Preface: With Undue Haste

Imperial Year 851, August 12th, evening—

The Fourth Army set up camp on the eastern hill, numbering five hundred cavalry and four thousand foot soldiers. The First Army surpassed them in numbers, equipment, and training...but the Fourth Army’s achievements in the war against High Britannia were known to every citizen of the Belgarian Empire.

There was but a single day left before Latrielle became the new emperor, and a tense, unsettling air enveloped the imperial capital of Verseilles.

“What shall we do, Princess?” the sharpshooter Eric asked.

Altina was standing at the top of the hill, glaring down at the First Army that had marched out to meet them. “We charge!” she declared.

“Huh?!”

“Just kidding! Regis would surely be against a move like that. In fact, he’d most likely do everything in his power to stop me.”

“Of course he would... It’s reckless to take on the First Army. To start with, what justification are you going to give?”

“See how their armies are lined up like that? There’s definitely something fishy afoot.”

“We’re the ones who led an army here...”

“Then I’m going to speak to Latrielle alone!”

“Don’t!” Eric shrilled despite himself. “Um... I find that quite ill-advised, Princess. It seems that Latrielle will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. To go out there would be to put your head in the lion’s mouth.”

“I know.”

As they continued their conversation, two men walked up from the troop headquarters. The first was Eddie, who was recognized as the Empire’s Sword, and the second was Abidal-Evra, captain of the Flying Swallow Knights. Altina had intended for the former to remain at Fort Volks, but he had given his own thoughts on the matter and then joined anyway, leading the foot soldiers who had trailed along behind the vanguard.

“Hey!” Eddie casually raised a hand. “How long are you going to stare at them like that, Argentina?”

“We were just talking about that. Eric’s saying I shouldn’t go and speak with them on my own.”

“Isn’t that obvious? What are we supposed to do if our general suddenly disappears? I reckon this calls for an envoy or something.”

Altina’s eyes widened. “I’m shocked. I didn’t know you could make so much sense, Eddie!”

“I do have some battlefield experience, after all... Wait. Did you just casually insult me?”

Abidal-Evra lowered his head. “My apologies. We had eight days from the fort to the capital. We should have discussed our countermeasures then.”

“Erk...” Altina faltered; she could tell that she was being asked why she hadn’t come up with a plan sooner. “Didn’t we agree to retaliate when Latrielle attacks us?”

“They’re not going to charge at us out of nowhere,” Eric noted with a sigh.

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, with civil wars, there’s a lot more glaring than there is actual fighting.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that?” Altina asked, her lips pursed. “I’ve never been in a civil war before.”

“Neither have I,” Eric said, speaking with the utmost caution. He clearly viewed Altina’s actions as hasty, but he was a mere guard—he was in no position to object to his commander’s decisions. It wasn’t as though he could come out with any brilliant ideas as Regis could...

After that thought occurred to him, Eric could say no more. At times like this, it was Regis who usually brought everything back on track. Without him, their conversation wandered like a wild horse without a rider—that is, until Eddie spoke up again.

“In any case, I think you should send an envoy.”

“That sounds wise. Then, say I do send one... Who do you think is best suited for the job?” Altina asked. She scanned the faces of all those gathered, pressing them for an opinion.

Eddie stepped back. “Not me. I know it was Regis’s plan back then, but Prince Latrielle probably holds a personal grudge against me.”

“Right, I remember. Latrielle did see you flee the palace with Auguste in your loving embrace.”

“I... Well, pretty much.” The current First Prince Auguste was actually Fifth Princess Felicia in disguise, so Eddie couldn’t help but see Altina’s explanation as somewhat inaccurate. It mattered not, however—Auguste’s true identity was a secret being kept even from the army’s officers, Abidal-Evra included. The only reason Eric knew was because he had managed to see through the princess’s facade.

Putting that issue aside, Eric brought up another point. “We also need to consider that, if we send Eddie, one of the best swordsmen in the Empire, they might assume he’s there for a duel rather than to deliver a message.”

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t cut people, you know.” He hated blood and didn’t want to kill...although he also didn’t want to be killed. That was why he had honed his skills to an overwhelming degree, to ensure he could survive while not having to take any lives. It was a goal that was possible only with his God-given talent and the Défendre Sept.

Altina folded her arms in protest. “I’d never send Eddie to fight one-on-one!”

“No, of course not,” Eric said. “I’m just saying that Latrielle’s side might misunderstand our intentions...”

