The Main Family Is About to Die Out, so I, from a Branch Family, Am a Seed Provider (WN): Chapter 46

 

Episode 46: If There is a Bum to Abandon, There is a Princess who Help

"......That, is how it all happened."

 The sun was beginning to set. But I was greeted by a heavy sense of despair as I reached the summit of the mountain.

 The report, which summarized the story of the soldiers who had just fled here, was quite simple and carried despair that would make anyone keep their mouths shut.

 Brumud Castle has fallen.

 The shocking report was more than enough to shatter the hopes of everyone here.

 It seems that the man in charge of Brumud Castle was a frontier landowning nobleman with a fief along the western border with the Commonwealth. However, at about the same time we arrived here, the castle was attacked by 30,000 Imperial troops, who were moving separately, and despite the efforts of 2,000 defenders, the castle fell.

 The report that the castle, which had been the keystone of our escape, and one of the most important castles in the upcoming campaign, had fallen into enemy hands, shocked the 10,000 Kingdom army present here.

"......Now, we are isolated and practically alone."

 In front of the nobles and knights that gathered immediately after receiving the report, a soldier announces that with a single sheet of a report in his hand.

 What is most problematic is that the fall of Brumud Castle seems to have caused the defenders of the surrounding fortresses to surrender one after another to the Empire, and the area around it has already fallen into the enemy's hands.

 ......That meant we're almost contained in this place.

"Furthermore, according to the scout's report that the 30,000 Imperial troops who have brought down the castle are now on their way to us. Perhaps they are poised to annihilate us with the imperial troops in front of us......"

 Despair swept through the nobles and knights in the crowd. No one could utter a word, and they were all left speechless by the fact that a huge army of nearly 80,000 troops was approaching them.

"......How can we overcome this difficulty? Does anyone have a plan?"

 In the quiet camp, the head of the Fregrance family looks around and said.

 The nobles present, however, all looked at each other and made no move to speak. The same is true for the knights who follow them.

"......"

 However, it seems that the master was not expecting them from the beginning, but rather was directing his words to me, who was sitting quietly at the end of the table. He has been glancing at me for a while now and asking me if I have anything for him.

 But in this situation, I can't come up with a plan so easily.

 In fact, the castle that was supposed to be the most important in this series of battles and retreats had fallen.

 For example, if we had been close to the castle of Brumud and witnessed its fall, there would still be a way to escape geographically speaking.

 But now, most of the routes had already been crushed.

 If the imperial side had gone behind our opposing kingdom's army and pinched us in advance, we would have been able to escape. If this sequence of events was a strategy, then there must be some very smart people among the enemy.

 We are now the prey, lured in by the enemy. We are like a poor beast that has been lured in, its escape route blocked, and it cannot even return to its nest.

"Opinion."

"...Umu"

 One of the nobles sitting relatively near the entrance of the room raised his hand and asked for permission to speak, to which the master quietly nodded.

"How about temporarily surrendering to the enemy and enduring until the situation improves? There are so many of them, and if we were to take them on, we would never stand a chance......"

 What came out was a surrender plan. Moreover, several nobles nodded their heads in agreement with that rather calm analysis of the situation.

 Well, it is certainly one thing to give up and lay down one's arms if there is no chance of winning. In light of the battle in Gruve City, there are some people who can make a profit-and-loss judgment, and it may be an effective means.

 But that would only allow us to survive at the very least, and it would not be an appropriate dedication at this time and place.

"What about his highness?"

"Ah……"

 At the sound of the head of the House of Fregrance's voice, the nobleman froze in place as if his head had been doused with cold water, and his eyes darted restlessly to the right and left.

 Yes, that's right. As long as His Majesty the king of the kingdom, and Prince Lim, the nominated commander of this expedition, were present, there was no way they could surrender.

 If they surrendered to the enemy, Prince Lim would at best be taken hostage for negotiations with the kingdom, and at worst, he might be killed.

 Above all, the young lady is here. If she is caught, she could be raped by the imperial soldiers.

 Needless to say, I reject the surrender proposal because cuckoldry and gang rape are out of bounds, or if they happen, it would be so damaging to my heart that I would not be able to use my son. Damn, just thinking about it is disgusting. I'm a sucker for lovey-dovey pure love stuff!

"How about this then?"

 In the quiet space, it was a nobleman sitting rather close to the prince who said so without fear.

 ......I don't care about it, but the people here are basically a pain in the ass because they do such useless things as deciding where to sit in a hierarchical order.

