[V14C10] Wall of Separation

“How dare you insult my daughter like this… I’ll turn your chest hair into a field of flowers!!”

The man shouted, spitting with rage as he tore off the chest area of the unconscious soldier’s uniform, giving no care for the buttons.

The knitting needle in his right held gleaming silver. Just what did he intend to knit with that?

Unable to bear the sight, Henrik hurriedly stepped in to stop him.

“Please wait! Humiliating a prisoner will only lead to unnecessary conflict! Calm yourself, please…!”

“Silence! You couldn’t possibly understand my pain… These scumbags defiled my beloved daughter, Elfriede!”

The man’s face flushed red from fury, and his voice seethed with hatred. But Bridget also noticed the tears welling in the corners of his eyes.

She moved closer to the man and took a deep breath. When speaking to someone in such an agitated state, a gentle tone was preferable.

“I take it your daughter was caught up in this incident?”

Without lowering his knitting needle, the man turned to look at Bridget.

But then, the eyes behind his round glasses widened in surprise, and he froze on the spot.

Unsure of how to respond, Bridget turned to Henrik and asked, “Is this man from Valmbelk Castle?”

“No, I have no idea who this weirdo is.”

Then why was the weirdo causing such a scene in the midst of this dire situation?

Though it did not answer her doubts, Henrik explained.

“I found him tied up and locked in this room, so I freed him… and well, it ended up like this…”

Bridget had memorized the faces of everyone in the delegation from Ridill, so this man was not one of theirs. And if he wasn’t a servant of Valmbelk Castle either, it would be logical to assume he served someone on the imperial side, such as Birendahl or Konitz.

(Something still feels off about this rebellion… Why would they take Prince Albert hostage, even at the cost of making enemies of Ridill? There must be some reason they want Valmbelk Castle.)

The land of Valmbelk was not particularly prosperous. Their only real strength was the power of their military.

However, the soldiers of Valmbelk were not going to serve General Strauss just because he captured their castle.

On the contrary, the Valmbelk army would eventually return from the southern front to take back their castle.

(Does General Strauss really have the power to fend off the Valmbelk army…?)

Bridget felt an ominous unease stirring in her chest. There was something else behind this rebellion, she was certain of it.

But there was simply too little information to figure out what.

As Bridget was lost in her thoughts, she heard a voice coming from her feet.

“…A goddess.”

Bridget looked down to see the man from earlier—whom Henrik referred to as a weirdo—kneeling in front of her.

“I am Helmfried Kollwitz. A humble craftsman.”

The man placed a hand over his chest and introduced himself. Meanwhile, he continued staring at Bridget with flames burning in his eyes.

“Your beauty has captured me. I humbly ask that you take my daughter as your bride.”

“…”

Bridget was often on the receiving side of courtship or marriage proposals.

But never had anyone asked her to be a suitor for their daughter.

Bridget silently went over the man’s words in her head, then pressed a finger against her temple.

“This is the first time I’ve lost confidence in my knowledge of the Imperial tongue.”

“Don’t worry. This is my native language and I still don’t know what the heck he’s talking about.”

Henrik consoled Bridget in a whisper, then crouched beside the kneeling Kollwitz, bringing himself to eye level.

“Kollwitz-dono, this castle is currently under the occupation of General Strauss. Are you a subordinate of Lord Birendahl or Lord Konitz?”

“I don’t know or care about any of those people. I merely asked His Majesty for permission to accompany my daughter.”

“…His Majesty? So you were granted an audience with Emperor Leonhart?”

“What of it?”

Kollwitz acted as if an audience with the Emperor was a trivial matter, but that could not be further from the truth.

If Kollwitz was someone close to the Black Lion Emperor, it raised the possibility that the Emperor had foreseen this rebellion from the beginning.

(I shouldn’t allow myself to get too optimistic… but the fact that they captured this man alive means General Strauss intends to negotiate with the Black Lion Emperor. He is not completely beyond reason.)

