I Married Because I Wanted To Live A Normal Life Chapter 69

Chapter 69

“Watch your words, Viscount. It hasn’t been long since His Majesty the King passed away. The royal family must be in chaos right now. We should be grateful they were willing to let the Young Marquis go.”

Ignoring Count Langley, who stood on Miller’s other side and was chiding him, the Viscount continued.

“There was plenty of time before this! And the north has always had a hard time getting through winter, so we usually don’t even mobilize the territorial residents at this time of year to help them prepare! But in this situation, on top of all that, they expect us to fend off monsters without adequate support? How is this any different from telling us to go die!”

It wasn’t that the royal family had completely washed their hands of the matter. They had pestered nobles from other regions to send supplies and private soldiers, but what the north desperately needed now was a well-trained army. Manpower that could actually fight on the front lines.

The border was typically fraught with instability, and since it was a sparsely populated area, conscription was not easy.

Fortunately, maintaining a friendly relationship with the Carshion Empire had meant that a large force wasn’t needed for defense, but in a situation like this, that reduction in manpower had become a poison.

“My, my. Where has the man gone who, until just a little while ago, was boldly beating his chest and saying, ‘Just leave it to me!’?”

“I-I said that because I didn’t think the situation would drag on this long!” Count Langley said curtly.

“Right. No one expected it. It was just a series of unfortunate circumstances. When the monsters first appeared, they weren’t on this scale, so the royal family must have been complacent. But isn’t it also our fault for being soaked in peace and failing to prepare for a contingency?”

“How could we have possibly predicted and prepared for something like this? You’re being too harsh, Count. Whose side are you on? This is a time when we should be banding together, and even that might not be enough…!”

“…It’s not that I don’t understand your feelings, Viscount. My territory has also shed much blood, and my own daughter was severely injured while evacuating our people a while ago.”

At Owen Langley’s low voice, Viscount Dimitri flinched and shut his mouth.

“I’m just as frustrated with the royal family as you are. If His Majesty’s illness was that grave, he shouldn’t have waited for it to get better. If only he had transferred authority to His Royal Highness sooner… No, if only His Royal Highness were a little older, things would have been easier.”

“If that’s the case…!”

“However, I am not one to waste my time blaming the situation and stewing in pointless anger.”

Owen glanced at Miller and continued quietly, “Holding one’s breath, watching the situation…”

“…..”

“…I prefer to unleash my anger when it is truly time to be angry.”

Miller remained silent, receiving that gaze.

As long as the House of Firenze, which could be called the central pillar, didn’t make a serious move, it would be difficult for the northern nobles to openly defy the royal family, no matter how dissatisfied they were.

The blond man, still not giving even a glance to the men on either side of him, shifted his gaze from the moaning soldiers to the horizon beyond.

“Carshion…”

Miller muttered slowly.

Not a single informant sent to the Empire had returned alive. Attempts to contact the other side through wizards had also failed, blocked by some incomprehensible power.

It was as if Carshion alone had been completely cut off from the rest of the world. If the situation was that serious, one would expect there to be refugees heading south, but there were no reports of that either.

Just what in the world is going on…?

Although he had been consistently reporting these questions to the royal family, discussions were stagnant due to the country’s own situation and the lingering, optimistic perception of Carshion’s strength.

The only ones who had realized the situation was unusual and were on high alert were the House of Firenze and the Ducal House of Levitea, known as the Sword of the Kingdom.

“…..”

Miller, as if glaring, stared at the horizon before narrowing his eyes.

“What is that?”

It was Viscount Dimitri who voiced his question for him. Beyond the horizon, black things were swarming toward them. As soon as Miller recognized what they were, he threw himself down from the city wall.

The two men watched his retreating figure blankly for a moment, but soon, a scout began to shout loudly, “It’s an attack!”

The monsters flew low, letting out bizarre cries. The creatures, which had the shape of giant birds and had appeared out of nowhere, snatched up the scattered, wounded soldiers with their beaks as if snatching prey and vanished into the sky.

“Aargh!”

“No!”

In the middle of the chaos that had erupted in an instant, Miller, having plunged his sword into a monster that was about to snatch another soldier, yelled at those around him in a rough voice.

“Get inside the walls now!”

“Damn it, those things don’t even give us a moment’s rest!”

