WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 88: Search

Searching for the missing Marchioness and her daughter was far easier said than done.

First, the Ferdinand Regiment didn’t find the carriage until after noon. The cavalry unit then hurried down the highway, passed through the forest, and circled around southward spreading out across the southern portion of the western royal domain. But by the time they did, evening was already approaching.

Once night fell, even simple movement would become difficult. This area lay off the main road, with narrow paths, dense forests, and rolling hills. If they were going to conduct a proper search, both men and horses would need to be in top condition.

With that in mind, Oliver’s company, along with Friedrich and the knights from the regiment headquarters, around thirty riders in total, entered a small nearby city and spent the night there.

They paid the locals to take care of the horses and rested themselves as well.

“…If the Empire decides to hold Edelstein responsible, we won’t have much ground to stand on,” Friedrich muttered, eating a quick dinner at a rented-out restaurant.

Marquis Christopher Langford, the Empire’s ambassador, had brought his wife and daughter along to survey a border region with no guaranteed safety. He’d acted outside the planned itinerary. From Edelstein’s side, there was plenty to point out. But even so, the fact remained that their internal security had been insufficient. If the Empire chose to press the issue, things could get messy.

“In that case, we’ll leave it to the politicians. We’re just soldiers at the front,” said Gregor with a bitter expression.

He was essentially throwing the headache at the royal court and the bureaucrats, but Friedrich gave a wry smile and nodded. He didn’t disagree.

“Still, those attackers… they didn’t look like regular Arelian soldiers at all.”

Oliver said as he tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into his soup.

“Judging by their gear, I’d say they were some kind of mercenaries… maybe hired hands from Myurei?”

“No, I don’t think so. Back when I was in the Kingdom of Myurei, I saw plenty of ex-hunter mercenaries. They didn’t look or dress anything like that.”

“…They were probably from the northern continent.”

Friedrich murmured in response to Yarg and Gunther’s words.

Next to him, Yurika quietly leaned in, eating her dinner without saying a word.

“I’ve never seen them with my own eyes before either, but I’ve read about them. Their traits matched what I’ve read. The pigments on their faces and the dyed clothing were for blending into the forests and mountains. The unique shape of their swords.

The light armor, which seemed too fragile for an enemy raid, was likely meant to keep them agile and preserve stamina. Those are tactics born from surviving the brutally harsh lands of the northern continent, places far tougher than anywhere in the west.”

“Makes sense. If they’re northerners, crossing the border wouldn’t be hard for them. Even straying off the main roads wouldn’t slow them down. Navigating the terrain of the western continent would be nothing to them.”

“Still, if they’re capable of all that… Why waste them on a hit job against the ambassador’s family? Wouldn’t it make more sense to hold them back for something more critical?”

Oliver let out a sigh, while Yarg tilted his head slightly.

“…Maybe this was a test.”

Friedrich’s quiet remark drew everyone’s attention.

“There’s been no word until now that the Arelian royal family had any northern units under their command. Let’s say the northerners entered Arelia by sea from the far western edge of the continent,even if that kind of information wouldn’t reach us quickly, if a large northern force had actually been deployed in battle, it would’ve made waves.

There’s no way our spies wouldn’t have caught wind of it. That means the royal family only managed to acquire this northern unit sometime in the past few months. And this raid… it could’ve been a field test to measure their capabilities.”

“Certainly a plausible theory,” Gregor nodded at the heir’s analysis.

Just then, one of the younger knights who’d finished his meal earlier and gone out into the city to gather information burst into the restaurant, looking pale and frantic.

“They’ve found what appears to be the body of a knight and a woman believed to be of imperial nobility! A shepherd found the bodies to the south and brought them back!”

Gregor and Oliver instantly rose to their feet. Friedrich stopped mid-meal, his face draining of color as the realization hit him, had they really found the body of the Marchioness Langford?

He hadn’t ruled out the possibility, but now that it had happened, now that a guest of their allied empire had been killed on their soil… he couldn’t help but feel the shock, both as a soldier of the kingdom and as a nobleman.

“Take us there!”

Oliver gave the order, and everyone followed the young knight.

They arrived at a clinic run by the town physician, where two bodies had been brought in. Upon seeing the woman’s corpse, Friedrich frowned.

“…That’s not the Marchioness.”

“Same hair color, but definitely not the same person.”

Gregor confirmed, exchanging a glance with Friedrich, who had met the Marchioness at social gatherings and would recognize her face.

