Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade: Volume 5, page 16
“Yeah, nothing was open last time, was it?” said Olivia, apparently thinking along the same lines. Her gaze roved this way and that as she spoke.
Driving the occupying imperial forces from the north had allowed Fernest to reclaim its largest breadbasket. This was likely largely what they had to thank for the great improvement in their food situation. Not only that, but Ashton had heard that the merchants who had at one point forsaken the kingdom were beginning to trickle back in. While Fernest’s situation was still precarious, it was undeniably changing for the better.
“By the way,” Ashton said, “you know I’m the one paying for all that food you’re gobbling down, right?”
With every stall Olivia stopped at, Ashton felt his purse grow a little lighter. This was not the first time it had happened, but that did not make it any less unreasonable.
“But I don’t know how money works.”
“Oh, come on. You just don’t want to learn.”
Olivia, despite breezing through academic tomes and medical treatises, insisted that the function of money was beyond her. It was a glaring contradiction.
“Thath’o’wu—”
“Swallow, then talk.”
Olivia gulped loudly. “That’s not true. I really tried to learn. I was like, ‘Nngh!’ ‘Grrr!’” She flailed her arms around in a demonstration of her efforts.
In what world do you learn how to use money by grunting? Ashton thought, shaking his head.
But Olivia was already cheerfully charging off toward another stall. “Come on, hurry up!” she called, waving him over with a smile. Still shaking his head, Ashton followed.
Olivia’s snacking spree continued with no sign of abating. Then Ashton caught sight of a familiar face calling out enthusiastically from within one of the stalls.
“Come one, come all, and try Emaleid’s famed meat skewers!”
Olivia too noticed at once.
“Mrs. Stallkeeper!” she cried, waving and jogging over to the stall. The woman’s eyes widened, then she dashed out from behind the stall and swept Olivia up in a tight hug.
“You’re alive,” she said, lovingly ruffling Olivia’s hair. “Thank goodness...”
“You’re suffocating me.” Olivia squirmed in the woman’s arms, but the hug only grew tighter. “Can’t breathe.”
The woman laughed heartily. “That’s your punishment for making me worry!”
“Mmph...”
After a while, the woman released Olivia before turning to Ashton. “You protected her proper-like, then,” she said.
“Er, yes. More or less,” Ashton replied vaguely. In reality, Olivia was the one who’d protected him, but he wasn’t so inept at reading a room as to point that out here.
Even if I’ve had Olivia telling me I can’t read the room lately...
The woman nodded approvingly, then looked back to Olivia. “Now, little major, when you told me you were off to chase those imperials out of the north, I confess half of what you said went in one ear and out the other. But you really did it, didn’t you? Our lives have gotten a good sight better thanks to you.”
Olivia gave a little smile. “And now there’s no reason for you to cry,” she said.
“Thank you, dear,” said the woman. “But here now, that isn’t the uniform I remember.”
“Oh, this? It changed when I got promoted,” Olivia said, then did a pirouette to show off her new uniform.
“Did it really?” the woman said, looking at her in wonder. Ashton told her Olivia’s new rank, and the woman’s eyes widened in shock as she focused on Olivia’s collar.
“Well, I never. A lieutenant general’s insignia! So my little major’s a general now...”
“That’s right!” Olivia said. She planted her feet apart and drew herself up to her full height, clearing her throat dramatically a few times. The woman looked baffled by this even as she glanced at Ashton’s collar.
“And you’re a lieutenant colonel...” she said, a hint of incredulity creeping into her voice.
“Well, you know, a lot happened since last time,” Ashton said, scratching his cheek.
“It must have, for you to go from warrant officer to lieutenant colonel in the short time since last we met. You know, there’s been rumors going about that Fernest’s been on a winning streak lately,” she said, looking at them searchingly. “I suppose the two of you were involved in all of those victories, were you?”
While he obviously couldn’t divulge military secrets, Ashton saw no harm in answering such a question, so he decided to be honest. The woman apparently appreciated his situation, because she asked nothing further.
