A Distant Reverie

Chapter 69

Kobo woke up to the obnoxious blare of the castle clocktower. Her eyes shot wide. The ear-piercing sound instantly jolted her out of her restless stupor.

Hearing the emergency bell at this timing only meant one thing. The duke is on the move.

She immediately jumped out of her bed to dress herself. Within a few minutes, she had strapped on a layer of leather armor along with her military uniform on top. A dagger was strapped tightly to the right side of her hips—more for ceremonial decorative purposes and a possible emergency option than a serious weapon of choice. Her left side was strapped with a brass extendable monocular.

Reine was already in the corridors when she left her room.

"What's our status?" she asked as the two of them walked briskly towards the castle walls.

"The scouts spotted the movement from the forest. The duke's entire army seems to be on the move. They'll arrive at the castle in about an hour," Reine replied.

"Then we better hurry and get the cannons ready," Kobo said, "What about the rest of our defenses?"

"The main guards at the front of the castle are gathering. Captain Besar is positioning his men at the western barracks. The men at the eastern walls will be in position within a few minutes. The expedition team is ready to go.

Kobo couldn't help but smirk. It's kind of amazing how my most competent unit is a bunch of thugs commanded by a single mercenary.

She shook her head in disbelief. If she somehow survived this battle and managed to consolidate her power, the first thing she had to do was revamp the royal knights.

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Kobo winced as she ascended to the top of the castle walls. Heavy rain descended with a ravenous fervor. The downpour slammed against stone with the intensity of a stampede. Visibility was dreadful. A low hanging mist began to suffused across the battlement as the frigid rain condensed against the stone structures. In just a few seconds out in the open, her clothes were already fully drenched.

This is unpleasant.

She walked towards the edge of the battlement where the cannons were mounted.

"Please watch your step, Your Highness."

"I know," Kobo replied, slightly irked. Even now, her lady-in-waiting was still treating her like a child.

As she got closer, she saw men scrambling around in a hurry around the vicinity of the cannons. Panicked shouts were being exchanged over the violent pitter patter. Something isn't right. They made plenty of preparations the day before, so there shouldn't have been any confusion.

"What's going on?!" Kobo yelled. The cannoneers all spun around. Noticing her presence, they immediately saluted in reverence.

"Bad news, Your Highness," one of them quickly said, "All of the triggers on the cannons are malfunctioning. They currently can't be fired."

Didn't we just test them last night? Kobo narrowed her eyes with suspicion. She casted a glance at each of the cannoneers in attendance. All of them worn the same perplexed and distressed expression.

Kobo felt nauseous. There was a chance that this was just an insane coincidence borne from bad luck or incompetence, yet a part of her couldn't help but suspect foul play.

A lump rested in her chest. Her breaths were suddenly short and labored. She bit on her tongue, trying to suppress the panic that was rising to her throat.

"...What do we need to get them working?" Kobo asked, grimacing.

"All the primers need to be replaced. We have spares, but it'll take time to move the cannons off the battlement," the cannoneer replied.