6:00 AM. As always, I wake up at this hour, sticking to the ingrained routine embedded in my body over the years.
After tidying up my bed and doing a quick wash, I change into something comfortable.
Then, after a brief stretch, I begin my light jog.
“Hooof.”
The Klawitz family has always been active in the military for generations. Naturally, rigorous physical training has become second nature to us. Even me, who has no martial arts skills, consistently maintains my stamina.
Though sometimes it gets annoying, and I’m tempted to skip it and sleep in. But it’s become such a habit that not doing it feels weirder. Plus, this regular exercise has helped me endure many tough situations I’ve faced so far.
Like during basic military training or when I accompanied the Imperial Legion. Things that would’ve exhausted ordinary noble heirs, I handled without batting an eye.
“Huuufff…”
After jogging just enough to break a light sweat, I catch my breath a few times. This seems to keep my mind sharp throughout the day. I guess it’s proof that our family’s warrior bl**d runs deep.
Glancing around, I notice a rather familiar face waving from afar.
“Kael!”
“Your Highness Princess?”
Surprise. I didn’t expect the princess to be up this early. What’s more, she doesn’t look like she’s rolling out of bed, half-asleep. She’s perfectly composed as always. Did I overestimate the leisurely life royalty supposedly leads?
“What’s with that shocked expression?”
“I didn’t expect to see you this early.”
“Hmm? Oh, right. We’ve been staying in different places… Ah yes, that’s true. We were in different locations before.”
True. In the north and east, we were always apart. Even when we were briefly in the west together, we soon got reassigned to the south, preventing encounters like this. Thus, this is my first time meeting the princess in the morning.
“Did you think princesses sleep in and laze around? On the contrary, the royal family has an extremely tight schedule laid out every day.”
“…I apologize for the misconception.”
“Don’t take it too seriously. I’m just saying I work hard like everyone else. Just because I was born into a privileged family doesn’t mean life was handed to me on a silver platter.”
The princess giggles, then tilts her head to look at me, suddenly wearing an odd expression. She clears her throat and examines me more closely.
“Your Highness?”
“So, you really are one of the Klawitzes.”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing. G-ah, um, yeah… this spot—”
The princess keeps making strange gestures. What’s up with her?
Then it dawned on me. Of course.
I’ve been moving enough to break a sweat and opted for comfortable clothing, given how much warmer the south is compared to where I’m used to. This resulted in an unintended situation where my physique became slightly more pronounced…
“Ahhh, sorry, Your Highness. If I caused any inconvenience…”
“Inconvenience? No, it’s actually… N-not!”
The princess flails her hands in the air, her face clearly flushed, seemingly embarrassed.
At this point, it’s better to just stay silent. There’s no need to bring attention to certain details here. If anyone overhears and this gets reported to His Majesty the Emperor, I’ll be branded as someone getting above their station because they gained a little favor. Definitely. They’ll call me an overconfident strategist who thinks too highly of themselves.
“…Ah, Kael.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Can you call me by my name once?”
For a moment, I was sure I misheard her.
Or maybe she wasn’t fully awake.
Which noble in their right mind would dare address royalty so casually? A princess no less. Unless you’re directly part of the royal family, it’s an act of utter disrespect.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that last part.”
“But the person herself said it’s okay, didn’t she?”
“Forgive me, but the laws and protocols of the Empire and royal house must be respected.”
“Tch.”
Cute muttering aside, breaking the rules is still breaking the rules.
And what if this gets reported back to His Majesty? I could easily get in serious trouble. They’d accuse me of becoming arrogant after the emperor gave me some attention. Absolutely.
“Today you have the itinerary for visiting various legions in the south, do you not?”
“Yes, it seems like it’ll be a busy morning. And you, Kael?”
“I’m scheduled to meet with the Marquis and other nobles to assess the southern situation.”
“Our lives are indeed full of hardship, aren’t they?”
For a moment, we stood silently, just staring at each other.
Until, as if by some silent agreement, we both spoke at exactly the same time.
“Keep going!”
“Stay strong!”
Technically different words, but essentially the same meaning. We both exclaim, “Ah!” realizing our synchronization.
“Hehe. We’ve been teamed up since the north, so it seems our partnership has become smoother.”
“It’s been over half a year now, and we’re approaching a whole year.”
Indeed. Time flies. It feels like only a month has passed.
