Chapter 62

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: A Commander's Resolve
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Thinking she was huddled over because of the cold, Walter picked up a blanket that was lying next to the bench and wrapped it around Lucy's shoulders.

Lucy grasped the edge of the blanket and pulled it tighter around herself.

"We're desperately short on troops to fend off both Dopein and the Empire."

The words, uttered as if to herself, hung in the air before returning to pierce Lucy’s mind.

She couldn't tell if the bitter taste in her mouth was from biting her lip or from the bitterness of her own words.

She had thought it would be fine to just keep Dopein in check for a while, but seeing Alex provoke her so openly, it seemed the Empire was also fully prepared.

*Could I stop them both?*

*In our current state, it's questionable whether we can even stop one of them. Is it possible?*

"Dealing with Duke Kill was easy because I knew so much about him. That's why I tried to win with cunning instead of scraping together an army. But a war with another country..."

"Civil wars and international wars are very different in nature."

"Exactly. Even if I want to deploy a strategy, my information on the other side is limited, and I need a military foundation, which is also too small. It's just... I'm not confident, to be honest."

Walter said nothing, simply watching Lucy in silence. Lucy, too, fell quiet, huddling as she mulled over what Alex had said earlier.

*The Crown Prince and Lucy join forces to reclaim Dopein.*

*Then, the 19th Queen of Parnas, having unified the three kingdoms, marries the next Emperor of the Empire, offering her country as a dowry...*

*"I don't know what Your Majesty thinks, but personally, I believe it's quite a peaceful solution. I gain three kingdoms without bloodshed, and Your Majesty preserves your honor while becoming the Empress of the Empire."*

Two thoughts had immediately come to mind upon hearing his words.

*He's still a madman*, and *that's a rather rational proposal*.

Lucy was a rational person. Though she always wanted to deny Alex and kill him, she couldn't dismiss his brilliance.

Alex had presented the fastest and most ideal solution they could both take in the current situation.

Lucy stared at a single point with narrowed eyes, her lips parting slightly.

"The Crown Prince said it. That it was the most peaceful way. It sounded like nonsense at first, but it's quite persuasive. If I reject his proposal and go my own way, I'll inevitably face war."

"Is that so."

"If it's a fight we're bound to lose anyway, it might be better to be absorbed by the Empire without shedding blood. It's true even when I think of the kingdom's people. Their lives are decided by a single command from me. If my strategy goes wrong, all those people I've never even met will die."

Before she seized the throne, Lucy had believed herself to be cold and calculating.

She had resolved to settle her past, use everything at her disposal to bring that man down, and then live as she pleased.

She had vowed to raise an army, win a war, crush all the nobles who had looked down on her, and then wield her royal authority to live a splendid future.

Of course, that vow shattered the moment she held the royal scepter.

*Raise an army?*

*Start a war?*

*Crush nobles and wield royal authority as I please?*

*What if I scrape together an army, start a war, and fail?*

The elite troops were professional soldiers, so it didn't matter, but if war broke out, conscripting additional soldiers meant mobilizing the peasantry.

If the peasants died, who would farm? And if agriculture failed, the economy would naturally collapse.

*What's the point of ignoring the voice of the people and starting a war?*

Revenge was important, but a war needed just cause.

Even Dopein and Antevasila, despite their supposed bad blood, had raised a large army on the plains; in the end, it was a war to seize farmland.

And another thing. *Crushing the nobles...*

*If there are no lords, what happens to the fiefs?*

Even if a lord was corrupt, a monarch couldn't punish them rashly, because that corrupt lord knew best how their fief operated.

If she killed everyone she didn't like, who would manage the fiefs and collect the taxes?

Simply selecting new lords, bestowing titles, and sending them to manage their fiefs without incident required considerable effort.

This was also why she hadn't killed Duke Kill and had reappointed him. She had to coax the meticulous old man, who had not a single redeeming quality, back into service because there was no one else with his talent.

"Haa..."

Ironically, the moment she decided to become queen, the structure of the nation became visible to her.

A nation was an incredibly delicate design; it had to be run for the sake of profit, for if even a hint of personal desire was injected into its operation, it would inevitably falter.

To live as she pleased, she should never have become a monarch in the first place.

Raising an army and starting a war for no good reason was something that only happened in novels.

"Damn it. I came back for revenge, but what is all this... I shouldn't have become queen."

She muttered under her breath, covering her face.

It would have been perfect if she had just learned assassination techniques from the start and taken Alex's head.

The problem started when she entered the military academy with grand ambitions. There, Lucy learned firsthand that an army was a collective of ordinary individuals, each living their own life.

They weren't chess pieces, or swords, or game tokens; they were just people.

