XXVI: The People of Farune
FARUNE was without its king, but just as Mars himself had predicted, this didn’t result in any particular problems. About the only issue of note was the fact that the spectators in the arena were unhappy that the king wasn’t showing up to do battle. Also, whenever Mars had traveled in the past, it had usually been for an important purpose, like with Dorssen and Vulcan. Thanks to that, his vassals interpreted his absence favorably, thinking he must have been doing something similar this time as well. Gamarath knew that Mars had gone to the western nations, of course, and Frau was fully aware due to the Contract Seal. Overall, everyone took an optimistic view of Mars’s absence.
But then, a big problem suddenly presented itself: an urgent report arrived, bringing notice of a Ronzan invasion. The enemy was attacking from two directions, in northern Vulcan and northern Eyland.
These two countries had long been targets of the Empire’s assaults, so they had set up multiple forts in the mountainous land to their north to maintain a constant watch over enemy movements. This surveillance had continued even after they had been de facto annexed by Farune.
Farune’s top leaders used the Gate to gather in Farune’s castle and discuss strategy against the Ronzan Empire. At the moment, they sat around a large, rectangular table. In attendance were Prince Nicol, Queen Frau, Second Princess Carmilla, Third Princess Cassandra, Fourth Princess Sheila, Saint Maria, Prime Minister Gamarath, Chrom of the Black Knights, and Warren of the Red Knights. Ogma, Yamato, and Keely were also there. Sheila, who was responsible for Vulcan, spoke first.
“Several forts and castles in the north have already fallen,” she said grimly. “I deployed the new Celestial Swords, under Hart’s leadership, but they’re struggling.”
Sheila was due to give birth soon, and her midsection had grown substantially. She appeared to be frustrated that she couldn’t join the fight herself.
Next, the new queen of the Holy Kingdom of Eyland, Maria, spoke.
“Much the same is happening in Eyland,” she said. “There were preparations against the Empire in place back from when we were the Kingdom of Eyland alone, so we are somehow managing to hold them back, but it’s only a matter of time. I’ve put Count Wolf in charge of an army, and sent him in for support. The leader of the imperial army is a prince of the Ronzan Empire named Ivanov, and he sent me a letter. It seems that he’s willing to sue for peace if I become his wife and he becomes king of the Holy Kingdom of Eyland. I don’t mind sacrificing myself if it gets him to abandon his invasion, but the Ronzans hardly seem like they would stop with just that…”
Maria’s expression darkened with sorrow, and she lowered her face. You impudent worm, she thought to herself, internally berating Ivanov.
Traditionally, Eyland had been wary of the Ronzan Empire. The country hadn’t moved its northern garrisons even when fighting Farune, so the forts still functioned for the Holy Kingdom of Eyland. It was a devout culture, so Maria—a saint—becoming the kingdom’s leader had probably made it easier for the garrisons to swear loyalty to the new regime. Currently, they were making a last stand to defend the Holy Kingdom of Eyland.
“The one invading Vulcan is also a prince of the Empire, named Egor,” Sheila said. “Like the legendary Emperor Ronza, he apparently leads his army from the front, and is running amok on the battlefield. Reports say he’s a massive, incredibly strong warrior, and that even several Celestial Swords at once can’t land a solid hit on him.” She frowned, then muttered, “Poor boys.”
“Now things are getting interesting,” Ogma said. In contrast with Sheila, Ogma’s mouth was curved into a smile. He was unable to hide his joy at the appearance of a new, powerful foe. “All right, how about we go to Vulcan? We can get there in no time with the Gate, right?”
“The Gate isn’t suited for use by large numbers of people, you know,” Keely replied. She was in attendance as Frau’s aide. “When Master Matou and the others were using it, they could transport hundreds of people at once, but that was only because they were all expert mages. We can’t even transport ten people at a time.”
Though Farune had occupied the Magedom of Kiel, the Magedom’s mages had died in the attack, and at present its facilities weren’t yet fully operational.
“I don’t need that many,” Ogma said casually. “Bringing the top members of the Hundred is enough for me. We basically just have to crush that Egor guy, right?”
“Don’t take Egor or the Ronzan Empire lightly, Ogma,” Cassandra interjected. It was unusual for her to speak at these kinds of meetings. “They have a custom of eating monster meat in Ronza too. Actually, that’s where it started. They’ve kept it up for hundreds of years and many generations. And that’s not all,” she continued. “They also have a practice where warriors fight duels to the death in front of the emperor. Because of that, Ronzan warriors don’t slack on their training, and their army is strong. The army Egor is leading is probably mainly made up of warriors, but Ivanov’s main force will be a Mages’ Guild. And, it doesn’t look like they’ve joined the fight yet, but Crown Prince Rigen leads a bunch of Dragon Knights. All of these are powerful armies. I bet even you all will have a hard time against them.”
“We have hardly any information on the internal affairs of the Ronzan Empire, yet you’re quite well-informed, aren’t you?” said Nicol, the king of Cadonia. “That reminds me, I’ve heard that you’re from the Ronzan Empire, Lady Cassandra, but what sort of position did you have there?”
Nicol was Mars’s younger brother, which meant he was leading the discussion. He suspected that Cassandra might be colluding with the Ronzan Empire as part of its southern campaign—though he also thought it was pretty unlikely that she was.
“I’m a member of the Ronzan imperial family, so I know the basic gist.”
“What?!”
Everyone in the room other than Cassandra exclaimed in surprise.
“You were an imperial princess? You, Lady Cassandra?” Carmilla said, dumbfounded. She had never even considered that this inhuman organism might have held the same position she did. She held herself back from saying, “Then you’re the one who should be called the ‘Frenzied Princess.’”
“Yeah, I was. I didn’t mention it?” Cassandra said. Everyone shook their heads. “Well, it’s been twenty years since I last visited home. I don’t know much about what Ronza is like now.”
“More importantly, Lady Cassandra, is it really true that eating monster meat has long been a custom in the Empire?” Nicol asked, unable to overlook that tidbit of information. “Could they be stronger than the Hundred?” If it was true, Farune might not be able to beat the Ronzan Empire.