Episode 107: Crown Prince Akin’s Choice
Three days after the messenger arrived, Crown Prince Akin and his family entered Zadu Fort.
And then, perhaps the guards of the Purunya nation were watching, and suddenly the soldiers of the Purunya nation invaded.
A battle begins inside and outside the fort, but I leave the command to Ada, who is in charge of the fort, and decide to have a meeting with Crown Prince Akin.
"Oh, hey. Even though enemy soldiers are attacking, what if you're casually having a conversation..."
Crown Prince Akin said with a pale face, probably having seen the Ferocony country's army in the royal castle.
I smiled reassuringly.
"It's okay. The soldiers in this fort are excellent, so we'll repel them in a little while."
I believe in the soldiers, but it's not a good situation to talk nonsense. I immediately decided to ask Crown Prince Akin about the situation around the royal castle in Hartout.
“Then, it seems that they retreated to the royal castle after receiving a surprise attack from Ferocony Country.”
"That's right. I never expected them to march through the buffer zone between the Empire and our country. If things go wrong, it's a barbaric act that will give them an excuse to take advantage of the Empire."
I understand that you feel sorry for being outsmarted in such an unexpected way, but do you realize that it's like saying you were an idiot?
After all, there's no way the Empire would appear in this battle.
After all, when exporting weapons from the Roccia region to the Hartaut nation, the Feroconi nation's army disguised as bandits was passed through the empire's territory. This cannot be done without a secret pact with the Empire.
After Rocha's weapons were delivered to the Heartaut country, the strategy to pass through the buffer zone must have been communicated to the empire between winter and summer.
In conclusion, the Ferokony country was just one step better than the Heartaut country.
Even though I can sympathize with Crown Prince Akin, I have a strong feeling that I can't sympathize with this strategic blunder.
However, telling him such things directly would cause discord, so I decided to cover it up with an ambiguous smile.
“What are you planning to do now?”
"What should we do!? Of course, we'll gather the soldiers from this fort and head to the royal castle to rescue them!"
I understand how you feel, but that's a big mistake.
"This fort is a preparation for the army of Purnya country. If we empty it, we'll be sandwiched in from the front and back, right?"
"I know! I know, but if the royal castle falls, there will be no point in keeping this fort safe!"
"I guess so. As a Heartaut country, I guess."
I implicitly tell him that I and the soldiers of the Rocha region are from other countries, and there is no need to follow Crown Prince Akin's ideas.
It seems that Crown Prince Akin understood the meaning of this correctly, and his thought process, which had been a mess due to confusion and impatience, seemed to have calmed down a little.
"I'm sorry. I can't thank Prince Milimos and the reinforcements enough. However, I would like to ask you to help me take back the royal castle and the country."
After hearing Crown Prince Akin's request, I was relieved that I didn't have to have Princess Pulvera and her family present here.
This was because, due to the ``correctness'' of the knightly nation's standards, they might have been asked to lend their troops unconditionally.
Well, me and the Rocha soldiers will have to return to the Rocha region if the Heartaut country is destroyed. And in order to return home, they must break through the forces of the Ferocony country that are deployed around the royal capital. Furthermore, in order to return home safely, we cannot allow our back to be threatened by Purnya's army, so we must not allow Zadu Fort to fall.
In other words, given the situation, if I don't extend a helping hand to the Heartaut country, I'm in a situation where it looks like we'll collapse together, so I'm not in a hurry to lend a hand.
However, there is certainly no need to overlook the potential benefits.
Here, I hide my inner thoughts as I make my plans and cast a harsh eye on Crown Prince Akin.
"What benefit do we get from that act? As the lord of the Roccia region, now that the Ferokony country has occupied the Hartaut country, all we need to do next is to establish diplomatic relations with the Ferokony country."
"Prince Milimos! Are you abandoning the Heartaut country?"
"There's no way you can participate in a war through charity work. That's why I'm asking you to offer me a profit that's enough for you to lend Rocha's army so that you don't have to abandon me."
When I threatened to give him something, Crown Prince Akin's expression became distressed.
"...What do you want?"
"Can I leave the decision to you? I might seriously try to take over all of Hartaut country."
Crown Prince Akin held his head in his hands as he accused him of the barbaric act of handing over a blank check.