Though the woman’s long black hair was disheveled and her face was smeared with blood and dirt, making her features difficult to make out, it was still clear she was someone else.

“The cloak is certainly one a noble might wear, but the rest of her travel attire looks more like that of a well-off commoner.”

Oliver commented, examining the body’s clothing.

“The shepherd who found them said these were lying nearby.”

The young knight added, holding up a fine hat that looked like it belonged to a noble and a large bag with a child-sized cloak draped over it.

“A servant must’ve acted as a decoy.”

Realizing the full picture, Friedrich spoke.

Judging by the number of bodies found along the road, it wouldn’t be strange if one or two more attendants had escaped the ambush alongside the Marchioness and her daughter.

One of them had likely worn the Marchioness’s cloak and hat, carried a bag with a child-sized cloak draped over it to mimic the daughter, and fled with a knight to lure away the pursuers. It all made sense. Even the clothing beneath the cloak looked like something a senior servant might wear while traveling.

“…She was brave.”

Yarg muttered, looking down at the woman who’d died with a blank stare, her torso run through.

Friedrich gave a short, silent bow to the two who had sacrificed themselves, then turned to the others.

“If their desperate attempt to buy time worked, then there’s a good chance the Marchioness and her daughter are still alive. That gives us hope for tomorrow’s search. Let’s come up with a plan.”

The group nodded and stepped out of the room.

・・・・・・

With help from the local residents, Friedrich and the others spent the night mapping out the surrounding terrain, nearby settlements, and the routes leading to them. By the next morning, they had resumed their search.

Oliver’s company, together with the knights from the regiment headquarters, over thirty men in total, split up into smaller squads. Since Friedrich’s group was smaller, they borrowed two men from Oliver’s direct command and began their own search.

“Let’s start with the farming village to the east.”

Friedrich decided at a fork in the road, and the group headed southeast. That direction was closer to the forest near the ambush site. Logically, it was the likeliest place the Marchioness and her daughter would’ve fled to.

But the women weren’t there. The villagers hadn’t seen anything unusual either.

Friedrich told the village chief to send word to the nearby city if anything happened. After letting the horses rest, they turned back and made for another village, this one to the west, farther from the ambush site.

“We keep coming up empty. If we’re talking about a woman without military training or proper gear, running with a small child, it’s hard to imagine she could’ve gotten far.”

“Exactly. And the site where the decoy servant and the knight were found… we’re already well past that. At this point, I’d really like at least a witness report…”

Gregor’s remark was met with a sigh from Friedrich.

Before visiting the last village, they had stopped at another one as well, also a dead end. On the road, they’d come across a few locals: a handful of traveling merchants, shepherds, and villagers. None had offered anything useful.

Were the Marchioness and her daughter already captured and taken away? Or worse—killed, and their bodies either removed or hidden somewhere no one would find them? That thought crept in no matter how much he tried to push it away.

Then…

“Friedrich, someone’s approaching from ahead. Looks like a farmer. He seems like he’s trying to get our attention.”

Gunther said from the front of the column, one of the men they’d borrowed from Oliver’s squad.

Friedrich’s team, riding single-file down the narrow path, halted. Several riders broke formation and fanned out off the road, keeping their guard up. Just because someone was approaching from the front didn’t mean it wasn’t a trap. There could easily be attackers lying in wait nearby.

“Stop right there! Raise your hands and approach slowly!”

Given the tense situation, Gregor took a deliberately firm tone as he questioned the man. The approaching farmer, who had been waving as he hurried over, came to a stop and complied with the instructions.

He looked to be in his thirties. Though his clothing was that of a rural commoner, he didn’t seem uneducated. There was a certain sharpness in his expression, an intelligence often seen in those with structured learning.

“I’m the head of a village just ahead. We’ve taken in the Marchioness Langford of the Rigald Empire, her daughter, and one of their escorting knights. I left the village to report this to the royal army.”

Friedrich drew in a sharp breath. Beside him, Yurika raised a brow slightly, and the others reacted in their own ways.

“Are the Marchioness and her daughter safe?”

Friedrich’s voice was calm but direct. The village chief nodded.

“They’re very exhausted, and the Marchioness injured her feet running barefoot, but both are alive and safe. However, the knight who protected them is in critical condition. It seems the effort of moving while wounded has taken a toll…”

“…Understood. Please take us to the village right away.”

“Of course.”

Relief washed over Friedrich as he spoke, and the village chief turned around and began leading them back down the path he’d come from.

Footnotes:

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