I Refuse to Be Your Enemy! Volume 6 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Color Illustrations

  Chapter 1: What the Thorn Princess Once Sought

  Interlude: What Can I Do for You?

  Interlude: And Thus Did They Meet

  Chapter 2: The Assault on Fort Nazant

  Interlude: A Sacrificial Bird

  Chapter 3: Battle on the Sestina Plains

  Chapter 4: The Thorn Princess and Her Memories

  Chapter 5: To the Royal Capital

  Chapter 6: The Final Battle

  Final Chapter: A New Beginning

  Side Story: The Happily Ever After Continues

  Afterword

  Bonus Short Story

  About J-Novel Club

  Copyright

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  Chapter 1: What the Thorn Princess Once Sought

  In dire need of a respite after our victory at the Battle of Eirlain, we returned to Delphion Castle for a time. It was directly south of our current position, so the journey only took three days.

  As soon as we arrived at the baron’s castle, we dove right into a discussion of our strategy moving forward. The generals, Reggie’s royal guard, and my own personal advisor—Cain—all gathered in the castle’s council room.

  “Immediately following the Battle of Eirlain, I spread the word to the rest of Farzia that Salekhard has joined under our banner, and the results have been everything we hoped for and more. We’ll have all the reinforcements we could possibly need. Several of the noble houses that had previously been sitting on the fence have offered to send us more troops,” said Reggie, flashing a small slip of paper that had been delivered to us by bird.

  “Thus, my plan is to have the reinforcements waiting by the Delphion border march west and capture Kilrea. Is our other batch of soldiers ready to row out into the lake?” he asked, turning to Groul.

  His knight nodded. “Yes. By now, they ought to have set out in the ship Llewyne left behind in Eirlain.”

  “Excellent. While we’re waiting to hear from them, we should likewise set sail and head straight for the royal domain.”

  “You certainly aren’t breaking them in gently,” remarked Jerome, the middle-aged commander of the Limerick troops, a hint of pity in his eyes.

  “Well, that was the basis of the Lady Spellcaster’s proposal.” Reggie glanced over at me.

  Fair. I did say we should work them to the bone to reduce their postwar reparations.

  “Besides, if we hope to placate the nobility over the events in Trisphede, we’re better off foisting the more unpleasant work onto them.”

  Of course, the “them” we were referring to was Isaac’s Salekhardian troops. We had arranged for them to make their way from Eirlain to the royal domain by boat. Their task was to wipe out the Llewynian forces stationed there ahead of our arrival. That way, we would be able to breeze straight through the royal domain and on to Sestina.

  Though I was the one who had originally proposed driving them like cattle, I’d assumed we would be crossing the lake together. The Salekhardians clearly hadn’t expected to be thrown into enemy territory all on their lonesome either, since I recalled them boggling at the orders.

  You’re merciless, Reggie.

  “Once we’ve arrived in the royal domain, we’ll march west from the border with Kilrea to join up with our reinforcements. After that, we head out for Sestina.”

  The elderly Lord Enister voiced his concerns, stroking his white beard. “Do you think it’s okay to leave our reinforcements with the Salekhardians?”

  Our backup saw the Salekhardians as little more than enemy invaders. He was probably worried that they would be unwilling to work alongside their former foes.

  “That won’t be a problem. I’ve asked a former Farzian princess, Lady Évrard, to come lead the reinforcements.”

  “Lady Évrard? Really?” I blurted out, surprised.

  Reggie smiled. “From the sound of it, the margrave has finally recovered from his injuries. Regardless, I was worried about sending him on such a long journey, and I heard that my aunt had been placed in charge of their new recruits, besides. Thus, I chose to hand command of the reinforcements over to her. The best woman for the job, don’t you agree?”

  “Considering her lineage and the status she used to have, the rest of the nobility will be in no position to defy her orders,” asserted Alan, son of the woman in question.

  Oh, I see, I thought.

