Chapter 243: True Responsibility (4)

“Your Majesty, not a single carrier pigeon has returned.”

“Then, send a messenger. And immediately issue an emergency mobilization order to all the estates near the capital. And contact Grand Duke Forrest who’s on the expedition.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The attendants moved quickly at Leila’s commands. She didn’t know what the problem was yet, but there was only one thing she could think of when she couldn’t get in contact with the eastern region.

“Siegfried… Are you thinking this is your last chance?”

Leila's delicate forehead wrinkled. She was well aware of how big a crisis this was.

***

“We’re caught.”

Siegfried spoke grimly after dealing with the messengers Leila had sent.

“We’ve dealt with the messengers without missing a single one of them, sir. The carrier pigeons as well…”

After listening to Jake’s report, Siegfried spoke. 

“If she’s already done that, then we’re caught. She catches on quickly, she’s not an easy woman to trick. It’s impressive that Milton Forrest can live with her.” 

Although he had only met with her once, he was clear what kind of person she was. In his view, Leila was someone who could be considered his equal, someone in the same class as himself - a person who would only feel relieved after achieving their goal. In all honesty, no matter how pretty she was, he didn’t want to live and share a bed with her.

“If it’s her, she would have moved as soon as she felt something was suspicious.”

“Then…”

“Speed is important from now on. Immediately tell the reserve army to quickly catch up.”

“Yes, sir!”

Siegfried was in a hurry to advance. Although they had moved quietly through more than half eastern border region of the Lester Kingdom, it seemed like this was the end of their clandestine movement. From here on out…

“We’re moving forward with sheer strength.”

And so, Siegfried’s inexhaustible advance began. 

***

“Count Tyron, the Republicans are attacking.”

“Don’t panic. Close the gates and prepare for a siege!”

Count Tyron, who was in charge of the gateway city to the Lester Kingdom’s capital, had already received an official edict from the capital to prepare for enemy attacks. He had immediately gathered troops from the vicinity and placed siege warfare equipment on the ramparts as preparation.  

“How dare they! Do they know where this is? I’ll make an example out of you, you Republican bastards!”

Count Tyrone, who was in charge of the gateway city to the capital, was heroic and in good spirits. He had even experienced war under the leadership of Duke Palan, but he had never fought against Siegfried before. 

***

“Jake.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“You will take the lead. Destroy that castle by today.”

“Yes, sir!”

Having received Siegfried’s order, Jake took the lead with Ghost Group 3. 

“We’re going over the fort walls and opening the gates. Don’t fall behind.”

“Yes, sir!”

Then, leading the Ghost Group 3, Jake climbed the ladders and scaled the walls. Having instantly scaled the walls, he brandished his giant two-handed sword and took over the walls with overwhelming force.

“If you value your life, get out of the way!”

If a Master scales the wall, and the defending side doesn’t have a Master who has the same level of power, then it will quickly become disadvantageous for the defending side. Jake was running wild, it was like he was a wolf running amongst the sheep, and Count Tyrone stepped up to stop him.

“You invader!”

While it was brave of him to rush forward, if his skills didn’t support him, then it was just recklessness.

“Are you in charge of this fort?”

Jake thought it was great as he met Tyron. His giant two-hand sword flashed through the air.

Slash!

Without even being able to take a single shot, Count Tryon’s head was chopped off. 

Jake shouted loudly.

“I have beheaded this fort’s lord! The Lester Kingdom’s army will surrender immediately!”

At that moment, the Lester Kingdom’s army fell into a panic while the Republican Army’s morale greatly rose. 

Two hours later. 

“We’ve completely occupied it, sir.”

“Have the reserve army leave behind 5,000 men to clean up. The main army will be moving immediately.”

“Yes, sir!”

Even though they had just toppled a fortress,[1] Siegfried moved his army forward without taking a single break.

