The snow was slowly clearing away as we entered the last month of winter. My eighth birthday had already passed even though there’s still some time before the birthday celebration.
“What do you think, Theo?”
I asked Theomer, the person who commanded the warriors, to confirm the results of the soldiers’ three month training with the Sill Tribe on how to handle a horse the equestrian way. Theomer watched our travelling formation and course change with a serious expression on his face, then quickly raised one hand when I spoke to him.
“Asyl and Calvin’s squads will probably be fine. They’re quick to respond to commands, and their horses are lined up properly. Gunther’s squad is generally alright as well. Renan and Roch’s squads aren’t very good. They need to get used to riding horses.”
Renan, Roch and their squad members nodded to those words while being out of breath. These two squads were composed of those who had just joined the army this spring, and their handling of horses was still coarse compared to the other squads. But that wasn’t their fault since they had only just finished their training as squires and began their training as cavalrymen last spring.
Anyway, today’s practice ends here. I tell the soldiers to disperse and also dismount my horse.
Then Theomer thought of something and came over to me. He brought a cloth with him so that I can wipe my sweat. Theomer stated his business while holding the cloth out to me.
“… My Lord, I have a proposition for you.”
“Wait. We also want to make a proposition.”
Before I could reply, I heard a voice from the side. I looked over and saw Gunter coming towards me with Calvin and Asyl.
“Okay, I’ll listen to what you guys have to say. Give me a summary.”
I’ll listen to what they have to say for now and decide which one to give priority to. Theomer and Gunter decided who would go first through eye contact alone, and then Theomer spoke.
“Then I’ll say it. I think it’s better to turn Kaldia’s whole army into cavalry units.”
It’s a simple suggestion. He probably suggested this because of the difference in skill level between the cavalry unit and the other half of the army ――― the infantry unit.
A lot of effort is put into the cavalry unit because it’s a new unit. Soldiers who are suitable for the job will be incorporated into the cavalry according to their overall ability and trained closely with the feudal lord. Thus, the infantry troops are made up of a mixture of soldiers, and both their skill and morale continue to fall.
To begin with, infantry troops and cavalry troops are treated different in Arxia. Cavalry troops excel in charging and mobility and require special training on how to manipulate their horses, so they usually attain a higher rank than infantry troops. They are equivalent to the knights in the royal army, and soldiers who belong to the cavalry troops even attain the rank of knights.
――― But having an army full of cavalry troops won’t build an army.
“… What’s your proposal Gunter?”
“I want you to make me the commanding officer of the infantry troops.”
Hah? I managed to hold back the dumbfounded sigh that nearly escaped from my lips.
Gunther and Theomer glared at each other. Of course, they would; their proposals were solving the problem in completely different ways.
“Gunter, are you alright with that?”
The most surprising thing was that Gunter, who is practically the commanding officer of the cavalry troops, is about to throw that position away and demote to the infantry unit.
Until now, the fief army had not instituted detailed ranks due to it being a bandit group formed from my father’s misadministration. Gunter was only placed as the leader of the army because he was the most skilful and used his head. Gunter’s request to make him the commanding officer of the infantry troops meant that he wanted me to create a rank system in the army which didn’t exist before.
To become the commanding officer of the infantry unit, which was ranked lower than the cavalry unit, would mean that he was stepping down from the top position of the fief army.
“Yeah. I’ll beat the infantry unit back into shape. The cavalry troops will be commanded by Asyl and Calvin, the two of them. The soldiers have a lot of trust in me since I’ve been in the army the longest, and I’m the oldest.”
A little behind Gunter, the two of them bowed at me. I know that Asyl has been working as Gunter’s assistant, but I’ve never paid much attention to the older man, Calvin. As a soldier ――― and former bandit ――― he is extremely calm. He bowed when our eyes met.
“We need the infantry unit. That’s what I thought during the capture of the bandits last time.”
What Gunter was saying is exactly what I’m thinking.
