CH 105

Unreachable answers

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by Zil

“Thank you for coming all this way, Your Royal Highness.”

The man who greeted Raidorl as he entered the fortress was Bazel Garst, a general in the Royal Army.

Bazel, who looked a little tired when Raidorl last saw him, now looks more energetic.

His face, however, was not in a happy mood, and wrinkles had been etched into his features by the effects of age.

“It’s been a long time. I know we have a lot to talk about, but let’s start with the situation.”

“Hmm… As the diplomat told me in advance, the Empire unilaterally challenged His Highness Raidorl to a duel. The place is here at Blaine Fortress. If His Highness does not appear by the date and time, the emperor has declared himself to destroy this fortress.”

“I see……So they ignored the hostages and set it up just right in front of us.”

Nevertheless, the emperor has no intention of abandoning his daughter, Célia Von Althlein.

If Raidorl were to use her as a shield or kill her to make an example of the situation, the angry emperor would attack the kingdom of Zain with all his might.

There was no way he would be so careless. It is believed that Granard, the king, would not have the courage to kill a cat and incur the wrath of a tiger.

“Well, in the first place, I never intended to hurt Célia.”

Despite not spending much time with her, they were still friends and slept in the same house.

“Even if we were clashing our swords on the battlefield, I couldn’t be ruthless enough to kill the princess who couldn’t resist to show off.”

“I know I’m being naive, but there’s no merit in killing”

“And? What does my brother say?”

Of course, the demand for a duel must have been reported to the king, Granard. What decision will the king make in the face of the appearance of the empire’s leader?

At Raidorl’s question, Bazel’s expression stiffened slightly.

“….. Of course, we have reported the matter to His Majesty and asked for instructions. But there has been no response.”

“Hu? The day after tomorrow is the day of the duel, right? I don’t know if I can make it on such short notice.”

“It takes five days to get from Blaine Fortress to Royal Capital, no matter how fast we hurry, there’s no point in delaying his reply. However, it has already been more than ten days since I sent the messenger with the report. If there are any instructions from His Majesty, they should be coming soon……”

“Oh, well, there are still two days before the duel. You’ll have to wait until then for the King’s decision.”

Raidorl lifted his lips in mockery.

He was curious to see what decision his brother king would make in this situation, but he didn’t think it would make things better.

“The only way to change this situation is for Granard to come here and negotiate directly with the emperor. I’m sure the emperor won’t take it lightly if our king comes to talk to him in person, and we may be able to negotiate something different than a duel.”

But – perhaps it will not happen.

Granard will not come here and he will not meet the emperor face to face.

If Granard had been prepared to go toe to toe with the empire, albeit at the negotiating table, he would have come here long ago and engaged in a war of words with the empire’s negotiators.

“……A weak king, a king who doesn’t move when he should.”

“Hm? Did you say something, Your Highness?”

“No, nothing. I’ll take my rest for the day. I don’t know if my brother’s messenger will make it by the deadline, but he’s going to have a hard march. By then I shall be well rested and ready for a duel.”

Raidorl waved lightly at the quizzical General Bazel and walked into the building.

In the end, two days later, there was no response from the royal capital.

There were some troubles that prevented him from reaching the Blaine fortress, or perhaps Granard could not make a decision until the end.

Either way, the outcome of the war between the Kingdom of Zain and the Empire of Alsatian would be left to the two sword-bearers.

On the date of the duel, the Imperial troops arrived at the fortress of Blaine at about the same time as the pre-arranged time.

The Imperial troops lined up on the hilltop, just as they had done when they attacked the fortress in the past, and at the head of the line was a man wearing armour as red as a blazing fire.

Emperor Zacharias Von Althlein.

Always victorious, never defeated. The holder of the holy sword, the strongest in this era, was looking down on the fortress with his fangs bared like a beast.