Lucian and the finest elites of the Valdeck family withdrew from the vanguard in accordance with the First Prince's orders.
At the sight of a thousand elite troops preparing to fall back to the rear, the atmosphere within the allied army sank sharply.
They had not even properly begun the war yet, and seeing allies quarrel among themselves was never a pleasant sight.
"All the more so if the result is the loss of a reliable ally."
Sensing the heavy, oppressive mood, Lucian let out a bitter smile.
Why would anyone deliberately postpone dealing with a defeated or incompetent commander on the battlefield?
No matter how justified the punishment, witnessing one's own allies die lowers morale.
And yet here they were, openly pulling back allies who had not even lost a battle, who had done nothing wrong.
"This is already doomed."
From the start, it had been a battle that would be hard to win. Still, if they pushed themselves, they might at least have been able to advance as far as Bodiam and somehow capture it.
But judging by the current atmosphere, even that now seemed unlikely.
Preparing for the worst, Lucian went to find Blasker, the head of the Pyromancy School.
"Lord Blasker, are you here?"
"Ah, Lord Lucian. What brings you here?"
Blasker, who had been reading a thick book, sprang to his feet at once and greeted Lucian as soon as he entered.
Despite Lucian being young enough to be his grandson, Blasker's attitude was exceedingly courteous, perhaps because of Lucian's position as the Grand Duke's representative.
"He's adept at navigating social situations. So he's not just a bookish scholar who's only good at magic."
Lucian's eyes gleamed at this unexpected side Blasker displayed, though he still bowed his head.
"In truth, I've come to ask you for a favor."
"A favor? I'm afraid you've come to the wrong person. I am merely the staff of the Imperial Family."
Blasker frowned and shook his head.
Separate from matters of conduct, his expression plainly showed that he wanted nothing to do with politics.
Worried that Blasker might misunderstand, Lucian quickly added an explanation.
"It's not like that. There is something I would like Lord Blasker to do for His Highness the First Prince, the Supreme Commander, and for the Imperial Family."
"What are you suddenly talking about?"
"In fact…"
Lucian glanced around, then stepped closer to Blasker and whispered softly.
A moment later, upon hearing the story, Blasker's eyes widened.
"Lord Lucian, that would be insubordination!"
"Yes, Your Highness the First Prince would see it that way. That is precisely why I came to you, Lord Blasker."
"No matter how noble your intentions may be, this is not right. If things go wrong, I'll be the one dragged into it as well."
"But it is also a measure to prevent the worst possible outcome. I will bear all responsibility myself, so I beg you."
"Ghh…"
Letting out a groan, Blasker pondered for a long while before finally nodding.
Even in his own judgment, having at least one form of insurance before the battle was necessary.
"…Very well. If the situation calls for it, I will do so."
"Thank you for agreeing to such an unreasonable request."
"However, if nothing happens all the way to Bodiam Castle, we will treat everything as though it never occurred. If we advance that far, your proposal will have lost all meaning."
"Of course."
Lucian bowed deeply.
Though that was what he said, there was no chance this insurance would go unused.
In his previous life, the First Prince had faced situations countless times where such insurance was desperately needed.
Unless his way of responding had changed, it was obvious the outcome would not change either.
"Well, it works out nicely for me."
The more foolish choices the First Prince made, the more Lucian—who had prepared in advance—would stand out.
As far as Lucian was concerned, as long as the First Prince remained alive, nothing else about him really mattered.
***
"Prepare for any contingency around the Horsen River."
With that brief order, the First Prince, Claude, sent Lucian to the rear.
He may have thought to add some justification to make the order seem legitimate, but there was not a single soldier who failed to see that the true cause was simple discord.
For the feudal lords who understood the circumstances clearly, it was downright absurd.
"Contingencies, my ass. What kind of contingency could there be at the very edge of the border?"
"He could at least have had them follow at a distance and assign them to guard the rear."
The lords simmered with indignation inwardly, yet none dared voice it aloud.
Claude's authority still held firm, as he had not yet suffered a defeat in battle.
Only after shaking off Lucian and the Second Prince, Cedric, did Claude smile, looking as though he could finally breathe a little easier.
"Come, let's head to the next village. They may have destroyed the well there too, but I hear there's a stream nearby, so securing drinking water shouldn't be too difficult."
"You're absolutely right."
