Chapter Five: The Girl Defeated
I
After agreeing to their temporary armistice, Olivia and Felix rendezvoused with the forces pursuing the Eighth Legion under the command of Balboa and Violet before pushing on toward the imperial capital. When the city at last came into view, Felix called a halt.
“It would seem that we have been exposed,” he remarked. Through his spyglass, he could see around twenty thousand soldiers all in the same black armor. They stood spread out in a line to deny entrance to the city. There was no mistaking them—this was Darmés’s personal army.
“What’s the plan?” Olivia returned her spyglass, engraved with the name “Sasuke” written in a flowing hand, to its holster, then looked inquiringly at Felix. Darmés’s army held a significant advantage in numbers, and the extent of their abilities yet remained unknown. Felix still struggled to believe the Azure Knights could lose, and yet...
“My lord, I ask you to leave them to us,” Violet interjected. “You should waste no time in rescuing His Imperial Majesty.”
Felix hesitated. “Can I really ask that of you?”
She ran a hand through her blonde hair. “Whether you can or cannot is beside the point. My lord, you are supposed to be our general. You cannot be indecisive. Not now. Oh, and please take that unbearable girl and her lackeys with you. They’ll only mess up our chain of command.”
“Huh?” Olivia stared at Violet, wide-eyed. “But that’s what I was going to do all along.”
Violet clicked her tongue softly. “Then hurry up! Off with you!”
Olivia leaned toward Felix’s ear and said in a bewildered whisper, “Hey, did I do something to annoy her?”
At this, Violet squared her shoulders, then forcibly interposed herself between the pair of them.
“Very well,” Felix said with a nervous smile. “Lieutenant General Violet, I entrust you with supreme command over the Azure Knights. I would have liked to avoid friendly casualties, but at this stage, we have no choice. You will remain in this post until I rescue the emperor.”
“Consider it done, my lord. I have only heard rumors of the lord chancellor’s army, but they are still imperial soldiers, just like us. I will keep them busy until you return.”
She saluted. Meanwhile, behind her back, her other hand fidgeted restlessly, as though she were trying to shoo away a fly. There was something so inexplicably hilarious about how Olivia perplexedly stared at that hand that a snort of laughter escaped Felix. At once, Violet turned to him with ice in her eyes. Felix hurriedly assumed a serious expression.
“You have your orders, Lieutenant General. Now, Major General Balboa, you will serve as her second-in-command.”
“So after the Eighth Legion, our next opponent is to be this mysterious army of Darmés’s. I’d much rather fight them than the dead you faced, my lord, but even so, you put a lot on an old man without much time left to him.”
“Forgive a young man for always leaning on a brave old general,” Felix said, scratching his cheek apologetically. Balboa laughed heartily.
“Now that the bravest general in the empire’s said that to me, seems I’ve no choice but to whip these old bones into shape again,” he said; then his face turned momentarily grave. There was nothing more Felix had to say to either of them. Both were officers he trusted. They would do what he asked of them.
He turned to face Olivia directly. “There is a secret passage known only to me. We will use that to infiltrate the city.”
The Record of the Asvelt Empire lists Felix, Olivia, Claudia, Teresa, and Matthew as the main players involved.
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