WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 160: Only the Dead Have Seen the End of War

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After peace was concluded, both countries quickly began moving to carry it out.

First, the Kingdom of Arelia's army withdrew from Arnsberg fortress and fell back to the western Beiral Plains. Immediately afterward, the Kingdom of Edelstein's army entered the fortress and restored its control.

The practical work toward returning prisoners also proceeded smoothly. Among those connected to lord noble houses, no small number were released and returned home immediately because their ransoms were paid soon after the peace.

As for Count Patrick Villeneuve and Count Cecilia Fargiere, since it was difficult to prepare their expensive ransoms immediately, their persons were scheduled to remain in the custody of the Kingdom of Edelstein for a little longer. Crown Prince Samuel Arelia's person would also be returned in the form of an exchange for Princess Maria, who would become a hostage from here on.

Within several weeks, the ransoms for the two counts and Princess Maria, having finished preparations for her study abroad, were scheduled to arrive on the Beiral Plains and be exchanged for the three most important prisoners. With that, the current situation, in which both countries faced each other across the plains, would come to an end.

In the meantime, the scale of the armies waiting there was gradually reduced.

An army numbering in the thousands consumed enormous war funds every day merely by existing. In the present situation, where both countries wanted to save even a little national expense for postwar rebuilding, both sides shared the desire to disband their forces while leaving only the minimum troops needed for border defense. That was why, almost as if they had arranged it together, the size of both armies shrank.

The camp of the Kingdom of Edelstein, which had once retained more than ten thousand troops and looked like a city of its own, gradually grew smaller. The city of tents that had temporarily been born to fight a great battle that would remain in history was finishing its role and about to disappear.

First, the reinforcements from the Empire returned home. Next, the mercenaries and the conscripts from outside the western royal domain were disbanded. The noble domain forces also returned home, except for the forces of the nobles of the kingdom's west.

Among the kingdom army's main forces, the Albrecht Regiment, which had the original duty of defending the northern border, was the first to leave the battlefield.

"Sorry to take your time, Lord Hosenfeld."

"Not at all. At present, I am in a position with some time to spare... I am honored that you came to greet me."

Friedrich courteously received Marquis Rebecca Eisenhut, commander of the Albrecht Regiment, when she came to the Ferdinand Regiment's headquarters.

"Rather, I should have gone to greet you myself. I apologize."

"No, it is fine. I simply came because I wanted to."

As the Albrecht Regiment withdrew, she had come herself as regimental commander to say farewell. Friedrich was somewhat surprised by that inwardly.

"When we first met in society, I never imagined I would be calling you Lord Hosenfeld so soon. But now, calling you that no longer feels strange. I now understand why the previous Lord Hosenfeld, Lord Matthias, discovered you as his successor."

The woman who had shown no interest in Friedrich when they first met now looked at him directly and praised him. Friedrich accepted it head-on.

"I am honored. In order to continue answering the expectations of my late father, I will continue fulfilling my duties as a kingdom soldier and kingdom noble."

"You will be fine. The living hero of Edelstein. At this moment in this country, no one is more worthy of that title than you, who brought victory in the decisive battle."

Saying that, Rebecca turned her gaze toward Friedrich's side.

"Her Majesty told me that after the postwar matters settle, you will marry Knight Yurika."

"...Yes."

Caught slightly off guard by the sudden change of topic, Friedrich nodded.

"May I speak with her for a moment?"

At that request, Friedrich unintentionally showed surprise on his face. When he looked back, Yurika, who had been met by Rebecca's gaze, also raised one eyebrow slightly.

"Of course. I do not mind."

In terms of position, Yurika was not a unit commander, but a single knight and one squire of House Hosenfeld. Friedrich could not imagine what Rebecca, who had never had any connection with her, wanted to say.

But there was no reason to refuse, so he answered that way.

"Then... Knight Yurika. There is one thing I would like to ask."

"Yes. What is it, Your Excellency Marquis Eisenhut?"

Yurika responded with the attitude of a soldier to Rebecca's words.

"Do you remember anything from before you became an orphan? The existence of a woman who called you by the name Yurika and cared for you?"

At the question that followed, Yurika opened her eyes wide. She shifted slightly, showing her disturbance.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end only nodded silently.

"That woman's name was Lena. If you do not mind, I would like you to remember her name... Keep only her name in your memory, and forget that I told you this. Your lives are now yours, the two of you."

"...Understood. I will remember only the name you taught me."

Yurika answered that. When Rebecca looked toward him, Friedrich also nodded silently.

They correctly sensed the meaning behind her words. Yurika's origins were connected to House Eisenhut. Rebecca had no intention of making that truth public, nor of dragging Yurika into the past circumstances of her house at this late stage. The two of them understood.

"Thank you. She will be rewarded as well... Then, Lord Hosenfeld. Later, at the awards and victory celebration."

Leaving those words behind, Rebecca left the tent.

......

As she returned to the Albrecht Regiment, Rebecca suddenly sighed.

"...Was that the right thing to do?"

Normally, Rebecca did not agonize over her own actions. As head of House Eisenhut and commander of the Albrecht Regiment, she simply thought and acted based on those positions.

But this time, she had thought and acted as an individual. She had told Yurika her mother's name.

If asked why, she could only answer that she had wanted to.

Lena, Rebecca's distant relative, had protected the young Yurika. Because of that, Yurika had survived, grown in a land far from the Marquisate of Eisenhut, learned how to live in human society, and by coincidence, Rebecca had come to know of it.

