Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World

Silence enveloped the king’s chamber.

With every seat filled, not a single person dared to open their mouth.

A little away from the throne, standing next to Valiere-sama, I felt enveloped by the silence, as if I were its center.

“First of all,”

I began to speak.

It wasn’t my place to begin, but certain things needed to be said by the princess herself.

“Queen Liesenlotte, I wish for you to speak on all matters reported from the Holy Gusten Empire. Not everyone here is aware of the situation.”

“Very well. It is only reasonable,” she replied.

Seated on her throne, she maintained her dignity with a sharp gaze as she surveyed the room.

The silence continued.

Not a soul made a noise yet.

“Among those present are high lords and knight-landlords, and their wards, as well as high-ranking noble magicians who are already aware. However, there are things not yet told to the smaller lord knights and the general noble magicians. For that, I must apologize,” she declared.

Though she spoke of apologies, her demeanor remained authoritative, brooking no dissent.

“Everything was done to prevent chaos. Now, allow me to share the report from the Holy Gusten Empire. A great event occurred far, far away, at the very end of the Silk Road to the east. A great dynasty there, as vast as the Holy Gusten Empire itself, was named Felyron. It was destroyed by nomads. More accurately, by a nomadic state. She narrated how they united in the great plains north of the dynasty, formed a state, and subsequently toppled a nation.”

Queen Liesenlotte then muttered as if asking the room, “Do you wonder? It seems impossible for nomads to unite. Starving for food and water, surviving on the milk of their livestock, these barbarians of the great plains endlessly fight amongst themselves. When the harvest season comes, they raid our hard-earned fields, mere barbarians condemned in this world and the next.”

She continued, “While it is common to mock Virendorf as barbaric, perhaps it is these nomadic tribes who are the true barbarians. Lacking culture, it seems impossible for them to unite. Yet, they did. And a new nation has risen. Likely with far fewer soldiers than Felyron, but their cavalry, raised on horseback from a young age and skilled in mounted archery as if it were second nature, is undeniably strong. Indeed, we have struggled against the northern nomadic tribes.”

A slight murmur began among the audience, disorganized, likely from the lower-ranked noble magicians.

Queen Liesenlotte’s brow furrowed slightly in disapproval.

“To conclude, a dynasty in the east was destroyed by a nomadic horseman nation. The Holy Gusten Empire responded to this event at the far ends of the Silk Road by saying, ‘Virendorf and Anhalt, both countries must coordinate, prepare for war, and build a bulwark against this threat.'”

The murmurs grew louder, now from the smaller lord knights. The uproar was not due to a lack of discipline but resentment for being kept in the dark.

“However, I said at the beginning, I deliberately withheld information to avoid chaos. Everyone, think calmly. Is it possible that this yet unknown nomadic horseman nation will come from the far ends of the Silk Road to Anhalt or Virendorf, the gateway to the Holy Gusten Empire?”

The murmurs quieted, not out of immediate understanding or agreement but contemplation. The lord knights pondered why the nomadic horseman nation invaded Anhalt from such a distance.

“Impossible,” Queen Liesenlotte stated succinctly.

“First, they would consolidate their newly acquired dynasty, securing the fertile lands they had conquered. After facing harsh winters, shortages, and thirst, these nomadic tribes, who could only satisfy their hunger through raiding, have finally achieved their long-sought wish. They no longer have to live in fear of starvation. The nomads have become the ruling class, seizing all of a dynasty as vast as the Holy Gusten Empire’s territories.”

I wanted to object.

But it wasn’t time yet.

Instead of making all my pleas here, I had promised to listen to all of Queen Liesenlotte’s words.

“There’s no need for the ruling nomads to engage in agriculture themselves. They can collect taxes and make the people of the conquered dynasty work for them. It’s possible that someday, as the Holy Gusten Empire fears, they may begin to invade. They might break through the eastern duchies and reach Anhalt. I do not deny that possibility. However.”

The murmurs finally ceased, and silence returned.

Everyone was listening to Queen Liesenlotte’s words.

Yes, Queen Liesenlotte was speaking logically.

Any lord knight who gathers taxes from the land they control and feeds from it would agree to this rationale if they were from an agrarian nation.

But yet.

No, it wasn’t time to counter-argue yet.

Queen Liesenlotte’s words continued to resonate, spreading throughout the room as if permeating through water on a sheet.

“It would inevitably become a concern for the future, after the nomadic horseman nation has solidified its hold on the conquered territories. When would that be? In the era of our children? No, perhaps even that is too soon. Maybe in our grandchildren’s era? No, no, perhaps even later. Preparation is important. Even in small numbers, the nomadic tribes that give us trouble could amass tens of thousands and attack. They are formidable opponents. It would indeed turn into a total war in coordination with Virendorf. That is understandable. We must gradually prepare from now on for our grandchildren’s sake. The concerns of the Holy Gusten Empire are justified.”

