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

First and foremost, this outcome is acceptable.

The initial strike has ended.

I berated the Queen and insulted all the nobles, yet I was not expelled from the assembly.

Here I stand before the entire assembly, fighting as a debater.

This place is my battlefield.

As a lord knight, I stand here clad in armor, ready for battle.

Thus, defeat is not an option for me.

However, the vision etched in my mind, the goal I strive to achieve, remains distant.

“Lord Polydoro, your tea is ready.”

A member of the Queen’s Guard, whose name I do not know, offers me a cup of tea.

I do not thank her.

Deliberately, I remain silent.

I am not cowardly, yet I lack the audacity to waver in my resolve before this full assembly.

Death does not scare me.

My greatest fear is the loss of my Polydoro territory as a consequence of my insult to the Queen.

Yet, Queen Liesenlotte cannot punish me because I am facilitating peace negotiations with Virendorf.

Yes, this is good enough for now.

The first issue, the debate with Queen Liesenlotte, has been cleared.

The Queen showed a certain understanding towards my statement.

However, from here on, it becomes a quagmire.

My statements might cause demons to cling to my feet and try to drag me down.

Yet still.

The statements I am about to make are all necessary.

I drink the tea offered to me.

Returning the cup to the Queen’s Guard, I then address Her Majesty.

“Now, I would like to pause our conversation with Queen Liesenlotte for a moment.”

“What?”

“There are matters I wish to discuss with the clergy nobles as well.”

My parched throat finds relief.

I turn my back on Queen Liesenlotte once again and face the nobles filling the assembly.

“I would like someone from the Vesperman family to come forward.”

The Vesperman family.

On my way back from Virendorf, Sabine shared her life story with me.

She was born as the eldest daughter in a family of nobles who specialized in secret operations.

However, she was expelled from her family because they said she was not suited for it and was then assigned to the Second Princess’s Guard.

I think it was a wise decision.

Then, a slight and seemingly young girl of 16 steps onto the red carpet.

“I am Marina von Vesperman! What is it you want from me?!”

Marina’s crisp voice fills the king’s chamber.

Her clear voice is suited for a military person, and it is enough to make me favorably inclined towards her.

The words I am about to say, however, are completely the opposite.

“The Vesperman family is known as diplomats, but I hear they also engage in espionage. Now, I have a question for Lord Vesperman. Does Anhalt currently have any information about Toktoa Khan?”

“―No, nothing. I first heard that name just the other day.”

She is honest.

And very easy to deal with.

“Really? Absolutely nothing? Even though, in Virendorf, people were aware of the nomadic nation’s Queen, Toktoa Khan, and even the situation on the battlefields of Feyron? You know nothing?”

She is at a loss for words.

Lord Vesperman falls silent quite easily.

“In Virendorf, there were individuals from the East, including superhumans considered generals, who had come through the Silk Road. You were unaware of this?”

“Indeed, unfortunately.”

It’s not just a matter of being at a loss for words.

And unfortunately, it’s not enough.

Ah, it pains me a bit to say this.

“So, Lord Vesperman, who oversees espionage in the Kingdom of Anhalt, knows nothing more than I, who merely went to Virendorf and returned? Is that the current situation?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I am saying that our nation’s intelligence is incompetent. It hasn’t changed since the time when they failed to predict the enemy’s invasion during the Virendorf campaign.”

I said it plainly.

Marina von Vesperman is taken aback.

It seems she did not expect to be spoken to so directly.

“You may step back now; that’s all.”

“Please wait! Let me explain!”

“Next, the Royal Knights! Of course, I am aware that you are currently engaged with the northern nomadic tribes. However, we should have at least one representative from the north here!”

I glared at Lord Vesperman, silencing her with my gaze alone.

My gaze, belonging to a lord knight and a superhuman seasoned by the frontlines of war, standing tall at 2 meters and weighing 130 kilograms, easily silenced the petite 16-year-old girl, keeping her at bay.

“Royal Knights. What’s the matter? If no one comes forward, I will take it as an opportunity to mock your incompetence right here and now!”

“We are fulfilling our duties!!”

A tall woman stepped forward as if she couldn’t hold back any longer. I could sense the scent of the battlefield emanating from her body, a scent of maturity as a military officer. However, it’s time to question your sin.

“Is your so-called duty to leisurely deal with the northern nomadic tribes for over a decade? Are you all just sunbathing?”

“Lord Polydoro, allow me to rebut! As Her Majesty the Queen mentioned earlier, the nomads naturally perform mounted archery as if they and their horses were one. Being light cavalry, they are also quick to flee. They are not something that can be eradicated easily.”

“I could do it in a year.”

The atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze.

There was no murmuring or noise.

Everyone just stood there, mouths agape like fools, all staring at the man standing alone in the Queen’s chamber.

“You said a year?”

“Yes.”

“The hero of Virendorf, Claudia von Reckenber, took several years to exterminate the nomadic tribes. You’re not ignorant of that, are you?”

Indeed, even the Captain of the Reckenber Knights took years.

But…

“I could do it in a year. I, Faust von Polydoro, could settle the northern nomadic tribes in a year.”

I made a bold statement.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to get through this situation.

“However, that’s under the condition that you all follow my command structure to the letter.”

“Fine! If it can be settled in a year, we will follow.”

The tall officer answered with a flushed face and an angry voice.

“I’ve got your word. As a representative of the Royal Knights, make sure you don’t back out.”

“Hmph.”

After all, we don’t have the luxury to spend years dealing with the northern nomadic tribes.

It truly must be settled within a year.

More specifically, within the brief period of a combined military campaign involving several lords.

