Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 64

In the royal palace, within Lady Anastasia’s chambers.

An hour had passed since the decision was made to marry Lady Valiere to Lord Polydoro.

—

“Honestly, I’m tired.”

“Truly.”

Lady Anastasia, the First Princess, lay sprawled on a chaise lounge.

Duchess Astarte, facing her, exhibited a similar demeanor.

I, Alexandra, overseeing them, felt an overwhelming desire to collapse on the floor. Yet, as the captain of the First Princess’s royal guard and a figure of immense pride, I persevered.

Indeed, both Lady Anastasia and Duchess Astarte, reclining on the lounges, are also superhumans.

“Have we been outmaneuvered by Faust on this occasion?”

“Indeed, ultimately, we concurred with Faust’s viewpoint, did we not? That is not falsehood, is it?”

“That’s true, but…”

Despite presumably wanting to lie down in bed herself, Lady Anastasia sat up and murmured,

“Let’s be frank. Astarte, did you agree with Faust’s speech because you thought it was right?”

“No, to be honest, I still have my doubts. I believe there’s reason in Queen Liesenlotte’s words.”

Queen Liesenlotte’s words:

Warfare ought to be undertaken with solemn intent and executed through earnest means.

Therefore, Toktoa Khan will not advance westward.

I agree with that.

However,

“But Anastasia, I now see reason in Faust’s words as well.”

The expansion of trade zones.

Currently, only the Holy Gusten Empire and the Feylon Dynasty are engaging in it, albeit on a minor scale.

The revival of the Silk Road and securing of trade rights.

The finance bureaucrats of Toktoa Khan’s nomadic state harbor ideas alien to us, stemming from their backgrounds as foreign merchants.

How Lord Faust von Polydoro came across this information, I do not know.

But thinking about it…

“As a Duchess, allow me to express my thoughts, Princess Anastasia. There is merit in Lord Faust von Polydoro’s assertions. They cannot be entirely dismissed. Ah, indeed. Can it be denied?”

“So, following Faust’s Geas, you offered the military rights to our mother. Duchess Astarte, you do realize that your mother will be grieved?”

“Ah, I’ve left the management of my territories to her while I’m here… My mother, unaware of today’s circumstances, will surely be furious. Why would I offer military rights under any condition?”

Duchess Astarte, still lying on the lounge, looked up, stretching her arms wide and fluttering her hands in response.

“But it’s necessary. If we assume the nomadic state could attack, then, as per Faust’s words, the unification of military rights is indeed necessary. Is that wrong?”

“It’s not wrong.”

Lady Anastasia answered with her usual reptilian glint, an archaic smile in her eyes.

I, too, can assert it’s not wrong.

Once, under the pretext of an inspection, I left my duties as captain of the First Princess’s royal guard to my deputy and went north to combat the nomads. 

A significant number of superhumans were needed to eliminate the powerful nomads.

It was a grueling fight.

Lord Polydoro’s words come to mind.

Their cavalry performed mounted archery as if it were second nature. Because they were light cavalry, their speed in retreat was also swift.

They are not easily eradicated.

These groups repeatedly hit-and-run, attacking and looting northern villages and towns.

As a superhuman, I killed many without so much as a scratch.

Their morale maintenance was abnormal.

I remember when I shot a horse with my longbow, causing one insignificant nomad to fall to the ground.

Deciding he couldn’t escape, the nomad stood his ground, firing all his arrows to buy time for his tribesmen to flee.

Such scenes were common, and I realized that every nomad would act this way.

Their families must be held like hostages.

They probably feared that if they were seen surrendering, their families would be killed.

Surrender would leak information about their tribes’ locations, and we would retaliate.

Effective was the tactic used by Claudia von Reckenber of Virendorf: assassinating the tribe leader and the second-in-command from out of range, followed by a cavalry charge.

Decapitation strategy led to a morale collapse, followed by a powerful trampling by heavy cavalry.

