Chapter 23
Viscount Aus’s complexion darkened rapidly.
His disappointment was as great as his expectations had been.
But he did not know.
Everyone inside had been watching the change in his expression.
“It’s not too late even now, Viscount Aus.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means there’s still a chance.”
“I swore an oath to His Majesty the King. And the person to whom that oath was passed was not the Second Prince, but Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Viscount Aus spoke firmly, without the slightest hesitation.
Rather, he even looked angry as he spoke.
At the sight, Haines smiled in satisfaction before he knew it.
“Viscount Aus has already made up his mind.”
“That’s right. I will remain at Your Highness’s side until the very end. The knights and soldiers of House Molten will do the same.”
“I won’t forget that loyalty.”
Having confirmed Viscount Aus’s resolve, Lloyd and Rainy seriously examined the map.
They were checking the locations likely to become fierce battlefields.
They also took care to ensure that the people would not be caught up in the fighting as much as possible.
Winning was important, but so was avoiding harm to the people.
Jade, who had stepped onto the terrace, slowly surveyed the interior of the lord’s castle.
In keeping with the atmosphere of impending war, the mood inside the lord’s castle was heavy.
Not only the soldiers, but also the servants and maids, all looked tense.
-The mood is heavy.
-It can’t be helped. On paper, we’re clearly outmatched.
-Even though we have two secret weapons.
Silestin puffed out her lips.
They seemed far too cowed.
Everyone must have known that Lloyd and Rainy had not come simply to die.
-Secret weapons can only exist as secret weapons while they’re secret. Once they’re known, they’re not secret weapons anymore. And I bet they’ve been secretly preparing things too. Well, given how huge the difference in strength is, maybe not.
-It doesn’t matter even if they have. Jade is on the Crown Prince’s side!
-That’s a big one.
Elestra chuckled.
Unlike Viscount Aus, the knights, and the soldiers, who were all extremely tense, the Crown Prince’s group seemed confident that they could manage.
Even though they were outnumbered ten to one, their own forces were formidable as well.
“And we have three hundred versatile warriors, too.”
-Arrelia’s still the strongest.
“Yeah. I found out she’s the great warrior of the War Elf tribe.”
-At that level, she certainly deserves the title of great warrior.
Silestin muttered with her arms folded.
Even if she was unlikeable, her skill was genuine.
Kkyuuuung.
Perhaps because the night wind was cold, Whid curled up in Jade’s arms.
Then it looked at Jade with eyes that seemed to be asking for something.
“You shouldn’t get too addicted to jerky.”
Contrary to his words, Jade pulled some well-dried jerky from his subspace.
It was made from beef, the finest meat available.
Kkyu!
Whid flared its nostrils at the distinctive smoky scent.
It was excited by the smell alone.
“Here. Chew it thoroughly.”
Kkyuung!
Whid clamped its mouth around the jerky and slowly chewed it as Jade had instructed.
Instead of swallowing it all at once, it savored the taste and texture to the very end.
“Why didn’t I think of jerky? I have spirits—a cheat skill.”
-You probably only thought about freshness. Meat isn’t the only thing that helps Whid; blood does too.
“When we get back this time, I should turn half of it into jerky. And I’ll collect some Black Drake scales while I’m at it. Those are worth money too.”
Jade did not lack money, but perhaps because he had lived with so little on Earth, he had quite a bit of material desire.
There was nothing bad about having plenty of money, either.
Knock knock knock.
Just then, he heard a knock.
The knock somehow carried a strange tremor, and Jade headed toward the entrance with an enigmatic smile.
“Isn’t it a little too late to visit a man’s room, Your Highness the Princess?”
“You don’t see me as a woman anyway.”
“That’s true. Come in.”
“You didn’t have to admit it so openly.”
Rainy muttered under her breath.
But thanks to Jade’s brusque words drawing a clear line, the tension melted away.
“I can hear you.”
“I said it so you would.”
“I remember you weren’t this kind of person.”
“It’s because I’m that much more comfortable around you. We’ve been through a lot, and there have been embarrassing things too.”
“Forget it.”
Jade chuckled and said firmly.
Rainy’s lips stuck out.
She was a half-elf with elven blood, after all, and felt that he was disregarding her too much.
“It happened too recently to forget.”
“I think one’s state of mind matters more than time. But what brings you here at this hour?”
“Straight to the point?”
“There’s nothing to be gained from staying too long.”
“Me? Or you, Lord Jade?”
Rainy asked with feigned provocation as she faced him, shrugging.
It was because she felt he kept treating her like a child.
“Hmm. Let’s say both.”
“Hah!”
Rainy made a dumbfounded face.
Though he had said that, she instinctively felt that his heart leaned toward the latter.
“Are you very nervous?”
“...Is it that obvious?”
“It would be strange if it weren’t. Besides, this is your first war too, Princess.”
“...We can win, right?”
Rainy’s expression changed in an instant.
The mask she had forced herself to wear fell away, revealing her true feelings.
“Are you afraid?”
“If we lose, everyone dies. I’m actually all right. If we lose, it’s only natural that Lloyd and I will die. But Sir Haines, Steven, Lady Arrelia, the War Elf tribe, and the soldiers would quite literally be sacrificed.”
Rainy’s shoulders trembled.
She looked utterly terrified.
