After forming a review of each other, the two began to let their guard down just a little. Viscount Sabian went down to business.
“I am sure you are aware, Princess, but the present situation is not looking very favorable for us.”
“You may just say it as it is – it’s a disaster. It is the truth, after all…”
Princess Leila’s sigh revealed her exhaustion.
“This is all due to that monster of the Republic.”
Viscount Sabian nodded in agreement.
“Truth be told, I too did not expect for the Republics to retain such a monster.”
Though Viscount Sabian did not join in the war effort in mourning for his late teacher, another reason was that he did not see a possibility of them losing this war. This appeared to be a war they would win anyway, with the emphasis instead being on how significant a role the Southern army played. Reaching this conclusion, Sabian turned down Milton’s offer to hold his master’s funeral.
He did not imagine in his wildest dreams that things would turn out this way.
But there was no point in regretting the irreversible past. The important thing was the here and now.
“First of all, we cannot summon Count Forrest back to the Capital. The reasons are exactly as you say, Princess.”
Even if the Capital remained standing with Milton’s help, the Lester Kingdom would be as good as finished if Siegfried was allowed to do as he pleased with the rest of the nation. What meaning would there be in protecting the Capital if the rest of the nation’s infrastructure was destroyed?
On top of that was the more substantial issue of the peoples’ sentiment.
Public perception of the kingdom was already at an all-time low thanks to the civil war waged by the princes. The one royal that was a shining beacon of hope for the people was Princess Leila.
In this precarious situation, if Princess Leila neglected the peoples’ suffering and they turned away from her as well, it would be a cause for celebration in the Republic. A kingdom that had lost the faith of its people was ideal prey for spreading the ideology of Republicanism. Princess Leila was well aware of these facts.
Only, the issue was…
“Do you believe that Duke Palan will indeed be able to protect the Capital?”
There was a substantial possibility that Duke Palan and 20,000 troops would not be enough to defend.
Viscount Sabian drove the final nail in the coffin for the restless Princess Leila.
“No. He cannot protect it.”
“Hah…”
Princess Leila had expected as much for an answer, but hearing the actual words made her sigh instinctively.
“This is tough. Real tough.”
“The Republican army that Siegfried commands has decimated Duke Brans and his 50,000 men with almost no losses. In all honesty, it would be safe to presume that the odds of Duke Palan protecting the Capital, even if he were to maximize the advantages of being on the defense, are close to zero.”
“Then whatever shall we do? You would not have sought me when you plainly know all the facts without devising a counterplan, no?”
Princess Leila put the ball in Viscount Sabian’s court, who whipped out a map from his coat.
This was the product of staying up two whole nights without sleep when he realized their predicament.
“I shall explain. To begin with…”
Viscount Sabian pitched the strategy he had prepared in great detail. Whenever Princess Leila threw him a question on some aspect of his plan, he replied readily without a hitch.
A few hours later, the explanation concluded – and Princess Leila was awestruck.
After listening to Viscount Sabian’s proposal, she felt as if she could see a faint ray of sunlight penetrating through a sky blanketed with dark clouds.
“You are a genius.”
“Thank you for your appreciation.”
“Viscount Sabian, by my name I authorize you with the full powers for this operation. Please emerge successful at all costs.”
“I will give it my all.”
The next day.
By royal decree, all the citizens in the Lester Kingdom’s Capital were preparing for evacuation.
“Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?”
“Indeed, what has prompted Your Highness to suddenly evacuate the citizens?”
The simmering nobles raised their qualms when they caught wind that Princess Leila issued an evacuation order to the common people. They could not possibly understand her actions from their angle.
How could she choose now to evacuate the citizens when the enemy could come crashing in at any moment?
In an evacuation, the royals and the nobles were meant to go first and they went without the citizens knowing. They had never heard of the common people being evacuated first, and at such a large scale.
Princess Leila retorted nonchalantly.
“There is no real method available to us for impeding the enemy’s advance. If that is the case, is fleeing not the only path remaining for us?”
“Then, is it not the obvious course of action for the people to be left until last, and for the nation’s leadership to retreat first in confidence?”
Princess Leila shook her head.
“There is nothing more important to a country than its people. I shall evacuate them foremost, and take all the responsibility I must as a royal by joining them on the path to refuge.”
The nobles were stunned as Princess Leila answered without a hint of hesitation.
‘Is she out of her mind?’
‘Does she have a hero complex?’
‘Women…’
To the nobles, Princess Leila appeared as an out-of-touch child who was acting out some biography of a heroic figure she read – no, more likely some fairytale she had become a little too obsessed with.
“Well then, Princess. If you have chosen escape, then would it be fine for us to likewise vacate the Capital?”
“Most certainly. If you all intend to join me and share in the hardships of the people, that is enough to receive my thanks.”
“No – we will be moving separately.”
“With all due respect, it seems I cannot take part in your actions, Princess.”
With the circumstances being what they were, the nobles became openly disrespectful towards the princess as they were determined to make it out of this alive.
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Princess Leila frowned at them.
“Do you intend to abandon the people? Where have your mentalities of noblesse oblige gone?”
“For there to be the country’s people, there must be the country. And if the country is to remain standing, the center that is her leadership must take precedence.”
“That is so. Rest assured, our decision has prioritized the future of this nation above all.”
Princess Leila feigned an enraged expression and shot up from her seat.
