V
It had been a month since the detached force had taken back Fort Caspar. The royal army had built up a strong line of defense around the fort. Meanwhile, behind closed doors, prisoner exchange negotiations were taking place. As Ashton had predicted, the imperials had been receptive to their offer of an exchange. When they proposed Kier Fortress as the location for the official signing of the exchange agreement, however, a number of royal officers spoke out in protest. They descended upon the command room to voice their opposition.
“My lord, why do we have to go into enemy territory? We won the last battle, and the exchange was our proposal. Surely it is only proper to do the handover at Fort Caspar!”
Paul listened to the officers with a long-suffering expression. On the surface, their concerns sounded reasonable, but he knew they were just taking umbrage at the mere notion because it hurt their pride. Of course, Otto had chosen this moment to go off and check on the liberated towns and villages. He couldn’t complain, though, as he himself had given the order.
“I don’t remember ordering any of you lot to go to Kier Fortress,” muttered Paul, but this only upset the officers further.
“Don’t split hairs, my lord! It’s bad enough that you’re entertaining taking a mere hundred soldiers as your retinue.” The empire had demanded that they bring up to a hundred soldiers and no more, and the officers had not been pleased.
“You think so? If I were in their shoes, I know I’d demand the same. Bringing an oversized force to their doorstep isn’t very conducive to building trust.” Considering both the signing of the agreement and the journey to Kier Fortress, Paul could accept the terms of a hundred soldiers. In fact, it seemed to him a very carefully considered figure. It was enough to make any bandits think twice before engaging them, but not so many that they might cause trouble in the enemy’s territory. It showed respect to the royal army while also not putting the imperial army at a disadvantage. He explained all this, but the officers continued to meet him with outrage from all sides as they launched into further objections.
“That... That may be so,” one officer said, “but I still cannot understand why the signing must happen at Kier Fortress! Summoning us to the very fortress they stole from us—it is a brazen insult!”
“So you’ve got a better idea, do you?” retorted Paul, his eyes flashing. “You came here prepared with an alternate proposal that will convince me and the empire both, did you? Of course, you’re not children, so you’d never just oppose a plan because it’s hard for you to swallow.” The officers all fell silent. Paul knew full well that they didn’t have any real solutions, and he wanted to put an end to this foolish discussion.
“B-But... My lord, I... What if something were to happen to you?”
“On that front, at least, you have nothing to worry about,” said Paul shortly. The officers all frowned.
“How can you be so sure, my lord? Even the imperials know well your reputation as the God of the Battlefield,” said one.
“That’s right. We can’t rule out the possibility that someone might use this opportunity to attempt an assassination,” chimed in another. The officers all latched onto this hypothetical situation. If someone wanted to assassinate him, it was a golden opportunity. Assassins were hard to see coming, and Paul was always on guard against such attempts. This time, however, it was a needless fear as far as he was concerned.
“The empire isn’t about to resort to such a half-baked plan when they have such an obvious advantage in the war,” he said.
“B-But, my lord—!”
“And besides, I’ll have Second Lieutenant Olivia there as my personal guard. Any more complaints?” The moment Olivia’s name fell from his lips, the officers’ faces went pale. After the Plains of Ilys and the Battle of Fort Caspar, hardly a soul remained in the Seventh Legion who didn’t regard Olivia with awe.
“No, er, of course not! No complaints, my lord.”
“R-Right, yes. If she’s there, that’s a different story.”
“Excuse us, my lord, for taking so much of your time!” The officers all saluted as one, then practically fell over themselves hurrying out of the command room. Paul watched them go, then sighed and reached into his breast pocket.
Another week passed before Paul and his retinue set off down the north road for Kier Fortress. In case of trouble, Paul rode at the center of the convoy in between Olivia and Claudia, who were entrusted with his protection. They were, in turn, surrounded by the soldiers who had infiltrated Fort Caspar with Olivia.
Much to Claudia’s consternation, Olivia kept making conversation with Paul as they rode. She felt like she ought to chastise her, but Paul looked so cheerful that she hesitated. In the end, she decided to pretend it wasn’t happening.
This is agonizing... I’d rather be locking swords with the enemy than this, she thought to herself, side-eyeing Olivia and Paul as they chatted happily.
They saw neither hide nor hair of any bandits, and arrived safely at Kier Fortress on the fourth day following their departure from Fort Caspar. Kier Fortress was surrounded by three rings of towering walls in addition to the geography of its position giving it yet another layer of natural defense. Above its battlements, the crossed swords banners fluttered in the breeze—a stinging reminder of their defeat there. Paul and his retinue regarded the once so-called impenetrable fortress with ambivalence.
