Chapter 107

The people gathered inside the evacuation tents were thick with anxiety. The sudden deterioration of the situation had shattered their morale, leaving them trembling in fear and stripped of their will to fight. They had heard the blare of the horn as well, but without knowing what had happened, they could only stand there in helpless panic. When Odelliana appeared amid the refugees, she addressed them with stark honesty.

“The city gate has been breached,” she announced grimly. “The enemy will be upon us soon. We must prepare exactly as we planned.”

The refugees, who had only just begun to relax after the arrival of reinforcements, went pale at the news. Some of the children and women broke down in frightened sobs.

“Pull yourselves together,” Odelliana urged firmly as she reorganized the lines inside the tent. “If we want to live, we have no choice but to fight with everything we have. Our families, our friends, our neighbors, our home. We protect them with our own hands.”

She moved swiftly through the camp, issuing instructions and rallying the people. Malena, who had arrived late, grabbed her by the shoulder.

“My lady, it is not too late,” Malena pleaded. “We can still leave.”

“If you are going, then go alone,” Odelliana replied coolly.

Malena fell silent.

“These people need someone to lead them,” Odelliana continued in a steady voice. “And I am the best suited for that role. I devised these tactics and led the drills myself.”

“But what can civilians truly do?” Malena protested anxiously. “The weapons we have are nothing but oil flasks, poisoned arrows, and a few traps. Would it not be better if we all fled together?”

“Even if I could flee,” Odelliana asked quietly, “where would they go?”

Blair had likely arranged a place of refuge for Odelliana, judging by the ship prepared in advance. But the refugees would be left to fend for themselves. Even if they escaped safely, how many cities would accept a flood of displaced people in such a brutal season? Their odds of survival were no better whether they abandoned their land or died fighting to defend it.

“You must think of your own safety first,” Malena insisted. “You are not the same as them.”

“And what makes me different?” Odelliana scoffed bitterly. “What am I supposed to be? The lord’s sister? The Northern Duke’s daughter?”

Her lips twisted in self mockery.

“I am nothing more than a cripple who was never meant to exist,” she murmured. “Do you think I am some noble being whose life is worth sacrificing all of theirs?”

Malena had no answer.

“My being a noble does not make their sacrifice inevitable,” Odelliana said firmly. “If they must sacrifice anything, it should be for this land that is their home, not for me.”

It was her home as well. She had no intention of abandoning it and slipping away alone like a coward.

She had not merely done odd jobs here. She had become the axis around which the people rallied. The sight of a disabled woman struggling alongside them had stirred many hearts. Watching her toil relentlessly despite her frailty had inspired the demoralized citizens. If she fled now, they would lose what little resolve they had left.

“In war,” Odelliana declared, her voice ringing with conviction, “weapons, numbers, and tactics are not what matter most. What matters most is the will to fight to the end. Those who are prepared to die will live. Those who cling to life will die.”

If the soldiers lost their fighting spirit, everything was over. Although allied forces were stationed nearby, their advantage was still fragile. At such a critical time, every person counted.

“I am not running,” Odelliana said resolutely. “I will fight to the end to protect the people I cherish. If I die, I die here. So leave, Malena.”

Though Knight Lelusha was dead, her spirit endured. Odelliana had resolved not to cling to life in disgrace. The breached gate was a disaster, but reinforcements had arrived. Compared to when she had first devised the plan, their chances were far better.

“If you remain, my lady, how could I possibly leave alone?” Malena replied at last with a weary sigh of surrender. In truth, she too disliked the thought of fleeing to save herself. She was a mercenary who had fought her share of battles.

“I will protect you,” Malena vowed quietly. “That is my duty.”

***

The barbarian invasion of Eisenwald began in earnest. The front page of the daily paper carried an exclusive report that Prince Jocelyn’s forces and Eisenwald’s garrison were resisting the assault together.

A week later, the first major clash between the barbarian army and the allied forces erupted.

The Eisenwald troops, lying in ambush in the Peristrom marshes, unleashed a barrage of archers and infantry upon the advancing enemy. In the midst of the fierce engagement, they deployed a mobile unit to the enemy’s rear. When the flanking force struck from behind, the battle ended swiftly. The barbarian vanguard was annihilated, and the main body that followed hastily retreated.

Of the three thousand strong barbarian vanguard that had entered the marsh, only about fifty eight survived. It was, in effect, a total rout and the second great reversal following the Battle of Osades Ridge.

News of the monumental victory spread rapidly. The bold tactics, which made full use of the terrain, were widely praised. Unfortunately, the strategy conceived in Odelliana’s mind was credited entirely to someone else.

“Look at this article, my lady,” Malena exclaimed, thrusting the newspaper toward her.

The front page was filled with lavish praise for Prince Jocelyn. He had even conducted a detailed written interview with the press.

“This was your strategy,” Malena protested indignantly. “The Second Prince stole your achievement.”

The article described how Eisenwald had committed only a third of its forces to the marsh and explained that the plan had not been designed for a full scale confrontation. Instead, it exploited the marshland to blunt the enemy’s charge and secure victory through a rear assault. Every accolade was bestowed upon Jocelyn, the supreme commander.

“So I end up spoon feeding Jocelyn his glory with my own hands,” Odelliana muttered with a sigh.

Yet she quickly accepted the reality. However resentful she felt, such things were common in the military. Superiors frequently claimed the accomplishments of their subordinates. She had anticipated this and was not truly surprised.

“Our objective is not to annihilate the enemy,” Jocelyn was quoted as saying in the final paragraph. “It is to protect civilians and hold out until reinforcements arrive.”

