Chapter 16: Civil War Era - Dark Clouds
“What’s going on?”
Count Mirbo’s second son, Damien de Mirbo, furrowed his brow as he saw a party of four rushing toward him along the road.
Having suffered a crushing defeat in the last showdown with the Duke of Lafayette, losing ransom and tax rights, Damien was in hot water.
Although he managed to appease his enraged father by hiding the loss of tax rights and sending military funds, Damien had been tirelessly raiding to make up for it.
In the midst of this, he noticed travelers on horseback and decided to take his knights and cavalrymen to plunder them, but to his surprise, they were running towards him instead.
“Are they insane? Gather the troops!”
“Yes, sir!”
Three of the approaching men drew their swords and charged, while one unarmed person followed them.
There might be three knights among them, but Damien’s side also had three knights, including himself, and a force to match.
Damien, not taking them too seriously, ordered his knights and cavalrymen to engage the enemy.
That is, until they got close enough.
“I am Peter de Kazel, a knight of the Mirbo Count’s family! ...What?”
“I am Jerome de Hui, a knight of the Mirbo Count’s family! ...Ugh?”
His knights, confidently leading the cavalry, charged at the opponents on either side but were almost simultaneously unseated with a single strike.
As the cavalrymen immediately became unsettled, Damien, seeing the face of the man who drew his sword and charged from the center, screamed almost like a shriek.
“You, why are you here!”
“Sorry about that. Just happened to pass by.”
The Young Duke, who sometimes appeared in his dreams and made him shudder, smiled.
“Have you managed to collect any ransom lately?”
A wickedly unmatched smile.
Damien shuddered, feeling every nerve in his body stand on end.
***
The situation was resolved in an instant.
As the two leading knights were unseated by Gaston and Frank at the start of the battle, the cavalrymen wavered, and they too collapsed quickly when I and two knights charged in.
Seeing this, the younger Mirbo turned to flee, and the belatedly assembled army, without even thinking of fighting, scattered in retreat.
I slowly drove my horse towards the village.
Eris was in the middle of the village, kneeling with her hands clasped together.
It looked as though she was praying to a god, but she had once said that she doesn’t rely on a deity, instead, she unfolds miracles based on her own wish.
A moment later.
Concentrating her mind, a light emanated from Eris, spreading over and covering the village.
The light, bright enough to momentarily illuminate the darkened sky, was strangely not dazzling to the eyes.
And where the light passed, the villagers who had been groaning in pain were astonished to see their wounds healed.
“Oh, oh, a miracle, it’s a miracle...”
“A priest...?”
“She’s a saint!”
“Thank you, Saint!”
While the villagers fervently expressed their gratitude and sang praises, I realized that Eris’s gaze was fixed on a villager lying on the ground, unaffected by her powers.
Probably, they were someone who had died before she could use her abilities.
As the villagers were about to swarm her in their adulation, I steered my horse closer to Eris and signaled them to back off.
“You did well.”
As if my words were a cue, Eris, seemingly frustrated, took off the veil she had been wearing.
Her hair, shining silver in the moonlight, cascaded down like a waterfall, revealing her face with pale lips.
“It wasn’t too hard, was it?”
“...No.”
I didn’t like the sight of her forcing a smile, her already pale skin looking even more pallid with fatigue.
“At least it wasn’t in vain when you said it wouldn’t be a bother.”
Contrary to my intent to avoid the battle, it ended too easily.
Eris’ abilities had injected a strength and vitality far surpassing normal conditions, and she surprised me by being able to deal with ordinary soldiers quite convincingly.
Yet, I was uneasy seeing Eris stagger as she tried to stand, so I took out some jerky from my pocket and tossed it to her.
“Ah, thank you...”
She glanced at me, seemingly embarrassed but hungry after using her powers, and began to eagerly eat.
It felt odd watching her, her unique appearance so striking that the villagers couldn’t take their eyes off her, which bothered me, so I dismounted and approached her.
“Uh, what?”
When I lifted Eris up, she struggled a bit, but as I helped her onto the horse and took the reins, she calmed down and focused on chewing the jerky to regain her strength.
“So, is it good?”
