What about the enemy occupying the country?
What about facing ministers, nobles and the public's opinion?
What is he counting on?
Momentarily lost in thought, he noticed the allied General and his Chief of Staff looking worriedly at him and announced their new strategy himself.
‘…there is no decisive battle anymore, but the plan must be executed anyway. We have to take over Londinium and the Emperor's palace, Havilland, and raise Her Majesty‘s flag there. Now, it would be too dangerous to attack Londinium directly. And capturing castle after castle could take decades.’
The Marquis and Chief of Staff nodded and frowned. De Poitiers showed the map that had been laid out on the table and pointed at the place between Rosais and Londonium.
‘The City of Saxe-Gotha. An ancient town, favorite tourist spot. We will take it over and turn it into the foothold for the capture of Londinium. We will leave 5000 soldiers here in Rosais to secure the supply lines and path for retreat. The remaining troops will participate in the capture with the support from our air forces. If the enemy's main army comes out, we will finish it with a decisive battle, of course.’
The Marquis and Chief of Staff nodded. The proposal was a compromise, and though it was a noncommittal strategy, it wasn’t bad.
Saxe-Gotha was a big town. The crossing of all roads. If it was taken, it would possibly be effective against other castles and towns. Even if the war was not settled before the Advent Festival, it would be easy to hold out longer as it was a big city.
As they debated the strategy, someone knocked at the door.
‘Who?’ asked a guard.
‘Me. Her Majesty's Court Lady, La Vallière.’
De Poitiers signaled the guards to let her in, even though he wasn’t particularly eager to let the girl take part in army business. But he couldn’t treat her unkindly as she was Her Majesty’s Court Lady and the user of the legendary Void. She still might be bothersome.
De Poiters saw Louise as nothing more than a ‘tool’.
‘Aah, Miss Void. We have prepared a gorgeous tent for you. Leave all the trouble to servicemen and take a rest. I will call you if you are needed.’
Louise was nervous about the great surroundings. However, she couldn‘t do what she decided to if she acted cowardly. So, she gathered her courage and spoke up,”
“W-well…”
“What? Oh, you were not rewarded for your work at Dartanes. As expected of Void. You did well. Gentlemen! Applause!”
Indifferent applause echoed in the conference room.
“I will request the royal family for reward.”
“N-no that…”
“What? Are you still here?”
De Poiters tone became diluted with dour.
Is a single reward not enough? What a greedy chit!
Human beings are greedy, it is one of the basic habits of human beings. De Poitiers felt offended that after praising her, Louise wanted more.
“It's not that. Umm, I did not come here to get a reward. It’s about the dragon knights who returned alive…”
Generals for a moment could not understand what she was talking about… But then they remembered the dragon knight unit that returned alive and nodded.
“Aah, what about it?”
“Well… it’s great, but don’t you think it’s strange? A whole week passes after the crash and they return safe and sound, and all the while they don't remember anything in between?”
“Indeed.”
Annoyed generals listened to her. How was it effecting the army? They were about to say it.
“It’s a place near Saxe-Gotha. I think it should be investigated.”
When Louise said that, the General waved his hand.
“Oh, Okay. Near the marching route. A search expedition will be organized to investigate the mystery,” he said in a dull tone not really supporting such an expedition.
“Did they hit their heads and see some kind of ghost?”
“…they reported it was a fairy.”
“A kind fairy!”
Someone said; the conference room was wrapped up in laughter. It did not matter whom she asked. The ten surviving knights were just another war miracle and they would not explore it even if the knights minds were clear.
“No way! What if behind it lies an important secret?! Something that might change the course of the war!”
“Miss, though it certainly is a mysterious event, it is not likely to change such a grand situation. We do not have time to care about such trivial matters.”
“But…”
Then, as if just having an idea, De Poitiers added.
“Right, I want you to go to investigate it. Can you do that?”
Louise left the red-brick command center as if being driven out. Saito and Rene, who were waiting at the entrance of the building, ran up to her.
“How was it?”
Fuun, Louise looking the other way walked directly past them.
Saito snorted. He had hardly talked to Louise since yesterday. After leaving Louise in front of the tent of the dragon knight squadron, the couple had been in a very ugly mood.
Saito walked behind Louise’s back.
“Haah, princess and her servant.” Rene said sarcastically.
Then he lowered his voice and whispered into Saito's ear.
“Just between us… Are you Academy researchers?”
“Academy?” Saito looked at Rene in utter amazement. Interested dragon knights gathered around the boy.
“I guess the flight machine was made by the Academy.”
“Are there any new magical weapons?”
“Like in the recent mission, where one was used in Dartanes to confuse enemies?”
The boy knights’ eyes were sparkling brilliantly while talking to Saito. Apparently, they thought that Louise and Saito were researchers from a magic laboratory. Indeed, the only ones that knew about Louise's Void were a few generals.
Though it was easy to convince the masses outside the court that it all was a war miracle, the same excuse didn’t really work with nobles. So the most plausible explanation would be “Academy’s new magical weapons”.
Louise, listening to Saito’s conversation attentively, halted.
*Pon!* Saito stopped as well. Everyone stood upright. A tense atmosphere that emanated from Louise sank into all of them. What else would one expect from a duke’s third daughter?
Louise, without turning around, said in a clear voice.
“Not exactly. I am not an Academy researcher. I am Her Majesty's Court Lady, under her direct control.”
Saito panicked. Hey! Louise you idiot! Void should be kept a secret! It might cause trouble if the rumors would reach the enemy! They would be targeted! He thought in a feverish haste.
“We are the members of ‘Zero Organization’ responsible for researching new weapons, under the direct command of the royal family.”
Huh? Saito was speechless. What Zero Organization? Never heard of it.
“I-is that so?! Great!”
“Though I do not really understand, it sounds like a really powerful organization!”
“Really? Secret Organization? Then you can’t tell anyone? Then you research magical weapons, but what does it differ from the academy’s research? There must be a death punishment for revealing it.”
“R-really?”
“Everyone, swear by the founder to not disclose it!”
All of them, being kind, swore sincerely.
We could pretend to be members of Zero Organization researching new magical weapons. This way enemies or allies would not be able to even imagine the existence of Void.