Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.8 - Chapter SS1

Brigitte — Illgner’s Battle

“Brigitte, this is Helfried. Could you come to my office?”

I cocked my head at the ordonnanz that had arrived for me. It had been quite a while since my brother, Giebe Illgner, had made such a request; my marriage to Viktor and the continued growth of the printing industry meant our province’s noble population was growing steadily, and there was less of a need for me to make these visits. My last summons had been when we were sending a large package of fey paper to Lady Rozemyne.

“Has she asked for more?” I murmured.

My mother smiled and waved a hand at me; we had been embroidering together in the playroom. “It must be urgent for him to have sent you an ordonnanz. Let me watch over Lilaroze while you’re gone.”

I gazed upon my napping daughter while putting away my needles and thread. “Please do, Mother. I only hope she will continue to sleep peacefully...”

Leaving my eighteen-month-old daughter to my mother, I briskly made for my brother’s office. He must have heard my footsteps because Volk, a former gray priest, stepped out to welcome me.

“My brother summoned me,” I said. “Will you tell him I’m here?”

“Go on inside; he is already waiting for you.”

Volk opened the door for me, so I continued into the giebe’s office. My brother and my husband were inside, knitting their brows as they inspected a letter.

“You wished to see me?” I said.

“This is a message from Lady Florencia. It seems safe to assume that the other giebes received it as well.”

I read the letter. It warned that Lady Georgine of Ahrensbach was most likely about to invade Ehrenfest in an attempt to steal its foundation and asked us to strengthen our watch. If we noticed anything suspicious, we were supposed to send a report to the castle.

“If you remember, we received similar orders at the start of the season,” my brother said. “I was wondering how we should respond to them this time.”

We were making rejuvenation potions in case a battle started, but Illgner had always been a province with very few knights; there wasn’t much we could do to prepare for an invasion.

My brother continued, “The letter says that an attack is a foregone conclusion, but I suspect we have little to be concerned about. Nobody who intends to steal our duchy’s foundational magic would go out of their way to target Illgner.”

Only a fraction of our province bordered Ahrensbach, and while the printing industry was steadily increasing our wealth, we didn’t have much else that a would-be conqueror would want. We were also a fair distance from the castle and its foundation, and an attack on us would risk aggravating Frenbeltag, with whom we shared most of our border.

“Not to mention, Aub Ehrenfest would notice if nobles from another duchy crossed the border,” my brother continued. “Could we not just wait until we receive word that the invasion has begun?”

“For now, let us increase our watch as advised, focusing in particular on our border,” I replied. “How about two passes, at noon and at night? I would rather not resort to such means, but we do not have a choice in the matter.”

Ahrensbach’s land was running out of mana, so its starving commoners often trespassed on our mountains to steal food. Increasing our guard along the border would require us to force them back.

“My heart goes out to the commoners, but our hands are tied,” Volk said. “The aub might even chastise us for having overlooked them until now. Besides, their hunger problem is for Ahrensbach’s temple and archducal family to solve, not us.”

Volk had been raised in the temple, yet he was disregarding commoners without a second thought. My brother and I stared at him, shocked, but he just continued with a slight smile.

“It should come as no surprise that a change in the political climate would impact our relationship with the commoners of other duchies. For the sake of our province, we must not prioritize their needs over the archducal family’s wishes. This might be a good time to start gathering intelligence from the merchants. Those who deal in lumber have an especially wide reach.”

Volk and Viktor agreed that our best option right now was to simply strengthen our watch. Considering our natural inclination to put paper-making—our province’s main source of income—above all else, we didn’t want to spend potentially months on full alert, awaiting an invasion that wasn’t even guaranteed to happen.

“Inform the kni— Oh? Another ordonnanz.”

Before my brother could state his plans for the few knights Illgner had at its disposal, another white bird appeared. We all assumed it was for him, but it landed on my arm instead.

“This is Rozemyne.”

