Excalibur Chronicle of Raidorl

“My father, Bazel Garst, is a general of the kingdom. He is the sword and the shield of the kingdom. He said that he could not take sides with His Highness Raidorl and disobey His Majesty Granard.”  

“….. Well, I suppose so. That's the kind of man he is.”

Raidorl nodded.

That is why Bazel Garst is called the Protector of the Realm.

“But my father said to me, ‘From now on, you will be in the personal service of His Highness Prince Raidorl’.”

“General Garst said that?”

“Yes. He owed you a debt of gratitude for saving the country. However, as the general of the kingdom, he cannot disobey the king. Therefore, he wants me, his son, to take his place.”  

“………….”

His words were the picture of innocence, and Raidorl fell silent.

The general, Bazel Garst, was one of the people who drove Raidorl to the frontier, but when he sees someone with such integrity, he can't help but feel depressed.

It's not that Raidorl doesn't respect him, but he respects him as a man who lives in the midst of war.

“And …… even without my father's position, I cannot accept His Majesty Granard's intention to set fire to his own city in order to get rid of his own political enemies. From now on, I will do my best in the service of His Highness Raidorl.” 

“Well, …… your loyalty is received. Now we have to figure out a way to get Granard off our backs.”

Admiring Darren, who is as pure of heart as his father, Raidorl began to talk about his future plans.

Granard's goal is to undermine Raidorl's reputation. As a means of doing this, he wants to set fire to the town and make it look like Raidorl’s work.

“What steps can we take to avoid this?”

“The best thing to do is to get them to surrender without fighting, because if there is no fight, he can't take advantage of it and set fire to it.”

“Hmm. …… How about persuading the enemy lord to offer amnesty?”

“It is not in your power to do this, my lord. It's unheard of to unconditionally pardon someone who has betrayed you to the enemy, so it would only make them suspect that we are trying to deceive them” 

“Mmm ……”

Raidorl was silenced by the complete rebuttal.

For a while, the sound of horses kicking the ground was the only sound in their ears as they led their company through the streets.

“It was a mistake to leave Neimilia behind…… If she had been here, we could have found and captured the hidden firecracker.”

Raidorl’s maid, Neimilia, has been left in the Royal Capital to take care of other business.

As a witch, she might be able to find Granard's men hiding in the city, or even manipulate the weather to make it rain and prevent the fire from spreading.

“Should we go back to the Royal Capital now and bring her back? No, if I bring her here, it will interfere with our future plans..I can't just rely on the witch's power.”

“….. I have a pact with Granard that gives me free reign over the lives of those I take prisoner. Why don't we use that to our advantage and make it a condition of saving their lives?”

“Not a bad idea, but …… it would be difficult.”

Darren's brow wrinkled.

“It is possible to save lives that way. But the lord can't protect their status as a nobleman or even their lands. If people could accept losing their noble status, they would have abandoned their lands and fled to the Royal Capital from the beginning.”

“That’s a no? …… I thought it was a good idea.”

“If we were pressed to the limit and had no choice, we might accept a pardon. But if there is a battle, this will allow the fire to burn. It would be better to pray for rain and hope that it will fall just in time for us to reach the enemy's territory.”

“…… You're asking for luck. It makes me want to cry.”

Raidorl looked up at the sky and shook his head.

There was not a cloud in the sky today.

Couldn't expect it to rain conveniently here.

“..maybe…a treacherous aristocrat might surrender easily. Let's hope for that.” 

Raidorl pulled on the reins and quickened his horse's pace.

The black horse whinnied in the clear sky.