Published: January 15, 2026
【Yard】
Among the marquis family’s knight order, Yard was entrusted with commanding three thousand soldiers. Moreover, as they gathered armor, weapons, and supplies for the march, Sesto also joined them.
“Sesto! It’s been a while!”
“…It has, Brother Yard.”
Right after exchanging greetings, Yard noticed Sesto’s gloomy expression. His voice also sounded heavier than usual.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
When Yard asked, Sesto furrowed his brow and sighed. Though he seemed a bit taller, his slightly hunched posture made him look small.
Sesto nodded with a miserable twist of his brows.
“…Father scolded me. I thought I had enough money to spend freely, but I was told that even doubling the town’s tax revenue wouldn’t cover the expenses…”
“Haha! That’s foolish. Just being part of the Marquis Fertio family means any merchant guild will treat you favorably. If you hold a banquet, even viscounts and lower nobles will bring you profit-making proposals on their own. Well, what’s done is done. Raise the tax revenue by fifty percent and have the merchant guilds look for profitable opportunities.”
Laughing at Sesto’s misfortune, Yard kindly advised how to handle it. To Yard, his elder brother Murcia was a strong contender for head of the family, but he considered Sesto as the right hand he would need in the future, so he treated him carefully.
Sesto’s weakness to temptation and indecisiveness made him no real rival in Yard’s eyes, which he found favorable.
Smiling at the hesitant Sesto, Yard lowered his gaze to the map spread out before him.
Until recently, Yard had been holding a meeting with the knight order commanders in his office. The main focus was on geography and confirming enemy forces, but Yard felt like a seasoned veteran as he pointed to the map.
“Sesto. This is Scudetto. And here is the fortress of Yelinetta that we captured in the previous battle. There is another base along the coast, but it isn’t easy to attack from there. We hold a geographical advantage. Above all, taking this fortress clearly reversed the offensive and defensive positions.”
When Yard shared what he had heard, Sesto nodded vaguely in response.
“…Because this fortress was taken?”
Seeing that Sesto didn’t really understand, Yard shook his shoulder and laughed.
“You don’t get it? Put yourself in Yelinetta’s shoes. What would happen if they were pushed further?”
Sliding his finger across the map, Yard showed Sesto the direction. Sesto followed with his eyes and suddenly looked enlightened.
“Ah… They would be isolated. Meaning they’d be caught in a pincer movement, forced to defend the fortress, and cut off from supplies.”
“Exactly.”
Pleased, Yard nodded at Sesto’s correct answer. Even though he had just learned it moments before, Yard spoke as if he were a teacher.
“In other words, Yelinetta can’t launch an attack without first recapturing this fortress. It’s that critical. Conversely, we should base our offensive here, but if we neglect it, Yelinetta will send troops one after another. After all, there are towns and fortresses of Yelinetta in three directions, making supply lines efficient.”
“I see… So that means we’ll attack Yelinetta again soon, right?”
Sesto interpreted the meaning, and Yard smiled devilishly.
“That’s right. That’s why we have to be ready to go to battle anytime. The given knight order must be equipped with the best gear and have abundant logistics. And if there’s extra, we’ll hire all the mercenary groups and adventurers we can for reinforcements.”
Yard crossed his arms as he stated this. Sesto lowered his head with a sorry look.
“Ah, I’ve run out of money, so the preparations…”
Sesto muttered with a changed expression. Yard smiled showing his teeth.
“Haha! Don’t worry! With the recent victory, you can borrow as much money as you want! Borrow from the merchant guild and prepare! This war is a great chance to earn military achievements. Don’t hold back and run away!”