***

Starting with Fortress Tyron, Siegfried's formidable advance began. After toppling over Fortress Tyron in half a day, they collapsed Castle Estirk the very next day. And before daybreak, they made a night attack and knocked down Castle Talia, and by noon the next day, Castle Ronica had fallen. The Republican Army was taking the shortest route as they advanced towards the Lester Kingdom.[2]

Although the commanders in charge of the fortresses and castles all tried their best, no one could stop Siegfried. In the first place, the people of the Lester Kingdom were too relaxed about Siegfried. Even if Seigfried was a Republican who had made his name known throughout the world, the Lester Kingdom had Milton Forrest, someone known as Siegfried’s archenemy. So no matter how great Siegfried may be, they were reassured.

But while Milton was away on the expedition and Siegfried was advancing towards the capital in the shortest distance possible, the people of the Lester Kingdom realized something. They realized why Siegfried was called a war genius…Why he was called the greatest person in all the history of the Republic. No one was able to stop him. No, forget stopping him, they couldn’t even last a day against him.

Now that Siegfried’s army was joined by his reserve force, his army had gotten much larger. A total of 80,000 Republican soldiers were advancing towards the capital of the Lester Kingdom. The commander-in-chief of that 80,000 men was Siegfried, a war genius. On top of that, there was Jake, who was a Master, and the Ghosts, the greatest force in the Republic. And finally, the Republican Army also had McCarthy O’Brian, who had led the reserve force. And though it wasn’t revealed to the world, the Republican Army also had Eliza, Siegfried’s close confidant, working with them.

Siegfried was truly bringing all of his forces with him.

***

The Lester Kingdom’s capital had a very tense and anxious atmosphere. When they heard the news that the Republican Army was getting closer to them by the day, they couldn’t help but show signs of anxiety.

The attendants all urged Queen Leila to evacuate, but she dismissed their advice.

“Don’t be foolish. Do you think the Republicans will give up if we flee here right now?”

Leila didn’t think Siegfried’s goal was to topple the capital. She believed his goal was to capture her and Milton’s children to take them as prisoners. Toppling the capital was secondary.

“But Your Majesty, it’s too dangerous to face the enemy in the capital.”

“That’s correct, Your Majesty. We only have little more than 20,000 troops in the capital. It’s not enough to deal with the Republic, Your Majesty.”

“Please, Your Majesty, think of your position.”

Her subjects repeatedly urged Leila to flee with her family, but she stood firm.

There was no guarantee that she could avoid Siegfried’s machinations just because she evacuated from the capital. And even if she did evacuate, if the capital was thoroughly destroyed, then everything Milton would have gained from this expedition would turn to zero. 

If after Milton returned, and he went back to war with the Republic as revenge, then this era would fall into a whirlwind of disastrous wars that would never end.

[I will end this whole thing with this.]

That was what Milton had said to Leila while hugging her before going off to war. She remembered it clearly. 

‘I’ve almost gotten my revenge. And now that the country’s gotten this wealthy and powerful, then I’ve fulfilled my duty as a royal. So now, I just want to live the rest of my life in peace and tranquility as just his wife.’

Even Leila couldn’t recognize herself. A life of peace and tranquility in her man’s arms, feeling loved, and watching over her children…She had never thought she would have a life like that. But now, she wanted that. She wanted that so much, she was even willing to give up everything else for it.

But just then, a messenger came running into the hall.

“Your Majesty, His Grace, Duke Palan has arrived.”

“Ooh!”

“His Grace, Duke Palan?”

The retainers inside the hall were all greatly pleased. Queen Leila spoke urgently.

“Did he come with the Northern Knights and the Northern Army?”

“In order to come quickly, I’ve only been able to bring 10,000 cavalry from the Northern Army. But all of the Northern Knights have come with me, Your Majesty.”

Duke Palan personally answered her as he entered the hall.

“Duke Palan.”

“Your Majesty. Thankfully, I wasn’t too late.”

