Chapter 13: Operation Downfall (3)

Four days ago.

Lieutenant General Albrecht, working in the Kingdom Army Headquarters located at the northern edge of the Royal Palace, sighed at the incredibly meager meal once again.

"General, may I interrupt for a moment? I brought your lunch."

"Enter."

A table of food brought by the orderly from the chefs dedicated to the generals. They hired a chef who used to work at a high-class hotel, and the ingredients were procured from all over the country to make the dishes.

Thanks to that, he had always been able to enjoy satisfying meals, but.....things have changed recently.

"Is this all for today again?"

"Yes. I protested that it was for you, but they said they couldn't help it because all the ingredients are running low."

"I understand that the lack of ingredients is unavoidable, but still, this is....."

A few pieces of shriveled bacon and pale cream soup. Along with hard black bread and some lettuce grown in the small garden behind the Command Center.

This was Lieutenant General Albrecht's lunch for today.

The meal of the highest-ranking general commanding hundreds of thousands of Kingdom's Army soldiers was only this much.

Ingredients that even ordinary Private Soldiers wouldn't normally bother with. If this kind of ration was served in the field, a riot might break out.

The Kingdom had a lot of fertile farmland, so food supply was usually well-managed everywhere.

But now, even this had to be gratefully accepted as a Feast.

"You eat it. I seem to have lost my appetite as I've gotten older."

"Huh? Are, are you sure?"

"Do you not want it? Then I'll ea--"

"No, sir!! I will gratefully eat it, General!!"

The orderly, whose face brightened at being offered the food, grabbed the tray and ran off.

It was clearly not the kind of behavior to show a four-star general, but he decided to be generous. That was probably his first meal of the week.

'To think the day would come when the soldiers of the Kingdom would starve due to food shortages. And in the Royal Capital, no less.'

Not satisfied with the paltry food?

What a spoiled complaint. The soldiers can't even eat that food because there's none to be had.

Grand Duke Alexander took all the existing military rations, and the means to replenish them have now been blocked.

The units stationed in the Capital, Lahator, rarely stockpiled supplies because supply lines were never supposed to be cut, but with the entire city under siege.....how could they hold out?

He heard that they're rationing every other day to conserve the remaining food as much as possible. Even that is just vegetable soup with lots of water added to increase the volume and some dry bread crumbs.

"This is driving me crazy. The situation is like this, and yet there's still no talk of surrender."

Lieutenant General Albrecht sighed.

At this rate, not only will the soldiers' fighting strength be jeopardized, but their very survival will be at risk.

In a few more weeks, he'd have to seriously consider cutting up corpses and using human flesh for supplies, yet the Royal Family remained silent.

Even though the military had reported several times that the situation had long since reached its worst point.

Instead of giving a reply, they just wasted time holding banquets and frequenting salons as usual.

'No, wait. Did the reports even get through?'

Come to think of it, the reports might not have reached the Monarch at all. The high-ranking officials in the Royal Palace are mostly from the high Nobility.

And those nobles were the ones who caused the tragedy of losing most of their remaining troops by attempting a reckless night raid last time.

Having lost the ability to resist and countless lives because of their own actions, would they really accept the suggestion of surrendering now? All the blame would fall on them.

There was a good chance that they deliberately blocked the information midway just to save themselves.

In fact, Lieutenant General Albrecht thought that was much more likely. He had seen them evade responsibility and act recklessly for sixty years.

"Damn them."

He cursed without specifying a subject on purpose.

He had disliked them before, but now, it was going beyond simple dislike and towards hatred. Towards them and the Royal Family that protected them.

How could one have any affection for a Monarch who turned the entire Northern Army into enemies just to indulge in luxury?

Lieutenant General Albrecht had already lost about 90% of his loyalty to the Royal Family due to that incident, and Grand Duke Alexander's defeat cost him another 9%. The remaining 1% finally vanished.

'It's futile to expect anything from a Monarch who doesn't even care about the livelihood of the people nearby.'

The city is under siege, soldiers were starving, and citizens were catching and eating sewer rats and stray cats because they had nothing to eat.

If even that isn't possible, they bake mud into cookies and eat them.

Is this some hidden back-alley affair? No. It's happening openly on the main streets. You can see it if you just step out of the palace and look around a little.

Yet, the fact that Charles VII still hasn't noticed and continues to enjoy a luxurious life means he is no longer a Monarch worthy of being served.

Someone who doesn't realize such a simple reality and blindly trusts his vassals doesn't deserve to be called Your Majesty.

"Has my dedication, the dedication of our soldiers, been rewarded?"

