Chapter 134 (1/2)

Volume 2

CH 14

Volume 06 Chapter 14

「Arc’s Master Plan」Part 1

Early the next morning, before the sun even breached the horizon .

Shades of the previous night still lingered as Zahar lead our medium sized group southwards down the highway towards Keen .

A single, plain carriage sat in the center of the circle of mounted royal guards .

The subject of this escort detail, princess Lille, was aboard that carriage .

It was the only carriage the soldiers at Fort Hill owned and it had been prepared to replace Lille’s destroyed carriage .

At the tail end of the mounted guards, Ariane, Chiome and I all rode on Shiden’s back .

We took several breaks along the way, only traveling in a southwards direction the entire trip, and around noon we and the princess’s party closed in on Keen .

The robust and solid city walls gave the same impression of being hard to penetrate as the wall near Fort Hill .

The streets beyond the wall were quite busy and appeared rather affluent, there were even fully loaded caravans waiting to enter the city .

This must have been the first time some of the guards have been here as they were openly surprised by the status of the isolated earldom .

According to the guards, Ruan Forest made it impossible to completely seal off the peninsula, but the number of monsters beyond Fort Hill had still decreased, resulting in the Earldom’s newfound wealth

Normally, small-scaled villages were scattered through a territory as a countermeasure against monsters, but the farmlands of the earldom were expanded with that threat no longer present .

A lot of goods were delivered to Keen on regular a basis, the surplus of which would be shipped to Nozan Kingdom via the Clyde Golf .

A line of caravans, which were transporting goods to the county’s capital, threw sidelong glances at the royal emissaries led by Zahar who were traveling along the highway with constant speed .

The number of eyes on the simple carriage increased the closer we got to the city, but even more eyes were focused on the dragon riding behind it .

The highway also became more crowded the close were got to the city, unavoidably lowering our speed .  Lille was frustrated by this when she stuck her head out the carriage’s window .

Before long we arrived at Keen’s main gate, thanks to the message from yesterday, the city guards had cleared a path for us, Zahar even saluted them as he passed through the gate on horseback .

Once we entered the city another group of guards joined us and skillfully lead us through the streets .

The fact that the path leading to the Lord’s mansion had been cleared of all other traffic attracted a crowd of curious bystanders .

“……We’re attracting a lot of attention . ”

Behind me, Ariane muttered that statement from under her gray cloak’s hood as she took a look around .

“Well, there’s nothing we could do about it . ”

We arrived at the feudal lord’s mansion just as I uttered that reply .

While the sturdy stone walls surrounding the mansion weren’t as tall as the ones around the village, they still stood at five meters tall .

We followed the city guards through the large gate build into the wall .

Beyond the gate sat a large three-story mansion in the shape of a コ symbol, a large front garden separating it from the wall .

At the entrance of the mansion stood an aged nobleman and a dozen servants, waiting for the carriage to arrive .

Their task was probably to welcome Lille, considering that she crossed hostile territory to arrive here .

The aristocrat at the center of the servants was probably the lord of the manor .

Lille’s carriage stopped once it arrived in front of the mansion .

The welcoming party was equally surprised when they caught sight of Shiden, but as expected from a nobleman, he quickly managed to overcome the commotion and everyone bowed to greet us .

When the coachman respectfully opened the carriage door, Lille quietly stepped to the ground .

Beside her, her escorts Zahar and Nina dismounted and firmly positioned themselves on both sides of the princess .

Lille examined the surroundings before stepping forward and began speaking with the bowing, aged nobleman .

“It is a difficult time to meet you . Are you, perhaps, the ruler of this land, Earl Dimo?”

The old nobleman immediately responded by deepening his bow and replied:

“You are correct, Princess Lille . I am the one this territory was entrusted to, Moore Du Dimo . ”

The Earl looked up as he politely answered the princess’s question, his graying hair and round face reminding me of a portrait of Bach I saw in a music class once .

“Well, Earl . It may be improper on my part, but I believe the messenger has informed you of the situation . Earl, I implore you to raise the forces ne──”

Earl Dimo cut off Lille’s words with a rushed statement .

“P-Princess Lille! I’m sorry to interrupt you, but the messenger only requested me to provide your highness asylum until the matters at the capital were settled . ”

Lille’s eyes bulged at the Earl’s statement before she glared at the two escorts beside her .

“What’s the meaning of this Zahar, Nina!? Father sent us here in order to acquire reinforcements for the capital, didn’t he!? Why did your message only speak of protecting me!?”

At Lille’s direct castigation, Zahar kneeled before her and resolutely answered her questions .

“It was by the King’s will . The acquisition of reinforcements has been left to Teruva-sama and Sevaru-sama . Princess you are meant to stay here for a while . ……”

“What!? Father never mentioned anything like that we I spoke with him!”

Tears began to form in the corner of the princess’s eyes .

Nina showed her a gentle look upon seeing this .

“You are a kind-hearted person, Princess . The King knew that you would not simply leave had he simply ordered you to escape . ”

There was a gentle undertone to Nina’s voice, but Lille simply shook her head in disapproval .

“I know that father cherishes me! However, I can’t accept that he would have me sit here and wait for things to settle themselves while our people suffer!”

She wiped the tears from her eyes and took a resolute stance when she spoke .

“Earl! How many soldiers can you spare to send towards the capital!?”

Earl Dimo’s round face stiffened when he heard the Princess’s strong words as he struggled with what to say .

“Princess Lille, knowing that the capital is under attack I would like nothing less to send reinforcements, but it isn’t realistic to dispatch soldiers there . ’

The Earl wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief as he voiced his circumstances .

“There are always five hundred soldiers stationed in Keen . Fort Hill, the fortress you passed through, has fifteen hundred . That totals to two thousand troops, which is all we have, I can’t spare any to send to the capital .  Currently, the Salma Kingdom separates us from the capital and if Fort Hill is vacated they might raid and seize it . ”

The Earl paused for a moment and lowered his eyebrows before voicing the other problems .

“It will also be difficult to organize and transport the soldiers through Salma Kingdom’s territory . Unless they’re in small numbers the opposition will be aware of the force’s scale to some extent . Even if we took trade ships across the Clyde Golf it would take at least five or six days to reach the mainland . More time would also be required in order to properly prepare the soldiers . ”

Shades of disappointment appeared in the princess’s eyes after hearing the Earl’s explanation, lowering her head in defeat .

“So…… So, all I can do is sit here and wait for my kingdom to fall……?”

Lille’s gray eyes were wet with tears and droplets soon started to stain the ground like rain drops .

Her tiny shoulders trembled as Lille tried to say something, but only sobs escaped her mouth . The Imperial guards lowered their heads as they endured Lille’s grief filled cries .

However, it was the princess who raised her head in such a gloomy atmosphere .

A sliver of determination returned to her eyes as she wiped her tears away .