Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

At the same time Ryoma Mikoshiba’s army formed its camp on the outskirts of Epirus and began locking blades with Robert and Signus...

To the east of Rhoadseria, the Kingdom of Myest’s most celebrated general, Ecclesia Marinelle, received a summons from her sovereign, King Phillip.

Ecclesia was nervous, and her lips were dry. Her anxiety stemmed from the fact that she wasn’t meeting the king in his audience chamber as usual. Instead, she had been instructed to come to his personal office. Knights stood guard at the door, and only the king’s most trusted aides were allowed inside. As proof, besides Ecclesia and the king sitting on the sofa opposite of her, sipping his cup of tea, the only other person present was the prime minister and leader of the kingdom, Owen Spiegel.

This wasn’t the first time Ecclesia had been beckoned to this room. Though she was young, she’d fought countless battles since the day the former General Marinelle entrusted her with his position. Her martial feats and offensive prowess earned her the feared name of “The Whirlwind.”

Ecclesia’s position as general gave her authority over national defense. Unlike Rhoadseria, control of Myest’s armies was divided between three generals. Despite the fact that everyone looked down on her for being a woman, Ecclesia had climbed the ranks and become one of those generals.

Because of her position, the king had asked for her opinion regarding the country’s fate countless times before, and Ecclesia had explained her outlook to him multiple times. That didn’t mean she wasn’t still nervous in his presence, though. There was always a great distance between her and the throne, and knights were always present to guard the king. In addition, conversing with the king required one to stand on ceremony and speak accordingly.

But a meeting in the king’s office wasn’t like an official audience. And King Phillip often called Ecclesia here rather than the audience chamber. She honestly would have preferred if he’d called her there instead.

No matter how many times he asks me to meet him here, it’s always nerve racking. I know I should appreciate the fact that he’s attentive to his retainers, but...

Ecclesia watched the king sitting opposite of her. He was an older man, approaching his sixties. But despite his age, he was still amicable and openhearted. He also looked younger than one would expect; his hair was still as black and sleek as Ecclesia’s.

King Phillip had inherited the throne in his twenties, and he’d ruled for over thirty years. His reign was a good one, and he knew the importance of economic power. He spared no expense to develop the port towns of Myest, including the largest one, Pherzaad.

He was also wise in the ways of war. Myest had spent ages fighting over territory with the Kingdom of Brittania in the south. Not only did he safeguard Myest’s territory, he’d even slain one of their prized generals himself. He was of medium build, but rumor had it his skills as a warrior were impressive. Among the other sovereigns of the western continent’s eastern regions, one could very well call him a war hero.

Though Phillip was a strong sovereign, he was by no means a stern person. He followed the rules of decorum with official audiences, but he was a very frank man outside of such settings. He was an easy ruler to serve, or rather he presented himself that way.

Be that as it may, those serving under him didn’t necessarily share the same perspective. After all, Ecclesia wasn’t comfortable being in his office like this, to say nothing of drinking tea served by the king himself.

The steam rising from Ecclesia’s cup smelled of tea leaves ferried over from the southern continent. It had been imported by the royal house. It went without saying that it was absurdly expensive, and it was often served as a reward of sorts. Serving it to a retainer in an ordinary setting like this was excessive, to say the least.

Yet Ecclesia had had such tea time and again, whenever she was called to this office. No matter how many times the king served it, it was always difficult to drink it. She merely sat on the sofa, stiff as a board. As far as Ecclesia was concerned, she wanted to be done with this as quickly as possible and leave.

Phillip, by contrast, smiled at her serenely. “What’s the matter? Your tea’s going cold.”

He meant no ill-will. And since he’d served her the tea already, it didn’t matter if it went cold; he’d already fulfilled his duty as host. But Phillip was genuinely concerned that she might end up drinking cold tea. He wasn’t trying to force her to drink it, yet it was hard to gauge what his intentions were. The difference in status between a king and his retainer was simply too vast. The only one who could truly know Phillip’s intent was Owen, who had served him for many years.

Ecclesia was too nervous to notice Phillip’s concern, and she hurriedly brought the cup to her lips. However, she sipped it too fast and burned her mouth.

“Ow!”

Ecclesia’s girlish yelp certainly didn’t fit the occasion. It had sounded almost childish. If any of her subordinates, who only knew her as a dignified general, were to see this, they’d be shocked beyond belief. Plus, she’d acted this way in front of the king, which was certainly unforgivable. She could even be charged with irreverence for this.

Phillip didn’t blame her, and instead laughed pleasantly. He then produced a silk handkerchief from his shirt’s pocket and offered it to her.

“No need to rush. Use this.”

It was a gentle gesture a father might show his beloved daughter.

Owen quietly sighed, so as to not draw his liege’s attention.