“But come now!” she said, clapping her hands. “I can’t let you go without spoiling you a bit, not when you’ve made the effort to come and see me.” She bustled back into the stall, filling bags with Emaleid’s famous meat skewers. Then she started loading up still more bags with something round that hadn’t been here the last time. Ashton looked down at the signboard and saw it read FRIED CREAMY BITES—EMALEID’S LATEST DELICACY.
“Here you are, my famous skewers and creamy bites! The sauce on the inside is hot, so take care you don’t burn your mouths.” With this, the woman pressed more bags than Olivia could carry in both hands onto her.
“Thank you!” Olivia said, but despite her proper display of gratitude, she showed no more sign of producing any money than she had before. Not that she could have, given that she didn’t carry any money with her.
“How much?” Ashton asked, pulling out his purse which now barely weighed anything at all. At this, the woman gave him a look of unconcealed severity.
“Don’t be vulgar, young man. You kept your promise, and even you came back to see me. I don’t ask for anything more than that.”
“Please, just take it,” Ashton said. “Times like these are the only chances I get to spend it.” He stuffed his purse into her hand.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” the woman bellowed furiously. “I told you, I don’t want it!”
“Well, we’d better be off, Olivia!” Ashton said, deliberately ignoring her. “We’ll get a dressing down from General Blood if we’re late.” He put a hand on Olivia’s back and pushed her away. She replied halfheartedly, looking unhappily back at the woman.
As Ashton set off, the woman’s yell followed him. “You wait!”
“I don’t think I will,” Ashton replied.
There was a pause before the woman called, “I’ll take it, if only to satisfy your need to be gallant, but I can’t take it all.”
Ashton stopped, thought for a moment, then turned back.
“Then think of it as a thank-you, for making Olivia so happy,” he said.
“Well, I never,” she replied, appraising him. “If you haven’t turned into a man since I saw you last.”
“I’m pretty sure I was always a man?”
The woman snorted and folded her arms.
“You’re too soft to be a soldier, inside and out. A bit of arrogance like you showed just now makes you look the part, even if it’s all talk.”
Ashton processed this. “Thanks for the advice,” he said. “Let’s go, Olivia.”
“Bye-bye!” she called back to the woman with a big wave. The woman returned her wave with even greater enthusiasm.
“You’ve got no money left.”
“Thanks to which I feel lighter already,” Ashton said, shrugging, at which Olivia laughed in delight. He looked up to where the blue sky stretched on forever above them.
VII
The Command Station in the Military District, the Emaleid Citadel
In the first stage of Operation: Twin Lions at Dawn, the Second Allied Legion was to lay siege to Fort Astora. Blood, their supreme commander, and his second-in-command Olivia called a war council. In attendance were Lise, Claudia, and the other aides supporting the commanders, as well as a few others. This also included the grizzled Lieutenant General Adam of the Second Legion, and Ashton, the Eighth Legion’s tactician. From the Mekian side, who would aid them in the siege, they were joined by the Winged Crusaders’ prominent commander, Thousand-Wing Amelia Stolast, who had arrived three days earlier with a force of ten thousand.
“As you all know, we’ll be joining forces with the Mekians for this battle. Some of you are already acquainted, I think, but let’s go through introductions again.”
At Blood’s encouragement, Amelia stood up lazily, then made a show of sweeping her pale blue hair back.
“Thousand-Wing Amelia Stolast of the Winged Crusaders,” she said, her face expressionless. “At your service.”
No sooner had she finished this bland introduction than Olivia said, “It’s great to have you, Amelia!” and burst into applause. Amelia looked daggers at her, then stuck her nose in the air. It was a brief exchange, but it was enough to show Blood what Amelia thought of Olivia.
Mekia wants to show us their power, so I know they sent us one of their best. Just watching how she holds herself, she looks like a formidable fighter, he thought. But come on. I don’t need another Liv, but they could have sent someone a bit more cheerful.
