Gifts (3)

Barker had in past wars with Rain bulked up his headcount by throwing gold at mercenaries.

With Barker’s bankroll, he could muster as many as two thousand infantry.

“How many knights can move from Lirin Island at once?”

Alicia did not complain about the restrictions set by the Imperial Household.

“Fifty. There are more than 350 knights on Lirin Island, but they can’t empty the island; even leaving only a minimum behind, Lirin can mobilize at most 150 knights. If an advance party leaves tonight, they’ll all arrive in about five days. That’s the ceiling for Lirin’s forces. And compared to Barker, Lirin’s line of battle is longer—far more disadvantageous.”

The Emperor spoke so smoothly it was almost vexing.

-So, what is your plan?

What he meant was obvious.

“I dislike infantry, Your Majesty.”

At Alicia’s words, the Emperor gave her the look one gives a righteous but naïve child.

“Countess.”

“In the end, the foot soldiers and boy-soldiers who go to the field are being paid five gold coins as the price of their lives to go die. One knight does at least the work of five infantry.”

“You cannot fight a war with cavalry alone.”

He used a soothing tone.

“I will find a way to make it work.”

Alicia insisted stubbornly.

The Emperor scowled, as if weighing something.

“When do you intend to end this war?”

It sounded like a threat.

“Two weeks. I will finish within that.”

She answered the harsh question calmly.

Accounting for assembly time, her plan was to end the actual fighting within a week.

The Emperor’s expression shifted oddly.

“Countess. This war you propose is not a children’s quarrel. The Barker earldom has demanded, as terms, a written admission of defeat from House Lirin and as indemnity ten percent of Lirin’s revenues from the Ispi Sea. They plan to levy this indemnity over the next twenty years.”

Alicia offered a detached observation.

“The Barker earldom is shameless to the point of brazen steel.”

The Emperor looked at Alicia as if at a madwoman.

Her demeanor showed no concept that she might lose—hardly normal.

“Very well. What do you need, Countess?”

He spoke as if resigned.

“Provisions.”

Alicia answered instantly, and the Emperor replied the moment he heard it.

“There is a military depot at Denbera beside Luderne.”

The Imperial Household and royals had proclaimed neutrality.

“……”

Alicia had answered the question but had expected to receive nothing.

“I don’t know how you mean to fight this war. I’ll give you two hundred of my undisclosed cavalry guarding the Denbera depot. It’s little, but add it to your strength.”

An imperial cavalryman was worth twenty infantry at least.

“I am honored, Your Majesty.”

Alicia could not help but answer with formal gratitude.

Combining Lirin’s troops with those granted by the Emperor, she could meet Barker even in a real war on equal terms.

“I must go. You’ve come a long way from the north—rest here, humble though it is. It will be best to show yourself after House Lirin declares war on the Barker earldom and public censure of Barker has mounted.”

He stepped down from the dais as he spoke.

Alicia moved aside and bowed properly.

“I am moved by Your Majesty’s gracious words.”

She conveyed heartfelt thanks.

“Countess, I am the one moved—by your kindness. Thank you for protecting Eleanor—the Empress. You saved her more than once. I look forward to seeing you at the palace. Then.”

The Emperor vanished as swiftly as he had appeared.

“……”

Alicia wondered if, more than the largesse he had given, the thanks he left at the end had been the true purpose of his visit.

Regardless of sentiment, in a short span she had gained forces to threaten a kingdom.

Alicia brought her party to a cozy villa.

She kept it simple: rest well—this was the last respite before battle—and be ready to move without pause starting tomorrow.

Worn out from the long journey, her companions were delighted with the comfort.

Seeing that, she felt glad they could enjoy such a rest.

Alicia herself relaxed a little.

Neigh!

Staring blankly at the sunset, Alicia heard an unfamiliar horse snort and reached for a weapon.

But no danger erupted.

“Alicia, His Lordship the Marquis of Istevna has arrived.”

Daisy announced the visit of Kain Istevna, now raised to marquis.

The Emperor had promoted the former Count Istevna as a birthday gift.

As Marquis Istevna, the man prided himself on getting along with anyone, sleeping anywhere, and keeping a sunny spirit.

“I greet Your Lordship.”

“Countess? Lady Alicia? Which do you prefer?”

He laughed in his bluff, easy way.

“‘Lady’ is fine.”

“Is it? Well, since you’re Pauline’s friend, perhaps ‘Lady Alicia’ is best. Pauline wanted to see you, so I came in her stead.”

His phrasing was… chaotic.

“I see.”

Alicia took the royal’s muddled tone in stride.

“I have many friends, and none of them are entirely sane—they all want to run to dangerous wars. Word is you’re about to fight, Lady Alicia, so they asked me to introduce you. Here—take these.”

Alicia accepted the letters of introduction to knightly orders and mercenary companies that Marquis Istevna thrust at her.

The sheaf was so thick it was absurd.

