Sovereign

“The new Defense Minister, Archduchess Pristina Dubois arrived at the City of Halia today by air. A press conference was called this morning in front of her damaged estate in the city. She declared her disappointment for the Armed Forces’ failed counteroffensive this week, and declared that she will be taking, ‘further extensive measures’ herself to ‘finally kick off the rebel scum from the Grand Duchy’. The Archduchess is now rumored to be planning to take control of JTF-Ludendorf, away from the enigmatic new face of the Queen’s leadership - Major William Porter.”

- The Arcane Updates

+++

“Regardless of what you say, Amelie, you will have to face her.”

“I still don’t like it. She’s almost as bad as Heindhöff.”

“Granted, I suppose she’s a raving bigot as well, but, she shouldn’t be that bad.”

“William, you have no idea what that woman believes in.”

“In what? