Chapter 4: Rebellion and Annihilation, and the Triumphal Parade
1
After the ceasefire agreement was signed, the guests from various countries returned to their respective nations.
Shortly after the delegation from the Uentas Principality had left, Ayano san returned.
In other words, we had returned to their daily lives.
“So Toko san, when will you be leaving?”
“I really should head back soon. If I stay any longer, Duke Sakuragi will get angry. Plus, I need to return and give proper instructions for investigating things like orichalcum and wandering white-haired vampires, you know?”
“I see. What about Yuzuriha?”
“Hmm? Don’t worry about me. My father has given me permission to stay by your side.”
“That’s appreciated, but…”
Yuzuriha is supposed to be the next head of a prestigious ducal family in the kingdom.
Well, it’s not my place to say anything, though.
As I tilted my head, Suzuha opened her mouth with a smile.
“Brother, we can resume our usual training!”
“Yeah. Now that the signing ceremony is over and Ayano san has returned, we should have some free time.”
“Yay!”
As Suzuha struck an exaggerated triumphant pose, the maid Kanade approached us.
“…Kanade wants to join the training.”
“Eh?”
“Kanade worked hard cleaning. So Kanade wants praise.”
“I see. You should be rewarded for your hard work—but Kanade, are you sure you don’t want something else? Like money or time off—”
“No, bring it on.”
“Well, if Kanade insists…”
“Yay…!”
While I didn’t understand why the two young ones were so thrilled about training with me, I smiled wryly as I watched them rejoice.
Then I felt a tap on my back and turned to see Yuzuriha with a pleading look.
“…Yes?”
“Ah, as your partner, I would never demand compensation for helping you. I am not such an unchaste woman. However—!”
“However?”
“However! As they say, like fish to water—!”
“You want fish? Should I prepare some sashimi for today then?”
“Wah.”
Is that acceptable for a duchess, Lady Yuzuriha?
That said, as a mere margrave, I’m not sure how to satisfy the highborn Duchess Yuzuriha.
Still, she has been helping me, so I plan to bring her loads of mithril and orichalcum as souvenirs when we return to the capital.
“Hey, hey, Suzuha nii. What about me?”
“Toko san?”
“Suzuha nii got me lots of souvenirs, but my bag still has some room. Rather than something for the royal family or the queen, I’d like a personal souvenir from you, Suzuha nii.”
“Wait a minute. Toko san, you were simply doing your job as the queen this time. Why are you seeking additional compensation from Suzuha brother?”
“That’s not it! I worked hard too!”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah! Specifically, I made sure the prisoners we returned to the Uentas Principality were rendered useless!”
“Eh…is that true?”
I wondered about that.
Noticing my contemplation, Yuzuriha asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, if it’s true that the prisoners became useless, then…”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I want to know too.”
“I’m curious as well, Your Highness.”
With Yuzuriha, Toko san, and even Ayano san showing interest, I explained.
—Basically, the problem stems from the smuggling of mithril discovered in my margraviate’s mines.
While unconfirmed, soldiers from another nation must have been involved in the smuggling operation.
The most likely culprit would be the neighboring Uentas Principality, across the border.
“With the mithril mine’s smuggling exposed, any future wrongdoing is now impossible. On top of that, if they’ve taken on a significant burden from the ceasefire agreement…”
“They might wage war again to seize the mithril mines?”
“Yes. If their commanding officers are rendered useless, their financial troubles would escalate rapidly. Training new commanders takes a lot of time and money.”
“Hey, Suzuha nii. What if the entire Uentas Principality was involved in the smuggling?”
“That’s unlikely. If so, they wouldn’t have accepted the ceasefire agreement in the first place.”
“Hmm…”
Yuzuriha and the others seemed deep in thought.
Well, that’s just a possibility, though. Moreover,
“That said, with Grand Duchess Ayano san of Uentas being supposedly competent, everything should be fine.”
At my words, Toko san shook her head with a troubled expression.
“No, Grand Duchess Ayano san doesn’t understand commoners’ thinking precisely because she’s so capable.”
“Eh?”
