Chapter 37: The Evaluation After A Year
As soon as Eurius cut off the leader’s neck, the situation was quickly resolved.
“Your highness! No matter how primitive and barbaric they are, it is too dangerous for you to charge in personally!”
Linfield ran over and looked at Eurius with a worried expression.
‘He doesn’t seem to be injured this time either.’
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Eurius scratched his head sheepishly and made an excuse.
“It was an urgent situation where the fence was about to break, so my body moved without thinking. It was a rash action as a commander.”
“You must leave it to your knights next time!”
Heinz also arrived in a hurry and pleaded also with Eurius by his side.
They had just dealt with the force users of the immigrants with the knights and rushed over.
They were fairly strong, but they were no match for the top-ranking knights of the north, so they were able to annihilate the invading immigrants successfully.
But the fact that they didn’t rush over right away at the beginning of the battle meant that they also trusted Eurius’s skills.
They had already built that much trust with him.
“How is the damage?”
“Except for the damage to the fence area, there is almost none, except for a few ordinary soldiers who died or were seriously injured by the force users in the early stages of the battle.”
In other words, it was a great victory with almost no damage.
But Eurius’s face turned grim in an instant.
“There are casualties. That’s unfortunate. Report to the Count and ask him to provide enough support for the families.”
Linfield, who had reported, also changed his expression solemnly.
“I will definitely report that.”
He had been assisting Eurius for over a year now.
It was a long or short time, but if Linfield had to evaluate his current feelings in one sentence, it would be this.
‘His highness Eurius is a great person who is worth entrusting my life to.’
It was not just his qualities as a commander or his excellence as a warrior. The Eurius that Linfield saw was a superior who was an example to others more than anyone else.
‘He is an imperial family member, but he came to the north and endured this hardship without any complaints.’
First of all, it was about food.
“The situation has improved a lot since the road to the north opened. Before that, even the Count had to eat barley soup for more than a week.”
Linfield desperately tried to justify himself as he cautiously handed over a bowl of soup to the emperor.
It contained dried meat pieces, hard biscuits, dried vegetables, etc.
It was embarrassing to call it food compared to the high-class dishes that the emperor had eaten so far.
The Valdes Fortress had better supplies, so they could get some decent food, but they couldn’t afford to bring a cook for their field rations.
‘Even if His highness is more modest than I thought, this time…’
“Is there another bowl?”
“Huh?”
“It’s pretty good. I’m not picky about taste, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
Eurius had already emptied his bowl of soup.
He smiled bitterly at Linfield’s stunned expression.
‘I’ve eaten worse than this in my previous life.’
He had many times in his previous life where he had to flee desperately after losing a battle, and he had many times where he ran out of food and ate only grass roots for days.
He had a taste for fine cuisine, but once he experienced the worst ordeal, he had no intention of taking care of his palate even in the field.
There was another reason why he could eat this kind of food comfortably.
‘It reminds me of the past I miss.’
The north was a very special land for him.
He didn’t think much about it when he lived in the palace, but when he came here and shared meals with the soldiers, he couldn’t help but recall the hardships of his previous life.
‘So much has changed in this life.’
There were many things that went his way and many things that remained unresolved.
‘I have to make sure that the people who follow me don’t regret it.’
This was Eurius’s true goal.
He didn’t care much about being the crown prince or the emperor.
He could enjoy wealth and glory even as a prince, because he was in an environment where he could have anything he wanted.
‘To have a good ending with the people who follow me and myself.’
That was Eurius’s ultimate goal.
He finished his meal and came out of his tent and looked up at the night sky.
Beatrix, Marius, Knight Heinz, and other people from his previous life who he had not yet met seemed to be looking out at him.
‘Oh, I’m not a poet, but I’ve become too sentimental.’
Eurius realized that Linfield was staring at him blankly and turned his head.
“It’s not bad to spend time in the field like this. It has a different flavor.”
And then he smiled broadly.
Linfield was someone he had never met in his previous life. But if he trusted and followed him, he was also someone he had to embrace.
“Your highness…”
Linfield just bowed his head without saying anything.
Eurius’s march continued without hesitation. The strange thing was that he always asked to be sent wherever the barbarians appeared.
“I came to the north to protect the people who migrated this far. Please don’t stop me even if it’s a bit dangerous.”
As Eurius successfully completed several missions, Count Anderson also had to nod his head.
“Your highness is a capable person.”
Linfield’s report also became concise at some point. There was no other way to express it than just saying that he was outstanding.
“If Your highness is such a person, I am willing to support you.”