The marquis echoed Claude's words, but clicked his tongue quietly to himself.
Where did such confidence come from—that people who smashed wells would leave a stream untouched?
Still, it was true that they needed to quickly check the condition of the water sources, so he followed without complaint.
Not long after, the allied army arrived at the next village, only to sigh at the sight before them.
"They really took pains to smash everything. The inside of the well is a complete mess."
"At this rate, we won't even be able to reuse a single plank."
Ever since their assassins had been exposed, it seemed Krepfeld had changed tactics and begun thoroughly destroying villages.
Since they could no longer deceive them anyway, it looked like they had decided to reveal their true colors and harass them openly.
"This was half expected, wasn't it? Let's go check the stream."
Claude snorted as if it were nothing and issued the order to the lords.
At his attitude—acting as though everything would be solved as long as the stream was intact—the lords followed him uneasily.
"No doubt they've ruined that too. It wasn't even that big."
"Still, if even the stream is unusable, this is going to get serious."
Long ago, everyone had abandoned any hope that the water source would be intact.
Now, their only concern was how Claude would react when that expectation was inevitably betrayed.
And then, after spending yet another full day, the allied army finally reached the stream.
"They've blocked part of the watercourse, so the flow has decreased, but it hasn't been contaminated! It looks like it should be perfectly usable as drinking water!"
At the completely unexpected report, the lords looked at one another.
The enemy who had been destroying everything so thoroughly had only partially tampered with the stream and then left it alone?
Before the question of why could even arise, Claude spoke with a triumphant expression.
"They must have run out of time because of our rapid advance. It seems recognizing and dealing with the assassins they planted so quickly threw off their calculations."
"Is that so?"
"What else could it be? Come now, let's clear the watercourse they blocked. Everyone must be thirsty after conserving water lately—we should let them drink their fill."
The lords nodded, their expressions uneasy.
Something felt off, but what he said wasn't exactly wrong.
"…But isn't the one who saw through the assassins stationed in the rear? I don't understand why he's boasting as if it were his own achievement."
Swallowing thoughts they dared not voice aloud, the soldiers all began clearing the blocked section of the stream at once.
With each boulder and shard of stone removed, the weakened flow of water gradually returned to normal.
As the work was nearly finished, Blasker spoke with an uneasy look on his face.
"Your Highness, something feels wrong."
"Wrong? What do you mean?"
"No matter how I look at it, this stream isn't large enough that they'd have stopped destroying it due to a lack of time. In my opinion, it seems they deliberately damaged it just enough to keep the allied army here."
"You worry over nothing. Even if they tried to hold us here in a wide-open place like this, what could they possibly do? Launch a surprise attack? Or set us on fire?"
Claude snorted and gestured around with his hand.
There was a small forest some distance away, but it was far enough that even an ambush would give them plenty of time to notice and prepare.
As for fire, the area was open on all sides—one could simply retreat in any direction, and being by a stream, the flames wouldn't spread easily anyway.
Blasker acknowledged the reasoning, yet he couldn't shake the sense of unease.
"It's certainly terrain unsuitable for conventional military action. But if the enemy has hired a dark mage, an unexpected attack could come from afar… Wait. Magic? Water?"
In that instant, fragments in Blasker's mind began to connect.
There was an element that was especially effective against large numbers of enemies when they were near water—he was sure of it.
As his thoughts continued to spin, a dark shadow suddenly fell over his head.
Rumble—
"It was clear just a moment ago. What's with the thunder?"
"Is a sudden shower coming?"
At the abrupt peal of thunder and the soldiers' murmurs, Blasker froze in deep thought.
When he looked up at the sky, just as expected, it was filled with unnaturally dense storm clouds directly above the allied army.
"Damn it…!"
Even as Blasker cried out in alarm, his instincts took over and he formed hand seals.
KRRRAAASH!
With a blinding flash, a bolt of blue lightning slammed down onto the spot where the allied army was gathered.
***
"Hoo…"
Colin let out a breath, feeling the fatigue from casting large-scale magic for the first time in a long while.
The sensation of his mana being completely drained throughout his body was still unpleasant, but the sense of accomplishment outweighed it.
After all, he could see the fools who usually looked down on mages standing there with their mouths hanging open.
"I've done my part. The rest is up to you."
"Uh… y-yes."
Krepfeld's commander nodded with an awkward expression.