"If we holed up in Gabel City, which is a little further away from here, and wait for reinforcements. Unlike in the field, attacking an enemy holed up in a castle or city requires ten times as many troops, and with 80,000 troops, they would have supply problems."

 The alternative proposal that emerged was also a rather reasonable one, and it received a moderately positive response, with more than a few nobles and knights nodding their heads in agreement and others smacking their knees in admiration.

 But the plan has at least two main premises, and they are not feasible under the current circumstances.

"We can't expect reinforcements. Even if we could, it would take six months or more."

"It's certainly possible, but only until the enemy's supply runs out......"

"The enemy's supply will probably not run out. Because this is enemy territory, they can collect enough from neighboring cities, and we will starve first before they run out."

 Reinforcements that might or might not be coming. The supply problem is worse for us who are besieged as this is hostile territory to begin with.

 As long as those two main prerequisites are lacking, it doesn't matter where we are holed up, then we have no choice but to endure here from the beginning. The possibility that the citizens of the empire, who know about the violence of our kingdom's army in Kraha City, will cooperate with us is close to zero. Or, if they accept it, they will rise up from within and wipe us out in no time at all.

 In fact, a siege is a battle to block the momentum of the attackers and buy as much time as possible for the country to prepare, and it would be foolish to do it in an enemy territory...... and in an occupied city. If I were on the imperial side and the royal army took that strategy, I'd think they were a bunch of idiots, and I'd rather lead an 80,000 strong army straight into the kingdom's territory than go through the trouble of going along with such an idiotic strategy.

"......"

 The room is quiet again. Only a heavy atmosphere and a stifling sense of entrapment fill the room, and it is hard to imagine that any good ideas will come out of it.

"......Was it a mistake to stay here and fight against the enemy in the first place?"

 A complaint that came from somewhere unexpectedly changed the mood of the place.

"Yes, if we had headed for the castle from the beginning, this would not have happened......"

"For the most part, the significance of this battle has not even been explained to us......"

"I was told that the plan was to make it here because we didn't have enough time in the first place, but wouldn't we have had a better chance of winning if we didn't stay here and escaped?"

 I thought it was a silly nonsense, and that we would not be able to move forward even if they expressed their regrets now.

 A single pebble was thrown into the calm water, and the ripples created were surprisingly large, and with a swell, they began to move in search of the person who had thought up the plan.

"Who was that person..."

"I have heard that it was His Highness' decision......"

"No, it is not at His Highness' own discretion. In the first place, His Highness is......"

"Then who?"

 Then, the eyes of everyone present shot around to the head of the Fregrance family.

"......"

 But even under their reproachful gaze, the man who is one of the five great nobles of the kingdom and is known as the "sword of the kingdom" returned a sharp gaze back at them.

 Then who――.

 That was when everyone started thinking.

"Isn't it your stallion?"

 Everyone looks at me sitting at the end of the table at the muttering.

 The words, uttered in a voice that sounded more like a conviction than anything else, slowly reached me, drawing the gazes of everyone present.

"Bajirian. I'm sorry, but he has nothing to do with this. The decision was made by his highness in totality."

 Apparently, the one who pointed the finger at me was the head of the Bajirian family, the master of that low-ranking officer who was acquitted of all charges of disorderly conduct in the city of Kraha.

 His sneering grin makes me feel disgusted just by looking at him, and his fat frame, which is so thick you cannot tell the border between his chin and neck, is more like that of a villainous lord than a nobleman.

 He must be a rootless noble, since he is a branch of the Bamingham family, one of the five great nobles of the kingdom, which is a major source of rootless nobility. He never breaks his lowly smile while being stared at by the head of the Fregrance family, which is a landowning noble.

"No, no, it's not nice to lie. My lieutenant has just overheard about the meeting that was taking place in Kraha City."

 The head of the Bajirian family does not stop talking, even though he seems to be about to say something with a giggle at the end of it.

"I heard that the stallion had come up with the idea for this whole operation. Moreover, weren't you present at the meeting?"

"...What are you talking about? I'm always on his highness's side, and I'm the one..."

"I'll say again, Fregrance-dono. Do not lie."

 The moment the head of the Bajirian family interrupted the head of the Fregrance family. I thought I heard a sound like thin ice cracking.

 Most of the nobles and knights present were watching with bated breath to see what would happen.

"What do you think of me, rootless man?"

"No, it is for your own good as well as to correct the disloyalty of a nobleman who represents the kingdom."

 The war of tongues between the two men began to reach an unpleasant fever. No, if anything, the head of the House of Fregrance is indignant, and the head of the House of Bajirian is dismissive.

