We officially call the war that broke out in the Duchy of Beren the Altringen Civil War, but abroad, people belittle it as the Bastard War. The French are to blame for that one.
Raaaaah!
"Long live Beren! Long live the grand duke!"
Whatever outsiders called it, the grand duke, upon entering Radensdorf, maintained a stern expression from start to finish as the citizens welcomed him with fervent cheers. A stark contrast to the duke riding alongside him.
"You’ve done well, Franz."
"Welcome, Father!"
Upon arriving at the palace, the grand duke embraced the crown prince, who had come out to greet him.
Countless nobles were hovering about, hoping to catch the grand duke’s eye, but he brushed past them all, and the first person he sought out was me, standing at the very back of the line.
I’d kept my distance because I didn’t want to jostle with the nobles fighting tooth and nail to get to the front, yet he found me easily enough. The nobles parted like the Red Sea, wariness in their eyes, to clear a path.
"Word of your deeds reached me even from afar. You served Franz well."
"Not at all, Your Highness. I merely did my duty."
"Gale Knight, that is the hardest thing of all."
The grand duke patted my shoulder and entered the palace with the crown prince. The expressions of the nobles trailing after him were anything but ordinary. Now that the war was over, was it time for the scramble over merit?
It practically heralded the pandemonium to come when the rewards were handed out.
Well, nothing new there. But I wasn’t particularly worried.
Their wariness toward me was proof of just how remarkable my achievements were. The western princes on the winning side wore broad smiles, while the southern and eastern princes following behind the duke couldn’t hide their bitterness.
The surrender signing ceremony was held in the assembly hall.
Perhaps the Military Department had arranged it, because the officiant was my father-in-law.
And the mediator of this treaty was the archbishop of Radensdorf Cathedral. When ending a war of this scale, it was customary for the Church to reconcile both sides’ differences and preside over the treaty.
The archbishop recited from Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 9. Matthew is one of the four Gospels recognized by the Roman Catholic Church and the one most often used in war mediation, which is why it’s also called the War Gospel.
"Our Father in heaven, by Your holy will, let peace be established upon this land. Give us this day the bread we need, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but watch over us so that peace may be achieved upon this earth."
"For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours forever. Amen."
Once the princes and the observing nobles had finished the prayer, the signing ceremony commenced. Documents lay neatly arranged on a luxurious table, and the grand duke and the duke sat facing each other.
Behind them stood the princes who had fought for each side.
I too stood at the very end of the victors’ line. Lowest in rank though I was, I stood nominally as an equal among the princes.
The duke had resigned himself to his fate, but now that the moment had come to actually sign the surrender document, he seemed to hesitate. Well, I’d have done the same in his shoes. The grand duke, who had been quietly watching, let out a snort of laughter.
"Johannes, still unable to free yourself from your foolish delusions?"
"If our positions were reversed, Your Highness would hesitate too."
"I suppose I would. But the reality is that all that remains is for you to sign."
The duke ground his teeth, but he had no choice. I’d never met the duke before, so today was actually my first time seeing him. He resembled the grand duke, but with an oddly sharp cast to his features.
As the duke reviewed the terms, he paused at one particular clause.
"...You are cruel to the very end, Brother."
"Isn’t it better than being caged in cramped little Beren?"
"Hmph, so you’re telling me to play the puppet?"
Naturally, I wasn’t of sufficient standing to view the surrender document, so I couldn’t tell exactly what that barbed exchange meant. The duke signed with an irritable flourish and rose from his seat.
"Your Highness. That promise. Do not ever forget it."
Had the grand duke promised the duke something? As the duke made his exit with his retinue, he suddenly stopped in front of me. His unexpected move puzzled me. The nobles’ gazes converged on us.
"You are Streit?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
His sharp gaze seemed to sweep over me from head to toe.
The hall was astonishingly quiet. The duke spoke as if in lament.
"I never knew Beren had a knight as fine as you."
"...You flatter me."
"So my brother had luck with people after all. Perhaps that was the difference."
Was that a regretful lament? Had I been on the duke’s side, who knows how the civil war might have turned out. Not that such hypotheticals meant anything now.
After the duke’s departure, the grand duke ascended the podium. The nobles no longer had any interest in the departed duke. Surveying the assembly at his leisure, the grand duke spoke.
"I thank you all for your devotion in lending me your strength to defeat the Duke of Radensdorf, who believed the baseless rumor that my son was a bastard and raised a rebellion."
The western princes, Marquis Offenburg, and the nobles who had fought in the war wore triumphant smiles. The faces of the southern and eastern princes were grim indeed. Negotiations over the astronomical war reparations still lay ahead.
War reparations aren’t necessarily paid in money alone; they include goods, serfs, territory, and various rights and interests. In these negotiations, Count Euz would push for the partition of the Baschurten territory.
"We have lost much, but we have gained much. Marquis Bertheim, who strove to mediate the strife within Altringen, died in captivity, and Sir Streit introduced cannons to Beren for the first time. In the name of the Lord, I hereby declare the end of this war, which took so much from us and granted us so much in return."
Clap, clap, clap!
A flood of emotions crossed the hall: joy that the war was over, lingering regret, dissatisfaction at not having earned more merit. But on the whole, everyone considered it a blessing that the civil war had ended before Burgundy could turn its attention this way.
"The recipients of honors will be announced in one week. Until then, you are to stabilize the areas surrounding Radensdorf and stay vigilant against any possible incursion from Bavaria. With that, I declare this assembly adjourned."
"Bavaria? Why Bavaria all of a sudden?"
"Oh my, you hadn’t heard? The princess is here."
The nobles who didn’t know the details murmured among themselves.
Paying them no mind, the grand duke exited with my father-in-law, and the nobles dispersed as well. Marquis Offenburg, who had lingered until the end, approached me. Benjamin stood in attendance at his side.
"I hear you performed magnificently."
"Thank you, my lord."
"Bertheim’s death is a pity, but he lived a full life, so don’t drown yourself in grief."
"..."
And yet something about the look in the marquis’s eyes as he consoled me didn’t sit right. As the marquis walked past, Benjamin, following behind him, wore a somewhat troubled expression. I observed their mindsets through the Manager Scouter.
The marquis was wary of me. Why, all of a sudden? What reason could a lord who’d been friendly enough to entrust Lily to me have to suddenly guard against me? Because my merits had grown too overwhelming?
My head was getting so tangled I felt a headache coming on, when someone clapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to find Michael grinning at me. A rush of gladness welled up. My headache vanished without a trace.
"Oh, Brother-in-law! You made it through in one piece. I was worried sick when the grand duke’s army was defeated."
"Hahaha, look who’s talking. Word of your tremendous exploits reached us even from afar."
I savored the happy reunion with Michael. When I first heard the news that the grand duke’s army had lost its third battle, the people I worried about most were my father-in-law and Michael.
My father-in-law is a man of unbending integrity who cherishes his soldiers like his own children, so his attachment to the duchy’s army ran deeper than most. And Michael and Ulrich were the ones most influenced by him.