II
The Imperial Army’s War Room, Kier Fortress
Returning four days prior to the arrival of the First Allied Legion at the Kochonn Plains, Rosenmarie received a report from the soldiers assigned to patrol the lands around the fortress that the Royal Army was advancing, and summoned her key officers to the war room. The Helios Knights sat along the left side of the long table, with the Crimson Knights lined up along the right. When Rosenmarie entered, they stood up and saluted as one. Oscar gave the order, and they sat down once more.
Placing herself at the head of the table, it was Rosenmarie who spoke first.
“What’s the Royal Army’s position?”
“They are currently advancing across the Freyberg Plateau, my lady,” Oscar said, pointing with his baton at the map that lay unfurled on the table. When he informed them that the presence of the First and Seventh Legions had been confirmed, the faces of the officers twisted in fury.
“A great number of banners bearing the Death God’s crest have also been observed. It must be the newly formed Eighth Legion under Death God Olivia’s command.”
“Death God Olivia...”
“So she’s here...” There was a buzz as the officers all reacted to this announcement. There was an unnatural gleam in the eyes of some, while others looked down. Others still wore expressions of undisguised terror. If there was one thing both knight orders could claim, it was that they had been put through hell by Death God Olivia.
Cornelius the Invincible General, Paul the God of the Battlefield, and now Death God Olivia, the jewel of the crown, Rosenmarie thought. With such an impressive cast, that confirms that the fortress is their target. The corners of her mouth curled.
“It’s time to celebrate,” she said. “Our most despised enemy has come wandering out to us. This is nothing short of a bless—”
“I bring news!” The door flew open, revealing a panting soldier. Everyone in the room turned to the sound as the soldier went over to Oscar to whisper hurriedly in his ear. At once, Oscar’s face turned hard.
“Not especially pleasant news, then?” Rosenmarie commented.
“No, my lady. An army, numbering around twenty thousand and flying dark purple banners, has fallen in with the Royal Army. They appear to be from Mekia—the Winged Crusaders.”
“The Winged Crusaders?!” The reaction from the Crimson Knights was dramatic. The investigations of the shimmers had since identified the Winged Crusaders as the perpetrators of the surprise attack on Fort Astora. They had taken advantage of Rosenmarie’s absence to go on a destructive rampage that had ended in the death of her aide, Guyel.
And they have mages... Rosenmarie ran her tongue along her lips.
“Those’re the bastards who murdered Guyel!”
“Lady Rosenmarie! We shall avenge Colonel Guyel!”
Guyel’s name started to fly off the lips of the Crimson Knights. Rosenmarie raised a hand, and the hubbub ceased.
“You don’t need to scream at me, I can hear you just fine. Whatever happened between Fernest and Mekia, it appears that they have formed an alliance. Saves us a lot of time and effort, don’t you think?”
“With the addition of the Mekians, their combined force numbers over eighty-five thousand. That puts them roughly equal with our own forces, but should I look into bringing in soldiers from Swaran and Stonia, just in case?”
“Swaran and Stonia?” Rosenmarie snorted loudly. “What are those pathetic excuses for soldiers supposed to do for us? Forget it. They’ll only get in our way.” She then saw another officer rise. It was Major General Zacharias Carally. Among the Helios Knights who otherwise favored defensive tactics, he commanded a unit of a notably different proclivity, specializing in penetrative attacks—the Caelestis Wolves.
Rosenmarie nodded, giving him leave to speak.
“Where do we plan on meeting them?” he asked. “If I may be so bold as to offer my opinion first, I believe the Kochonn Plains to the east would be the ideal location at which to intercept them.”
The location Zacharias proposed was free of any major obstructions, which would allow their forces to maneuver unrestricted. It was also relatively close to Kier Fortress, meaning that their logistical lifelines would operate effectively. It was perfectly suited to meeting an enemy force. Yet Rosenmarie, with a hint of a smile, shot down Zacharias’s idea.
He looked thunderstruck. “For what reason, my lady?!” he demanded, raising his voice. “For what reason?!”
He had probably imagined she would agree at once. Next, he returned his gaze to the map and started to rattle off a series of other potential locations. Rosenmarie rejected them all, until at last, Zacharias, his face scarlet, brought his fist crashing down on the table.
“Then where do you plan to meet them?!” he cried.
“That’s been obvious since the beginning.” As Zacharias raged, she tapped a finger several times on the long table. Though at first he appeared dubious, Zacharias’s eyes soon grew wide.
“Not Kier Fortress?!”