“Yeah. The fief army is an organisation for maintaining security in the fief, and we can’t just focus on fighting the foe… There are roles that aren’t suited for soldiers who specialising in moving on a horse alone.”
It would be too costly to train the cavalry unit as infantry. Thus, it was still more efficient to divide the cavalry and infantry units.
“The point is the division of roles, right? The problem with the infantry unit’s lack of enthusiasm can be resolved to some extent if I lead them. I was knocked around by Claudia-jouchan, so I know exactly what an infantry’s role is.”
I have nothing to say if he thought about it that much. I’m just thankful that he said it himself in a place where all these soldiers’ eyes and ears are on him. If I had announced this, then I’m sure I would offend someone.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but Gunter will be training the infantry, right? Then you don’t need my suggestion.”
With my nod, Theomer, who had been listening quietly to the conversation, backed down. Theomer is an outsider to the army for now, so his actions were reasonable.
“No, your suggestion was also good. Thank you, Theo. Gunter, can you wait a bit for me to make my decision about this?”
I don’t have enough knowledge to establish an organisation by myself. I wanted him to wait so that I can consult with Earl Thelesia. Gunter understood my intentions and agreed without any particular objections.
I want to make sure that we have a new system in place before the snow thaws, and I also want to take the opportunity to recruit new soldiers. Shall I try recruiting a few in Claria Village, where animosity towards me have eased?
As I think about it, I also started to walk back to the newcomers’ tents. Then, Rashiok, who had been following quietly behind me, pressed his cold, wet nose against my hand.
“Woah?!”
I jumped back slightly, startled by his sudden action. What the fuck is he doing? In response to my raised eyebrow, Rashiok pointed his snake-like tail towards the soldiers as if he was pointing a finger.
“… Eliza-sama! Chief!”
An azure-silver haired boy rushed over to me as he weaved through the soldiers who were returning to the barracks.
I see, so this is the reason why Rashiok stopped me. But couldn’t you have roared or poked me with that dexterous tail of yours…? He did it on purpose, this cheeky draconis. I tried to glare at him, but the cold made me sneeze before I could. Aslan laughed as he rushed over to me and quickly wrapped a long scarf from the Sill Tribe around me, completely covering my neck and head. I already had a scarf wrapped around me, but I was wrapped further with another scarf, so people can probably only see my eyes.
“Thanks, Aslan. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Isn’t training over? We left the tent to play in the snow, so I came to get you. Come with Rashiok, everyone will be happy to see you.”
So, he came to pick me up? I nodded. Returning to an empty tent is a bit awkward.
“Thanks for coming to get me.”
“Ah. It’s alright… I got to see something good.”
Aslan’s smiling gaze was following the soldiers’ backs. The newcomers are living near the barracks, so soldiers aren’t a rare sight… just what was good?
Aslan laughed at me as I tilted my head, but he pulled me to the place where everyone was playing in the snow without telling me anything.
“Hmmm… Around here? Huh?”
Aslan took me to the border of the forest and a hill. There were signs that the children had played in the snow here since I saw a great deal of fallen tree branches.
“Where did they go?”
Rashiok suddenly lowered his posture at the same time Aslan said that dubiously. He’s on alert ――― what happened? I gently pulled Aslan’s hand and stood so that I rested my back on Rashiok’s side. Aslan looked uneasy, and I gestured for him to be quiet, then silently checked my self-defence dagger under my cloak. I didn’t have my sword or spear. If it came down to it, then I would have to pull this out.
I followed Rashiok as he followed the scent while protecting Aslan. The situation did seem strange, but the Sill Tribe tents and adults are far away. I couldn’t let Aslan go back to the tent alone.
Rashiok stepped into the forest. The footsteps of the children were still on the ground although they were hidden by bushes… No, someone had hidden them afterwards. On closer inspection, the scrubs that hid the footsteps looked as if they had been cut off with a blade.
After quietly moving forward, I heard what sounded like the voice of an increasingly annoyed man.
