“Make way! We march!”
“Behold! We are led by Prince Arthur himself!”
A large army was marching out of the Garnet Empire’s capital, and at the head of the ten-thousand-strong army was Arthur Garnet, the first imperial prince.
“It’s finally starting...”
“What will happen to the empire...?”
“Another war, and this time it’s between the princes... That’s so stupid.”
The people grumbled as they saw the army off. If the soldiers had been going to fight an enemy nation to protect the empire, then they all would have waved their hands, encouraging them. But no—Arthur was on his way to fight against his brother, Lance Garnet, a fellow imperial. That made it impossible to cheer for him.
“No matter which of them wins, the country will fall into chaos... I just hope the neighboring nations won’t use the opportunity to attack us...”
“What is the emperor doing? Why isn’t he stopping the princes’ feud?!”
“Rumor has it that he’s sick in bed and doesn’t have long. That’s why the princes are fighting over the throne.”
The masses gossiped, but the soldiers paid them no mind and continued their march. Their supreme commander was Arthur Garnet, the militaristic prince extolled as an unparalleled warrior, so naturally the men’s morale was at its peak. They couldn’t have cared less about the populace’s chatter.
“Make way! This is an imperial march!” the leading soldier shouted, blowing his trumpet.
Seen off by the people, Arthur exited the capital to slay his brother.
“How are things at Berwick, Merlin?” Arthur asked from atop his horse at the head of the army.
The next instant, a beautiful woman appeared, floating in the air. “I sent around ten of my disciples from the Ladies of the Lake, but I’ve lost contact with them.”
“What?” Arthur said with a frown.
“Explain, Merlin,” demanded the Black Knight—Gawain—on the other side of Arthur.
“I had my disciples scout the city and also asked them to try swaying some influential people. However, the last message I received was about Abus, the leader of the Merchants’ Guild, joining us. There’s been nothing since then. They must be dead.”
“Did that man trick them?” Gawain asked.
“I assume so. He must have given my disciples false intel, so they made a mistake.” Merlin spread her arms with a slightly troubled expression. “My disciples are talented mages, but they’re still inexperienced. I suppose they must have been too eager to prove themselves.”
“...Your disciples failed. Don’t act as though it doesn’t concern you,” Gawain chided.
“I allowed them to act at their discretion, so their failure is their own responsibility. I am sad that my disciples died, but what can I say? This is war.” Merlin’s tone was fairly light despite the loss of her disciples, showing she wasn’t that sad about it. “Also, they did manage to convince half the Knights of the Black Dragon to join us. They did a good job, so stop criticizing me.”
“Hmph...” Gawain snorted, displeased. He didn’t like Merlin’s attitude, but she was right. The Ladies of the Lake had done a good job.
“But you should be careful, Your Highness. The Demon of Laplace tells me not to trust them. They will betray us if things don’t go well for them.”
“I know that much. I don’t need foresight to tell me something so obvious.” Arthur nodded to his retainer’s warning. “They betrayed Lance and pledged themselves to my banner for money. Anyone who can be bought off cannot be trusted.”
Arthur was meritocratic to the bone—he would give important positions to anyone, even foreigners, as long as they possessed the necessary skills. But he didn’t like opportunists and turncoats. Unless they truly proved their loyalty, he would never trust the Knights of the Black Dragon.
“I’ll have them fight on the front lines to their last breath. If they show even the slightest hint of changing sides, shoot them in the back,” Arthur ordered.
“As you wish.”
“Okay, will do.”
His Twin Wings acknowledged his command in completely opposite tones.
“Well then, Lance... I, your brother, have no weakness! I am eager to see how you will try to defeat me!” Arthur spurred his horse into a run, laughing joyfully as he imagined the upcoming battle with his brother.
“Tsk... Don’t look at me like that.”
“Captain... Did we screw up?”
“Shut up! It’s too late now!” Debardan, the captain of the Knights of the Black Dragon, shouted at his subordinate, irritated.
Debardan was a dark-skinned, two-meter-tall man with bright red hair. An extraordinary warrior, his overwhelming strength had allowed him to climb all the way to the top ranks of the army despite being a foreign mercenary and a beastfolk. At first, he had worked under the Second Imperial Prince Lance, but he had switched his allegiance to the First Imperial Prince Arthur. Now, he was accompanying the army heading for Berwick.
“Of course that damn prince isn’t going to trust us! I knew that from the start! But it still doesn’t change the fact that I’m on his side now!”
Debardan had joined Arthur along with half of his men. Most of the Knights of the Black Dragon were mercenaries who worked for money, not loyalty to Lance. So when a member of the Ladies of the Lake had offered them an amazing reward to change sides, they had accepted.
“But, Captain... I’m sure they’re just gonna use us as sacrificial pawns.”
Hearing his subordinate’s words, Debardan made a bitter expression. He was starting to regret accepting the offer to join Arthur’s camp. Arthur didn’t trust the Knights of the Black Dragon, and so it was likely that they would be sacrificed.
I knew that damn prince would look down on us, but it’s still better than fighting a losing battle for Lance. And we’re even getting paid handsomely for it.
Debardan wasn’t stupid. He had known from the start that traitors like them wouldn’t be treated well, but he had judged that it was still better than losing the war.