LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 51: Revolutionary Period - The Value of a Person
Translated by – Mara Sov
༺ Revolutionary Period – The Value of a Person ༻
As the summer heat was in full swing,
I led an army drafted from across the Republic of Francia, having completed their basic training, out of the capital and towards the front lines.
It hasn’t been long since that incident, so the thought of leaving Christine in the Capital didn’t sit right with me.
Even more so, Louis had gone to study abroad in the Mage Kingdom of Holland right before my departure, leaving her alone, which concerned me all the more.
But to express such concerns would be discourteous to Christine; so I had no choice but to trust her.
“Ughhh, it’s sooo hoooot….”
My thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from beside me.
I glanced over, and there was Eris, slumped over her horse.
Draped in a robe and hood, with a veil over that, her attire looked suffocatingly hot as she withered under the blazing summer sun.
At this rate, it felt as if Eris was not riding the horse but was rather being carried by it.
“Why didn’t you just ride in the carriage instead?”
“Ugh, sitting still in a carriage just makes my bottom hurt and it’s so boring I could die.”
Indeed, this foolish bard can’t stay still for long.
However,
“At this rate, I’m worried you might die of heatstroke before you die of boredom.”
“No worries…..Despite my looks, I’m very healthy, you know?”
Well, she might be right. Being a saint with an absurd amount of Divine Power must help her somehow since I’ve never seen her get ill during the time I’ve known her.
Even so, with her sensitivity towards the sun, it must be torture to ride a horse while wrapped in all those layers of clothes……
Suddenly, the thought occurred to me that I could ask Christine for an artifact that could keep her cool even in the summer.
As with most artifacts from the Mage Kingdom, it would be ridiculously expensive, but it would make for a great gift.
And it is the least I can do since she managed to save Christine.
“……Well, I’ll see what I can do about your situation.”
Eris momentarily looked puzzled but soon reverted to her slumped posture on the horse as if such things didn’t matter to her.
Her slumped body swayed with the horse’s movements.
But somehow she managed to not fall.
I turned my head slightly to look at the soldiers following us.
15,000 troops, hastily conscripted from all over Francia, only having gone through basic training.
Thanks to Christine, the immediate crisis was averted, and the combination of the Republic’s financial situation and the national conscription system meant that our military capacity had changed drastically from the days of the Civil War.
Among them, I suspect there are those gathered from the old Marquisate of Lafayette or the territories of the Southern Alliance, which gives me mixed feelings.
Nevertheless, this alleviates our numerical disadvantage in troops, though the quality remains to be determined.
Now that the forces are balanced, we may expect a proper showdown, not just skirmishing or reconnaissance.
I turned to Eris again and spoke.
“Stay out of the frontline this time, Eris.”
Eris seemed dazed, responding a beat late.
“Huh? Why?”
“The scale of the battlefield is too large.”
In the clash with Count Lionel, where Eris took to the fray, our combined might barely surpassed 3,000, and as it was a siege, it confined the scope of combat.
“Both sides have tens of thousands of troops, and it’s going to be an open-field battle.”
At that scale, unless one is a Blue Knight, the influence of a single knight is insufficient to turn the tide of battle.
I’ll be too busy commanding, and it will be hard to look after Eris as well.
“Safety isn’t guaranteed even with Sir Beaumont at your side. A stroke of bad luck and you could be caught in artillery fire; it’s far too dangerous.”
Stripped of her unique status as a holy maiden, Eris is a princess. Were it not for her abilities, she should never have been sent to the battlefield in the first place.
“……What if I want to go?”
I sighed lightly and gestured behind me, causing our attendants to step back and give us space.
Eris straightened her slumped back on the horse, looking directly at me.
“Her Highness, Princess Erisliste Lilianne De Francia.”
“Speak, Marquis Lafayette.”
“The casualties may number in the thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands. No matter how much effort Your Highness exerts on the frontline, you can’t save even half, not even one-tenth.”
At just 18, I can tell Eris’s ideals are noble, certainly different from the hypocrisy of the Republic or the ideological beliefs of someone like Prosecutor Maximillien Le Jidor.
