I Grabbed the Tyrant’s Heart - Chapter 226
“You say the Southern Army attacks every day? Wow, the Southern Empire must really have a large population.”
If there were no rivers or mountains, they would have pushed in long ago.
Thankful for the terrain, I gathered my things and moved to the next room.
“Euseniel.”
“Ung? Um.”
Tess, who had followed me, started kissing my cheek. The soft, gentle touch made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
“Are you really going to leave? Huh?”
“That’s my room over there.”
“You slept soundly in my arms all night.”
“Enough! Let’s go! We need to head to the meeting! If you don’t go, I’ll go by myself!”
When I woke up, I was in Tess’s arms!
It wasn’t unusual, but in the midst of everything, Tess was the only one dressed. I wanted to ask why he hadn’t dressed me too, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, remembering how peacefully he was sleeping.
After I had a little breakfast, I started nagging him, and he just laughed. His round, sparkling eyes were so beautiful that my cheeks flushed.
For a while, my routine was similar.
Whenever the Southern Army invaded, I unleashed offensive magic and assisted the Grand Wizard in casting defensive spells.
“The strength of the offensive magic seems to have changed over the last few days.”
The offensive magic had escalated to a whole new level compared to the day I arrived. The range had widened, and it became powerful enough to make the Grand Wizard stagger while trying to block it.
“It looks like they’ve reinforced their wizards.”
We had decided to add more high-level wizards on our side, but it seemed the enemy had beaten us to it.
“I suspect they might be feeling threatened by Lady Hardland’s magic.”
General Panet recounted the reports he had received. There were many injuries and a significant number of casualties, but thankfully, none of the names I recognized appeared on the death list.
“As for Sir Bonart, he sustained an arm injury and will be unable to fight for a few days.”
However, the situation was still not good.
General Panet’s expression, as well as those of the surrounding people, were not in good shape.
“Recently, the frequency of magical attacks has increased, resulting in considerable damage. Many of the commanders have been injured and will also be unable to fight for a while.”
“We should deploy the reserves.”
“Of course, but…”
After a rather long silence, General Panet finally spoke.
“Your Majesty, we should let Lady Hardland participate in the battle.”
“…”
“Morale has dropped.”
Tess remained silent.
“Your Majesty, I’m not suggesting that Lady Hardland stay on the battlefield indefinitely. Just the fact that Your Majesty’s fiance has appeared in combat will boost the soldiers’ morale.”
“…”
“Compared to the message sent by the Chancellor, there are no internal supporters other than the ones Lady Hardland has informed us about. We continue to feed disinformation to the Southern Empire’s spies.”
“General.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The two men showed no sign of backing down. I lightly shook the hand of the man beside me.
“I’m going out.”
His dark eyes were fixed on me.
“I won’t get hurt. You know, I’m Euseniel Hardland.”
“Euseniel.”
“Given the situation, we’ll soon have to issue additional conscription orders, right? That means at least one person from each family will be summoned. In the Hardland family, it would be me.”
Tess stubbornly kept his mouth shut.
“If I’m going to the battlefield anyway, I might as well think of it as leaving a little early.”
The people around us watched with anxious eyes.
It felt as if Tess could explode at any moment.
I understood their concern. Tess was far more on edge than I had anticipated, barely managing to contain himself from losing his rationality and lashing out.
I could almost see the bubbling lava brewing from deep below.
“You’re my fiance. You’re going to be the future Empress!”
“Which is why I have to go.”
In stark contrast to Tess’s rare loud outburst, I replied quietly.
“The Emperor’s fiance, the eldest daughter of the founding noble Hardland. Who better to boost the fallen morale of the troops?”
“I’d rather increase the number of magical attacks instead.”
“Your Majesty, isn’t that something we should keep hidden until the end!”
Tess, desperate to stop my participation, suggested alternatives, but the General pushed back.
“And revealing your presence in front of the soldiers is more effective for boosting morale than using magic.”
General Panet didn’t seem unaware of Tess’s temperament, but seeing him so adamant seemingly meant that our military losses must have been substantial recently.
“You know that the longer this drags on, the worse it gets for us, Your Majesty. Duchy Flora, which is friendly with the Southern Empire, has announced they will stop grain exports.”
“From Duchy Flora?”
“Yes. At this rate, we’ll have to invade other Southern countries to secure food supplies.”
If Tess steps in, the Emperor of the Southern Empire will likely intervene too. Since both of them are said to be equally powerful, it would just lead to another battle of numbers.
We need to find a reason for the Southern army to step onto our land and strike first.
“I’ll go.”
I raised my chin and declared and Tess swept his face. General Panet seemed somewhat relieved and his shoulders relaxed.
“Can you use magic while moving?”
“Uh… yes.”
During his brief stay, Ver had pushed me relentlessly. Since I wouldn’t need to memorize any spells, it should be second nature to cast magic while riding, right?
Did he foresee all of this?
“I can, but I’ve never used large-scale magic before. So, I’d appreciate your assistance, just in case.”
“Understood. I’ll have a high-level wizard on standby in case you need help.”
Now that I think about it, Weathering should be here as well.
Weathering, Ethyl, Ruby… it’s the first time I’ve seen all these familiar faces outside of the party.
I was suddenly reminded of how many people are mobilized for war.
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