“That’s how it is. Did you hear that, Lawrence?”
『…Bartil!!』
The Caller, a communication talisman Bartil had taken out, roared with a loud voice.
It was a wonder that spit didn’t fly from the talisman.
The one shouting from the other side of the Caller was the First Knight Commander, Lawrence. He was stationed in the Royal Castle’s strategy command room as the King’s guard, meaning this Caller was connected directly to the command room.
Humphrey had gone straight to Bartil as Renée had said, but Bartil had reported this to Lawrence himself. Half of the reason was to secure his own position. If Lawrence or Hilbert had already sensed this move, or if they noticed it later, Bartil would be cornered. He took the initiative to prevent that.
“You don’t have to shout so loud for me to hear you.”
『What was that tone just now?! Are you really planning to betray us?!』
“It was realistic, wasn’t it?”
Lawrence was yelling, seemingly displeased not only with Renée’s words but also with Bartil’s attitude, which seemed to sympathize with her. Bartil responded in a light tone, as if deflecting the anger.
“Anyway, it’s about how we use this situation. We’ve managed to restrict their actions somewhat, so all we have to do is think about how to take advantage of that.”
『Her ravings aren’t worth a shred of consideration. It’s useless to think about letting our guard down or exploiting them. You should assume everything is a lie.』
Bartil thought Lawrence’s words were mixed with wishful thinking.
He wanted the enemy, Renée, to be thoroughly evil. She must be evil. There was no way she could have any human-like emotions. She was the devil’s daughter who sold her country to the Federation. She was more evil than the Evil God itself… that’s probably what he was thinking. But Bartil’s thoughts were different.
“At the very least, I believe her words about not wanting to harm the citizens are true. Undead poured into the city and there was a battle… but not just the Second Knight Order, the civilian casualties were zero as well.”
『She destroyed Wesala!
“I heard the refugees were mostly women and children. Conversely, even though she had the power to kill almost all the men, she let a considerable number of women and children escape, didn’t she? I don’t think everything she said was true, but it’s certain that the ‘Rose Princess of Hellrage’ draws a line somewhere when it comes to people’s lives and deaths. She isn’t just blindly hating and killing all living things.”
Even if that ‘line’ wasn’t justice or respect for human life, Bartil thought there had to be something.
“…Of course, the ‘Rose Princess of Hellrage’ is definitely planning to kill you and His Majesty, and I have no intention of sitting idly by and watching that happen.”
『Of course!! …And don’t call her ‘Princess’!』
Lawrence roared back at the words that were added as if to excuse himself.
『Bartil, whose side are you on?』
“If we can get the citizens to safety, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? In other words, let’s organize this. As long as the Second Knight Order doesn’t defeat the undead soldiers, they won’t kill us either. The Second Knight Order should be at the front, and the First Knight Order can use the Second Knight Order as a shield. Also, if the western blockade is really lifted, we can evacuate the citizens. Until the evacuation is complete, the Second Knight Order should pretend to have betrayed us… that should be fine, right?”
『If only it were that simple.』
Lawrence didn’t seem to believe that Renée would keep her promise. Even so, the reason he didn’t reject Bartil’s opinion was probably that if the Second Knight Order was on the front lines, they would be the first to be in danger if Renée broke her promise.
“Anyway, we need to monitor the west side. If the troops really retreat, we can redirect reinforcements coming from the surrounding territories to the west. They can enter the capital while avoiding the enemy, and we’ll need them to escort the evacuees.”
『That’s for His Majesty to decide.』
“…You’re right, that was presumptuous of me. Please consider it a suggestion.”
–His Majesty, huh.
Bartil smiled only with the corner of his mouth. Lawrence had served the previous king as a model soldier. But his praise for Hilbert was extraordinarily excessive. Bartil was secretly worried that he might start challenging citizens who were negative about Hilbert to duels.
『Please, don’t get any foolish ideas. If you want to be deceived and ruin yourself, that’s your business, but in that case, do it alone. Don’t drag this country into it!』
After Lawrence said what he wanted to say, the communication was abruptly cut off. The Caller was already turning into brown, weathered scraps of paper. Bartil ripped it, crushed it in his hand, and threw it into the corner of the room. Callers only lasted a few minutes at most.
The conversation was over, and it was about time for the talisman to burn out, so it wasn’t an unnatural time to cut the communication, but the way he ended it was like venting his irritation. Bartil gave a wry smile, or perhaps a scornful laugh, and cracked his neck.
“Well then, time to contact everyone. I can’t exactly tell them I spoke to the ‘Rose Princess of Hellrage’ herself. I’ll just tell them that the undead seem to be targeting only the First Knight Order, and to act as a wall of flesh without attacking.”
Bartil looked out of the slit-shaped window to the outside of the city. The undead army was reforming its ranks, filling in the gaps left by the lost soldiers. If this temporary retreat was to lure Bartil into betraying them… the second attack should begin after a little while.
“Commander.”
Humphrey called out to Bartil, who was about to leave the room.
He had come this far with the flow of events, but in the face of the conversation between the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” and the commander, he had stiffened in the corner of the room, just watching the situation unfold. His expression, when he finally spoke, was tinged with confusion.
“What is it?”
“Um… I may not be in a position to say this, but… Was the person you were just talking to really the First Knight Commander?”
Bartil was momentarily unable to grasp the intent of the question.
“…Ah, I see. Lawrence knows he’s the face of the country, so he puts on a good front. Most of the Second Order members don’t even know about his temper tantrums.”
Humphrey seemed to have seen Lawrence’s unusual behavior and found it hard to believe that he was the First Knight Commander, a national hero.
