Published: July 3, 2025
This is the second half.
Today (January 7th) at 12:00, I posted the first half.
Please read the first half first.
(I am Ashley Backland, the East Gate commander of the royal capital's defense force. I had long been part of the western garrison of the Naitorei Kingdom, but after the war of kingdom liberation, I was transferred to the royal capital's defense force. As a member of an earl's family, I was appointed as the East Gate commander immediately after my transfer. In many cases, this would be a subject of envy and jealousy, but I seem to have been blessed with a good workplace and have been able to work without such issues over the past month.
During my time in the western garrison, there were colleagues who would challenge me due to my relatively young age, but here, that is not the case at all. My subordinates listen to orders properly and are quite serious. Normally, the defense force of a city is comprised mostly of those who slack off, but perhaps being in the royal capital makes a difference.
Well, for that reason, I have absolutely no complaints about this job or workplace. I have not faced any problems at all. Just one thing… sometimes, a troublesome situation arises…
The troublesome situation is related to Duke Rondo.
His Grace Duke Rondo Ryo Mihara… The Duke's house was newly established after the war, and His Grace is the first duke. He is a very close friend of his majesty the king, and it is rumored that he was the one who used ultimate water attribute magic during the Battle of Gold Hill. It is said that it was an ultimate magic that covered the entire battlefield in ice, like something out of a legend…
Such an amazing individual goes out beyond the castle gates wearing a mage's robe, without any attendants… Even when he presents his Guild Card instead of a duke's plate, sometimes those who have just joined the defense force pass him through without realizing who he is… just like I did previously.
Then, His Grace runs a short distance away from the city gate and begins to unleash magic… directed at the royal capital city walls.
When I first saw that, I couldn't help but rush over to stop him…
“Hm? It's fine, the city walls will deflect the magic, so they won't break.”
His Grace said that… and it is indeed true… But he probably didn’t understand that I was frozen in place, unable to say anything. He released ice spears. Indeed, they struck the walls and bounced back toward His Grace. He cut them down with a sky-blue sword that I couldn't figure out where he had taken it from. I heard it was an ice sword…
After that, His Grace continued to unleash multiple ice spears simultaneously, starting to knock them down with his ice sword. It seems to be training… He mentioned he was also checking if there were any abnormalities with the walls' functionality, but… I’m sorry, but I find that hard to believe…
No, this is disrespectful. How could the third daughter of an earl doubt the actions of the first duke… If this became public knowledge, it could even lead to the dissolution of my family.
So, sometimes, His Grace Duke Rondo trains using the city walls… I reported this to my superior, but they shook their head a few times and said.
“Please pretend you didn’t see that.”
After that, the actions of His Grace became something that the defense force ignored entirely… Honestly, I don’t know if that is the correct response. Of course, if His Grace's actions were to cause harm to the citizens of the kingdom, I would have admonished him with all my might as part of my duties… even if I were threatened with the dissolution of my family! However, that is not the case…
No one is suffering, and in fact, sometimes His Grace even assists.
He cuts and transports stones and lumber used for the restoration of the royal capital… The workers he helps probably don’t realize he is a duke…
As the third daughter of an earl, I honestly find this situation hard to comprehend…)
“Ryo-san, I’m sorry, but can you help again today?”