The goal is to depose the current king of Harmonia and install Lady Annelyse as the new monarch. If I were to marry Lady Annelyse, would that make me king? Becoming king wouldn’t be so bad…
“What are you saying! Deposing His Majesty the King!”
Only Lady Annelyse was agitatedly protesting. The White Lily Corps that accompanied us, and even Yuma Bashar, watched her silently.
“The current King of Harmonia cannot maintain the country. He fled the Royal Capital without a fight, attacked the Dwarf autonomous territory, and is now turning his blade against Rothfar. Furthermore, he plans to escape Rothfar and even fight Ashtal. The King no longer fulfills his duties as King.”
Lady Annelyse slumped onto a chair, head bowed. I’m not bullying her. I just want her to grasp the current situation. Everyone here, including Lady Annelyse, understands the Harmonia King’s madness. There’s no pain greater than obeying an idiot, but he is family to Lady Annelyse.
“Lady Annelyse, why don’t you give it another try? If he still refuses to listen… then…”
This is a compromise. Both Lady Annelyse and the King of Harmonia will get a chance. How they seize it will change the situation. If Lady Annelyse doesn’t agree, I’ll return to the Asht Empire. It would be better to join the expeditionary force.
Whether Lady Annelyse’s contemplation lasted a moment or an hour, as she pushed back her hair and looked at me, her eyes held a strong will that sent shivers through my entire body. I’m falling for her. I will become king…
“Let’s go, Mikael. Take me with you.”
“Depart! Full speed! We leave behind anyone who lags!”
My brigade, which I called upon for the first time in a while, now numbered about seventy men. Despite our escape after defeat, Christine managed to rally them and bring them here.
Lady Annelyse’s Knight Order consists of 150 men, all direct subordinates of Yuma Bashar. With us, that makes a total of just over two hundred. To annihilate fifteen thousand men with such a force… Impossible, preposterous, insane. There’s no way.
The disparity in force is over sixty times. If we fight head-on, we’ll undoubtedly lose. But if we don’t fight head-on, we can win. After all, we have a Duke here who can directly appeal to the King. It’s more than enough to get within Godspeed’s range.
The problem is time. There’s about a two-day gap between us and the King. If he takes his time bathing in the hot springs at Denbergルスハイム, we can catch up. But if he passes through, he’ll reach Rothfar quickly.
Rothfar seems to be amassing troops at the border, too. If they learn of Harmonia’s movements, they’ll likely move their army towards Denberg. The longer it takes, the more unavoidable combat becomes.
What if Harmonia and Rothfar are already clashing? It would be convenient if they could stop at my word of “Just a moment!” But I can’t possibly intervene and stop each individual.
The best scenario is for Lady Annelyse to replace the King without confronting Rothfar. It’s a peaceful and constructive future. I hope things proceed smoothly.
The next best scenario is for the King to return to Klinshberbach without confronting Rothfar… No, that’s unlikely. I don’t believe the current King has the strength to overcome the upcoming difficulties.
Does Lady Annelyse even have the will to become King? She has extraordinary abilities, so she certainly has the potential. Her capability as King is unknown, but that can be bolstered by competent subordinates like myself. …And perhaps, one day, I could become King myself.
…Damn, this is bad. Being near Lady Annelyse makes me feel like I’m being drawn in by her abilities. I need to keep my own goals firmly in mind. I need to think about other things. …Priscilla’s breasts, Christine’s waist, Sophia’s hips, Alana’s cheerfulness, Orietta’s cuteness, Rufina’s ferocity.
We ran through the night and reached Denbergルスハイム, but the King of Harmonia was nowhere to be found.
“What do we do now?”
Having secured lodging in Denberg, we gathered in Lady Annelyse’s room for our final discussion. Lady Annelyse had arrived in a carriage pulled by four horses, and she must have been quite tired. We, who rode horses, were even more exhausted.
About ten percent of Yuma Bashar’s subordinates dropped out, but my brigade, true to Christine’s direct lineage, had no casualties. My reliable brigade! My brigade!
“His Majesty the King has already reached the border with Rothfar. The Rothfar side is gathering in a town near the border. They’ll likely mobilize their army as soon as he crosses. That will give them a legitimate reason.”
It was good that I sent Iris ahead. With such information gathering capability, I should have utilized her more. Of course, I’ll release her after the war, but if Iris wishes to stay, she’s welcome.
“We’ll depart before dawn. Please get some rest. Consider this your final appeal to the King.”
As we left the room, we were called back from behind. It wasn’t Lady Annelyse in her thin lace negligee, but Yuma Bashar in rugged armor.