Odelliana snorted inwardly. Protect civilians? The self proclaimed saint had never once set foot in the refugee tents where those civilians were gathered.

“He is so underhanded,” Malena fumed. “Anyone reading this would think he directed everything from start to finish.”

“I suppose so,” Odelliana replied dryly.

“Does it not infuriate you?”

“It does,” Odelliana admitted. “But it is also true that we won thanks to his reinforcements. Even if it is unfair, what can I do?”

“It is unbearable,” Malena groaned. “We are the ones suffering here. The least he could do is mention your name.”

It seemed that Jocelyn was destined to earn glory in the great campaign against the barbarians. In her previous life he had built his reputation through Matthias. Now he did so through Odelliana’s strategy. The cruel irony left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Was he, like Matthias, fated to become a hero no matter what? Was he destined to be king in a way that even a returner’s interference could not change? The thought weighed heavily on her.

“My lady,” someone called urgently. “We have emergency patients. You need to come at once.”

“I am coming,” Odelliana answered, setting the paper aside.

Most urgent cases were sent to this tent. The gravely wounded were handled by the knights’ medical corps, so the patients here were generally less critical. With so many casualties pouring in, a newspaper article was the least of her concerns.

Inside the medical tent, Odelliana moved briskly from patient to patient. She applied medicine to wounds, set broken bones, wrapped bandages, and stitched deep gashes with steady hands. Skills honed during her years as a mercenary and knight made her the most capable nurse present. As a result, she was assigned the more serious cases among the lightly wounded.

“Let me see your injury,” she said calmly to a man with a spear wound in his arm.

The gash was deep. As she examined it, she paused.

The barbarians favored heavy jungle blades rather than standard swords. Their wide, weighty weapons left ragged, torn wounds. This injury, however, was clean.

“How did you receive this wound?” Odelliana asked lightly, masking her suspicion.

“I was struck while blocking an ambush from behind,” the man replied.

“That is unfortunate,” she murmured.

His explanation only deepened her unease. If he had raised his arm to block an attack, the outer side should have been injured, not the inner. She studied him more closely.

“Any other injuries?” she inquired.

“None,” he answered shortly.

In the chaos of combat, an attacker rarely stopped after a single blow. If the wound were defensive, his body should bear additional marks. Yet he was otherwise unscathed, and the cut was shallow and uniform.

More troubling still was the way he scrutinized her face and those of the passing medics. The staff all wore masks against infection, and most patients were too preoccupied with their pain to stare so intently.

A faint chill crept down Odelliana’s spine. She straightened.

“I will fetch more medicine,” she said evenly. “Please wait.”

She intended to alert the guards. Stepping outside, she called to Malena, who was carrying a bucket of water.

“What is it?” Malena asked.

“There is a suspicious patient,” Odelliana said in a low voice. “Bring the guards.”

“A suspicious patient?”

Just as Malena entered the tent with several guards, a piercing scream rang out.

Malena burst back out moments later and seized Odelliana’s hand. “As soon as the guards began searching, several enemy spies disguised as patients drew weapons,” she reported breathlessly. “There are too many. We must get you out of here.”

Screams erupted in a chain from the other aid tents. Without hesitation, Malena scooped Odelliana into her arms and ran. Others, grasping the situation, scattered in panic. Armed men and women poured from the tents. Only hours earlier, they had been posing as wounded patients.

Odelliana clenched her teeth, her face drained of color.

“How were there so many infiltrators?” she thought in horror.

“Find the silver haired, blue eyed crippled woman!” a man shouted.

Her hood was torn away, exposing her distinctive features. One of the spies pointed and cried, “The woman is fleeing. After her!”

Malena raced into the mountains with Odelliana in her arms. After scrambling up a steep slope, she slipped into a narrow gap between two boulders and hid.

“Why are they targeting you?” Malena whispered urgently.

“They must have discovered that I am the lord’s sister,” Odelliana replied grimly.

Nearby came frantic footsteps and desperate screams. At the edge of her vision, she saw a woman and child being seized. Despite their pleas for mercy, the pursuers swung their jungle blades. Heads fell.

“Kill anyone who tries to run,” a voice barked.

Forcing the horrific image from her mind, Odelliana drew a dagger and coated it with poison.

“When they get close, I will act as bait,” she said quietly. “You strike from behind.”

“What?” Malena stared at her in disbelief.

“They want me,” Odelliana explained calmly. “They will not kill me outright. Attack their rear when they are distracted and seize their weapons. A bow or crossbow if you can.”

“That is too dangerous,” Malena objected.

“They have begun searching,” Odelliana replied coolly. “All we can do is hold out and wait for reinforcements. We will be lucky if we remain hidden, but that is unlikely.”

Even in this desperate moment, her composure did not waver. Rather than fear for herself, she focused entirely on how to fight back.

“If you had been born a man,” Malena murmured in awe, “you would be as renowned as Sir Matthias.”

“I have thought the same,” Odelliana admitted with a faint, wry smile. “It might have been easier to be born a strong man than a crippled woman like me.”

The humor faded from her eyes as she peered ahead. Though she was the hunted, her gaze was that of a predator awaiting its prey.

Malena wondered at the source of her iron resolve, yet she too fixed her attention forward. A portion of the barbarian search party was approaching. As they drew near, Odelliana signaled to Malena and slipped from the crevice. She deliberately stumbled and collapsed onto the ground.

Hearing the noise, the barbarians snapped their heads toward her. Spotting Odelliana sprawled on the earth, they advanced.