Now Yurika was about to have a spouse. Someday, she would likely have children.

That was why Rebecca wanted her to know Lena's name. Because Lena had protected her, she had grown, and this time she would become a mother like Lena and protect her own child. That was why Rebecca wanted her to remember Lena's name.

It was not that Rebecca intended to invite her into the House of Eisenhut now. It was not that she intended to approach her at this late stage and conveniently act as family. She knew that doing so would make neither of them happy, and would only trouble Yurika.

But at least, she wanted her to know. The name of Lena, who had loved and protected her.

She had thought that.

"Your Excellency's intention should have been conveyed correctly. I believe it was good for her as well."

"...Yes. I hope so."

Rebecca answered the words of the loyal adjutant walking beside her.

......

"I am glad."

Once they were alone, Yurika let those words slip.

"It would have been fine even if I never knew. But if I could know it, I am glad I did. That person's name."

"...Yes."

Friedrich said that with a gentle smile. Yurika too returned a smile like a girl's.

Yurika's hazy memories from before she had been abandoned in the forest. That there had been a woman who cared for her, a woman who, thinking back on it later, had likely been her mother. Friedrich had heard of it several times before.

According to Yurika, it was a meaningless memory from before her life truly began. To her, it was simply a memory that remained in her mind because she had not forgotten it.

Even so, if Yurika said she was glad to know the name of the woman in that memory, then Friedrich was happy too.

......

In April, as the withdrawal of both armies progressed further, the handover of the two count prisoners and the exchange of Crown Prince Samuel and Princess Maria were completed safely. The Kingdom of Edelstein side decided to withdraw its troops, leaving only the Hildegard Regiment and the western royal domain conscript units that would support it.

The Ferdinand Regiment led by Friedrich would now return to its original base, the army headquarters in the royal capital Sankt Waltrude. From here on, it would return to peacetime structure and prepare for emergency deployments while raising its proficiency as a rapid-response unit.

"This war is over too."

Inside the fortress, where lines were being formed for the march home, Queen Claudia, who would return with the Royal Guard at the same time as the Ferdinand Regiment, murmured while looking over the preparations for departure.

"Yes. It was a great victory that will be carved into the history of the continent along with Your Majesty's name."

Standing beside the queen, Friedrich answered her words that way.

"Yes, a great victory... But mine is not the only name that will be carved there. The name of the new hero who devised the move for victory and actually grasped victory will also be written in the histories together with this victory. The people will speak of that name and spread it. The name of Friedrich Hosenfeld."

"...It is an honor beyond what I deserve."

Friedrich smiled quietly and touched the Nouzenharen design on the left breast of his uniform.

"It is an honor you are worthy to receive. Your great father must also be proud of you, who carved the Hosenfeld family name and the title of hero into history once more."

Only a few people in the country, including Claudia, knew the truth of Friedrich's origins. Understanding who Friedrich's birth father was, she nevertheless spoke on the premise that the late Matthias was Friedrich's father. Because Friedrich himself, more than anyone else, had defined Matthias as his father.

"The hegemon king Childebert has been slain, and the Arelian royal house can no longer maintain its authority. I hope an age of peace will come from here... but I doubt it will go that smoothly."

Claudia spoke with a sigh. Friedrich too gave a faint wry smile and nodded.

If the Arelian royal house weakened, it would no longer be able to maintain the lands it had conquered until now. Movements for reindependence would inevitably arise in each region.

For the Kingdom of Edelstein, the ideal would be for peaceful reindependence to occur through negotiation, for the Kingdom of Arelia to weaken decisively, and for the western Ludna Continent to regain balance once more. For that purpose, there were plans to work behind the scenes, such as unofficially supporting the reindependence of the Kingdom of Novakia.

But it probably would not go so well. Wars of independence involving bloodshed could occur. Each region conquered by the Kingdom of Arelia until now was not, by nature, only a victim that had been one-sidedly devoured.

One wrong step, and the Arelian royal house might fall, causing the Kingdom of Edelstein to fail to collect reparations. Worse, a new country might rise to seek hegemony by tearing through the swollen Kingdom of Arelia from within. To prevent such a situation and preserve its own peace, the Kingdom of Edelstein, as a member of the western continent, would have to work for regional stability. Depending on the situation, it might even cooperate with the Arelian royal house, intervening with force.

Even after balance was restored, there was no guarantee that it would continue forever. Rather, the days of determining how long that balance would last would begin. In human history, eternal peace did not exist.

"We must hope that peace is preserved for at least a while, work for that purpose, and at the same time prepare for the next battle. For rulers, and for soldiers like you, that is fate."

"Yes... Only the dead, I suppose, have truly seen the end of war."

With resignation in his crimson eyes, Friedrich said that.

Not long after, departure preparations were complete, and the Royal Guard led by Claudia and the Ferdinand Regiment led by Friedrich left Arnsberg fortress. Hildegard Regiment commander Diethelm Brightkreuz personally saw the two off.

"Then, Diethelm. I leave the defense of Arnsberg fortress to you."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will fulfill my duty without fail. I pray for Your Majesty's safe return."

Diethelm answered Claudia, then turned his gaze toward Friedrich as well.

Both were already regimental commanders. While on duty before the queen, they did not exchange casual words.

Instead, they quietly nodded to each other. That alone was enough as a farewell for the time being. Because they acknowledged each other as friends.

Led by Royal Guard captain Gustav, Claudia set out with the Royal Guard. Friedrich followed afterward with the Ferdinand Regiment.

This battle had ended, and the queen and hero returned to the royal capital.

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