“……”

It hadn’t been a boast—he truly had many friends.

Each order or company was a name one had heard at least once.

Writing them all out would make an immense list.

“Josephina was spoiled, extravagant, ill-tempered, and wild—but she’s not a bad girl.”

“Yes…”

Alicia held in her hands introductions to forces capable of smashing a kingdom.

The marquis who brought them bewailed things with a bright face.

“Ahh, Lady Alicia. As you know, my eldest brother is extremely wary of you. Meanwhile Pauline wishes you to be godmother to the twins. I’d be grateful if you’d tell her no. Lately I’m being demolished by logic every evening and sleeping on the couch every night. What’s so important about a godmother anyway? In any case, I’ll be off.”

Alicia stared blankly as the marquis popped in without preface and vanished just as abruptly.

In any case, her forces had grown to the point of toppling a kingdom.

“I could win even in a real war…”

She murmured, looking up at the darkening sky.

After a full night’s rest, Alicia and her party entered Baden.

At the city’s edge, she spotted Marquis Lennox and Princess Anri’s retinues and immediately grasped it.

Additional troops.

She alighted from the carriage and hailed the mounted marquis and princess.

“Your Lordship, Your Highness—an honor. I did not expect to meet you here.”

She greeted them with feigned innocence.

“Lady Alicia—we meet in the strangest places.”

Princess Anri answered awkwardly.

“Lady Alicia. I’m sorry to be so late in offering my respects after your ordeal. It’s ridiculous, but some of the knights under me suddenly… left the order, so I came out to look around. Running away at their age?”

“Marquis Lennox, yours too? Mine as well. Knights ‘running away from the order’—what a bizarre tale.”

The cover story prepared by Marquis Lennox and Princess Anri was laughably thin.

“Ha ha. Funny, isn’t it, elder sister. Lady Alicia, good to see you. Then—we’ll see you next time.”

“See you later, my lady—we’re neutral, you know.”

Marquis Lennox turned his horse, and Princess Anri winked and did the same.

They came like the wind and left like the wind—clearly well aware of where those “runaway” knights had gone.

“How insincere. When a knightly order runs away, it’s desertion…”

Muttering to herself, Alicia returned to her carriage.

Now she commanded forces that could threaten the Empire itself.

“Maybe I should just fight a real war.”

With what she had, a tidy victory seemed likely.

“To Luderne.”

Alicia said once inside the carriage.

Her party headed swiftly for Luderne.

Luderne’s gate swung open.

At the head, Josephina spurred her horse and raced inside.

Twenty escort knights followed right behind.

In Luderne’s square, lines of knights stood ready to receive her party.

Lirin’s vanguard and the cavalry from Denbera stamped their spear-butts against the stones—thump! thump!—in salute.

Josephina arrived on horseback in a dress.

Her face and garments were caked with dust.

She surveyed the welcoming knights calmly, then dismounted.

Alicia, who had come to the hall entrance, stepped outside.

Josephina met Alicia’s gaze and slowly offered a curtsy.

It seemed she had ridden in her dress for this moment.

“Lady Alicia—thank you for your grace.”

Alicia stopped as well and returned the courtesy.

“Lady Josephina, welcome to Luderne.”

Alicia herself handed the dust-stained Josephina a warm, wet towel.

“Thank you.”

Josephina took it and wiped her face.

The Barker earldom had declared war on House Lirin and, at the same time, tried to confine Josephina.

After days of pursuit and skirmish, she and her escort knights were exhausted.

“Welcome, my lady.”

Publicly, the Imperial Household and the royals kept strict neutrality in the war between Duke Lirin and Earl Barker.

Following their declaration, many nobles in the capital chose neutrality—or silence.

Since birth, Josephina had moved through every corner of Baden as if it were her own house; for the first time, she met cold indifference.

She was also the hunted.

To those who sided with Barker, Josephina was appetizing prey.

That such people would dog her steps was expected and not surprising.

But for Josephina—daughter of a duke and a princess, niece to the Emperor, showered with flattery all her life—that icy indifference was unfamiliar.

The only one who actively reached out a hand was Alicia.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Josephina spoke in a tired voice.

Her delicate brows trembled with unease.

Alicia personally wiped Josephina’s hands with the warm towel.

After gripping the reins under constant tension, Josephina’s hands were a mess.

The warmth melted away not only dust but fatigue.

A cool, damp towel followed the warm one.

What had been routine service only days ago had now become a rare luxury.

“Rest first. Let’s dine together this evening.”

To Josephina’s ears, Alicia’s voice sounded softer than anything.

“All right.”

At the gentle invitation, Josephina accepted without hesitation.

Dinner at Luderne began late.

Alicia gathered Josephina’s escort knights and the knights already present in the great hall for a feast.

She saw that ample food was shared with townsfolk temporarily lodged at Luderne.

Usually quiet, Luderne now bustled as if in festival.