How well they were able to act in concert with the Mekians would be key from here on out. As such, Amelia’s attitude was more than enough to make Blood uneasy about what was to come.
Suppressing a heavy sigh, he continued his address without further ado.
“You should all be briefed on the general plan, but I’ll go through it again. While the First Allied Legion is staging a distraction at Kier Fortress, our duty is to deliver the Eighth Legion to the imperial capital of Olsted as unscathed as possible.” At this, a hand shot up. It belonged to the young officer who had effectively neutralized a force of thirty thousand on the northern front, then pulled off a brilliant deception of the Helios Knights in the Battle of the Freyberg Plateau.
All right then, let’s see what the famous tactician has to say... With great interest, Blood indicated for Ashton to speak.
“Is Fort Astora still under the protection of the Crimson Knights?”
“Our latest intelligence indicates they’ve moved to Kier Fortress.”
“Then our misinformation campaign was a success.”
“It looks like it.”
They had been putting out rumors of a large-scale assault on Kier Fortress for two months now, all with the objective of drawing out the core of the empire’s military power—the Crimson and Helios Knights. As Kier Fortress was a key foothold for the imperial army in its incursion into Fernest, they would have no choice but to fortify their defenses.
“In that case, my recommendation is that we send an elite force from the Eighth Legion along with the force attacking Fort Astora.”
“Why? With the Crimson Knights gone, the Second Legion together with the Winged Crusaders should be sufficient. No reason to get even just the elites of the Eighth Legion involved, at least so far as I can see.”
Ashton nodded, then looked down at the map spread out on the long table. “We’re going to have to penetrate deep into the empire. We can assume there’ll be a lot of obstacles lying in wait for us, not only Fort Astora.”
“And?”
“Essentially, I want to get the Second Legion and the Winged Crusaders through the attack on Fort Astora with as few casualties as possible.” As Ashton laid out what was at best idealism and at worst mere lip service, Blood found himself more than a little disappointed. If everything only went as Ashton said, this would be the easiest mission in the world.
“You’ve heard the report on Fort Astora.”
“Yes, ser.”
“So you’re saying this after considering all that.”
“Yes, of course. What would you say if, by using the Eighth Legion’s elites, we could take Fort Astora with minimum time and loss of life?”
“You’re not suggesting we use the same plan you used back at Fort Caspar again, are you? That only worked because there was a tunnel leading behind the fortress walls. Unless,” Blood went on, growing sarcastic, “you think the imperial army has kindly dug us a tunnel this time too?” With Fort Astora being imperial-built, they had no way of learning its structure, and so couldn’t know if there were tunnels or not.
“That was all just a simple idea I had. I wouldn’t call it a real plan.” Ashton rubbed his nose, looking embarrassed.
“And yet now you’re saying you can take a fort with minimum time and loss of life.”
“It will take some advance preparation, but it’s necessary in order to raise morale.”
“I see. You already have it all drawn out in your head, don’t you, Lieutenant Colonel? You’re practically a legion commander yourself,” Blood said, grinning at Ashton. The young man’s eyes flicked nervously around the room. “Can I ask a question?”
“Wh-What is it, ser?”
“Does this plan of yours rely heavily on Liv?” he asked. Beside him, Olivia was shoveling sugar into her tea. Amelia glared at her with biting contempt.
“It will involve her, yes. We can’t afford not to use her noto—her, ah, reputation.”
“I hope you’re not suggesting we fly those Valedstorm banners again and further sully the general’s good name,” Claudia said with a warning glare. Ashton at once shrank in his seat. In the end, it was Lise who threw him a lifeline.
“I agree with him,” she said. “We saw in the last battle that it’s highly effective. You know that too, don’t you, Claudia?”
Lise had to be referring to the battle that had taken place on the Freyberg Plateau. It was true that the Valedstorm banners, in combination with her reputation as the “Death God,” had produced phenomenal results. He could see how simply marching with the banners raised high would be enough to strike fear into the ranks of the imperial army.