“I’ll likely depend on your help again, Kael.”
“I plan on seeking your assistance more than expected, Your Highness.”
The emperor gave us both roughly the same task: to serve as pillars boosting the morale of the Imperial Legion.
“Our future…”
“…let’s work hard.”
Despite the mounting fatigue and responsibilities we each bear, talking like this somehow makes it vanish. Yeah. Today and beyond, let’s give it our all.
The pleasant morning didn’t last an hour.
The moment certain individuals arrived and ushered us into a meeting room, an utterly absurd piece of news broke the good mood.
[The Kingdom of Dedolant launches a full-scale offensive against Dugal.]
[Massive battles erupt. Dugal defeated, completely losing control of the western territories.]
“…d*mn it all.”
Unbelievable nonsense. Complete lunatics. These guys are something else.
They pretended to focus all their attention on Atria after annexing it, then suddenly launched a whirlwind assault and swallowed up Dugal’s western territories. Without giving the Empire a chance to act?
“Is this… even possible?”
I wasn’t the only one stunned. The princess sighed repeatedly as she looked at Marquis Rylas and the commanders.
“Even we find this highly troubling, Your Highness.”
“Who would’ve guessed Dugal would fall so quickly?”
Commanders of the Imperial Legion don’t just occupy their posts by playing politics and kissing up. Those skills are essential, but they also need the tactical knowledge befitting military leaders. The commanders are among the top military minds in the Empire. Hell, that’s why I kept interventions to a minimum in the eastern theater and let the commanders handle things.
Even they can’t hide their bewilderment regarding the news.
“Dugal had a strong army, so how is this possible?”
“The western legions must be panicking about the strength of Dedolant now. Seems like we need to double our current estimates.”
“Who would’ve thought Dedolant was this capable…”
The current situation: all overland routes between the Empire, Dugal, and Ross Tannika have been severed. Even without direct borders, Dedolant enjoyed close ties with Benito. Now, the two kingdoms have formed direct connections. On top of that, Benito has been aggressively consolidating the Holy Kingdom and threatening the Southern Kingdoms who’ve been playing it safe.
“Things are getting messier.”
“We need to rein in Benito’s momentum. What if Dedolant blocks its efforts?”
“Can we even trust that Dedolant fully submitted to us? Look what they did: after taking Jügel from Dugal, they blindsided them and annexed the west.”
The atmosphere grew heavy during the nobles’ and legion leaders’ discussions. Watching it all unfold, this comment slipped out before I could stop myself.
“…It was only a matter of time.”
“Kael?”
“Master Kael?”
Not so fast, everyone. That look like you’ve been eagerly waiting for some insight isn’t gonna work.
“The potential for Dedolant to act this way was anticipated by myself and others in the west. We just… didn’t expect such speed.”
Is Dedolant stronger than imagined?
Or was Dugal stupider than we thought?
Maybe it’s both. That seems most likely.
“Let’s push the issues in the west to the backburner for now and focus on the southern situation.”
“Agreed. Master Kael, two legions from the east are scheduled to arrive in the south by the end of next month. We plan on handing border defense to them while the southern legions prepare for an offensive.”
It seems the Imperial high command has made its decision.
Under the guise of crusades and divine judgment, we’re striking first.
Even if it tarnishes our reputation as a kingdom intolerant of other nations’ growth… Even if it undermines the pro-Empire sentiments we’ve carefully cultivated in the south… We need to stop Benito from dominating the south and wiping out the Holy Kingdom.
There’s no way Benito’s military power compares to the Empire’s.
Sure, they’ve got superior numbers, but they’ll never match the actual combat capabilities of the Imperial Legion. There are whispers about mercenaries sent to Dedolant, but that doesn’t amount to much immediate threat.
“Why are the Empire, Nobogorod, and Dedolant so militarily superior? They’ve been through countless real battles. In that context, Benito… at best, is second-tier.”
The Imperial high command probably agrees. They believe that applying moderate threats will make Benito back down.
Naturally, I concur. When the Empire’s legions declare, “Back off now or face utter ruin,” no one—Nobogorod included—could do anything but retreat, salivating.
[Benito Declares War on the Empire]
“…?”
Even the Emperor of the Empire.
“…??”
The foreign affairs experts and war department specialists.
“…Eh?”
And Kael.
Everyone had the same thought.
“Are these people… idiots?”
