Alexa bashed her fist on the table.

  “What?! Are you serious?"

  “Unfortunately, Lieutenant General Eugene Ney bungled into an ambush. They were outmatched and outnumbered.” Max said. “The IV Corps is now in disarray and has been forced to retreat. It’s clear that the Second Continental Army is still capable.”

  Alexa sighed. Talking to this guy was so dreary, especially when he bore bad news today. She knew that the 2nd Group Army should have held back for now, but, according to officers like Max, Wilhelm ordered them to chase the First and Second Continental Armies aggressively.

  “This is why I wanted us to wait,” Alexa fumed, annoyed. “I need the 1st and 3rd Group Armies to arrive first. Then…then there will be no chance for Henry to resist. He’ll surrender.”

  “I seriously doubt that…” Max attempted, but Phoebe, who was standing on the side of their command tent, pouted.

  “Are you saying Lady Alexa is wrong?” Phoebe asked. “Have some faith, will you? Her plans have always worked. That, and there will be less bloodshed.”

  “Right. Because of Wilhelm’s orders, we just lost an entire corps to a stupid battle,” Alexa added, her annoyance growing. “I don’t get it. Doesn’t he hate losing? Surely, there’s no way that his strategy is just ‘attack, attack, attack.’”

  Alexa crossed her arms as she sank deeper in her chair. The past two weeks since the battle at the Rutherford Mountain Range were extremely tiring, especially since Alexa insisted on staying with the command staff of Battlegroup Clausewitz, which was assigned to cover the center of the 2nd Group Army.

  Since then, she has learned a lot of things about war. She saw how the soldiers maneuvered themselves through the central region’s diverse terrain, saw how they rationed their limited supply, and even had the misfortune to see a few skirmishes with the retreating First and Second Continental Armies.

  Most of all, she understood that Henry’s forces were having it worse. They were on the retreat, and they were losing a lot of men and morale while doing that, and they didn’t have an exhaustive amount of resources and territory as backup.

  To Alexa, victory was certain. So certain, in fact, that she wanted to sit this one out and hold on to their current positions until the 1st and 3rd Group Armies were ready. Then she could barge in to talk to Henry.

  With that kind of plan, she’d be able to end this war without further bloodshed. She’d give the rebels a benevolent way out after beating them numerically. It would be a perfect carrot-and-stick approach.

  “Oh, but my knight…my knight just wants to rush things too much.” Alexa felt her gloved hand shaking. “Does he think that my subjects being killed means nothing? Oh, Wilhelm, I’ll really give you a piece of my mind when we’re together again—”

  “You can do that today, in fact.”

  Suddenly, while Alexa was in the middle of her rant, Wilhelm entered her tent. He was in his usual coat and uniform get-up, unlike all the other soldiers and officers who were now wearing armor.

  Even Alexa and Phoebe wore enchanted leather armor for protection. Wilhelm, on the other hand, was strolling around with nothing but his clothes. At least during the Battle of Perlenstadt, he had an excuse for not being in combat gear, but—

  “Wilhelm! Do you have a death wish?!” Alexa stood up, slamming her hands on the table. “We just lost one of the corps from the Army of the Leine. They ‘overextended,’ and now they’re gone!”

  “I’ve received the report.” Wilhelm calmly bowed before raising his head with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. The rest of the Army of the Leine is now on the move to outflank the entire Second Continental Army.”

  Wilhelm placed a map on Alexa’s table before producing a fountain pen to mark the locations of the formations under the Second Continental Army and the Army of the Leine. On it, Alexa noticed that after destroying the IV Corps, both the enemy XLII and XXIV Corps from the Second Continental Army were lagging behind the retreating First Continental Army.

  Then, Alexa’s eyes widened. Two corps of the Army of the Leine were now ahead of the Second Continental Army, while one of its corps was racing for a frontal assault. That meant…

  If Wilhelm attacked…they wouldn't escape.

  “Now, I do understand the unfortunate situation about our troops who ‘stupidly’ charged ahead of the pack,” Wilhelm said, drawing ugly circles on the position last held by the destroyed IV Corps. “But now, I can force one of Henry’s armies into battle. Within a few hours, the commander of the Second Continental Army will be forced to deploy and prepare for an attack once they realize that the XI and XX Corps from our side are moving faster on their southern flank.”

  Both Phoebe and Max leaned forward to look at Wilhelm’s map, their ears listening closely to his explanation. Alexa felt cold inside as she realized what Wilhelm just did. She remembered playing that game called ‘chess’ back then.

  It seemed that what he did was essentially trade a piece to a foe that was desperate to bite back because they were outnumbered, a foe that had no choice but to take the trade because they needed a way to even the scales. Now that the trade was finished, Wilhelm was in a better position.

  “I’ll be there. I intend to finish off the Second Continental Army in a three-day battle, since I expect that they’ll put up a good fight.” Wilhelm laughed before turning to Max. “That’s where you’ll come in. You’re going to abandon the center and raise eastward to slam into the western flank of the Second Continental Army. That’ll cripple them for good.”

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  “W-w-wait!” Alexa spoke up, both angry and skeptical. “But Wilhelm, did you forget that Henry has another army up north? What if…what if he exploits the gap that we have in the center?”

  “She makes a good point.” Max touched his chin. “The enemy might attack my battlegroup too while we are en route to support the Army of the Leine.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I’ve ordered General Pascal to take the Army of the West and conduct a general attack against the First Continental Army from the north. That’ll pin them in place.” Wilhelm shrugged. “We’ve got the numbers to be aggressive and bloodthirsty. We’re going to be aggressive and bloodthirsty.”

