Chapter 45: The Honest Lie

What kind of person would draw jealousy and hatred from others? This was a question my father once asked me.

My answer was: probably someone who had done something wrong.

That answer was not completely correct. In fact, when everyone else was wrong and only you did things right, it would also make others feel ashamed, and because of that, they would loathe and hate you. Those who had never experienced it could never imagine that this kind of hatred could be so strong, filled with thick envy, almost burning a person’s heart from within, wishing only to destroy you and make you disappear forever, so as to cover up your brilliance and their own dullness.

Sometimes, this kind of jealous hatred was even more intense than the revenge you would suffer for directly harming someone.

When I managed the Horseshoe Tavern into the best tavern in Rid City, I once encountered such hostility from my fellow tradesmen.

My friend Fred was now in such an environment.

In the First Battle of the Centuria Plains, under the foolish command of the legion commander, General Vincent, the Delanmaya Army suffered an unprecedented and shameful defeat when facing a frontal assault from the Winston Army, whose numbers were far below their own. Among them all, only the thousand Light Cavalry led by Fred seized the only opportunity that appeared. Before the outstanding commander of the Winston Army, Crown Prince Louis, they defeated a larger force with a smaller one, held back the enemy’s attack, and achieved accomplishments worthy of pride. The casualties inflicted by our thousand scattered riders were more than twice those of the thirty-thousand-strong army, and they saved most of the defeated troops from being completely wiped out, becoming the only bright spot for the Delanmaya Army in this war.

But because of this, Fred also fell into the trap of hatred set by many nobles and generals.

“…In view of Count Guderian’s outstanding performance and glorious achievements during the war, I have decided to award him the Scepter Knight Medal, and to promote him…” This was the first time we saw the owner of Delanmaya, our esteemed King Miguela I. His eyes were cloudy and lifeless, grayish-white hair wedged beneath an exquisite crown, revealing the troubled exhaustion of this man around fifty years old. I would say he was a very good person, one who appreciated and respected Fred, who had saved his face on the battlefield, and he treated low-ranking officers like me with a kind attitude. If he had been a gardener or the owner of a bakery, he would certainly have been welcomed at the marketplace and earned the respect and affection of his neighbors and customers. But unfortunately, he was a king. I could tell that he desperately wished to govern his country better, yet he lacked the boldness and decisiveness a king should have, which destined him to be a tragic sovereign without accomplishments.

“Your Majesty!” The King’s words were rudely interrupted. The one who stepped forward was his Minister of Military Affairs, Marquis Meneval. With an arrogant expression, he gave a slight bow before his master without much respect, then began his insulting report.

“Your Majesty, according to the information I have received, Count Guderian’s behavior on the battlefield was very strange. He was ordered to launch a charge against the enemy at the very first moment, but he resisted this order, failing to fulfill his duty as a soldier, and completely exposed our army’s main formation to the enemy’s cavalry, which was why our army suffered such a shameful defeat. Under such circumstances, if you affirm his achievements based only on his one-sided account and erase his irreparable mistakes with a single stroke, how can you soothe the feelings of the soldiers on the front line?” Mr. Meneval rudely stared straight into His Majesty’s eyes, as if putting pressure on his own master.

“Well… what you say also has its reasoning, but after all, the Count undeniably earned praiseworthy achievements. I think…”

“You think? Your Majesty. If you insist, then of course this is an order to me. If you believe my accusation is fabricated and deliberately slanderous, then please condemn me, accuse me, strip away my glory and dignity. You are my master, and you have that right, Your Majesty. But before that, please consider my accusation carefully.” The Marquis’s tone was aggressive and pressing.

“Oh, my friend, that is not what I meant. I was thinking…” His Majesty looked around at the officials seated below, “I was thinking, do the honorable gentlemen present here have anything else to say?”

“Your Majesty, I personally witnessed the Count’s performance on the battlefield. He did not obey orders, which was practically an act of betrayal.” The defeated General Vincent hastily accused, “I swear, if it had not been for him throwing our formation into disorder and making us lose the initiative before the enemy, I would never have suffered such a great defeat.”

While his shameless slander was still echoing in my ears, the legion staff officer Magus said in his eerie, gloomy tone: “Thinking back now, I even suspect whether the Count has reached some kind of interesting deal with our opponents…”

Slander, defamation—when threads of rumor were cast out one by one and woven into a large net, the prey caught in the net was always furious. I was furious, and I knew Carlson beside me was furious as well. We who had personally experienced the battle knew what kind of terrifying demon warriors we had faced. No matter how many of them there were, merely surviving an engagement with them meant tremendous luck, let alone the fact that we had inflicted casualties on the enemy under such desperate circumstances. Weren’t those generals and lords who were now speaking so smoothly the same despicable soldiers who, on the battlefield, wished they could grow two extra legs to run away? If it were not for us—especially if it were not for this young man they were now accusing—their lives might have long since come to an end. They would have disgraced their own family crests with their miserable deaths and become names spat upon and cast aside in this battle.

I was about to retort loudly, but Carlson beside me calmly stopped me. I realized my own loss of composure: with my status, merely appearing in such a setting had already made those noble high officials look at me with displeasure. If I were to clash with any official present at this moment, it would not help Fred in the slightest. On the contrary, it would probably only bring him trouble.

King Miguela lost his confidence under the slanderous words of his ministers. He tentatively asked Fred:

“Young Count, do you have anything to say regarding the accusations against you? If you cannot refute them, I am afraid I will have to take back the honor I have granted you.”

“It would not be as simple as just taking it back. You should punish him for his inappropriate actions…” Harsh voices protested one after another, completely disregarding His Majesty’s dignity.

Fred bowed proudly and answered: “All I can offer you is my loyalty and honesty, Your Majesty. The God of War Vesta can prove my innocence. Everything I and my subordinates did on the battlefield was for the honor of Delanmaya and your dignity. If you believe that the collapse of the army was caused by my fault rather than by poor command, then please take back your reward. It does not matter to me.”

King Miguela looked at my young friend and his numerous accusers, at a loss as to how to decide this matter. He instinctively turned his gaze to his Minister of Military Affairs, hoping he could ease this awkward predicament.

“If you insist on your innocence, then how do you explain the fact that you crossed paths with the enemy on the battlefield without any fighting taking place?” The Minister of Military Affairs, Marquis Meneval, paid no attention at all to the King’s attempt to calm the situation, and demanded loudly.

“That was because…”

“That was because of my fault, sir, and it had nothing to do with Count Guderian.” Carlson stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Fred. His gaze briefly met Fred’s, carrying a reassuring hint: Leave it to me. There is no problem at all.

“You are…”

“I am the cavalry commander under Count Guderian, Baron Carstian von Dawson, your loyal servant, Your Majesty. I believe I can prove the Count’s innocence and bear part of the responsibility for the faults on the battlefield.” For the first time, Carlson displayed the bearing of a nobleman before us, answering the King’s question firmly and properly.

“Oh, I look forward to your explanation, Baron.” Carlson’s answer stirred His Majesty’s curiosity.

“The reason the two armies crossed paths without engaging in battle was…” Carlson seemed to hesitate for a moment, not knowing how to put it. This hesitation whetted everyone’s appetite. Those high-ranking officials stopped their discussions one after another and listened quietly to his defense.

“Because… our formation fell into chaos!” Finally, Carlson made this absurd answer with an honest and ashamed expression. I opened my mouth in astonishment, not knowing what nonsense he was talking about. Fred likewise wore a puzzled expression. This answer was far beyond our expectations.

“Your Majesty, since the Defense of Kampnavia, Lord Fred has only had this cavalry unit for a little over a month. During this time, I was the one responsible for the tactical training of the cavalry. You know, Your Majesty, no matter which country it is, to train a high-quality elite cavalry that can maintain a stable formation while charging into battle requires at least a year of training. Even if they are veterans drawn from various places, training them to cooperate and coordinate with one another takes at least three months. Unfortunately, Your Majesty, we did not have that much time for training. They were merely a loose cavalry unit without much organization.”

“So, when the Winston soldiers changed their formation during their charge, my cavalry unit panicked for a moment. Two riders fell from their horses, throwing off our own pace and sending our ranks into complete disorder. Under those circumstances, the soldiers instinctively avoided the enemy’s charge, so we never made direct contact. That is the fact. The truth is: our formation fell into chaos.”

“Since the cavalry unit has always been under my command for training, the responsibility for this incident should fall on me. It has nothing to do with Lord Fred.”

It was a lie, a barefaced lie. No one who had participated in that battle would believe such an explanation. But it was the best explanation. How could we explain our reasons to these high-ranking officials? Honestly tell them that we did it on purpose? Say that it was our battle plan? Then they could easily pin on us the charge of “pursuing personal military glory, ignoring the lives of allied troops, and disobeying orders.” So, giving them a foolish but endlessly tangled excuse was indeed a good method.

Carlson’s words stirred up an uproar in the hall. The noble lords whispered among themselves, exchanging their opinions. Originally, no matter how Fred defended himself, under their deliberate slander, he could not easily escape. But Carlson’s strategy of dodging the heavy and striking the light caught them completely off guard: they had never even considered this excuse. In their eyes, no one with any bit of status would admit to such a shameful act in public. Openly admitting that his “poor training” of his subordinates had led to “formation chaos” was practically smearing mud on his own face. But Carlson did it. He “sacrificed” his already undistinguished reputation, yet easily pulled us out of the predicament.