I stared intently at the ordonnanz. Lady Rozemyne must have recovered from her fever, which had rendered her too unwell to even attend the feast celebrating spring. I could tell from her voice alone that she was growing up—she sounded a lot more mature than I remembered.

“Lady Georgine has put Ferdinand on the brink of death and will most likely use this opportunity to begin her invasion,” the bird continued. “She has already moved to a location close to Ehrenfest; expect her to make a move of some kind either today or tomorrow.”

We all exchanged glances. Lady Georgine was already at our duchy’s border. The ordonnanz conveyed the severity of our situation in a way that Lady Florencia’s letter had not, and the tone with which Lady Rozemyne spoke made it clear that she was concerned about us. She even gave us instructions for the coming battle.

“Be especially careful of the silver cloth our enemies might be wearing—it is immune to mana, which includes schtappe weaponry and offensive magic tools. I would advise you to carry the same kind of weapons that your commoners use. There is also a high chance that the invaders will use powdered poison, so be sure to keep your mouths covered. Assuming that Lady Georgine’s group is moving in secret, they might be using carriages rather than highbeasts. Learn what you can of any suspicious nobles from the commoners and stay in close contact with the giebes around you. If you notice anything suspicious on the border, inform us straight away—my grandfather can mobilize the Knight’s Order at a moment’s notice.”

The ordonnanz repeated its message twice before turning back into a yellow feystone. All we could do was stare down at it.

“This threat to our duchy is nowhere near as distant as Lady Florencia’s letter made it seem...” Viktor muttered.

“We should start those patrols at once,” my brother added with a nod of agreement. “Lady Rozemyne said we can expect something either today or tomorrow.”

“I’ll start putting the knights through their paces,” I said. They had been preparing for battle since the start of the season, but I’d taken a long break from training while I was pregnant and then spent most of my time since the birth caring for my newborn daughter. In other words, I was nowhere near as strong as I used to be.

Every knight would count in the impending battle to protect our province. To keep my family and our people safe, I would need to train as hard as I could.

“Brigitte—as much as I relate to your enthusiasm, send a few words of gratitude to Lady Rozemyne first,” my brother said. “She must have given you this information because you used to be her retainer. Years have passed since then, yet she still keeps you in her thoughts.”

He was right. Not wanting to waste another moment, I prepared to send an ordonnanz back. Thoughts of my time serving Lady Rozemyne came to mind unbidden, and the realization that we were connected even now made a pleasant warmth spread through my chest.

“Lady Rozemyne, this is Brigitte. Lady Florencia has already contacted the giebes, but I thank you ever so much for your more detailed explanation. It was of great value. I shall inform the giebes around us and the commoners so that they know to be fully on guard.”

Once the bird was gone, my brother placed several ordonnanz feystones in a line on his desk. “Brigitte, I must ask you to contact our neighbors. The gravity of the situation should come across more clearly if you speak to them as one of Lady Rozemyne’s former retainers.”

Lady Florencia’s letter had made the threat facing Ehrenfest seem well over the horizon, and a message from my brother wouldn’t do much to change that. A relayed warning from Lady Rozemyne, on the other hand, would surely spur the giebes into action.

I got straight to work sending ordonnanzes while the others began discussing our next moves. Lady Georgine’s attack could come at any moment, so there was much for us to consider.

“Gathering intelligence from the commoners is going to be important, but should we not first warn them against venturing into the mountains?” Viktor suggested. “We wouldn’t want them to cross paths with any invading knights.”

“We have enough food and shelter to last us several days in the event of a siege,” Volk added. “Our next focus should be how to evacuate the commoners.”

My brother nodded. “We’ll tell them to avoid the mountains by the border until we know more about our situation. Something is bound to happen in the coming days.”

I sighed; they were all completely focused on the commoners. Yes, it was a giebe’s duty to protect his people, but the knights wouldn’t be able to mobilize until they were given orders.

