#99
Enrique’s acting was quite convincing, and the messenger didn’t seem to find any flaws in his appearance or manner of speaking.
“Are you returning immediately?”
“Yes. I must change horses and return right away to report to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“I see. You’ve worked hard. Travel safely.”
Enrique nodded and gestured for him to withdraw. The messenger, who had been scrutinizing Enrique until the end, finally averted his gaze and turned to leave. Enrique watched his retreating figure and let out a sigh of relief. Despite having put on a show of being perfectly fine at the departure ceremony, Anture still didn’t fully trust it and sent a messenger to double-check… While Anture’s attention was bothersome, it also warmed Enrique’s heart.
“It seems His Highness the Crown Prince is very worried,” Pol said as he carefully fastened Enrique’s coat. Enrique smiled silently.
“By the way, Your Highness, shouldn’t we start preparing to return to Shamier soon?”
“What’s this sudden talk?”
“There are only about two months left until your due date. Surely… you don’t intend to give birth here?”
“If the time comes, I’ll give birth here. It’s not like the child will be born a Baron citizen if born here, so what’s the worry?”
Enrique said nonchalantly. At these words, Pol’s face hardened.
“How can you speak so casually? Giving birth is such a momentous event. To give birth to the baby in this bleak place full of grim men? It’s unthinkable. Even though our allied forces have captured it, this is still Baron’s border region. What if something unforeseen happens?”
“Nothing like that will happen. Baron is struggling just to defend their capital. Do you think they have the luxury to worry about a captured castle on the border? Besides, I’m stationed here as Shamier’s representative. I’m in charge of commanding the rear. If I suddenly return to Shamier to give birth, what will become of Shamier’s face?”
“But…”
“No buts. At least until Baron’s capital is safely captured, I will absolutely remain here guarding the rear. I won’t accept any objections.”
Enrique spoke in an unyielding tone to prevent Pol from pestering him about this matter in the future. Pol’s lips twitched as if he wanted to argue further, but he closed his mouth, overwhelmed by Enrique’s intense gaze.
*
The war was intensifying.
The reinforcements had safely joined Anture’s troops, and they were now in full-scale siege of Baron’s capital. Several units dispatched to important Baron castles nearby were surrounding them, preventing reinforcements from being sent to Baron’s capital. Shamier’s cavalry units were tasked with crushing reinforcements coming from other areas.
Instead of sending troops to Baron, Monta was striking at Shamier’s borders. As they had anticipated and prepared for this possibility from Monta, Shamier was barely managing to defend its borders.
Intelligence also came in that Monta’s navy had been deployed in large numbers. It seemed they intended to circle the continent to strike Ruben’s coast. However, it would take considerable time to reach Ruben from Monta. Anture and Enrique planned to capture Baron’s capital before Monta’s navy could reach Ruben.
Once Baron falls, they would immediately invade Monta. Then, Monta’s navy would have no choice but to turn their ships back to their own country. Even if they decided to attack Ruben to the end, Ruben also had a navy. The plan was to resist desperately while attacking Monta’s mainland. Once Monta falls, their navy would become just a military group without a country. The cleanup could be done slowly afterward.
Enrique stopped walking and took a deep breath. He was out of breath just from circling the small garden once. Looking down, he saw his belly, now so swollen that he couldn’t even see his own feet.
Enrique found it somewhat amusing that he was panting just from a short walk. His belly was so enormously swollen that even walking slowly was uncomfortable.
“I wish I could give birth already,” Enrique grumbled, stroking his belly. Pol covered his mouth with his fist and chuckled quietly.
“Why are you laughing?”
Enrique glared at Pol.
“It’s just that it’s exactly what my wife used to say. When her belly grew and the due date approached, she would complain so much about wanting to give birth quickly.”
“You’re lucky you can’t get pregnant. If I could, I would have made you pregnant. Just so you could experience exactly what I’m going through.”
Pol jumped at Enrique’s mischievous joke.
“Oh my, Your Highness. If those words were to reach the Crown Prince’s ears, I’d be a dead man. Please don’t make such jokes.”
“It’s not like I said I would personally make you pregnant, why are you worrying so much?”
“Still, it could lead to misunderstandings if not careful.”
“How many people are here to hear it, why such needless worry…”
Enrique clicked his tongue at Pol’s overreaction.
As they started walking again, Pol carefully supported him. As the due date approached, Enrique’s body became heavier, but he increased his walking time even more. The doctor who recently arrived from Shamier had said that exercising as much as possible within reasonable limits before birth would make the delivery easier.
It was when Enrique and Pol had circled the garden a couple more times.
“Mo-Monta! Monta’s flags are approaching-!”
A soldier patrolling the castle walls shouted at the top of his lungs. Following that cry, the same sound echoed from various parts of the wall.
Buuuu- Buuuu-
The horn signaling enemy invasion sounded repeatedly. Soldiers rushed up the castle walls, and those who were outside the castle hurried back inside.
“Close the gates-!! Close the gates-!!”
Duke Duvain’s voice resounded loudly throughout the castle.
“Your Highness.”
Pol called out in a worried voice. Enrique grasped Pol’s pale hand tightly and began walking towards the conference room.
When they arrived at the conference room, it was still empty. Everyone must have been busy preparing for defense. Enrique sat in the lord’s chair and listened to the sounds coming from outside. The guard knights, whom he had given orders to on the way, poured in one after another to report on the defense preparation status.
It was only after about an hour that the commanders started flooding into the conference room. Everyone’s faces were tense.
“How many enemy troops are there?”
Enrique asked as soon as everyone had taken their seats.
“They’re divided into three groups, surrounding three sides of the castle. The number is estimated to be about 10,000.”
“They’ve also brought two catapults.”
“Given that Baron’s flags are not visible, it seems only Monta’s army has been secretly dispatched here.”
“Wasn’t Monta’s army all attacking Shamier?”
“They must have secretly moved troops here while pretending to attack Shamier. What were our spies and scouts doing?”
The commanders spoke one after another. Enrique raised his hand to interrupt them momentarily.
“How many troops are stationed inside the castle?”
“About 3,000 in total.”
“3,000…”
Enrique murmured in a somewhat gloomy voice. The commanders’ faces also darkened.
The basic principle of siege warfare is that the attacking force should be at least three times the number of defenders. By that calculation, with 3,000 on our side and 10,000 on theirs, they had more than enough forces for a basic siege.
“How long can we hold out with our stored supplies?”
Enrique asked, wiping away the gloomy look.
“Fortunately, our supplies are plentiful. If we can protect the walls, we can last for months without trouble.”
The answer was satisfactory. It had to be. This place was the advance base and supply base for the invasion of Baron, so supplies were bound to be abundant.
“What will you do, Your Highness?”
Duke Duvain asked. In fact, the answer was already set in this situation. It just needed to be confirmed by the commander-in-chief of the rear.
“Prepare for a defensive battle. Our goal is to hold out until the Crown Prince successfully captures Baron’s capital. After that, Monta will be busy defending their own territory, so they’ll withdraw on their own without us having to do anything. We just need to defend this place until then.”
“But that will cut off support to the main force.”
A Ruben commander said worriedly. Enrique immediately nodded.
“I’m aware. But it’s impossible to continue supplying through that large army. For us, just defending this castle is fulfilling our role.”
As this wasn’t wrong, everyone nodded.
“What do you think their real purpose is?”
Enrique asked with sharp eyes. No one dared to speak. Enrique himself brought up what they were hesitant to mention.