“Yes, Your Majesty, I should bear this part of the responsibility. But if you are going to punish me, I really cannot understand it.” Carlson suddenly straightened his back excitedly and cried out loudly, while glancing sideways at Fred and me. His expression was solemn and serious, but there was a cunning glint in his eyes, reminding me of the time he used hunting dogs to train us in long-distance running. A chill ran through my heart, followed by a wave of relief: whenever Carlson had that look in his eyes, someone was bound to get into trouble. Today, it was clearly not going to be us.

“Since you admit it is your fault, why do you plead for yourself?”

“Your Majesty, there are several points I cannot understand. First, when our forces had an overwhelming advantage in numbers, who was it that sent a newly formed unit less than two months old to charge head-on against the Winston Heavy Cavalry? Was it my poor training, or the inappropriate deployment of the commander, or was this simply a deliberate scheme to frame the Count? Second, although the new troops I trained had a disordered formation, they still managed to kill nearly a thousand enemy soldiers, while the lords here led the kingdom’s elite troops and yet could not organize any effective resistance. Is this my fault, the Count’s fault, or the fault of these lords in command? Third, at the moment of the army’s total collapse, the Count, facing a larger enemy force with a smaller one, used a loose and scattered new army to stubbornly delay the Winston pursuers and preserve the main strength of the kingdom’s army. If such heroic conduct is still not enough to prove our loyalty and warrants punishment from Your Majesty, then what kind of punishment should those lords who faced a smaller enemy with a larger force and still returned in defeat receive?”

The faces of the many lords present began to waver. From the very start, Carlson had unshakably nailed us to the position of a “new army.” It was like holding up an all-purpose shield for us. No matter what kind of fault appeared or what responsibility needed to be borne, everything could be blocked by the excuse of “poor training of the new army.” If they wanted to punish us, then the commanders of other units ought to receive even harsher punishment. And if they did not punish them, then we were fully qualified to accept the King’s reward. Neither outcome was one that those noble and honorable lords wished to see.

General Vincent, his face pale, looked at the expressions of the officials around him. He had clearly not expected things to turn out like this. From among the crowd, I saw several blaming looks directed at the General. The people behind those looks had been thrown into a subtle awkward situation because of their eager agreement with the General’s opinion just now.

“Of course, I fully believe that the opinions of the lords here are based on their consideration of loyalty to the kingdom, looking at this matter from a longer-term perspective. Compared to us, they are wiser and more sensible, able to see longer-term facts that we cannot see.” Carlson changed the subject, his tone becoming humble again. “Moreover, on this matter, we share some responsibility as well. We look forward to your fair judgment, Your Majesty.”

Even though he had been away from the noble circle for nearly ten years, Carlson, this rascal familiar with the rules of the game, still relied on his usual shamelessness and cunning to help us escape the predicament. No one could deny that sometimes deceitful tricks could indeed achieve goals more easily than upright character. Even more so, sometimes only a lie could prove a person’s innocence and honesty, just as Carlson was doing now. I found it very amusing, but for Fred, this was perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this world.

“I see…” The indecisive ruler tapped his head in vexation, then turned back to ask his beloved close ministers: “What do you all think, my lords?”

The bureaucrats who had just been accusing one after another now looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing how to respond to this sudden turn of events. Some of them quietly retreated to the back rows, while others hid their unease behind expressions of serious thought.

“Your Majesty, I believe the Baron’s explanation has its reasoning. After all, having not personally witnessed the situation on the battlefield, I cannot presume to make a judgment. I leave it entirely to Your Majesty’s decision.” The Minister of Internal Affairs, Marquis Jonsontel, wisely withdrew from this meaningless dispute.

“I did not come from a military background and do not understand these military matters…” Realizing that getting involved in this tangled verbal battle was meaningless, the Finance Minister, Duke Henderson, also distanced himself from it.

“I am incompetent…”

“Your Majesty is wise…”

“Please…”

…

One minister after another gave up their right to express opinions. Once these people found themselves caught in an inextricable mess, they would always get rid of it as quickly as possible, especially when the matter had little bearing on their own personal interests.

“Your Majesty, he… he is talking nonsense. He is not even…” General Vincent was already spouting nonsense in his fury. I guessed that even he himself did not know what he was saying.

“Enough, enough, my General. I do not mean to blame you.” King Miguela waved his hand tiredly. “I have made my decision. This honor belongs to you, my young Count. I now declare…”

“Wait, Your Majesty!” The one who rudely interrupted the King’s words was none other than the Minister of Military Affairs, Marquis Meneval, the very man who had been making things difficult for Fred from the very beginning.