The first time I killed a man, I soothed the shock of it with drink.
He was a villain who deserved to die, but for me, who’d been an ordinary person, killing a man meant I could never go back to who I’d been.
And now that memory had faded.
Aaagh!
There was only a monster, dulled to the act of killing, bringing his blade down on the back of a fleeing infantryman. That was the destiny and the karma of the me who’d adapted to this era. But I had no regrets.
I’d walked too long a road to regret it.
And in a world where I’d die if I didn’t kill, that had been the last time I was weak. That incident was what made me conscious of being a noble, and I no longer hesitated to kill an enemy.
The battle was already over.
The enemy’s forces weren’t intact enough to face our elite soldiers. Had it been the duke’s army, it might have taken several battles, but once they began to crumble, they started fleeing in a rush.
And our cavalry fell upon the enemy’s exposed backs like ferocious beasts.
Thanks to that, my whole body was soaked in blood. I’d lost count of how many I’d killed. Back in my duchy knight days I used to tally up my kill score one by one, but that had been a truly pointless, childish thing to do.
"I surrender! I am a noble of Radensdorf, treat me as a prisoner!"
The nobles and knights who couldn’t escape chose surrender over resistance. A noble prisoner was a very important spoil, and the captor gained the right to claim their ransom.
So the cavalry searched doggedly for anyone who looked like a knight or noble. Well, I’d already captured five knights and four nobles. At this rate I’d end up with the nickname noble hunter.
Let’s see, among the notable prisoners I’d captured were the Count of Basel, Baron Valent, Baron Hildrant, the Lord of Birsfelden, the rogue of Geerhilt, and the like, plus dozens of knights and several nameless nobles.
If you added up all the ransoms, it looked like it’d come out to roughly two hundred gold coins or more.
Capturing them was easy, but collecting the ransom was the hard part.
That alone was a staggering sum, but compared to what a lord earned, it was still a drop in the bucket. Even so, I’d laid the groundwork to grow into a mid-tier lord, so I was satisfied.
To earn more money, I diligently combed the battlefield with the Commander Scouter. Friend and foe were so tangled together that it was hard to tell them apart by sight. In the midst of that, I spotted the enemy command headquarters.
I’d expected them to be the first to flee, but surprisingly they hadn’t fled and were still on the battlefield. It seemed that only because they’d held out was part of the enemy force able to band together and resist.
But it was only a matter of time before they collapsed.
I immediately led the cavalry in a charge toward the headquarters.
And I gathered the nearby troops to encircle the headquarters. As if they meant to hold out to the end, their grip on their weapons was firm and the look in their eyes still fierce. As we closed in ring upon ring, I tried issuing a demand first.
"Surrender. I’ll treat you as prisoners."
"...."
No one answered. Then the enemy soldiers parted like the Red Sea, and someone on horseback approached me. Pale in appearance but with eyes that alone burned bright, it was Prince Louis.
"Cough, cough! It’s been a while, Gale Knight."
"It’s an honor to meet you again, Prince."
"Facing you on the battlefield was a dream of mine."
In sound bodily condition, that is.
Smiling to himself, Prince Louis added bitterly.
"Please surrender. The crown prince is worried about you, Prince."
"Is that so. I’m still the reckless child who makes my brother worry."
But he didn’t surrender. Prince Louis’s men already seemed resolved to die. And that was true of Louis as well. His coughing was a stark warning about his failing health.
"When Bavaria provided us with the artillery corps, I truly thought we had a chance of winning."
"Bavaria? Don’t tell me Bavaria has gotten involved in the civil war?"
I couldn’t help being shocked by the unexpected information. And the mention of Bavaria was enough to fluster even our own soldiers. It could turn into a fight not with civil war foes, but with a foreign country.
"It’ll come out anyway, so what’s the point of hiding it? My uncle joined hands with Bavaria. Of course, they won’t take part directly because of how it’d look to the imperial court, but there’s no telling how things will turn out."
"I see, so Duke Radensdorf had something he was counting on."
"Cough, cough! You succeeded, and the fool of Radensdorf failed in the end."
Anger seemed to be welling up, and I could feel the rage in Louis’s eyes. I succeeded, and the fool failed? I didn’t know what he meant, but Louis explained.
"There was a man who claimed the Gale Knight was an empty name and that he himself was the finest knight of Radensdorf. He confidently raided the enemy artillery corps and went silent. I instructed them not to split the force in two but to mount a full assault on the Gale Knight and kill him, but he wouldn’t listen."
"Hmm, had he done that, I might have been in trouble."
Just as the enemy had split their forces, my force had also split in two, against my intentions. The cavalry fellows who’d charged in defiance of orders had clashed with the enemy cavalry and taken considerable casualties.
I didn’t even care what had become of them now.
"In the end our artillery corps was neutralized, and it came to this. It was the first time in my life I’d ever commanded an army, and my first and last command turned out to be a defeat. Isn’t that laughable?"
"...."
"Sir Streit, even turning truth into lies and lies into truth requires power to pull off. I realized that far too late. My uncle is no doubt the same."
"...."
"I don’t have long to live anyway. So I’d like to die by your hand, the one they call a hero. I’ve no standing to give you orders, but I ask that you preserve a royal’s last shred of pride."
"No."
When I refused so firmly, Louis laughed in hollow disbelief. I slowly led Chrysos toward him. When I suddenly approached alone, everyone was thrown off.
Louis’s eyes trembled violently. His men, not knowing what to do, only looked to Louis. But Louis couldn’t say a word until I’d drawn near.
When I’d come right up to him, I held out my hand.
"A royal’s last pride isn’t that sort of thing."
"...Then what is my pride?"
"Taking responsibility to the very end is a royal’s pride, Prince."
"...."
"Don’t flee into death. We’ve spilled far too much blood."
Even now, screams and bloodshed ran rampant across this battlefield. If you start a war, you should take responsibility to the end. Fleeing into death? That was nothing but running from reality.
After wavering, Louis took my hand.
"...I’ll surrender. Everyone, throw down your weapons!"
Louis’s men, who’d been resolved to die, cast aside their fighting spirit as if it had never been and threw down their weapons. Having men who believe in you and follow you to the end is a truly fortunate thing for a commander.
Louis surrendered, but he warned that Radensdorf would not. Naturally so, in fact. That place was the duke’s domain through and through, and there was no chance it would open its gates on account of Louis’s surrender.
But it would surely have an effect.
When I sent word that the prince had been taken prisoner, Eisenach was dispatched.
"From here on, I will attend to you, Prince."
"My brother’s guard captain came to meet me in person. Cough, cough!"
His coughing was growing worse and worse—would Louis even be alive by the time the war ended? On top of that, the weather was getting colder. Still, he’d surrendered to take responsibility, so he’d strive to stay alive until then.