  Beside me, the daughter of Lord Delphion, Emmeline, had sparkles in her eyes. “Lady Évrard, you say?!”

  Come to think of it, Emmeline had mentioned that Lady Évrard was something of an idol to her. No doubt she was dying to meet her.

  After that, we were briefed on the current situation in the royal domain and Sestina. The information had come from the man leading a force of 2,000 soldiers from Tarinahaea, the home of one of Reggie’s knight-guards. Evidently, the queen had not ordered the entirety of her forces to keep the royal capital surrounded; instead, she had split her army in two and dispatched about half of the men to Sestina. The soldiers were waiting there to ambush us, knowing we would have to pass through the province eventually.

  It sounded like Reggie preferred to leave the royal domain for Salekhard to deal with and head straight through to Sestina.

  While I listened in on the discussion, I thought back to the section of the RPG that took place in the royal domain—or more specifically, the mission to find the item needed to recruit the Thorn Princess.

  What’s Reggie planning to do about that? I wondered. Even with Lord Credias gone, there was no telling what the future had in store for us. Having the Thorn Princess in our party would definitely give us a little extra peace of mind.

  Whatever the answer, a week later, we would be setting sail from a port not far from the baron’s castle.

  ◇◇◇

  This was my first time ever setting foot on a ship in this world. Evidently, it was going to take a total of five days to reach the royal domain by boat. It wasn’t all that far, but the lack of a tidal current meant the journey would span multiple days regardless. Our soldiers were split up between the Delphion ships and the ship carrying the Tarinahaea reinforcements Reggie had called upon.

  Shortly after our departure, Alan got seasick.

  “Wow. You’re such a wild child that I never imagined you’d have trouble with boats,” I commented.

  “Who are you calling a wild—urp!” Alan gripped the railing and leaned over the side of the deck, deathly pale as he stared down at the surface of the water.

  “I just always got the sense that you were most in your element outdoors. It’s easy to imagine you tearing up the town, like, climbing trees or picking fights with stray dogs.”

  “When did I ever tear—hurp!”

  “I was mostly kidding about that part. Still, I always see you riding off somewhere on a horse, and rumor has it that you even mounted Lila after she’d grown a few sizes. I was sure you’d do fine on a boat, no matter how hard it shakes.”

  I’d figured his inner ear would have been trained for this sort of thing, so I was pretty surprised.

  “How come it isn’t getting to you?” Alan asked, shooting a baleful glance my way.

  Now that he mentioned it, I had to wonder the same thing. “Good question. Why isn’t it?”

  “It’s all that time you’ve spent riding your golem. It rocks back and forth even more violently than a ship. Now that you’ve grown used to that, you can handle just about anything,” posited Cain, who had come over looking for me. “So this is where you were hiding, Miss Kiara.”

  “I figured I might as well take advantage of the cruise and go get a look at the scenery.”

  “That’s all well and good, but let’s give Lord Alan some space. From the look of it, it’s taking everything he has just to keep this conversation going.” Cain gave him a sympathetic glance.

  Alan threw his hands over his mouth, looking the most ashen he had yet.

  “Let’s, ah, allow him to retch in peace,” his knight urged. Alan seemed to agree with that suggestion, waving his free hand at us in a shooing motion.

  He did, indeed, appear to be at his limit. Scolding myself for being such a busybody, I started walking off. “I thought talking might make for a good distraction, that’s all.”

  “I believe medicine would do the job better.”

  Chester walked over to Alan with something in his hand. Either a canteen or medicine, I figured. If that did the trick, he’d hopefully be feeling better in no time.

  Still, I thought, the way Cain interrupted my well-intentioned pestering and dragged me away really had an “older brother” vibe to it. I burst out giggling.

  “What is it?”

  “I was just thinking about what a good big brother you are to Alan.”

  A surprised look passed over his face, which quickly shifted into a wry smile. “I suppose so. I’ve had my hands full with a certain little sister as of late, but Lord Alan will always be that younger brother I have to keep a close eye on.” He then gave me a couple of light pats on the head. “In any case, sister of mine... I came looking for you because we received news I knew you’d want to hear.”