If Lord Polydoro participates in the nomad suppression next year, I had thought to suggest to the royal knights a strategy modeled on Reckenber.

But even that, according to Lord Polydoro, would not work against Toktoa Khan’s ten thousand cavalry.

It’s a desperate situation.

Duchess Astarte spoke again as a Duchess, “Speaking again as a Duchess, as members of the royal family, have we incurred any loss? Should Toktoa Khan not mount an attack, all responsibility will fall upon Faust. For us, there is no detriment.”

“It seems tough, Astarte.”

“Of course, it’s tough. Though I’m known as a tactical genius, I’ve failed to grasp the full extent of this situation’s evolution. Truly, I feel like nothing more than a monumental fool, completely inept. What kind of Demon God Astarte am I? During the Virendorf campaign, he was with me in the face of death. But this time, he stands alone in the face of death.”

Duchess Astarte, still lying on her back on the chaise lounge, covered her face with her hands and murmured as if on the verge of tears.

“If Toktoa Khan doesn’t attack, Faust will die in seven years. I don’t want her to attack, but if she doesn’t, the man I love will die.”

“Astarte.”

“Damn it, Faust is going to die!”

Duchess Astarte suddenly sat up and slammed the table forcefully.

The resounding impact thundered, and the table legs, hoisted aloft by unearthly strength, crashed upon the floor.

“Calm down, Astarte.”

Lady Anastasia’s heart was probably not much different from Duchess Astarte’s. However, she was trying her best to remain calm. Lady Anastasia had once made a mistake in her first battle. During her first battle in the Virendorf campaign, 30 elite knights of Virendorf infiltrated the main camp through Reckenber’s strategy, charging in. The talented royal guard lost 10 out of 30 members.

Lady Anastasia, driven into a frenzy by her royal lineage, killed 15 of the enemy’s elites with her halberd. When we lost communication with Duchess Astarte, Reckenber’s Virendorf army encircled our forces. If Lord Polydoro hadn’t engaged Reckenber in a duel and won, we would have been defeated.

Lady Anastasia regards that moment as a critical failure and regrets it. Hence, she strives to remain calm at all times. Her reptilian gaze has become sharper, even crueler… though she is genuinely kind to the royal guard and has recently become kinder to her sister, Lady Valiere. However, that does not mean she has forgotten the humiliation of that time.

Therefore, Lady Anastasia calmly stated, “Faust will not die.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because I believe Faust’s premonitions will come true.”

The room seemed to fall silent for a moment. I, too, doubted my ears for a moment. Duchess Astarte, looking puzzled, muttered briefly.

“What did you say?”

“Toktoa Khan will attack. Unlike Queen Liesenlotte, my mother, I, Anastasia, the First Princess, believe there’s a high probability that Toktoa Khan will attack.”

“Faust’s words have a reason. They do, but it’s unlikely. As if she would come all the way from the east of the Silk Road to attack us.”

Duchess Astarte turned her face away with a disdainful look as if she were about to spit. However, Lady Anastasia continued speaking calmly.

“There’s a real possibility of a divine oracle.”

“Huh? Have you gone mad, Anastasia? Like that foreigner who was burned at the stake?”

“If you ask me, that foreigner was just insane. A superhuman who didn’t even know the rules of the battlefield. But that’s beside the point. From what I know, it’s hard to believe that Faust could have acquired such knowledge about the nomadic state during his short stay in Virendorf.”

Duchess Astarte turned her face back, though it was twisted in mockery.

“You mean the information from Lord Vesperman, who oversees espionage for the Kingdom of Anhalt and was ridiculed at the full assembly?”

“The Vesperman family is not as incompetent as they’re made out to be. Well, I admit the strength of Reckenber’s counterintelligence in Virendorf—their defenses remain unbreached even two years after her death.”

