Onwards to the Svalier territory!

“May I please ask you to allow both Liz and Maya to come alongside me!”

The next morning, with the time of departure close at hand, I bowed deeply in front of Marquis Fahlcrantz as I made my request.

Of course, it was to get him to approve of Liz and Maya coming with us.

“Father, please. I, Lizbeth, promise you that I will return back alive.”

“I have sworn an oath, to make sure that I protect Prince Rudolf and Lady Lizbeth, as well as myself, Maya Brandt. And I do not break my oaths, I promise.”

Liz and Maya too, showed their determination.

Unlike two days ago,……. No, three days ago, their resolve was real and genuine.

And so.

“hmm……..very well.”

“! Th-thank you very much!”

“Father!”

“Master!”

“Well, Lizbeth and Maya’s abilities are the real deal. The only problem was their lack of real battle experience but………kuku, I guess those eyes show that I need not worry. After all,being shown resolve like that, I can’t complain.”

“””Eh………?”””

Hearing the Marquis’ words, all three of us made a dumbfounded sound.

Co-could it be, he was watching us last night……..?

“……….Father, eavesdropping is a bit low, don’t you think?”

” Considering you two had such an ostentatious battle with real weapons, that too in such an open place, I don’t think I could avoid it even if I wanted to.”

Liz seemed to pout as Marquis Fahlcrantz simply chuckled.

“Now then………I suppose we should introduce both Liz and Maya to the troops as well. Well, I imagine they already know them well enough though.”

By the way, I already did my introductions three days ago. Since I was always going to be joining the campaign.

And so.

“Adjutant Berthold Johansson, at your service.”

“Likewise, Adjutant Daniela Carneus, also at your service.”

“I’m Lizbeth. Please take care of me.”

Liz shook hands with both the adjutants.

Maya was of course still a spy first and foremost, so she really didn’t have any reason to be introducing herself and so she continued to simply stand behind me in waiting as always.

“I’m sure you already know but, Berthold is the one in charge of tactics and negotiations, meanwhile Daniela is in charge of commanding the front lines.”

At first, when I heard this info from the Marquis, I thought for a moment that I had misheard him.

After all, Sir Johansson was taller than even the hard faced Marquis, reaching to about 2m tall, and on the other hand, Dame Carneus was just around 140cm in height at best. Normally, you’d think their roles would be reversed.

“Still, Lady Lizbeth, you sure have grown into a wonderfully beautiful woman huh.”

“Seriously………Berthold, Lady Lizbeth already has a fiancé in Prince Rudolf and he’s standing right there. Saying such things is awfully rude of you. That’s why you’re still single you know?”

“Well, if you’re gonna say that, maybe too you should learn a thing or two from our Lady about being graceful and ladylike, Dame Daniela? I mean, aren’t you already twenty–……gufuh?!”

“……….I see. It seems you wish to die before we even get to Svalier territory huh.”

Getting punched with full strength into his stomach, Sir Johansson crumbled to the floor and fainted in agony.

And Dam Daniela simply stared down at him with fury in her eyes. It would seem, her age was a touchy subject to her. I’ll keep that in mind.

“Enough playing around. Come…….it’s time we depart to the Svalier territory!”

“”Yessir!!””

“””Of course!!””

Finally, we departed on our way to the place where Wilhelm was waiting for us.

.

.

“Lord Rudy, you are quite good at riding horses it seems.”

“ahaha, thanks.”

A week had passed since we had left the capital.

Riding a horse herself, Liz lined up beside me as she complimented me.

So? You must be wondering how I knew how to ride a horse right?

Fufufu……….to tell the truth, I actually learnt it in my past life.

Whether it be for working on the fields or transporting goods across long distances, horses were basically a necessity. If I couldn’t ride a horse, I wouldn’t have been able to work properly.

“*staaare*…………”

So Maya, could you please not stare at me like that with such suspicion?

I, in this life, had never ridden a horse and yet here I was doing it perfectly so I get why she was feeling doubtful but, it’s not like it’s that big of a deal right?

“even so……..I really thought that the Duke Svalier would really try and prevent our march a bit more and yet, we haven’t run into any problems whatsoever.”

“Yes……..”

The army led by Marquis Fahlcrantz was 5000 in number.

With such big numbers, I was shocked to see them ready to depart in just 3 days but, apparently it was all thanks to Sir Johansson’s ability and management.

Furthermore, according to the info from our spies, the Svalier army only had around 1000 people. We had the obvious numerical advantage.

And on top, the ‘Obsidian War Demon’, the man whose name was renowned across the entire lands, was also with us. There was no chance we could lose.

But……..that was only assuming that the Rujia Empire didn’t intervene.

“Liz……….on the battlefield, you must always stay by my side okay?”

I looked at Liz and emphasized the warning.

I am of course well aware that she’s stronger than me but, even so, I still want to protect her at all times.

“mouu……..that’s already the fourth time you’ve said those exact same words to me, you know? And I have said this many times as well but, no matter who tries to get in our way, I will never ever leave your side. After all, it is my duty to keep you safe at all times.”

Oof, I somehow made even Liz fed up with my warnings.

But, I can’t help it. That’s just how worried I am.

While having such talks, we continued our march forwards.

And then.

“It’s finally in sight.”

“Yes.”

The Fahlcrantz army finally reached the Svalier territory.

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