WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 91: Motherland

“No more! I can’t do this anymore!”

Melinda suddenly shouted, cutting Friedrich off. The room fell silent. Even Claire, resting in her mother’s arms, widened her eyes and looked up at her in shock.

“This is why I didn’t want to come here! I was dragged along, made to leave the Empire, and not to some civilized royal capital, but to this forsaken borderland! My daughter and I, we’re not Edelsteiners! We’re Rigald citizens, imperial nobility! So why, why are we the ones suffering through all of this... here... in this place...”

Melinda covered her face with both hands and began to cry.

She had reached her limit, Friedrich thought, watching her.

She had barely escaped the attack on the road, fleeing barefoot and injured. Just when she might have felt safe again, she found herself caught in another bloody battle in the dead of night. She was no soldier, no woman of the battlefield. It was only natural that she couldn’t remain calm through it all.

And on top of that, she was stranded in a backwater village on a border far from her homeland, without her husband, without the guards and servants she knew. In a weaker, unfamiliar land compared to her own.

Even if she could no longer hold herself together, Friedrich didn’t blame her for it.

As he looked around the room, Gregor kept his face unreadable. Oliver wore a solemn expression. Yarg gave a slight shrug, clearly exasperated. Gunther, on the other hand, showed a flash of resentment he couldn’t fully hide.

Yurika met Friedrich’s eyes for a moment, then silently approached Claire. With Melinda’s arms no longer holding her, the girl had been left sitting beside her mother, looking confused. Yurika gently picked her up.

Meanwhile, Friedrich knelt before Melinda.

“Marchioness… I am deeply sorry. It is because we, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Edelstein, were not strong enough that honored guests from the Empire have been attacked within our borders. Even after taking you into our protection, we failed to shield you from fear and harm once again. I have no words to make this right.”

As Friedrich apologized, Melinda shook her head, still covering her face with both hands.

After some time, she began to calm down. Without caring about the state of her sleeves, she wiped her face and stood only to stagger, needing Oliver beside her to steady her.

Throughout the day, Melinda had been running on a mixture of fear and relief, driven by the rush of escape and the joy of rescue. Unlike Claire, who had taken a solid nap, Melinda had barely rested.

It wasn’t just her spirit that was worn down. Her body was reaching its limit too.

“Please get some rest. We will protect you, no matter what happens.”

“In that case, allow me to offer our bedroom.”

Supported by Oliver and guided by the village chief and his wife, Melinda left the common room without a word. The guest room was still splattered with blood from the enemy, hardly a place anyone could sleep peacefully.

“Um, Friedrich.”

As her mother was being taken to the bedroom, Claire, carried in Yurika’s arms, called out. Yurika paused and turned slightly.

“What happened to Mama? What did she mean by what she said?”

“…Lady Melinda must have been very frightened. And very, very tired. A lot of scary things have happened all in a row. That’s why… I think you should stay close to her and comfort her.”

Friedrich didn’t answer the second part of her question.

As someone from the Kingdom of Edelstein, there was no way he could explain Melinda’s words without it sounding pointed or political. And in any case, Claire was still too young to truly understand.

“Okay! I’ll help Mama feel better!”

“Thank you. If Lady Claire comforts her, I’m sure Lady Melinda will feel much more at ease.”

“Let’s go, Lady Claire.”

Claire didn’t seem the least bit bothered that one of her questions had gone unanswered. Cheerfully, she let Yurika carry her away.

“…The young lady seems much stronger than her mother,” Yarg muttered.

“She’s strong because she doesn’t fully understand what’s happening,” Oliver replied, brushing off the comment with a calm voice.

Nearby, Gunther remained silent, his face still showing clear signs of displeasure.

“Let’s get some rest while we can. I’m going to get a bit of fresh air... Gunther, wanna come?”

Without leaving room for argument, Friedrich said it plainly and walked outside, expecting Gunther to follow.

・・・・・・

“Still holding onto that grudge against the Marchioness?”

In a quiet corner of the village chief’s property, away from the knights still handling cleanup and patrol duty, Friedrich leaned against a wooden fence and posed the question. Gunther, his expression still sour, gave a stiff nod.

“What is with that woman? She called Edelstein a place like this right to our faces. Like anything outside her capital is savage or uncivilized. Are all Imperials really that convinced they’re above the rest of us? Pretending to be friendly until something slips.”

Hearing the outburst, more or less what he expected, Friedrich gave a wry smile.

“I don’t think she’s been lying all this time. As an Imperial, as the wife of their ambassador, I believe she genuinely meant it when she acted friendly toward this country. But even so, deep down, that mindset is still there.

The Rigald Empire is a peerless superpower, the hegemon of the Ludna continent, the center of the world. Everyone else is a supporting character. And they, being born into that empire, are part of the winning class, naturally deserving of respect. That’s the mindset, at least for many Imperials. Especially the nobility.”

The Empire may be an ally, but that didn’t mean they saw eye to eye in all things. There was a clear difference in national strength. The two nations differed in history, culture, religion, even ethnicity.

In truth, Melinda had made more effort than most Imperials ever did. She had tried to understand this country in a way far beyond the norm. There were plenty of others from the Empire who looked down on foreigners far more openly.

