Behind the Scenes

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“Huh? Me?” (Lux)

I, who was unexpectedly called upon at that moment, pointed at myself with a somewhat bewildered voice.

That’s understandable. According to Follet-san, an emergency meeting between the princesses is currently taking place in the royal capital. Even if they say the catalyst for that is me, I have no idea what they’re talking about.

“Right, first we should hear from Willard-dono…” (Follet)

As Follet pointed to Willard, he was staring blankly at Maria, completely ignoring Follet’s words. The dignified face of Willard, who had just declared “I will act as bait,” was nowhere to be found.

As for Maria, who was being gazed at by Willard, she was blushing and looking down.

“Ahem, Willard-dono, I’m sorry, but could you explain what happened in Solar?” (Follet)

After being called again, Willard said, “Ah, I’m sorry,” and hurriedly stood up. He looked around at everyone before beginning to explain the sequence of events.

 

—

 

A letter from Lux reached Willard. It mentioned the possibility that the dangerous individual, Gaira Zel, had fled to Solar, and also described the characteristics of a suspicious person who was seen in a northern town.

The issue was with the clothing of that suspicious individual. The emblem on the military cap that person wore low on their head closely resembled the insignia of the Barual Household, which was influential and a leading pro-war faction in Solar.

If, according to Lux’s letter, Gaira Zel was a pet of the Deran Household, and if the Barual Household was connected to him, that would mean there was a possibility that the Barual Household and the Deran Household are connected behind the scenes. If that were true, it would be a serious act of betrayal against the princess of Solar, and it was a situation that could not be overlooked.

After reading the letter, Willard judged it to be a matter beyond his control and decided to consult his father, Sarel Gain Gerard. Gerard might not have taken a letter from children seriously, but the fact that the letter was delivered by a messenger from General Isaiah, the lord of the northern fortress, changed the situation.

Though Gerard had not been on the front lines as a close aide to Prince Halon of Solar for some time, he had once fought several times as a Knight (Ritter) alongside General Isaiah.

The two had frequently met during prisoner exchange negotiations, and they were both enemies and respected opponents. The fact that General Isaiah had sent Lux’s letter north was because he had seen Gerard’s name on the address. He was quite surprised to see the name, as he never would have thought that an intruder who had barged into the northern fortress was Gerard’s son.

The letter that General Isaiah deemed necessary to deliver north. Naturally, General Isaiah would have anticipated that the news would reach Gerard as well. In other words, if General Isaiah acknowledged it as worthy of consideration, Gerard couldn’t afford to ignore it.

When Gerard heard the story from Willard and had his men investigate, it was discovered that an unidentified unit was entering Solar from Rozan, albeit in small numbers.

The source of information was a soldier from the southern fortress of Solar. When the soldier questioned that unit, he was told it was a secret mission of the Barual Household, and that probing further was unnecessary. It seemed he was warned not to speak of it. Therefore, until Gerard’s subordinates came to inquire, no inquiry reached the central command.

Using the scant information as clues, they tracked the suspicious unit’s movements and found that they had entered the mansion of a noble connected to the Barual Household. At this point, Gerard reported to the princess and decided to send troops to the noble’s house, which was suspected to host the suspicious unit.

Due to the suddenness of the situation, the targeted noble could hardly put up any resistance and was subdued. Indeed, Gaira Zel was in that noble’s dungeon.

Though Gaira Zel and his associates were imprisoned, most of them were alive. This was a significant miscalculation for Bowman Deran Baxwal. He had asked for Gaira Zel to be dealt with immediately upon fleeing north, but the reason the northern nobles had not done so was simple. They believed they could use him as a threat against the Deran Household, depending on the situation.

As soon as he was released from the prison, Gaira Zel, bound by Gerard’s soldiers, learned the fact that he was seen as a murder order by Baxwal and merely a tool of intimidation by the northern nobles. Gaira Zel had nowhere left to go. To these individuals, Gerard proposed a political deal, “If you tell me everything, I will guarantee your life and livelihood”, and Gaira Zel accepted that offer. Thus, the collusion between the Barual Household and the enemy nation was brought to light, and a storm of purges swept through Solar in secrecy. As a result, the pro-war factions within Solar suffered a devastating blow.

“So, now a messenger from Solar headed to General Isaiah, right? I believe Follet-sama can explain the rest in more detail.” (Willard)

With that, Willard passed the explanation back to Follet.

“Yes. The letter that arrived from Willard-dono’s father was handed over to a noble named Yorg, who was an acquaintance of General Isaiah. This Yorg is my compatriot. That’s how it came into my hands.” (Follet)

Holding the letter, Follet thought that now might be the time for a top-level meeting, so late at night, he visited the bedroom of his older brother, Prince Leonard. He then shared his thoughts with Leonard.

Leonard had a temperament that could be seen as overly gentle, to the point of being seen as weak, and he had become a puppet-like figure unable to speak boldly even to military nobles, but he was not incompetent. As Follet had evaluated, had it not been for the war, he would have made an excellent king who focused on the citizens.

“On the day, Baxwal will also not be in this royal capital. Other military nobles will be suppressed by my allies and the soldiers of the Via Household led by Nork. Brother, please make your decision!” (Follet)

“However, Follet… from what you have told me, if Baxwal learns of this scheme and becomes furious, who knows what he might do at the academy? If that happens, your life will be…” (Leonard)

“Brother, I intend to do just that. Rather, if that happens, it will be easier to eliminate Baxwal. Now is this moment, the greatest and final opportunity to end this ridiculous war!! If it can be settled with my life, then it is a small price to pay!” (Follet)

“However… and the citizens of Rodon…” (Leonard)

“I will do my best to ensure that the citizens suffer as little harm as possible. Of course, it won’t be without damage. I will ask for generous protection for them by disposing of my assets.” (Follet)

Leonard sighed at Follet, who would not yield an inch.

“Follet, you must see me as a pitiful prince, don’t you…?” (Leonard)

“Yes.” (Follet)

Follet replied clearly, and Leonard smiled wryly. Just as he was about to say, “Once everything is over, the throne will…” Follet interrupted.

“However, once the war is over, I believe you will become a great ruler!” (Follet)

Leonard looked at Follet with a slightly surprised expression. And finally, a strong fire lit up in his eyes.

“I understand. I will leave the arrangements to you. If I must step in, I will go to Solar… I’m counting on you.” (Leonard)

“Thank you very much.” (Follet)

Follet said, bowing deeply, and Leonard gazed at him kindly.

“But make sure to return alive. If you are to create a peaceful world, remember well that you are an indispensable person, without considering blood ties.”

Thus, the plan for peace talks between the two nations began to progress quietly and surely.

 

—

 

TLN1: I’ve been translating 公主 as princess for the whole time and now I know that it could also be translated as (male) ruler. For your information, it’s quite hard to determine the gender for many characters in this novel because there is a lack of indication whether the character is male or female during first time mentioned in the novel. Since there are only 2 more chapters, I will not have enough time to go through from the beginning to fix everything and I’m not sure whether I have the mood to do it. I would rather spend the energy to (machine) translate new novel.

TLN2: Next post of Oran Knight will be the last post. Kindly look forward to new novel.

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