Chapter 195: Twenty-second Episode: Chapter 5 (1/2)
Chapter 195: Twenty-second Episode: Chapter 5
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A week had passed since the Holy day of God of Church's year 800. In other words, it was now year 801. The new year had come amidst peace and even the coldest of the people had joined the crazy partying people on the Holy day of God. From Dulin's large streets and narrow alleys all the way to the faraway towns and villages in the suburbs, passionate Titans had deployed many methods to celebrate the occasion bestowed by victory and God. The nobles had hung colorful lights and the Golden Lion Flag at each of their house entrances while the commoners had filled a large tin basin with their homemade food for the local priests to enjoy when they visit their homes with new year wishes.
The Titans emphasized traditions. Thus, there were many kinds of rules in the first week following the Holy day of God. For instance, they would be required to pray at churches on the first Monday, invite all their relatives and friends to their homes on the first Tuesday, bake a special type of cake on the first Wednesday and many more.
The festive traditions for each location were different and there would even be some sort of disparity between two nearby villages in the same province. However, in most of the locations in Titan, the first Sunday after the Holy day of God would usually be a great day for wedding ceremonies as husbands and wives who had tied the knot on this day would receive the most genuine blessings from God. Although all the new couples who had their weddings in churches would be acknowledged by God, the first Sunday after the Holy day of God was different as it would be engulfed in a festive atmosphere due to the special occasion.
The coming wedding ceremony of the Titan Guards' Division Commander of the First Artillery Division, Lieutenant General Tove Van Sukhoi and Marquise Lado Boude would be held on such Sunday. The guests attending the ceremony were not many; they included Discount Sukhoi's superiors and family, and also the relatives of Marquis Boude.
Around noon, the wedding had ended in a casual manner in Dulin Scott Cathedral. This was because there were more than ten wedding ceremonies for new couples to be held in Dulin Scott Cathedral on this day. In fact, it was all thanks to the persuasion of Prince O'Neil that Torry and Marquise Boude's wedding had been able to take place at noon, the best time possible.
On Tahas Street, the Sukhoi family had purchased a huge mansion for the new couple. The spot had initially been occupied by Monbie Fragrance Museum, which was one of the few constructions of the Protestants. Countless flora which gave off fragrances had been planted in the large garden with the sixth-century style and the observation gallery. Unfortunately, the museum had been closed due to poor management and this had left regrets in Torry and his bride. Therefore, they had decided to preserve the original structure of the Fragrance Museum, in contrary to renovating the entire building to a residential villa.
His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette regretted not able to make it to the artillery Lieutenant General's wedding ceremony. It was not quite appropriate considering his relationship with Torry but he had no choice. The Imperial Prince was bearing the positions of Marshal of the Guards, Chief of the Military Intelligence Bureau, and leader of the Andrews. One could only imagine how busy he was with all these positions!
On the night of the fourth day, there was a sudden emergency news from the Deiss branch of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Her Majesty the Empress of Deiss had married her aunt to the crown prince of Ollier. This was definitely an abnormal occurrence! It should have been the Foreign Affairs Ministry which first notified Titan and not the Military Intelligence Bureau. Along with the news of the marriage, the Supreme Commander of Deiss had summoned Marshal Kaydron and more than ten other reserve guards who had been stationed at the Northern borders for a long time.
Well then, here came the headaches for Titan. Oscar was pondering about this matter during the wedding ceremony in Monbie Fragrance Museum. The Deiss would not hide Marshal Kaydron and the ten other border guards and that this group of experienced elites would definitely show up at the Northern borders of the empire, which meant that the temporary cease of fire between the Deiss and Olliers would bring unprecedented pressure to Titan. Judging from Silver Fox Alan's response, one would know that the matter was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.
At a corner of the garden where the Northwest wind could not reach, the Marshal of the guards and the Supreme Chief of Staff were roasting the brazier together. Even though the young Imperial Highness the Prince had kept on adding more carbon to the brazier, Alan and Robin were still shaking and had admitted the fact that they were now old and useless. This could not be helped.
”What'll be the next step of the Deiss?” Robin looked at Alan worriedly.
Silver Fox said nothing and shrank his neck further into the thick fur coat. The Chief of Staff of the Guards then turned toward His Imperial Highness the Prince who was sniffing nonstop, ”Hey little guy, what say you?”
