III
Main Command of the Second Allied Legion
Not long after splitting off from the Eighth Legion, General Blood Enfield and the Second Allied Legion under his command joined battle against a forty-thousand-strong imperial force that appeared to be aiming for a pincer assault.
As the reports came rolling in, Blood muttered to himself, “The way the enemy’s moving, I’d say their objective is to tie us down here. That’s a leap of faith if I ever saw one...”
Lieutenant Colonel Lise Prussie, who was issuing commands to the runners, came over to stand beside him. “This complicates your plans to wrap things up here quickly and go to the Eighth Legion’s aid, doesn’t it, General?”
Blood’s frown deepened. “And when did I say that?” he retorted, but the fact was, Lise was right on the mark. Though he was by no means taking his opponent lightly, it was also not the Crimson or Helios Knights he was facing, let alone the Azure Knights. He had crossed swords with the Helios Knights before, and this enemy didn’t even come close to bringing the same forcefulness to bear. Considering his long stint fighting alone to hold the Central Front, the current situation tactically and strategically favored the Second Allied Legion. A little fire in his belly was understandable.
“If I couldn’t glean a single one of your thoughts without you spelling it out for me, I would hardly be fit to serve as your aide, ser. And when all is said and done, you do tend to worry too much.”
Running his fingers through his hair, Blood conceded, “You got me there. Thanks.” He could not have asked for a more trustworthy aide, but at the same time, it was disheartening to have had his thoughts read so easily. Could it be that he was so terribly simple a man?
“I’m more worried about you than I am Lieutenant General Olivia and the Eighth Legion. Partly because her battles so far vouch for her, but also because she’s a woman, and women always rise to the occasion in a crisis. But I want to talk about something else.”
Lise directed her sharp gaze at where two battle flags fluttered majestically as though in defiance of one another, one covered in lavish embroidery, the other emblazoned with a sword dripping blood. Though Blood knew that Lise disapproved of Amelia’s Winged Crusaders, she had behaved cordially toward them on the surface, at least. After making it this far, however, it seemed that her frustrations had abruptly flared up.
“You really can’t stand the Winged Crusaders, huh?”
“To put it bluntly, yes. They show far too much inertia when we’re already several days into the battle. You see it too, don’t you, General?”
“I do. I see it, and that’s why I left them to their own devices.” He did sympathize with Lise’s frustration, but at the end of the day, the alliance was a sham anyway. He might not have known what ends Mekia hoped to achieve with it, but if they didn’t want the empire to emerge victorious, he doubted they wanted the Royal Army to win either. All the same, Amelia’s ten thousand soldiers were an invaluable asset to the Second Allied Legion. So long as the battle didn’t turn too badly against them, he wasn’t going to hang around breathing down her neck.
“I trust you’re keeping the possibility of their betrayal in mind,” Lise said.
“Obviously. It’d be stranger if I weren’t cautious.”
The history of war was nothing if not the history of betrayal—examples were too numerous to list. But that was simply human nature. Blood knew this all too well, and that was why he had stationed Lieutenant General Adam and five thousand soldiers behind the Winged Crusaders as an undisguised warning gesture. He would be there to immediately subdue Amelia on the off chance that she did try to rebel. Naturally, Adam was aware of his role.
When this failed to elicit any more than silence from Lise, he went on. “Well, don’t dwell on it. I know I said all that, but on this particular occasion, I don’t see betrayal in the cards, even if she doesn’t make much of an effort to help our cause.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Mekia’s already picked a fight with the imperial army. If they did the same with us, well, then we’d have the measure of them. But back at the banquet in Fis, I exchanged a few words with that vixen Sofitia, and I’d say she’s far shrewder than she lets on. She’s no fool to make a bad wager at a moment like this. Unlike a certain other king,” he finished, his face twisting.
“Please, ser. Such comments are uncalled for,” Lise chastised him, glancing around them. Blood gave a small shrug. She sighed, then went on. “In other words, whatever the future might hold, their priority right now is weakening the imperial army?”
