---

“Thank you for your hard work, my lady. Now you’re a proper Official Knight!”

“Thank you, Commander… No! Thank you very much, Commander!”

“Hahaha! It’s great that you’re trying to act dignified, but I can’t help but worry that His Excellency, the Duke, might feel a bit left out!!”

At merely sixteen, soon to be seventeen in half a year, she’s still quite young.

Moreover, being a woman, there are indeed differences in physical capabilities between men and women.

Yet, their lady, Kaya Clausewitz, had become an Official Knight.

She now possessed the rightful qualification to step onto the Battlefield as a warrior.

‘The process she went through and the training she underwent were by no means easy.’

The Commander found himself sighing as he recalled the events from not long ago.

He himself had only achieved such a feat at nineteen, and that was a hard-won attainment.

Yet this sixteen-year-old girl had done it without appearing particularly strained.

She had already achieved great feats across the Eastern Region and held an official military record.

The evaluations from the knights she had fought alongside were almost bordering on worship.

Seeing her impressive figure right before his eyes left him speechless.

One day, faced with the unbelievable scenario, he had asked her, “Why are you so determined? What’s driving you?”

Kaya replied with an air of certainty, “I’ll be on the Battlefield alongside Brother Kael. And I will accomplish whatever he tells me to.”

To serve the Empire. To become the sword of His Majesty the Emperor.

Or perhaps, to honor the family to which she belonged. To make their name known far and wide.

None of the reasons the Commander had ever heard seemed to matter to Kaya.

Only Kael. Only her brother. To stand alongside him on the Battlefield.

Not merely as a guard, but to faithfully execute his commands as his sword.

If the war would take a year, she resolved to finish it just a little faster.

At that answer, the Commander let out a chuckle, yet upon further thought, he nodded in agreement.

After all, Kael was the next head of the Clausewitz Family.

He would inherit the position of the current Duke of Bertier Empire and become the new Duke.

It only made sense that following Kael with all her heart was the right thing for the family.

Thus, Kaya’s statement seemed, at least to the Commander, to pose no significant issue.

“What will you do now? Do you plan to submit the documents for Battlefield support immediately?”

“Yes. That way, I can be next to Brother Kael. Just guarding him isn’t enough. It’s better to ensure no enemy approaches him at all.”

Recalling the events in the Eastern Region, Kaya’s heart raced even now.

Who would have thought arrows could fly that far? That fateful stray arrow almost caused a disaster.

Thankfully, she had spotted it at the last moment and managed to deflect it. If it weren’t for that…

“I realized then, ah, I have no talent for protection. But I can wield a spear and sword quite well. So, I’ll help Brother Kael in that way. Just as Brother Kael needs someone to carry out his thoughts.”

“I see. I understand.”

This truly made her the most loyal knight possible.

It was a wonderful transformation. Kaya had always seemed like a strangely immature girl.

But then, at some point, she gradually became more composed and recognized her strengths and weaknesses.

And she learned how to utilize them as her greatest weapon.

As Kaya and the Commander returned to the Duke’s mansion, one piece of news awaited them.

“Brother Kael got assigned where?”

“To the Chief of Staff, my lady! Young Master clearly mentioned it like this!”

“Never heard of such a thing.”

“It’s a newly established position. They plan to mobilize other legions into the Western Legion and name it the 1st Legion as part of that endeavor!”

Upon hearing Alexei’s words, Kaya fell into deep thought.

It was a sight rarely seen, as she usually acted before her mind could catch up.

Then she headed straight to her father, the Duke of Bertier, in his office.

“Dad.”

Upon entering, Kaya immediately got to the point.

“War is about to break out, right?”

Though still far from adulthood, Kaya was a member of the Clausewitz Family.

She inherited keen insight and instinctive intuition regarding war.

Moreover, having even fought on the Battlefield herself, she was more than capable of noticing.

The Duke didn’t outright refute his daughter’s words.

“When things happened in the South, I held back. I needed to prepare myself more.”

“Hmm.”

“But now it’s different. I’ve officially become a knight. I can go to the Battlefield and fight now. Though I may be young, you also fought on the Battlefield at a similar age.”

Technically, that was a different case, but the Duke chose not to mention that.

He knew well enough that he couldn’t keep dwelling on the past forever.

“Have you heard that the Western Legion is expanding from five legions to eleven?”

“Yes.”

