Although she was arrogant, she possessed talent to match it, along with boldness and towering ambition, making her a person who would one day be a tremendous asset to the empire.
Yet despite everyone singing her praises until their mouths went dry, she herself had never once been moved by it.
It might appear arrogant, but to her it was as natural as breathing.

She had begun understanding and applying military strategy at the mere age of seven,
and in the early stages of the war she had seized the eastern region, secured supply lines, and even gone so far as to surround the royal capital.
At the very least, this proved beyond doubt that she had not gained her epithet as an empty label.

If he had not appeared like a comet out of nowhere, the kingdom would not have lasted even a year.
Unshakable like Mount Tai, yet bold enough to pierce through every scheme, and especially when facing a desperate rival prepared to stake everything, she had even felt a shiver of exhilaration.
Though they had once crossed swords, she could not deny his ability.

‘I heard that Sir Blackguard made a deal with my brother, but given the circumstances, the only explanation is that he asked for a path to be opened.’

Even the advantageous high ground she had been the sole one to secure had been stripped away by an incompetent king.
That left only two choices: surrender, or fight to the bitter end and die, and if it were the man she knew, he would choose the latter without hesitation.
Loyalty was worthy of praise, but when judged purely by the result, it would amount to nothing more than a dog’s death.

‘At the very least, Sir Blackguard should be able to distinguish recklessness from loyalty, so why would my brother hide it without telling me.’

It was a problem so simple that anyone could find the answer with just a little thought.
And yet the reason her brother deliberately concealed it was obvious.
He had always taught like this in the past.
Instead of giving the answer outright, he guided others to find it themselves.

But in a situation where the answer was this obvious, all it would do was breed resentment between them.
And she was now in the position of a commander leading a great army.
That was what she thought, until the next day, before the gates opened.

Morgana was left utterly speechless by a sight her understanding could not follow.

The massive gates opened with a thunderous roar, and the first things to reach her ears were the pounding of cavalry hooves and the clash of metal.
Taking care of soldiers was only natural, as they were the most vital resource in war.
However, that was only a small part of it.
Soon, a crowd she had never anticipated poured out like a tidal wave behind them.

Women, the elderly, children.
People who could only be called baggage on the battlefield followed in their wake.
The gray mass that filled the road began marching at a painfully slow pace.

For her in particular, it was a scene so irrational it left her mind blank.
It was not only the citizens of the count’s territory.
There must also have been countless eastern refugees who had fled the war and sought shelter here.
With nearly all the people of the east gathered, the number must have far exceeded one hundred thousand.

‘He intends to bring all those people with him without abandoning a single one, so why make such an inefficient choice?’

An army must move swiftly whenever possible.
The slower it moves, the greater the consumption,
and the more time it takes, the thicker the enemy’s defenses grow and the higher their vigilance rises.
And this was not even an advance, but a retreat.
In such a situation, people might be called civilians, but in truth they were no different from baggage.

Where would he procure the provisions to feed all those people, and how would he carry them.
How long would it take to reach the royal capital while dragging along elderly and children who could barely walk.
Yes, before the cruel logic of war, this was nothing more than bravado that refused to accept reality.
What must be discarded should be discarded without hesitation.

That was what she had been taught.
That was what she believed.
And yet that belief was thoroughly denied.

By the one who had given her defeat for the first time in her life.
By the only rival she had acknowledged.

He was the very last to leave the gates.
A man with black hair and black eyes, carrying a pitch-black greatsword.

Kain Blackguard.

When their eyes met, he gave a small nod, then immediately followed after the procession.
The one who provided the answer to her, still trapped in shock, was none other than Second Prince Oren.

“That is what that man demanded in exchange for your release.”
“So you actually kept the promise without resistance, which is not very like you, Brother, unless you have been indulging in heroic tales you read recently.”
“Do you know what that man wrote in the letter he sent.
He threatened that if we did not comply, he would kill you and resist to the bitter end.”
“That can’t be…”
“Yes.
It means he was prepared to cut off all retreat and fight desperately until the very end.”

A cornered rat bites the cat, and the opponent here was not a rat but a beast.
And to lose a royal during the conquest of a minor nation would cause many to question the empire’s might.
It would be a long-term loss as well.
Not only would a valuable talent be lost, but with a royal dead, retaliation would be unavoidable.