Having looked down on Colin until just moments ago, he now seemed genuinely shocked after witnessing the true power of magic.
"Good work. With skill like that, a position as Krepfeld's court mage would—"
"I've told you time and again, money is enough. Stop spouting nonsense and launch the attack."
The commander frowned briefly, but realizing this was no time for an argument, he turned to the soldiers and shouted loudly.
"Attack! Show those Imperial bastards the might of Krepfeld!"
"WAAAAAAAH!"
At the order to attack, Krepfeld's soldiers—morale soaring—burst out of the forest.
Their numbers and overall quality were inferior to the Empire's allied army, but they were more than sufficient to mow down troops still reeling from the sudden lightning strike.
"We'll talk again later! Wait for me!"
The commander shouted to Colin just before charging out, but Colin merely snorted.
It was obvious they would try to recruit him, overwhelmed by the display of magic.
To Colin, it wasn't even laughable.
"Am I insane? As if I'd work with you lot who tore up the Grand Accord."
The fact that those who had dismissed him right up until he cast his spell had suddenly changed their tune was infuriating enough, but even setting that aside, Krepfeld had no future.
True, with the Empire weakened as it was now, they would likely win this war and secure their independence.
The real problem would come afterward.
"Once the Grand Accord is broken, everything will descend into chaos. And all that resentment will be directed at you—the ones who started it all. To dream of a rosy future without even grasping such an obvious truth…"
Had they dreamed so obsessively of freedom that they never once thought about what would come after they obtained it?
If that were truly the case, it would be laughable.
The future where they would wither away before even properly enjoying that freedom was plain to see.
"Well, it has nothing to do with me. I'll just take what I can and slip away."
Finishing the thought, Colin looked toward the stream where his magic had struck.
The damage was extensive, yet the spot where the commanders had gathered remained intact.
It seemed that in that brief instant, they had formed a barrier with mana and diverted the lightning.
"So the old man of the Pyromancy School has some real skill. His reputation wasn't entirely hollow."
Still, having taken the lightning head-on, it would be difficult for him to use large-scale magic for a while.
Even if he could, given the nature of fire, it would be of little use in a chaotic melee where allies and enemies were intertwined.
There was always the risk of catching one's own side in the blast.
"No matter how hard that old man tries, this war will end in Krepfeld's victory. I'll just sit back and watch at my leisure—hm?"
Peeung—puff-puh-pung.
Colin frowned at the multicolored fireworks suddenly painting the sky.
No matter how he looked at it, this wasn't combat magic, but the kind of flashy spell meant purely for amusement.
At best, it might be used as a signal flare—so why cast something like that now?
"Don't tell me…!"
***
Puff-puh-pung.
"Third Young Master, it's the signal!"
"Just as expected."
At the multicolored fireworks staining the sky, Lucian let out a faint chuckle.
Sure enough, the message came from exactly where he had anticipated.
Blasker firing that signal flare meant the First Prince had fallen into danger—
and at the same time, it meant an opportunity had arrived for Lucian to make his name known.
"Lord Lucian, our deal is…?"
"Of course, I haven't forgotten. You will take the lead and rescue His Highness the First Prince. However, the banner we raise will be that of the Valdeck family."
"Thank you."
The Second Prince, Cedric, gave a slight bow, satisfied with Lucian's reply.
Lucian would lead the army; Cedric would rescue the First Prince at the vanguard.
That was the agreement they had made—to divide the glory of the battlefield and the Emperor's trust between them.
"No need for thanks. I'll be collecting proper compensation later for sharing credit that was entirely mine to begin with."
"Those are frightening words. But you're not wrong."
Cedric nodded, wearing a bitter smile.
In truth, if Lucian had wanted to, he could have cut Cedric out entirely and claimed all the credit for himself right then and there.
The only reason to share the merit was to place Cedric in his debt.
The price would undoubtedly be steep later on, but to obtain what he wanted now, there was no helping it.
"I swear on my name that I'll pay you in full, so don't worry. Somehow, I have a feeling this won't be our last deal."
"What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing."
Lucian smiled at Cedric, then turned away.
The thousand elite troops of the Valdeck family, fully prepared for battle, were waiting solely for Lucian's command.
"Advance."
The moment Lucian gave the order, the thousand soldiers began to move.
It was the instant when history started to diverge from the path it had taken in his previous life.
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