“What, you’re surprised? You are, at this moment, standing within the walls of the impenetrable fortress. It’s the obvious choice.”
Aside from Oscar, to whom Rosenmarie had already told her plan, the others, Crimson and Helios Knights both, all gaped at her. Rosenmarie was enjoying the spectacle when Mill Heineman of the Crimson Knights voiced his objection.
“I realize my saying this to you, Lady Rosenmarie, is like trying to tell a fish how to swim, but I feel I must point out that we Crimson Knights make best use of our potential out on the battlefield.”
“You’re right. The Crimson Knights aren’t made for siege warfare.”
“Then—”
“But it was out on the battlefield that the Crimson Knights lost to the Seventh Legion,” she pointed out. “Now, don’t take that the wrong way. It’s not your fault we lost. That was entirely my own doing.”
“In other words, this time you mean to be more careful?” Zacharias said, unconvinced. Rosenmarie snorted.
“It’s not like me, is what you want to say.”
“Just so, my lady. I would understand it coming from Marshal Gladden, but...” At this mention of Gladden’s name, a shadow fell over the faces of all assembled, but Rosenmarie continued without mentioning it.
“It seems,” she said, “that the Helios Knights have been laboring under a false impression of my character.” While officers from the Helios Knights all looked confused, the Crimson Knights shared a grim smile. “I don’t deny that I prefer to fight on the battlefield. I mean, I do enjoy it.” She gave a playful shrug, drawing a guffaw from the Crimson Knights. The Helios Knights, meanwhile, managed only strained smiles. Rosenmarie then turned serious. “The only thing that matters is that we crush the Royal Army here. I will use whatever I have at my disposal to make sure that happens, and this time, I have Kier Fortress. It’s as simple as that.”
“So this is a critical moment for the imperial army as well.”
“That’s right,” she said. She didn’t like to admit it, but the Royal Army had momentum, and just as a flame once lit would not be easily extinguished, that invisible force would not soon fade. If she was going to break it, she couldn’t be concerned with style. In addition, while she had no intention of getting sentimental, she was also thinking of Gladden, who had gone on to the Land of the Dead without the opportunity for a rematch. Their differences in opinion had led them to butt heads on more than a few occasions, but Rosenmarie still had a kind of respect for the man who had led their army as head of the Three Generals. Any way to know what he had thought was now lost to her forever.
“Lady Rosenmarie, if we’re prioritizing caution, could we call on the Azure Knights to add their forces to ours?” Mill proposed, but Rosenmarie shot him down.
“I’m afraid Felix isn’t going to set one foot outside the capital.” Rosenmarie wasn’t without a degree of irritation toward Felix and his continued refusal to mobilize the Azure Knights, but the order came from Emperor Ramza himself, and she couldn’t imagine Ramza the Good would hold the Azure Knights back in the capital without reason. As far as she knew, he was nothing less than a great emperor.
“I thought it was too much to hope for...”
“Don’t be so downhearted. The Crimson and Helios Knights together will be more than sufficient. Oscar?”
“My lady,” he said. “I will go through the outline of our plan.”
Two hours later, after each of the officers had received detailed instructions on their roles from Oscar, the council came to a close. Rosenmarie clicked her fingers and a servant emerged, bearing glasses half-full of wine, which they then distributed among the officers.
When Rosenmarie saw that everyone had a glass, she said, “I don’t exaggerate when I say that in this battle, we will decide the fate of the empire. I expect you all to fight to your last breath.”
“To the glory of the Asvelt Empire!”
“To our undying loyalty to Ramza the Magnificent!” The officers all swallowed the contents of their glasses in a single gulp. Then, brimming with zeal, they filed out of the room. As Oscar made to follow them, Rosenmarie called out to him.
“When this is over, lay some lycilia flowers on Gladden’s grave. He’s supposed to have liked them, though I’d never have believed it.”
Oscar turned back abruptly. “Lycilia symbolize the bonds of family. How very like you, my lady.” He saluted, then quietly left the room.
I shouldn’t have said it after all, Rosenmarie thought. She herself still hadn’t had the chance to lay flowers at the graves of either Osvannes or Guyel. Telling herself it would all wait until victory was hers, she left the war room alone.
Early in the morning, two days later, the Royal Army emerged out of a fog that hung about Kier Fortress.
Fernest’s First Allied Legion fielded ninety-eight thousand five hundred soldiers. The soldiers of the Asvelt Empire defending Kier Fortress numbered ninety-eight thousand eight hundred.
The battle began with a whisper, or so it would be written in The History of Duvedirica.
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