That would give the Alliance a perfect excuse to eagerly join the war.
Even now, the kingdom’s obvious blunder had split opinions within the Alliance and prevented intervention.
But if there were no retaliation, the authority of the imperial family would fall to the ground.

‘Above all, how many people could remain calm after losing such a precious blood relative, even among us with dragon blood in our veins.’

Though it was merely a letter, the desperate resolve radiating from every line was unmistakable.
And the keen insight that perfectly read the continent’s political situation and struck at its most painful points.
In the end, Second Prince Oren had no choice but to acknowledge defeat.
It was not a matter of strategy.
He had lost in terms of sheer breadth of character.

And with a precious blood relative already captured, there was no escape from this dead end.

[Therefore, with my foolish mind, I humbly beg that Your Highness uphold faith and, in the name of His Majesty the Emperor, show mercy to these pitiful people, thereby raising that noble reputation to be spoken of for generations to come.
With the resolve of striking my forehead to the ground until it bleeds, I dare to submit this plea.]

“That letter Sir Blackguard personally wrote…”
“Threatening the imperial family deserves death a hundred times over.
Yet what reproach could be cast upon one who drew his sword to save the people.
And at the end, he even humbled himself to consider the imperial family’s dignity.
There is truly nothing to fault.
Ah, that’s enough, hand it over now.”
“…I will keep this letter.”

Princess Morgana herself read the letter and could not help but admire the intense emotions conveyed by the writing.
The cold ruthlessness of gripping the knife handle and striking at the enemy’s weakness, coupled with noble compassion for the people.
At that moment, the ember buried deep within her heart flared up hot once more.

‘Kain Blackguard…’

If only we could meet again.

Ah, f*ck.
Only now has the regression finally lifted.
I let out a sigh as I recalled what happened last night.
At first I wondered if my hypothesis had been wrong.
But I soon realized that was not the case.

‘To think I couldn’t even casually write a single letter proposing a deal… f*ck.’

At first, I simply wrote that I would release the princess, so please open a path.
But a reply came saying they would think it over, and the moment I received it, defeat regression activated.
As a result, I wrote over twenty letters in total.
Even then, it only passed because I squeezed out knowledge like wringing a dried squid.

If there was any gain, it was that I learned just how crucial push and pull is in negotiations.

‘But thanks to this, I’ve at least figured out the criteria for returning to the past.’

I had long been thinking that I needed to investigate defeat regression further.
Without knowing its activation conditions or how save points were set, how could I comfortably rely on power alone.
I didn’t know much else, but I had clearly grasped the basis for save point determination.

‘It seems to rewind to the point with the highest chance of success for the given mission.’

When I captured the princess before, it rewound to the day before the imperial army arrived.
That was not only because the imperial army was exhausted, but clearly also to give me sufficient time to prepare.
And if things went wrong, it allowed me a full day to choose another method.

Last night’s letter was the same.
If this deal had failed, it would have been over.
I would have either lost the princess while crossing into enemy territory as the empire intended, or been labeled a traitor for refusing to hand her over.
That was why, when the deal failed, it rewound to just before things went wrong.

‘I still don’t know where the boundaries of a single chapter begin and end, though.’

I gained some sense from this incident, but there was still far too much I didn’t know.
Still, I was certain that scenarios were the basis, and that it rewound to the point of greatest odds.
If I kept learning about defeat regression piece by piece like this, one day I should be able to use it proactively.

‘And if my guess is correct… right now, the prince must be struggling alone in the royal capital.’

An incompetent king and corrupt officials draining the nation dry.
And the foretold disaster they invited.
Yet even in such circumstances, a prince who fights on alone, thinking only of the country.
The player must become that prince and save the kingdom on the brink of destruction.

A hell-difficulty scenario where even veterans could fail with a single misstep.
There was no doubt about it.

Comments (0)

Trending Novels

I Became the strongest hero of the previous generation

Archmage on the bed

I was mistaken for an undefeated general

Healers in the martial arts world are obsessed

Became a genius Muggle in the Archmage Gallery

I Wove Earth’s History Into A Fantasy