Even the squires were tasked with helping suppress the duke’s insurrection, although their job largely boiled down to acting as porters. It fell to them to load the wagons with the knights’ and soldiers’ belongings and equipment that was to be taken to the front lines.
It turned out that the top military officials knew about the insurrection long before the news was announced, and they immediately formed a defense force for the capital, thus securing Wienne’s safety. Comparatively, Duke Zerenade’s attempts to assemble a rebel force were proceeding poorly, which indicated that he would be stuck in this phase for quite some time. Roy’s side was presently amassing the perfect army, complete with full arms and armament, to suppress the insurgent force. The squires’ duties were just one part of this preparatory work.
Once they finished for the day, Remie and his friends went off into town.
Remie sighed as he looked around him. “It’s so calm around here, you’d never know we were on war’s doorstep.”
“You can say that again,” said Gees.
It wasn’t the tension that had Remie sighing—it was the complete lack of it. Children ran through the streets as peddlers displayed their wares for the discerning eyes of female shoppers. It was a typical, peaceful day in Wienne, but the boys were on edge, made keenly aware of the discrepancy in mood between themselves and the civilians.
“Well, I suppose it makes sense,” Remie said. “The king’s army far surpasses the duke’s, thanks to His Majesty’s vassals declaring in favor of the king. The only members of the aristocracy who declared for the duke are those next to his duchy or those whose hands are too tied up in crime to have any other option. Maybe it won’t even escalate to fighting.”
Gees laughed. “I wish,” he said. “But either way, this means our plans to visit the circus are off the table.”
“Damn shame,” Slad added.
Even while the common folk continued to go about their daily lives, the squires had a duty to participate in the war effort, tasked with running logistical support. Judging by when the army was scheduled to march, the boys did, in fact, have time to sneak in a quick visit to the circus—although just barely—but they were obligated to protect the people of Wienne, not play around on the job. Besides, they owed it to the older knights fighting on the front lines. Now was the time for self-discipline, and ignoring even the long-awaited circus.
Slad was truly disappointed, but he spotted a cart selling steamed potatoes and perked right back up.
“Hey,” he said, “those potatoes look great. Let’s go check them out!”
Gees sighed. “Look at this kid, never taking anything seriously. He’s no better than half the people in Wienne.”
Remie forced himself to laugh. “Yes, you’re right.”
“I wonder what’ll happen when the war breaks out,” Gees mused.
Even though the whole city seemed so calm, the squires, bound for the actual battlefield, felt differently. It was unnerving. Maybe one of their friends would be hurt or end up in some other danger. Even now, the knights were out on the front lines. Maybe someone they knew would be gravely injured or, loath as they were to consider it, never come home at all.
Remie’s face sunk into gloom, and Gees patted him on the shoulder. “Come on, it’ll be okay,” Gees said. “You should trust in the knights.” This was a surprisingly emotional display from Gees, but it did make Remie feel better.
“You’re right,” Remie said. “I hope everyone will come home safe and we can be together again.” Then he added mentally, I hope the same goes for Heath and Queen as well... However, Remie no longer firmly believed this could happen.
Meanwhile, Slad bounded over to the food cart and called back to Remie and Gees, “Hey, how many do you want? I should order a bunch, right?”
Remie and Gees rushed over. “Stop!” Gees cried. “If you order too many, you’ll ruin your dinner.”
“Yes, moderate yourself, please,” Remie added.
The food cart owner chuckled at them. “You boys are knights, aren’t you?” he asked.
“No, we’re still squires,” said Gees.
“I see. But you’re still going to give that Duke Zerenade fellow what’s coming to him, aren’t you? I support that. Here, take this. On the house.”
“Wow!” Slad cried.
“Th-Thank you!” said Remie.
Such was Wienne at the time.
Afterwards, a group of knights came to the north dorm to see the boys (even though they were doing their work diligently, for once). This group often ran around with Crow and were a friendly bunch. Crow wasn’t with them this time, as rumor had it he was currently working alongside the king on some things. Crow and Heath were once in the same platoon, so it was possible Roy and Crow were using their work as an excuse to hide from her.
Surprised at this sudden visit, one of the boys asked, “What’s wrong? Is there an issue with the war preparations?”
“Nah, don’t worry about that,” said a knight. “Don’t you know the circus is in town?”
“Oh yes, but we’re not going, of course! There’s a war on, after all!”
They hadn’t planned on it in advance, but all the boys had come to the same conclusion to boycott the circus. Even though the north dorm was normally a gaggle of problem children, this time they picked up on the unspoken expectation.
The knights smirked. “Nah, go have fun.”
“Huh?”
The boys were shocked. They thought for sure they would have been forbidden to attend.
“Sure, there’s a lot of work for you to do, but not so much that you can’t go see the circus,” said the knight.