 I had never been in, nor had I ever seen, a political fight between two noble families, with their bargaining and exchanges of words.

 It's one thing to say that I've never had the opportunity to be present because of my status, but I've deliberately avoided getting actively involved in such affairs.

"I have a plan."

 Now it's coming at me like cotton wool tightening around my throat.

"Let's hear it."

 Prince Lim, who had been silently watching the military proceedings until then, allows the head of the Bajirian family to speak. The head of the Fregrance family, sitting next to him, tried to stand to stop him, but the gazes of those around him do not allow him to do so.

 It would not be right for the Fregrance family, one of the five great noble families, to make a problem of something that the prince had given permission for.

"I think we should retreat to the west side right now. The mountains here are connected to Gelhorn Mountains, and there are ravines and steep cliffs along the way, but if we can overcome them, we will enter the kingdom."

 A voice of admiration rises from the surroundings.

 I had thought of that route, but I had abandoned the mountainous route from the beginning.

"...We can't cross the mountains when we're armed."

 The head of the Fregrance family, with a bitter expression on his face, pointed out a problem that I also thought of.

 First of all, it is impossible to cross the mountains with heavy armor and battle gear, which are difficult to move in.

 In the first place, the mountain paths are not well maintained, and the width of the paths is barely wide enough for one person to pass. Moreover, the footing is so poor that it is obvious that if one steps off the path even a little, he or she will slip and fall.

 It is impossible to walk in such a place with armor on, much less with the nobles and ladies, who usually don't travel.

 Moreover, since they were fleeing in a completely unarmed state, they would be finished off if they were caught by the imperial troops approaching from behind. Though, I don't know if they would come after us or not.

"We can do it. If everyone disarms and escapes on their own, right?"

"Wait, if that's the case......"

 The head of the Fregrance family was quick to react and put his beak between his teeth, but the head of the Bajirian family was unconcerned, and instead, with a theatrical gesture and tone of voice, he approached the prince and said.

"Ah, but! There is no possibility that the imperial army will pursue us from behind. Therefore, the most important part of this operation is the creation of the rear unit."

 Now he looks around at the nobles and knights present. Upon hearing the word "rear unit," they all avoid eye contact and turn their heads away from each other. It seems that no one wants to be the one to throw away their lives on the possibility that they will be annihilated, but the head of the Bajirian family looks at me sitting at the end of the table, as though he had decided from the beginning, and said.

"I think that the stallion is the right person for this role, but what about the others think?"

 They are looking at me with a gaze that entices and entangles me. He says it's appropriate, but that's the same as saying that I'm ordered to be a member of the rear unit.

"You want me to sacrifice a member of my own family?"

 While the air in the room is trying to set me up as a stone to be thrown away, the head of the house of Fregrance finally raises his voice in protest.

"......That's no good. I cannot afford to lose any more vassals."

 The prince, reacting to the voice of the head of the Fregrance family, mutters in a muffled whisper. I wonder if he is traumatized by the fact that his retainer was killed right in front of him, or if he doesn't want to lose one person even if it is a guy like me. Ah no, I'm not happy at all.

"No, I'm saying that this can only be accomplished by that stallion."

 But the head of the Bajirian family is not discouraged, but rather continues his stinky act of pretending to be happy to nominate me.

 I'm sorry to say, but I don't want to be a human pillar of a community that will be annihilated.

 As I was about to stand up and decline the offer, I suddenly heard a mumbled voice from somewhere.

"......Come to think of it, didn't he escape safely from Gruve City against the imperial army several times the size of his unit?"

 The praise for me, heard unexpectedly, changed the atmosphere of the place.

"That's right. With his brilliant leadership, the stallion has defeated several times the Imperial troops and has retreated without incident."

 He praised me with that sneering smile of his.

 His words, spun in a rambling fashion as if he were trying to create a situation in which I could not refuse, gradually became a fetter, entangling me under my feet.

 It's as if, if I refuse, I'll be labeled disloyal, and even if I make it back alive, I'll lose my current position, which will be even worse.

"P-please wait!"

 Still, I stand up on the spot and raise my voice in protest.

 Almost everyone in the room looked at me, and the nobles and knights who were sitting rather close to me said, "Are you sure you want to refuse?".

 The nobles sitting in front of me were already cursing me for being disloyal.

 Above all, the atmosphere of the place was so overwhelming that they thought, "Surely, Stallion-dono would be able to prevent this, right?". The prince, who must have had a similar idea in mind, looked at me with suspicion when I tried to refuse him. No, no, wait. Who do you think is responsible for all this trouble in the first place?