Oscar experienced some snots and he seemed to be showing some early signs of a cold. However, he was not bothered by this, ”Who knows! But there won't be more than two possibilities! One, it'll be a large-scaled advancement launch in spring or summer this year. Two, it'll be the continuous reinforcement until Queen Opareal thinks that it's time to attack.”
”But, speaking of which…!” Oscar suddenly paused his words, threw the brazier aside, and slumped into the reclining chair. It was time for him to lay out all his cards, ”Both of your names aren't on the guest list of the wedding, so you're not here to see Torry, are you?”
Silver Fox grunted lowly, the fellow opposite him was quite vigilant, ”That's right! We're here for you!”
Oscar shrugged, ”Do you mind a transparent and honest discussion? I'm aware that the two of you are not as concerned about the Deiss as you seem to be!”
”Yes!” Marshal Robin nodded, ”Marshal Alan and I have been thinking that the potential advancement of the Deiss is still within the capabilities of the Northern Army Group to withstand it. So, the outlook at the Northern borders isn't that negative yet!”
The Chief of Staff of the Guards' eyes met with those of Alan while he was speaking. Robin rubbed his palms, it was time to give the little fellow some suggestions.
”We're concerned about the Southern front!”
Oscar nodded in understanding. Things were not far from his speculations!
”What of the Southern front?”
Silver Fox knocked on his teacup, signaling for Robin to speak his mind, ”Before the festive day, the military had not been informed about the sudden military movements of the Southern Army Group of such a large scale. This is neither legal nor reasonable!”
Oscar grinned softly, ”This is an official order of the newly-established unified government of the Five Provinces of the South. The Southern Army Group is to first inform the government and then the army of the Guards.”
Alan shook his head. He just knew the young man would say something like this, ”Oscar, let's not beat around the bush anymore! Marshal Robin and I know what General Eugene and your Southern comrades are busy with. But you must tell us, the invasion toward the Slovenian Empire, when will it be? Where will it be?”
Oscar shook his head with a bitter smile, ”To be frank, I've yet to gather my thoughts on this.”
”Thank God!” Marshal Robin patted his forehead. ”To be honest, you've told us the truth, which means that there's still room for discussion regarding this matter. If you happened to have come up with some lies, Marshal Alan and I might give you some trouble.”
Oscar's gaze lingered on the bodies of the two Marshals for a moment, he was puzzled, ”Could it be that…you don't plan to stop me from acting alone?”
”See! My guess is correct, isn't it?” Alan suddenly turned toward the Chief of Staff with a bitter grin plastered across his face. ”I just know that this fellow will settle the Southern front behind our backs.”
Robin shook his head and looked at Oscar with concern, ”My little student has grown up, he now had a formidable military force comprising of more than four hundred thousand men and a troop of Southern soldiers loyal to him. If he doesn't do anything, I think even the God of Light will have to punish old people like us!”
Alan nodded in agreement. Then, he turned to face Oscar, ”Don't you get carried away, little fellow! We don't support your actions, but we only hope that you can get some enlightenment!”
”What kind of enlightenment?” Oscar stared at Alan in slight disbelief. He had not expected for the empire's military represented by Alan would compromise with him on the matter of the invasion of Slovenia.
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Marshal Robin pointed at the West with his finger, ”We've beaten the Hoillanders, Leblesians and the Farans, but this is only temporary! Even if the expansion toward Slovenia is compulsory from the perspective of the defensive structures of our country and our historical mission, the Westerners will never just sit out from your invasion plans!”
”Please…” Oscar whined, ”Don't call it an 'invasion', that's just unpleasant to hear. Alternatively, you can replace this word with armed intervention or resolving territorial disputes!”
”It's all the same…” Alan spared a glance at the stubborn Imperial Prince in a mocking manner. ”The Westerners will definitely get smarter next time. They'll prepare a huge army group and plan the direction of their attacks and the starting location of the battle in more detail. In other words, once we've been hit with the second defending war, we won't get past it that easily as the first time! As for you at this moment, you have to mobilize the Southern Army Group to offend a sovereign country with long-running history and coastlines of hundreds of kilometers! I only want to ask you, once the forces in the South have been dealt with, what will you do if the Farans chose to strike hard at this time? Don't tell me that you're going to return to Vielonna from a thousand kilometers away?”
Oscar shook his head, ”I must say that the real battle plans have yet to be finalized. I'm just planning that the foundations of the Southern armies won't have to be mobilized, we'll only need the Military District Eight of Westria Province and Military District Nine of Bodega Province to maintain the order of the territories. The real primary force of the invasion will be Red Tiger Front of the Narcissus Knights, and…”
”Hold on…did I hear that wrong?” Silver Fox cut off the Imperial Prince's words all of a sudden. ”Are you saying the Red Tiger Front?”
