I Became the First Prince

ink that Jin Katrin had lied to me.

“The Wyvern Knight did not lie.
His Majesty’s injuries occurred only after the knight had left.”

The commander of the palace knights started explaining the situation to me with a firm face.

He explained that, immediately after the First Imperial Princeps was killed, Leonberg and Dotrin’s armies had already begun their withdrawal, judging that they had already exceeded their intended purpose.
It was at that time that the emperor mobilized the elite army and knights serving under the imperial family.
The strength of the imperial family’s elite troops was not easy to face, and a fierce battle took place.

Nogisa then said that the Knights of the Sky and the King of Dotrin were able to open a way because of their awesome might, but a sudden change in circumstances forced the Knights of the Sky to fall away from Leonberg’s main army.

“Information came to us that the imperial fleet, which had preserved itself from the fire dragon’s carnage, was sailing, aiming to land an assault directed at the front lines of Leonberg.
If they managed it, our Eastern Legion would become isolated in imperial territory.”

The Imperial Army’s tactics to forcefully damage the enemy by blocking off their retreat after drawing them deep into imperial territory remained unchanged.
The strategy they had used four hundred years ago was still being used now.

“At once, the Sky Knights and the lords of Dotrin hurriedly fell away from the main army to stop the imperial fleet.
If I had one wish, it is that the Wyvern Knights remained with our force.
However, the Empire had already suffered enormous damage from the Wyvern Knights and was acutely aware of their existence.”

“It was a trap.”

“Your Highness’s words are correct.
Shortly after the Knights of the Sky left, the imperial offensive became even more intense.”

It was as I had expected.

“We didn’t expect that either, but it would’ve been impossible to return to the kingdom without ships, so we had to push through.
It was a terrible battle.
It is incredible that so many of our troops have returned alive.”

The commander of the palace knights paused for a moment, then looked at me with a face filled with complex emotions.

“It would’ve been impossible without his Majesty’s presence.”

Nogisa’s eyes became distant.

* * *

The Imperial Army had begun their assault in the morning and were constantly beating against Leonberg’s army.
Eventually, the situation became so dire that the king and the leaders gathered in the command tent.

“Sire! Now is the time to fall back!”

“We are surrounded by enemies! We can endure no more!”

The nobles were screaming.
Horror filled their eyes as they watched Leonberg’s forces surrounding the command tent greeting the Imperial Army in a violent exchange of swords.

“Not yet!” the king bellowed, dismissing the nobles’ requests that were so close to frightened screams.
“If we pull out now, our retreating rear will collapse! That’s what our enemies want!”

The king drew back his bowstring and released it.

‘Wheeik~’

The arrow flew toward an imperial knight who was battling a palace knight, and the imperial scrambled to lift his shield, blocking the arrow.
It was, indeed, a very agile response by one of the Burgundy Imperial Family’s elite knights.
The palace knight was also an elite warrior who had been born to wage war, however.
The palace knight did not miss the opportunity and stabbed his sword into the imperial knight, who fell to the ground as blood gushed from him.

The king again drew back his bowstring, but just when he was about to loose another arrow, one of the nobles blocked his front and shouted, “Sire! The enemies are aiming for your Majesty, not our retreating allies! Only your Majesty does not know this!”

“The most important thing right now is not the firing of arrows to kill imperial knights!” another noble screamed.

No matter how urgent the situation was, such remarks crossed the line.

“Stop talking!” came the angry shout of Count Schmilde Stuttgart, commander of the palace knights, who had cut down two enemy knights who were pressing against the line with a single stroke of his sword.
These nobles would normally retreat when faced with the cries of Nogisa, but not this time.

“If the king’s judgment is clouded, you should correct it, Count Stuttgart! Why are you just watching things unfold!”

On the contrary, one of the more powerful nobles came out and even rebuked Nogisa.

“Do you really want to die!” the old knight shouted, and the nobleman replied without missing a beat.

“I do this because I want to live! You still don’t know! If we go on like this, it means annihilation! How the hell can you not know it!”

Rather than arguing with the commander of the palace knights, the nobles were now shouting at the king.
The king had been firing arrows without paying heed to the nobles’ uproar; he now lowered his bow.

“Peh! We have to fall back!” shouting, “ Otherwise, we all die! all about to die!”

“No matter what, our main unit goes nowhere,” the king said as he looked at the shouting nobles.
He said so in a terrifyingly dry voice.

“What does that mean?”

While the nobles frowned, finding the king’s words to be outrageous, the sound of a horn came from far away.

“Sire! That’s the sign that Count Willowden and the Templars have all safely left the battlefield!” Nogisa immediately reported to the king.

“Are there any stragglers?”

“Most have left the battlefield or are on the verge of leaving!”

The nobles interrupted, unable to bear the tension.

“Now, all that needs to be done is for your Majesty and us to flee!”

“If we wait, we all die!”

The king suddenly laughed coldly at the panicking nobles.

“That won’t be so bad.” The king’s voice was heard with exceptional clarity, even amid the noisy tumult.

“Huh, your Majesty?” “What are you saying?” the nobles asked the king with grim faces.

“I said it would better for you all to die rather than living and harming the kingdom.”

“Sire- I am not sure what the hell your Majesty is talking about.”

“You men think you’re innocent just because you still have your necks attached,” the king said in a frozen voice.
“It would’ve been easy to take your heads as punishment for your sins, but then I would be creating hatred for the royal family in the hearts of talented young people who now live for Leonberg.
I have saved you in the hope that the same people who now support the Crown Prince would not bear the sins of their fathers for all their lives.”

“Sire is now the time to be considering our past-”

“Let’s save ourselves! I’ll die if I stay here,” one of the nobles shouted and turned to flee – but he couldn’t take a single step.
Nogisa and his palace knights had already surrounded the nobles.

“Rather than living and corrupting your children, rather than being executed, fight fiercely here.
Then your children will be treated as loyal citizens.”

The nobles started shouting in greater fear.

“Don’t you see the Imperial Army in front of you now!”

“If we continue enduring this, your Majesty will not be safe!”

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” the king said as he looked at the nobles.

“In retrospect, my reign has been one of surrender and compromise.
If my reign continues, opportunists like you will dominate Leonberg again.
I am not suitable for the kingdom of light that my son will create.”

The king wasn’t about to flee.

“All I could do for my son was to sail away with those who sat like festering boils upon Leonberg.”

A great fervor burned in the king’s eyes, though he was outwardly calm.

“I and all of you will die here today for the future of Leonberg.”