"It's over. Have they raised the white flag?"
"It appears so."
"Go in first and assess the situation inside. Tell the head of House Leily to wait where he is."
"Is it not necessary to bind him?"
"No need for that."
House Leily's surrender came not long after the reinforcements from House Darapont had been swept away in a single day.
Theodor had deliberately refrained from blocking their messengers from entering,
and had likewise made no effort to stop House Darapont's mercenary company from fleeing.
Capturing mercenaries was hardly worth counting as a military achievement, after all.
"Let's confirm the situation inside before we enter."
He knew it wouldn't be a pleasant sight.
Reports had already come in that people were starving to death inside the castle,
and that his own supplies were dwindling without any proper siege engagement.
A siege was, by its nature, the ideal instrument for bringing a war to its conclusion —
but the cost in casualties was steep.
And with seventeen thousand troops, it was difficult to commit them all at once.
"Grand Duke, the state of the castle is rather... dire."
"Then we finish this quickly and head back. May we enter?"
"The interior has not yet been fully secured..."
"Then we finish it even more quickly. We're going in."
The standard-bearer carrying the Grand Duke's Banner rode into the castle first.
The interior was nothing short of a vision of hell.
Corpses of those who had starved to death. Others who had died fighting one another inside.
Theodor rode in slowly on horseback.
No matter how he looked at it, the situation had already tilted so far that battle had been entirely unnecessary.
"The main gate of Leily Castle is just ahead, Your Grace."
"Yes. I know."
There was nothing more to add.
The war had already been decided. Someone had once said that the mark of a great general and a wise ruler was knowing when to withdraw.
By that measure, the head of House Leily was...
nothing short of a thoroughly foolish lord.
"The Grand Duke approaches!"
At a soldier's loud cry, Theodor was able to enter the hall of House Leily.
Had he come in peacetime, he might have seen it in all its splendor.
But now it was no different from the ruins left by war.
Shattered marble lay scattered everywhere, and decorations that had clearly been through a rampage were strewn across the floor.
"What a wretched sight. Would you not agree, Dorgon?"
"Indeed, Your Grace."
"I ought to take the seat of honor, I suppose — but I have no desire to."
"Shall I have a chair brought?"
"Nothing grand. Just find me something decent to sit on."
"As you wish."
He could not have taken the seat of honor even if he'd wanted to.
The highest seat in House Leily's hall had already been smashed to pieces.
Even if the place had been looted by outsiders, it would not have been reduced to this.
"The head of House Leily is nowhere to be seen."
"We found him hiding. We'll bring him shortly."
"Do that."
Dorgon had a soldier fetch a chair that was at least in reasonable condition.
Theodor sat and waited in silence for the lord of House Leily to be brought before him.
A man was dragged in, stumbling.
Behind him followed several people carrying an infant.
"Are you the head of House Leily?"
"Y-yes. I am."
Bound tightly with rope, the lord of House Leily kept his head bowed.
His clothes were no longer fit for a nobleman — torn in several places.
Had he tried to flee and failed?
"Tell me what happened. The inside of this place is an absolute disaster."
"Th-that... we made the mistake of trusting the mercenaries too much."
"You don't trust men who fight for coin."
Now Theodor understood why the interior had descended into chaos.
Mercenaries move for money. At first, they had fought for House Darapont's gold —
but once the North's Main Army arrived, everything changed.
The castle was surrounded, and no one knew when the North would breach the walls.
"The mercenary company tried to loot the interior, and our soldiers came into conflict with them..."
"'Conflict' is a generous word for what clearly happened."
"Y-yes."
Excuses were useless.
The mercenaries had had no real choice but to loot.
Death was close at hand, the soldiers of House Leily had been starving for weeks,
and there was always the chance of escaping alive — so they had made the most of the chaos while they could.
"I see. Well, that much I understand."
But it was not something that fell within Theodor's concern.
House Leily had raised its banner against the Grand Duke of the North and invited him here under the pretext of suppressing an internal threat.
Let us return to the beginning of this war.
The North had simply been minding its own affairs — it was closer to being dragged into the political disputes of the South.
The political advantage House Darapont had calculated was clear enough, of course.
If they could eliminate the North's influence entirely, so much the better.
And if not, they could at least keep it in check — which was also acceptable.
It was the sort of thinking ordinary men indulged in.
"Our losses are no small matter. Do you know what I mean?"