After all, there’s still so much to do.

“Ah, right. Lords. Those of you who are being asked for military service against the northern nomadic tribes, please raise your hands.”

Silence.

Then, after a pause, dozens of local lords, including some high lords, raised their hands.

“As we discussed, I will be joining the military service next year. It’s almost certain that I will be participating. Now that the peace negotiations with Virendorf are concluded, everyone who raised their hands must have seen this coming.”

I paused for a moment.

“If you want to end this endless, pointless chase against the northern nomadic tribes within a year, I ask that you follow my lead.”

“Let me say this.”

One of the local lords spoke up as if representing them.

She wasn’t as influential as the Duchess Astarte, but she was one of the high lords with a population exceeding ten thousand.

“You said you want us to follow you. What does that mean exactly? You’re not merely asking to be recognized as the supreme commander, are you?”

“I only ask for strict adherence to the chain of command. For the sake of the great war to come.”

“You are a recognized hero of Anhalt, with proven military and diplomatic prowess. Yet, we are not so desperate as to follow a minor lord who commands merely 300 subjects.”

Opposition voices.

Well, that was expected.

I turned back to Queen Liesenlotte, whom I had been facing away from, and asked.

“Queen Liesenlotte, it may seem odd to ask now, but what will my military duty be next year?”

“There’s no need to ask. As you’ve just discussed, you will be dispatched against the northern nomadic tribes.”

“Then, I hope next year, all military authority can be granted to Duchess Astarte.”

Queen Liesenlotte stroked her chin, then looked straight into my eyes and replied.

“Not you? But you just said you have a way to end the extermination of the nomadic tribes within a year.”

“I do have a method, but I lack the tactical genius of a general. All I have is the art of war.”

“Considering your insight into the nomadic state, I find that hard to believe.”

Queen Liesenlotte removed her hand from her chin and turned towards Duchess Astarte, murmuring.

“Duchess Astarte, given our original plans, what are your thoughts on Faust’s proposal?”

“Now that the burden of Virendorf has been lifted, the ducal army can indeed participate in the northern campaign next year without being held in reserve. I have no objections to increasing our numbers.”

Duchess Astarte nodded at me with a smile, indicating her agreement.

Queen Liesenlotte also nodded affirmatively and, pointing at me, murmured.

“Let it be so for the Royal Knights and the regular troops that are equivalent. The command will be entrusted to Duchess Astarte. However, the military rights of the lords are not mine to grant. You must obtain direct permission.”

“Let’s proceed with that arrangement. Now, to continue our discussion.”

With an easy nod, I turned to address the local lords again, maintaining a spirited and dignified demeanor.

“We are bound by a bilateral contract for the protection of our territories and serve the royal family under such terms. And I am well aware that military rights are something that cannot be relinquished, even at the cost of our lives.”

No response.

All the lords understood that my words were leading to something more. The flow was good.

“I am the same. Though a local lord with merely 300 subjects, in my territory, I am the sovereign. Let me be clear. No matter the size, one can be a monarch, a king in their own domain. This is what my mother taught me about being a lord knight.”

The murmur grew louder.

To speak in front of Queen Liesenlotte as if one were a monarch themselves could be considered a fault in this full assembly. But it didn’t matter.

After all, everything would be brought to ruin by the momentum of the final act, including my crimes here and my future.

“A lord exists, as do the people, and a lord holds military rights, which validates their lordship.”

I approached step by step, my face the only part not covered by my fluted armor, known in a previous life as the last knight’s armor.

“Military rights are immutable. They are not to be surrendered. Why should one entrust the fate of their subjects, their property, to others? I wish for you to understand that your logic is something I, as a local lord, understand more than anyone. With that in mind, I ask you.”

Approaching step by step, finally reaching the assembly of Duchesses, marquises, and countesses who stood firm, not retreating an inch amid the clergy nobles who slightly moved away in fear of my spirit.

Good. Very good.

“Let me ask directly. Do you intend to protect your territories?”

“Of course.”

The marquises answered briefly. She was somewhat older, a bit conspicuous among the younger generation of Anhalt’s rulers. It seemed she had not been blessed with successors, now placing her hopes in her grandchildren. But that made her wise.

“Then, I wish for you to listen to my opinion. To listen to what Faust von Polydoro has to say.”

I spoke quietly, maintaining as much authority as possible while being cautious around the lords. Clergy nobles are not to be feared. But lord knights must be.

“A defeat against Toktoa Khan would mean the destruction of your territories. This must be understood.”

“Let’s hear it then.”

Carefully choosing my words, I mused over the idea that people tend to retaliate against minor insults but are overwhelmed by major ones. Thus, when inflicting harm, it should be done so thoroughly that retaliation is impossible. When striking, it must be decisive.

Pondering Machiavelli’s “The Prince” in my mind, I carefully selected my words.

“Within 7 years, your territories will be destroyed. Will you accept this, yes or no?”

“No.”

The marquise answered, almost amused.

“Then, you should entrust your military rights to Duchess Astarte, to Princess Anastasia.

“That too is a no. As Lord Polydoro himself said, military rights cannot be relinquished. They are the source of all a lord’s power.”

“I am fully aware of that. But…”

I clenched my fist, covered by a gauntlet with magical sigils on each finger.

“Clenching my fist, I make my appeal to you…”

“In 7 years, if we cannot unify our military rights to face the impending threat of Toktoa Khan, our kingdom of Anhalt will surely be destroyed.”

I took a deep breath, preparing for a speech.

The time had come for a decisive, unwavering speech, leaving no room for rebuttal.