The Legendary Spearman Returns

“You’re awful.” Icarus shook her head.

“Like mother, like daughter.”

“Did you have to go that far?”

“It was necessary.” Iruca shrugged.

“You can’t be serious. You just wanted to evaluate your new emperor.”

“I won’t deny that, but maybe becoming the first woman to rule Avalon wouldn’t be so bad either,” Iruca joked.

Iruca’s persistence worried Icarus. Iruca as a strategist was...

“You’re too soft-hearted, Your Majesty,” Iruca said.

“...You’re too cold-hearted..”

“I was taught that absolute level-headedness is a virtue for a strategist, not affection.”

Every one of Iruca’s remarks came off as cheeky to Iceline. She sighed.

“Your brothers might get hurt.”

“Many emperors had to kill their brothers with their own hands and overcame death several times to claim the throne. If an emperor is so fragile that he can’t recover from a small scratch on his heart...”

“Their lives might be in danger,” Icarus interrupted. Her expression made it clear that she was not playing around.

Iruca didn’t argue. Although they had divided their forces into two after much deliberation, both missions presented a high risk of death.

“And the family heads have their families to take care of, so they’ll most likely place their bet on whoever gives them the highest chances of survival,” Icarus added.

That was her biggest concern. When it came to organizing an army, the first thing that a strategist had to consider was efficiency. Infantry, archers, cavalry... Each family focused on training different types of soldiers, and even their knights accumulated their mana in distinct ways.

In addition, a strategist had to consider all kinds of elements, like the terrain and their enemy’s strengths, and dispatch their forces appropriately. Icarus wanted the Imperial Family to take the initiative and deploy Avalon’s troops as they saw fit even if the nobles might criticize them for it.

“I know what you’re thinking, but the nobles would resist fiercely. They might obey the order right now, but the Imperial Family’s reputation would be in the gutter. If that happens, even if Avalon wins the war, we’ll be busy trying to pacify the nobles while taking care of ordinary citizens. Worst-case scenario, they flee to other countries instead of going to the battlefield,” Iruca said.

“You think too poorly of the nobles in our country. Not everyone in Avalon is a coward.”

“I’m just considering basic human instinct.”

When someone was sad, they cried; when they were happy, they laughed. Fear made them want to run away, and terror would make them freeze. The madness of the battlefield ate away soldiers’ minds like a plague.

“Letting the nobles exercise their freedom of choice won’t change their instincts,” Icarus reminded Iruca.

“It will because ambition can transcend instinct.”

Icarus stiffened. She had to admit, albeit reluctantly, that Iruca had a point. Anyone who had tasted power would never be able to give it up. Iruca understood the nobles better than anyone else.

“Even if they were to defect to another country, their lives will be way worse than before because their hosts have no guarantee that they wouldn’t be betrayed in kind. Unless the other kings are crazy, they wouldn’t appoint such cowards to important positions. The nobles are well aware of that.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“No ambitious noble would give up the opportunity to bathe themselves in glory by the side of the next emperor,” Iruca said with certainty.

Icarus shook her head. “I understand, but you’ve disregarded the most important part.”

“Pardon?”

“Our chances of victory. The chances of victory in each of our two missions, to be exact.”

Iruca did not reply; this question made her uneasy.

“How will the nobles be divided between them?” Icarus prompted.

“...If you’re asking for my personal opinion...”

“Yes, I’m asking for your opinion, Iruca.”

“...Nine to one,” Iruca said, almost inaudibly. “Ninety percent of the nobles will choose Selim, and Kireua will have the remaining nobles’ support. Maybe the difference will be larger...”

“Is that what you think?”

“...Yes. Although Kireua has recently started to make a name for himself, it isn’t easy to change his reputation.”

The First Prince was born a genius and had proven himself a true son of the Martial God since his childhood. On the other hand, the Second Prince turned out to be a late bloomer. The difference between the two was obvious.

“You know all that, but you still want to send your brothers on missions that could get them killed?”

“I...” Iruca trailed off. After a long silence, she let out a sigh. “No matter what choice I make, I’ll always be a bitch to someone.”

* * *

After the private meeting with her mother, Iruca wandered through the Palace, letting her feet carry her where they willed.

“Hey,” Iruca said, stumbling upon Kireua finishing his preparations to leave.

Kireua tilted his head in confusion as he turned around.

“...Iruca?”

“Are you leaving now?”

“Thanks to someone, I’m in a hurry.”