“What about you, Young Duke?”
“...It’s not bad. But since we’ve stirred up this situation, let’s get to work.”
“What?”
Confused, Eris rode with me out of the village to where Gaston and Frank were guarding.
The Mirbo younger son, his knights, and several injured Mirbo soldiers lay wounded.
“Ugh, it hurts...”
The two knights had suffered only minor injuries from being unseated by a single blow, but the younger Mirbo, who tried to flee and got shot by my arrow, was seriously wounded.
I pulled out the arrow that was still lodged in Damien’s body and turned to Eris with a look that meant ‘Get to work, healer.’
Eris, making an odd face at me, finished her jerky, swallowed, and dismounted.
Then, light gathered in her hand, forming a whip, just like the one she used against the soldiers in the recent battle.
“What?”
With a swoosh, the light whip struck down on the prone Damien de Mirbo.
“Aargh!”
“What are you doing, I said heal, not kill.”
“It’s healing.”
“What?”
I looked again, incredulously. Damien, who had been groaning in pain on the ground, now had a bit more color returning to his pale face.
Though he was stunned and teary from the unexpected whipping, the bleeding from where the arrow had been removed seemed to have stopped.
So, it was healing after all...
“Do you really have to heal that way?”
“If it heals, that’s all that matters.”
Eris said cheerfully, stretching the whip, causing Damien to cry out in desperation.
“Wait! I’ll give you everything, compensation, ransom, just don’t hit me!”
“I don’t need it!”
But, I actually do need it.
It’s generous of him to offer so freely, so why refuse?
While listening to the crisp sound of the whip and muffled groans, I was torn between intervening and leaving it be as it was, after all, a form of healing. In the meantime, a group approached us.
The coat of arms of the Lionel Count’s family. They’re late.
“I am Gilles de Lionel, the son of Count Lionel! Those in front, identify yourselves!”
“I am Pierre de Lafayette, son of the Duke of Lafayette. We came to defend this territory, belonging to the same faction of the First Prince, against raiders, as allies.”
“Ah, I see. My apologies for the misunderstanding, Duke. On behalf of the Count, I express our gratitude. But...”
“Hmm?”
Lionel’s gaze turned towards Eris, who was too busy energetically whipping the injured Mirbo to notice us.
“...What is she doing?”
"..."
Thanks to the whip’s unnecessarily holy aura and golden glow, it didn’t look like a simple beating.
After a moment of silence, feeling my face flush, I responded.
“...It’s a ritual to make those who plundered innocent people repent.”
“Is that so?”
Damn, why am I the one feeling embarrassed?
Ironically, the response to our conversation came from Damien.
“Ouch! I, I will repent! I swear I’ll never raid again, just please stop hitting me!”
...Was it really a ritual of repentance?
***
After things settled down, Gilles de Lionel invited us to the Count’s mansion.
Though I wanted to return quickly to the Lafayette Duchy, I couldn’t refuse the invitation as it would affect the prestige of the Lionel family if they did not treat the ally who had helped defend their territory.
At the banquet, I heard news from the North that I hadn’t heard before.
“...The Crown Prince passed away due to the plague, you say?”
“Yes. The Second Prince has been asked for a truce, but it doesn’t seem to be going well.”
Despite the changes after my return, the Crown Prince had died, and the Second Prince survived, just like I knew from the future.
But-
“Count Lionel is currently returning to his territory. The Duke of Lafayette probably is too.”
The ‘Blue Knight’ Duke of Lafayette. My father seems to have survived the plague.
Quietly, I bit my lip.
“I see.”
“Nothing has been decided yet, but if the Second Prince refuses to compromise, we might have to wage a resistance centered around Duke of Lorraine, who was a close associate of the late First Prince, to preserve our titles.”
“I understand. As a member of the First Prince’s faction, I will do my utmost to support Duke Lafayette and work together with the Lionel family to overcome this crisis.”
“It’s reassuring to hear you say that, especially after you protected our territory’s village, Duke. It seems rumors can’t always be trusted.”
He might be referring to rumors about the disgrace of nobility, but I was too distracted by Eris, who was happily enjoying the banquet, to pay him much attention.