I let the members of the White Lily Corps go ahead and rest. I could kill Yuma Bashar here, but if I did, I’d be asked why. I couldn’t possibly say “I resented being stabbed in the Achilles’ heel from behind.” If I’m going to kill him, it will be a fair and square ambush.
“Do you need something…”
If he’d put his hand on his sword, I could have cut him down, but Yuma Bashar quietly answered my gruff question.
“Baron Shin, what do you intend to do with Lady Annelyse?”
Huh? That’s not the point! I haven’t heard the words “I’m sorry” from you yet. I left you two alone, thinking it might be difficult for you to say! Seeing my displeased look, Yuma Bashar continued.
“There’s no point in talking with His Majesty the King. There’s nothing left to discuss. It might even be impossible to get an audience… I believe Lady Annelyse is worthy of being the next monarch.”
I know that. I don’t know about discussions, but she has enough talent to become Queen and rule this country, and I have the talent to stand beside her.
“And then…”
I replied curtly. My mind was filled with visions of Lady Annelyse in a pure white wedding dress, a grand wedding ceremony, a giant cake, and doves of happiness flying.
“There’s no need for discussion. The King, of course, has the crown and scepter. Take those from him. I will find the Royal Seal and deliver it to Lady Annelyse.”
Ah, so this was about a coup d’état. I thought it was about our wedding. As expected, when I’m near Lady Annelyse, I tend to get sidetracked.
“With that, she can become a King in name, but what about the Chancellor and the influential nobles of this country?”
“Leave Chancellor Himmel to me. I’ll deal with him if necessary. As for the influential nobles, there are two: the Border Count of Denbergルスハイム, Count Knorr, and Count Ernst, who is near the northeastern mountains and hasn’t been attacked yet. I’ll leave these two to Commander Shin’s brigade.”
So, in the end, all the heavy lifting falls to me… But if I don’t do it, Lady Annelyse can’t become Queen. A Queen who can’t even have a proper coronation ceremony is pitiable, but at least let’s have a spectacular wedding.
Two men stood talking in the dimly lit corridor. I dislike this fellow, but I do enjoy hearing about wicked schemes. For about an hour, we discussed the matters for Lady Annelyse’s enthronement, ending with Yuma Bashar’s surprised cry of “Hee!”
“Iris, did something happen?”
My mind’s eye was constantly active before Yuma Bashar, and I was alternating between it and the wide-area mind’s eye, so when Iris stood behind me, I wasn’t surprised like I would have been with Yuma.
“The Harmonia army has moved.”
“What!?”
Now it was my turn to be surprised. My dear Iris, thank you for the harsh report. Yuma Bashar, remember his face. I might ask him to do some assassinations later.
“Yuma Bashar, my brigade will get priority on the horses. You won’t need much for the Royal Seal and Chancellor Himmel. —Iris, mobilize the White Lily Corps and the brigade. We’re departing.”
“Understood. Twenty cavalry should be enough.”
“Go ahead. Take care of things before we escort Lady Annelyse. —One of you, Iris, go with them. Don’t lose contact.”
I dislike him, but he gets the job done. He needs to secure Chancellor Himmel and obtain the Royal Seal, otherwise, Lady Annelyse cannot be enthroned.
After sending them off, I entered Lady Annelyse’s bedchamber. I properly called out, knocked three times, and called out again after opening the door slightly.
On the bed, Lady Annelyse was in a rather “revealing” state… The sheet she was using was nowhere to be seen, and her negligee was rolled up past her stomach.
Is this an “invitation”!? Am I being invited!? If I’m invited, I won’t hold back. Lady Annelyse’s hidden power, her captivating charisma. I want to accept that temptation, I want to… be with Lady Annelyse like this…
I… I… I bit my lip until it bled…
“Lady Annelyse, please wake up. The King has moved the army. Lady Annelyse…”
Damn it! I bit so hard that I’m actually bleeding. It hurts, and anything sour will cause intense pain for a while. Wake up, you sleep like the dead. Shaking her shoulder should be acceptable, right?
“Lady Annelyse, please wake up. The King has moved the army. We must hurry.”
I miscalculated. I thought the King moving his army wouldn’t be until near noon. Making a fifteen-thousand-man army work without even breakfast… The labor standards in this world are truly harsh.
“M-Mikael… Kyaa!”
I didn’t enter a maiden’s bedchamber without permission. I called out, I knocked. Even if she coyly tries to hide her beautiful legs with her negligee now, I’ll never forget what I’ve seen.
“I apologize. Please get dressed. We are deploying.”
Lady Annelyse, sitting on the bed, is also adorable. Ideally, I would have preferred a morning kiss to waking her like this, but there’s no time. There’s even less time to push her down.
“Mikael, please help me get dressed.”
Gladly! … But before I could help, I was kicked out by Lady Annelyse’s plump maid, who arrived late.