“In addition to the existing legions, reinforcements and support units, magic forces, cavalry, and knight units will all be added. In the future, the Empire plans to scale its military to an unprecedented size.”

“I see.”

“If that’s the case, then the Empire will need even more loyal subjects and warriors.”

The Duke, determined not to dissuade his daughter anymore, acknowledged her stance.

Even so, as a father, he couldn’t help but voice his concerns.

In the past, Kaya would have only sought out Kael.

But she had taken the time to reflect on herself and had grown just a bit.

“Dad.”

With a smile, Kaya tapped her chest.

“Other than Brother, you, Mom, and our family, no one can stop me.”

“…”

If anyone else had said that, it would have been labeled excessive confidence or arrogance.

But coming from Kaya, the Duke could do nothing but smile.

“I grant permission for your deployment as a Knight of the Clausewitz Family. I’ll inform the Ministry of War, and after that, you can take care of the rest.”

The war that was soon to come. The Duke of Bertier had decided to present the finest sword of the Empire.

*

As soon as the Emperor’s command was issued, two legions previously stationed at the national borders began to mobilize.

The Eastern Legion was already positioned in the South, so it gathered in the West with the others.

And from the North, the two most highly trained legions boldly descended to the West.

‘The original Western Legions 1st, 5th, 9th, and 14th, plus the reserve 20th Legion, along with the Northern 2nd and 8th Legions, the Eastern 7th and 12th Legions, and finally the Southern 6th and 13th Legions.’

All in all, eleven legions gathered in the West. Over two hundred thousand strong.

This was one of the largest mobilizations of troops in the Empire’s history.

By the way, the Empire did not formally declare war against the Dedorant.

However, this alone indicated how serious the Empire was and how deep their anger ran.

Just looking at the caliber of the legions mobilized from each border showed the significance.

The 12th Legion, which had performed greatly in the Pavilion Area of the East, and the 7th Legion, which had suffered a loss yet ultimately secured a decisive victory.

The 6th Legion had entirely devoured Benito’s main forces, while the 13th Legion had efficiently played the role of hammer and bait.

And then there were the 2nd and 8th Legions from the North, who frequently engaged in localized battles with the Demon Tribe.

Interestingly, all the legions had some direct or indirect connection with each other.

The 7th Legion and the 12th Legion had fought together in the East and South, just as the 6th and 13th Legion had.

The 2nd Legion, which he was first associated with when he accompanied the Northern Legion, and the 8th Legion that supported them afterward.

‘Did they set this up for me…? No way. It can’t be.’

I must admit I had done a few things that might give off the impression of being a strategist.

But I am definitely not a Commander. I don’t even meet the criteria.

It just so happened that lately, I had experience with real combat, and that’s why things turned out this way.

“Speaking of which, the Chief of Staff…”

The Chief of Staff. A position that allows intervention in any legion with some executive authority from the Emperor.

But that position was merely a temporary one.

Each legion has its own staff, who provide advice, so this was purely established for my benefit.

Now, however, an official department had been created, and a real position established.

With that, the likelihood of a superior being appointed above me had greatly increased.

In such departments, rank tends to be more important than expected.

Still, I believe the Emperor won’t place incompetent people in authoritative positions.

Perhaps some of the existing commanders have been allocated here.

I hope my superior is someone proper; otherwise, it could get a bit troublesome.

“Let’s see… the position I’ve been assigned to…”

In a few days, I’d be reporting to the Chief of Staff. I had to check which seat I would sit in.

While reviewing the personnel assignment orders, I couldn’t help but spit out the coffee I was drinking.

[ Imperial Chief of Staff – Kael Clausewitz ]

Imperial Chief of Staff? What is this? Is there such a position in the Chief of Staff?

Upon checking urgently, it turned out that it was a highly unusual position.

First of all, while belonging to the Chief of Staff, it would mainly be active in the Ministry of the Palace.

In other words, my superior isn’t the Chief of Staff but the Emperor.

If necessary, it’s a position that can directly provide appropriate counsel to the Imperial Family.

Also, I could act autonomously at any time upon receiving an Imperial Decree.

‘They didn’t merely make the temporary position of Chief of Staff into an official one.’

Ding! Congratulations! You have been promoted from a genius strategist to an Imperial genius strategist!

If you hear a sound like that from somewhere, it must be my imagination.

 

---