“Right. And I’d add that the Winged Crusaders need to demonstrate their might to the Royal Army. The better a show they put on now, the more it will work to their advantage in later negotiations.”
Lise pushed up her glasses. “Do you think she’s enjoying keeping us waiting?”
“She wants to make sure we see just how formidable the Winged Crusaders are. I mean, she’s basically a mass of pride in woman-form and stuffed into a suit of armor.”
“Vile woman,” Lise said, making no attempt to hide her disdain.
“Don’t say that. They’ve got their concerns and we’ve got ours. It’s never all going to go our way.” As he spoke, Blood remembered the look Amelia had given him, like a snake enveloping him in its coils. Despite himself, he hugged his arms to his chest. “All right, I definitely wouldn’t want her as a lover, no matter how pretty she is on the outside...”
“I should hope not! There isn’t a woman alive to whom you would be worse suited!” Lise exclaimed, nostrils flaring. With a crooked smile, Blood reached into his breast pocket for his cigarettes.
Amelia’s Camp, the Second Allied Legion
Amelia stood before the remnants of the lives she had snuffed out and yawned widely.
“You look bored, ser,” said a hesitant voice. The speaker was Senior Hundred Wing Jean Alexia of the Twelve Angels.
“I don’t look bored, I am bored. I only needed Felix von Sieger to join us, and I could have been having a marvelous time...”
As if Felix’s absence weren’t bad enough, the Azure Knights—the empire’s mightiest—weren’t here either. Her motivation for murder was at an all-time low.
“There is that, but I wonder if there might be another reason.”
“Another reason?” Amelia’s eyes narrowed. Jean clamped her mouth shut as though she’d misspoken. Amelia clicked her tongue. “Spit it out.”
“W-Well...” Jean stammered. “I thought perhaps you might also be bored because Death God Olivia isn’t here...”
Thunderstruck, Amelia immediately started to open her mouth to retort. But in the end, she settled for continuing to glare at Jean.
Amelia saw Olivia as a greedy pig without an ounce of refinement and hated her from the bottom of her heart. And yet the sight of Olivia in battle, dazzling and brutal and coloring even the fear in her enemy’s eyes a beautiful ebony, had shaken Amelia’s heart as never before. The thought drove her wild with loathing.
To Jean, who stood to attention, stiff with tension, she asked, “What did you think after seeing her fight?”
Jean hesitated for a moment. “I understood why the imperial army calls her the Death God. If she ever turned that sword on me, I’d bet good money that she’d win. There’s no escaping death itself, after all.”
“Mm, I suppose that’s not unexpected for one of your caliber.” Amelia looked down at the cup of tea on the table before her, now stone cold. She had fought Olivia countless times in her mind, but in the end, she had been unable to figure out a way to beat her. The way Olivia used her blade followed none of the logic it ought to have. It was a kind of swordcraft that seemed almost as though it had been developed to fight some inhuman entity. Amelia strongly believed that it shouldn’t even be called swordcraft. It was something else, something unknown.
But none of that means I’ll ever respect her. Not ever! Amelia swallowed the contents of her teacup in a single gulp, then exhaled. “Let me make this clear,” she said. “This battle would be boring whether that stupid girl were here or not. The next time those words pass your lips, I will kill you.”
Jean’s head bobbed down. “You have my most sincere apologies. Now, shall we take to the offensive and see how that goes? I wouldn’t put it past Commander Blood to have a few things to say if we lingered any longer.”
Amelia could not have cared less about what Blood might have to say to them. If he issued her any distasteful orders, she would simply refuse them. But she did have to show off the might of the Winged Crusaders.
“I suppose it’s about time,” she said at length. Deciding she’d kept them waiting long enough, Amelia threw her hair back, then rose slowly from her chair and gave orders for all forces to go on the offensive.
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