“You ask if we have renounced our role as the successor to Rotahl’s legacy. You ask if we have fled from it. This we say to you, Count Palatine—we are fulfilling our duty. It is you who has forgotten what it means to be a guardian.”
Once, the Count Palatine had told me that I must never forget that I was the inheritor of Rotahl’s legacy. Well, I hadn’t forgotten. As the inheritor, I had judged this to be the best course of action.
After several beats of silence, all the tension seemed to drain from the Count Palatine’s expression, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Very well,” he said. “If that is to be my duty as Your Majesty’s guardian, then I shall see it fulfilled.”
I almost envied him. All that protesting, and now he’d had the gall to work through his internal conflicts while I was busy trying to keep everything together? Well, whatever. So long as he was willing, I supposed.
“Bally, head the imperial guard and follow our lead,” I directed. “You’ll guard my flank, and the Count Palatine will take the other. Deputy General Bourgault-Ducoudray, you have command of the remainder of the forces in the encampments. Now, onward to the militia.”
I arrived before our militia in a hurry, bringing my mount to a sharp halt. In my hand was a standard—my standard, the one that signified my position—which I’d taken from our command center.
“Soldiers!” I shouted out. “Our loyal servants!”
The standard was pretty heavy; I’d had to rest it against my shoulder during the ride. Now, I stuck it into the ground.
“We are Carmine de la Garde-Bundarte, eighth emperor of the Bundarte Empire!” If I wanted to achieve a perfect victory, first I needed to get my soldiers motivated. This would have to be the rallying speech of a lifetime.
Among the ranks of militia, there seemed to be some who knew my face. They were the first to kneel, dipping their heads in respect, and were quickly followed by their peers when they realized who I was. These were the people we’d originally brought to be laborers and construction workers—they were far from soldiers by trade. Even so, soldiers was what I called them.
“We bid you raise your heads, our soldiers. Our comrades in arms. Today, we are with you.”
The militia were equipped with spears—specifically, relatively short ones that were easier to handle—because this southern slope of the hill lacked a dry moat, and there had been a possibility that the enemy would make a push up toward us. If they had, the plan had been to form a spear wall to buy time while the cannons kept firing. As such, compared to the militia we’d stationed in the other encampment, the men here were more equipped to perform a charge.
Being honest, I had lost faith in the new recruits of the emperor’s host, who, despite their training, had failed to obey my orders. However, it would be wrong of me to direct my anger at the militia here, who hadn’t received any training at all.
Nevertheless, if I was able to spur the militia into a charge, the soldiers would surely follow. Hence, my speech.
“We do not desire heroism!” I declared. “We do not desire glory! We have but one wish, and one wish alone! Do you know what that is?”
Finally, the militia began to raise their heads. I slowly scanned their expressions. There was no anger there, nor contempt nor incredulity. All that was present was fear and unease.
The flock cannons had probably been too successful. Rather than exult in seeing the enemy dying in droves, the militia were terrified to see so much death. Then I had shown up, and my presence had driven them to shame. It was no wonder none of them could look me in the eye. Their gazes wavered, drifting between my feet and my chest.
“You there.” I indicated toward a random man in the mass. “Do you know what it is we wish for?”
“N-No, Your Majesty.” The man shook in fear as he answered. “I beg forgiveness for my ignorance.”
I spoke calmly, in order to allay my audience’s nerves. “Victory,” I said plainly. “All we wish for is victory.”
My words echoed through the quiet. A strong breeze blew past, sending my standard audibly rippling in the wind. The soldiers’ eyes were drawn to it, then back to me. This time, their eyes met mine.
So I raised my voice, shouting with all the breath in my lungs. “Look for yourselves! The enemy is nearly surrounded by our forces! They are confused, panicked, and on the verge of flight! One more blow, and they will break!”
The truth was that our forces only formed a semicircle on this side of the enemy, who were performing an orderly withdrawal. But the militia didn’t understand that. They didn’t even understand why letting the Raul forces escape would be bad. But that was just fine.
“Again, we shall say it! It is victory that we desire! And that victory is before our very eyes! Thus, there is but one thing to do!”
Stuff like this was all about momentum. If I could just set things in motion, the rest would take care of itself. The fear had gone from the militia’s eyes. This was the moment.
“We stand before you all! Follow our lead!”
Run like hell toward the emperor’s banner! Follow me into battle!
“God is on our side! We are by yours! And victory is within our grasp!”
I ripped the standard from the ground and raised it high into the air. Now there was only one thing left to do.
“Chaaarrrgeee!”