In fact, the margrave standing next to her was perhaps even further beyond reason. Currently, Henrik was lost in thought, with an extremely dangerous glint in his eyes.

＊　＊　＊

At the very same moment that Bridget considered the possibility of negotiating with General Strauss, Henrik was thinking this:

(So His Majesty is telling me to handle the situation…?)

Naturally, he did not even consider the possibility of any sort of negotiation with General Strauss.

That kind of thing comes after the military suppression phase, though more often than not, one of the negotiating parties ended up dead before that point.

(I ran into a single soldier here, and one in the kitchen. That means they have nothing important to protect in the vicinity. The castle staff must be held on the opposite side.)

Patrols and guards were normally deployed in pairs, but General Strauss failed to do that. Likely due to a shortage of manpower.

Valmbelk Castle was very large and had a complicated structure, with numerous secret passages for Henrik to use. They tried to cut off all of Henrik’s escape routes, while confining the guests in the main hall and the castle staff in another room. This would require a substantial number of troops.

(I doubt there are many patrolling the castle… But he probably has troops stationed in the perimeter, in case anyone tries to escape outside…)

In that case, the best course of action was for Henrik to free the castle’s servants by himself, then lead them to the main hall and defeat General Strauss.

The only problem with that plan was Bridget and Kollwitz. Even Henrik would have a hard time fighting while protecting two people.

(Fortunately, Greyham-dono is a composed and intelligent lady. I can have her and Kollwitz-dono remain in hiding.)

Henrik could recognize Bridget’s patience from the short amount of time they spent together.

She hadn’t screamed or complained the entire time, and she followed all of Henrik’s instructions.

In addition, she was well-versed in political affairs and understood the enemy’s language, making her a very dependable companion.

However, she wasn’t accustomed to death and violence. That much was clear from her reaction to Henrik killing someone in front of her.

Henrik preferred to neutralize foes non-lethally rather than killing them, if possible. On the battlefield, provoking needless resentment from the enemy would only put his own life at risk.

But from this point forward, that was no longer possible.

Retaking the castle would involve a fair amount of bloodshed on both sides.

“Greyham-dono, Kollwitz-dono.”

Henrik gestured towards the crates of Imperial cargo stacked in the middle of the room.

They contained nothing that could serve as a weapon, but one of the empty crates was large enough to hide two people.

“I’ll go reclaim the castle. You two hide in here until I’m done.”

“Do you intend to take down General Strauss by yourself?”

Bridget asked the question with a tense look on her face. Her words suggested that there was more to her question than her fear at being left alone. Nor was she merely concerned for Henrik’s safety.

She was questioning whether or not Henrik’s plan was truly the best course of action in this situation.

…But this was indeed the best plan in Henrik’s view.

So he answered with his usual sheepish grin.

“I’ll be freeing the castle staff first, so I won’t be alone. Besides, my sister and grandfather should be in the main hall.”

“…Is your sister skilled with the sword?”

“No, she’s just average.”

Frieda was good enough to fight on par with a common soldier, but no better than that.

“However,” Henrik continued. “She knows the best way to handle our grandfather. We’ll probably be fine.”

His statement of “We’ll probably be fine” did not come from optimism. It was simply his way of saying, “If it doesn’t work out, then so be it.” He had already come to terms with that.

＊　＊　＊

Henrik exited the storage room, leaving Bridget and Kollwitz to hide inside a crate.

Kollwitz still seemed incredibly suspicious, but at the very least, it was clear that he didn’t work for General Strauss.

Upon learning that the castle was occupied by enemy forces, Kollwitz had screamed, “I’m taking my daughter and going home!” But when Henrik explained the possibility that the castle was already surrounded, he obediently curled up inside the crate.

And now, he was silently moving his fingers while hugging his knees. Those seemed to be the motions of handling knitting needles.

“…Kollwitz-sama, are you a craftsman?” Bridget asked.

“Indeed. I dabble in lace and embroidery.”

It was only then that Bridget remembered where she heard the name Kollwitz.

Kollwitz the lace craftsman… She had once seen his works in a museum.

