Episode 26
* * *
widely.
Dale advanced his cavalry-shaped chess piece onto the wooden table. Upon seeing the move, Dale’s father, the Duke of Saxony, who had declared himself Dale’s opponent, moved his piece.
Although some of the pieces, such as cavalry and infantry, resemble chess pieces in shape, it is by no means a chess game.
A war game that is played out according to stricter rules than actual war, with models of each military branch and unit.
More than a dozen fights like that passed.
“It is my victory.”
On the table, Dale’s chess pieces were already surrounding his father, the Duke of Saxony’s troops. And the final match had just ended.
“Can you keep your promise with this?”
“… … .”
His father, the Duke of Saxony, quietly closed his mouth.
“Huh, this is… … .”
Sir Helmut, who had been watching the match between the two from the side, swallowed his breath in surprise.
I couldn’t believe it.
‘Let me personally lead this battle, together with the knights of the House of Saxony.’
Immediately after Baron Parker declared war on the territory of Baron Greenbelt, a minor lord under the House of Saxony, with the support of the Holy Swordsmen.
Even the Duke of Saxony could not easily nod to Dale’s request.
Moreover, this was not even a quarrel between mere barons. It was too early for young Dale to handle.
That’s why Sir Helmut suggested this game to Dale, to help him understand the ‘complexity of real combat’.
Since the purpose is to simulate real-life situations, the complexity of the rules cannot be described right away.
──And just as Sir Helmut had originally thought, it didn’t take long to convince Dale.
“Okay, I memorized it all.”
Dale was terrified to read through a rule book as thick as an encyclopedia on the spot.
“Let’s try it now.”
This is the result.
He looks down at the battle situation on the wooden table as if it were the palm of his hand, and every time he moves a piece, he recites the ‘reason and the rules of the rule book’ without a single mistake. Furthermore, he justifies every single action he takes while controlling his troops, and has a record of 2 wins and 1 loss against his father, the Duke of Saxony.
Although it was a match thoroughly considerate of beginners, with Dale having the numerical and geographical advantage and the Duke of Saxony professing to be a bad move, the value of Dale’s victory over the greatest archfiend in the north could not be underestimated in the least.
“How long have you known about this game?”
After the match, those were the first words spoken by his father, the Duke of Saxony.
As if he had seen through Dale’s trick from the beginning.
“I found this game’s ‘rule book’ in the library a few years ago and started learning it little by little.”
At that question, Dale finally smiles like a child, as if his trick has been seen through.
──It was a lie.
But if it wasn’t packaged like this, it goes without saying how Dale would look.
“… … .”
The Duke of Saxony nodded silently.
“A promise is a promise.”
He nods and continues speaking.
“In my name, I entrust you with command of the knights of the House of Saxony in the coming battle.”
“Your Majesty the Duke!”
“Yes, father.”
Dale bowed his head slowly, leaving the bewildered Sir Helmut behind.
* * *
“The number of knights of the Order of St. Magdalene to be dispatched is estimated to be between three hundred and five hundred.”
Led by Lord Helmuth, his knights and staff officers drew a map of the battlefield on a wooden table.
“Considering the size of the lances each knight carries, the total force would be just under two thousand.”
A small unit consisting of a lance, a knight, his squire, and a few private soldiers.
The Duke of Saxony nodded silently at the report of his servant.
“We will also summon five hundred knights.”
There were gasps everywhere at that number.
It is not as easy as it sounds to gather knights under your command. The Duchy of Saxony is vast and endlessly exposed to the darkness of the Demon King’s territory. It is also the role of the knights to subdue the monsters that flood the territory, and each of them has a knight order to rule and care for.
Unless you are determined to fight an all-out war, the number of five hundred knights is not something that even the great lords of the empire can take lightly.
But as the Duke of Saxony does… … .
‘The burden will not be any different just because it is a s*x test.’
A drain that neither side can back down from.
“When the prestige of the House of Saxony is at stake, defeat is absolutely unacceptable.”
The black ball opened its mouth.
“No matter how high my expectations are for you… … .”
With more seriousness than usual.
“One act of recklessness that fails to measure oneself can turn all your talents into bubbles.”
Dale nodded silently.
“I will ask you one last time.”
“Speak, Father.”
“Are you really sure you can handle this fight?”
Depending on the outcome, it could destroy the entire tower you’ve built so far.
“Please be careful, Dale.”
As if to tell me not to feel ashamed of backing down here.
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“Trust me, Father.”
But the black hole’s threatening warning made no difference.
“The fact that I am my father’s son.”
Even before the expedition began, Dale had a clearer picture of victory in his mind than anything else.
* * *
Some time later, Malbork, the castle of the Counts of Brandenburg.
“Rumors are going around that the youngest son of the House of Saxony will personally lead the knights of the Black Duke.”
“Don’t worry, Father!”
