CH 40.2

Viktor’s speech raises the soldiers’ morale. Among the enthusiastic soldiers, there’s one who sends him a cold gaze.

“Your Majesty,” Alexia, ignoring the enthusiastic soldiers, calls out to Viktor, stopping him from leaving the tent.

“What is it, Alexia?”

“Do you think that letter is authentic?”

Viktor looks at her in admiration.

“The letter itself appears to be authentic. It has the official signature of the king of Commune. Here, you see?” Viktor says, handing her the letter. Alexia looks over it, but she can’t see anything strange about it at first glance.

“I apologize for my impertinence. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

“It’s all right. If anything, I need a calm thinker such as yourself. You thought that messenger seemed strange, did you not?”

“…Yes. There is no point in sending a letter like this. Just as you said, Your Majesty, humans and monsters cannot coexist. The fact that monsters would send a messenger is unbelievable in and of itself, but it should have been obvious that sending a messenger would lead to this kind of result. Even though we’ve invaded this far, they’re only making demands that are convenient for them with no sign of any concessions. In that case, the vampires may have had no intention to negotiate from the start. There’s no point in sending a messenger just to die in vain. So I thought it might have a different purpose.”

“Yes, that’s what makes it strange. If anything, they seem to be fanning the flames of our rage and encouraging us to invade. A vampire’s intentions are indeed difficult to comprehend, but I’m sure they have a plan.”

They still don’t know the situation in Clermont. None of their spies have returned. Even if they’re carrying out some sort of plan, Viktor can only imagine what it might be.

“Well, no matter. If they have a plan, we just have to thwart it. There are vampires in Clermont, and we must destroy them and restore order to this land.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

‘Yes, we just need to make this land ours. Whether our opponents are vampires or humans.’

As the Weichsel Empire approaches Clermont, the mood in Clermont grows heavier. Perhaps the air of tension radiating off the soldiers has passed onto the citizens.

Roseline’s lips are shut tightly. Her vassals also look pale.

“Is there any reply from the Weichsel Empire yet?” Roseline asks.

“There is no direct reply,” one of the vassals answers. “We have sent several messengers, but none have returned. However, it appears that a group of soldiers from the Weichsel Empire left the head of the first messenger we sent in front of the city gates and then fled. It is my humble opinion that this is the Weichsel Empire’s reply. It seems that a dialogue between us and the Weichsel Empire is no longer possible.”

“I see.”

Once again, Rosline’s lips shut tightly and her expression grows stiff. She still wants to do all she can to avoid war. However, since the other party is giving them no opportunity to negotiate, Commune’s options are limited.

Should they surrender, or fight to the end? Either way, the Allied Commune is forced to make a big decision.

“Invading our country may have been the Weichsel Empire’s sole intention from the start. That is why they entered our country without notice and even unjustly killed a messenger requesting a ceasefire. And above all, there’s the speed of the invasion. They’re attacking when it is most convenient to them. Perhaps they’ve been secretly planning to invade for some time now and their cause is only a pretext to attack. If this is the case, then what will become of our citizens if Clermont falls into the hands of the Weichsel Empire?”

From Commune’s perspective with their limited information, the Weichsel Empire’s invasion is progressing abnormally fast. Taking control of the northeast and invading all the way to Clermont, the center of Commune, in less than a month is impossibly fast.

If the Weichsel Empire began their invasion after becoming aware of the vampires’ existence, they’re much too thoroughly prepared. No matter how much chaos the vampires may have caused, if they could invade this easily, the Allied Commune would have already been invaded by other countries long ago.

In addition, riots occurred directly after they defeated the vampires and took back Clermont. Invading while they still haven’t rebuilt the army, the timing is just too perfect.

Perhaps they carefully collected information on Commune and decided to take advantage of this situation to invade Commune. They’re trying to put all the responsibility on the vampires and bury the truth in darkness. This is the conclusion that Commune’s royal court has come to. If this is the case, it would explain why they cannot accept a messenger requesting a ceasefire.

Although, the reason the Weichsel Empire was able to invade so easily is because of the abnormality of Alexia and Irene’s existence as well as Viktor’s skill in preparing and supplying soldiers without a moment’s delay.

However, Commune has no way of knowing this. If it weren’t for the chaos caused by the vampires, it would have been possible to learn this beforehand. However, their labor shortage has affected their intelligence network as well.

Because of this, even if there are a mage and knight who have made a name for themselves in the war and use unknown spells, it wouldn’t occur to them to plan for anything outside their common sense, and they couldn’t have predicted that Viktor, who had been acting like a mediocre emperor until now, would exhibit such shrewdness. By filtering through experience and common sense, the truth is concealed and the empire’s actions appear abnormal no matter how they think about it.

If anything, it would make sense to the royal court of Commune if they were told that the Weichsel Empire joined forces with the vampires in order to capture Commune and declare themselves the heroes of a crisis they themselves caused. (Of course, it’s unthinkable that vampires, who would never give humans their support, would ever join forces with them.)