“Could it be… are you the maker of Kollwitz Lace…?”

“I serve as head of the workshop.”

Kollwitz Lace was renowned for being extremely beautiful lace woven with complicated magical formulas.

The Kollwitz family had a history of creating magically enchanted lace, and were eventually taken in by the Emperor.

The current head of the Kollwitz family was the third in his line, holding the title of “Fairy Fingers”. His skills were reputed as the greatest in all of history.

(So this man is… the greatest lace craftsman in history…)

A bit hard to believe after the first impression he gave.

“So when you mentioned your daughter…”

“Yes, Elfriede is a lace-adorned handkerchief. Those damn soldiers mishandled the box where Elfriede sleeps… an offense worthy of a thousand deaths.”

Bridget could not help but wonder if she was translating his words correctly, but before she could say anything, Kollwitz clenched his knitting needles and continued with fervor.

“I want my daughters to marry people with a beauty worthy of them, regardless of age or gender. Elfriede was supposed to be a gift to the striking Prince Felix, so I poured my heart into making her, and yet…”

Bridget froze upon hearing the name of Prince Felix.

In contrast to the cold aura she radiated, Kollwitz only grew more passionate.

“The bastards who took over the castle said they were going to sell my daughter for money. They dare to defile her purity…! Elfriede…! Hang in there just a little longer. Once this pointless conflict comes to an end, I’ll get you out of this filthy room.”

Kollwitz was speaking to a flat wooden box at the bottom of a pile of luggage. Apparently, his so-called daughter Elfriede rested inside there.

He probably wanted to rescue her right away, but the box stacked on top was too big for him to move alone. Forcing it might cause the pile to collapse, which would end in a disaster.

(It doesn’t seem like the boxes have anything that can be used as a weapon…)

Even something like gunpowder could be useful as a weapon, but anything that dangerous was sure to be heavily guarded.

Suddenly struck by a thought, Bridget posed a question to Kollwitz.

“Kollwitz-sama, did the people who locked you in here say anything?”

“Hmm, they mostly spoke in a language I don’t understand. All they said to me was things like ‘Stay here’ and ‘Be quiet’”

General Strauss’s subordinates were probably speaking to each other in the language of Old Solyarg. Likely done deliberately to avoid leaking operational details.

Kollwitz seemed like someone from the northern regions of the Empire, so he was unfamiliar with Old Solyarg.

“Do you remember anything from their conversations? Even the smallest detail would help.”

Seeing the stern look in Bridget’s expression, Kollwitz folded his arms and hummed in contemplation.

“I try not to use my memory on things aside from lace and embroidery… but if it is the request of a beautiful lady suited to lace such as yourself, I shall try my best.”

Kollwitz closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

After waiting for who knows how long, Kollwitz suddenly opened his eyes again.

“Now that I think about it, they often said a certain phrase towards the end of their conversations. It might just be a greeting, but I believe it was… ‘Kupela Rasgraw Riwewol’.”

Bridget furrowed her brows.

The phrase “Kupela Rasgraw Riwewol” meant “Let us build the wall of separation” in Old Solyarg.

(The wall of separation? Does that refer to the current state of the margrave, where he is cut off within his own castle? Or could it be…)

A certain idea popped into Bridget’s mind.

Valmbelk on the western border, salt, Old Solyarg, the bad habits of the previous Emperor—the picture began to emerge once she drew the lines connecting all of the dots.

(‘Let us build the wall of separation‘… If that is their objective behind the occupation of Valmbelk, then…)

Once she arrived at the answer, Bridget was struck with dread.

This crisis would shake not just Valmbelk, but the entirety of the Empire.

And worse still, it didn’t even matter if Henrik wins or loses against General Strauss.

(There is only one way to resolve this situation and avoid the worst possible outcome…)

General Strauss had abandoned everything to rebel against the Empire.

Henrik was determined to defeat General Strauss and reclaim his castle.

Both parties had steeled themselves for a fight, and she needed to persuade them to stop.

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