The words spoken by an officer who was caught spying for the enemy, just before his execution. He had said that his family's home had been foreclosed due to unpaid wages, which led him to crime.

At the time, he dismissed it as nonsense from a spy, but for some reason, it came back to his mind.

If asked the same question now, Lieutenant General Albrecht could answer with certainty.

[No], he would say.

The dedication that he and countless loyal soldiers had given to the country had not been rewarded in the slightest. This country was no longer a place where values like loyalty and trust belonged.

'Yes. I've endured enough. Let's tear it all down.'

Finally, Lieutenant General Albrecht, agonizing and enraged, made up his mind. To destroy the heart of this Kingdom.

"Is anyone there?!"

"What is it, General?"

"Go and get Lieutenant General Holtman. Tell him I have urgent business and he must come immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

After sending someone to call his confidant, he pulled out two bundles of documents from the drawer under his desk.

One was a military map detailing the defense systems of all buildings and fortresses in the Capital, and the other was a collection of budget plans and meeting minutes used for the purchase of the Queen's Diamond Tiara.

He had obtained these materials with difficulty through General Grotel, who had connections with the Royal archivist.

'The time has finally come to hand this over.'

Originally, he had planned to use this and internal cooperation as bait to negotiate with the Revolutionary Army. During the period when Grand Duke Alexander was defeated and the Capital was briefly in chaos.

In exchange for facilitating their entry into the Royal Palace, he would ask them not to harm the Monarch and themselves.

However, until now, the nobles had forcibly seized control of the military and even mobilized their own Private Soldiers to monitor the city, so there had been no opportunity.

Now that multiple night raids had failed and the nobles' grip had weakened, this was the perfect time to plot and execute the conspiracy.

'Your Majesty, look out for yourself. I no longer wish to suffer protecting your blunders.'

Lieutenant General Albrecht sent a short farewell in his mind. Originally, protecting the Monarch would have been a condition he would have tried to uphold at all costs. But now, it didn't matter.

With the situation in such a mess, a man who didn't realize it and was only obsessed with pleasure, what good would come from saving him even at the cost of his own life?

"General? I came because you called."

"Ah, Holtman. You're just in time."

"Do you have something for me to do?"

"Yes. I think it's time to pick the Lily."

"....!"

The Lily was the symbol of the Liudolf Dynasty that ruled the Kingdom.

Picking it meant that the moment to carry out the plan had finally arrived.

Lieutenant General Holtman, who had previously received orders from Lieutenant General Albrecht, quickly understood the meaning and his eyes widened.

After a moment of bewilderment, his voice lowered and his expression hardened.

"Shall I send someone?"

"It would be difficult for you to go yourself, wouldn't it?"

"Yes. There are many eyes watching, and I'm too old to move swiftly."

The two deliberately spoke without mentioning subjects to prevent possible eavesdropping.

They had already laid out the plan, so detailed discussion was unnecessary. All that was left was to hand over the collected data and set a date.

"When do you plan to do it?"

"The sooner, the better. How about five days from now, in the evening?"

"That sounds good. I'll pass it on."

That night. A messenger carrying Lieutenant General Albrecht's confidential documents and a letter containing the proposal climbed over the city walls and headed for the Revolutionary Army's headquarters.

* * * * *

And now.

"You say Lieutenant General Albrecht sent this...."

I stroked my chin and churned my long-frozen brain.

The one who made the proposal was someone I knew well. He was the Deputy Commander of the Northern Army before me. We served together for about two years.

I remember him being cynical but generally loyal to the Royal Family.....To think he would change like this.

The Royal Family really screwed up royally.

"Lieutenant General, is there any chance this is a deception?"

"I believe the likelihood is extremely low. They have nothing to gain by lying here."

They could consider it a trick to lure us into the Capital and strike us, but that's too irrational.

With the troops they have left, they could at most destroy a regiment or two, but that wouldn't be enough to break our Revolutionary Army.

In a situation where the overall outcome is practically decided, would they make such a meaningless and unmanageable last stand? It's an unrealistic assumption.

"According to the letter, those not involved in this incident are guaranteed safety. Does that mean we can go after those who are connected?"

"That's right."

"Even if it's the Monarch and Royalty?"

".....Of course."

The messenger hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.

There was no reason not to accept such a cooperative offer. I wasn't planning to instill a reign of terror by punishing everyone in sight anyway.

"Go back and tell him I accept. Also tell him I will visit the Command Center tomorrow at sunset."

It seems I'll have to make sure the troops are well-fed tomorrow morning and afternoon.