Children of the Holy Emperor Chapter 102

§ 102. Ortona Civil War (1)

Born as the only son of Marquis Bertran, a central nobleman of Ortona, Gael was sensitive to the movements of Aurors from an early age.

Even before he formally learned the Aura practice, he was already feeling the Aura flowing around him like air and breathing with it. Thanks to this, when he started practicing, he created three levels of Aura in one go, surprising those around him.

It was not that big of a deal to young Gael.

He had reached a stage where he was not only accepting and accumulating auras in his body, but also beginning to keenly feel the waves of auras felt from people and creatures around him.

Usually, strong movements were felt in young, healthy people, and weak Auror movements were felt in old and sick people. And Gael was soon able to discover that when a person speaks or feels strong emotions, the waves also change subtly.

It was a talent that would make him the youngest sword master in the future, and a talent that would be praised as a genius comparable to the legendary swordsman Banajas.

“You thief cat! Where did you hide your wife’s earrings? Why can’t you just say it right?”

When he was still a child, an incident occurred in which the Marchioness’s jewelry was stolen.

The one who was pointed out as the culprit was one of her direct maids. She was the youngest among the dogs.

“No, Mrs. Gomez. “I really don’t know!”

“Are you saying you didn’t steal your wife’s earrings? “The only one I could touch was you!”

“I swear to the Lord that I am innocent!”

Young Gael sensed a wave of anxiety coming from the maid shedding tears in front of the head maid.

What she said she didn’t know was probably not true. Nevertheless, she could simultaneously feel the strong resonance of her sincerity from her maid who declared that she was innocent.

He was confused.

Why? Why does she believe she is innocent even though her earrings were stolen?

Shortly thereafter, it was discovered through investigation that she had conspired with the mansion’s guards to secretly pass on stolen earrings.

“please! Please forgive me just once! At home, my elderly mother is taking care of my sick younger brother alone! “If I get kicked out, that child who doesn’t get treatment might die!”

“Why are we doing anything other than dragging them away!”

“please! You can’t do this to me! I’ve worked so hard for the Marquis, but you can’t do this to me! ma’am! Mrs. Gomez!”

The waves felt as the maid was dragged away by the capital guards, crying sadly. Her desperate feelings that seem to pierce her lungs are clearly her sincerity.

He really believes that the Marquis’s treatment is unfair and too harsh on him.

Gael felt depressed as he received a wave of her sorrowful feelings.

Not long after she was imprisoned in the capital guard, rumors came that her mother and younger brother had died of illness. She felt truly sorry for her, but her little Gael soon forgot about her.

And a few months later, the woman, released from prison, returned to the Marquis’ front door. She had a very thin appearance, and her hair was slicked back in an unsightly manner.

She looked so pitiful and ran towards the marquis’ guards with resentment in her eyes.

“It’s all because of you! You dirty Bertran, who imprisoned me and ignored my family! I curse you! I swear to my Lord, in hell I will ask you to pay for the lives of my mother and brother! Argh!”

Even as she was dragged away by the capital guards who appeared soon after, she did not stop cursing at all. Her venomous eyes were so fierce that the guards transporting her were startled.

Gael, who was looking at the scene through the window inside the mansion, vividly felt the waves of resentment coming from her. She really thought it was all the writer Bertrand Hu’s fault, and she was cursing them with all her heart.

Gael asked, looking back at his nanny Juana, who was sitting in his room embroidering.

“Juana. Is what that woman said true? “Are all the misfortunes that happened to her really our family’s fault?”

The nanny snorted without taking her eyes off the embroidery street.

“Is that possible? There is no need to listen to every word of those mean people, Confucius. Why do you blame the strict marquis when you yourself are a thief? “Because I ate that bad food from the beginning, the Lord punished me appropriately.”

Wouldn’t it be too heavy if the price for stealing the earrings was the lives of her mother and younger brother? Also, why is her family being punished by the Lord instead?

Gael was curious, but the wave of emotion conveyed by the nanny was also of utmost sincerity. She has no doubt that the maid received the punishment she deserved.

What young Gael realized then was that most people always tell the truth to some degree.

Either that sincerity is not actually the truth, or it soon changes into another sincerity.

And that false sincerity was not solely the fault of the person saying it.

It was probably from then on that he began to try to understand and listen to most of what people said.

As time passed, Gael entered the Royal Academy, where children of nobles mainly studied. And there he met Prince Benicio, who would later become his lifelong friend.

Compared to his classmates who could not reach the level of a squire at the time, Gael, who already possessed the skills of an intermediate knight or higher at the time of admission, was the envy of everyone at the academy.

There were many people who wanted to become friends with the future Ortona’s strongest sword and the young successor to the marquis. Prince Benicio was one of them.

“I think great talent like you should take the lead for this country in the future.”

The prince was an intelligent and likeable young man, and surprisingly, he was a member of the royal family and a supporter of the republican cause. He surrounded himself with both plebeian professors at the academy who held radical ideas and a few aristocratic students who favored them, and he was on his way to becoming the new center of the academy’s republican faction.

“Everyone says I became a republican because I was the second prince who fell away from power. But that’s not true. I love my country. “I just think about what will bring a better future for Ortona.”