Leila stood up from her seat and grabbed his hand. Even if it was her, she felt nothing but despair in this grim situation. It was a beacon of hope to have Duke Palan join in a situation like this. 

“Your Majesty, even with Duke Palan, we still don’t have enough strength.”

“He’s right, Your Majesty. The Republican Army has three Masters. Even if he is Duke Palan, it’ll be too difficult for him to deal with them by himself.”

Before Queen Leila could respond to the attendants, Duke Palan answered first. 

“I didn’t come alone.”

At that moment, a knight entered the hall. 

“I greet Her Majesty, Leila von Lester.”

“You are…?”

The knight covering his face with an iron helmet was the unidentified Master who had recently played an active role in the Lester Kingdom’s army. He had followed Milton on the expedition, but once the war with the Empire had stabilized, he had gone to the rear to take charge of the supply lines. Thanks to that, he had been able to arrive quicker than everyone else when he heard about the threat to the Lester Kingdom. 

Of course, he hadn’t come alone. 

“I’ve brought all the men that I could from the supply unit. I will join in the defense of the capital with 10,000 troops.”

“If we add the existing 20,000 men, then we have 40,000 men in total. Even if the Republic has 80,000 men, then number wise, we can stop them.”

Some of the retainers brightened at Duke Palan’s words, but most of them were still pessimistic.

In the midst of that, a young noble cautiously spoke up.

“Your Majesty, I know it’s advantageous to stay inside and be on the defence, but...

“But what?”

Queen Leila pressed the young nobleman who had trailed off. He closed his eyes tightly, but continued to say what he felt like he must. 

“Your Majesty, our opponent is Siegfried. I’m afraid that there’s no one in the kingdom to deal with him except for the Grand Duke.”

Duke Palan and the iron helmeted knight. It must have been quite difficult for him to voice his opinion when the two Masters were right in front of him. But the words themselves were what many of the people there were feeling. 

In fact, there wasn’t anyone in the hall who pointed out his rudeness. Instead, most of them identified with him. Siegfried’ formidable advance had made the people of the Lester Kingdom realize what kind of a monster Siegfried was.

The young noble continued to speak. 

“Your Majesty, if you insist on defending the capital, then we will prepare for a siege. However, your safety and the royal family’s safety is just as important as defending the capital. Please, Your Majesty. Think about this logically and accept reality.”

Having said what he needed to, the young noble gave a deep bow.

Queen Leila spoke to him.

“What is your name?”

“I am the current head of the Pate family, Count Grind Pate, Your Majesty.”

“You speak more eloquently than I imagined.”

Leila finally remembered who he was. Recently, the previous Count Pate suddenly died and his younger brother took over. Because it had happened so recently, Leila hadn’t been able to put face to name. He had a low presence, but now that she’s heard him speak, it seemed like he was quite a good speaker.

‘He’s very capable. But… I’m uneasy.’

Logically, everything he said was correct.

But beyond logic, she felt something was wrong. That was why Leila became even more determined.

“I will not evacuate. I will defend this capital.”

***

The citizens in the Lester Kingdom’s capital were very anxious. The Republican Army led by Siegfried was getting closer day by day.

“What if the Republican dogs entered the capital?”

“There’s only 20,000 capital guards. I heard that the enemy has over 200,000.”

“Then… there’s no way we can win, is there?”

“I heard that they killed everyone in the occupied territories, whether they’re young or old. That they’ll kill anyone who is against republicanism.”

“Then should we run away now?”

As terrible rumors spread quickly, the people became very uneasy.

After hearing and confirming that the rumors were exaggerated, Leila was convinced that this was the Republic using underhanded methods. 

‘So they’ve planted spies. Of course, of course.’

Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to hunt down and deal with the spies. But she also couldn’t leave it alone.

In order to calm down the anxious public, she quickly did something. 

1. The raw changes between castle and fort, but I kept it as fort since that’s what it was first introduced as (last chapter)

2. I think this should be the capital since they’re technically already in the Lester Kingdom.