“Brother, how we evacuate the commoners will depend on whether an entire army crosses the border or just a small squadron targeting the castle,” I said. “The same is true for our preparations and patrol paths.”

“I understand that, but we still don’t know how this invasion will take shape,” Viktor replied. He then turned to consult a map. “To begin with, we are so far out of the way. Our foes are far more likely to invade through Gerlach, Wiltord, Garduhn, or Griebel.”

It certainly was true that our province shared only a sliver of the Ahrensbach border. My brother agreed that Lady Georgine was unlikely to even touch us, but we couldn’t afford to take any chances.

“You may be right, Viktor, but Illgner has the fewest nobles and the lightest guard. Lady Georgine might know that—and if she does, she might intend to use our province as a decoy.”

“A decoy...?”

“Yes. As much as we can count on Lord Bonifatius’s aid if something happens, we don’t know how long it will take for the Knight’s Order to receive our call, obtain the aub’s permission, and deploy troops to our province.”

“Well said,” I replied. “And to make matters worse, no matter how fast they travel, it will take them at least a full day to reach us by highbeast. We will need to endure on our own until then.”

I’d regularly dealt with the Knight’s Order while serving Lady Rozemyne, so I understood its operation better than anyone else here. Moreover, the more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Lady Georgine would use us as a distraction.

Our warnings must have made sense to Viktor, because he quickly incorporated them into his plans: “If promptly detecting and sending word of the invasion matters most, then yes, let us increase our number of patrols. As we expect something to happen soon, we can risk devoting more men to the border even with our lack of manpower.”

My brother nodded. “They’re going to be in a hurry to reach Ehrenfest’s foundation, so I doubt they’ll waste their time killing noncombatants. We should focus on minimizing casualties and buying ourselves time until the Knight’s Order arrives.”

I rushed to the training grounds and explained our circumstances to the knights.

“Thus, we need you to increase patrols along the border. I will join you. Did you receive reports of anything suspicious last night?”

“No,” our knight commander replied. “Neither last night nor this morning.”

I placed a hand on my chest, relieved. “Lady Rozemyne informed us that something serious is going to happen within the next few days. Please have the night patrols exercise extreme caution. If our foes mean to invade in secret, they will do so under cover of darkness.”

“In an ideal world, they would pass through while the commoners are asleep. Then we would just need to inform the archducal family...”

Our province’s knights were tasked with slaying feybeasts; matches during their student days aside, they had no experience fighting against other people. Worse still, we had only fifteen adult knights at our disposal. Even including the apprentices and me, we were fewer than twenty overall. I understood why they were so reluctant about fighting a greater duchy.

“Were that their plan, they would surely travel through Griebel instead,” I replied. “There is no guarantee that they will target Illgner, but keep your guard up nonetheless.”

“Very well. If a battle does break out, I would rather the knights from the Noble’s Quarter do most of the fighting. I would also pray that nobody uses heavy-duty magic tools and that our enemy won’t cause tremendous collateral damage.”

Indeed, a battle like that was the last thing we needed. The destruction of our mountains and forests would have a devastating impact on our paper-making industry.

“Putting aside the chances of an attack, Lady Brigitte, your presence in our humble Order makes it so much easier for us to communicate with the giebe. Your assistance and combat prowess as a mednoble are greatly appreciated.”

We weren’t expecting an invasion from Frenbeltag—our duchies were on good terms, and nothing in Lady Rozemyne’s warning had given us reason to suspect them—so we focused our patrols on our border with Ahrensbach. None of the knights reported anything that night.

Then, during our patrol at noon the next day...

“Has that mountain ridge always looked like that?” I asked from atop my highbeast. One portion of the forest below appeared to be sunken—like an unnatural dent in the otherwise level timberline.

“Let us descend and take a closer look.”

Suspicious, I approached the strange feature together with the five knights on patrol with me. Our inspection revealed that the trees on the other side of the mountain from the giebe’s estate had all vanished. The ground was scorched and covered with brown splotches as though a trombe had just attacked.