“If they want a duel, I’ll very well go myself!”

“Are you crazy?!” Eric exclaimed. He knew that criticizing one’s commander in such a fashion wasn’t befitting of a guard, but he couldn’t contain himself.

Upon hearing Eric’s response, Altina quickly waved off the proclamation she had just made. “N-No, I get it. I’ve grown. I’m not going to start a civil war without just cause.”

“Please consider this seriously. The sun’s about to set.”

“Who do you think I should send, Eric?”

“If you give the order...I’ll go.”

“That’s even crazier,” Eddie refuted. “Are you really suggesting that a guard abandon their escort?”

“I—”

“And you’re Altina’s favorite, right? We need to consider the chance that the First Army might kill our messenger. We shouldn’t send someone whose death would make our commander lose her cool.”

“Favorite?!”

“I see you with Argentina and Clarisse all the time. You’re practically another maid to her.”

“I-I’m a man!”

Eddie chuckled. “I get that, but...you know.”

“P-Please, say no more, Sir Eddie.”

Please don’t out me on a hunch... Eric thought as he broke into a cold sweat.

Altina cocked her head. “Hmm. If we do send someone, what do we say to Latrielle? We could ask him whether he’s responsible for Regis’s death, but what if he says he isn’t?”

“Then maybe he really isn’t,” Eddie replied with a shrug.

“That’s nonsense.”

“Then what are you going to do, Argentina? Are you going to conclude it’s a lie before you hear the facts?”

“Um...” Altina fell into thought. She had led an army all the way to the capital on impulse; at no point had she thought about how she would get the answers she needed out of the second prince.

Eric put his head in his hands. “Aah, this is precisely the sort of thing we need Regis for...”

“If only we had him here! How am I supposed to believe he’s really dead based on a single scrap of paper?!”

“Right...”

“You sure don’t come across a tactician like him every day,” Eddie sighed. “Saved the Empire, he did. So why’d you do it, Latrielle...?”

The Empire had sieged Grebeauvoir and come out victorious. There were no reports of the First Army’s strategic headquarters having been attacked, so the only way a staff officer like Regis could have died in battle was if he had been murdered.

“Hm?” All of a sudden, Abidal-Evra pointed north. “Foot soldiers coming from the flank. Is it a surprise attack?!”

“What?!”

Altina hurriedly turned. Just as Abidal-Evra had said, a unit had broken away from the First Army, raising a cloud of dust in its wake. There looked to be around seven hundred soldiers in total—not too many, but enough that they couldn’t be ignored. The Fourth Army would fall into disorder if they were flanked, and their annihilation was inevitable if the First Army used that opportunity to charge. But at the same time, the princess couldn’t risk sending too many troops to the rank—doing so would thin out her front line to a dangerous degree.

Altina racked her brain for a moment before she declared, “Send seven hundred foot soldiers to meet them!”

“You’d match their numbers?!” Abidal-Evra exclaimed. “Princess, if our flank is breached, our army will collapse!”

“...Then send out double their number!”

“One thousand four hundred troops, then. Very well. We’ll extract four hundred from the front!”

“Good!”

“Wait a sec!” Eddie raised his voice. “Doesn’t look like an attack to me.”

“Eh?”

On closer inspection, the unit headed for them was waving a white flag. They were either surrendering or they came in peace.

“What could this mean?” Eric asked, sounding quite perplexed. “It’s hard to imagine they sent seven hundred messengers.”

“And don’t they kinda look like mercenaries?” Eddie muttered, his eyes abnormally keen.

As the approaching soldiers came closer, Altina was also able to make out their equipment. Their weapons and armor were completely mismatched; they certainly didn’t look like soldiers of the Empire.

“They definitely give off that...mercenary feel.”

“Then we can’t let our guard down,” Abidal-Evra said, “even if they are flying a white flag.”

There were plenty of mercenaries who were little better than brigands. Attacking under a white flag or pretending to be wounded were considered taboo strategies on the battlefield, but such men were more than willing to stoop to such lows. They were, after all, bands of criminals rather than soldiers.

“That’s not it...” Altina concluded. Even she couldn’t pinpoint the reason for her certainty; there was just something about the billowing white flag that felt...familiar. “Is that Regis?”

There came exclamations of surprise from all around. Little did the soldiers know, it was about to be confirmed that Altina’s intuition was correct.