At the words of his father, the Count of Brandenburg, the eldest son of the Counts’ house, ‘Philip the Lecherous’, raised his voice loudly.
“My opponent is a mere ten-year-old! Please, allow me to join my father’s knights in defeating the arrogant brat of the House of Saxony!”
“… … You said he was at most a ten-year-old lump of flesh?”
But at the sound of Philip’s voice, confident of victory, the count’s expression hardened coldly.
“The snobby brat of the Saxon family?”
“That, that… … .”
“The youngest eldest son of the House of Saxony.”
The Count of Brandenburg coldly retorted to Philip, who was flustered and stammering.
“You are a monster that even a dullard like you cannot catch up to in a hundred years.”
The prodigy of the Duke’s family, the greatest genius in the empire.
Every day I recall the tiresome tales of bravery that the imperial nobility trumpet.
But more than anything… …he remembered Dale’s eyes looking at him that day, in unforgettable humiliation.
“A bastard worse than a ten-year-old lump of flesh.”
“… … .”
Compared to that, this useless and incompetent blood relative in front of him!
A desperate level of swordsmanship that requires the best knights of the empire to stick around all day to barely match the average of others.
A lazy, incompetent child who overestimates his abilities on such topics and is just plain weird.
‘I should have gotten my hands on that woman from the Orhart family, the blood relative of the new sword… … .’
The count’s gaze towards his son showed no trace of fatherly emotion. It was an expression that seemed to be looking at a piece of waste that was beyond redemption.
“In the coming battle, I will entrust you with command of our knights.”
“father……!”
Nevertheless, Philip held his breath in amazement at the unexpected words.
“──But you don’t have to do anything.”
That was until I heard the cold addition that followed.
“No, just don’t try to do anything.”
As if Philip had nothing to show.
“Th, what is that… … ?”
“The battle will be conducted under the command of Adjutant Milvas, and your role will be to merely show your face there.”
As the face of the Brandenburg Counts, after all.
Although he would like to personally lead his knights into battle and command them, the proud war hero of the empire cannot give his all against a mere ten-year-old child.
Even if we were to win, it would only serve to increase Dale’s reputation and make us a laughing stock throughout the empire.
Therefore, this battle needs to be framed as a confrontation between the two eldest sons of the Duke and Count families.
Even though he is a bastard who cannot be expected to do anything compared to Dale of Saxony.
‘Was this the plan from the beginning?’
The count clicked his tongue, dismissing the current situation as ‘the Duke of Saxony’s trick’.
Without even realizing whose trick they were truly falling for.
* * *
As the muster of knights under the House of Saxony began, the day of departure drew near.
Dawn, the duke and duchess’ bedroom.
His wife Elena could barely get to sleep after sobbing all night.
The Duke of Saxony also had to persuade her all night before he finally sat down on the edge of the bed to rest.
It’s no different in this world. What mother would accept the act of sending her child to the battlefield without any hesitation?
“Don’t worry too much.”
nevertheless.
“… … That child is a child who has so many things that we cannot even imagine.”
The Duke of Saxony whispered softly to Elena, who was already asleep.
“When Dale grows up, it’s hard even for me to imagine what he’ll see.”
He carefully stroked her hair, speaking as if to himself.
“Our child will one day become the master of this world.”
* * *
When Philip, the eldest son of the Count of Brandenburg, began his march north with the Knights of St. Magdalene.
Dale of Saxony also heard the news and set out on a campaign with the knights of the ducal house.
At the northern tip, the Green Belt Barony.
Five hundred knights led by Dale, their squires, and the duke’s company arrived at the estate.
Some time later, the knights led by Philip also arrived safely in the neighboring Barony of Pucker.
* * *
Greenbelt Baron.
“I humbly greet His Royal Highness Prince Dale of Saxony!”
It is difficult to imagine the weight that Dale’s name carries within the North.
But in the northern reaches of Saxony, where the Duke’s influence was waning, the Baron of Greenbelt’s intentions were actually somewhat more complex.
‘I would never have thought they would send a ten-year-old kid into such an important battle!’
No matter how much you praise him as a prodigy from a duke’s family, in the end he was just a child who knew nothing about the world.
“Baron Greenbelt.”
Young Dale wears a black surcoat over his custom-made suit of armour. Behind him stand the proud ‘Black Cavalry’ of the Duke of Saxony.
“First of all, let’s have a small banquet for the prince in the castle… … .”
And as is the case with most nobles, it was at this moment that Baron Greenbelt was about to show his ‘courtesy’ towards his superiors.
“There isn’t much time.”
Dale shook his head gently.
“First, I would like to check the status of the soldiers you have in your territory.”
After stirring, Dale continued speaking.
“Who is the strongest among those you have?”
Sling.
He draws out the knight’s sword (arming sword) that is slung diagonally at his waist.