Because of this, the royal court of Commune’s thoughts are thus: If the Weichsel Empire takes possession of the Allied Commune, what sort of effect will it have? Even if no war has occurred in hundreds of years, it’s hard to imagine that the invaded country and its citizens would have a bright future. From the standpoint of the people who protect the country, this is unacceptable.

“We have no choice now but to fight with all we have.”

“Even if we fight back, can’t we at least have Lady Roseline escape to Charante while we bide our time and wait?”

“That wouldn’t work. The Weichsel Empire’s invasion is progressing too quickly. Even if I safely escaped to Charante, it would only be buying time. What would be the point in fleeing to safety without a purpose?”

Roseline has no intention to escape to safety alone. When she was fleeing the vampires, she left Clermont with the goal of obtaining Duke Chartelle’s assistance to free Clermont. This time, she has no such goal. The only possibility of reinforcements is from the Castal Kingdom to the east, but the situation in the east is currently unknown.

Therefore, Charante, which is considered to be reliably safe, was named as a candidate for her escape, and there is no guarantee that the Castal Kingdom will assist the Allied Commune. There’s a possibility that the Weichsel Empire, whose attack was thoroughly prepared, made a secret agreement with the Castal Kingdom.

Most importantly, now that the king has died, if the princess flees without fighting, the citizens will abandon the country entirely. If that happens, even if they’re able to make it through this crisis, it will hinder their ability to govern.

Roseline closes her eyes. Then, she opens them and delivers her judgment.

“We will fight the Weichsel Empire.”

Roseline wants to avoid war if possible, but as long as the other party isn’t responding to their ceasefire, the Allied Commune cannot simply stand by and allow their territory to be stolen from them. One of the reasons why a country’s citizens recognize the king and the army is because the country guarantees the safety of its people. If this is no longer the case, then the existence of the king and the army loses all meaning.

Until just recently, she was thinking about how to retake Clermont, and now she’s thinking about how to prevent another country from invading it. Upon realizing this, Roseline then realizes with self-mockery that she’s in the same position as the vampires.

They might lose. Negative thoughts pass through Roseline’s mind. The Weichsel Empire is approaching Clermont without slowing their advance. It’s clear that the Weichsel Empire is confident they can take control of Clermont. It would be difficult for Commune’s soldiers to win against such an enemy as they are now.

Then defense is their only option. By focusing their efforts on defense and letting the Weichsel Empire grow war-weary, reconciliation may be possible. If not, the Allied Commune will be destroyed by the Weichsel Empire.

She must never show it on her face. There is no king who would show weakness and tell the people who risk their lives to protect the citizens that they might lose. If she did, then it would be inexcusable to those who sacrificed themselves to protect her from the vampires and risked their lives to defend the country.

And so, she commands her vassals to kill their emotions and give their lives to protect the country and its people.

“So, this is Clermont. It’s been quite some time.”

“Have you been to Clermont before, Your Majesty?”

“I have, once. When I was young and my father was in good health. At the time, I thought that Clermont was far away, but it’s actually quite close.”

With Clermont before him, Viktor is filled with emotion.

The gates of Clermont are closed, and the walls are packed with soldiers. It’s clear that they’re expecting battle. Even with a large army closing in on them, Clermont remains silent. They’re surely prepared to fight to the end with no intention to surrender.

Viktor smiles. From a logical perspective, surrender would be preferable, but it would be too dull if they surrendered here. After all, if they’re putting an end to the Allied Commune, the act of defeating them has value in and of itself.

“Is something the matter?” Alexia asks.

“No, nothing you need to worry about.” Realizing that he was smiling, Viktor’s face stiffens.

The lined up soldiers are reliable, eagerly awaiting Viktor’s command with excitement and enthusiasm. None of them will be hesitant in their actions. Believing in the cause of freeing the people from the vampires, they believe that there is justice in what they’re about to do.

“My brave soldiers! Behold, that is Clermont! And even now, the vampires are ruling this city and oppressing its citizens. Now, I ask you kind men! Can you overlook these vampires’ acts of cruelty?!”

“No! No! No!”

“Now, I ask you, if you cannot overlook their cruelty, what will you do?!”

“Enact justice!”

“Crush the vampires!”

“Free them from the monsters!”

“Save the people!”

Many people raise their voices. Altogether, the soldiers are saying they will defeat the vampires and save the people.

“I see, you are indeed our country’s elites. I have heard your pleas. Then, I shall grant you the orders you so desire.”

All at once, the army becomes silent.

“Emperor Wilhelm Viktor von Weichsel orders you! Destroy them! Rid this land of vampires, and save our fellows, the people of Commune!”

As soon as Viktor gives the order, the soldiers raise their swords and staves and let out a war cry.

And so begins the Commune Liberation Battle.