For some reason, Ayano san looked shocked. I wonder why.
Yuzuriha folded her arms and said,
“In the end, your hypothesis is that there was a lord in the Uentas Principality profiting from smuggling mithril, and with that financial supply cut off, he desperately attacked the Margraviate of Lohengrin out of desperation, right?”
“Yes.”
“It’s an incredibly foolish choice, but certainly a possibility. Still, as you said, it’s just a hypothesis. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“Indeed.”
“Honestly, with you and I here, it doesn’t matter if we’re attacked anyway. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“I’m counting on you, Yuzuriha.”
“Ah, leave it to me.”
*
About a month after that conversation and Toko san’s return to the capital,
the neighboring Callandor Territory of the Grand Uentas Principality rebelled
and declared war on the Margraviate of Lohengrin.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
2
We were having lunch when we received the report of their declaration of war.
Naturally, the subsequent meeting was hotly debated.
As we sat around the table eating buckwheat noodles,
“Honestly, what are those reckless fools thinking—Please, seconds!”
“Yes.”
Slurp, slurp slurp slurp.
“It happened just as you predicted, Brother. So their motive for starting the war is—Brother, I’ll have seconds too, please.”
“Sure, sure.”
Slurrp, slurrrp.
“No, let’s put their motive aside for now. First, we need to discuss how to crush them—Seconds! And if you could add some tempura, I’d really appreciate it.”
“There’s one piece left. Here you go.”
Slurrrp slurp—gulp.
“Ahh…in that case, I shall—”
“Could you be a little more serious about this!?”
Ayano san scolded us. Well, that’s understandable.
After being glared at by Ayano san, we hurriedly finished our noodles, including the broth, and the meeting resumed as we sat around the chabudai.
Let’s forgive the informal setting.
“Now, let’s review the situation. Our neighboring country has declared war on us—”
“Honestly, it really happened just as you said.”
“I was a bit surprised too. Although it seems the Callandor domain rebelled rather than the Uentas Principality itself.”
In my opinion, the Uentas Principality itself likely intends to plead ignorance.
They’ll probably claim it’s simply rogue actions by the rebelling lords, so they aren’t involved.
Probably really, it was a surprise to them as well.
After all, there are severe downsides to immediately breaking the ceasefire agreement they signed in front of guests from various nations.
“However, the Callandor domain is one of the largest territories in the Uentas Principality. If they win, Uentas won’t be able to plead ignorance.”
“Then what will happen?”
“If we lose the war, it will effectively return us to a state of war. If we win, they’ll likely abandon the rebel forces. Yuzuriha, what do you think?”
“I think it’s reasonable, but…”
Yuzuriha seemed unsatisfied.
“Logically, I understand what Suzuha’s older brother is saying. But my feelings just can’t quite catch up…”
“Umm, what do you mean by that?”
“Because they’re going to war against Suzuha’s older brother…?”
“…Yes?”
“How can anyone possibly think they could win a war against the Margrave of Lohengrin? That’s utterly baffling to me…You’d be they enemy, you know? Isn’t that terrifying? Don’t you agree, Suzuha?”
“It’s simple.”
“What do you mean?”
“My brother is so outrageously, dimensionally stronger that weaklings can’t even comprehend how monstrously overpowered he is.”
“I see…When you put it that way, I suppose so. So when people say I’m strong, it’s just because the gap is narrow enough to perceive. I still need much more training…”
Just as Yuzuriha seemed to accept this in an odd way, Ayano chimed in.
“The lord of the Callandor domain supplied 500,000 troops plus provisions in the last war, shouldering most of the fighting force. That army achieved constant victories in a string of battles in the first half of the war. But then their commander was sniped, leaving the rest unscathed.”
“Hmph…To repay my brother’s mercy with treachery is unforgivable…!”
“You’re right, Suzuha. On top of that, to dare challenge your vastly superior brother after such an astounding feat is frankly beneath contempt…”
“Objectively speaking, the feat of capturing all the commanders, as you achieved, would be impossible. Most likely they think you colluded with Uentas’s traitors to stage that scenario.”
“I see……”
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