WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS
Translator: Abood
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Friedrich's Battlefield
Chapter 6: Confession
"Don't give up!"
It was probably the loudest shout of his entire life. Surprised by the sound of his own shout, his face tensed up. As he stood there, Yurika jumped up onto the platform after him and took her place by his side.
Thanks to his outburst, he at least managed to grab the townspeople’s attention. All eyes were now on him.
The weight of their gazes almost crushed him, but he held firm and forced himself to speak again.
"…If we give up now, we’ll lose everything. Is that really what you want? Our homes burned, our wives and daughters violated, our parents and children slaughtered, and the men killed off in the end. We’ll die filled with nothing but regret. No one in their right mind would want to accept something like that!”
He had leapt onto the platform driven by impulse, and now he forced his mind to work, choosing his words carefully.
If he failed to convince them, both he and Yurika would die. That’s exactly why Friedrich was speaking with everything he had.
“If you don’t want that, then fight! All of us, together!”
“But… how are we supposed to fight?”
“Who’s going to come up with a plan?”
Reasonable questions were thrown at him from the townspeople.
I’ll come up with the plan. I’ll lead us. I know about fighting, from books—”
“Don’t act like you’re something special!”
“There’s no way this’ll work!”
“Yeah! Who do you think you are, just some orphan!”
Shouts of protest cut Friedrich off mid-sentence.
What does it matter where he came from? So what if he’s a former orphan? They had done nothing but panic and tremble, yet they still had the nerve to mock him. The urge to lash out at them surged inside him, but he swallowed it down and held back.
He had expected this kind of reaction. If he were in their position, he might have said the same. Yelling back wouldn’t work. That wouldn’t change anything. What he needed to do was persuade them.
Hundreds of doubtful and anxious faces were turned toward him.
In front of the church, the priest and Alma were watching with concern. From the edge of the square, Bruno and his gang were mixed in with the crowd, heckling, “Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty for an orphan?” That bastard.
Think. Think. Think. Find a way to speak so the people in front of him would actually listen.
He squeezed his eyes shut and forced his mind to race at full speed.
“It’s okay. I’m with you, Friedrich.”
In a soft whisper, just loud enough for him to hear, Yurika spoke.
In the very next moment, Friedrich opened his eyes.
This was probably his only shot. With that thought, he straightened his back and stood tall, his chest lifted with confidence.
“I am a noble!”
Friedrich shouted louder than he had the first time.
No one had expected those words—silence fell over the square.
“I’m the illegitimate son of a noble from the royal capital. Because I wasn’t born of the legal wife, I was sent away to this church in far-off Volga and raised as an orphan in the public eye. But it’s true. I’m a noble’s son. Noble blood runs through me.”
“…Whose son? Who the hell do you think your parent is?”
“Count Matthias Hosenfeld.”
Friedrich answered the question without hesitation. He knew he couldn’t afford to show even a hint of doubt. Among the well-known nobles whose names came to mind, he chose the one that would work best in this situation, the name of a hero he had read about in a book just a few weeks ago.
As soon as the name left his mouth, a stir ran through the crowd. In this country, there wasn’t a single person who hadn’t heard the name of the hero Matthias.
“Think about it. Why is it that, even as a former orphan, I can read, write, and calculate so well? Why can I understand difficult books? Why am I sharp enough that the steward asks me to help with his work? It’s because I have noble blood. Why do you think I’ve occasionally traveled to the capital of the domain? It wasn’t just for fun. I was meeting with envoys from House Hosenfeld, reporting on my situation. Sometimes, Count Matthias Hosenfeld himself came to see me.”
In this country, ruled by hereditary royalty and nobility, bloodline holds great persuasive power. Many commoners simply believe that the reason nobles and royals govern over them, the reason they possess such high education, is because they come from “intelligent” bloodlines. The less educated a person is, the more likely they are to think this way.
The doubts Friedrich raised, the way he answered the question about his parent’s name without hesitation, his continued visits to the domain capital despite being told ‘What would someone like you do there?’. And above all, the confidence in his voice, all of it captured the attention of the people of Volga.
“This is a truth known only to the priest and Sister Alma at the church. Officially, I was said to have been found abandoned on the roadside as a baby and brought to the church, but that was a lie. In reality, I was entrusted to this church in Volga by traveling merchants acting under secret orders from House Hosenfeld. Inside the basket I was placed in was a letter that proved my lineage. A letter sealed with the crest of House Hosenfeld.”
Friedrich spoke smoothly, full of confidence, and the people of Volga began to find his words convincing. As he watched their expressions slowly begin to change, he could feel it, his words were getting through.
“I was told never to reveal my true identity, but if it’s to save the people of this kingdom, I’m sure my father would forgive me. I am the son of the hero, Matthias Hosenfeld. I carry his blood and his brilliance. As a noble, I will find a way to overcome the danger closing in on Volga. If you follow me, we can survive. Even against a hundred bandits. You don’t have to give up anything. You can protect your wealth, your homes, and your families. So… fight with me!”
Friedrich had said everything he needed to.
After a few moments of silence, one of the townspeople finally spoke up.
“Damn it! For my family’s sake… I’m in!”
That was the spark. Just as despair had spread through the crowd earlier, now it was fire that spread.
“To hell with it, we’ve got nothing to lose! Let’s fight!”
“No way I’m giving up like this!”
“He’s right, we have to fight!”
“If the son of a hero is making the plan, we’ll be fine!”
“No way we’re losing to a bunch of bandits! We’ll crush them!”
“Friedrich! No, Sir Friedrich! Lead us to victory, please!”
A crowd swept up in emotion will follow any spark. Just one push, and they’ll all surge in the same direction. In an instant, excitement filled the square, and it gathered around Friedrich, who stood at its center.
Everyone now showed a will to fight, a willingness to follow Friedrich.
Countless voices rang out across the square, powerful and fierce, all directed at him. And in the midst of it all, Friedrich realized they believed his words.
Maybe it was just the frenzy of the moment that made it happen. But still, they believed that the orphan Friedrich was the illegitimate son of the hero, Matthias Hosenfeld.
Friedrich exchanged a smile with Yurika at his side. Then he looked up at the sky and let out a breath.
Ah…
He had just told the most outrageous lie of his life.
Footnotes:
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