“What in the world...?!” I exclaimed, wide-eyed, as more trees on the Ahrensbach side of the mountains vanished right before our eyes.

“Look over there!” one of our knights shouted. “I see people!”

“They’re wearing Ahrensbach capes!”

Waiting at the center of the blotched earth were several figures, each holding a black weapon. I couldn’t help but gasp when I saw them.

“Those are the weapons used to steal mana from black feybeasts,” I said. “They might be using them to drain the land instead.”

The archducal family’s warning had prepared me for an invasion, but I still couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d expected Ahrensbach to march straight to our foundation, not steal mana from our land.

“Were they only marching through, we might have been able to watch from afar, but we can’t leave them be when they’re stealing our mana and destroying our land.”

A shudder ran down my spine. The destruction of our forest would have a serious impact on our paper-making industry and on the commoners, who also relied on the mountain’s boons. Our river would change once the rain began to fall, and our province’s way of life would potentially succumb to natural disasters.

“There are four of them, from what I can see,” one knight said. “Should we attack on our own?”

“No,” I replied at length. “Let us return to the others, report our findings to the aub, and summon reinforcements. We risk being overwhelmed if there are more of them hiding among the trees.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than an arrow whizzed right past me. The invaders were shooting at us while retreating into the shadows.

“They’ve seen us!” one of our knights shouted. “Brace yourselves!”

“Get them before they can hide!”

“Be careful—their black weapons absorb mana!”

Surely there wasn’t anything wrong with using offensive magic tools in this ruined section of the forest. We started dropping them on the trespassers, two of whom dispelled their black weapons to form shields.

“Keep them on the defensive! Those who dispel their black weapons will need to wait an entire day before they can make them again!”

The intruders wouldn’t be able to steal mana from our land without black weapons. We moved in for the attack—but then I gasped.

“There are other squadrons nearby!” I cried. “I noticed them with my mana-sensing. They’re coming this way!”

We were at an overwhelming disadvantage—their knights were almost certainly stronger than ours, and they had reinforcements coming. Trying to fight would mean our defeat, and if we stuck around for too much longer, we wouldn’t even be able to flee.

“Don’t follow them!” I called. “Retreat!”

Keeping our guards up, we raced straight back to the giebe’s estate while sending out ordonnanzes of warning.

“Brother—as Lady Rozemyne said, we’ve been invaded. Not only are they attacking in great numbers and canvassing wide stretches of our land, but they’re also stealing our mana, which we could never have predicted. Ask the aub for reinforcements; we can’t hope to win by ourselves.”

I’d just arrived at the giebe’s office with the knight commander in tow. Viktor and my brother were standing over a map of our province.

“I requested aid the moment your ordonnanz arrived,” my brother replied. “Lord Bonifatius is already en route with the Knight’s Order, but with how quickly our land is being drained, will we even survive the wait? Brigitte—give me your honest opinion as a knight.”

It wouldn’t be enough to defeat our enemies; we would also need to minimize the damage they caused so that our people could continue to live their lives.

“The invaders we encountered were only a small group, but I sensed more of them all over,” I said. “I don’t know how well we’d fare against them, even if we mustered every knight at our disposal—and who knows how much damage they’ll cause before our reinforcements arrive?”

If all they wanted was our mana, we could simply hole up in the estate and let them have it. The approach would spare us any casualties, but it would also mean complete devastation for the province.

“Those were nobles of Old Werkestock,” the commander said.

“Excuse me?”

“I recognized them from the Royal Academy. The knights were protecting an Old Werkestock giebe.”

We knew the fallen duchy was in desperate need of mana—its commoners were the ones sneaking into our province to scavenge the mountains—but the thought that its giebes were invading Ehrenfest to steal our mana astounded me.

“If they’re here at Lady Georgine’s insistence, I doubt they’re going to back down...” I said. As members of a giebe family ourselves, we knew just how frantic they would be if their land was dying and their people were starving. But it wasn’t like we could surrender.

