Leppe said, “…It appears that the Royal Capital still has no understanding of the situation as the person in charge of planning the operation for the defense of the Royal Capital and even some of the Royal Guards are here.”
“Are you talking about the demon army that is heading toward the royal capital? The people who have been scouting from the border have already returned using their Skywalk. We are expecting the enemy to arrive tomorrow or so.”
“Nah…”
Seyfart’s accent was almost apologetic.
“You seem to be mistaken. The royal family and the nobility are aware that an attack on the royal capital will take place. My role in this situation is to plan a strategy. As long as the country was able to get into motion, my work is basically done.”
“The country is already on the move?”
“The Demon Army cannot suddenly appear around the royal capital. The defense of the Royal Capital is only a part of the whole plan. The plan includes scouting of the borders, evacuation plans to minimize human casualties in the towns and villages nearby the royal capital, arrangements for supplies, and support plans for rebuilding lives afterward.”
“…”
“Why do you think Duke Grunding has been out of the public eye of late? The duke and almost everyone else in his position has been working tirelessly to plan and execute events before and after the war.”
Seyfart continued, “But because of this, the Prime Minister was fundamentally understaffed, and various chores went to people who had nothing to do with battle, and he was also sorry that he had caused Lord Welner to do more work than he should have. Since we can’t always capture the other side of the border, we have expanded on what Lord Welner did at Anheim, which is to draw them in and set the battlefield in our favor while minimizing the damage to the people. It was a good example for us to follow.”“Evacuation plans, I’ve never heard of such a thing…”
“Why do you think we waited so long after that duel trial? We had been investigating and knew that there was a suspicious person inside the royal capital’s church. I did not expect it to be you. Therefore, the High Priest of Finnoi, not the one in the royal capital, is directly in charge of the evacuation plan.”
Seyfart said while looking around at his surroundings, which were now completely brightened by too many magic lamps.
“Well, I guess it’s about time.” (Seyfart)
“What?” (Leppe)
“You are very capable, but you lack experience in actual combat.” (Seyfart)
Leppe’s face turned to look at Seyfart, and he followed Seyfart’s gaze and for the first time he looked shocked.
Lily could no longer be used as a hostage, as the Valcay troops and female knights who had secured her safety were surrounding her, wielding swords and chasing away the magic beasts.
On the other hand, Welner himself had initiated a close combat with the knights directly commanded by Juliane.
In the end, there was no one to protect Leppe. It was only now that he realized that he was completely separated from his group.
“I was afraid that if I let you and the others continue keeping Lily as a hostage, we would be disadvantaged. Moreover, it will be painful to deal with an enemy group backed by a High Priest who could use healing magic. So I went out of my way to keep you company and talk with you.”
Leppe’s tone was the first to turn agitated as Seyfart continued, “It is not only weapons that can incapacitate a man who is capable of command.”
“Grand Duke Seyfart, you do not understand! The oracle is absolute! You should have entrusted the future to her son, even if you had to use the Demon King! Everyone will eventually understand that I am not wrong!”
“Sure.“
Seyfart’s tone was nonchalant in response to Leppe’s heartfelt cry.
“People like you think that I am wrong, but there are many people in this world who agree that the nobility and royalty are corrupt. No one person’s opinion will ever be accepted by everyone.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Seyfart continued, “I don’t think either of us can understand each other. You discuss ideals and I look at things from a practical point of view. And from my point of view, you just look like a drunk man babbling nonsense.”
“Drunk? Me, drunk?”
“You’re drunk on ideals and stumbling down because you are now facing a pathway to reality.”
Seyfart raised his hand lightly. The next moment, the archers deployed in Leppe’s blind spot fired their arrows at once, ready to eliminate Leppe. The archers, while Seyfart was taking Leppe’s time talking, waited for the signal while keeping their positions safe from monsters around them.
Shot by 30 arrows at once, Leppe fell to the ground without uttering a word. Just to be certain, one of the knights finished him off.
“Hmm, a composite bow is a great weapon. It’s about the size of a short bow but has sufficient power to be used in a place like this.”
“Is it alright for us to do this, my lord?”
Seyfart smiled.
“You mean about us killing a High Priest? The church may not be happy about it, but they can’t take any aggressive measures. After all, this time it was me, the Grand Duke, who did it.”
The church would obviously want to bring Leppe to justice themselves, because of their own interests. Each side had its own reasons and prestige.
If it had been Viscount Welner who had done this, the push from the church would have been greater, and the complaints might have become more forceful and loud. However, if it had been a nobleman of Seyfart’s stature, it would be difficult for the church to make a loud complaint. Even the church understood the dangers of picking a fight with a bigwig.
“I may be reprimanded by His Majesty for overdoing things publicly, and reflecting on it, I will give back a part of my lands to the country. But since the royal family would have already punished me by that point, the church will forgive me for arbitrarily punishing the guilty. It will be settled at that point.”
He was already planning to give his territory back in the first place, so it would only be a matter of accelerating the plan. The person in charge of this clash would have to take responsibility after all in order to settle this matter without further conflict from the two sides. And Seyfart was not really concerned about taking that responsibility.
Rather, he believed that it was his role to keep the church’s complaints to himself so that the younger Welner would not be resented.
“It’s simply the role of the old people to take responsibility when they are in a position to do so.”
With that final response, Seyfart instructed his personal knights, who were on guard, to make sure that the archers were well protected and that the archers ensure that monsters could not assist Leppe’s allies. Some of them were also assigned to be Lily’s escort, as they moved to the next battlefield.
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