WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 167: Marriage (2)

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After Edwin finished his greeting and left, the next one to approach was Julius, Duke of Novakia.

"Queen Claudia Edelstein. Prince Consort Dustin. I offer my heartfelt congratulations on your marriage."

"Thank you for your congratulations, Lord Novakia. I am glad you came today."

Julius currently held the delicate position of being a noble of the Kingdom of Arelia, but he had come openly and proudly, wearing the face of a sovereign. The fact that he could behave this way showed just how much the authority of the Arelia royal family had weakened over the past year.

"How fares the Duchy of Novakia? I hear that postwar reconstruction is proceeding smoothly."

"Thanks to your grace, food production is expected to recover to near prewar levels this year. Along with that, I believe the economy and industry will also recover."

The Duchy of Novakia had been trampled by the army of the Kingdom of Arelia, then had its grain-producing regions suffer enormous damage in the war against the Kingdom of Edelstein. Claudia was unofficially providing support for its postwar reconstruction. Food, timber, and other goods produced in the Bachstein region, now fully controlled by the royal family, were being sold to House Novakia at very low prices under the outward form of trade.

This support also served as compensation for having done something akin to a scorched earth strategy within Novakian territory, even though it had been for the sake of swift victory. At the end of such support lay the reindependence of the Kingdom of Novakia, so it could once again coexist as a friendly neighboring country.

"That is good to hear. I sincerely hope that House Novakia, which has long cooperated with us as a neighbor, will continue to advance along the path of glory."

"I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's words."

Claudia spoke without even hinting at the unofficial support, and Julius answered with a meaningful smile.

For House Novakia to advance along the path of glory meant that Julius would become king once more. In fact, he was steadily proceeding along the path to reclaim the throne.

There were still Arelian garrison troops in the Novakia region, but their number had fallen from two thousand at the time to less than fifteen hundred. The reason was that the Arelia royal family had reduced military spending and shrunk the size of the national army in order to pay the enormous reparations.

The Novakia region, which bordered the Rigald Empire, was still better off. In the Muret region, the garrison had been reduced to less than half of last year's size, even falling below one thousand.

The Arelian general who oversaw those forces, Marquis Angelo Mosetti, was dancing in the palm of Julius's hand. Since their interests aligned when it came to protecting the border region against the empire, an enemy they could not let their guard down against, Julius did cooperate enough for Angelo to maintain his forces. But Angelo received no support from the royal family, whose power had declined sharply, and was effectively isolated on the frontier. At first, it seemed he had intended to build something like his own military clique, but he had only the ability of a military commander. In political schemes, he was no match for Julius, a former royal.

When Angelo demanded cooperation in strengthening military power, Julius initially brushed him off, then later pretended to comply and began rebuilding the standing forces under his own house's command. Knights of the former Novakian royal army became officers, soldiers were recruited from among the kingdom's people, and a ducal army of about one thousand was organized.

Moreover, he built that territorial army by taking advantage of a small opening of only a few weeks, when the imperial army showed movement along the border and Angelo, as a general, went there to respond. Although it had relied on careful advance planning and thorough preparation, the swiftness of his execution was so impressive that even Claudia, when she heard of it later, could not help but marvel. Claudia even suspected that Julius had colluded with the imperial family to arrange the imperial army's movement in the first place.

Naturally, Angelo objected, but Julius had outwardly answered the demand to strengthen military power, so Angelo could not take too forceful an attitude. While defending the border with the empire, receiving no support from the Arelia royal family, and having his logistics held by Julius, he could not possibly fight head-on against a man who had gained one thousand troops.

Agriculture, economy, and military. While maneuvering skillfully, Julius was beginning to let his ability blossom as the leader who would restore the Kingdom of Novakia.

"...Then, Lord Julius. I look forward to our continued relations."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I shall excuse myself for now."

Claudia deliberately avoided calling him duke, and Julius, who seemed to understand her intention, bowed politely and left.

After that, attendees continued to come one after another to offer greetings. As was customary for the central figures of a celebratory banquet, Claudia and Dustin's responses continued busily.

......

In one corner of the great hall, Friedrich was also attending the banquet as a noble of the kingdom.

"...I see. So this autumn, you will finally become Count Breitkreuz."

"Well, it'll just be a formal inheritance of the title. My old man will keep governing the territory, and I'll keep serving in the army as commander of the Hildegard Regiment. That division of roles won't change. It's just that once I'm a regimental commander, it'd look better if I were the head of a count's house instead of just the heir."

