"His majesty has granted your request by starting out with a preliminary assignment."
The duke had called me back to his office a week after I had asked for his permission to join the war. I had placed all my bets on this plan, the more time that passed the more nervous I got at the possibility of failure. Thankfully it hasn't come to that yet. The duke handed me a piece of parcel and I looked over its contents.
"To east Wargon the troops of Terra suddenly abandoned the castle they had seized. There is no word as to where they headed or why they left, but we are expecting the worst. We have stationed our own men there as an extra precaution in that case. Your assignment should be clear, figure out what they are plotting before they have a chance to play their next move."
If I remember correctly, the castle of Wargon turned into a complete bloodbath for the Serenitatem troops. They were completely mascaraed in a offensive sneak attack. My advantage in this game is that I know the events of the future before they will happen.
"You will leave at dawn for Wargon, so have your preparations settled before then."
I rolled up the piece of parcel and nodded in reply.
"Understood."
As I waited for my dismal the duke stared at me intently. He really knows how to make a person uncomfortable.
"There will be a paladin by the name Gauvain that you will report to. If you succeeded he will inform you of your next assignment. If not, then there may be consequences." he motioned for me to leave.
I bowed and dipped out of the room.
"You must come back alive."
It was so quite I almost didn't catch him say it. His words sent shivers down my spine. must I come back alive when no sooner are you plotting my death. I was just as clueless as him when it comes the opposite purpose of our schemes.
~
I didn't pack much, just what could fit in a moderately sized backpack. I thought it might be too inconvenient to carry anything larger than that. It would have gone much more swiftly had it not been for the annoying buzzing in my ear.
"Are you listening to me? You've developed an even nastier attitude these days!" Lexy continued to ramble.
Since this was a confidential mission, only the duke was disclosed with the details.
"Didn't I already tell you that I'm just following your request and leaving." I tried not to sound as annoyed as I actually was.
"Where exactly can someone like you go? You don't have anything nor do you know anyone! Don't tell me you are actually going to war?!"
"Are you worried about me?" I lifted an eyebrow at her.
"W-What why would I be worried about a thing like you? I just don't want you to go and disgrace the family just as your father did."
I felt a twitch at the mention of my father. I slowly got up from sorting through my things and strode towards her.
"H-Hey what are you doing, if you hurt me I'm going to tell dadd-" she braced herself as I caught her hand with my own.
"Your nail," I brought her fingers close to my face.
She opened her eyes and looked in the same direction.
"It's chipped, you should probably go fix that." I smiled and dropped her hand.
She quickly grasped her hand close to her chest. She looked down at her fingers and then back at me. She had quite a angry expression by the continued reddening of her face. She let out a scoff as she ran out my room.
I should have teased her more in my first life, it's quite fun.
I chuckled and went back to sorting my things. I honestly don't know why what she had said bothered me. I was always so indifferent about my father. Perhaps it's because although she never showed it, his absence brought grandmother a lot of pain. After all, she did raise me for most of my life. I always wonder whether my fate would have been different had she still been here.
I shook off the thought, as I knew there was no use in dwelling on speculations. She had let go of my hand, just as my mother had. Now that they are gone, I have to travel this road for my own sake.
~
"Thank you, Harold, for seeing me off."
I stepped into the worn-out carriage that would begin my three day journey to Wargon.
Will this thing even last that long?
"My lady, I wish you safe travels." he handed me a basket of rations.
Harold and I didn't necessarily have a good relationship, nor did we have a bad one. Almost similar to how it was with grandmother. He was the only one of the servants that treated me with same respect as every other member of the household. You couldn't find someone more loyal to his duty as head butler. In my first life, not long after grandmother's passing Harold "resigned" from his position. In truth I knew he would never resign on his own free will. Juliette, however, didn't waste much rearranging things to her own tune.
"Harold, may I ask you a question?"
"Of course, my lady, you needn't ask me with such formality."
I hesitated for a second but asked anyways.
"If you had to choose between the Dior Dukedom and the late duchess, where would you place your absolute loyalty?"
He looked a bit surprised by my question but still answered,
"It would not much make sense to separate the two since the duche-, the late duchess was also the Dior Dukedom."
It was a smart answer but not one I was hoping for.
"That's true, yet one is a person and the other a name."
His expression remained blank; I was curious as to what he was thinking about.
"Nevertheless, you don't need to answer to me. I do hope you come up with an answer you are confident in." I motioned for the coach to move ahead.
"Goodbye, Harold."
As I watched from a distance I almost swore that I could see Harold's lips moving. I didn't hear his reply that day, nor will I ever know what it was he said.
~
After a miserable three days of travel, I finally arrived at the mining village in Wargon. I realized how little I went out by my discovery of having motion sickness. About two days into travel, I abandoned the coachmen that carried me from the Dior Dukedom. I noticed that he had been carefully following my movements and I had a gut feeling that it was on the orders of the duke's wife. She was suspicious of me from the start, and this tactic was way too obvious for the duke to plot out. I spent the rest of the ways traveling on foot and with passing wagons of farmers or merchants.
"Thank you again." I dropped a silver coin in the hand of an elderly man.
"It was my pleasure, I hope you are able to find what you need for your novel."
I nodded as he signaled for his horses to continue moving. I was under the pretense that I am a aspiring novelist writing a book about a miner and noble lady falling in love. I had come to this town for more information about a miner's life.
The town was quiet and rustic, it was nowhere near as lively as the other villages we had passed through. I wrapped my arms around my body, regretting not wearing something thicker. I spotted a person walking past me and tried grabbing his attention.