“Cowards, the lot of you men! Then disappear from my sight at once. I’ve got no desire to throw my lot in with ones who do not know honor!”
The nobles flinched at first, but they quickly met her gaze with wide open eyes.
“It will be you, Princess, that will regret being swayed by shallow emotions to make such a silly decision – not us.”
“We are not so foolish as to stay on a sinking ship until the very end.”
They all spewed something along those lines as they left.
Once they returned to their estate, they would likely hurry to pack their belongings and seek asylum in foreign lands.
When they all left the royal hall…
“How wearisome. How many times have I repeated this song and dance since this morning?”
Viscount Sabian appeared from his eavesdropping spot to respond to Princess Leila’s grumbling.
“You are doing well. We may as well take this opportunity to sort the good from the bad.”
Princess Leila smirked.
“Hoh. In the Southern continent, there exists a saying that one gains more every time he stumbles…. you are exactly that kind of character, Viscount.”
“I appreciate the praise.”
“That being so – how long must this act continue? I am under the impression that we are on a tight schedule, are we not?”
“At present, all the nobles of the Capital will be attempting to curry favor with you, Princess. I believe… half a day more should suffice.”
“How tiresome.”
“I’m afraid it must be done.”
“Very well. Then I suppose I will continue…”
That day, just as Viscount Sabian advised, Princess Leila had an audience with the majority of the influential nobles in the Capital. The exchanges were akin to the one held at the royal hall, with the nobles having two different final reactions.
Somewhere within the realm of 80 percent of the nobles criticized, or in worse cases were infuriated, by Princess Leila’s actions. For the ones that seethed with rage, the only reason that they did not commit treason there and then was because Duke Palan remained on standby where they could plainly see.
On the other hand, the remaining 20 percent of the nobles joined Princess Leila. Some of these held dear their honor as nobles and had a proper moral compass. Others were fascinated or impressed by the capability and charisma that Princess Leila displayed in the short time she had been managing state affairs as a stand-in.
Others still were yet wary and unsure, deciding to follow Princess Leila with the vague notion that she still held the reins of power.
The reasons were many, but the fact was that 20 percent decided to remain loyal to Princess Leila.
Princess Leila and these nobles together aided in preparing the evacuation of the citizens from the Capital. Meanwhile, the other 80 percent hurriedly packed their assets and fled as fast as possible.
Among these nobles that were fleeing was the present king, King August. King August, who had secluded himself until now with the excuse of having fallen ill, departed from the Capital with the nobles still loyal to him. In the process of doing so, he took all the collective wealth of the royal family with him, scraping to the very bottom of the barrel. He, too, was likely intending to defect to other lands.
Even as she became aware of this, Princess Leila did not stop him. She merely thought the whole procession was sad.
‘To think my father would only amount to this much…’
She merely shook her head, for she did not have the luxury of time to gripe about it further. Now was the time for them to pick up the pace.
First, she sent a messenger to Milton to elaborate on their course of action.
Next, she publicly announced her intentions to accompany the people on their evacuation. The people were greatly encouraged by this statement while they prepared for the long and hard road to refuge.
“To think that the Princess would join us…”
“So it is true that the Princess stands with us, when even His Majesty the King is said to have fled?”
“As far as I’ve heard, she lambasted the nobles who abandoned us and bolted.”
“Those rotten mongrels… so not only did they abandon us, are you saying that they also abandoned the blood royal that is the Princess?”
“Damn sons of bitches… they were always so far up their own asses, yet they make a run for it when the time of reckoning arrives.”
Public sentiment became clearly distinguished. Towards King August and the nobles that had forsaken them that formed a large majority, the people harbored a strong sense of resentment. On the other hand, they became greatly faithful towards Princess Leila, who proclaimed she would join them and was supporting the evacuation effort from her own coffers.
One of Princess Leila’s specialties was spreading her men amongst the masses to manipulate popular sentiment – but this time around, there was no such need. Just by spouting the truth as it was, she achieved the results she wanted faster and more definitively than expected.
‘That’s phase two of the plan completed. Onto the next right away.’
With that, Princess Leila joined hundreds of thousands of civilians on the path of evacuation.
It was said that the procession of citizens that followed her stretched all the way to the horizon.
***
After eliminating the Strabus Kingdom’s expedition army, Siegfried swiftly reconsolidated his troops and monitored the enemy’s movements.
He would have promptly attacked the Capital if this was anything like usual, but the existence of Milton’s Southern army weighed on his mind.
‘Who would’ve thought that Captain Alfred would be so one-sidedly beaten?’
Just as the Lester Kingdom did not anticipate the Strabus army to be defeated, Siegfried did expect Alfred to be so unilaterally defeated either. For someone who was as cautious and meticulous as Alfred, it was presumed that he would be able to maintain the lines at the least, if not win outright.
The actual result was Milton’s landslide victory.
Consequently, Siegfried prepared for the possibility of Milton and his army attacking them. But the Southern army stood unmoving and that attack never came.
It was rather because Milton’s army stood still that Siegfried could not move promptly and was forced to steadily monitor the situation. It would spell trouble for them if the army of the South attacked them from the rear while they carried out their offensive on the Capital.
While Siegfried was stuck, the first one to make a move was Princess Leila who evacuated all the civilians from the Capital and joined them on their path to refuge.
When Siegfried received this news, he narrowed his eyes.
“This has become rather bothersome.”