I swear. Lady Ecclesia is one of your retainers, Your Highness. I know she is your younger sister’s daughter...but you must consider your position as king and act accordingly.

Ecclesia Marinelle was King Phillip’s niece by blood. Though her mother had married into House Marinelle, she was still royal by birth. This meant that Ecclesia had a claim—albeit a very weak one—to Myest’s throne. However, before Ecclesia was even born, Phillip had produced ten children between his wife and concubines, and all of them happened to be males. When it came to inheriting the throne, men were preferred over women.

But when all ten offspring were boys, one naturally wanted a daughter as well. And then Ecclesia was born. When Phillip heard of his niece’s birth, he rejoiced without caring much for what those around him might have thought. Indeed, he cherished her in a way that was almost conspicuous. Phillip did end up having a few daughters of his own, and he rejoiced to see them come into the world too, but it seemed he couldn’t forget the joy he’d felt when Ecclesia was born.

As such, he treated his niece like someone truly special. For all he was concerned, Ecclesia was as much a daughter to him as his own girls. When she was little, he’d invite her to tea at the palace every day. Even when Ecclesia inherited the headship of House Marinelle and became a general, Phillip had regularly invited her over.

Theirs was a heartwarming relationship, to be sure. But Owen felt that the king couldn’t afford to waste his time on leisurely teatime, not today at least.

“Your Majesty, isn’t it about time?” Owen whispered into Phillip’s ear.

“Ah, yes, right you are.” Phillip’s brow furrowed for a moment, but he soon recalled the importance of the matter at hand. He turned to Ecclesia, the smile gone from his lips.

“I called you here today for a reason,” he said, a sagacious gleam in his eyes.

Ecclesia stiffened at his change in attitude. She looked at the king not as a niece, but as the general known as The Whirlwind.

“And what’s that, my liege?” she asked.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of how the commoners in the Kingdom of Rhoadseria have risen up in revolt recently.”

Ecclesia nodded. Since Rhoadseria neighbored Myest, they needed to keep an eye on the revolts. Through forging an alliance with the beast of the north—the Kingdom of Helnesgoula—the three kingdoms of the east had been able to repel the O’ltormea Empire’s invasion of Xarooda. But one defeat wasn’t nearly enough to extinguish the empire’s ambitions of unifying the continent.

Xarooda was currently negotiating a cease-fire with them, but once the empire finished rearranging their forces, it could once again go on the offensive. Though the reinforcements from Rhoadseria had already left, Xarooda remained vigilant. This was why Helena Steiner had been given eight thousand soldiers to watch over Xarooda’s border in the city of Tritron.

Nevertheless, revolts at a time like this placed Rhoadseria in a precarious position. They would have a difficult time blocking any invasions from O’ltormea. After all, Myest was on the eastern coast of the continent. Their longtime opponents, the Kingdom of Brittania, blocked their path to the south. So if Myest were to send reinforcements to Xarooda again, they would have to either sail across the sea or march across Rhoadseria.

Baron Ryoma Mikoshiba had taken care of the pirates who had long nested in the Wortenia Peninsula. Using the town of Sirius as a relay point, they were developing northern sea routes into Helnesgoula. But even so, transporting soldiers by ship was different from delivering merchandise. Going to Xarooda by sea wasn’t a realistic option. Most soldiers couldn’t swim. Only if they happened to be fishermen or sailors were things different. People in those professions learned how to swim since they were in constant risk of falling into rivers or the sea.

The same could be said of Myest’s navy. Swimming was part of their training regimen. But only very few members of Myest’s ground forces knew how to swim. They focused more on fighting in armor and on horseback. Learning how to swim wasn’t a priority for them. Because of this, boarding them on military vessels and ferrying them across the ocean was a dangerous prospect.

If they were to run into a storm, the waves would wash away most of their troops. In truth, many of them would likely refuse to even board the ship out of fear. So while it might be possible to teach them how to swim in the future, Myest’s only option at present was to march through a land route.

“I’ve heard that their military was trying to come up with some countermeasures, but...we’ve received word of another major problem,” Phillip said, looking up at Owen and urging him to speak.

Yes, of course, Ecclesia thought. Lord Owen is both the prime minister and the one in charge of gathering intelligence from other countries. Something must have happened in Rhoadseria.

Ecclesia swiftly deduced that something must be wrong and looked at Owen. Owen nodded in satisfaction and began explaining.

“Roughly a week ago, a spy I deployed to Rhoadseria sent me a report. Apparently, the Mikoshiba barony, the ruler of the Wortenia Peninsula, has declared war on Count Salzberg and the ten houses of the north.”

Ecclesia’s eyes narrowed with a dangerous glint. This was another country’s war, but it wasn’t something Myest could ignore. She now understood why she had been called here.

