41: Reunion of Brothers
In the carriage heading to the battlefield, I was alone, silently surrendering my body to the vibrations of the bouncing pebbles. Occasionally, I would look outside and then look away, absentmindedly gazing at the lavish interior and closing my eyes. Occasionally, we would stop at cities or towns to replenish our supplies and hurry on as much as possible.
During the journey, I hardly spoke. My grandfather also spoke little, and in the first place, this time I was in the position of a duke accompanying the crown prince. I couldn’t use familiar words, and there were few places where I could use them.
Occasionally, when he saw a short time, my grandfather would kindly call out to me, but my reaction was terribly bland.
It’s not that I resent my grandfather. I just couldn’t feel that way. If I did, it would be like our last gathering before parting ways for the rest of our lives, and that made me feel sick.
In this battle, depending on the situation, I am supposed to take command. That decision was entrusted to my grandfather by royal decree, and there is no doubt that I will take command when the situation unfavorable.
As we approached the battlefield, which was about a day away, I wondered what kind of face I should make when I met my brother.
In However, in terms of the order of battle, my brother is the superior. My abilities and the evaluations of those around me are overwhelmingly inferior., my brother is a defeated general who suffered a major defeat in the recent battle.
Even apart from that, it has been five years. We were not even able to exchange farewell greetings.
I betrayed the heart of my brother, who admired and respected me until the very end, and now I’m going to meet him as an older brother.
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“Ha!”
I laugh away such conflicts. Anyway, this is the last time we’ll see each other. There’s no need to think so deeply. Telling myself that, I stepped onto the battlefield as I was led.
*
The atmosphere of the camp we arrived at was heavy. Everyone’s faces were tense, and the tension was so palpable that I could feel it as soon as I stepped inside.
The pitiful faces I saw were probably those of the subordinate nobles who had been entrusted with the command of the troops. They were probably poor weaklings who had been taken to war without being accustomed to it. They should go home quickly. Cowards are not needed by the nobles of this country who value martial arts.
I don’t know the battlefield. However, I understand that such faces are not needed here.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, Duke Zarud, we have been waiting for you.”
“Hmm. Thank you for your hard work.”
When the knights and soldiers who greeted us saw my grandfather’s army, their expressions relaxed in relief. Although they celebrated us first, I was probably seen as nothing more than a side dish next to the main dish.
“Where is Kreutz?”
“This way. He is waiting for you both.”
Guided by the knight who looked familiar, we headed for a large tent. There were many guards standing around it, as if to say that the general was there. Judging from their armor, they must be regular soldiers.
Standing at the entrance of the tent, the knight spoke.
“His Highness the Crown Prince and Duke Zarud have arrived. I request an audience with Prince Kreutz.”
“Please.”
I passed by the soldiers guarding the entrance and entered. At the head of the rectangular table, I saw my brother for the first time in five years.
“Ah…”
My brother had grown considerably since I last saw him, and I felt a sense of admiration for how much he had grown.
However, his appearance was haggard, and his cheeks seemed somewhat thin.
Interrupting my brother, who seemed to want to say something, I opened my mouth.
“Karl-Mine Colorless Ji Garland Lu Carlo-Jiggle Arley, and Duke Zarud, have come as reinforcements. Rest assured.”
“Ah…ah, thank you, brother, Duke Zarud. Please sit down.”
Sitting down next to the seat I was invited to, my brother instructed the person standing at the exit of the tent to call the nobles.
After giving the instructions, I kept my eyes on the table without looking at my brother, who was looking at me.
Several maps were spread out on the table, and many lines were drawn on them. I could tell at a glance that they were in a state of confusion. Their movements were full of hesitation and indecision.
After confirming this, I quietly closed my eyes and waited for the nobles and knights to gather.
After a short wait, they all gathered without delay.
Everyone bowed to my grandfather and me before taking their seats.
After confirming their presence, my younger brother spoke.
“Everyone, this time, my elder brother, Crown Prince Karl-Mine, and Duke Zarud have come to our aid. With this, we will be able to turn the tide of the battle.”
“Ooh,” voices rose. Even so, there were still some whose expressions were stiff. They were probably viscounts with small territories. They were not nobles, and they had many opportunities to come into contact with battles, so they seemed to understand the current situation.
“Elder brother, a word from you.”
“Duke Zarud.”
“Yes, sir.”
I passed on the words that my younger brother had said to the duke. All I had to do this time was sit. I had discussed this with my grandfather.
“The reinforcements this time will be under the command of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The order of battle for the entire army will be His Highness Kreutz, followed by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and then myself.”
My grandfather paused for a moment before speaking.