Only Olivia looked up at the fortress with unconcealed excitement.
“Wow, General Paul! Kier Fortress is even bigger and more impressive than Galia!”
“L-Lieutenant Olivia!” cried Claudia, unable to let this pass by.
“No matter,” Paul waved her off. “Do you remember, Lieutenant, that this fortress used to belong to Fernest?”
“Yeah, I know. Until the imperial army took it, right?” said Olivia conversationally. The bitterness in Paul’s smile grew more pronounced.
“Indeed. All thanks to our own incompetence.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, General Paul. We’ll get it back, just like we did with Fort Caspar. Then it’ll be okay.”
Paul chuckled. “When you say it like that, Lieutenant, it sounds so simple.”
While they laughed together, the vast arched gate slowly began to open to reveal an elegant woman dressed in a black military uniform. Soldiers in full, azure-blue plate armor stood on either side of her in a defensive formation. The enemy’s intelligence network must have given them ample warning to allow for such a well-timed welcome. Paul gave the order to dismount, then went up to the woman.
“Lieutenant General Paul of the royal army of Fernest, I presume?” she greeted him.
“Just so.”
“Even in the imperial army, we all know the god of the battlefield. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, ser. I am Second Lieutenant Teresa, at your disposal. Right now, I am sure you are weary from your journey and would like to rest.”
“You are most kind. I’d like that very much indeed.”
They saluted one another, then Teresa turned and walked back inside, indicating for them to follow. They proceeded in silence. Teresa seemed to be particularly curious about Olivia, for she regularly turned to look at her. It took half an hour to pass through the gates in all three walls. There at last they were greeted by a familiar sight of the main gate. Teresa stopped before it, and turned to Paul once more.
“General, I’m very sorry to ask this, but for the sake of security we must insist that you bring only two others with you past this point. Rooms have been prepared for the rest of your retinue, and they are welcome to rest there.”
“How dare you spring this on us?!” cut in Claudia, outraged at this duplicity. Even towards one’s enemies, there was such a thing as common courtesy. Paul, however, put a hand on her shoulder, so she shut her mouth again.
“Calm yourself, Warrant Officer,” he said. “Second Lieutenant Teresa, we accept your conditions in their entirety. These two—Second Lieutenant Olivia and Warrant Officer Claudia—shall accompany me.” Teresa started at Olivia’s name, turning to examine her intently, but Olivia was too busy looking around enthusiastically at the fortress to pay her any attention.
“Is everything all right, Lieutenant?”
“I—er, yes, of course. Excuse me, General,” said Teresa, sounding flustered. “Please follow me.” She signaled to her soldiers and with a heavy creaking the gate began to open. Paul, Olivia, and Claudia followed her within.
The signing of the agreement for the exchange of prisoners took place the following day. The officers of the imperial army stood in their ranks in a vast hall, watching on as Paul and Felix signed their names. The two then stood, and shook hands. Murmurs of awe and shock rose up from the crowd.
“It is truly an honor to meet you, Lord Paul,” said Felix. “It may be improper of me to say as much, but coming face-to-face with the God of the Battlefield—it sends a shiver down my spine!”
“The honor is mine, I am sure, Lord Felix of the famed Azure Knights. I must admit, I had no idea you were so young!”
“You are not the first to say so, General,” said Felix with a smile that Paul returned. The remainder of the signing ceremony proceeded without incident. At its conclusion, the atmosphere was, at least on the surface, perfectly cordial.
“Have they gone?” Felix asked later, gazing out the window.
“Yes, my lord,” replied Teresa. “They departed just earlier. General Paul asked that I pass on his regards.” She paused, looking anxiously at Felix. “My lord, are you unwell? You look rather pale.” Feeling guilty for having caused her worry, Felix shook his head.
“No, I am in perfect health. Lieutenant, did you happen to speak with the two women who accompanied the general?”
“Not much, my lord, only... Well, one looked to be very young. I was a little taken aback to learn she was a second lieutenant like myself.”
“I see...”
“My lord?”
All through the signing ceremony, the silver-haired girl’s eyes had been fixed on him. Observing him. Even from behind Paul, her presence had been so overwhelming that the God of the Battlefield seemed to shrink in comparison. It had sent a chill down Felix’s spine.
That aura of death, and that unnatural stench of blood... She was like death itself given physical form. I get the feeling that girl is going to be trouble for the empire...
Olivia and Felix.
It would be a long time before the two of them met again.
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