11. Failure
Idiots, these girls are idiots.
I, Faust von Polidoro, looked at the Second Princess’s Guard with slight disdain.
A disposal site for the good-for-nothings, prepared for the spare by Queen Rezenlotte.
And they themselves were aware of this.
Though, I didn’t expect them to be any worse than this.
“Listen to what I heard! Those Willendorf, have super big d”ck! Yes, Big! It feels good! It looks good!!”
What an obscene song that was sung by them.
The 15 members of the Second Princess Guard were in a state of high spirits, in stark contrast to the lack of energy they had displayed on the first day of the march.
These people had gotten used to marching in three days.
I thought in the first march of the first campaign, they would be exhausted from leaving their territory for the first time, and their movements would be sluggish until the end.
But, these people had gotten used to marching in just three days.
I didn’t know if they just stumbled at the beginning or if they had somehow gone crazy.
In any case, these people had gotten used to marching.
During the Willendorf campaign, when I went to attack the 50 enemy knights, the 20 veterans of my territory didn’t miss following my ass. Of course, they didn’t fail this time too.
But, these obscene people were getting to the pace of the march in just three days.
That was good.
That was a very good thing indeed.
“All good! Taste? Good! Very good! Good for you! Good for me!”
But, I didn’t expect them to sing such an obscene song.
I was so dumbfounded by this.
Well, singing while marching is still good.
But, why it must be an obscene song?
“Zabine, stop that song, now…”
The Second Princess Valliere muttered in disgust from the bottom of her heart.
Commander Zabine, who was singing at the front, turned around and gave a reply.
“Valliere-sama. Although it’s not a written law, singing while marching is a right given to soldiers from ancient times.”
Zabine answered with a confident face.
Idiot, really idiot.
In the first place, you’re all different from ordinary soldiers.
Even though you are in the lowest rank, a first-generation knight, you’re still a knight with blue blood.
“Ladies, you should be knights before you are soldiers. Anyway, just that… in front of Faust, please stop.”
While Princess Valliere was looking at my expression, she muttered this in sorrow.
And the obscenities stopped, so suddenly.
Did they just remember that there is a male knight here?
“Oh, but Faust. You’re not blushing. I heard you’re not good with sexual harassment.”
Muttered Princess Valliere while looking at my complexion.
Certainly, the world seemed to recognize me as a pure-hearted man who would blush at Duchess Astarte’s sexual harassment.
In reality, Duchess Astarte’s intense body touch―― when her huge breasts were pressed against my body, my excited “son” hit the chastity belt, demanding freedom, and that hurt. So, my face was red trying to calm my “son” down.
In short, there was no reason for blushing when hearing a very obscene song.
“Sexual harassment? Well, that’s unfortunate, sure. But, that’s all I can say about that.”
I said this in all honesty. From the bottom of my heart.
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry.”
Princess Valliere bowed her head as if ignoring the difference in our position.
No no, the bad one isn’t you.
The bad ones are these idiots.
I heaved a sigh.
“Lord Polidoro, I’m sorry. Then, let me sing another song… how about a heroic song?”
“Let’s stop for now. It’s almost time to reach our destination.”
I stopped Zabine-dono from trying to sing again.
After all, it was almost the destination village.
“The enemy ―― the bandits are roaming around the village and attacking the traveling entertainers and merchants. From this point onwards, they may attack. Everyone, be careful.”
I ordered everyone to be ready for battle.
We were planning to reach the village in less than two hours.
I ordered five squires, including Helga, the Squire Commander, to prepare their crossbows.
These crossbows owned by my territory were of the type where the user would have to pull the string with a pulley widely used in the Kingdom of Anhalt.
All of them were stolen from the enemy’s possession during the military service I did between the ages of 15 and 20.
It was a threat when used by the enemy, but once I tried it, there was nothing more convenient than that.
If the attack hit well, even a knight could be killed in one shot.
Unless the opponent was a superhuman who could knock down a bow and arrow with a sword without a sweat.
In other words, someone like the First Princess Anastasia, Duchess Astarte, and the leader of the enemy, Reckenbell, whom I once defeated.