“Archers, prepare to fire!”

“Crossbow unit, ready to fire!”

The two men who had been bickering on the wall just moments before rallied their resting troops as if nothing had happened, and the medics supported the wounded and began to run hastily into the city.

Arrows flew through the sky, and the sound of metal tearing through the air came from all directions. Miller prowled around the city gate as if guarding it, swinging his sword at the low-flying monsters and shouting.

“Light the arrowheads! Buy time for the evacuation!”

Just then, the sound of urgent footsteps echoed from atop the wall. As a limping man who was fleeing his body faltered, Miller grabbed him with a powerful grip and threw him inside the gate.

“T-Thank…”

“Hurry up and run!”

Was this really the time for exchanging pleasantries? Miller, who had barked at the injured man, looked toward the horizon.

The ones from just now weren’t the end of it. Seeing the black dots approaching from the distance, he clenched his jaw.

Should we retreat for now?

But the battle had ended not long ago, so the soldiers’ fatigue was considerable, and they had no energy left to gather the wounded and fall back.

If they tried to avoid a direct confrontation, they might suffer even greater losses. Having made that calculation, Miller clenched his fists and stood firmly before the city gate.

Kiiieeeeeek! Screaming as if to tear their eardrums, the monsters hit by fire arrows fell to the ground one by one, and the embers that scattered onto the dry grass around them began to catch fire with a crackling sound.

Taking in the scene, Miller let his sword hang loose and shifted only his eyes to the city wall. Beside Viscount Dimitri, who was busily giving orders, he easily met the eyes of Count Langley, who was also looking down.

The middle-aged count, who seemed to have been watching him from the start, understood the intention that surfaced on Miller’s tightly set expression and nodded.

At the same moment, Count Langley opened his mouth.

“I issue the order. Unit commanders, assume battle positions immediately! We will not retreat but make our last stand here. Prioritize reforming the ranks, while medics and anyone with free hands will transport the wounded to the rear! Hurry!”

The blond man, who had by then turned his head to the front, gripped the hilt of his sword as he heard the shout.

But at that very moment…

“Now!”

“Knights, to your positions!”

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The sound of horse hooves violently pounding the ground was heard all at once. The vibration, which could well be compared to thunder or a roar, made Miller stagger for a moment.

A group of riders, who had come charging from somewhere shrouded in dust, formed a straight line in front of Miller, as if building a defensive line.

Black armor? Miller internally repeated that fact as he instantly processed the visual information.

The group before him, both men and horses, were clad in heavy armor, the color of which was as black as the abyss.

Furthermore, their well-maintained spears and swords glinted with sharp edges even under the dim sky.

“Could it be…”

Miller was flustered for only a moment.

“Charge!”

Miller’s red eyes shifted to the man who let out a scream as if he were coughing up blood.

A man with platinum-blond hair.

Though he wore a helmet, the eyes visible through the gap shone with a piercing light.

He had actually met him a few times, but was he a man who emanated such a bizarre glint in his eyes?

As Miller stared blankly at this, Viscount Dimitri and Count Langley rushed over to him.

“Young Marquis! Are you alright?”

“No, what in the world is this…”

Miller didn’t answer their questions, his eyes fixed only on the platinum-blond man who was issuing commands.

While guessing that the man’s presence here must mean something unusual had happened in Carshion, what actually came out of Miller’s mouth was a small question.

“…‘Now’?”

But his voice was soon drowned out by the harsh cries of the monsters, and as the troops on the walls, now prepared, also began to fire arrows, the atmosphere only grew more and more intense.

 

***

 

In the Kingdom of Kleinin, there existed five families recognized as founding contributors.

According to records, the founding king of Kleinin possessed a mystical power, which he shared with his five most trusted and cherished subordinates while fighting against the corrupt former dynasty.

In the end, after overthrowing the corrupt dynasty and establishing the nation, the man found himself having lost most of his power, able only to feel the power of his subordinates, which had once been his.

But those subordinates, who would later become the ancestors of the five families, did not betray the man but loyally served the king and brought prosperity to the country. This was the founding legend of Kleinin.

And one of those five families was Ophius.

A family that had, for generations, assisted the royal family and exerted influence in central politics.

Callen Ophius, who became the head of that family, was not originally destined to inherit the marquisate, nor did he have any great political ambitions.