"Excuse me, do you-"
He ignored me and continued walking. As far as my people skills go, they were quite lacking.
I'm not going to lie, that a hurt a little.
I walked further into the village, hoping to run into anyone else. This isolation was no doubt the outcome of warfare. Everyone must be too frightened to come out.
I finally caught sight of a women sitting at a fruit stand. I hesitated for a second to approach her, not knowing if my heart can take another rejection.
"Excuse me ma'am?" I tried hiding my nervousness.
"Oh my, it is quite rare to see any newcomers looking like you these days! How can I help you?" the women replied.
I released the tension in my body relieved that she was pleasant.
"Do you know where I can find the nearest inn?" I asked.
"Sure do, just head another two blocks down that way to your right. It's called "Nana's Bar and Inn"."
"Thank you,"
I looked down at the assortment of fruits she had at her stall.
"Could I also get a bag of mixed fruits, no preference as to what."
"Why of course, right away." the women pulled out a paper bag and began packing.
"So what brings you to Wargon, miss?"
"I'm working on a novel." I replied with my set guise.
"Oh a writer, how interesting. Are you perhaps writing about the war?"
"Not exactly, but on the subject, what happened to this place?"
I was hoping that she could elboarte more on what I already knew, being a resident of this place and all.
"Well, not too long ago the druid soldiers from Terra were occupying the lord of Wargon's castle not too far from here."
She paused for a moment and looked around as if trying not to get caught.
"Since we are the nearest village, they often came by and terrorized us. Most of our men were sent off to war, so all we could do was sit back and bare it." She spoke in a hushed tone.
"That must have been awful." I sympathized.
"You know us of the working class don't have a say when it comes to politics. It is just so frustrating wh-why does my brother have to fight in a war that he had no say in. It is like these old farts just plot out these cruel games but are too chicken to play for themselves!"
I could hear the hurt in her voice. I can't say I know what that longing feeling is like. What I do know is the cruelty that can come from those of high status. It is a sad truth that power will always triumph humanity.
"Sorry for making you listen to me ramble, it's nice to be able to get this off my chest since that is all I am capable of doing." she said as if frustrated with herself.
"Not at all, I may not be able to understand your situation. however, I do have my own bone to pick with the powers that be." I handed her exchanged with her the bag of fruit with a silver coin.
"Thank you for your help and these delicious looking fruits." I waved.
"Thank you for you patronage, please come back anytime! I know we just met, but somehow you are truly like a fresh of breath air. Her Saintess only knows that we need that here." she smiled brightly.
Her words took me aback. It was the first time anyone had complimented me like that.
I wasn't going to let my guard down. Had she known my true identity, she would treat me just like those did in the past. It saddened me that I had to think this way. That the scars were so deep that they still throbbed in pain.
I can't make any mistakes, even if if it means absolute solitude.
~
I settled down in the room I had checked out for the next week. Expectantly, this place held little to no business. Even the bar was completely empty.
I made sure all the windows were covered and that the door was locked shut with a chair as extra precaution. I pulled out a map of Serenitatem that I had stashed in my bag along with my monster book acquaintance. I poked my finger and fed it more of my blood.
"Yummy, yummy." it said before opening again.
I don't think I'll ever get used to this thing.
I spread the map out wide on the desk in the room. On my way here I was reading up on the current situation. Two weeks ago the druids of the Terra army suddenly disappeared from Wargon castle that they had previously occupied for the last 3 months. Wargon was not a priority location to focus militia on, so it is highly unlikely that they drew back due to resistance or fear of. With their sudden disappearance, a sect of soldiers from Serenitatem are currently there awaiting movement. Little do they know that they are bait for capture of the druids. I know this because none of the soldiers there were listed as paladins. Whomever sent them there knew of that risk.
I thought back to the women at the fruit stand from earlier.
I wouldn't be surprised if one of those men were her brother being one of the men familiar with this region.
The real question is why did the druids move out of the castle, it wouldn't make sense if the sole purpose was to take out the enemy. They surely knew just as well as I did that their deaths would not gain much for them, especially with the risk of losing their own men.
Why go through all the trouble of capturing the castle in the first place to just have abandoned it?
I looked closely at the map in front of me. I drew a circle around where Wargon was located.
"Since most of our men were sent off to war all we could do was sit back and bare it."
A realization hit me at the thought of the women's words. I followed the path on the map to the coal mine that supplied most of Serenitatem. Coal may not seem as valuable as gold or diamonds, but much of the machinery relies on it. In war that would be a very critical loss.
T-There is no way-
Droplets of sweat invaded the map I was leaning over.
The reason the Terra druids abandoned their post was because they didn't want to get caught in the crossfire. Coal releases a gas called methane, and when under immense amount of heat, it can cause and incredibly fatal explosion. A druid, whose magic consists of nature manipulation, could easily produce enough heat to cause such destruction.
What I knew from the past was that the soldiers of Wargon were supposedly man-slaughtered in an attack, but it was more than that. If I were a kingdom official I wouldn't want my people to know that normal civilians, let alone an entire village, had been obliterated due to the havoc it would ensue.
I held out my hand and summoned up some mana. A butterfly appeared, settling ever so elegantly on my finger.
"If you find any trace of magic notify me immediately." I whispered and released the butterfly from my finger.
It multiplied to several more entities and dispersed outside the walls.
I can manipulate my mana butterflies to perform several techniques that I learned under grandmother's tutelage and my own secret training. One being heightened senses that can pick up even the smallest traces of mana.
Even though I said I wouldn't care, I couldn't tell if this concern was for the failure of the mission or failure to protect the helpless. A feeling I knew all too well.