And me.
“Once the crossbow is ready, we will resume our march towards the village.”
The number of enemies was reportedly 30 bandits.
It was no different from any other military service I had done.
Probably, it would take a lot of time to chase down the escaping bandits’ butts, but it would be an easy task to just kill them.
First, shoot them with the crossbow, then break their noses, and finally cut them all to death. Very simple.
This time, however, it was quite troublesome, as I had to give some credit to the Second Princess Valliere. After all, it was her first campaign. And also, to the bodyguards under her command.
Well, as far as the state of the march, their ability seems to be real.
If it’s just a bunch of bandits, earning a kill score won’t be that hard.
…Should I ask the Second Princess to cut off at least one head of the captured bandits?
That was what I was thinking――to be honest, I let my guard down, perhaps too much.
Anyway, the crossbow was ready and now, we were on the way to the village.
Before reaching it, I let Helga use the “magic glasses”.
Or the so-called binoculars.
For this battle, I purposedly applied to borrow it from the Royal Family.
Soon, she gave a report to me.
“The village, it looks like the village has been devastated. There are also some dead bodies.”
“Tch,..”
I clicked my tongue and wondered why 100 villagers, under a governor sent by the kingdom, were defeated by at most 30 bandits.
I started looking for the reason in my mind.
Damn it…
Anyway, let’s hurry.
And we can’t let out guard down.
After telling everyone about Helga’s report, I called for increased vigilance.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
In a small governor’s mansion in a small village.
Princess Valliere raised her voice.
“The number of bandits exceeds 100 you say!? No, to be precise, there are no bandits at all in the first place, you say!? This is different from the report!”
“I am, truly sorry.”
Princess Valliere screamed. And the governor apologized to the Second Princess Valliere while bowing.
The governor dispatched to the village by the Kingdom had a serious arm injury.
Wait, in the first place, why is the governor still alive?
I let the question out of my mouth.
“Is that true? The village was attacked, and many died. The meager amount of wealth, as well as the men and boys, were all taken away. In this situation, why you, who should have been leading the resistance, are still alive? Considering this, I can’t completely believe what you said.”
“You are?”
“Faust von Polidoro.”
“…you are, that Knight of Wrath?”
I introduced myself briefly.
And continued to interrogate from the side.
“Let me ask you again. Why are you still alive?”
“I’m embarrassed to say this honestly. I was shot through the arm by an enemy with a crossbow, and then when I fell off the horse onto the ground, I hit my head and fainted.”
The governor confessed a shameful event while blushing.
Doesn’t seem like it’s a lie.
When I nodded slightly, Princess Valliere began to ask the governor to continue the story.
“…… So, why is it different from the first report? The first report said there were only 30 bandits. That they were roaming around the village, attacking the traveling entertainers and merchants. That was the reason the village asked for help.”
“After the situation changed, I sent someone again to report. But from what you said――”
“It hasn’t arrived yet when we departed. There must be a big fuss in the royal castle that received the report by now. More importantly, we don’t understand the circumstances. Tell me more.”
Princess Valliere continued to ask questions while holding her head.
To be honest, this was a situation where even I, who was listening to the conversation on the sidelines, would like to hold my head too.
“At first, there were indeed 30 bandits. However, the bandits were absorbed by another force.”
“Absorbed? Another force?”
“There was a family succession dispute in a neighboring town of about 1000 people. The squires, retainers, and citizens shed blood in the dispute.”
It’s only getting worse.
No more, please.
Princess Valliere seemed to be thinking the same as me.
“The result was that the eldest daughter won and the second daughter lost――but in the chaotic situation where the eldest daughter was injured, there was no time to cut the neck of the second daughter. Together with the squires and people who were in her faction, she took as much as she could from the ruler’s mansion and ran away from the city while still armed.”
See, as expected it turned out to be a very unpleasant story.
Even the Second Princess Valliere is frowning.
