Sylvario’s national army was under the direct supervision of their king and in scope, not very large, so they’d needed to mobilize the soldiers employed by nearby nobles. Because of this, most of the families grieving from the war would come from areas closer to the battlefield. If any of them happened to live in the areas around the highway connecting the capitals of both kingdoms, there was a chance that they’d try to sabotage communications between the kingdoms after the war.
With this in mind, Alphonse had shifted the principal battleground away from this area. He had also ordered Ark to the front lines to fulfill his unreasonable requests, and the knight’s resulting efforts won him a kill count in the hundreds and the rank of viscount...though it wasn’t clear whether he was happy about that or not...
Whatever the case, as a result of these decisions, there probably weren’t many people living along the highway who’d have a bone to pick with Brigandian royalty. Yet this also meant that the area would be rife with deserters—former-soldiers-turned-thieves too ashamed to face their families again—though they probably wouldn’t be brave enough to attack a group of fully equipped knights.
“My other reason may be because there may not be many people who would go that far for Princess Sonia’s sake in the first place.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yes, of course you’d ask. Brother, I’ve heard next to nothing about Sylvario’s fourth princess, but what about you?”
Artur tilted his head in confusion at the question.
“Hm? You’re right, I don’t think I’ve heard much at all.”
Even though there had been enough tensions between the countries for a war to start, that didn’t mean that relations between the nations had paused entirely. So while they were able to get some information on Sylvario’s royal family, they had barely heard anything about how Princess Sonia was regarded. That would mean...
“So it was either that she was a more private person, or that she was treated badly,” Alphonse surmised. “At any rate, she wasn’t a social butterfly, so chances are quite low that she would have romantic admirers, or anyone who would lament her leaving Sylvario. It was Sylvario that offered her hand in exchange for reducing the financial reparations, so she couldn’t be the royal family’s precious sheltered daughter either.”
“Though that’s not something I want to agree with, I can’t really deny it either,” Artur admitted, before saying, “In any case, we have next to no information about her. If what you say is true, then that calls into question Sylvario’s reasoning for sending us Princess Sonia when that was how they felt about her...”
After saying that much, Artur suddenly seemed to realize something, and looked over to Alphonse. The second prince stood with a beautiful smile on his face—a smile so wonderful that it had the knight standing behind him grimacing.
“The Smiling Iceberg.”
Alphonse’s nickname flashed through Artur’s mind, and he involuntarily gulped.
“Yes, that’s it exactly,” Alphonse said. “And if that’s the case, with the princess having yet to arrive when she was supposed to, then...wouldn’t that be the perfect chance to squeeze even more out of Sylvario?”
“Yes, but if that was your goal, then it would indeed be too much for Lord McGuine to handle alone... You weren’t planning this, were you?”
“Of course not. Even I wasn’t expecting this to happen. Though I had begun making contingency plans after it was decided we would marry, and I did some research on her.”
“So you want to go to harvest the fruits of your labor... While I personally don’t want to let you go, allowing it is probably the correct choice as a member of the royal family,” Artur said, heaving a sigh.
At the moment, the king was ill, sick in bed over the trouble that the first prince had caused, so Artur and Alphonse were the ones running the kingdom. And, being the elder brother, Artur had to make decisions in the king’s place.
From that perspective, it wouldn’t be such a bad move to let Alphonse go. In fact, it could probably be argued that it was the correct choice, considering how much money, material, and manpower would be lost if the war resumed.
“Thank you for worrying about me, brother,” Alphonse said. “But I’m doing all this because I think we have a good chance of winning.”
“I know. I know that very well. I also know that you’re purposefully going out to try to get things done.”
Alphonse’s only response to Artur’s loaded statement was a smile.
With the first prince having been taken out of the running, the problem of who would inherit the throne was rearing its head. Alphonse, who had no intention of becoming king, was proactively engaging in outwards-facing work like diplomacy, which included war.
Artur excelled in maintaining the stability of internal affairs, and Alphonse’s talents lay at making full use of his scheming mind in external ones. Based on skill and disposition, it was clear that Artur was the backbone of the kingdom, and that Alphonse’s efforts to be visible on the front lines between Brigandia and Sylvario was to impress the idea that he considered himself Artur’s sword.
Artur understood this, and while his feelings about the situation as an older brother were complicated, as a representative of the nation, he couldn’t stop him. This time was no different.
The second prince sighed again.
“I understand. If that’s the case, then I’ll allow it. But once you get to Sylvario’s capital, do everything you can to reach Sir McGuine as soon as possible. Once you meet up with him, stay by his side at all times. Those are my conditions.”
“Of course, brother. You could say that this time, it all depends on him,” Alphonse nodded, his smile less frosty. “After all, when it comes to protecting his friends, there’s no one better in the world than Ark.”
Shocked at what he was seeing, Artur couldn’t find the words to reply. It was because Alphonse’s smile was an amused one, and for once, actually appropriate for someone his age. Yet Alphonse was the only one who didn’t realize it.