Oscar chuckled, ”Yes --- the Red Tiger Front! A swift assault force comprising entirely of cavalries! This is just a concept, I can only come up with more solid arrangements of the whole matter once Red Tiger has gone back to Narcissus County.”
Robin and Alan could say nothing else. They exchanged some looks and seemed to have noticed the concerns of each other. However, what Alan was concerned about were the desires for expansion and spirits for invasion displayed by the young man unconsciously. On the other hand, Robin was worried that his little student still lacked the courage, experience and power to command the entire troop in a full-front war.
”The matters we've been discussing just now…is Her Majesty the Empress aware?” Alan started looking around him while he spoke. Nevertheless, his question was still quite sharp.
”I believe that Her Majesty has already gotten hold of the news,” a faint smile was still plastered on Oscar's face.
Silver Fox sighed, ”You guys are still young! There are some things that you shouldn't regret only after you've known about it many years later.”
”Regret?” Oscar exclaimed, ”Indeed, I've come across a very regretful thing!”
”Oh?” the Chief of Staff stuck his head closer. He saw that the Imperial Prince had already signaled for his Military Intelligence Confidential Secretary to open his briefcase and took out a thick scroll.
Oscar removed the cow-skin cover familiarly and then extended his arms at the two Marshals. A string of French characters had been recorded on the document in clarity –”Regarding the Anti-Titan movement in Church's year 800 – also the analysis reports of Titan's political, military and geographical affairs”.
”Just for this piece, my Military Intelligence Analysis Officers and I have been working for three days and two nights, and there's only one conclusion!” Oscar knocked on the cow-skin cover of the document. ”The bastard who had edited this war memo is a f*cking genius! He's Karlchette Nierer, and I believe that both of you have heard of this name, am I right? That bastard who had made the 'Bloodbath of Saint Hailey'!”
The Chief of Staff, Marshal Robin took the thick war document into his hands. His Staff Headquarter was also full of experts in the field of analysis works.
”Don't have any doubts!” Oscar raised his volume. ”Marshal Alan's concerns are all written on his face. If we still remain seated here in peace, I believe that in the near future, the new term of the Anti-Titan Alliance will invade Dulin while holding this piece of document.”
Marshal Robin had already opened the table of contents of this document. With just a single glance, he shoved the document to Alan's eyes.
”The first section…overview of the Titan's Guards, the second section…the key strategies of the assault on the locations near Vielonna of Burton Province, the third section…summaries of the strategies employed by the West in their invasion of Dulin, the fourth section…several suggestions regarding the offenses of the Deiss King's national army's Northern front…”
”Three-sided siege?” the Marshal of the Guards' eyes bulged.
Oscar nodded in affirmation, ”Yes, it was a three-sided siege and the accuracy of their invasion phases could even match that of the top administration units of the towns in our country!”
The Imperial Prince rubbed his fist, ”I should've expanded the scope of the search. I feel so terrible about letting some bastard like Karlchette Nierer live for one more day.”
Alan furrowed his eyebrows, ”Could it be that you've not considering of mobilizing the secret agents of the Military Intelligence Bureau to settle this guy?”
Oscar shook his head with a troubled demeanor, ”The acting King of Faran had already hidden him. My Military Intelligence personnel can't locate him. Moreover, Faran's Aragon had also enforced their measures against our Secret Service and Military Intelligence Bureau. I can't allow my precious intelligence agents to risk their lives.”
Alan nodded in agreement, but he also had some complaints, ”It's really unnecessary to let this fellow stay alive any longer in this world!”
”Of course!” Oscar grunted coldly. However, he instantly switched to a joyful demeanor and placed his arm around the old Marshal's shoulder. ”I'm going off to the South soon. Although the departure date has yet to be confirmed, I can only hand Dulin and this matter to the both of you!”
The Chief of Staff and the Supreme Commander smiled bitterly in unison. This young comrade of theirs was not quite a responsible person.
”I wish that you won't get into any trouble in the South.”
Oscar reacted to the words of Silver Fox Alan by laughing aloud, ”Never mind troubles! At the very least, the military intelligence has yet to show what are the exact troubles of Slovenia's potential resistance, I'm still concerned about the Westerners. If they really happened to choose this document as their invasion blueprint, I believe that when that time comes, the empire will encounter massive army groups with more than one million men at the three defensive fronts. So, while I'll be enjoying the sunlight on the shores of Disin Sea immersing myself in the sea breeze, both of you might very likely be faced with a battle of unprecedented difficulty. Don't you rant to me when that time comes!”