A Saint she may be, but she is also a Princess. And as such, she must understand the harsh reality of war.
“The sheer number of wounded being transported to the rear will be overwhelming. There is no need to expose yourself to the dangers on the frontline.”
I couldn’t tell what emotions might lie behind those veiled purple eyes.
Eris quietly looked at me, then spoke.
“You are right, Marquis. Even if I expose myself to danger, it may not make much difference.”
Eris paused briefly before continuing
“Still, I believe something will indeed change. At the very least, having a Saint on the battlefield will boost the soldiers’ morale.”
“The value of your life, Your Highness, far outstrips the value of a common soldier.”
“Correct. Your words back in the County of Lionel got me thinking. I used to believe all lives are equally precious, but as a commander, you can’t afford that luxury.”
“If you get that…”
“Even then, I still wish to be out there. The ones who make it to the back, where I would tend to them, can hang on a bit even without me. But right there on the field, immediate help could mean the difference between life and death for some.”
Sigh-.
To fight for the people of Francia, saving those who can be saved.
After all, does one need a reason to help people?
When I faced Valliant, I tried to convince myself of this, but I could never fully empathize with it.
By trying to believe in this, I forced my people to sacrifice themselves to save others, but it never sat right with me.
“……During the civil war, you wanted to avoid the battlefield.”
“Yes. Because in that war, the people of this land were sacrificed for the ambitions of the powerful. But now, we are fighting for this land, for the people we hold dear.”
Eris is a saint.
She already has the respect and adoration of the people without having to do this.
As a princess, she enjoyed the luxuries granted to her by the people of this land. However, it has been many years since she had discarded that life, and now, after a Revolution that sought to wipe out her royal lineage, she still believes that she must repay the people?
“I can’t understand why you would go to such lengths.”
“…Can I say something that might sound a bit cowardly?”
“Sure? I’m curious. Go ahead.”
Even full of mischief, Eris seems to wrap herself in an aura of goodwill. I wondered what kind of cowardly thing she’d say.
Though I thought so, the words Eris uttered after a brief silence hit me square in the chest.
“Hypothetically speaking, should Countess Aquitaine fall on the battlefield, and the Saint who could have saved her, chose to stay on the rearguard, out of harm’s way……You wouldn’t forgive the Saint, would you?”
I couldn’t say anything.
I opened my mouth several times to respond, but in the end, I couldn’t make a sound.
“……As a General, you know that not every life is the same. But I’m not a general. To me, even a soldier’s life who may have no tactical value is as precious as the life of the Countess.”
Her face was hidden behind a veil, so I couldn’t see the expression she was making.
“I refuse to believe one life is more precious than another. After all, everyone only has one, and that nameless soldier who is risking his life on the battlefield could be a precious person to someone.”
Yet, I feel like I can imagine what her face must look like.
“I will not fight on the front lines like them. Therefore, if I’m to be cautious, please allow me to do my best for those who are fighting. I can save their lives by staying here……”
-……You had a great mother, then.
That tragic smile with eyes ready to burst into tears at any moment.
-You would think so, wouldn’t you?
The same wavering voice.
“Because to someone waiting for their return, their lives could be the most precious of them all.”
–
Alsace, Eastern Region – Germania Empire’s headquarters.
After the fierce battle with the Southern Army of the Republic, the Imperial forces under the command of Grand Duke Leopold were stationed in Alsace, recuperating and preparing for the next battle.
In the command tent, the Grand Duke and his staff were discussing over a table spread with a map of operations.
“From their capital, Lumiere, an army of 15,000 led by Marquis Lafayette is on the move towards the front.”
“Hmm, it’s regrettable that we couldn’t fully utilize our numerical superiority on the Western front.”
Grand Duke Leopold muttered bitterly, stroking his chin.
Initially, the Republic’s forces were merely 25,000, while the coalition forces numbered 46,000.
While the Marquis arrived with 3,000 men, his forces were both late and exhausted, so even if a battle had occurred, victory would still be in the hands of the Grand Duke.