“And depending on the situation, the supreme command will be transferred to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and that judgment is entrusted to me. The order of precedence in that case will be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, followed by His Highness Kreutz , and then myself. This is a royal decree.”
He uttered the royal decree before anyone could say anything. This was an absolute order. No one was allowed to object.
“Is that acceptable to His Highness Kreutz?”
“I have no objection to His Majesty’s words. Everyone else should do the same from now on.”
“Yes, sir.”
After everyone responded, my younger brother’s aide began to explain the current battle situation. I had a clear memory of this man. He was the captain of the standing army and one of the most skilled knights in the country. This alone showed how much my father was determined to fight this battle.
The explanation began, but I did not say anything at all. I just listened to the story and looked at the map. There was nothing more or less to it. And no one seemed to find it strange.
Despite the superficial respect, no one tried to look at me. This was the true face of the incompetent crown prince. It was only natural. After all, I was nothing but a hindrance.
This time, my soldiers–the twenty guards assigned to the mansion and the hundred direct soldiers I had received from my grandfather–and the thousand direct soldiers, including my grandfather’s direct subordinates, were attached to the main army. Instead, the forces of other nobles would be allocated elsewhere to deal with enemy attacks.
It seemed that the enemy army had also begun to make serious moves, and reinforcements were pouring in. And they were attacking our villages and towns. Unlike the last battle, this time we were forced to disperse our forces.
However, since the enemy’s main force was visible in front of us, we could not move our main force either. If this place were to be taken, there would be a fort and a castle town behind it, and it would be strategically very bad to have them occupied.
offline, if we were to hole up there, the enemy’s main force might move elsewhere, and we would not be able to move from there. After all, we would have to defend the fort and castle town where we were holed up.
What was expected of us was to keep the enemy’s main force here and buy time for the armies in other theaters of war to defeat the enemy and join forces.
Therefore, no matter what happened, we had to defend this place at all costs.
*
After various decisions had been made, all the nobles and knights, including my grandfather, went to command their respective armies. The instructions for my unit were basically left to my grandfather, so there was nothing for me to do.
And in the remaining tent, there were only my younger brother and I. This was something that my younger brother had ordered the others to do.
After everyone was gone, my younger brother smiled weakly.
“Elder brother, it has been a long time.”
“Yes. I am not in good health…or so I should say.”
I smiled wryly.
“Can’t you sleep?”
“Yes. I will tell you this only, elder brother. I can hardly eat, and at night, no matter how tired I am, I can’t lose consciousness. Even if I do fall asleep, the sound of the soldiers’ war cries echoes in my head, and I wake up.”
“…I see.”
My younger brother was more tired than I thought.
On closer inspection, I could see dark circles under his eyes. It seemed that he was hiding them with makeup.
Even on the battlefield, my younger brother, being a prince, would have servants from the royal palace, and each noble would have brought servants at their own expense.
My younger brother must have ordered them to somehow cover it up.
I couldn’t say anything to my completely depressed younger brother. After all, I was the incompetent crown prince who had made my younger brother like this.
As the first in line to the throne who had no choice but to give it up, all of those responsibilities had fallen onto my younger brother’s shoulders, causing him to suffer like this.
How could I possibly comfort him when I was the cause of it all, when I had come to his aid but couldn’t do anything?
Or perhaps I could use [Veil] to suddenly appear as a stranger and annihilate the enemy army.
But that wouldn’t do. If the crown prince and the second prince were on the battlefield, and some unknown person took all the credit for it—I didn’t care, but—it would humiliate my younger brother.
Should I slowly reduce the enemy soldiers at night? Or prepare poison and mix it into the enemy’s food? None of those were options. An unexplained victory was unacceptable, and my country would not approve of a cowardly victory using poison.
Crush them head-on. That was the strength of my country. I could understand that it was foolish, but this country was steeped in that kind of sentiment, and it had actually expanded its territory because of it.
It might be foolish, but it was certainly not wrong. If I denied it, I would lose my right to be in this country.
In the end, there was no more conversation between us. We remained at a greater distance than strangers until my younger brother’s aide entered the tent.
And the next day, the battle situation began to change. They made various moves, such as launching light attacks and then retreating to put pressure on the enemy, and carrying out night raids to give the impression that we were not in a waiting posture.
However, this would also reduce our soldiers, so it was not something we could do repeatedly. It was merely a show of force to prevent the enemy from sending reinforcements as they pleased. If you let your guard down, we will swallow your main force whole.
As for us, we were confident that we would not lose if it came to a head-on battle. If all of the enemy’s forces were gathered here, we would not lose if the conditions were the same. However, our forces were currently dispersed , and the enemy outnumbered us. We couldn’t afford to be careless.
In that case, we couldn’t easily send more reinforcements.
To begin with, most soldiers were productive forces.
The soldiers who were not subordinate directly to our country and were called direct soldiers were mostly manor soldiers from the manor people. Those who were not engaged in productive activities were collectively called territorial soldiers.
These people patrolled the territory, hunted and killed magical beasts, and prepared for emergencies. However, these territorial soldiers also played a role in maintaining productivity.
In other words, we could gather as many territorial soldiers as we wanted, even millions of them, but if we did that, we would definitely lose our national power for several years, or even several times that.
If our national power declined, we would be more likely to be targeted by neighboring countries, and our productivity would also decline, causing our people to starve and our population to decline, leading to a further decline in our national power.
In that case, it would not be easy for high-ranking nobles such as dukes and marquises to do so.
To begin with, high-ranking nobles did not simply gain a lot of territory, status, and honor by earning merit. In addition to that, they were more likely to earn merit—in this case, something that could protect the country in an emergency.
In other words, each high-ranking noble had a defense zone that they were responsible for.
We couldn’t simply say, “The battle situation here is bad, so bring your forces here.” If we did that, we would lose the forces needed to protect that territory.
The reason why Duke Concolard had participated in the first battle was because this battle zone was part of Duke Concolard’s territory. The reason why my grandfather was able to move was because he was asked to move like a free army in such situations. He was sent to the necessary place depending on the situation. That was what was expected of the Zalud Dukedom.
To get back to the point, the Arley Kingdom wanted to avoid sending any more reinforcements if possible. That was why, even though we understood that we were running out of time, we were waiting for our distributed forces to annihilate the enemy’s detachments and join us.
That was the conclusion we had reached at this stage.
At the war council that night, it was reported that the situation was not good.
Our distributed forces were not able to successfully annihilate or retreat the enemy’s invading forces. As a result, it was taking longer, and it was becoming impossible to predict when they would join us.
By the way, we were not the only ones pressure on them; they were also putting similar moves. They would occasionally make surprise attacks, and our tension was rising.
In the midst of all this, a report came in that the battle situation had changed.
*
“Earl Jaynal’s army has been routed?”
“Yes. It is believed that they are currently gathering the remaining soldiers and heading to join Earl Rone.”
The air froze for a moment, and then everyone started to make a fuss. Some said that we should send reinforcements, others said that it would put us in danger, still others said that the civilians would be attacked, and some said that we couldn’t ‘t move with our current forces. Should we abandon the civilians? Opinions flew back and forth.
The battle zone that Earl Jaynal was in charge of was a place with a fairly large city, several towns, and villages, and it was confirmed that the enemy had a large number of soldiers.
What would happen if the army that had been defending and repelling them was routed? It was obvious.
I breathed inwardly as I watched them panic. I didn’t think that anyone’s opinion was right or wrong. They were all things that anyone would think of. However, their anxious expressions only seemed comical to me.
When I looked at my younger brother and grandfather, my younger brother seemed to be looking down slightly, and my grandfather had his arms crossed and his eyes closed.
Of course, I didn’t say anything. I just did my job.
In other words, I just sat there without saying anything.
“Prince Kreuz! What do you think, Your Highness!”
“Hmm…”
My younger brother, who was suddenly the center of attention from all the nobles present, silently.
Despite the situation, the captain of the standing army, who was standing a step behind my brother, remained silent, despite being a personal aide. My brother also didn’t even try to ask him.
This was a bit strange. The captain and my brother were definitely not on bad terms. In the first place, there was no way that a captain would do something so trivial out of personal feelings.
Something must have happened between the time my grandfather and I arrived. I was certain of it.
“What do you think, elder brother?”
“Duke Zalud, what do you think?”
I passed on all the questions to my grandfather. Of course, the people around me didn’t blame me. On the contrary, if I said anything, they would probably give me a look that said, “What are you talking about?”
“I believe we should send reinforcements. Even if we win the battle, if we lose our people, it will be the same as a defeat. I think it would be best to focus on defense here and send reinforcements to quickly wipe out the enemy .”
Everyone’s spirits were lifted by my grandfather’s words. As a veteran and the highest-ranking noble, his words were more reliable than mine or my brother’s.
People tend to follow the words of others rather than think and act for themselves.
That thought crossed my mind. The way these people were acting now was exactly like that.
“Your Highness!”
Just then, I heard the captain’s anxious voice, and when I turned to look, I saw my brother collapsing from his chair. The captain was supporting him.
My grandfather and I both stood up and everyone rushed over. No matter who called out to him, my brother only groaned and didn’t respond.
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“A medic! Call for a medic!”
At the captain’s voice, a soldier ran off.
As I listened to the captain’s and the other nobles’ panicked words, I thought back to my brother when he was a child.