[Vol. 8] Chapter 24: Defeat
“Mm...”
Frederica replied softly, then looked at the Imperial soldier who smelled strongly of blood and mud. She didn’t show any dislike toward the foul smell, and calmly asked,
“Tell me, what exactly happened on the front lines?”
“......”
The man, who had been hanging his head low and looked weak from his wounds, slowly raised his eyes. But as soon as he saw Frederica’s beautiful and holy face, he suddenly flinched and quickly lowered his head again, as if afraid she might notice something. He spoke in a hoarse voice and quietly asked:
“You’re... Holy Empire holy knights? Why are you inside Austre territory?”
Surprised by the unexpected question, Frederica couldn’t help but smile helplessly and shook her head. She was about to answer when the captain of the holy knights glared and scolded him loudly, his voice filled with anger:
“How dare you! You’re just a low-ranking soldier, what right do you have to question Her Holiness? So what if we’re holy knights? If we hadn’t saved you, you would’ve already bled to death in that bush. Not only are you ungrateful, you dare to be disrespectful!?”
“......”
Although the wounded soldier froze slightly from being shouted at, he didn’t show fear or panic. He simply lowered his head even more and silently took the scolding without a word.
“Alright, that’s enough. There’s no need to be so harsh, Captain. He just escaped death, he’s already shaken enough. Besides, the gods always teach us to treat others as equals. Even the Goddess herself walked the world in a human form. I’m only a saintess, a humble servant of the goddess, how could I be so much more important than anyone else? Right now, let’s put aside the formalities.”
“...Yes, Your Holiness. I spoke out of line.”
Frederica gently shook her head. Once the tension eased a little, she looked again at the quiet soldier and explained in a calm voice.
“There’s no need to be afraid. What you’re seeing isn’t our country invading your land. The Church never planned to start a war. The army that attacked Iron Ridge did not act under orders from the Holy Empire.”
“We’re a diplomatic mission from the Holy Empire. We just finished attending the World Academy Joint Exchange Conference held in Sainz, and were on our way home across the border when we ran into all this.”
“Let me introduce myself, Frederica Cecilia. I am one of the three current Saintesses of the Holy Empire, and I carry the title of the ‘Judgement Saintess.’ I swear by the Holy Sword and by our faith that, as long as you don’t mean us harm, we won’t attack you. In fact, we may even be able to protect you to some degree. What do you think?”
The dirty man looked a bit surprised by her words. He slowly raised his head and carefully glanced into Frederica’s pure, clear eyes. His voice was full of doubt, but also a hint of understanding.
“You’re... the Judgement Saintess?”
“In a situation like this, I don’t think I have any reason to lie to you~”
“......”
The man went quiet again for a moment, as if thinking it over. Finally, he nodded.
“I see... It’s true, according to the reports, the Saintesses’ group was supposed to reach the border around this time after leaving the Academy City. I just didn’t expect... that you’d be the one to save me.”
“No matter what, Saintess Frederica, I owe you a favor this time.”
At this point in the conversation, even Miss Rene could tell something wasn’t right. She couldn’t help interrupting.
“Wait a minute, something feels off. There’s no way a regular Imperial soldier could know about our travel plans. Don’t tell me… you’re someone important in the Austre Empire?”
The man seemed to have given up on hiding anything. He gently pushed away the two Holy Knights who were helping him stand, straightened his back with effort, and brushed aside his messy hair. Although his face was dirty and covered in grime, you could still make out the sharp and youthful features underneath. Then, he gave a formal Imperial military salute to Frederica.
“Raymond, First-Class Tiger-Rank Officer, Commander of the Defense Forces at Iron Ridge, the third unit under the Lion’s Fang Legion of General Ferdinando, from the Valandia Province of the Austre Empire. Greetings to the Judgement Saintess.”
“This all happened so suddenly… please forgive me for appearing in front of you in such a disgraceful state. Originally, we had even prepared a rather formal farewell ceremony for your delegation… but now, unfortunately…”
Frederica was very experienced with people and politics, and clearly had already guessed something. She didn’t look too surprised by his introduction. She just frowned slightly and glanced at him thoughtfully, as if connecting his words with other facts in her mind.
“You’re the top military commander in charge of Iron Ridge? If even you ended up like this… don’t tell me the fortress has already…”
Raymond gave a bitter nod.
“Yes, Your Holiness. Iron Ridge has fallen. The fortress has been completely taken. Of the over ten thousand defenders under my command, nearly half died in battle. The rest were scattered, captured, or are missing. I tried to lead the remaining troops deeper into the country to join forces with General Ferdinando’s main army and try to fight back... but the enemy moved too fast. They caught up to us quickly.”
“In the chaos, I was badly injured and could barely move. My adjutant swapped clothes with me, he wore my uniform to lead the troops in another direction to draw the enemy’s attention. That’s the only reason I survived... barely.”
“I see...”
The Saintess turned to make eye contact with Violet. Both of them silently understood the full picture.
Along the way, they had seen many broken weapons and discarded gear from the Imperial army. That was probably from the group Raymond’s adjutant led in an attempt to escape. Those troops must have fought their way out of the fortress, retreating while fighting, but were chased down by the enemy and wiped out. Ironically, Raymond, who stayed hidden, was the one who survived.
But… where were all the bodies?
With that thought in mind, Frederica turned back and asked,
“General Raymond, I hope you won’t take offense at what I’m about to say, it might sound harsh. From what I know, your country puts a lot of effort into training its soldiers. Plus, with the widespread use of advanced magic-powered weapons, your military strength is second only to our Holy Empire. So how could a force of over ten thousand, holding a fortified location like Iron Ridge, fall so quickly?”
“From the moment we heard the explosions from the battle until now, it hasn’t even been a full day. Is the enemy really that powerful?”
Even if they had that huge behemoth creature helping them breach the walls, its size made it impossible for it to fight inside the fortress. Even if it could somehow change shape and enter the narrow spaces, it shouldn’t have made such a big difference in the outcome. After all, the Imperial army isn’t foolish, they wouldn’t just group together and let it wipe them out. They should’ve been able to put up at least some resistance.
The military fortress at Iron Ridge had been built and improved by the Empire for over a hundred years. It was designed to handle almost any kind of crisis. From the way Raymond spoke and carried himself, he didn’t seem like someone incompetent or unprepared.
To fall this quickly, it reminded Frederica of the fourth Demon War, when the capital of the Holy Empire fell in just one night.