I Became King by Following My Little Sister's Advice. Now the Princess I Forced to Marry Is Giving Me Death Stares, What Should I Do? - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Taking the Prince of a Neighboring Country

The Kingdoms of Arlengs and Zelos. 

An hour after the war between them began, the outcome was swiftly decided.

The Arlengs army emerged victorious.

Despite having only about a hundred soldiers, they won with almost no losses. 

On the other hand, the Zelos army, with ten thousand soldiers, suffered a bitter defeat for the first time in a year and retreated quickly.

Although they wanted to take prisoners, the hundred Arlengs soldiers couldn’t detain ten thousand.

To avoid wasting resources, they decided to capture only the commander and a few top officers, ordering the rest of the soldiers to return home.

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“Whew, I thought I was going to die, honestly.”

“…Are you okay?”

After capturing Lott Zelos, the commander of the Zelos army, Van rejoined the cavalry unit that had been creating a diversion. 

ustace Bern, Van’s subordinate leading the cavalry, appeared with a weary expression.

“Captain, we’ve known each other for a long time, but this time was the worst crisis ever. You need to take it easy with these reckless plans.”

“…It wasn’t just me.”

Van gave a small retort to Eustace’s complaint. 

Although Van and Eustace were close, there were other soldiers around, and Lott, who had been captured, was being led along with a grim face. 

Because of this, Van’s expression and tone were tense, whether from stress or shyness.

“I know… You’re strong but not a strategist. It was the young lady, right?”

Eustace referred to Moa Arlengs, Van’s sister and wife, as “young lady.”

It was Moa who devised the strategy for this operation: using a cavalry unit of magicians as a decoy while Van infiltrated the enemy camp alone.

Initially, when the Kingdom of Zelos declared war, Van intended to sneak into the enemy camp alone and capture Lott. 

However, Moa thought that was too dangerous and came up with this plan.

“Really… Lady Moa’s quite something, but our Captain isn’t half-bad either… To actually capture the enemy commander alone.”

“…”

Eustace sighed as he looked down at the bound Lott.

“Honestly… I think you could have done it alone without our diversion.”

“That’s an exaggeration… I’m grateful to Moa.”

Van murmured. 

His words were sincere.

Although he believed he could handle it alone, Moa’s plan made capturing Lott much easier.

He felt a deep appreciation for his sister’s cleverness.

“Well, let’s take them back… I never thought a mere hundred soldiers could drive away an army of ten thousand. Is this crown prince as foolish as that other prince?”

“…!”

When Eustace mocked him, Lott, who was bound and kneeling nearby, glared at him with intense hatred, as if trying to kill him with his eyes.

“No… He wasn’t bad.”

Unexpectedly, a voice came to Lott’s defense. 

Van was the one defending him.

“He was respected by his soldiers and had the main camp well-guarded. If the cavalry hadn’t drawn attention, I wouldn’t have been able to sneak in.”

“…Van Arlengs.”

Lott looked up at Van in surprise. 

Van continued speaking without returning his gaze.

“Even in the battle a year ago, he led the cavalry brilliantly and defeated General Black. That man was a good commander. Despite Eirick Aidron’s foolish retreat, the way he took down General Black was impressive.”

“Ugh…”

Lott’s expression became complicated. 

He seemed unsure how to react to being acknowledged by the man he hated.

He was silent for a while but eventually spoke up quietly.

“…What do you plan to do with me?”

“We’re taking you as a prisoner. If you behave, we won’t kill you.”

“…”

“Aren’t you going to say something like, ‘I don’t want to live in shame,’ or ‘Just kill me’?”

Eustace interrupted, causing Lott to make a bitter face again.

“…I can’t die.”

“Huh?”

“I have something to protect. No matter how much shame I have to endure, I can’t die and leave that kid behind…!”

“…Eustace, watch your mouth.”

It seemed there were complicated circumstances. 

Van scolded Eustace, who shrugged and looked away.

“Alright then… Let’s head back. Crown Prince Lott, we’ll negotiate with the Kingdom of Zelos about your fate… Is that acceptable?”

“…That’s fine.”

With Lott looking resigned, Van led him back to the capital.