I do not criticize the concerns of the Holy Gusten Empire.

Queen Liesenlotte acknowledges the enormity of the potential war.

But that’s not it.

They, the nomadic horseman nation, are already nearing.

But still, counter-arguments are not allowed.

The timing isn’t right yet.

“However, that is a concern for the future. A distant future. After considering, I’ve decided that our nation’s priority should be peace negotiations with Virendorf and the annihilation of nomadic tribes that raid from the north. Informing everyone in Anhalt and the nation can wait. I’ve apologized once, but let me apologize again. Everyone, I’m sorry.”

There were no objections.

No murmurs arose.

Everyone was convinced by Queen Liesenlotte’s words.

“If there are any objections or counter-arguments, do not hesitate to speak. Here and now, even the lower nobility has the right to speak.”

Then, Queen Liesenlotte paused, waited a bit, and after surveying the surroundings and realizing that complete silence had returned,

“No objections? Then, let’s return to the matter at hand. Faust von Polydoro. Let us hear your plea.”

Finally, it was my turn.

I had kept my promise by allowing Queen Liesenlotte the right to speak.

Now, it was time for them to keep the promise and allow me, Faust von Polydoro, the right to speak.

What should I do?

The first words I chose were based on a simple prediction.

A single, dire threat formed from the knowledge of my past life.

To conform is to look ugly; to disobey is to go mad.

Shall I forsake the rules of nobility and embrace madness, Faust von Polydoro?

“Toktoa Khan. The invasion led by the Queen of the nomadic horseman nation will reach Anhalt within 7 years.”

Queen Liesenlotte did not open her mouth.

Instead, slight murmurs arose from the surroundings.

“The grand duchy to the east of Virendorf and others will pose no obstacle. Everyone, from children to the elderly, will be massacred. The nomadic horseman nation will pierce through cities like a hungry falcon attacking a dove and attack citizens like a raging wolf assaults sheep. The farms and irrigation we built will be destroyed. Those who tend to them will all be trampled by military horses, turned into lumps of flesh and blood, eventually disappearing into the earth.”

The murmurs grew louder.

My tone remained deliberately gentle.

Just listing the facts as I foresaw them.

“No, the eastern grand duchy, recognizing their inferiority, may surrender before their destruction. That nation has diverse religions. They do not adhere to a monotheistic faith as strongly as we do in the Holy Gusten Empire. They won’t follow the Pope’s orders for total resistance. In that case, they may even come at us as soldiers.”

The murmurs grew even louder.

Mostly, they were bewildered by my direct challenge to Queen Liesenlotte’s predictions.

Some contained scorn.

Indeed, the Polydoro domain must be as mad as its predecessor.

Such disdain.

I ignored it.

But, I turned to face the audience, showing my face while presenting my back to the Queen, and whispered the reality to the full assembly.

“Let me be clear. Against Toktoa Khan’s forces, our nobles of Anhalt are utterly incompetent and weak to the extreme. Truly, nothing but rubbish.”

A bullet of reality, named provocation.

I fired it.

The murmurs became colored with emotion.

“The royal army is already stretched thin, suppressing the northern nomadic tribes.”

I felt as if the monochrome background suddenly switched to vivid color.

“In the Virendorf campaign, we managed a fluke victory through my desperate efforts. I haven’t forgotten that incident.”

The red carpet looked red.

“We were completely outmaneuvered in the information war by Virendorf and failed to detect the advance of 1,000 elite troops led by the Reckenber knight commander. While holed up in the fortress until the arrival of 500 of the Duchess’s army and 30 of the First Princess’s personal guard, I cursed our incompetence in intelligence.”

The light streaming in through the large windows beautifully illuminated my figure, casting a black shadow on the carpet.

“This country is completely in shambles, fragmented. An army formed by feudal lords with no unified command will easily be crushed by Toktoa Khan’s armed masses of women, bows, and horses.”

It was a matter of course.

I was merely stating the obvious.

“Everyone will die. From children to the elderly, everyone will be massacred. Nobles and commoners alike, without distinction. Their bodies will not be laid in coffins; their remains will be exposed, crucified on the walls of the destroyed Anhalt capital as a spectacle.”

Eventually, I noticed the murmurs had ceased.

Ah, they’ve taken it in.

At least, I’ve spoken all these words as an impending reality.

Not out of bravado or folly.

If I were to dare say,

“Most of all, you are mistaken, Queen Liesenlotte.”

Madness.

That’s what they should call it.

I turned back to face Queen Liesenlotte, who I had shown my back to, and continued my speech.

“Is it a matter for our children’s era? No, even that is too soon. Our grandchildren’s era, perhaps?”

Parroting back.

I parroted back Queen Liesenlotte’s words.