WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 171: Prince of a Lost Nation

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"It appears that Yorgos Caruna, who once crossed the Azure Sea and fled to the southern continent of Ludia, is plotting to restore the Kingdom of Caruna by force of arms and is attempting to return with an army. We have received information from several merchants."

In mid-October, Emmanuel visited Samuel's office and delivered the urgent report with a hard expression.

"...I see. So that youngest prince is coming back."

After hearing the report from his closest aide and uncle, Samuel furrowed his brow slightly and murmured.

When the king before last, Gilbert of Arelia, conquered the Kingdom of Caruna, he slaughtered all members of the Caruna royal family as if in retaliation for everything that had come before. He also killed every close relative who could become a figurehead. Even those who had fled into the neighboring Grand Duchy of Faro to the west were eventually found and killed together with their families. Incidentally, because House Faro personally captured those exiles and handed them over to the Arelia royal family, they were barely allowed to continue as a house after their defeat, despite resisting invasion for a very long time.

Yet even those massacres did not lead to the extinction of the Caruna royal family. The Caruna queen who had been the last monarch at the time refused to abandon the country and fought together with her prince consort and her sons and daughters. At the same time, she had only her youngest son, Yorgos, who was still a small child, escape the kingdom by ship and flee across the Azure Sea, in other words the southern sea, to the continent of Ludia. Prince Yorgos's party was accepted as exiles by the Kingdom of Zangia, one of the leading great powers on the Ludia continent.

Gilbert had wanted to kill Yorgos as well, but the Arelia royal family at the time did not have the leeway to kill someone who had crossed the sea and gone into exile in a great power on another continent. In the end, Gilbert was never able to touch him.

After that, the grown Yorgos used the wealth of the Caruna royal family that had been taken out with him to gather private soldiers, and in the position of a guest force of the Zangia royal family, he began acting as a mercenary. Perhaps he had talent, and perhaps he had worked desperately hard, because he grew into quite a capable general. He achieved results, earned strong support from his subordinates, and was now said to command a force of one thousand men.

The previous Arelian king, Childebert, Samuel's father, had always gathered information about Yorgos, but still refrained from acting against him. Yorgos had married a woman from a branch line of the Zangia royal family, and killing him could develop into a diplomatic problem. Childebert had avoided making a powerful enemy across the sea.

That said, Yorgos, who could become the banner for restoring the Kingdom of Caruna, was an existence the Arelia royal family had to be wary of. For that reason, despite the difficulty, the Arelia royal family had continued gathering information on his movements on another continent.

"I had assumed Yorgos Caruna would end his days on the Ludia continent, but... that seems to have been wishful thinking."

For Samuel, the war between the Arelia royal family and the Caruna royal family belonged to his grandfather's generation. It was an event from before he was born, something already turned into history. That was why, although he knew of the man named Yorgos Caruna as knowledge, his impression of him had been nothing more than "a person who was royalty in this western part of the Ludna Continent long ago."

"I feel the same. I had imagined that since he left this land as a small child whose sense of self was still faint, he would have no attachment to the Kingdom of Caruna in the first place... But if he intends to follow his bloodline and reclaim the throne in this western part of the Ludna Continent, then we must respond."

Looking at bloodline, Yorgos Caruna had legitimacy as the ruler of the Caruna region. He possessed the cause of avenging his slaughtered family and restoring his lost homeland.

However, that was only his logic. The Arelia royal family had its own logic.

"What information do we have on the size of the army Yorgos Caruna will bring and the timing of his attack?"

"As for scale, in addition to the one thousand men of the private army he leads, the 'Jaws of Caruna,' he seems to be gathering mercenaries and volunteers seeking a fortune. At present, he is based in a port city on the northern coast of the Ludia continent and recruiting soldiers. While making no attempt to hide that he is a survivor of the Caruna royal family or that his destination is the Caruna region of the Kingdom of Arelia, he is gathering mercenaries and volunteers... He claims he will land in his homeland with five thousand soldiers and restore the Kingdom of Caruna. Those who distinguish themselves in battle will be granted noble titles in the Kingdom of Caruna, and part of the expanded territory will be given to them as fiefs. Such slogans are apparently being spread."

"...Expanded territory, is it? In other words, he does not intend to be satisfied with reclaiming the old territory of the Kingdom of Caruna. Very like the Caruna royal family."

At Emmanuel's words, Samuel pondered with a stern expression.

The situation the Arelia royal family feared most was this: a former conquered land regained independence in a form hostile to the Arelia royal family, used that momentum to extend its rule into the old territory of the Kingdom of Arelia or into other regions, and stirred up new wars. Yorgos Caruna had an extremely high chance of causing such a situation. At this point, they had to assume that he would.

The Caruna royal family had been known for its aggressive stance from the beginning. Yorgos, its surviving child, was also said to have a fierce personality as the commander of a mercenary band. Judging from his bold recruiting slogans, he was a man of the temperament rumored of him, and one could say he was truly a figure befitting Caruna royalty.

"Along with recruiting, he is said to be calling on great merchants to gather ships for crossing the southern sea, so the timing of the attack will likely be next year. If the nobles and people of the Caruna region rise up, it will probably be timed to coincide with the prince's return."

"Then we still have time... That said, if five thousand soldiers cross the sea, attack, and join the rebel forces, it will be extremely troublesome."

"Yes. There is a high possibility that the enemy side will surpass us in numbers."

They had planned to have the Duke of Novakia cooperate in suppressing the rebellion in the Muret region, while the Arelia royal family sent its main force south to suppress the rebellion in the Caruna region, allowing them to respond without issue even if rebellions occurred simultaneously in both regions. But that plan would collapse with the arrival of Yorgos Caruna.

If Yorgos brought the rebel forces of the Caruna region under his command as well, his army could easily reach ten thousand. Against that, considering the need to defend the royal domain and borders and respond to the Muret region, the Royal Army troops the Arelia royal family could send would be around two thousand at most. There were also the Caruna region garrison troops, but given their low morale, it was doubtful whether they would even fight without fleeing. Even if they added the forces of nobles, mercenaries, and conscripts, it would be a success if the total force exceeded six thousand.

The current Arelia royal family was severely weakened. The national budget was greatly limited, and the areas under its actual control were effectively only the central kingdom and the Loire region. Even there, it no longer possessed the power to rule with the same force as when Childebert had reigned as hegemon, and society itself was exhausted by years of war, especially last year's decisive battle. Considering all of those factors together, this was the limit of the forces they could mobilize. Emmanuel explained his view that way.

"Your Majesty, perhaps you should seriously consider relying on another country."

"...The Kingdom of Edelstein."

As one option, they had raised the possibility of asking the Kingdom of Edelstein for help. It was a choice they wanted to avoid as much as possible because it would create a debt. But if avoiding that choice resulted in the territory of the Kingdom of Arelia being trampled by a more hostile power and the peace of the western continent being destroyed, everything would come to nothing.

"It cannot be helped. Let us think in that direction. First, call Lord Fargier and Lord Villeneuve. After considering the specific way we will fight, I want to decide in what form we will ask the Kingdom of Edelstein for aid."

"As you command."

Emmanuel bowed politely and left the room.

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