Alan and Robin's smiles turned even more bitter. If things really turned out like what Oscar had described, they would rather not have heard and done anything.
Vijdeline husband and wife walked toward them, carrying their child in their arms. Oscar signaled at the two elder Marshals with his gaze and Robin and Alan stood up quick-wittedly. They seemed to know the past between the Imperial Prince and the Sukhoi Mistress. Regardless, the two Marshals had still engaged in a conversation with the famous master of firearms and had even played around with the quiet little Micath. However, the older people did not feel comfortable. They had no idea how to describe the little fellow who greatly resembled Oscar! After all, the legal husband of Lady Vijdeline was just at the side while the child's biological father just shrank at the corner like a pitiful worm.
Maybe they had been affected by the awkward scenes, the two Marshals had bid their goodbyes soon enough. While they had represented the entire military in presenting their best wishes to the artillery general's marriage, people could see that the Marshals had their attention elsewhere.
Oscar did not understand why he had to shake hands with Vijdeline's husband. He still recalled that this fellow with the nickname of ”Flea” used to be a mere servant of the Sukhoi Mistress, but this very servant was now Vij's husband. This awareness made Oscar feel helpless and angry, but he thought that he did not have many reasons to be furious, nor should he glare at the person with a frivolous or impatient demeanor.
Although he understood perfectly it was inappropriate, Oscar still did so! He was a man, not a player or a person who relied on women for their means of living. He would get envious as well as angry. So, Baron Viesharl had left the place with some excuses before His Imperial Highness the Prince's temper had flared. We could not see what feelings the husband imposter bore when he had showed up. We could only notice some traces of sadness and depression in his eyes.
Oscar held Vij's hand and carried his eldest son who had yet to be capable of speaking in his embrace. The family of three were strolling in the garden which had been covered in a faint layer of snow. The Imperial Prince's…how should he address Vijdeline? Oscar was not clear as well. We could only say that he had plucked a white flower for the lady and she had accepted it. She had even pinned the pure white flower on her brooch and directed an extremely unnatural smile at the man. Throughout the entire duration, the two had said nothing.
Little Micath was already quite heavy. Once he felt that his shoulders were turning numb, Oscar then placed his son on the ground. At the balcony connected by the hallway, the magpies amid the snowy trees and silver flowers had attracted the little boy. He took out the slingshot from his pocket and chased after the plump birds which were jumping around. A naïve, romantic atmosphere had been aroused by the small child amidst the serene surroundings. Oscar looked at Vij beside him and felt that there was a stark contrast between them and the vibe in reality.
Maybe he had lost his patience, Oscar suddenly grabbed the woman's arm. Just as he expected, the woman furrowed her eyebrows and yelped softly.
”What's this?”
Vijdeline folded the sleeves of her fur coat with caution. Her forearm was strapped in a white bandage which was giving off the strong smell of anti-inflammation mercurochrome solution.
”A bullet scratch!” the woman let out a breath in relief. She seemed to have brushed against yet another close call but the man beside her who was concerned for her was already furious.
”What have you been doing? Do you really have to arrange the experiments yourself? Do you really have to stand so close in front of the tall furnace? Do you really have to deal with gunpowder?”
”Oscar, enough!” Vijdeline called to a stop, ”Otherwise, what else can I do, what else can I do?”
Oscar calmed his agitated emotions and caressed Vij's golden hair, ”I just don't want you risking your life. You can always take part in research jobs away from danger and you don't need to stay in the smelting factory and gunpowder lab all day.”
Vij shook her head. She had the drive to showcase her talents and the ambition to devote her everything. She was different from the rest of the women in the world as there was only one Vijdeline in the entire world. Her name had been carved onto the military's gunpowder weapons which were waiting to be assembled.
”I've already tried my best to stay away from danger!” the woman had finally put down her front. She directed a gaze to the man, attempting to assure him that everything was fine.
Oscar was speechless. His line of thought wandered to Vij's husband, whose gaze was indescribably strange. This had brought unjustifiable concerns to the Imperial Prince.
”Is everything alright?”
Vij nodded, ”Still peaceful.”
All of a sudden, Oscar turned his head backward and gave a signal to Paul and Back Devil who had concealed themselves somewhere near behind him.