novelraw Chapter 162: Krafte War - The Next Turn
Chapter 162: Krafte War - The Next Turn
Once the Great King's order was given, the Krafte Army retreated swiftly.
The Krafte Army, which had been engaged in battle just a moment ago, withdrew quickly, maintaining their discipline and covering each other.
The Revolutionary Army, which had held on until the very last and was exhausted, did not even dare to pursue them. After a moment of bewilderment, everyone began to cheer.
"The Krafte Army is retreating!"
"We won, we won!"
It was a victory won at the end of a desperate struggle. They had held on against the might and overwhelming terror they had shown in the initial battle, with the help of Eris's blessings and shouts.
"We're safe now!"
"Long live Revolutionary Francia! We won!"
Though exhausted, the soldiers cheered and rejoiced in their victory.
"We won... Mr. Durand, we won!"At the excited words of Louis d'Aquitaine, who sat on the ground completely exhausted and panting, Leon Durand replied with a bitter smile.
"Yes, we won. Honestly, I didn't think we would."
Durand looked at the cheering Revolutionary Army with a somewhat ambiguous expression.
They had won, but the process was a complete mess.
The presence of the Saintess Queen was certainly immense, but anyone who had seen this battle would have judged that the Krafte side was stronger and had the upper hand.
It was a victory won in the end by something beyond overwhelming strength.
And the one who had commanded them and ultimately led them to victory was approaching the main force at the head of his cavalry.
A man at the forefront, covered in blood, received the cheers of the Revolutionary Army.
“…Pierre de Lafayette.”
Leon Durand uttered the name softly, then forced himself to swallow something knotted up in his chest.
*
“Cavalry, dismiss! Move the seriously wounded first, and the rest of the wounded go to the medical tent and get treated! I thank you for your struggles!”
“Understood!”
“It was an honor to fight with you, Your Excellency the Marquis!”
After I joined the main force and dismissed the cavalry, Damien De Millbeau approached.
“Wel... come... pant, sir. Marquis Lafayette. Truly a great... pant, victory, congratulations.”
Damien De Millbeau, at a glance, was clearly exhausted, looking to be on the verge of complete collapse.
Anyone who saw him would think he had charged into the enemy lines and fought in my place.
The thought briefly crossed my mind, but this time, a natural smile formed on its own.
“You have worked hard, Count Milbeau. I will remember your devotion and courage well.”
“Th-thank you, Your Excellency Marquis Lafayette.”
Damien, though a little dazed, bowed his head to me.
Normally, he would have been pouring on all sorts of flattery, but it seems he is truly exhausted.
Just then, Giselle Davi approached and said quietly.
“Your Excellency Marquis Lafayette. You should have your wounds treated first. This way—”
As expected of Giselle Davi. I thought she wouldn't notice since I was covered in blood, but her eyes are sharp.
And not making a fuss over nothing was also wise—
“Huk, His Excellency the Marquis is wounded?!”
…Giselle Davi's careful consideration was rendered useless by Damien.
“The Commander-in-Chief is wounded?”
“M-Marquis Lafayette is wounded!”
In an instant, murmurs spread.
Ah, what a headache.
I had sustained some cuts on my cheek and arm in the melee, but my head hurt more than those stinging wounds.
In the distance, I saw the medics carrying the wounded hesitate, wondering if they should put them down and run to me. I shouted loudly.
“Don't make a fuss! It's not a serious injury, I can get it treated later! Take care of the seriously wounded first!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
After giving the order, I glared at Damien and said,
“Honestly, just when your reputation was about to improve, you do something stupid.”
“M-my apologies, Your Excellency, Marquis Lafayette.”
Tsk. Pathetic.
Still, I patted the cowering Damien's shoulder and added,
“Well, I’ll let a minor mistake slide this time. ‘Master of Defense.’ It was a fine battle.”
He’s a bit of a klutz in strange ways, but what does it matter?