  “Huh? What news?”

  “It’s from the Salekhardian army.”

  It seemed we’d finally received word from Isaac following his infiltration of the royal domain.

  “They sent us
a message by bird. It seems they’ve landed in the royal domain safely.”

  Not only had they “borrowed” the armor from a slew of Llewynian soldiers, but they had taken Llewyne’s ship the long way around and pretended to be coming from the direction of the royal capital. The soldiers stationed in the royal domain had welcomed Isaac’s men into the port, swallowing their lies about having been sent in preparation for the Farzian army’s arrival. With their enemy’s guard successfully lowered, the Salekhardians had swiftly retaken the fort on the shore.

  I was relieved to hear that catching Llewyne off guard meant they had made it through with only minimal casualties.

  “The survivors will be sure to spread the word before long, so it’s a trick that only works once. Still, not many would have what it takes to pull off the first time. I must say I’m impressed.” Cain praised the effort, much to my surprise.

  When the lords or nobles they served were away, knights would sometimes take up command of their armies. It was a very different role from your ordinary soldier. Alan and Reggie would occasionally leave their troops in the hands of their knights, too.

  Cain was one of those potential candidates. That meant he knew just how difficult it was to mobilize an army and win a battle. And here he was, complimenting the man who had come within spitting distance of killing him once.

  “Is something the matter?”

  “I was just surprised. I think it’s pretty big of you to speak so highly of someone you hate,” I answered honestly.

  Cain flashed me a rueful smile. “I have no problem speaking well of those who pull their weight. This war against Llewyne isn’t one we can afford to lose.”

  I see. Basically, even if he hurts himself on a tool, as long as it does the job, that won’t stop him from either using it or singing its praises.

  “I’m more surprised to see how little you seem to resent him, considering he took you captive amid that mess,” he shot back.

  I debated how to answer that one. “It’s a little rough to think back on how many Farzians he hurt, or how he almost killed you. Still, it’s just as true that he’s bailed me out time after time.”

  I couldn’t write him off over one transgression.

  “When I heard what you said, I realized that it would benefit us more to work with him, and so I was better off putting all that behind me.”

  “Benefit us how?”

  “Thanks to all of Isaac’s hard work, you won’t have to throw yourself into danger quite as often. That’s a big win for us, don’t you think?”

  Cain blinked. “Does my safety... seem like a ‘big win’ to you, Miss Kiara?”

  I was taken aback by his question. “What? Of course! It means Alan and Reggie will be less likely to slip up, and most importantly of all, there isn’t anyone else out there who would be so good at predicting my next move and looking after me. Besides... if something happened to you, I might not be able to fight on, either.”

  Back when I was in Isaac’s custody, worried though I had been, I still had hope that Cain had made it out okay. That was all that had kept me going. If I’d been told that he really had died back there, I wouldn’t have had the strength to push myself so hard. Even with the Thorn Princess’s aid, even with Ada’s help, I would have written off the situation as hopeless.

  Cain gave a small laugh.

  “Besides, I was pretty mad, so I gave him a few kicks for good measure. If you had died back then, I would have done a lot worse to him than that.”

  “You kicked the king of Salekhard?”

  I nodded. “Uhh... how many times was it, again? I got one last hit in when Reggie showed up to rescue me, too.”

  I’d kicked him a bunch, and I recalled stomping on his foot, too.

  Ugh, now I’m thinking about the time he kissed me. Still, I decided to let him off the hook for that, since I knew it was just a ploy to make me realize my true feelings. Though, uh... hold on a second. Why is Isaac always so quick to throw himself under the bus and play the villain, anyway?

  We spent the entire voyage in that relatively laidback manner. Eventually, Alan got over his seasickness, and the rest of the trip went smoothly enough.

  Three days later, we docked at the port of the royal domain.

