Volume 8 Chapter 2 Part 7

Alexis narrowed his eyes fondly and looked back at the bookshelf behind him.

(I guess that’s why Lord Vilar spoke so highly of Lord Alexis.)

Siluca muttered to herself. When she closed her eyes, she could clearly visualize that scene in her mind.

Fantasia poetry, which is the origin of the Fantasia Union’s name, is a representative of Western monarchical culture’s past-times. One of the participants decides on the theme, and those who come up with poems compose them one sentence at a time. When the audience feels that the poem is completed they signal its completion by giving a loud applause. It may seem simple, but it is actually a competition of the participants intelligence and education, and requires a lot of sensitivity from the participants as well.

Siluca had taken a course in it once at the Magic University, but never went again.She had no desire to become a contracted Mage at the time, and she did not feel the need to embrace monarchical culture in any way because of that.

It is said that the Fantasia Union was formed in the same way as the basic principles of the Fantasia poetry: the idea behind it is that the Lords who became part of the Union would always come together to aid each other in their time of need to resist the invasions of the Factory Alliance.

「If at all possible, I don’t want to fight… 」

Alexis muttered to himself.

「I once tried to paint a picture about war, just to see if I’ll be able to understand it. What I saw in the finished painting was hatred, pain, madness, and vanity. There was no faith, courage, and glory in it whatsoever, and that was when I understood that war was not something that was possible for me to draw.

Alexis shook his head as Theo nodded silently.

Every time Theo had to fight, it was becoming more and more clear to him that he actually hated fighting. In his opinion, that is the correct sensibility to have. However, he is unable to demonstrate any possible alternative to war.

「I thought that if the Factory Alliance won the Great War Marlene became emperor, she would rule the continent well. 」

Alexis continued speaking to himself.

「If that came to pass, then perhaps the world would really be more equal than it is now… 」

Theo agreed with him.

「But if that outcome ended up hurting her, then it’s something that shouldn’t be allowed to happen. 」

Alexis was silent for a while. Theo waited for a moment, but he still didn’t speak a word. However, I could see that his expression was changing little by little. Theo gave him one last glance and quietly got up from his seat, and Siluca followed him right afterwords.

Alexis probably needed some time alone to think things over.

Theo and Siluca headed back to Artuk on the very same day.

It was during the voyage that they heard that Alexis Ducet, the Marquis of Halusia, had left the palace in order to attack the territory of Marquis Dawson.

Of course, the subordinate Lords and soldiers of the Ducet family hurriedly chased after their master, and the surrounding Lords also joined the Marquis of Halusia one after another…

* * *

「What is the meaning of this?! 」
Bernard Duram, Marquis of Dawson could not believe his eyes as he looked at what was in front of him: tens of thousands of troops surrounding his castle.

At first, he thought that the independent Lords from the surrounding areas had come to serve him as subjects and took their armies with them, but he quickly dismissed that possibility when he saw that all of the soldiers were fully armed an ready for battle as they set up camps outside the castle.

Next, he thought that all these Lords would eventually scatter and leave, but the number of the Lords and their armies surrounding the castle was growing rapidly with every single day.

At this rate, Marquis of Dawson would not be able to leave the castle, so he hurriedly contacted Marine Kraische through his contracted Mage and askedher for help.

「Waldrind is currently in the middle of fighting against the Artuk Treaty. There is no way we can send reinforcements to the center of Alonne. You are also one of the Electors of the Factory Alliance, so this is a perfect opportunity for you to show your bravery to those who doubt it. 」

That was the Margrave of Waldrind’s reply to him.

And just now, a large army led by Alexis Ducet, Marquis of Halusia, arrived.

It was a large army consisting of light cavalry and light infantry, and their weapons were light crossbows with excellent rapid fire capability. That army has excellent mobility and can move freely around the battlefield as needed. They fought bravely against the Factory Alliance forces led by Jurgen Kraische, and did not give up until the end even in the face of defeat.

「There’s no way I can win against such an army… 」

Marquis of Dawson then send a contracted Mage forward and relay a message that he was willing to submit himself to Alexis and become a member of the Fantasia Union once more.

The Duram family and the Ducet family had been staying in close relationship with each other for about five generations. Bernhardt was an ally of the previous Archduke Sylvester, and he also prided himself with being one of Alexis’ guardians.

However…

「I will not accept your subordination. If you surrender your territory and your Crest to me, I might be willing to spare your life in return. 」

That was the response he received from Alexis.

「There are no rules or restrictions for participating in the activities of the Fantasy Poetry Society upon which the Fantasia Union is based. Therefore, all the are only asked to be respectable and cooperative of one another. So as the host, I have no choice but to ask the poets who disrupt the poetry reciting session to leave. 」

When Marquis of Dawson heard this from the contracted Mage, he became furious.

「Little Ducet runt, I will teach you what war is! 」

Fortunately, the 3000 mercenaries that Bernard gathered to defeat the Earl of Leclerc have returned to his castle. Everyone in the surrounding area was the Lord of the Union, so they were prepared to fight against them at all times.

However, he never thought that there would be a Lord who would really go and attack him.

Bernard puts on his armor, took up his sword, and gathered his subordinate Lords and mercenary captains who have gathered in the castle.

「We will now leave the castle and scatter the surrounding troops. If we win this battle, the mercenaries will be handsomely rewarded in accordance to their accomplishments on the battlefield, and the Lords will be given new titles and territories. Fight to your heart’s content! 」

With that command, Bernal ordered the castle gates to be opened.

* * *

「So he has chosen to fight after all. 」

Alexis had a sad expression on his face, and he held up a shining white silver scepter. It was a legacy from my his late father.

「Now, let the play begin. 」

Alexis held up the scepter as if he was conducting a musical ensemble.

「The light cavalry should fire their crossbows while maintaining a certain distance from the enemy mercenaries. The light crossbow-wielding infantry members should spread out and move forward and envelop the charging knights. At first slowly, then gradually… 」

Alexis continued to guide the movements of his soldiers and their horses.

「The right wing is beginning to fall into disarray. Let’s take a step back and rebuild the formation. The left wing should spreading out further. Softly, gently… 」

Throughout his rule as the Marquis of Halusia, Alexis has directed several painters and created large-scale works. As a result, he was admired by the court painters for having a view from heaven, even though he was on earth like everyone else around him.

Thanks to that divine insight of his, he was able guide the armies of his subordinate Lords while allowing them to utilize their full power.

As a result, the battlefield now looked like a giant canvas.

He was drawing an image of exactly the kind of picture he would like to see in his mind, and then he perfectly reproduced it with his precise commands. If any disturbances occured, all he needed to do was to make appropriate adjustments.

(Hatred, pain, madness, vanity…)

There was nothing but sadness on Alexis’s face as he waved the scepter, but the picture he was drawing was steadily being completed nonetheless.

「What… is this ? 」

Bernard couldn’t believe his eyes and the scene they were showing him.

3,000 mercenaries and 2,000 knights were at the complete mercy of the enemy army, scattering left and right as they didn’t know what to do.