The Duke’s survival and return to the domain mean that, unlike before my return, I can’t immediately take over Lafayette as its Duke.
Even though I have some guarantees as the lord’s deputy, the Duke isn’t one to care about my prestige or the family.
If the Duke realizes Eris’s value and tries to exploit her...
“Ah, Duke, I had no idea you had such an impressive healer with you. Haha, from what I’ve heard, she’s truly remarkable. The people calling her a saint, where did you find such a person? I’m a bit envious.”
The words of acting Count Lionel drew me out of my thoughts.
“It was sheer luck, Count. If it’s alright with you, could I ask for discretion regarding her?”
“Why so? Someone like her could enhance the prestige of the Lafayette family...”
“There are reasons. In exchange, I’ll give you a portion of the ransom we’ll receive from the Mirbo family.”
“Hmm, if you insist, I’ll ensure absolute discretion.”
Unlike the neutral Anjou family from the South, with whom we seldom interact, words from the Lionel family, part of the First Prince’s faction, could easily reach the Duke.
Although it’s impossible to completely silence the villagers, this measure should at least prevent the news from immediately reaching the Duke.
If the Duke shows interest in Eris, I might consider entrusting her to Christine. She can be trusted.
The Duke’s survival, after having died pointlessly from the plague in my past life.
Despite being my father’s return, my feelings are more of concern than joy.
I gazed at the dimming sky outside the window.
“...Looks like a storm is coming.”
***
In the capital of the Kingdom of Francia, Lumière.
A city drenched in ominous rain pouring from a sky heavy with dark clouds.
The streets, bearing the scars of exploitation and poverty, showed no trace of their past splendor.
And in one of the buildings in this gloomy city, a meeting was taking place.
“Now that the First Prince is dead, I thought the long civil war would finally end. But to continue the war to eradicate the remnants, it seems even the last bit of sanity in the Francia royal family has been taken by God,” sighed Bishop Arno Richelieu, a rare figure of respect in the kingdom.
“Those damned royal families all deserve to die. They are the vermin gnawing at the heart of Francia! One has been taken by God, now it’s our turn to deal with the other.”
“The royals and nobles clinging to the old regime, sucking the life out of our country. Now that the enemy of the people is clear, all that’s left is to shed blood.”
Journalist Jean Malraux and lawyer Benoit Revere, each voiced their opinions.
“Well, not all nobles deserve death. Recently, some young nobles from the South have been well-received. The new young Countess of Aquitaine supports trade and charity, building bonds with cities, and the Acting Duke of Lafayette has been receiving quite favorable reviews lately,”
While Malraux and Revere, the so-called radicals, frowned at the words of Nicolas Briso, a famous liberal and writer, the leader of the radicals opened his mouth.
“Hmph, Aquitaine has just bought titles with money, playing their part in this corrupt kingdom. And we all know what kind of man the Duke of Lafayette is. His young son cannot absolve the Lafayette name of its accumulated sins and misdeeds.”
Briso furrowed his brows after hearing the rebuttal of the leader, the renowned lawyer Maximilien Isidore.
“Well, the kingdom may be rotten, but it’s still strong. Instead of antagonizing everyone, it might be wise to compromise with those we can communicate with.”
“But they are still blue-blooded nobles. Only when we have demolished the old regime that deserves to fall will it be clear that their supposed empathy for the people is nothing but a mask of hypocrisy. What’s important now is that we have no other choice but to act.”
Isidore said this, casting a fervent gaze at Bishop Richelieu, the leader of this meeting.
“Despite the prolonged civil war and the ravages of the plague, these mad royals and nobles are intent on seeing things through to enrich themselves. We must face the reality that no matter how much the people’s blood flows, they will not change. If we don’t realize this, we are all doomed!”
Listening with his eyes closed, Richelieu slowly opened them.
“Yes, until now, the people have been nothing. Therefore, they seek to become something.”
The respected bishop paused before speaking.
“Let’s prepare. If they collide again to taste the last drop of Francia's blood, that will be our chance to rise.”
After a heavy silence, everyone spoke in unison.
“In the name of freedom, equality, and philanthropy.”
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