  ◇◇◇

  Isaac was waiting for us on the shore. He greeted Alan and Reggie first, then called out to me when he spotted me standing behind them. “Ho there, Kiara!”

  The ease of his greeting took me back to our encounters in Cassia and Fort Inion, and I found myself falling back into our old dynamic. “I’m glad to see you alive and kicking. You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

  “Oho, were you worried about me? Come now, I was the one doing the ambushing, so there was no chance I was going to lose.”

  “Still, there’s always the risk you could get hit by a stray arrow.”

  “I’m the king, lest you forget. My men take the utmost care to prevent that from happening.”

  Seeing Isaac laugh off the possibility so nonchalantly was enough to convince me. Reggie was always tightly guarded himself, so what he was saying checked out.

  Reggie clapped a hand on the king’s shoulder just as he was about to go on talking. “Care to explain the current state of affairs, Lord Isaac? I’d appreciate it if you would give us a tour of the fort, while you’re at it.” Technically he was smiling, but there was an ominous gleam in his eyes.

  “What’s the matter?” came Isaac’s smooth reply, a grin on his face. “Trying to keep me away from Kiara?”

  “Given your previous offenses, can you blame me?”

  His retort made my heart leap in my chest. I’d been doing my best not to think too hard about our history, treating it as water under the bridge... but hearing Reggie bring it up filled me with guilt.

  “Nobody likes a petty man.”

  “Then perhaps you should endeavor not to bring out the spite in me. Come here, Kiara.”

  Seeing as it was Reggie calling for me, I trotted over obediently. He immediately grabbed hold of my hand.

  “Huh?”

  Wait just a second! I didn’t expect him to pull that in front of such a big crowd!

  Groul didn’t seem to mind it, however, and the rest of the knights hardly batted an eye. Even Alan had ignored us to go talk to a Salekhardian general, so the only ones sneaking glances our way were the rank-and-file soldiers off in the distance.

  I was too scared to look behind us and see what sort of face Cain was making.

  Reggie, meanwhile, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. “Given my role as her keeper, it’s only natural that I’d have a say in who gets close to her. Now, why don’t you show us inside?”

  With a roll of his eyes, Isaac began leading the way.

  Reggie refused to let go of my hand throughout the whole walk to the fort. There were Salekhardian soldiers lined up near the entrance and in the courtyard, so I had to wonder what they thought when they saw me trailing a step behind him.

  This is SO embarrassing.

  Even so, I never attempted to free myself from his grasp. I wanted to hold on to him for as long as I could.

  Reggie finally let go of my hand once we had entered the fort. The moment he did, he leaned over to whisper into my ear, “Of course, if I really had my way, I wouldn’t be letting you go.”

  Perhaps that was what kept me from feeling too sad when he pulled away. It was at times like this that I could have sworn he could read my mind.

  The one whose reaction I’d been most concerned about—Cain—simply said, “It was an effective security measure. Best not to let it get to you.” Apparently that was how he’d chosen to interpret the gesture. Good.

  Once we were inside the fort, we jumped into a briefing on the current situation, followed by a discussion of our next move.

  Immediately upon his capture of the fort, Isaac had sent scouts out into the royal domain—still clad in Llewynian uniforms, of course. According to the reports of the ones who had come back, the former magistrate had been assassinated by an underling of Lord Patriciél prior to the invasion. The majority of soldiers who had been stationed there had been pulled to the west in preparation for the showdown in Sestina.

  The royal domain’s other fort—the one that wasn’t anywhere near the lake—had supposedly been occupied by a mix of Lord Patriciél’s personal army and Llewynian troops.

  “There’s one other area of interest,” Isaac reported, looking a little lost at his own account. “There’s a manor surrounded by a rampart, which Lord Patriciél’s soldiers have been spotted coming in and out of. With considerable frequency, might I add... well, until just recently. Oh, and that spellcaster you two slew? He dropped by for a visit once, too.”