"I have nothing to say, Your Grace..."
"Because of this, our dealings with House Barth and House Kadla have suffered some disruption."
Goods that were meant to arrive on schedule had not.
There were penalty clauses for that, though the wartime circumstances had reduced the damages somewhat —
but to say there had been no loss would be a lie.
Interest rates would climb, and some degree of compensation to House Barth would be necessary.
Still, it felt like getting off cheaply, all things considered. Hmm.
"Even if I were to demand reparations for those losses, you wouldn't be able to pay them anyway."
"Your Grace! Please show mercy!"
"Mercy can be shown — but at what price are you willing to buy it?"
He could spare the man's life.
That was simple enough. Whether the man lived or died made little difference to Theodor either way.
If anything, this campaign had served to properly cement the road with House Barth — that alone was not without value.
But the arrogance of what the head of House Leily had presumed was beyond measure.
"You sided with House Darapont and showed far too little regard for the North. Isn't that right?"
"I have committed a crime worthy of death! Please, spare my life!"
"Now, now, Lord of House Leily. Listen to me. There is no reason anywhere for me to spare you."
When he thought about it, that was simply the truth.
The lord of House Leily had already bound himself to House Darapont.
He had once been close to House Barth, but that tie had been severed long ago.
The reason Theodor had not blocked the road was partly because it had been a matter decided by the imperial house — so he had let it pass.
"Mercy..."
"So tell me — give me a reason to keep you alive. There isn't one."
Tiresome.
The reason Theodor had drawn things out was simply to avoid casualties among the North's soldiers.
And to train Darmian's army, and to test their strength.
House Leily's domain had already been pacified by the nomadic forces under Darmian's command.
Villages that surrendered were spared.
Villages that did not were crushed without mercy.
"You have no domain left to pay tribute from, and however much gold you've squirreled away, it doesn't guarantee returns equal to wiping out your entire line."
"No! I can—!"
"One last question. Why did you not surrender sooner? Had you surrendered earlier, I might have let you live."
"Th-that was..."
"You trusted House Darapont too much. I understand."
There was no other reason that would have kept him from surrendering.
But the consequence of that choice was not glory — only death.
"Take him away. Take his head, and let it be known that House Leily is no more."
"Grand Duke! Grand Duke! Please, spare me! Your Grace!"
"I have no wish to hear any more."
The head of House Leily was dragged outside.
But Theodor still had something left to deal with.
The matter he disliked most — and one that had, with impeccable timing, begun to grate on his nerves.
"Where is the Traitor?"
"That is..."
A soldier hesitated, as though trying to say something but unable to bring himself to speak.
Dorgon was the same.
"Are you concealing the Traitor from me?"
"N-no, Your Grace! That is not it!"
Theodor raised his voice and ordered the Traitor to be brought before him.
A child began to cry.
A child of House Leily, perhaps.
"The thing is... the Traitor is already here."
"Who is it?"
"Th-that infant over there."
An infant cradled in a woman's arms.
A newborn, so recently born that one could not even tell whether it was a boy or a girl.
As the small child began to cry, the person holding it started to soothe it.
"What do you mean by that?"
"That infant is said to be Andrea Wintergard."
"You're not playing games with me?"
"I-it is the truth, Your Grace. This child is Andrea Wintergard."
Theodor stared at the infant in silence.
A newborn, barely arrived in the world.
The mother soothing the child caught his gaze and quickly looked away.
Wintergard? Who?
"Someone has made a fool of me. This child, a Wintergard? Who would believe that?"
"When the lineage is traced... it does appear the child is indeed of Wintergard blood. However..."
"That cannot be. From this moment, this child will cease to be a Wintergard."
The tension drained out of him.
The child's mother. And the others who had been brought along with her.
"Are you this child's mother?"
"Y-yes..."
"Choose. If you die, the child will live. But if you live, the child must die. What will it be?"
The choice before Theodor was simple.
All that was needed was to ensure this child would never be a Wintergard.
But that was a matter for adults.
His calculation had ended the moment he laid eyes on the infant.
This child would live its entire life without ever knowing it was a Wintergard.
"I... I will save the child."
"A wise choice. This child will be well cared for, for the rest of its life."
"Thank you."
"Good. Go."
And so the war came to an end.
"Send the child to an ordinary household and see that it is raised well. Not a single word about this child is to be spoken to anyone."
"It shall be done."