"There are no conditions that Prince Milimos would agree to. The only thing I can think of is selling the country."
I think I could offer more things, but I don't think there's any reason to be kind to Prince Akin, who I'm not that close to.
“If that is the case, that would certainly be a reason enough to move Roccia’s army. But isn’t that a condition that the Crown Prince should decide on?”
"Only the king can make decisions such as selling out the country. However, Quercia III's abdication has already been decided."
“How could he have decided to abdicate during this national crisis?”
"For a long time, the country of Hartaut has corrected serious failures in national policy by abdicating the king. This failure, where the royal castle was attacked by enemy forces, is similar to that."
“In other words, since it is as if Crown Prince Akin has been chosen as the next king, is there no problem with cutting the promissory note as the new king?”
“I promise there will be no default because there is similar precedent.”
Somehow, it's too forceful a method.
And although Crown Prince Akin says he will make a promise, there is still the possibility that he will try to collect after the war and say that such a promise is invalid.
For example, if Crown Prince Akin does not become the next king, but his son, who is accompanying him to this fort, becomes king, then Crown Prince Akin's promise would not be a "promise as next king" and would become king. It is possible that the crown prince would have made a promise that was inappropriate for his status, and it would be dismissed as something that never happened.
I didn't want to go along with a promise like that, where if I made one mistake, it would turn out empty-handed.
“Please make as many proposals as possible with your authority as the current Crown Prince Akin, not just a promise as the next king.”
“With the authority of the Crown Prince?”
“That way, the promise will definitely be fulfilled.”
Crown Prince Akin's anguish increases as I continue to negotiate with him.
"...Whatever Prince Milimos and Rocha's army obtain will be theirs to keep after the war. That's all I can promise you as Crown Prince, though?"
Hmm, I guess that's a pretty good deal.
Also, personally, I like the fact that the harder we work, the more profits we make.
"Understood. With that promise, let's bring Rocha's soldiers into this war in earnest."
“Oh, then!”
"I promise you that we will defeat the forces of Ferokony."
After I had Prince Akin write his promise in writing,
"Then, I have something to do to fulfill my promise, so I'll give you a few days."
"The situation in the royal castle is bad. I want you to hurry as soon as possible."
"Don't worry. Even if the worst happens and we fall, we will get it back."
After I parted ways with Crown Prince Akin, I went outside in search of Rocha's skilled soldiers.
Soon enough, I found the person I was looking for and spoke to him.
"I will return to the Rocha region, gather the remaining troops, and go to the royal castle of Hartaut to provide relief, so I asked you to protect this fort. Of course, I will work with Ada, the commander of the fort."
"Please leave it to me. I've been on good terms with him for the past ten days or so. I'll protect him and the crown prince who ran away as much as possible."
“…You won’t ask me how I will return to the Rocha region?”
"Well, I guess you're going to do it just like the knights of the Knights Kingdom. I understand."
That's true, but I doubt whether you really understand it.
The veteran soldier seemed to understand my confused expression, and added just one more thing.
“The battle should calm down in a little while, so it would be best to leave after that.”
"Okay. I'll get the horse ready and leave right away."
After I parted ways with him, I went to Princess Palbella and her family.
"Are you both okay?"
As I approached while calling out to him, Familis took off his helmet and held it under his arm.
“The fact that Prince Milimos asked about us seems like he wants to return to the Rocha region.”
"Of course, I'll accompany you!"
When I heard Princess Pulvera's words and wondered how my thoughts could be read, Princess Pulbella and the family smiled.
``In this situation, Milimos-kun would probably attack rather than wait, so I was talking to my family.''
“At that exact moment, Prince Milimos came.”
The two of them are confident that their predictions are correct. I was convinced that my thoughts had been read, and I felt like I had no choice but to give up on trying to outwit them from now on.
"After escaping from the fort, I decided to gather up my troops in the Roccia region and defeat the forces of Feroconi, who were attacking the royal castle of Hartaut. It was written in the book of military tactics that siege battles were only possible with reinforcements. But since we couldn't expect to wait for reinforcements, we decided to move in and create reinforcements.''
While explaining my idea, I tied up the horse with the two of them and headed to a certain place.
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