Ariana read the letter sent by King Alexius many times before she finally kept the letter quietly. Her face didn't change much, apart from her lips showing a slight smile. Ariana didn't expect the struggle for the throne that she was afraid of would end up like this. Both Queen Melisa and Crown Prince Emilio have finished. As long as Prince Raoul managed to reach the capital safely, the crown would still fall into Prince Raoul's hands.Due to Emilio's coma, Emilio's supporters also began to waver with their choices. Most of them ultimately chose to agree with the election of Prince Raoul as the new crown prince. Of course, Prince Raoul's support group also had great influence over the election. With their help, Prince Raoul's position was finally secured.Ariana didn't really accept that Emilio had to end up like this on her second chance. However, Emilio's accident happened without her intervention. Ariana could only assume Emilio had bad luck on this second chance.“His Majesty's re
As per royal rule, Ariana would visit the palace first to receive her official order before going to the battlefield. Fortunately, ever since Ariana had intended to become a swordsman, her grandfather had asked someone to make Ariana light but strong armor. For the first time, Ariana ended up using the custom-made armor. Ariana's gaze softened, as she picked up her sword and went back to reading the words carved into her sword.“Be the change you want.” After Ariana mumbled those words, Ariana put away her sword again and prepared to go out and meet her troops. The knights of the Alison family probably knew her and respected her from the bottom of their hearts. But, ordinary soldiers don't necessarily do the same. Ariana has to be firm, even though she's the youngest commander at just 17 years old.With a convoy from Alison's territory, they slowly entered the capital's territory. The soldiers of Alison have always been known as the strongest of all solder in the kingdom. Not to mentio
“Lady Aria, I almost looked for you. All the troops are ready to depart. King Alexius will personally escort us out of the palace.”When Ariana came back, the girl was immediately approached by Valencia, who looked worried about her. Ariana quickly nodded. “Sorry to keep you all waiting. We're leaving now,” she informed her. With a special whistle, Ariana's horse ran on its own to approach the girl. Ariana patted her horse gently, before climbing onto her back smoothly.Before actually leaving, Ariana took the time to stare at the royal palace building for one last time. Her face was filled with complicated feelings, as she finally decided to refocus on the road in front of her. As a member of the Alison family, Ariana would automatically become the supreme commander of all forces. The girl split the line of troops to be at the forefront, while Valencia and Cornell lined up behind her, along with the Knight of Alison.With regular steps, they began to move out of the palace gates. Ari
Throughout the day, thousands of troops led by Ariana moved to go to the southern border. They passed through mountains, valleys, and various other terrains to move from city to city. If they were lucky to arrive in the city before nightfall, numerous troops would have a roof to stay over before continuing. But if they couldn't get to the city before sunset, they could only be content with setting up tents in a relatively safer place.As someone who never goes too far from her territory, Ariana learns countless new things along the way. Each time they entered a different territory, Ariana discovered that their way of working was also different from Alison's territory or the capital city. Ariana remembered well the characteristics of each region she passed through. With her experience in leading a large army on this battlefield, she would not be able to feel if she only read books in her large library.This time, they were forced to rest again in the vast meadows. After building the te
Unlike the northern border, which was surrounded by forests and high hills, the southern border of the Sigmund Kingdom was a dry area filled with sand in summer. With the sun hanging directly overhead, the heat seemed to burn the people who were attending the procession of burning the bodies of the fallen soldiers. They were burned to avoid the spread of disease that might occur because there were too many bodies in one place. The flames rose higher and higher, as one by one the corpses began to scorch in the flames.Several soldiers began to cry as their comrades burned in the fire. No one blamed their tears because the troops who were asked to guard the southern border were already at their final limit.For a year, they were forced to fight on the front lines without any additional troops. Even though they were called the Sigmund Kingdom's best army, faced with an opponent no less powerful, their army was also starting to run out little by little. From thousands of soldiers, now onl
While everyone was risking their lives to save the lives of innocent people, Albert who had managed to take the attacked villagers to take refuge in Alard Town screamed in frustration as the townspeople didn't want to open the gates for the refugees who had just arrived. They kept saying that if they opened the gates of the fortress, they too would be attacked like those people.“Duke Andrew of the Alison Family has given you orders! Quickly open this gate, or we will break it down by force!”Albert shouted in frustration as the people still wouldn't change their minds. Since they had not yet finished with the mission of bringing the residents to a safe place, many soldiers died to buy time on the front lines.“Hah, Duke Andrew will die because he cares too much for insignificant people. But, I'm different. I won't help those people for the safety of those in this fortress!”“That damn Lord!”Cale, the older brother of Valencia who was in his father's army, was completely furious when
After they made a journey that took almost a month, the troops led by Ariana finally saw the mountain that became the beginning of the southern border. Ariana's face was full of excitement, as she immediately ordered her troops to go faster.Soon … Soon, Ariana will meet her grandfather. Ariana clearly couldn't wait to tell her grandfather so many things. She also had to break the news of how Prince Raoul finally had officially ascended as a crown prince without any disagreements. She had to convey how hard she worked for Alison's territory, or how much Ariana missed her grandfather.When Ariana imagined her grandfather's happy face when he heard the news, the girl subconsciously smiled a little too. But, her smile slowly faded, as she saw the silhouette of a man on horseback approaching her at an abnormal speed.“Everyone, get ready!”The atmosphere of the troops immediately tensed when Ariana shouted which was followed by the shouts of the captains of the troops. Everyone waited nerv
No one knew how long Ariana was there after the girl was too tired to cry or scream. Ariana just stood there, until the girl suddenly stood back up after she finished hugging Duke Andrew's body. Ariana's eyes filled with pain, as she returned to put on her helmet to hide her emotions from everyone else.From start to finish, Ariana was unaware that Cornell saw it all. The girl was still trying to look tough, as she returned to the battlefield calmly.“Lady Aria ….”When Ariana had just returned, the girl saw another familiar corpse among many corpses her army had begun to collect to receive a proper burial. While being surrounded by Cale and Valencia, who was crying loudly, Albert's corpse closed its eyes as if he were asleep. A round wound hit his neck precisely. From the wound, Ariana could guess that the leader of the knights died from being hit by an arrow in the neck.While they were all grieving, the gates of Alard Town which were originally tightly closed finally opened again. A