He’s a useful subordinate, and in this battle, he did as much as he could—no, more than that.
A superior should praise such a subordinate.
“Oh, ooh, it is an honor, Your Excellency the Marquis!”
As I subtly avoided Damien’s gaze, which was about to become burdensome, and met Giselle Davi's eyes, she saluted me respectfully and gave a slight bow of her head.
Giselle Davi had enough sense to understand that it would be awkward to be praised in front of her direct superior, Damien.
“Your Excellency, Marquis Lafayette!”
“Congratulations on the victory!”
“Ah, good work, Commander Desaix, General Nere. You both performed your roles admirably.”
Just then, Louis Desaix, the commander of the Northern Army, and Nicolas Nere, who had led the shock troops, arrived; I praised them as well.
“Haha, it was a battle that will go down in history. By the way, are you alright?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m a knight, after all. I won’t cry over something like this.”
“Your Excellency, Marquis Lafayette!”
This time, it was the chief of staff, Alexandre Berthier, who had remained in the very rear of the main force.
Everywhere I looked, they were all in a daze.
While having that thought, I felt a slight sense of relief that they had all managed to come through the desperate battle safely.
“Berthier. How are Her Majesty the Queen and Morelle?”
“General Morelle is already making a fuss about going in pursuit, so we had to force him into a bed. As for Her Majesty the Queen…”
Berthier discreetly looked around, then approached me and whispered.
“She is completely exhausted, so we have let her rest. They say her life is not in immediate danger, but she is quite weak and will need to rest for at least a few days.”
“…I see.”
Even if she had borrowed the power of the crystals, she had performed so many miracles of that magnitude. No, in the first place, even with the crystals, it must have been because it was Eris that she could wield such power.
Even though I knew full well that Eris was overexerting herself, without relying on her to this extent, victory would have been impossible.
But now there are no more crystals left, so I cannot push her any further.
“My apologies, Your Excellency the Marquis. The casualty count is not yet complete, but the estimate is already at 50,000.”
Hearing Berthier's report, I turned my gaze to the vast plains of the battlefield.
A battlefield where soldiers cheering in joy at their victory and soldiers crying as they carried away corpses coexisted.
The enormous sacrifice that had to be paid to fight against the strongest army of humanity and somehow achieve victory.
“We have managed to win this battle, however narrowly. But whether it will be possible to win in this way next time…”
“You don't need to worry about that.”
“Pardon?”
This kind of all-out war, the act of blocking the mighty Krafte Army with blood, cannot continue.
If we do, then even if we win, it won't be a victory.
“We have done enough of the diplomacy that sheds blood.”
The Great King may be looking forward to another stage as spectacular as this battle, but this battlefield was his grandest stage.
“Now, it's time for the war that sheds no blood.”
What Christine had requested was just one chance. A draw would be fine, just to show that there was a chance of victory against the Krafte Army.
We had to go to all sorts of lengths for that single opportunity, but in the end, we succeeded.
Since that is the case, my fiancée is not someone who would miss an opportunity.
From now on, it's Christine’s turn.
*
Brest, a naval port in western Francia.
Christine, dressed not in a dress but in the formal attire of a naval admiral, waited with Captain Dureng and his subordinates before the ship-of-the-line ‘Libre’ for their scheduled arrival.
And a short while later, the person they were waiting for arrived.
“Ah, I did not expect you to greet me here.”
“I have been waiting for quite some time.”
“To make a lady wait is a discourtesy.”
“At this moment, I am an admiral, not a lady, Director-General.”
“Ahem, ahem.”
The Director-General of the Revolutionary Party, Maurice Talleyrand, who had cleared his throat, soon fixed his expression and asked.
“Is the groundwork all laid?”
“Of course. Do you not trust me?”
Talleyrand, who was looking at Christine asking with a seemingly nonchalant face, gave a bitter smile, shrugged his shoulders, and replied.