Soldiers, merchants, and nobles who wore their superiority in military, economics, and culture like armor, speaking with condescension wherever they went.

It was only natural that Gunther, who had neither the background nor the rank to be exposed to that kind of attitude before, would feel the sting of it most sharply now.

But that very frustration, Friedrich thought, showed just how deeply Gunther had come to identify with his new homeland, Edelstein.

“Living beside a massive and self-important hegemonic nation, as a member of a mid-sized country at best, means dealing with neighbors like them. Actually, didn’t you have the option to choose the Empire over this kingdom?

The Empire’s been pushing hard to attract immigrants as part of its strategy to grow stronger. If you’d gone there, you’d be a proud citizen of that ‘great Empire’ by now.”

“Come on now. Don’t even joke about that,” Gunther replied with a grimace.

“Even I knew how immigrants are treated in the Empire back when I was just a mercenary. You of all people can’t pretend not to know, Friedrich.

Lutetians who follow the Allusion faith? You can imagine what kind of welcome they get. The only ones who want immigrants are the nobles and princes who need more hands to work their lands.”

Hearing the answer he expected, Friedrich let out a short chuckle.

“You’re right. That friction between established citizens and immigrants has been a long-standing issue in the Empire. For someone from the western continent, it’s much easier to live in a country with shared ethnicity, religion, and culture.

That’s probably why you chose Edelstein. And I, for one, am grateful to have a reliable soldier like you at my side.”

As he said this, Friedrich gave him a pat on the shoulder. Gunther nodded back with a slightly awkward expression, maybe embarrassed by the praise.

“Getting fed up with Imperial arrogance from time to time, that’s part of the Edelstein experience. If tolerance from a great power means helping out their weaker allies, then tolerance from a small country means putting up with their arrogance.”

“…Guess that’s one way to look at it.”

Seemingly satisfied for now, Gunther caught sight of Yurika stepping out of the village chief’s house and gave Friedrich a quick nod before heading back inside.

Taking his place, Yurika came to stand beside Friedrich.

“Both Lady Melinda and Lady Claire are fast asleep. I don’t think they’ll wake up until morning.”

“That’s good to hear. Thanks for handling it.”

As Friedrich offered his thanks, Yurika nodded and gently interlaced her fingers with his, holding his hand.

“While I was with Lady Claire, I kept thinking... maybe raising our own child someday would feel something like this.”

With a quiet smile, she looked up at the night sky. Friedrich followed her gaze, his hand still firmly wrapped around hers.

“Our child, huh... I’m looking forward to that.”

“If they take after you, they’ll definitely be really smart.”

“And if they take after you, they’ll be strong, no doubt about it.”

They leaned back against the wooden fence together, the conversation fading into a comfortable silence. For a moment, they allowed themselves to forget the harsh reality of their situation and just rest their hearts.

“Hey, Friedrich.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“You were kind of irritated by Lady Melinda’s comments too, right?”

“…Was it that obvious on my face?”

When Friedrich asked with a bitter smile, Yurika grinned smugly, looking rather proud of herself.

“Nope, it didn’t show. I don’t think Lady Melinda or anyone else noticed either. But I could tell from the way you felt.”

“Haha... I really can’t hide anything from you. Yeah, I’ll admit it. I was more irritated than I expected. Even though I thought I understood it logically, I couldn’t help how I felt.”

His understanding that such attitudes were typical of the Empire and its people didn’t come from true acceptance. It was more like a shield to suppress the frustration inside.

“The fact that it made me that angry... it probably means I really do love this country.”

Being spoken about like that wounded his pride. That pain made it clear to him, he loved this country. He’d been chosen by Count Matthias Hosenfeld, become a knight, and now stood as his adopted son.

Compared to when he was just a commoner from the frontier, he had developed a deep and undeniable sense of patriotism.

Edelstein wasn’t a dominant power like the Rigald Empire or the ancient Kingdom of Lutetia. But it was still a nation in its own right, one with a solid history and a path it had walked on its own.

The capital, Sankt Waltrude, stood proud as the heart of the country, its elegant royal castle crowning the skyline. There, and in other urban centers, a rich and unique culture had blossomed over time, refined and alive. The economy, too, bustled with life and motion.

And in the countryside, in places like his hometown of Volga, people lived simple, peaceful lives.

The royal family protected the nation with unwavering resolve, through governance and military strength. And the kingdom’s soldiers including himself were part of that. Together with the royal family, the knights and soldiers had fought for the kingdom’s history, its people, and its society.

And many had died doing so. He loved this homeland that so many heroes had given their lives to protect.

“Now I can confidently nod at what Gregor told me that day.”

Steel yourself. Be prepared to serve as a soldier of the kingdom.

Back then, before he was knighted, standing on the hill overlooking the capital and royal castle, his then-superior officer had said those words. At the time, he hadn’t truly understood what it meant to be a soldier of the kingdom. He hadn’t believed he possessed that kind of resolve.

But now it was different. He had learned what it meant to live on the battlefield, to carry on the legacy of heroes. After surviving countless battles, he had truly gained that resolve.

“I’ll follow you wherever you go, my Friedrich.”

“Thank you, Yurika.”

Friedrich replied to her, thinking so long as she remained by his side, he would never waver in that resolve.

Footnotes:

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