Seeing Rainy like that, Jade understood why she had come to him rather than Haines.
‘Though it also seems like she’s after something else.’
Just because he had lived without much did not mean he had never been in love.
Moreover, growing up with little had made him quick to read people.
But Jade did not let it show.
Instead, he thought of what Rainy needed to hear now.
“Princess.”
“Yes.”
“Death cannot be avoided. Once you are born, dying is only natural. That is true of elves and dragons as well. Their lifespans differ, but the fact that they have an end is the same.”
“...I suppose so.”
“At the same time, everyone can choose. They can choose where they will die. Just as you are doing now, Princess.”
Thump! Thump!
Jade’s words made Rainy’s pupils widen.
His final words had resonated deeply with her.
“Some will flee with battle approaching. But there are also people like Viscount Aus, who intend to uphold their oath of loyalty to the very end even in a battle whose defeat is certain. I think there is only one thing you can show such people, Princess.”
“I think I came to the right person after all.”
“I’m glad if I was of help.”
“When you’ve finished what you came here to do, will you return to the Great Forest?”
Rainy, much calmer than before, asked cautiously.
She was subtly implying that she did not want to send someone as skilled as Jade away.
Though Arrelia and the War Elf tribe were here, they would ultimately return to their own village.
Because of that, Jade was indispensable to her and Lloyd.
“For now, that’s what I intend. In any case, that’s where I have to return.”
“How about staying in the royal palace?”
“Isn’t that getting ahead of ourselves when the civil war hasn’t even been settled?”
“Isn’t that true of you too, Lord Jade? You’re planning to return because you’re confident we can win, aren’t you?”
“You got me there.”
Jade chuckled.
But he did not deny it.
No matter how formidable the Second Prince’s forces were, Jade did not think he would lose.
The two spirits thought the same.
“I’d like you to consider staying in the capital at least once.”
“All right.”
“I’ll be going now. As you said, there’s nothing good about an adult man and woman staying together at this hour.”
Rainy rose before Jade could say anything.
She was trying to salvage her pride, at least.
“Sleep well.”
“I hope I can.”
Rainy left the room with a dignified stride, then turned with a small smile.
Before long, she disappeared down the corridor, accompanied by the maid waiting outside the door.
-She’s a fox too.
-Agreed.
-Be careful, and then be even more careful. All women are foxes! Especially Arrelia!
No sooner had the door closed than the two spirits began chattering.
They talked incessantly, as if they were his older sisters.
But Jade let their words go in one ear and out the other.
He knew it well enough himself, even without them saying it.
“I’ll be able to see it tomorrow.”
Jade came out onto the terrace again, his gaze turned toward Viscount Allang’s territory.
At daybreak, the atmosphere in the lord’s castle grew even more depressed.
More than ten thousand troops had appeared in Viscount Allang’s territory as soon as the sun rose.
Flags representing each noble house fluttered everywhere, numbering more than twenty.
Watching from the wall, Lloyd’s face hardened.
“I actually think it worked out well. Now we can clearly tell friend from foe.”
“If we win.”
“Do you think we’ll lose?”
“...It won’t be easy.”
Even including the War Elves, the forces gathered at the lord’s castle numbered around thirteen hundred.
And those thirteen hundred had been scraped together with great difficulty.
Meanwhile, even though the Second Prince had gathered only the elite of the elite, he had well over ten thousand.
At that disparity, Lloyd’s lips went dry.
“Have confidence. Our forces are formidable too. Numbers are just numbers.”
“I know that too. But why are you here, Sis? Go inside the inner castle.”
“I’m staying here with you.”
“It’s dangerous here.”
Lloyd shook his head.
He was the Crown Prince and a man.
Therefore, even if he did not fight directly, he had to be here.
But Rainy was different.
“I’m a princess too.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“Haines and Steven are here. Don’t worry about me.”
Rainy said firmly.
As if saying she would not back down no matter what he said.
“Ah.”
At that moment, a familiar face appeared among the soldiers standing in orderly ranks.
The culprit who had brought them both here—the Second Prince—had appeared accompanied by a mage.
Marquess Madrain was beside him as well.
Brrrrr!
At the sight of Marquess Madrain standing behind the Second Prince with his characteristic cold, impassive face, Haines’s features trembled faintly.
The defeat at the royal palace seemed to have come back to him.
“Can you hear my voice?”
“I can.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried we might not be able to communicate. Fortunately, it seems you have a mage who can cast a voice-amplification spell.”
The Second Prince said this with a sardonic smile.
Yet despite his taunting, Lloyd’s expression remained calm.
He was no longer so naive as to fall for such an obvious provocation.
“Surely you have enough power for even that. You seem to have forgotten, but I’m the Crown Prince. You’re the Second Prince.”
“Heh-heh! You’ve grown a lot, Lloyd. You even know how to trade barbs now. I suppose being driven out this time taught you quite a lot?”
“It was bound to. So, in that respect, I’m a little grateful to you. You helped me come to my senses.”
“Bwahahaha!”
The Second Prince laughed loudly.
He had never expected Lloyd to say something like that.
But soon, he glared at Lloyd with a cold expression.
“Do you really think coming to your senses now will change anything? Face reality. You have no chance of winning. So surrender. Don’t needlessly weaken the kingdom. Once you die, everything will be neatly settled. No unnecessary sacrifices.”