“Ahaha, in the Revolutionary Party, Aquitaine’s Black Wit… oops, my apologies. Countess Aquitaine is known as someone who cannot be trusted, yet must be relied upon. Of course, it is because I trust in the Countess’s abilities that I have come this far, is it not?”
After finishing his words, Talleyrand smiled faintly and spoke again.
“It is finally our turn to win over the Northern Allied Kingdom, an enemy nation, right over Krafte’s head. How did you come up with that idea?”
“In the initial civil war with King Louis, the Northern Allied Kingdom's participation was solely an obligation of their marital alliance with the Francian royal family. Their support for the Empire in a reluctant war, even after being defeated, must have been because of the interests presented by the Empress. But with the Empire's defeat, even that has become a distant prospect.”
“Certainly, the Imperial family, whose overseas assets are being seized by Abyss Corporation, would not have been able to pay the Northern Allied Kingdom a proper price.”
From the perspective of the Northern Allied Kingdom, they got involved in a war they didn't need to be in and suffered only great losses.
“That being said, the queen is the younger sister of the Empress of the Empire, so a reversal of alliance is surprising. I did not expect you to aim for such a move.”
“Conversely, that is the only reason they got involved in this war and took that side. Moreover, as a price for that, they are suffering massive damage from our naval blockade.”
The Northern Allied Kingdom is a country composed of peninsulas and islands. Among them, the northern peninsula, despite being rich in minerals, is an extremely barren land.
That shows how important maritime transport is to them.
The damage caused by Christine's commerce raiding operation is more fatal to the Northern Allied Kingdom than to Krafte, which has always been a continental nation.
“In short, it’s gunboat diplomacy. Since Krafte is, strictly speaking, also an enemy of the Empire, there would be less psychological resistance.”
“And a chance to reclaim their ancient lands, which they couldn't even dream of taking back from the invincible Krafte Army, at the same time?”
The Krafte Kingdom had doubled its territory during the reign of the Great King, and among those gains were lands that had once belonged to the Northern Allied Kingdom.
The very port in the north of Krafte had been Northern Allied Kingdom territory.
“Exactly. The practical benefits are clear, and a considerable number of their nobles have been won over. The key was to prove that the Krafte Army is not invincible. This, Marquis Lafayette has already done.”
“Hoho, honestly, when they were defeated twice at the beginning, I wondered if it was possible. I never thought they would actually win.”
Christine, looking at the chuckling Talleyrand, smiled deeply and asked.
“Everyone expected Krafte’s victory, but in the end, we won. Now all that's left is to persuade the king to make a decision. You can do that much, can't you, Director-General?”
“Haha, hahaha. The meal has already been prepared, and all I have to do is put a fork in it. If I can't manage that here, I should just quit being a diplomat. Then let us go, my lady.”
Christine smirked at Talleyrand's outstretched hand offering an escort.
“Thank you, but I must decline. The Director-General's wrist is precious.”
Talleyrand looked puzzled for a moment before his expression turned to one of disgust.
“My, how fierce. And yet, why on earth are you still not married?”
“Wouldn't the Director-General be better off paying more attention to his wife than to me?”
“Haha, even a married man's eyes are drawn to a younger, more beautiful woman. It is a man's nature.”
Christine retorted with a smirk.
“I will be sure to tell that to Marquis Lafayette.”
“…Ahem, please refrain from doing that. I wish to live a long and happy life, savoring delectable food.”
Instead of replying to Talleyrand's joke, Christine pointed toward the gangway and replied.
“Then, let us go. To conduct the most expensive, most extravagant diplomacy in the Central Continent.”
“Oh, my. To tear away an ally with money, Krafte will surely have a taste for war.”
As Talleyrand replied and began to ascend the gangway, Christine followed behind, muttering under her breath.
“That’s a pity. This is just the beginning.”
“Oh…”
Talleyrand let out a low sigh, turned to look at Christine, then added as if creeped out.
“It seems the best decision I made as Director-General was to not oppose the two of you head-on.”