They were ordinary people who, like her, cried and laughed, ate and lived, built families, had children, and worried about old age.

Killing Alex was her life's ambition, but it felt wrong to waste the lives of others for that purpose. It was strange to feel this way, but she didn't want to sacrifice others for her own ideals.

The conclusion... she should have learned assassination.

"You are usually so bold, yet to see you take a step back like this is unlike you, Your Majesty."

At the low voice, Lucy lifted her chin. Turning her head, she saw Walter's profile, his stoic face looking straight ahead.

"Your Majesty. Do you know what happens to people who lose their country?"

The face that had been looking forward slowly turned toward Lucy. Lucy answered, feeling bewildered.

"...They suffer."

"How do they suffer?"

At his uncharacteristically firm tone, Lucy cautiously studied him.

"Sometimes they become a dominion, but most become colonies, forced to live under the burden of taxes and hard labor."

"That is correct. The people of a subjugated nation cannot be happy. And the reason for their unhappiness is not merely due to taxes and labor."

"Then what is it?"

"The conquerors, to avoid future conflict, try to indoctrinate the subjugated nation. To put it simply, they try to erase their national identity."

Walter, who had been looking down at Lucy, raised his hand toward her face.

"They suppress and reject cultural characteristics without any thought of understanding them, forcing their own culture upon the people. And... that cultural invasion will likely never end until the people of Parnas are reduced to slaves of the Empire."

Lucy's brows furrowed. Walter tucked a strand of hair that had stuck to her lips behind her ear and continued.

"Are you trying to avoid bloodshed because you fear the people of the kingdom will be hurt, Your Majesty?"

"...Yes."

"But Your Majesty, while the blood shed to protect a country cannot be ignored, it takes far more blood to restore a national identity once it has been broken. And for a very long time, the blood of ordinary people must flow just to secure a glimmer of a chance."

"..."

"Personally, I feel it is more righteous to die protecting one's daily life than to subsist with a broken national identity."

Lucy was at a loss for words at his resolute answer.

Her lips parted and closed several times as she searched for words, before she finally managed to form a sentence.

"That's because you're the Grand General of Parnas, Walter. It's your job to protect the country..."

"No. This is my opinion as a citizen of the Parnas Kingdom."

Walter, who had been watching her sand-colored hair flutter, reached out and took a lock in his hand. Brushing the strands with his thumb, he pulled the corners of his mouth up ever so slightly.

"Fight."

The firm tone, different from his usual quiet voice, made Lucy blink rapidly.

"It is alright to fight. A battle for protection needs no great cause. No one will blame you, Your Majesty. So if a fight comes to you, do not hesitate to answer it."

"...Walter."

"And Your Majesty. If I may be so bold, there is no certain method for victory in war. I mean to say that winning and losing are not decided by the difference in troop numbers."

"You mean..."

"I trust that Your Majesty, with your deep knowledge of military science, understands my meaning well."

Lucy, who had been looking at Walter with clouded eyes, slowly began to smile along with him.

Life began to return to her disheartened voice.

"I know. War is deception. Still... I thought you would say something more by-the-book, Walter."

"If I were a man who only followed the book, I would have opposed your plan to defeat Duke Kill from the start, calling it an absurd strategy. I must confess, I have a rather impulsive nature and a fondness for gambling."

Lucy couldn't help but press her lips together tightly.

Hearing such words from a man so straitlaced he looked like he'd never even played a game of dice was simply amusing.

Perhaps surprised by her reaction, Walter tilted his head with an awkward expression. A lock of black hair fell to one side, casting a deep shadow over his forehead.

"I believe I've mentioned this before... but it is a commander's duty to devise a plan to win, even when the odds are against them."

His eyes, which had been gazing at her wheat-colored hair, turned back to Lucy's face. Under the moonlight, Walter's gaze seemed somehow much deeper than usual.

"And I have never once lost to anyone."

The dry, humorless voice cut straight through the darkness.

Coming from anyone else, the words would have sounded arrogant or boastful, but when Walter said them, it felt entirely different.

Just as he said, he was a man who had never once been defeated in any battle.

"No matter who I face, I will fight with all my strength."

Walter paused, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly. With a faint, barely perceptible smile, he closed his eyes.

"Be it the Grand Duke of Dopein or Crown Prince Alejandro, if anyone stands in Your Majesty's way, I will eliminate them. Therefore..."

"Therefore?"

As she repeated his word in anticipation, Walter's smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression.

As he slowly opened his eyes, his crystal-clear pupils reflected the face of Lucy, who was staring at him blankly.

"Therefore, Your Majesty, you need only focus on walking the righteous path."