In recent months, Eurius had taken half of the small-scale barbarian invasions.
Of course, people around him tried to dissuade him.
“I’m worried that you might hurt yourself.”
“Don’t you all know why I came to the north? Don’t say anything and let me go.”
He always said that he was trying to build up his merit.
But now no one believed that Eurius was just a hot-blooded prince who came to the north to gain merit.
‘Your Majesty is a person who sincerely cares about the people.’
‘If such a person becomes the emperor in the future, the future of the empire will be bright.’
‘He seems to be worried about the soldiers and the village who died today.’
Soldiers and knights alike looked at him with respectful eyes.
But contrary to his expectations, Eurius’s concern was a completely different problem.
‘Why is it so hard to meet Nuada’s tribe when I’m wandering around like this?’
That’s right!
The core of his trip to the north was to meet Nuada, who would pacify the north in the future.
Fortunately, the warriors of the north considered it an honor to name their tribe and themselves, so there was no possibility of lying even if he asked them bluntly like just before.
But no matter how many immigrants there were in the north, he had fought with countless tribes for more than half a year, but he never heard the name of the tribe led by Nuada.
In fact, he was also a prince by nature. He didn’t feel good about going out every day, fighting in the cold weather and eating and sleeping on the cold ground.
‘But I have to catch it when I have a chance!’
That was why Eurius kept taking on barbarian subjugation missions.
Of course, since his goal was his goal, he didn’t think lightly of people dying because of his purpose.
‘Most of the tribes that come out for plunder are hostile to foreigners. They are not like Nuada who can communicate.’
So half delusion, half truth!
But Eurius’s actions in the north were definitely attracting the hearts of many people, even without his knowing.
…
On the other hand, the situation in the south desert border area of the empire was a little different.
“Cut off all their necks.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Leonhart ordered the execution of the captured prisoners with a cold expression.
Next to him were elite knights assigned by the duke.
Leonhart’s command was simple and clear. He used his qualitative superiority to win a decisive battle and left no trace!
And his judgment was never wrong.
If Eurius was gaining people’s hearts and building up his martial arts in the north, Leonhart was trying to leave a solid record based on the strong force given by the duke.
“If Your highness goes to the north, I will support you with an opportunity to build up your merit in the south.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted.”
Pretending to be a good nephew, Leonhart obediently came to the south. But his inner thoughts were different.
‘I can’t just rely on my uncle. I have to make my own power here.’
He had been seriously thinking about this since Eurius said he was going to the north.
‘I can’t just rely on the Grand duke.’
Leonhardt’s eyes sparkled.
…
Even in the palace, the recent actions of the two princes were hot topics.
“He was outstanding even without any help, but I didn’t know he would adapt so well.”
“But I heard there are a lot of accidents in the north these days. I wonder if he will finish safely.”
“Hmm…”
The emperor read the report sent by Count Anderson carefully and smiled with satisfaction.
‘Count Anderson is not someone who knows how to lie. Marius and I were not wrong about seeing our son.’
But in a big battle where even the eyes of the nobles of Grand Duke faction were focused, he couldn’t just take Eurius’s side.
“Leonhart also did a great job in the south this time. The Grand duke has worked hard!”
This sounded like a compliment, but it had bones.
Recently, the second prince Leonhart was clearly building up his merit in the south by wiping out the bandits who were targeting the traders.
But Leonhart, who had a strong military background as the duke, and Eurius, who was almost alone in the north, building up his martial arts, were in different situations even if they had the same merit.
The Grand duke was the undisputed best knight of the empire, and he also had a lot of disciples and knights personally.
The emperor smiled and looked at the Grand duke’s reaction.
“It is true that Your Highness has achieved great merit in the south, but how can you compare with His highness the first prince now?”
“…!?”
Surprisingly, only praise for Eurius came from the Grand duke. He was not just listing the merits of the second prince as before.
‘This is, there must be something going on.’
The emperor had also been to the battlefield when he was young. He knew how hard it was to build up martial arts.
The emperor narrowed his eyes and watched the Grand duke carefully.
‘Hmph! You won’t get anything from me no matter how you glare at me.’
The Grand duke was still smiling, but he was having a silent stare-down with the emperor.
In fact, the grand duke had his own plan to hinder Eurius, and it was still being executed faithfully.
‘Let’s see if you can still hear praise for the first prince in the palace after a year!’
The duke was confident this time because he was in charge of everything. He didn’t wait for decades under the iron-blooded emperor for nothing.
Prince and prince! Emperor and grand duke!
It remains to be seen who will be the final winner.