“We’re at an overwhelming numerical disadvantage against Ahrensbach and Old Werkestock. It won’t be long before the two greater duchies crush us underfoot,” the knight commander said with a heavy sigh. “Still, no matter how bad our situation might be or how reckless this might seem, we will need to fight tooth and nail until Lord Bonifatius arrives with reinforcements. I only hope we can spare the young ones.”

“I refuse to stay on the sidelines,” I protested. “How could we not use our entire force when our people are in danger?”

“Wait, Brigitte,” Viktor interjected, the blood draining from his face. “You aren’t a knight anymore—you’re a mother and a member of the giebe family. For our daughter’s sake, please don’t take part in this battle the knight commander has deemed so perilous. You’ve been out of training for a while now because of your commitments to Lilaroze; you would be in more danger than any of the other knights.”

I understood why he was so concerned, but that didn’t change anything. I wasn’t going to concede.

“I am a mother, a member of the giebe family, and a knight. The very suggestion that I should step aside instead of protecting my home is unthinkable. Imagine what my nonparticipation would do to morale.”

“But—”

“I am going to be in danger, but so is every other knight. It was for the sake of this province that I resigned from Lady Rozemyne’s service when we got married. I will not stand down when Illgner’s future is at risk.”

Lady Rozemyne still cared for me even now that I was no longer in her service. She had given our paper-making industry a tremendous amount of support and even contacted me directly to warn us of Ahrensbach’s invasion. Her assistance was an immense boon considering how little time I’d actually spent as her retainer. Not joining the action would make me an embarrassment of a knight.

“A threat to our home is a threat to our daughter,” I continued. “Lilaroze has you, my brother, and my mother to raise her in my stead. Our knights, on the other hand, have no one who can replace me. That’s why I’m entrusting her to you, Viktor. Now please, let me go.”

Viktor turned to my brother, his face a picture of anguish—but my brother shook his head in response.

“Forgive me, Viktor. As the giebe, I must use all the knights I can get. Not to mention, what would those putting their lives on the line think if they discovered that I was prioritizing my sister’s safety over the fate of our province?” He turned to me. “Brigitte, if you wish to protect Illgner, I will respect your decision. Just... don’t do anything unreasonable.”

Viktor hung his head and sighed. “Brigitte... You truly are too much of a knight for your own good. I understand your pride and your desire to protect your home, but... don’t forget that we have a daughter, okay? And don’t put yourself in more danger than you need to. Our focus right now is buying time, so stay alert and keep a close eye on the battlefield.”

Upon seeing my husband relent, the knight commander shook his head and gave an exasperated smile. “Lady Brigitte, do not underestimate our concern for you. We want to make it through to the other side of this battle with as few casualties as possible. Viktor is right that buying time is our main focus, so we should aim to make our opponents dispel their black weapons. We’ll attack their groups one by one with the full might of our military.”

As we discussed ways to dispel the God of Darkness’s blessing and what magic tools we would need to use, an ordonnanz flew into the room.

“This is Bonifatius. The aub has granted us permission to teleport. Expect us there at fifth bell. Clear the space by the teleporter in your estate’s front garden and ensure your remaining knights are ready to sortie. We’re setting out as soon as I arrive.”

I couldn’t believe my ears—not even when the message was delivered the third time. “He’s coming here at fifth bell...? So... today? And with the Knight’s Order? Using a teleporter?”

We had discovered the invaders after lunch, during our noon patrol, and then hurried to the estate to inform my brother. We hadn’t even shared the news with our knights yet, so how were we already being sent reinforcements?

“It’s almost fifth bell now! We need to find that teleporter! Where on earth is the estate’s front garden?!”

“Calm down, Lord Helfried. It must surely be at the front of the estate.”

“Lady Brigitte! We must inform our knights! We aren’t yet ready to sortie!”