“… Damn it. Don’t… cry… until we reach the village! I’ll… kill you… if you make noise… shut up!”
The sound of a small child’s sobs was mixed in with the fragmented annoyed voice. Aslan and I looked at each other. Aslan paled.
Until we reach the village, is he talking about Milda Village since he’s heading in that direction? I don’t believe it’s a coincidence since that was the village where we had captured the bandits.
If he’s heading towards Milda Village, then they won’t reach there until midnight since the children have short legs. What kind of person does that voice belong to, and what the fuck does he want?
“… Aslan, how many were playing in the snow?”
I whispered, and after thinking for a while, he replied, “Twenty today.”
The tent that I’m staying in and the tent next to me is full of orphans; they usually help the adults with their work. However, the younger children help less. I’m sure most of the children who played in the snow today are only four or five years old.
“Thiele and Rekha played in the snow too. We were going to play with the three of us today, but the pipsqueaks seemed bored, so we took them with us…”
Aslan added in a trembling voice. That means that everyone who was playing here are under the age of seven.
――― There are probably only one or two kidnappers, but that was too much for Rashiok and I to deal with since we had to protect the children.
“… Aslan, I have a favour to ask. Go back with Rashiok and quickly get the adults. Preferably a soldier from the army. Otherwise, get Theo.”
“Eh… but then you’ll be alone.”
“It’s safer for me to be here alone than to let you go back alone. You know I’ve been on the battlefield before, don’t you?”
I explained and Aslan nodded grimly. Then, urged by Rashiok, they came back the way we arrived.
I watched them for a while, then followed after the voices with bated breath.
The kidnapper repeatedly forced the children to quicken their pace. He yelled at them, grabbed them roughly, swung his fist around, and sometimes, pulled out the sword on his sword and stabbed them with the tip.
Each time these things happened, I had to desperately repress my emotions. I was able to barely hold back because the man didn’t hit them.
“Fuck, hey! I don’t know which one of you brats is the feudal lord, so I won’t hit you now, but my buddies know who the feudal lord is. I’ll tear you to shreds and kill you later if you do anything stupid!!!”
The man’s voice became louder and clear as he yelled at the children; it was as if he thought they were about to run away.
Feudal lord, so that means I’m their target? I bit my lips and struggled to keep my legs from flying out to the guy.
I grew anxious. If he has buddies, then I should save the children before they meet up. Given the circumstances, there was some truth in the man’s words. Otherwise, I don’t know why the man hadn’t raised his hands at the children yet.
Is it because I’m anxious and nervous?
Suddenly, the sound of a large bird passed right from behind me and made me jump up high. I stopped crouching and my outstretched hand hit the bush in front of me. The bush rustled loudly.
“… Huh?”
I’ve done it. Dammit.
Faster than I could get up and run, the man looked down on me from the other side of the bush. He had colours peculiar to people of the north ――― long, dirty blonde hair and pure white skin. I gulped.
“Brat…”
“… Ugh.”
Bad, this is really bad. I looked up at the man and his face was scrunched up.
“Don’t fuck around. When did you run off?!!? You fucking little bastard!!!”
He grabbed me by the collar and threw me as hard as he could onto the muddy-snow ground. I tried to act as inconspicuously as I could. I’ve never been so glad that I was used to being rolled on the ground.
Apparently, this man believed that I was a child who had tried to escape. Perhaps because I was dressed in traditional Sill Tribe clothes, like everyone else.
The newcomer children widened their eyes when they saw that I was covered in mud. Before someone could say, “Eliza-sama,” a girl screamed.
“Aslan! Why did you come back!?”
It was Thiele who had shouted. Of course, there was no way she would mistake me for Aslan.
“Did you run away?!”
The man yelled as his spit flew all over, then he grabbed Thiele’s hair.
“You bitch!!”
The man swung his arm. It looked like he was seriously trying to hit her this time.
“Wait.”
Then, a quiet voice interrupted him. The man jerked upright and stopped moving.