“It’s as if he’s already decided that you’re a traitor, Commander.”
“Well, in reality, it’s like I’ve half-betrayed them… No, I should say I was never their ally to begin with. The First Knight Order has had some deaths, but we’re unscathed. It’s only natural that he’s not feeling calm.”
In the initial battle, the members of the First Knight Order were killed mercilessly, but the Second Knight Order only had a few injured, and no one died despite the large horde of undead that came. Until Humphrey brought back the astonishing news, Bartil didn’t understand what was going on… He was even thinking that Lawrence might suspect him of internal collusion. He even thought it might be a trap for that purpose. And his concerns were correct. Bartil had deliberately revealed Renée’s invitation, but Lawrence seemed to have suspected Bartil from before. That’s why he had been so hostile.
“To put it bluntly, I’m… scared. It’s natural to hate the enemy, but the emotions the First Knight Commander directs towards the ‘Rose Princess of Hellrage’ feel different… I feel like that’s why he’s become so hostile even towards you, Commander.”
Charisma, brilliant bravery, a handsome appearance, and elegant demeanor… Everyone admires Lawrence, who seems to have been born to be a hero. Naturally, the general public, and even more so the knights belonging to the knight order, admire him. Perhaps that’s why Humphrey is even more confused.
–It’s not like Lawrence is some kind of ‘hero’ creature, he’s just a person.
“Lawrence is diligent, kind, serious, the strongest, has a strong sense of justice, and is charismatic. I think he’s a knight worthy of leading the First Knight Order. But, he’s excited about the situation where he can finally get one over on the Federation, which they had to treat with respect even though they hated them, and fight against the Federation to protect the country, and he’s lost a bit of his sense of judgment. He’s from the east, so he probably felt more affinity for Noacurio than the Federation… and I heard his family had a terrible experience involving the Federation.”
“Th-The Federation? Isn’t the enemy we’re fighting right now the ‘Rose Princess of Hellrage’?”
“I think his categorization of ‘enemy’ is rough. The former King was pro-Federation. Therefore, he’s part of the Federation. Renée is the former King’s daughter. Therefore, she’s part of the Federation. The ‘Rose Princess of Hellrage’ is a monster resurrected from the former King’s daughter, and an enemy that threatens the newly rising national polity. Therefore, she’s part of the Federation… something like that. …I think that’s a talent as a soldier, you know? If you’re agonizing and hesitating on the battlefield, you’ll die.”
Lawrence is likely seeing the shadow of the Federation in the “Rose Princess of Hellrage.” This is a battle against the evil Federation’s invasion for Lawrence. Combined with the fact that they are at a disadvantage, he has become ferocious like a wounded beast.
“He’s on the verge of classifying me as an ally of the Federation.”
Even when Bartil said that, Humphrey still looked unconvinced.
“We were good friends.”
“Have you been hated?”
“No? …I don’t want to be friends with someone who gets excited about cutting off a girl’s head. I don’t.”
–Ah, I said it. I didn’t want to abandon him.
Bartil quietly closed his eyes, then opened them. Outside the window, an army that seemed to be the embodiment of death was arrayed.
“I’ll play the bat. I’ll observe the situation and act to see how to end everything as peacefully as possible. Protecting this country means protecting the people. It doesn’t necessarily mean protecting His Majesty. If it means saving even one more citizen, I’ll overlook a coup d’état, and I’ll even sell my soul to an evil god.”
“He’s a cunning one.”
As soon as she ended the conversation on the Visioner, a visual communication talisman, Renée said this.
The place where Renée was having the conversation was a tent separate from the strategy room at the main camp. Alistair, who was present, frowned at Renée’s words.
“Was there some falsehood after all?”
It was, of course, intentional that she had given Humphrey a Visioner instead of a Caller. This way, she could use the excuse of the range to call him within the range of her emotion sensing. During her conversation with Bartil, Renée was reading his emotions to determine how cooperative he was and whether he was lying.
“There was a reaction when I mentioned Hilbert and Lawrence, so I think at least those two are listening.”
Renée had sensed Bartil’s agitation and fear. By inferring from which words he reacted to the most, she could understand what the actual situation was. Alistair also crossed his arms and groaned.
“There’s no way he would come out to that place. So…”
“He didn’t react when I asked ‘Are you together?’, so… he probably placed a Caller and relayed the conversation to the strategy command headquarters.”
“How disrespectful to the Princess! It’s just like Bartil to do something like that, I can’t even sigh.”
“It’s fine, we can use that to our advantage.”
Renée had heard from Alistair in advance about what kind of person Bartil was and what his attitude was towards the coup d’état, and she had a detailed understanding of him. Overall, he seemed to be a man who was hard to pin down. He seemed to be a person who was emotionally on her side, but he was cautious and would not deviate from his role as a soldier to protect the people.
It was probably true that he wanted to watch and decide which side to take. Bartil agreed to talk, but he didn’t rashly bet everything on Renée, and he didn’t seem to be completely on Lawrence’s side either.
“He’s not hostile, but he smells like he’s watching for a chance to outsmart us. He’s aiming for a solo victory.”
“Princess, in the previous conversation, were you anticipating Phase 7, Pattern 3? In this situation, you will have to patrol the front lines yourself…”
“I don’t mind. We’ll resume the battle with that course.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Alistair bowed respectfully.
“I understand his feelings, but I won’t let him off the hook, Second Knight Commander. I’ll consider the amount you tried to deceive me first as your fault, and you will willingly receive your retribution. I haven’t lied, but I haven’t told the whole truth either. It’s the same way your god does things.”