  Wilhelm then pulled his map away from the table before rolling it.

  “In any case, as the Galenians say—‘Au Revoir.’ I’ve got a battle to personally lead. Alexa and Phoebe, you two…uh, where’s Adele? Never mind, you three can go back to the Monile Palace and wait for the good news. I’m taking my leave now.”

  That was when Alexa rushed and caught Wilhelm’s left arm before he left. She pulled him closer, pressing herself close to him.

  “Wilhelm,” her tone was sweet yet murderous. “Did you forget that I’m your master? You didn’t, right? Then why are you trying to ignore me? I’ve been writing a lot and talking to you using my ability, telling you what to do, but you seem to be deviating.”

  Alexa spoke to his ears.

  “Wilhelm. What are you doing?”

  He sighed tiredly as he looked back at her. He seemed like he finally dropped the act.

  “Winning.”

  “...Wilhelm.”

  “I’m not making a joke. This is the way to victory.” Wilhelm tried to pull himself away, but Alexa pulled him closer. “Look, I’m listening to your words. I’m just taking the most optimal route to your goals.”

  “Is there no chance that you’ll consider my plan?” Alexa asked. “Will you take responsibility for the deaths that you will cause if you do this?”

  “Alexa—”

  “All of you,” Alexa turned to Phoebe and Max. “Get out. I want to talk to him. Privately. Please.”

  Both Max and Phoebe looked at each other, bewildered, before agreeing and leaving. Once that was done, Alexa finally had Wilhelm to herself. Naturally, he sat in front of her, his head raised as if the previous outburst from Alexa didn’t faze him.

  Internally, she just sighed. Wilhelm was simply such a stubborn knight that once he was dead-set on a plan that he concocted, he wouldn’t back down.

  But, in this case, he was planning to go to a major battle again, one that could leave thousands more soldiers dead or wounded on the battlefield. It was bitter enough that he sacrificed an entire corps earlier. Worst of all, Alexa and Phoebe were unable to race there and save people.

  Now, he was about to do it again.

  “So why?” Alexa tried to keep herself composed. “Why do all this, Wilhelm? Why the rush? Why? Why? Why?!”

  “I know you’re angry, and I know you’re disappointed, and you’re probably thinking that I’m gambling with lives again—”

  “But you are!”

  “The thing is though, your cautious approach will lead to more deaths.”

  When Wilhelm said that, Alexa stopped. Then, she curled her fist. That was practically him calling her stupid. The audacity of this man. He truly was the singular person capable of butting heads with Alexa.

  But that wasn’t a merit, unless he had a good reason for it.

  “Explain.” Alexa’s tone turned cold.

  “Simple. Henry will not surrender. Not to words. Only to force.”

  “What?”

  “That’s all. That’s all I have to say, Alexa.”

  “I told you, once I have him surrounded and outnumbered, I can—”

  “He will fight tooth and nail once he has bought enough time while you parley with him,” Wilhelm explained. “Alexa, if you give him time, he’ll dig in, fortify towns and cities, and take advantageous positions. He’ll do all that while our army sits doing nothing during the negotiations.”

  Alexa impatiently tapped her feet.

  “...And how are you sure about this?”

  “Because he reminds me of you,” Wilhelm said, a little smile appearing on his face. “You’re a stubborn, ambitious lady, and so is Henry. Practically, you two ooze the same kind of charisma, the kind that comes from leaders who're driven by the desire to put their mark in history.”

  “W-what did you say? I am absolutely not similar to him at all!”

  Though, Alexa had to admit. Since coming into this world, she did have a certain…need to ‘prove herself.’ After all, she was the righteous heir to the throne. She better prove to everyone below her that she deserved being above them!

  But, well, she would never say that out loud. Not anymore. She wasn’t her old self anymore.

  But…Henry? Was he truly that similar to her? Alexa doubted that. All the interaction she had with him was so distant and cryptic that it was hard to figure out what kind of a person he was.

  How did Wilhelm know?

  “Look,” Wilhelm took a deep breath. “I’m not saying you two are 1:1. I’m just saying that you both exhibit the same tendencies that lead to both of you doing insane stunts, ambitious moves, and stubbornly sticking to it.”

  Insane stunts? Well, check. She did that a lot.

  Ambitious moves? Trying to gain the Holy Mandate was basically that.

  Stubbornly sticking to her plans? She was quite literally angrily arguing with her knight for it right now.

  Alexa felt like she was stabbed three times. Now that she thought about it, she practically mirrored Henry. How infuriating. That peasant, noble guy—he was so annoying.

  “Regardless,” Alexa lost her prior energy, slightly defeated by Wilhelm’s astute observations. “Wilhelm, please understand that while I’m all that, I also…just don’t want more people to die. I need to talk to him. I need to make my subjects who took up arms against me peacefully surrender.”

  “...Then let’s come to a compromise.”

  “Huh?”

  “Yeah. You’re coming with me to fight the Second Continental Army. Once they’re ground to dust, we’re going to try to negotiate. If it works, then great. If it doesn’t work—then I’m going to utterly crush Henry with my boot.”

  Wilhelm then offered his hand to Alexa. “Deal?”

  “...Fine.” Alexa reluctantly took Wilhelm’s hand with a small pout. “Deal.”

  “I know we can always work well together, Alexa.”