“I told you not to hurt any of the children, did I not, Jasper?”
It was the voice of a young girl, strangely smooth and serene. And yet, it was a frightening voice full of sweet delight and malice.
With an out-of-place dainty stride, a girl dressed in loose clothing that looked like a priest robe stepped out from the woods. A hooded figure followed after her.
The girl gently took the man’s hand off Thiele’s hair, then she smiled calmly, like Faris, and walked up to me, who was on the ground. She tilted her head slightly.
“Oh my, a red-eyed child?”
The eyes, filled with a strange colour that looked like the sunrise and filled with terrifying malice, peered onto my face which was hidden by the scarf. Her smile was horrible and malicious.
――― But for some reason, she slowly widened her eyes. Then, she muttered in a puzzled and ambiguous voice.
“… No way. Weren’t you executed for throwing a stone at the feudal lord…?”
She breathed out.
Executed, she said. She knew that and mistook me for him ――― this means… this girl is that nun who indoctrinated Radka with anti-noble ideas three years ago.
“…”
I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn’t know what to say.
“Hmm? But his name is Aslan?”
“Really?”
The man named Jasper interrupted, and the confusion that flickered through the girl’s eyes faded. In exchange, a calm glint started lighting up in her eyes and I intuitively felt that this was bad.
“You, were, executed. So, you’re no longer, Radka.”
Those words came out immediately.
Was she sure of the name she had uttered?
The girl widened her eyes again, pulled me up then hugged me tightly.
“It’s my fault that you died… But, I’m glad. I’m really glad…!”
A voice overcome by emotion entered my ears. But I noticed something concealed in her voice. ――― Her voice sounded frightening similar to the empty words father used to comfort his citizens.
“Come, Radka. I’ve come for you. Won’t you come with me this time? Your mother has passed away, hasn’t she? You don’t have anything left in this land.”
She whispered sweet, venomous words at me, and I frowned behind her hair.
What should I do?
The disturbed girl, who was trying to disturb this kingdom, was defenceless as she hugged me. I can kill her now with my hidden dagger. But it was impossible for me to take out that man, Jasper, and the hooded person who was standing behind her motionlessly. How can a seven-year-old child deal with two grown adults?
Then, what should I do?
“Where to?”
I should ――― pretend to be Radka and get information out of her.
“To the place where there are people who hate nobles as much as you and I. Nobles can’t hurt you again there.”
“Then why did you kidnap everyone? That’s, just like… a noble.”
“You’re wrong. I did it to save them from this fief. The current feudal lord is still the daughter of that horrible feudal lord, right? Say, Radka, even if your life is better than before…”
The girl paused.
“… You can’t be deceived even if the feudal lord’s daughter saved you from being executed in secret. Someday, that feudal lord’s daughter will reveal her true nature and start tormenting everyone, just like the old feudal lord. Don’t you think so? If she really didn’t want to execute you, then she wouldn’t, then she wouldn’t secretly help you from behind the scenes.”
“Right?” The girl whispered in my ear. I nodded a little in response. I see, so this is how you brainwash people.
“So, alright? Radka. You must come with us. We need your help to save our people.”
“… Your people?”
“Yes. Yes, the foreign collaborators who have been captured by the feudal lord. We don’t want to be treated horribly by nobles anymore, so we’re getting their help to finish the nobles off.”
… I see. It seems like these guys have come to retrieve the bandits and are trying to demand a hostage exchange using ‘me’.
“Let’s go.” She stood up and I had no choice but to follow the girl silently as she led me by the hand.
The hooded person followed silently behind us, and further behind him, the newcomer children were looking at me anxiously as they were being urged forward by Jasper’s sword.
“Say, why were you with the newcomer children?”
After persuading the girl to take a few breaks, we finally arrived at Milda Village just after midnight.
Jasper and the robed person broke into the sleeping village and occupied the chief’s house, then the girl used the village children as a shield to threaten the villagers with a smirk, “Call the feudal lord here, and tell her to bring the people she has in jail.” Afterward, she made the exhausted newcomer children sit at the entrance and windows of the house.