Gael could sense a slight wave of instability in his words without filtering. Some of what Benicio said is not true.

Of course, I couldn’t tell if it was really his lie, or if it was because he, too, had some doubts about his own words.

“It has been a problem that many philosophers have been struggling with since ancient times. Is it really right for an absolute monarch to rule the country alone? There’s no need to look far. “The monarch of this country is already becoming a puppet of the royalists, and the Merchant Union and the Noble Council are increasingly becoming invincible institutions that the monarch alone cannot control.”

The young prince, who had not yet signed the contract, wrinkled his forehead as if he were an adult and continued speaking.

“So what kind of country will never fail? Listening to the opinions of more people and running the country without mistakes based on the opinions of many people is a republic. “I believe that Ortona will move in a better direction by realizing the future that the republicans dream of.”

Gael quietly looked at the face of Prince Benicio, whose eyes were shining as he looked into the distance. In the words of the prince, who imagined a glorious future for his country, which would become the first republic on the continent, only feelings of pure truth and affection for the country were felt.

His truth may also one day hit the wall of reality and no longer be true. However, the enthusiasm shown by Prince Benicio now was strong and pure enough to inspire all of the Republican Academy.

So, as always, Gael decided to trust those who speak the truth in front of him.

And after that, Gael actually contributed greatly to the establishment of the Ortona Republic, and eventually became the final sword of the remnants of the Republican Party, which was falling behind the royalists who colluded with foreign powers.

* * *

“This is the end of everything! “We must tell the Count of Castile to open the gate, even now!”

“That is unreasonable. Wasn’t not taking a single step back from the Plains of Andres a condition the Count demanded in return for material support? We are different from the royalists. “I will not open a neutral territory by force.”

“It is only an ideal, Prince Benicio! You really don’t know? If we do not secure the Castile fortress right now, this Plain of Andrés will become the graveyard of the Republicans!”

“It’s impossible! And this is not an ideal, but a real story. Do you think the Count of Castile will simply watch as we reach the fortress?”

“But if we don’t secure the fortress…” … !”

There is no end.

Gael sighed and left the conference barracks.

Ortona Civil War.

The last remnants of the Republicans, who were retreating repeatedly, attempted to secure the Castile fortress, called a fortress blessed by nature, and use it as a bridgehead for a counteroffensive.

However, the ostensibly neutral Count of Castile did not want his fertile territory, through which the royalist army had to advance to the fortress, to be trampled by civil war.

So, on the condition that the Republican troops did not retreat from the Plain of Andrés, which was far from the territory, he provided a small amount of military supplies and food and tightly locked the gate leading to his territory.

So it had been almost three months since the Republicans had set up camp on the Plain of Andrés.

The Republican leadership, which was stranded, was divided into two positions, continuing a sharp conflict.

We must invade Castilian territory and occupy the fortress even now. No, it would be better to break through the front line on the plains and break out of the defensive position.

Well, in Gael’s opinion, neither of them seemed very feasible.

As I was walking, touching Arjuna’s handle as a habit, I heard a child’s voice coming from a corner of the tent where the mercenaries were stationed.

“Then, brother, is the Marquis d’Arciano on our side?”

Gael stopped walking.

The main character of the voice was Prince Benicio’s young son, Kike. Why did they come all the way to the mercenary tent?

And soon someone’s quiet answer followed.

“He is a royalist to his core. “If he offers to help, he will already be ready to stab you in the back.”

“Then what about Count Milo, brother? He’s the sponsor who sent the Astros mercenaries here. Is he on our side?”

“He is on the side of the Merchant Union. “The Merchant Union has always been friendly to the royalists, so we can’t be optimistic about that.”

“no way! “Why is there no one on our side?”

“… … .”

Gael was surprised by those words for two reasons.

First, it was not common for mercenaries from other countries to speak Ortona. Even the strategy meetings were held in the official language of the empire.

And secondly, above all else, isn’t the answer given to a child too cruel?

“Brother, then the Margrave of L’Aquila… … .”

Gael, who had been listening to the conversation between the two for some time, soon turned around.

It seemed that Kike, who was still not good at the common language of the empire, had managed to make a friend in the mercenary group. It’s unfortunate that the best I can do is look at the list of sponsors.

That evening.

Gael stopped by Prince Benicio’s barracks and asked Kike who he had been with during the day. Then the child said with a bright smile.

“This is Bart from the Astros mercenary group. “He speaks Ortona.”

Kike held out a crumpled piece of paper and proudly added an explanation.

“So I asked about these people, and you taught me in detail.”

When Gael opened the paper, there were names of sponsors listed in crooked letters. It seems that the child memorized the stories that adults usually told and organized them in his own way. Kike was quite intelligent, taking after his father, Prince Benicio.

“… … .”

And unfortunately, most of the names are crossed out.

Gael became bitter because the list seemed to clearly reflect the current situation of the remnants of the Republican Party.

“Still, not everything he says is right. “At least Castile is neutral, Mr. Kike.”

When I pointed to a name crossed out in the middle of the list, Kike tilted his head.

“huh? No, General Gael. Surely his brother did that?”

And the child looked at Gael and spoke clearly. It was accompanied by a wave of unwavering truth.

“Brother Bart said Castile was definitely the enemy.”

fantasy,