In an instant, the solemn resolve hanging over the room was completely blown away. We needed to prepare to welcome the Knight’s Order and ensure that our recently returned patrol was ready to charge back into battle.

Just as the ordonnanz had said, at fifth bell on the dot, a magic circle appeared in the estate’s front garden. The black and golden flames emblematic of a teleporter roared to life, and a large group appeared within them. The circle used when traveling to and from the Royal Academy could only move three people at a time, but I counted at least fifty in front of us right now.

Once the flames had disappeared, Lord Bonifatius and several rows of knights marched off of the teleportation circle. The others who had just arrived—about a dozen in total—remained in place.

“Aub Ehrenfest?!” my brother yelped. We had expected reinforcements but not a visit from the archduke, of all people.

Upon seeing our astonishment, the aub waved a hand at us and said, “Be at ease; I’m only here because the teleporter wouldn’t have worked without me. I’ll be gone again before you know it.”

“Aub Ehrenfest,” my brother said, “I cannot thank you enough for providing these reinforcements so quickly. I did not even know there was a teleportation circle outside my estate.”

The aub gave a brisk nod. “I wasn’t aware of the circles either; it was Rozemyne who brought them to my attention. She learned about them from some old document, apparently. I imagine you’re aware that she reads the bible and other ancient texts to revive rituals and what have you. This is the first time in forever the circles have actually been used.”

“Lady Rozemyne...”

If not for her, this teleportation circle would never have been found, and Lord Bonifatius wouldn’t have arrived so suddenly to help us. Just how much did we owe that young woman?

“Giebe Illgner, this is as many reinforcements as Ehrenfest can provide right now,” the aub said. Then he gestured to the dozen still standing on the teleporter. “These scholars have been tasked with activating the magic circle; they are not to be lumped in with the knights. Now... protect your province.”

Leaving the archduke’s departure to my brother, I went to see Lord Bonifatius, who was partway through instructing the knights.

“Half of our lot used up mana to teleport us here. They won’t join us in the coming battle and will instead stay behind to serve as guards and replenish themselves. Now, who’s currently in charge of Illgner’s knights? I need to know more about our situation.”

“Lord Bonifatius,” I said, “allow me to report as a member of the giebe family. We discovered the intruders during our noon patrol.”

“Ah, Brigitte. It’s been a while.”

It would normally have fallen to our knight commander to deliver this information, but he had asked me to take over in case his nerves caused him to offend the archducal family. I’d trained under Lord Bonifatius while serving as Lady Rozemyne’s guard knight, so I wasn’t all that tense about speaking with him.

“I see...” he said after listening to more of my report. “Black weapons certainly are troublesome; not only do they steal mana from the land, they also turn our mana attacks against us. We should use the same weapons we prepared to counter Ahrensbach’s silver cloth—which reminds me, did you see anyone wearing any?”

I shook my head. “We suspect they saw no point in it, since they were using black weapons to steal our mana.”

“The aub didn’t sense any nobles pass through the duchy barrier. Chances are they have some...” Lord Bonifatius paused in thought, then nodded. “Getting our enemies to dispel their weapons is a good place to start. We’ve got it on good authority that the giebes might be storing the mana they’re stealing in small chalices. If we can steal those chalices, we should be able to enrich your land again.”

That was more intelligence from Lady Rozemyne, I suspected. I recalled the days I’d spent accompanying her to religious ceremonies. The small chalices were divine instruments used to fill the land with mana, but I could easily see someone malicious using them to steal mana instead.

Having acquired the information he’d wanted, Lord Bonifatius said, “Let’s go” and marched off with half of the knights. The other half stayed behind and drank rejuvenation potions.

Illgner’s in good hands.

The battle had just begun, and we were so far from the end... but seeing Lord Bonifatius filled me with confidence. Now that he was with us, I could somehow tell that everything was going to be okay.

First, we need to secure those chalices. That mana was bestowed upon us by my lady and the people of the temple.

“They were around here, Lord Bonifatius. Ah... More of the land has been drained.”