As Lise made this valid point, Claudia made a face. “But even so...”
“You seem to dislike it for some reason, Claudia, but if it’s personal, please don’t bring it into the war. The fate of Fernest rides on this battle.”
Blood watched her slapping Claudia with this reprimand, privately curious. Back when defeat had seemed inevitable for the Second Legion, Lise had refused his orders and even tried to twist the military code in order to stay at his side. He was even impressed that she could speak so after how she’d behaved, but he didn’t interject. Even if he said something, he knew she’d only feign ignorance.
Claudia, for her part, muttered a reluctant acknowledgment. Blood found himself wishing fervently that this earnest streak of hers would rub off on Lise.
“Well, that’s my view on it, Lieutenant Colonel Ashton.”
“Th-Thank you,” Ashton said, bowing to Lise while keeping an eye on Claudia’s mood.
“Then I can leave the attack on Fort Astora to you, Lieutenant Colonel?”
“Are you sure, ser?”
“Sure or not, after that grand pronouncement, I’m going to have you follow through. I like to encourage my soldiers when they’re eager. I’m nice like that.”
“Are you sure you’re not just annoying?” Lise muttered so that only Blood could hear her.
“What was that, Lieutenant Colonel Lise?”
“I didn’t say anything, ser. I was only sitting in awe of your compassion for your inferiors,” Lise replied with a deliberately breezy smile. Blood sighed, then saw Amelia, her face as devoid of expression as ever, raise a hand. He gave a small nod to indicate she should speak.
“Am I to understand, based on the discussion that just took place, that command will fall not to General Blood, but to this Lieutenant Colonel Ashton?”
“Well, yes, at least for Fort Astora.”
“I know his reputation, to a degree...” Amelia said. “But I will not stand by and see a mere lieutenant colonel be given command of an entire army. I will follow orders, but in the event that I feel the slightest doubt in his command, the Winged Crusaders will act as we see fit. Much as I regret to say it.” She threw a cold look at Ashton; then, without asking permission, she rose and stalked out of the command center. Ashton watched her go, scratching his head uncomfortably.
Claudia rounded on him. “Why didn’t you say anything back to her?!” she demanded. For some reason, Lise smiled fondly at the pair of them.
She isn’t just unfriendly, she’s proud as they come, Blood thought. This really is just one headache after another. If only the lord marshal, or ol’ Paul were here, I could’ve taken it easy, but no...
Olivia, meanwhile, had finished her fifth cup of tea and was now gazing absently out the window, like none of this had anything to do with her. Blood himself hadn’t expected much out of this sort of thing going in, but even so, he was left scratching his head at how she could act so little like a second-in-command.
VIII
Day after day, the First Allied Legion conducted large-scale military exercises at Galia Fortress. Meanwhile, another harsh training regime was going on every day in the military district of the Emaleid Citadel.
“The racket the soldiers of the Royal Army make just going through this simple exercise. Hah! No wonder you’ve been losing to the empire.”
“Say that again!”
“You must know it yourself, if it makes you so angry.”
“That’s right, she knows they’re a bunch of cowards.”
“Keep talking, scum!”
Not again. How do they not get sick of doing this every day? From the top of the stone steps, Blood cast a casual eye over the now routine scuffling between the Royal Army and the Winged Crusaders. From behind him, he heard the sound of boots on stone approaching, accompanied by a hint of citrus on the breeze.
“Need something?” he asked.
“I don’t need anything. Shouldn’t you stop them?” Blood looked around and his eyes met Lise’s. She looked unimpressed.
“Even if I stop them now, they’ll just be back at it again before long. It’s my policy not to be counterproductive.”
“That doesn’t excuse going entirely hands-off.”
“Hands-off, eh?” Blood replied. “Why don’t you tell that to our friend drinking tea over there.” Blood pointed to a corner of the training ground. Where she had procured it from was anyone’s guess, but Amelia sat there at a table, elegantly sipping from a teacup.
