The Human Saint is Bored, so I was Summoned to Another World

The Amaranthine Civil War (Part 2)

Watching those scenes from the castle's 'war room' made the hairs on my skin stand. The air of anticipation for something dreadful was high, and we could hear the panic that was slowly spreading throughout the population inside the city proper.

"..."

Well, it's good that they were alert and prepared. But I'm wondering if we could still get out of this city in time to reach the border before the rebel army arrived to besiege this place. After all, they've been busy fighting with the royal army back at the field of mediation.

"What, Sir Kuro? Do you think it's over already?" I heard the Duke asked me.

Did I just air my thoughts?

"Yes, you did. Are you alright with your head?" he answered.

I had no reply to that. Of course, I didn't know the exact numbers of their armies, so I won't know how large their forces were.

"Those were just some of the nobility's soldiers, gathered so that we would have our armed escorts. However, the other armies were sprawled across the Braunhauer lands in their own camps, waiting for the time they'd attack. The mercenary groups some other nobilities hired were excluded from my number."

"Wow..." Listening alone to the Duke's explanation was enough to tell me that the nobility's forces were overwhelmingly large.

Maddie then took a map and gave it over to him, "Your Excellency, if it's okay with you, can we ask about the disposition of the noble armies?"

"Your Holiness, at the present, the noble alliance had assembled their individual forces to prepare for the assault of the capital, should the negotiations collapse."

"And it collapsed." Maddie reiterated.

"That Stefan..." the Duke uttered in spite, "I trusted him with everything, and yet he did this..."

"There's no use in crying over something that already happened, Your Excellency."

"Y-Yes..." the Duke, though he was taken aback a little, continued, "If my memories would serve me well, the lords of the Kistral, Lascerny, Havenna, Beregnon, Nejar, and Mattevi had already mustered their armies and is marching to surround the city of Amaranth, before the negotiations put our preparations to a halt. However..."

He drew a few more circles on the map.

"The Marsh Lords to the southwest and the port city lords to the southeast are also moving in to reinforce the first six nobles in choking the royal lands. The noble alliance committed at least 25,000 men for this war, Your Holiness, and the Ban of Kistral also made promises so he could gain help from the outside."

"'Help from the outside'?"

"To be honest, I didn't ask him about that. We're on the verge of conflict, and so any kind of help to our cause is welcome. However, now that this conflict has begun, they've begun moving against the royal capital."

Maddie, Lily, and I exchanged doubtful looks.

"Heh...looks like the prince pissed a lot of nobles, huh?" I mindlessly muttered.

Everyone's attention fell on me. I quickly apologized and retreated to my seat.

"My supporters were cut-off from our royal fortress here in Amaranth." the Crown Prince admitted, "They were concentrated at the western fiefs of the kingdom, and to reach us, they'd had to run across the lands owned by the hostile nobility."

"So, what you're saying is..."

"We're surrounded." it was Lily who dropped the inconvenient truth about our situation.