They were quick to set up the hostages, so it was hard to believe that they were late to received information about the bandits being moved to the royal capital… They are more accustomed to fighting than I thought.
“Maybe because it’s bad if the citizens found me?”
I was surrounded by the girl and the hooded person in front of the fireplace at the village chief’s house and joined her in her chatter.
Sleepiness, hunger and exhaustion have impaired my ability to think, but the girl should be in the same position as me. The girl could have prepared better since she was questioning me while we were both in this state. I only had to pay attention to my words and attitude since I only had to reply to her, but the girl had to use her head many times more than I do as long as she was the one asking the questions and showing good intentions towards Radka.
“I see… She’s terrible after all. I can’t believe she would suddenly throw you into the midst of foreigners who live and speak a different language… What kind of girl is she? Is she fat like her mother?”
“No, it’s creepy how much she looks like her dad.”
Perhaps the girl always knew this answer. As if to prove this, the girl smiled and nodded once she heard the answer.
“I know. It’s just frightening to think how alike they are… Hey, wait. Are there wolves in this fief?”
I heard Rashiok’s distance howling outside the wooden window. It seems that Aslan has done what I had asked him to do. Thiele, who was sitting under the window, looked at me and I looked back at her. ‘Help has come’.
I saw the hooded person react very slightly out of the corner of my eyes. They hadn’t moved at all until now, so even the slightly movement was noticeable.
“I heard they sometimes come down from Amon Nohl. But they always stay in the northern part of the fief, so don’t worry.”
“Then, that’s alright. I don’t like wolves…”
Do they still not know about Rashiok? Or is it only this girl who doesn’t know? It’s possible that they hadn’t informed the girl since there were only three people on this kind of a mission. Or, judging from the attitude of the other two, it’s possible that the girl was the one who had decided to come to this fief.
“Hey, they’re here!!”
Jasper burst into the room. At the same time, there was a lot of noise coming from outside.
“Let’s go, Radka. Come on, everyone out.”
The children and I got up sluggishly.
The village chief’s house was surrounded by the fief army outside. The girl and Jasper used the village children and the newcomer children as shields and demanded that the soldiers bring forward the feudal lord with a daring smile.
I’ll see what I can do under these circumstances. Rashiok seems to be lurking in the background too. With that in mind, I grabbed the dagger under my cloak to attack the girl who was next to me.
Then.
“… What the fuck do you want from me?”
A smooth and somewhat unhappy voice. A small shadow stepped out from behind Claudia after that.
――― I’m afraid I might stop breathing.
Standing there was a familiar mirror image of ‘me’. The only difference was that he was wearing a veil to protect him against the cold. Everything else apart from that was really similar ――― too similar.
Why are you here?
Even though I couldn’t let you meet this girl ―――.
“… I have a favour to ask you.”
My heart pounded painfully as I watched the interactions between Radka, who was standing there in the guise of ‘The Feudal Lord, Eliza Kaldia’, and the girl. I restrained the hand that was holding onto the hilt of the dagger which was on the verge of trembling.
Radka ――― slightly widened his eyes in surprise at the girl for a second. But then, he blinked once and became the perfect ‘me’ again.
The girl had yet to notice Radka and I. Perhaps it was because she didn’t know what Radka currently looked like and my face was disguised with mud and a scarf. She hadn’t noticed our similarities, nor has she noticed the real Radka.
“You caught bandits in this fief, right? We want to trade these children for those people.”
“Trade? Don’t make me laugh. Those children are my people. They don’t belong to you guys.”
“It’s the same, isn’t it? Those bandits aren’t yours either.”
“That’s a funny thing to say. What problem is there with a feudal lord catching criminals who threaten the people in her land?”
“――― Enough of this tedious conversation. You’ll bring them here, won’t you? I think it’s better for you to make an exchange quickly. The children are very weak. We haven’t fed them and made them walk a long way.”
