――How did it end up like this?
Wondering how it had ended up like this, Ney asked herself that question so many times she lost count, but just like every other time, no answer came back.
Letting out a sigh without even realizing it, Ney looked toward the east. In the east was the imperial capital of Urgalia, and there was Arses, the one who had sent Ney back to her homeland.
The promised twenty days had long since passed. Arses must be furious, thinking Ney had disobeyed orders.
Ney hung her head weakly and grabbed her own upper arms, like she was hugging herself.
”This is what it’s come to…”
Ney said that and let out another sigh.
Ney had meant to follow Arses’ order to come back within twenty days.
Of course, it wasn’t because she felt any loyalty or love toward Arses. If she disobeyed, she’d be put through something even worse than before, and it would spill over onto her people back home too――that fear was what kept Ney in line.
Still, it was also true that Ney felt grateful for Arses’ arrangement this time, so fear wasn’t the only thing holding her back.
If she followed orders properly, maybe she’d be allowed to go home regularly from now on. Even if her position as a slave didn’t change, having the hope of seeing her family gave her something to hold onto in her heart. If her faithful service to Arses could protect her homeland, then she could find meaning even in the repeated nights in her bed.
It was a pretty forced way of looking at things, but Ney was trying her best to see her situation in a positive light.
But three days after Ney returned to Kino Forest, her homeland, the Selseta army suddenly attacked and defeated the Empire forces occupying Kino.
The clans of Kino weren’t subjects of the Kingdom of Selseta, but they held goodwill toward Selseta, which had made friendship with Silku part of its national policy, and they had built friendly ties over many years.
So Selseta sent troops for Kino, its friendly ally. The people of Kino, freed from Empire rule, welcomed the Selseta army and promised to work together against the Empire.
Naturally, Ney was freed from slavery too, and there was no need to go back to the imperial capital anymore.
For Ney, it was unexpected good fortune, a perfect happy ending. In fact, the other treefolk were celebrating their liberation from Empire rule. Leading that was Ney’s father, who said he would never be caught off guard by the Empire again and was giving the Selseta army his full support.
But Ney couldn’t celebrate like her father and the others. Far from celebrating, her anxiety grew with each passing day, and a choking pressure was building up in her chest.
The old Ney probably wouldn’t have felt any anxiety. But having seen the Urgalia Empire with her own eyes, Ney had felt its power firsthand.
Its vast territory, its rich farmland, its mighty army――none of it was anything Ney had ever seen in her life. Countless people lived in the imperial capital, so many that you couldn’t walk the streets without bumping shoulders with passersby.
The bustling streets went on forever, and the city never slept, its lights never going out even at night.
Ney had been taken by her father to the royal capital of Selseta before, but compared to the Urgalia imperial capital, the difference was obvious.
――There’s no way we can win a war against a country like that.
That was Ney’s honest feeling.
Still, she couldn’t possibly say to her fellow clanspeople, who were celebrating their freedom from the Empire, “We can’t win against the Empire, so let’s surrender,” If she did, they’d think she’d lost her mind. In the worst case, she might be suspected of siding with the Empire and executed.
She did try to tell her father about her worries, but instead her father just boasted, “Don’t worry, we won’t lose next time! I’ll never let you suffer the shame of being a captive again!” and got more fired up for battle.
Ney’s father was the chief of the clan that lived in Kino Forest, and also the finest warrior in all of Kino. For him, being caught off guard by the Empire in the last battle and having his daughter taken must have been the bitterest regret of his life.
Given the chance to redeem that shame, there was no way he’d choose not to fight.
As Ney remembered how her father had looked then and was about to let out a third sigh――
”――Ney, what are you doing in a place like this?” a voice called out behind her.
A cool, clear voice made Ney’s ears tremble.
Snapping back to her senses, Ney turned toward the voice, and there stood a woman wearing shining silver-white armor.
When Ney saw her face, she hurriedly dropped to her knees right there.
”Princess Mito, I’m so sorry. I was lost in thought,” Ney stammered, ducking her head.
”There’s nothing to apologize for. I was merely curious what you were doing all by yourself,” Mito replied with a gentle smile.
The woman called Mito said that, then suddenly pouted her lips like she was sulking.
And with a reproachful look at Ney, she said:
”Ney, I told you when we met again, did I not? Stop calling me ‘Princess.’ You may call me ‘Big Sister Mito’ like you used to, you know?” she added, crossing her arms.
”P-please forgive me for that. If I spoke that way to the King’s sister, the princess who is our clan’s benefactor, my father would scold me,” Ney answered nervously.