Indeed, upon our arrival at the border, we’d come across even more brown earth than I’d seen before. The sight frustrated me immensely.

“Can anyone sense their mana?” Lord Bonifatius asked.

“We should descend a little.”

We wouldn’t be able to mana-sense our targets if they were too far away. We headed closer to the forest, and it was then that we noticed some of the trees disappear at the edge of our vision.

“There!” I called.

“Everyone!” Lord Bonifatius shouted. “Follow behind me and steal the chalice!”

Having barked his instructions, Lord Bonifatius blasted past us all on his highbeast, pressing on alone. He cut in front of those attempting to flee with the province’s mana and turned his schtappe into a halberd, despite having told us to use anti-silver weaponry.

“Lord Bonifatius?!” we all exclaimed in unison, so taken aback that some of our voices cracked. He paid us no mind, raising his weapon high before bringing it down in a great sweep.

“Did they say Lord Bonifatius?!” one of the men on the ground cried. “Why is he here?!”

“Don’t stop!” yelled another. “Steal the mana with our weapons!”

“Protect the giebe!”

“Scatter and retreat!”

From the trespassers’ perspective, Lord Bonifatius was charging straight at them. They could only continue to panic as he swung his halberd with a loud grunt of exertion.

“Hrah!”

But he wasn’t targeting our enemies. Instead, he sliced straight through the trees in the direction of their retreat, causing them to topple over like a landslide.

“Gaaah!”

“Entwaff—nghhh!”

Black weaponry meant nothing to wood. The thieves didn’t even have time to dispel their arms and make shields before they were crushed under a mass of tree trunks and branches.

“Don’t let them escape!” Lord Bonifatius shouted once we’d caught up with him.

The rest of our ambush was quick and easy. The enemy knights struck by the logs were heavily wounded, and those who had only been grazed had nowhere to run. We captured them all without breaking a sweat.

“The chalice! It’s here!” one of our men exclaimed as he stripped the captured giebe of his equipment. “We can return the mana to our land!”

Our knights all cheered in chorus, but this wasn’t the end of the battle. Last time, the invaders had all grouped together to scare us away, but now they’d scattered in fear of Lord Bonifatius.

“Frenbeltag’s on alert, so the stragglers won’t be able to escape in that direction,” Lord Bonifatius said. “They don’t seem like threats, but they’re spread out far enough that we should anticipate a long battle—which is exactly their goal, I’d say. This is but a diversion to draw away the Knight’s Order... though there are fewer knights than I expected.”

Lord Bonifatius wore a deep frown. There was no risk of such a small invasion destroying Illgner, but it was substantial enough that our knights couldn’t deal with it on their own. And because mana was being stolen from our land, the archducal family had to respond.

The invaders who had appeared at our border showed up in Griebel the next day. Lord Bonifatius’s analysis had proved correct.

“Griebel has called for aid,” he said. “We will advance there while taking down any invaders we find along the border. Brigitte, stay here and guard Illgner’s perimeter!”

“Understood!”

Our new job was to take up posts by the border and forestall any further enemy invasions. Lord Bonifatius had opted to leave several knights behind, but to be honest, his departure for Griebel made us all uneasy.

“Rest assured—I’ll give you a good vantage point,” he said. “Just guard the border. Send word if their numbers are too much for you.” He and his group then launched a wave of mana attacks toward Ahrensbach as if venting their frustrations, devastating the tree line.

“I see. This certainly has improved our line of sight.”

“They can no longer come in secret, but some may boldly attack from the sky. Stay on your guard.”

Lord Bonifatius was on his way to Griebel—and once again, his conclusion had been proved correct. Invaders with barely any mana had come to our border at regular intervals, making it clear that they were just a decoy for the Knight’s Order.

“Lady Brigitte—a report,” an apprentice knight said to me between battles. “I was hoping to inform the giebe, but I was ordered to sortie with the other knights before I could speak with him. A lumber merchant who brought a delivery to Leisegang noticed some individuals who seemed a lot like nobles board a ship to Ehrenfest.”