The girl started threatening ‘me’ for the first time. She was confident that I wouldn’t be able to abandon the children.
… I see, so you did think about kidnapping the newcomer children. Even though they are orphans, it leaves quite a lot of problems in the future to abandon the newcomer children after they’ve been accepted in the fief for criminals.
Well… that was only if the bandits were here.
“It seems I have some unfortunate news for you before we can make a deal. There aren’t anymore bandits left in this fief. They’ve all been sent to the royal capital.”
‘Eliza’ sneered in reply. But the girl smiled evilly and dismissed his statement, “That’s a lie.”
“There are two left here. I know they stayed behind after you faked their deaths. Valon and Ramix.”
‘Eliza’ scorned and jerked his head at Gunter, who was standing next to him. Gunter nodded and threw a cloth bag in front of the girl. Two heavy things shook in the bag as it fell to the ground.
“… What are you doing?”
“You told me to give them back to you, so I’m giving them back to you. Why don’t you check?”
“… Did you kill them?”
The girl’s voice was as cold as a frozen lake.
“You know that I send the ones who were still alive to the royal capital. Why are you surprised? … Ah, and what do you ‘know’?”
I had the loud sound of grinding teeth from the girl beside me.
“… Yes ――― yes. Then the deal is off?”
She pulled on my shoulder before things ended. “Don’t move,” she said as she pressed a dagger at my throat.
The fief soldiers were shaken. The girl smiled slightly when she saw this. The blade nicked my throat and the girl smiled provocatively at ‘Eliza’ who returned her smile with a slight smile. It was a slightly sad and resigned smile that only I noticed.
“Say, I’m kind, so I’ll give you another condition. Let’s see… How about exchanging them for the feudal lord?”
“… With me?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“To escape?”
“Maybe. I’ll release the children if you put down your weapon and come towards us alone.”
‘Eliza’ ――― Radka looked at me for a moment. Then, he removed the sword on his waist before I could say anything.
“I don’t have any other weapons.”
“Alright. Then, put your hands behind your head and come here.”
When ‘Eliza’ walked right in front of the hooded person, the girl instructed Jasper to do this and that with the hand that was holding the dagger, and the children were released in turns… Everyone was freed except for me who was still being held by the shoulder.
“What about the child?”
“He’s a hostage to use against you, feudal lord’s daughter. I know that you’ve had martial arts training. Behave yourself if you don’t want this child to be killed, alright?”
The girl laughed in amusement as she flickered the dagger in front of me nastily.
“I see… you should tell that to yourself!”
Radka lunged at the hooded figure as soon as the veil was plucked off to reveal his short hair.
At the same time, I flicked away the girl’s hand which was holding the dagger and rolled away. Then I slashed at her chest down to her waist with my hidden dagger.
Then Rashiok, who had probably been lurking on the roof, lunged at Jasper from above. Jasper’s arm which was holding the sword was chomped off in an instant, then Rashiok pinned him down.
“――― Why Radka?!?!”
The girl’s scream pierced the night sky, and a great deal of blood dripped to her feed. At the corner of my eyes, the soldiers were moving under Gunter and Claudia’s command.
It happened in an instant.
Then in the next second ――― something completely different happened.
Something fell straight down like a meteor from the sky above us, as if it was cutting through the crimson dawn sky.
It was ――― a giant bird-like monster. When the impact from the wind knocked down the people around it, the hooded person grabbed the girl and tried to force her up again.
The hooded person grabbed my arm again at the centre of the sudden storm.
――― But…
My sleeve rustled and rode up, revealing the thin chain on my wrist.
Claudia shouted my name on the ground, “Eliza-dono!!”
And then I saw ‘him’ widened his eyes as his hood fluttered in the wind.
I stopped breathing.
――― ‘He’ let go of my arm before I could reach out to him.
“ !!”
My screams were completely drowned out by the wind and rumbles, and my outstretched fingertips just scratched the air.