The one speaking with Friedrich was his comrade-in-arms, Diethelm. With the border region against the Kingdom of Arelia having been peaceful for some time, Diethelm too was able to attend the banquet as an important figure of the Royal Army.

Standing beside Friedrich was Yurika, Countess Hosenfeld. Having no interest in occasions like this, she remained silent and simply stayed close to Friedrich.

"Anyway, even I, who was nothing more than the young master of House Breitkreuz, will finally become your equal now, Count Hosenfeld."

"I have thought of you as my equal ever since I became head of my house."

"Oh, now that's a nice thing to say."

Diethelm jokingly slapped Friedrich's shoulder with rough familiarity, and Friedrich returned a wry smile.

"Then I'll keep counting on you, our hero."

Immediately after Diethelm said that and walked away,

"Friedrich, and Yurika as well. You seem to be enjoying yourselves."

The one who approached was the host of the banquet, and the ruler of this country, Queen Claudia herself.

"Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty."

"Stay as you are. Be at ease."

Claudia said this to the two of them as they were about to bow. For the moment, she was separated from Prince Consort Dustin.

"Dustin is deep in conversation with his elder brother. They will likely have few chances to meet from now on, so I am making sure not to disturb them... That said, even if I find myself alone, there are only so many people I can speak with comfortably."

As she said that, Claudia let out a slightly tired sigh, quietly enough that those around them would not hear.

"Well then... I am honored that you chose me as your conversation partner."

Friedrich answered with a faint wry smile.

Guests from neighboring countries, senior retainers old enough to be his parents, and territorial nobles were all people Claudia had to brace herself before speaking to. It made sense that he, a house head of similar age whose temperament she knew well, had been chosen.

"Yurika, you too seem to have grown quite used to places like this. You look like the spouse of a noble."

"...Though I am still inexperienced, I am making an effort. I thank you once again for inviting us."

Yurika answered with a graceful manner. Though she was poor at socializing, thanks to instruction from the steward Doris, she had become able to give safe responses.

"How is your health?"

"The doctor says everything is proceeding smoothly."

"I see. That is good to hear... Do not push yourself today either."

Yurika's belly had begun to show little by little, and she was wearing a looser dress than before. Claudia spoke to her with a gentle smile.

"Has Prince Consort Dustin grown accustomed to the Kingdom of Edelstein?"

"Yes. Because of his youth, he still becomes nervous in social settings like this, but he seems to have become quite used to life in the royal castle."

When Friedrich asked, Claudia answered while turning her gaze toward her husband.

"In a sense, he is a gentle young man unlike the typical Rigald imperial family member. He reminds me of Konrad."

"...I see."

The name belonged to a prince who had once betrayed the royal family and the kingdom, become a rebel, and been executed. Hearing it, Friedrich could not immediately judge how he should respond.

Perhaps noticing that the retainer speaking with her felt awkward, Claudia let out a faint wry smile.

"It has already been three years. Remembering it no longer makes me sink into gloom... Konrad chose to walk a different path and departed for a distant place. That is what I have decided to think."

Claudia spoke as if murmuring to herself, her eyes somewhere far away, and Friedrich nodded silently.

Then Claudia made her voice bright, as if changing the mood.

"Now that I have married like this, I hope the western continent will remain at peace for a while longer."

"I agree. As a soldier of the Royal Army, I sincerely hope peace continues as long as possible."

Friedrich answered while also keeping himself calm. In truth, the rebuilding of the Ferdinand Regiment still required time, and he wanted a reprieve in order to retrain the regiment. At least one more year. If possible, several more years.

"That said, how long peaceful days continue depends more on the ability of Maria's elder brother than on us..."

As Claudia murmured, she turned her gaze toward Princess Maria Arelia, the hostage sent from the Kingdom of Arelia under the name of studying abroad. Though she was in a delicate position despite receiving treatment appropriate to her status, she apparently had a surprisingly strong personality. She was spending her days in Sankt Waltrude with fortitude and had built a calm relationship with Claudia as well. Even here at the banquet, as a royal of a great power, fallen though it might be, she was engaging in conversation with the attendees.

As Claudia said, whether the western continent could maintain peace and build a new balance of power depended on the ability of the ruler of the fraying Kingdom of Arelia, namely Maria's elder brother, King Samuel Arelia.

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