I Was Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble and I Want to Be Expelled, but the Yandere Princess Won’t Let It!

Chapter 54: Surprise Attack

We were completely overconfident in our victory.

And that’s when we were taken advantage of.

In war, morale often decides the outcome. Once people who thought they were winning are faced with defeat, they become fragile.

“This is bad!!! The main headquarters has been captured?!”

“W-why?! Wasn’t Princess Rinonara there with guards?”

“You idiot!”

“Zzzz…”

“W-where did the enemy come from?!”

“I-I don’t know!”

“Zzzz…”

“…T-they’re…aahh”

“You fools! Calm down! Shake off the enemy’s communication magic interference! Are we not the strong, invincible army? Get it together!”

“We are the undefeated Imperial Army. No losses. Victory is assured!”

“Run away! Retreat! Escape the forest! The enemy doesn’t have many troops! Reorganize!”

“Yes! Run! Run!”

“Wh-what should we do… Who should we listen to?!”

Information was in chaos.

Our main headquarters had been struck, and communication was in disarray.

Conflicting reports, voices drowned out by noise from the enemy’s communication magic interference, and confusion among our own ranks.

Our information network was already severed. All that remained was chaos.

The enemy’s complete surprise attack had utterly destroyed our main headquarters.

“They came down from the mountains.”

It was like Hannibal crossing the Alps.

The Dragonbone Mountains, which were thought to be strategically impassable, had been completely bypassed by the enemy in a surprise attack.

Considering that they were a supply-deprived guerrilla force, this was the only plausible explanation.

It was almost impossible for them to come from the forest to our main headquarters.

“…That damn old man. He really did it.”

No one here had even considered the possibility of crossing the Dragonbone Mountains.

If anyone would think of such a strategy and attempt it, I could only imagine it being my father.

—

Chapter 55: Flow

The surprise attack was likely orchestrated by my father.

As a result, our forces were thrown into chaos.

Information was confused, and many soldiers had already begun to retreat and set up new positions.

This was probably the right move.

We still have more troops and better supplies.

If needed, we could easily reinforce our army.

Retreating was the correct choice… besides,

“…My father wouldn’t aim for complete victory.”

He would eliminate the threat while creating a sense of crisis on our side.

Then, he would push for peace negotiations… Instead of taking the fort, he might demand a cession of the Lewis Barony and possibly become its lord.

“No, since I’ve misread him once, I can’t be sure.”

I don’t really know my father well.

Such speculation might be meaningless.

“Should we retreat for now?”

“It can’t be helped. There’s no point in fighting alone.”

“That’s true.”

“…Tch. To think our knights of the Lastella family would be so disgracefully retreating.”

“It can’t be helped.”

While I was deep in thought, my subordinates were already preparing to retreat.

The flow was leading us to fall back.

“…”

It would be difficult to change this flow and impose my will… especially since it’s not my style.

But is this really okay?

“If we retreat now, what will happen to Rinonara and the others… They are only prepared to hold out for three days.

There are desperately few soldiers there.

Rino is the only one who is a tactical powerhouse… there’s a severe shortage of strength.

If we retreat and leave them unable to withdraw…

“We do have food supplies.”

Our group was moving with a considerable amount of resources.

“Lord Reno!”

The smile of Rinonara, who has been with me since I was three, lingered in my mind.

“Haah.”

I sighed and continued to think.

—

Chapter 56: Speech

Faced with the current situation, the knights were each expressing their own thoughts and talking amongst themselves, creating a buzz.

“Gentlemen!”

Amid this, I raised my voice to be heard.

“Do you like the night?”

Then, I brought up something unrelated to the current situation.

Confused, the knights broke their silence, speaking softly as they tried to understand why I had suddenly changed the topic. The murmurs began to spread.

“There is no night that does not end. Have you ever heard this phrase? It’s used to describe a situation where bad things do not last forever, meaning that difficult times will eventually come to an end.”

Ignoring the murmurs, I continued.

“But whenever I hear this phrase, I think to myself. It doesn’t matter if it will end someday. Right now, it’s just painful. I don’t want to see the dawn… I just want to feel the warmth of the sun. That’s how I always feel.”

Despite the murmurs around me, I continued speaking.

“…”

After sharing my thoughts about the night, I fell silent, maintaining my quiet.

“…”

Gradually, the knights began to notice my silence. They closed their mouths one by one and watched me with tense, focused expressions.

“There is a sun sword. Before, there was a sun sword.”

The silence that had briefly settled was broken again by murmurs. They seemed to be understanding what I was about to say.

But this time, there was no need to wait for silence.

“What are we?”

I absorbed everything else, pouring out a scream from my soul.

“We are the sword of Lastella! The sword that crushes all things!”

“What are we?”