“Do you have any hard feelings against me?” Iruca quietly asked.

“What do you mean? You simply did your job as a strategist. That’s all.”

Iruca instantly noticed that Kireua was aware of how immense a disadvantage he had. Well, there was no way he wouldn’t notice given how obvious the nobles were acting.

“...To be honest, I wanted—no, I still want Selim to be Dad’s heir,” Iruca blurted, baffling both herself and Kireua. However, she couldn’t stop talking. “If you want to resent someone—”

“I don’t.”

“...What?” Iruca jerked.

Kireua didn’t look surprised at all.

“You idolize Father more than the two of us.”

“Why are you bringing this up now...?”

“I think it’s only natural for you to root for Selim. He takes after Father the most.” Kireua shrugged. “Talent, appearance... He’s the Martial God’s replica in every possible way.” f(r)eenovelkiss

As someone who had heard all about the Emperor of Avalon’s stories and looked up to him, Iruca knew that Kireua’s personality was most similar to their father’s. She almost said it out loud.

‘None of this would have happened if you had Dad’s talent too...’ Iruca thought with a bitter smile.

Kireua’s fatal flaw was that he couldn’t use the spear. Joshua Sanders, the Unrivaled Spear Knight, was the living symbol of Avalon. What would people think if his son used the sword instead of the spear like his father? Nine out of ten people wouldn’t consider that son a proper heir.

“...You’ll probably have to travel across the Black Monster Forest with only a few of your closest allies,” Iruca mumbled.

“Like an elite group, yes?”

“You cannot take this lightly!” Iruca snapped. Much like the emperor, Kireua tended to downplay everything. “You’re not the Martial God, so you can die. Shouldn’t you take things more seriously now?”

“Does the situation change if I do?”

“That isn’t what I’m talking about—”

“You’ve worried about me enough.”

Iruca's eyes widened. She hadn’t realized it when she came here, but she finally realized that she was, in fact, worried about her brother.

“My mission is clear: I lead a special unit through the Forest and ambush the enemy. If it works out, great. Otherwise, too bad, and that’s that. You initially wanted to focus all of our forces on stopping the army coming to Arcadia because you knew the chances of victory were already slim, didn’t you?”

Iruca heaved a quiet sigh. Kireua was too sharp—he’d already figured out everything.

“I can keep on listening if that lessens your guilt, but... if you’re doing this because you’re sorry, I’m fine. Besides, we don’t have time to relax, do we?”

“...Yeah, it’s not like me to worry about someone else,” Iruca said after a long silence. She forced herself to sound cheerful as she approached Kireua and patted him on the shoulders. “I trust you, punk.”

“That’s it?”

“What? You want me to hug you?” freewe(b)novel.c(o)m

“Blargh.”

“Hell, I feel disgusted too.” Iruca distanced herself, goosebumps spreading down her arms.

Their disgust was genuine, but both Iruca and Kireua were smiling. They were siblings, after all.

“Hey,” Iruca said.

“What?”

“Come back alive.”

“That’s weird. Shouldn’t you say, ‘Come back victorious’?”

“I would have said that to Dad, but I’m not counting on it right now.”

“For goodness’ sake. Although I heard about fathers being a fool for their daughters, this is my first time seeing a daughter who’s a fool for her father.”

“Pssh—you look up to Dad more than I do.” Iruca chuckled dumbfoundedly. She meant it—she truly believed that Kireua held the most respect for the Emperor of Avalon among the three Sanders siblings. He had left Avalon to study abroad at such a young age because he wished to be a more fitting son for the Martial God so as to not damage the emperor’s reputation.

“Hate me if you want to hate somebody,” Iruca told Kireua again.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop acting like a strategist in front of me?”

“I’m a bitch, so this helps me feel better.”

“My baby sister does have one hell of a temper,” Kireua said with a thoughtful nod.

“What do you mean, your baby sister—! Phew. Alright. I might never get to see you again, so what the hell. I’m your baby sister.”

“Seriously? No take backs. I’m going to kill you if you bring up this older sister nonsense after I come back.” Kireua threw an air punch.

Iruca chuckled. “Aye, my older brother. Your baby sister has a gift for you. Would you accept it?”

“A gift?” Kireua stopped laughing, his head cocked.

“Go out to the gates. There’s someone there you’ll be quite pleased to, my older brother.”

“I’ll be pleased...?” Kireua was even more confused.

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