 I desperately swallow down my inexpressible anger and glare at the head of the Bajirian family, who is trying to create this atmosphere and put me in the rear unit.

"It will take about two days for the main force to complete the mountain route in the first place, and it will be impossible for the rear unit to block the enemy."

 The moment I said that. The head of the Bajirian family nodded his head and said, "Well, that is certainly true".

 The other nobles and knights fell silent, and soon the room was filled with bewilderment. The room was filled with questions as to why he had mentioned that method of retreat.

"But how about just until we cross the canyon?"

 The head of the Bajirian family, however, continues to talk without changing his expression.

"Even if we want to escape, the imperial army will not pursue as long as we cross the canyon. There is a large suspension bridge there, and if we drop the bridge after we have crossed it, we can buy enough time, don't you think?"

 At that suggestion, a murmur of admiration and faint hope fills the place once again.

 Everyone began to speak in unison about how the whole army would be able to return home safely, and some even looked enviously at the head of the Bajirian family who had come up with the idea.

 However, it would take at least half a day to cross the suspension bridge, no matter how lightly one estimates it. No, it would take another half a day to get there in the first place. In fact, it would take a full day.

 Furthermore, this is hostile territory. Even if we were to ask for directions, the Kingdom Army already has a bad reputation, and we would not be able to find anyone to lead us. The plan is absurd. That is why my plan was not going to cross the mountain but was going to take the route via Brumud Castle.

 However, when I told him that, the head of the Bajirian family said in a tone of dismay.

"It's only one day. If you have the loyalty of a nobleman of the kingdom, you should be able to manage that much, right? Besides, your plan is no different from the one I have devised, only that it is safer, right?"

 I was about to say, "If you want to do it, then do it yourself", when the rootless noble in front of me, with a sneer on his face, told me, "You're not only denying the retreat route I have prepared, but you're also just presenting a theory".

"The main reason we are now in this predicament is that a nobleman from a remote branch of the family has intervened without understanding his position. They drove us all to the brink of death with their foolish measures, and now, after all this time, they are sparing their own lives and rebelling against the opportunity we are giving them to clear their names...... It is truly unseemly."

 For a moment, my mind went blank at the way he said that, burned out by the stress I had been under.

 I couldn't understand what he was saying and when my brain finished processing it, I felt a wave of unidentifiable, pitch-black emotion welling up from the pit of my stomach.

 My hand rests on the hilt of the sword at my waist. I gripped the hilt tightly and bit my teeth with such force that they seem to shatter.

"Too many words, Bajirian. Our predicament was simply a series of misfortunes upon misfortunes. It was not his fault."

"No, it is clear that this is indeed his fault. We should have run away to the castle at once instead of fighting here. First of all, isn't there a saying, "A schemer is a martyr to his own schemes"......"

 The surrounding nobles nodded their heads, and their reproachful gazes turned to me.

 No one but the head of the Fregrance family tried to defend me, and the sight of them trying to force me into that role made my blood boil, and my body slowly cooled from the tips of my fingers.

 Oh, I see.

 Most of the people here are rootless nobles just like that man, and they are going to throw me, a landowning noble, away here like a lizard's tail.

 In the face of such people, any argument or counter-argument is pointless, and this atmosphere created by the head of the Bajirian family is not likely to be easily overturned.

 And that is the way it is. In this atmosphere, it is the way of the current nobility of the Kingdom to not even allow discussion.

"I believe that the stallion is suitable for this role. Your Highness, please give your approval......"

 While grinning, he crept up on Prince Lim. The prince, then, looks me in the eye.

 Yeah, let's just drop everything and run away.

 Let's pretend to take on the role and surrender to the imperial army. Or I'll run away to a faraway place where no one knows, and I'll quietly live out my life in that place.

 ......Rather, why do I have to work so hard? Well, it doesn't matter anymore.

"Well then, stallion-dono......"

 It was the very moment I was going to be appointed by the prince, with resignation drifting through my heart, beyond anger.

"Wait a minute!!"

 Someone shouted loudly, but the sound of the voice was as clear as the sound of a bell.

 Her disheveled blonde hair glistened in the evening sun, and she looked straight at the prince with a fire of anger burning in the depths of her jade-green eyes.

 And while her father, the head of the Fregrance family, looked wide-eyed in surprise and Armes, who had followed behind as her escort, gawked, Lady Ritia suddenly burst in and said.

"Please reconsider that appointment!"