CH 60

To the east again.

Translated by SoundOfDestiny

Edited by Zil

A few days later, after receiving an edict from his brother King Granard.

Raidorl left the capital again and headed east towards the border with the Alsatian Empire.

Today, instead of riding in a carriage as he had done on the previous day, he rode his own horse as if to show the people what he was made of.

Following behind Raidorl are a thousand horsemen. They are led by Darren Garst, the chief of the thousand horsemen of the Kingdom of Zain. 

“It’s a pleasure to see you again. Your Royal Highness, Prince Raidorl.”

Darren rode up alongside Raidorl and bowed to him.

“It was a quicker reunion than I expected, Darren. Thank you for taking the trouble to come and get me.”

“What a waste of words, my lord. Your Highness.”

Darren, the son of the general Bazel Garst, has been with his father in the fortress of Blaine since the war with the Empire, and continues to stay.

When he heard that Raidorl had left for the war, he rushed to the fortress to offer his best wishes.

“And yet, General Garst has done a bold thing by giving you a thousand horsemen. The war against the Empire is not yet over.”

“It will take some time now, whether the peace is settled or not. It is unlikely that there will be any fighting for some time.”

“Oh, you mean negotiations are at an impasse?”

“It seems that the Empire isn’t ready for the negotiations, rather than negotiations aren’t going well. It seems that General Barzen of the Western Invasion Force has gone missing and there is no one in charge.”

Raidorl almost said something when he heard the explanation, and he hurried to control his mouth.

“It seems that negotiations with the Empire have stalled because of the capture of Gracos Barzen.”

“What’s the matter, Your Highness?”

“No, it’s nothing……. now that General Barzen is out of the way, we could drive the imperial army completely out of the kingdom, couldn’t we?”

“We’ve considered that, but it would be difficult…… I don’t want to fight off the snake and end up on the wrong side of the dragon..” 

If the westward invasion army that has invaded the Zain kingdom is completely eradicated, there is a fear that the empire will send a retaliatory army.

If there is a bargaining chip in the form of Célia Von Althlein and the holy sword Claíomh Solas, then it would be undesirable to force the fight to continue.

“General Barzen’s second-in-command is now in charge of the Imperial Guard. He asks that you wait until the negotiators from the Imperial City arrive.”

“I see. The aim is to purge the traitors while the Empire is stuck in limbo and regain the lost territories. The Prime Minister sure has a nasty idea.”

“…………”

Darren kept his mouth shut at Raidorl’s snide remark.

Darren kept quiet, as if it was rude to speak out, but eventually he spoke up.

“……Your Highness Raidorl, It is difficult for me to say this, but it seems that this purge of troops is a conspiracy to bring you down.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

When Raidorl asks quizzically, Darren says more in a hushed voice.

“This time, His Highness King Granard has ordered the purge of traitorous noblemen who hold territories around the eastern border. It seems that the Royal Intelligence Service is behind this, and is working in the dark to lower His Highness’ reputation.”

“………..”

“In the east of the Kingdom of Zain, there are eight noble families called the Eight Eastern Families, of which the Earls of Arbeil and the Viscounts of Ilkas did not yield to the Empire and fought to the last and were destroyed.”

“The remaining six noble families are the targets of the purge?”

“They are the ones who hung their heads in the Empire without fighting for themselves. They will not nod when you order them to surrender. It will definitely be a fierce battle.”

Of course, Raidorl knows this.

But what does that have to do with lowering Raidorl’s reputation?

“I don’t understand. If I enter the battlefield, of course, my fame will increase.” 

“If it was an enemy soldier you were fighting, yes. But this time the enemy is a traitor to his own country. The soldiers who’s fighting are their own people.”

“Hmmmmmmmm.”

Finally, Raidorl was able to see the scheme.

In other words, by making him fight against his own people, they wanted to make other people aware of the existence of Raidorl as a threat.

“But that’s not all. It seems that His Majesty Granard intends to have his secret agents set fire to enemy towns just as we are about to attack them. He wants to make it look like his Highness did it, and make it look like he slaughtered the people……”

“Is HE stupid?! Getting rid of me by burning his own country? His own people?”

Raidorl shouted.

However much the lord may have betrayed him, it does not mean that even his people have defected from the Kingdom of Zain.

It’s madness to burn it down just to humiliate one’s own brother.

“His Majesty is so afraid of His Highness that he is willing to go to any length to get rid of you. Even if it means harming his own people, it’s a small price to pay for the damage it will do to his reputation.”

“……….!!!!”

Raidorl bit his back teeth and fell silent.

He hated his brother King Granard. He didn’t think that he could just sit back and watch Raidorl take this leap.

But Raidorl never thought that he would do something that would involve innocent people.

“Have you fallen that far, brother?”

“…… So, Darren, why did you tell me about it?”

Trying hard to control his inner rage, Raidorl asked the young general in front of him in a quiet tone.

Darren is one of Granard’s men. He is on the side of the enemy.

“Why would he do such a thing as to divulge my brother’s intentions?”

“Well….”

Darren’s gaze wandered aimlessly for a moment, then he spoke up as if he had made up his mind.