On a coach, and the cheapest one at that."
"That's because the unit's funds were running low though."
"... Ugh~~"
"It's decided! We travel by coach! I have never took one before, I am looking forward to it!"
"Well..."
"Absolutely not!! I won't allow such a dangerous thing!"
Before Regis could object, Evrard's protested loudly and Eric nodded in agreement.
Jerome seemed to be enjoying himself, laughing heartily.
"Fu haha! Isn't that great? Let her go if she wants to, let the others laugh at her."
"... What exactly did the people in the palace tell you..."
What a failure-- Regis thought as he hugged his head, he shouldn't have mentioned the budget in front of Altina.
Altina pondered about the words she heard from Regis for a long time and made an unreasonable reply.
A royalty mingling with the peasants, traveling to the capital by coach.
"... Ah... I read something like this from a book."
In the book he read previously, he saw a similar plot development.
Altina looked uneasy.
"What is it Regis? Are you angry?"
"Ah, no... thinking carefully, this isn't a bad idea. The nobles would pick on us anyway, like the color of the dress or the hair accessories..."
Since they would be criticized for acting conservative, why not make a gamble.
Altina's dream couldn't be achieved by taking the normal path.
Year of the empire 851 April 9th--
The coach set off in the morning fog.
4 chestnut colored large horses shook their heads as they advanced at a steady pace.
This was a coach similar to the one that makes a daily round trip from Tuonvell town and Fort Sierck.
This coach could seat 12 passengers at once, with 3 rows of 4 seats. The top of the coach is the cargo compartment.
Seated in the middle row were Regis, Altina, Clarisse and Eric.