As the apprentice gave me more details, a cold sweat ran down my back. Two days had passed since the merchant had seen these suspicious individuals. Even if they had taken the slowest, most roundabout vessel, it was possible they had arrived in Ehrenfest already.

“We must inform Lady Rozemyne at once!” I exclaimed. But when I tried to send her an ordonnanz, it refused to leave.

No... Lady Rozemyne?

I took in a sharp breath as thoughts of the worst-case scenario flooded through my mind. Ordonnanzes refused to fly when their recipient was dead. My hands trembled as I tried to contact Cornelius and Angelica—but both times, the bird did nothing.

“Does this mean Damuel is...?”

Despite my expectations, the ordonnanz actually traveled to him. His response was bland at best: “We are on guard against enemy attacks.”

Frustration welled up inside of me. Here I was worried sick that Lady Rozemyne and her guard knights had died in one of the many skirmishes comprising this war, while Damuel was being as nonchalant as ever. A voice at the back of my mind told me my anger was unreasonable, but if everyone was safe, why hadn’t the ordonnanzes flown to them? The constant stream of battles had made me too tense to simply swallow down my emotions, so the next ordonnanz I sent was overflowing with rage.

“Why are my ordonnanzes not flying?! I have a crucial report to give! What are Lady Rozemyne, Cornelius, and Angelica doing?! And where?!” I went on to repeat the news the apprentice had given me. “We are still in battle and cannot investigate when the ship from Leisegang will arrive. I ask that you investigate in our stead.”

“We will consult Leisegang,” Damuel replied, his composure completely intact. “Thank you for taking the time to send your report when you are so busy with the fighting. Oh, and your ordonnanzes aren’t reaching Lady Rozemyne’s group because they’re in Ahrensbach.”

My anger faded, replaced with overwhelming embarrassment. I was the only one who’d allowed my emotions to get the better of me, and rather than drawing attention to that fact, Damuel had politely relieved my concerns about Lady Rozemyne. As my head started to clear, I realized he’d also given me some information that not even Lord Bonifatius had revealed.

Lady Rozemyne is in Ahrensbach?

In other words, while the archduke’s troops were spread so thin that they couldn’t spare us any more, Lady Rozemyne was fighting her own battle to protect Ehrenfest.

Does she never show restraint? It seems to me that she charges headlong into whatever she sets her mind to.

I was reminded of the battles we’d fought together while gathering for her jureve. A normal archduke candidate would have delegated the entire task to her guard knights, but she had joined us in spite of her poor health and ended up bedridden as a result. Even back then, Lady Rozemyne hadn’t been a mere princess to be locked away safely in a tower.

Although her retinue has changed since then.

During my time in Lady Rozemyne’s service, I’d battled alongside Damuel, Lord Ferdinand, and his retainers. Cornelius and Angelica had needed to stay in the castle for being too young, but they had come of age since then, and there were other new knights serving alongside them. I’d taken my leave after getting married, while Lord Ferdinand and his retainers had gone to Ahrensbach over an entirely separate betrothal.

Lady Rozemyne’s current retinue made the passage of time even more apparent and forced me to reflect on how much my own position had changed. In the past, I’d fought for Lady Rozemyne. Now I fought for Illgner and my family. My focus had changed, but not my aim—I’d always wanted to protect those close to me.

The knowledge that Lady Rozemyne was fighting to protect Ehrenfest gave me the resolve to do the same as her former guard knight. Fighting and winning these border skirmishes would connect me to her in our mutual struggle to save our duchy.

“Lady Brigitte, more invaders!” a knight called.

I rose to my feet without the slightest hesitation, then mounted my highbeast alongside my fellow knights. Everyone wore looks of unbendable determination.

Lady Rozemyne... May Angriff guide you. I shall take inspiration from your actions and devote my all to protecting my home.