”And here I am, the King’s sister herself, assuring you it is quite fine,” Mito countered with a slight huff.
The woman who kept grumbling with a dissatisfied look was, just as Ney had said, Mito Selsetia, the younger sister of the King of Selseta.
Despite being a woman, she wore armor and rode across battlefields with her waist-length blonde hair streaming behind her, earning her the name “Silver Arrow of Selseta.”
It was hard to imagine from the way she was pestering Ney, but Mito was known for her bravery on the battlefield and her clear-mindedness at court, and she was deeply trusted by the courtiers and highly popular with the people.
Her accumulated popularity sometimes even rivaled that of her brother the King, and it was said that not a few people wished for Mito to become the next ruler.
Mito was the child born between the first King of Selseta and a Silku girl who had stood by his side since he raised his army, and this fact also played a part in Mito’s high popularity.
By the way, when a child is born between a human and a treefolk, the child’s race is said to be determined by the mother.
Indeed, Mito’s ears were long and slender just like Ney’s.
On the other hand, Mito’s hair was golden, her eyes blue, her skin white――she hadn’t inherited the black hair, red eyes, and brown skin that were the natural traits of treefolk from her mother. Mito’s hair and eye color came from the first King of Selseta, and mixed-race children are known for showing all sorts of different traits like this.
In regions where humans and treefolk had bad relations, mixed-race children brought all kinds of problems, but in the Kingdom of Selseta, children of human and treefolk mixing weren’t unusual, and Mito herself felt no shame at all about her background.
That Mito asked Ney in a gentle voice, like she cared about her.
”Ney, are you truly afraid of the Empire?” Mito asked softly.
”…That’s..,” Ney faltered, looking down.
When Ney couldn’t answer, Mito said encouragingly:
”Do not fret. This time, Kino Forest shall not become a battlefield. You just wait here for news of victory,” Mito offered warmly.
Saying that, Mito turned her eyes east just like Ney had done earlier, and her gaze sharpened.
”We shall set up camp on the Dalai Plains and await the Empire army. We will definitely make those who shamed you as a captive pay,” Mito promised firmly.
”The Dalai Plains, you say? Princess, if we do that, the horned cavalry..,” Ney cut in anxiously.
”Indeed, the Empire will jump at the chance to send in their horned cavalry. There’s no terrain better for cavalry than an open plain with nothing to block them. But if we know they’re coming, even horned cavalry can be dealt with,” Mito reassured her smoothly.
Mito answered Ney’s worry in a calm voice, then added more.
”This time, I’ve been given the royal banner by His Majesty. The Empire army will realize we’re serious. If they do, they’ll have to send a matching force. But the Empire just lost three princes in the last rebellion. On top of that, the Emperor who took the throne is still young, and the lords and officials aren’t united,” Mito explained thoughtfully.
In this situation, it’s hard to mobilize a large force, Mito said. Even if they could gather one, it would take time, she said.
Meanwhile, the Selseta army could strengthen its camp defenses. That was the plan.
On top of that, there were still more advantages for the Selseta army.
”It’s true the Empire is big, but that’s both a strength and a weakness. The Empire has enemies not merely to the west, where we are, but to the east and south too. If the Empire sends a huge army west, they’ll break through the thinly guarded borders and invade Empire territory. If they want to prevent that, the Empire has to split its forces to the east and south as well,” Mito pointed out analytically.
Naturally, the force it could send west would be smaller.
Mito said that and gave Ney a quick wink.
”We’ve already sent messengers to the Kingdom of Kassia in the east and the Duchy of Arsgute in the south. And, this is confidential, but for this operation, the Holy Kingdom, one of the five great powers of the continent, is aiding us as well. So it’s fine. No matter how powerful the Urgalia Empire is, we won’t lose,” Mito whispered conspiratorially.
Just as she said that, a voice calling for Mito came from far away.
Noticing it, Mito gently patted Ney’s head to reassure her, smiled once more saying “Don’t worry,” and turned on her heel.
Ney bowed her head and watched the King’s sister walk away, mulling over what she’d just heard and trying to push away the anxiety filling her chest.
But no matter how many times she repeated the princess’s words, the anxiety never disappeared from Ney’s heart.
Trivia:
- Ney’s fear of Arses is rooted in the fact that disobedience would bring harm not just to himself but to his entire clan, which is why he was so conflicted about the missed deadline.
- The mixed-race inheritance rule reveals that Mito is biologically treefolk through her mother, but her appearance takes after her human father, which is why she has golden hair and blue eyes instead of the typical treefolk traits.
- Mito’s popularity rivaling the King and people wishing for her to rule hints at potential political tension in Selseta that may become relevant later.