“Then the second daughter, and her retainers encountered a group of bandits. Apparently, something happened after that―― I’m not sure myself. Anyway, the bandit group was absorbed into their group, and as a result, an army of 100 people was formed, and they attacked this village.”
“……Why do you know so many details?”
“The town ruler’s eldest daughter instructed some people to rush to this village and tell us the situation. Please run away, they said.”
Please run away? Fool!
If only you had killed the second daughter, this situation wouldn’t have happened.
Assemble a chasing force, chase after them, and kill them, can’t you? Fool!
In the first place, how could the people of a small village, who would otherwise end their lives in the village, leave their homes, fields, and all their possessions and escape so easily?
I kept complaining in my mind.
“By the time I noticed it, the army was closing in on the village. To resist, I gathered the villagers, hid the men and boys in the governor’s mansion, and challenged the army――”
“The result, you were defeated, huh?”
The devastation in the village was indeed terrible.
Fresh corpses of women, not yet stopped spreading putrid smells, were everywhere, and several heads lay on the ground like weird children’s toys.
“I am, truly sorry.”
With tears in eyes, the governor was no longer bent on her knees and just prostrated on the ground.
It can’t be helped.
That blue blood――no, it should be called stained blue blood now, is an educated leader who must have been raised with the education to be a knight since she’s a spare. Plus, followed by armed squires, and possibly military-experienced citizens.
In addition, a group of bandits with experience as thieves.
And they even outnumbered this village’s forces.
Even if you lose the battle, there is nothing to blame.
What should be blamed is the cause of letting the second daughter escape.
And the eldest daughter of that town ruler is the one who caused this bad situation.
I’m sure that she’ll be summoned to the royal palace and severely cursed by Her Majesty the Queen.
Even though it’s a small village, it’s still part of the kingdom.
Possibly, the one sitting in that town ruler’s seat may also be in danger.
That aside――
“What should I do? What should I do now? Tell me, Faust.”
Princess Valliere looked at me with pleading eyes.
As the Second Princess’ Counselor. of course, I had to help.
All right, let’s start with the conclusion.
“I predict the enemy’s future actions. First of all, this territory is close to the border of the enemy country, Willendorf.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are 100 enemies and maybe more. Trying to escape to the neighboring country before they’re defeated in the Kingdom of Anhalt.”
“You mean, they’re going to escape to that barbarian country?!!”
A sound of grinding teeth came from Princess Valliere’s mouth.
“What should we do? We don’t have enough troops. Will reinforcements come?”
“Reinforcements will come. They will definitely come.”
Most likely, Duchess Astarte, who currently has 200 regular soldiers of her territory stationed in the royal capital, will come.
No matter how much stained blue blood the enemies may be, they won’t stand a chance.
But,
It takes time to prepare for departure.
Though, I’m sure they’re in a hurry to prepare for it right now.
“But probably the reinforcements won’t arrive in time. While we’re waiting for reinforcements in this village, those stained blue blood people will flee to the territory of the barbarian, Willendorf.”
They’re transporting men and boys, as well as the stolen goods from the ruler’s mansion.
Their movement speed must be slow.
But it’s still faster than our reinforcements coming.
Surely, those stained blue blood bastards will――aaahh, so troublesome.
“Governor, do you know what the second daughter’s name is?”
“Yes, it’s Caroline.”
Caroline, huh?
“It’s faster for Caroline and her forces to flee to the Willendorf territory than for our reinforcements to arrive. That’s the reality.”
“In other words, what should I do?”
Princess Valliere looked me straight in the eye.
It’s really hard to tell you this fact, but I must.
“The first campaign is a failure. With 20 people of mine, 15 members of the Royal Guard, a total of 37 people including me and Valliere-sama, it’s impossible to kill more than 100 people. Please make a decision to give up the pursuit.”
Of course, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we had no chance of winning, even though I knew it was a fact.
I wouldn’t allow my people to be involved in such an unfavorable war situation and lose their lives either.
Even Princess Valliere probably didn’t want to lose the lives of her elite guards in such a battle.
That was indeed very unfortunate. But, I had to cold-heartedly tell the Second Princess Valliere my thoughts.