“Are you certain this is true?” Ecclesia asked.

There was no point in asking for confirmation. Phillip was present, and Owen wouldn’t report mere rumors to the king. Still, Ecclesia had to ask.

“Yes. In fact, since receiving the news, I’ve tripled my information network’s watch on northern Rhoadseria to quickly gather more information. And this morning, I received a messenger pigeon with urgent news.”

Owen took out a letter that had been decrypted and then translated and handed it to Ecclesia.

“I see,” Ecclesia said, skimming through it. “If this letter’s contents are to be believed, hostilities must have opened by now.” She heaved a deep sigh, a strained smile on her lips.

Watching Ecclesia’s reaction, Phillip asked, “What do you think?”

What he meant by that went without saying.

“I swear. That man acts in unexpected ways,” Ecclesia responded, shaking her head. She seemed shocked.

Ecclesia had a fairly decent understanding of Ryoma’s position. She had watched him use the trade pact with the Kingdom of Helnesgoula to stop the O’ltormean invasion of Xarooda. Thanks to that, Myest’s economic position was stronger than ever. If all went well, Myest’s economy would double and triple within a few years. It was hard to ignore the man who had made that happen. And thanks to that, Ecclesia had learned of the fissure between Ryoma and Queen Lupis.

A vassal that’s too skilled is dangerous, eh? Even the queen he helped put on the throne fears him now.

Nothing scared an incompetent ruler more than an overly competent ally. They saw those more skilled than them as latent threats to their authority and sought to expel them. If Ryoma had done nothing, Queen Lupis would have eventually moved in to eliminate him. Ryoma wasn’t foolish enough to overlook that.

This almost feels like a foregone conclusion...

Ecclesia had only spoken to Ryoma on three occasions during the expedition to Xarooda. Her relationship with him was admittedly pretty limited. But even in that small amount of time, she’d quickly grasped the extent of Ryoma’s strength, talent, and potential.

“If I had to guess,” Ecclesia continued, “Ryoma instigated the commoner rebellion to throw Rhoadseria into chaos and to wrest control of the northern regions.”

Phillip and Owen nodded.

Ecclesia then added, “The question now is how is Myest going to react?”

“Ecclesia, out of everyone in this country, you best know Baron Mikoshiba. That’s why I want to ask you,” Phillip said, then paused. He took a deep breath before fixing his gaze on her again. “How would you handle this, Ecclesia?”

Myest’s fate hinged on this question. There were three ways they could handle the situation. They could assertively interfere in the war, step forward as arbiters to peacefully resolve it, or simply do nothing and watch things play out. But be it direct interference or peaceful mediation, Myest would have a hard time interfering in a territory dispute between another country’s nobles. The only way they could interfere was if the Mikoshiba barony directly asked them to do so. And that would strain their relationship with Rhoadseria.

From Queen Lupis’s perspective, no matter which choice Myest made, it would infringe on her royal authority. With the threat of a second O’ltormean invasion looming ahead, this was a dangerous option.

Myest’s only real choice was to not interfere. Still, noninterference wasn’t a wise option either. Myest’s leadership pinned a great deal of hope and expectation on the Wortenia Peninsula as a relay point for the northern sea routes. On top of that, Wortenia’s location on the northernmost tip of the continent was a prime position for trading with the northern continent. In the future, it could easily become the most prominent trading port in all the western continent.

If Myest’s economy was to continue growing as expected, its military strength would also grow accordingly. Finally, it would no longer be a mere dream to break the deadlock with the Kingdom of Britannia and increase their territory. A bigger army also meant that they could compete against the O’ltormea Empire.

Furthermore, the Wortenia Peninsula was home to many unique types of monsters, and the ingredients from hunting them could be used to brew unique medicine and craft special gear. Such merchandise was desirable, and they were sold to both Pherzaad and other ports. Letting those valuable items disappear from the market would strike a hard blow to Myest’s current economy.

It was in Myest’s favor to continue their relationship with Ryoma. If possible, they wanted to prevent Queen Lupis from destroying the barony. Rhoadseria’s royal house had held onto the peninsula for years and let it go wild. Very few people could successfully develop it. One could search this whole world over, but it was doubtful whether they’d find anyone else capable of it. That was why they wanted Ryoma to retain the barony.

We already have our answer. The question is whether he can overcome Count Salzberg and the ten houses of the north on his own.

Ecclesia was already forming her answer. Normally, it would be utter madness for a mere baron to challenge Count Salzberg, a count who controlled all of Rhoadseria’s northern regions. But from what Ecclesia knew of Ryoma, he wasn’t a foolhardy man.

He must have some plan. I don’t know what it is, but... Very well. Let’s see what he’s capable of.

With a cold smile, Ecclesia parted her lips to give Phillip her answer.