Published: January 13, 2026
The invasion of the Yelinetta Kingdom was apparently fiercer than expected.
According to reports, the villages and small towns near the border were swiftly overrun, and enemy forces were advancing rapidly toward the castle town, the largest city along the shortest route.
I suppressed my restless feelings and headed toward the castle town.
Finally, if I could just get over that hill, I would reach the castle town.
My heart was a tangled mess of anxiety, hope, and fear, almost urging my body to run forward.
At that moment, I heard people’s screams and the sounds of things crashing together.
“...Mother!”
I couldn’t hold back anymore. Feeling like I was about to cry, I jumped off the carriage and ran through the crowd of adventurers toward the front.
“Ah, miss!”
Someone tried to call out to me, but I didn’t hear it.
I dashed through and sprinted up the hill.
What I saw when I reached the top was the devastated sight of the castle town.
Thick black smoke rose from all directions, and part of the city walls had completely collapsed. Around the ruins, there were nearly ten thousand soldiers, and five wyverns flew through the sky. Something was dropped from above, and towering flames rose as the castle town was engulfed by fire.
“...Miss Arte! The walls have just fallen! If we move now, we might still make it!”
Holding back tears and about to collapse, I was grabbed by Ort by the shoulder.
“Listen, Miss Arte! There’s no time! Give me command of this group! If we act now, we might just pull this off!”
Hearing Ort’s desperate voice and words, my heart regained a bit of composure.
I grabbed Ort’s arm with both hands and lifted my face.
“No. It must be someone from House of Count Ferdinand who repels the Yelinetta Kingdom... Everyone! Prepare the ballista! This will become a surprise attack from such an exposed place, but please lend me your strength! Help my, my homeland!”
I shouted desperately. Tears streamed down my face disgracefully as I poured out my overwhelming emotions. As a noblewoman, these might have been the worst words and behavior, but the adventurers raised their arms and answered with shouts like war cries.
“Leave it to us!”
“If Miss Arte asks, we can’t refuse!”
“Yeehaw! Let’s show the Yelinetta knight order the strength of adventurers!”
At those words, more tears welled up.
“...Please!”
[House of Count Ferdinand]
A fast rider’s report had arrived.
The neighboring town had been attacked. The resident knight order couldn’t handle the enemy, so after evacuating the citizens, they had retreated to this town.
The enemy was from Yelinetta, and this was no mere skirmish or exercise. They minimized looting and, after resting briefly in the villages and towns they subdued, headed straight for this town.
Their rapid advance revealed their strategy.
“...Could it be that the invasion of Scudetto, a key border point, was just a diversion...?”
I murmured this and looked outside from the lord of the fortress’s chamber. Black smoke billowed, and the screams of people could be heard even here. From the hallway came the clanking of armor as soldiers ran about, making me almost think the castle had already become a battlefield.
It had been over twenty years since I married Bariat, the current head of the family. I had imagined this kind of situation many times.
As a viscount’s daughter, I thought the resolve of the nobility had long been decided. But facing it now, anxiety and fear consumed me.
It was unbearably terrifying.
How would I die in the end?
My son had gone with my husband. All my daughters were married off, except for two. I could say I had fulfilled my duties as a noblewoman. But that didn’t mean I was ready to die.
“M-Mother...!”
Perhaps sensing my anxiety, my twelve-year-old daughter grabbed at my dress hem and spoke in a trembling voice.
I grabbed her shoulder and glared down.
“Don’t cry! When the final moment comes, I will make sure you die in a way that looks like suicide! You will be known to have ended your life properly, nobly. Rest assured.”