However, now the Republic’s forces, having lost 4,000 in the past battle, had prepared 39,000 troops, while the coalition forces had significantly reduced to 40,000.
Most of the lost troops came from the units that engaged with the Northern Army. Even after Duke Lorenne conscripted more soldiers, this was the result.
The Grand Duke Leopold clicked his tongue.
On one hand, it was none of their concern how badly King Louis’s army’s losses were.
The more his army suffered, the better it would be for their ultimate goal.
On the other hand, that would only be a good outcome if the Germania Empire prospered in this war, while the incompetent troops of the Francia Kingdom suffered.
The southern forces had held on more tenaciously than expected, and as a result of retreating to preserve their own strength, the last battle became known as a victory for the Revolutionary Forces, surprising the entire continent.
Given this outcome, for the sake of the Empire and the Kaiser’s prestige, they needed to secure at least one decisive victory.
“Sigh-. There’s no other alternative. If we rely on those imbeciles, we will suffer the same fate. That’s why we will be marching towards Lorenne, waging a decisive battle there.”
“But are you sure that’s wise, Your Grace? If we completely vacate the Alsace region……”
“Hmph, let those Francian nobles defend their domains.”
As Grand Duke Leopold uttered these cold words, an officer entered the tent and saluted.
“Your Grace, reinforcements from the homeland have arrived.”
“Is that so? Shall we go greet them?”
While the reinforcements should have been a welcome sight, a bitter smile played on the lips of Grand Duke Leopold.
Stepping out of the command tent with his staff and officers, Grand Duke Leopold saw a group of about twenty individuals approaching.
The number was absurdly small for reinforcements from the homeland.
After all, they had conscripted an army under the pretense of helping suppress a rebellion of another nation’s King, only to be beaten and have their dignity tarnished.
Recklessly reinforcing large forces in such a situation would be too great a political burden for the Empire.
Yet, Grand Duke Leopold did not underestimate the reinforcements that had just arrived.
On the contrary, he overestimated them a lot.
Those who approached were clothed in colorful robes of various designs, brandishing their stylish capes.
A tall woman led them, her robes fluttering against the winds as she approached the Grand Duke.
“Welcome, Frau Wilhelmina von Weinfeld.”
The woman narrowed her eyes and took a long drag from her pipe, before expelling the smoke and said.
“Commander of the Imperial Mages, Wilhelmina Von Weinfeld, greets the Grand Duke Leopold.”
The Grand Duke frowned as he breathed the tobacco smoke, but the woman simply smiled as if amused by his discomfort.
“It appears to me that the enemy was not an easy prey……”
“Indeed. I must have disappointed our Kaiserin with my inadequacies.”
“Surely not, Your Grace. The Kaiserin is not disappointed in you but in the disloyalty of the Lords who provided too little reinforcement for this campaign.”
Wilhelmina leisurely drew another puff from her pipe and exhaled the smoke.
“Otherwise, Your Grace, the Empire’s hero, and pride, would not have retreated without defeating those two turncoat brats from the Kingdom of Francia.”
The Grand Duke chuckled at her words.
“Indeed, that’s right. On behalf of the Imperial army, I welcome you, Frau Wilhelmina von Weinfeld. I look forward to the feats you and the Imperial Mages will display on the battlefield.”
The Grand Duke glanced at the Imperial Mages being led to their quarters and turned away with a bitter smile.
The Imperial Mages were a group carefully nurtured by the Empire for over a decade, after the successive defeats to Francia and the Kingdom of Kraft. They went as far as sending most of them to study abroad in the Mage Kingdom or even offered noble titles to attract talented mages to their fold.
The fact that such esteemed individuals were dispatched as reinforcements only seemed to cement the growing discontent the Kaiserin must be feeling over their last ‘defeat’.
“What a shame this is, I truly hoped for a proper fight against the young Marquis, alas, some things simply aren’t meant to be.”
After all, this couldn’t even be considered a fight at this point.
Only a massacre.
TL:
Welp lads, hindsight is a bitch.
***
https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken