Several days passed.
I had spent those days trying to win Henri over, but I hadn't succeeded even once.
"I swore an oath of loyalty to the Republic."
He was the Republic's renowned general, and it seemed his loyalty was no ordinary thing either.
"Joining hands with the Empire means breaking that oath. I cannot become a traitor."
"A traitor."
Still, as they say, even the mightiest tree falls after ten blows. I intended to keep trying.
"General. What is a nation?"
"What?"
When every other method had been blocked, the topic I brought up was political philosophy—that which could easily be seen as tedious.
"What is a nation? Is it the Parliament building in Elancia? Or the red political thugs entrenched within it?"
However, because Henri was more deeply concerned about the Republic's current situation than anyone else, he had no choice but to listen to my words with care. His expression grew quite serious.
'Captivating Eloquence.'
[The skill 'Captivating Eloquence (Lv.3)' is activated.]
"What I consider a nation is different. A nation is the people living upon that land, and the history and order that must be protected."
The skill lent power to my voice.
"The revolutionary faction of the Republic is destroying that nation even now. Starving the citizens, driving soldiers to their deaths, denying tradition."
Revolution, nation, citizen, and tradition. Like the eloquence of a seasoned politician, each word cunningly burrowed into the ear.
"Then let me ask you, General. Is a soldier's duty to remain loyal to a government that destroys the nation? Or… is it to drive out that mad government and save the nation?"
Henri's eyes squeezed shut.
[Name: Henri de Dubois]
[Status: Value System Confusion]
A logical dilemma. The process of separating the object of loyalty from the government to the fatherland.
After a moment's hesitation, he opened his mouth.
"……Sophistry."
"History."
I spoke firmly.
"If you remain silent here, the Republic will vanish completely beneath the red banner. But what if you take up the sword? If you restore order, even by borrowing the Empire's strength?"
I rose from my seat and stared at Henri. Soon I met the gaze of the man who had opened his eyes.
"History will record you not as a traitor, General, but as a hero who made a decision to save the nation."
[Redefining the target's convictions.]
[Twisting the direction of loyalty from 'regime' to 'nation'.]
His pupils shook.
'A decision to save the nation.'
That word swirled in his mind. Not a lackey of the Empire, but a liberation army freeing the fatherland from an incompetent government.
It was a plausible justification. Because it was the very justification he needed most—the one that could rationalize his betrayal.
The eyes of Sidney, who had been attending by my side, narrowed.
*
On the final day, I called Henri not to the reception room, but to my office.
Two objects rested atop my desk.
One was the worn command baton Henri had used.
The other was a crisp new uniform.
Not the gray uniform of the Imperial Army, but the blue uniform of the Republic. However, a new epaulet was attached to the shoulder.
'BC Republican Corps (Corps République BC)'
So it was written on that epaulet.
"Choose."
I urged him, checking my watch.
"There is no time. Even now in Elancia, your former subordinates are being executed. The Fortress of Saint-Denis will soon be isolated as well."
"The Fortress of Saint-Denis…."
"If you do not step forward, the Republican soldiers defending the fortress will resist to the end and be reduced to ashes by Imperial artillery."
"……."
"But if you put on that uniform."
I pointed to the new uniform.
"A single word from you can open the fortress. You can save tens of thousands of soldiers and lead them in a march on Elancia."
Henri reached out with a trembling hand. His fingertips hovered between the worn baton and the new uniform.
The end of the conflict.
"……Promise me."
He pushed aside the worn baton and picked up the new uniform.
"The Imperial Army… must remain not an occupying force, but a liberation army. You must respect the sovereignty of the Republic."
"I swear upon the name of His Imperial Majesty."
Of course, that sovereignty would be that of a puppet government tailored to the Empire's tastes.
Henri slowly put on the uniform. An Empire-style epaulet on the shoulder. But on the chest was pinned the tricolor of the Republic—a bizarre military uniform.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Henri de Dubois]
[Affiliation: BC Republican Corps]
[Status: Resolved, Self-Rationalization Complete]
I smiled and saluted him.
"Loyalty. It is an honor to serve alongside you, Your Excellency."
The red dot on the [Minimap] had changed to green.
*
At the same time.
On the front lines of the defense of Elancia, at the Saint-Denis Fortress command center.
"Commandant, the Imperial Army is tightening the encirclement."
Major General Louis raised his binoculars as he listened to the staff officer's report.
Beyond the fortress walls, black dots densely filled the horizon along the perimeter. It was an Imperial armored division.
'Max Jaeger… Falkenheim….'
Major General Louis bit his lip.
The very men who had annihilated the 2nd Corps led by his classmate and friend, Lieutenant General Henri de Dubois, in mere days were just over there.
"Is artillery preparation complete?"
"Yes! The moment the enemy enters range, three hundred fortress guns will spit fire!"
The staff officers answered with grim expressions.
Major General Louis nodded, but a corner of his heart was heavy.
It was an unwinnable battle.
The soldiers' morale had long since hit rock bottom. Most terrifying of all was not the enemy's shells.
[Your wife at home is starving. The revolutionaries are targeting your daughter.]
[The Empire guarantees your pay. Throw down your guns and return home.]
Leaflets scattered by Imperial airplanes carpeted the bottom of the trenches. The soldiers were stuffing the leaflets into their pockets, avoiding the officers' eyes.
'The rear has collapsed. What use is there in holding out here?'
Major General Louis let out a sigh.
It was then.
"Commandant! Something… is coming out of the enemy camp!"
The urgent shout of an observer.
Major General Louis raised his binoculars again.
The Imperial formation split, and a single tank rolled forward. It was a tank with its gun barrel turned backward and a white flag flying.
And atop that tank was attached a bizarre structure—a grotesque tangle of house-sized loudspeakers.
"What is that? Some kind of new weapon?"
The staff officers murmured.
"Shall we open fire?"
"Wait. They're flying a white flag."
Major General Louis raised a hand to stop them.
The tank approached right up to the fortress's effective range and stopped.
Zeeeeng—
A noise of electric current flowed from the loudspeaker. It was a roar so loud it seemed the entire fortress would lift off the ground.
[Ah, ah. Mic check. One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three….]
A young man's voice.
Playful, yet strangely captivating.
Major General Louis's brow furrowed.
'That voice….'
It couldn't be.
[Republican officers and soldiers of Fort Saint-Denis. Good day. I am Lieutenant Colonel Max Jaeger, Imperial Army Jaeger Battle Group Commander.]
The loudspeaker's sound reverberated through the fortress's thick concrete, burrowing into the ears of the soldiers taking cover behind it.
[The weather is fine, so it's a bit of a shame to spill each other's blood, no? So I've brought a very special guest.]
Static.
Mixed with noise, the voice changed.
[…Louis. Can you hear my voice?]
"……!"
Major General Louis nearly dropped the binoculars he was holding.
That voice was all too familiar. A comrade he had trained with since military academy and traversed battlefields alongside.
[It's me, Henri. I'm alive.]
It was Lieutenant General Henri de Dubois, who was said to have been taken prisoner at Soissons.
[There isn't much time. Even now, Elancia is in chaos. So listen well to my words, and make the right judgment.]
But what he was about to say was no mere greeting.
[Where are you aiming your guns? At the mobs of Elancia who starve us and threaten our families? Or… at the Imperial Army who promises us bread and order?]
What he was trying to say was all too clear.
[I have made my decision. To spill no more meaningless blood. From today… I have joined hands with the Empire to drive out the red rats gnawing at our fatherland.]
A murmur spread like waves. Republican soldiers crouched in the trenches looked at one another's faces.
Henri de Dubois. The Republic's war hero. He had betrayed them?
Inside the fortress command center, Major General Louis's hands trembled.
"Henri… you really…."
Through the binoculars, Henri standing atop the tank was plainly visible. He wore an unfamiliar uniform, but those eyes were those of the old friend he knew.
[Louis! Can you hear me! You know well what the ones sitting in Elancia are doing even now! My estate has burned, and my family has been driven to the streets!]
A cry verging on a scream.
[What we must protect is not the regime! It is the citizens! My soldiers, and your soldiers!]
Major General Louis closed his eyes.
The face of a fellow officer executed last month flashed through his mind. People dragged to the Revolutionary Tribunal, branded as reactionaries, vanishing as dew upon the execution grounds.
And the eyes of comrades who clutched their starving bellies and looked at him.
'So you chose that path, my comrade.'
It wasn't that he couldn't understand Henri's choice.
But the Fortress of Saint-Denis was the final defensive line protecting Elancia.
And he was the final shield defending the fatherland.
"Do not waver!"
Louis shouted into the loudspeaker. His voice resounded throughout the fortress.
Bang! Ba-bang!
Warning shots flew from the fortress. Dirt sprayed up in front of the Imperial tank.
"A stubborn bastard."
Max Jaeger lowered his field glasses and clicked his tongue.
Henri, standing beside him, shook his head with a solemn expression.
"Louis… is an obstinate friend. He believes a soldier lives and dies by orders—a true soldier."
"A true soldier."
What a pain. Max Jaeger clicked his tongue again.
Why were all of Henri de Dubois's friends of that sort? Men who fed on conviction rather than money or honor. The most difficult type to deal with.
"What shall we do, Lieutenant Colonel? Shall we push through?"
Major Frederica asked over the radio. She had positioned herself on the fortress flank, ready to maneuver at a moment's notice.
"No. Wait."
He shook his head.
"They're on the edge of a cliff now. Even if we don't push, they'll fall on their own."
Conviction? Fine.
But what ultimately sustains that conviction is the fatherland one seeks to protect. That is, the entity called the state. When that state betrays you, can Major General Louis truly endure?