Claudia von Reckenber, a superhuman of unparalleled versatility, demonstrated remarkable achievements across both political and military arenas, particularly in forging intelligence networks and masterminding counter-espionage operations. It wasn’t the incompetence of the Vesperman family that failed to detect the enemy’s invasion during the Virendorf campaign, but rather the superiority of Reckenber’s capabilities. Nonetheless, those affected by the Virendorf campaign, including Lord Polydoro, Lady Anastasia, Duchess Astarte, and myself, might be excused for speaking ill of the situation.

“Regardless, it’s hard to believe even Virendorf could have accessed such information. Sure, Virendorf disclosed information on the nomadic states to Faust, including intel from superhumans who had defected from the Feylon Dynasty. But the information and knowledge Faust possesses seem to be obtained from an overview perspective, something not conceivable to have been sourced from Virendorf.”

“So, a divine oracle? Given by the gods?”

“That makes the most sense. Faust obtained information from a source unknown to us and Virendorf. What could it be? The merchant guild led by Ingritt? The estate management diaries of his late mother Marianne? Or perhaps from a wandering minstrel who traveled from the far east of the Silk Road?”

All options appeared implausible, underscoring the limited breadth of information accessible to Lord Polydoro. As Lady Anastasia pointed out, it’s hard to believe Virendorf had such comprehensive information on the nomadic states, leading to the notion of a divine oracle being the source.

“A divine oracle, really?”

“Speaking of oracles doesn’t make sense. No one would believe it. Faust struggled but eventually claimed the information as sourced from Virendorf, delivering a speech on the situation of the nomadic states and securing everyone’s trust with his Geas.”

“Hmm,” Duchess Astarte pondered, her hand over her mouth.

Truly, the notion that Faust was endowed with a divine oracle and imparted such wisdom in a comprehensible way holds merit.

“I couldn’t think of anything else. Faust is not dumb; quite the opposite, his mind is quick. But he’s politically naive. The determination leading to his Geas, and the volume of information he presented, was enough to convince the lord knights.”

“The fact that Faust showed such resolve could be explained easier by the notion of a divine oracle, or at least, it makes for a less troublesome understanding.”

“I hate not understanding things. The only way Faust could have accessed such information is through a divine oracle.”

Lady Anastasia detested incomprehensible situations, preferring scenarios that, even if somewhat perplexing, were comprehensible. Indeed, hearing her out made her reasoning seem sound.

“So, we’re to take Faust’s words at face value?”

“I will. If Faust went as far as he did, I’ll believe him.”

Halting mid-sentence, Lady Anastasia whispered so softly that only Duchess Astarte and I could barely hear.

“If the man I love goes to such lengths, I want to believe him.”

Be it divine oracle or the lack of other information sources, Lady Anastasia’s true feelings seemed to revolve around her affection.

“I see, I understand. I’ll do the same,” Duchess Astarte responded with a laugh that echoed like a bell, their sentiments in perfect harmony.

Driven by their affection, they resolved to place unwavering faith in him, relegating the Geas and similar concerns to trivial formalities against the backdrop of their genuine belief.

“There’s plenty to do then. As Faust boldly claimed, we’ll show we can deal with the nomadic tribes within a year. The royal knights who will participate, the lord knights who will serve in the military duty—the coordination, or rather, the unification of military authority. It’s a complex issue.”

Duchess Astarte, laughing, voiced the significant challenge ahead, believing in Lady Anastasia’s capability to overcome it.

“Of course, we’ll do it. Help me, First Princess Advisor.”

Lady Anastasia, deviating from her usual piercing archaic smile, spoke with a rare, relaxed expression.

“Yes, yes, understood,” Duchess Astarte responded with a laugh.

Lady Anastasia and Duchess Astarte truly were excellent partners. I smiled quietly, feeling a sense of peace.

Unknown to Anastasia, Astarte, and Alexandra, the true source of Faust von Polydoro’s knowledge was shrouded in mystery. Dismissed as almost divine in nature, the truth of his insights stemming from his past life’s knowledge as a reincarnate—a basis far less tangible and certain than any oracle—remained unknown to anyone in their world.