The story so far—

The story so far—

Inept with a sword, unable to ride a horse, and apathetic toward the empire he serves, Regis Aurick is a hopeless soldier who spends his days buried in books.

The year is 850 on the Belgarian imperial calendar—

Having been banished to Fort Sierck on the northern front, Regis was approached by the tenacious Fourth Princess Marie Quatre Argentina de Belgaria—“Altina” for short—a stunning young woman whose imperial lineage was denoted by her crimson hair and red eyes. The daughter of a commoner, she was shunned by the queen and other high nobles, eventually being appointed commander of a faraway border regiment at the unprepared age of fourteen.

Under normal circumstances, her time would have been spent idly, the empty title making her little more than a decoration. But the impassioned princess, having spent her adolescence caught between internal struggles for power, aspires for something greater. She has seen the strife caused by self-seeking nobles—the ruthless taxation and pointless wars—and so resolves to change the country!

“I’m going to become empress. I need your wisdom.”

Altina soon proves her mettle as a commander by taking on the hero Jerome, and while Regis feels no more confident in his own abilities, he swears to work as her tactician.

By repurposing the strategies from books he’d read over his life, Regis manages to gain the allegiance of a barbarian army, take down an impregnable fortress, and bolster the forces of Altina’s border regiment.

And so the year turns to 851—

At the beginning of April, Altina makes her return to the imperial palace of La Branne. Regis is initially overwhelmed, but he ultimately secures the cooperation of rising noble Elenore, while First Prince Auguste—later revealed to have been Fifth Princess Felicia in disguise—rescinds his right as next in line to the throne. He expresses his desire for Altina to take his place, and as a result, she is finally established as a prominent candidate to become empress.

On April 23rd, High Britannia declares war on Belgaria. A western port falls to a vicious bombardment, and upon making landfall, High Britannia’s First Division devastates the Empire’s Second Army.

Almost one month later, on May 19th, the two nations meet in the Battle of La Frenge. The Empire’s Seventh Army forms a tightly knit formation and charges their foe, but when pitted against High Britannia’s newest firearms, their attempt leads only to catastrophic losses.

Meanwhile, Second Prince Latrielle, marshal general of the Belgarian Army, falls victim to a surprise attack from Mercenary King Gilbert. The encounter leaves Latrielle partially blinded, though his eyesight is expected to one day deteriorate completely.

Regis manages to defy the odds on the western front. Serving as admiral proxy, he leads the Western Liberation Fleet to a swift victory, managing to take out the High Britannian ships. From there, he immediately leads the Empire’s Fourth Army to rout the enemy’s last supply shipment, which is under the protection of the infamous Mercenary King.

Their battle unfolds in the western regions of La Frenge, and while a great number of casualties are expected, Regis causes a thick fog to set in that renders the enemy’s guns near powerless. The Mercenary King does not go down so easily, however. He launches a surprise attack on the Fourth Army’s main camp...but to no avail. He is bested in combat by Altina, the newly improved Grand Tonnerre Quatre in her hands.

And so, the Belgarian Army puts a stop to the High Britannian invasion. Latrielle returns to the imperial palace to deliver the news, but the behavior he witnesses is completely unbefitting of a nation-threatening crisis. The emperor spends his time indulging in pleasures, and upon seeing him succumb to such depravity, the prince’s anger finally reaches breaking point. His hand moves to his treasured sword, the Armée Victoire Volonté...

The cause of the emperor’s death is of course falsified: he is announced to have died of old age, with the sixth consort having taken her own life out of grief, while the Empire being embroiled in war gives Latrielle an opportunity to hold an informal state funeral.

Regis has his share of doubts about the situation and, following a summons from the Ministry of Military Affairs, separates from Altina and the Fourth Army to investigate the capital.

“...I’ll be sure to write.”

“Then I will too! I’m not very good when it comes to letters, but I’ll do my best! I’ll send you one every single day!”

After returning to the capital with ministry officer Fanrine as his supervisor, Regis nearly loses himself in a familiar bookstore. He is there for more than the latest fiction releases, however: the young tactician has a plan to gather the information he seeks.

Around this same time, Third Prince Bastian happens upon the Mercenary King’s three sisters—a development driven purely by coincidence...or perhaps the guidance of the stars.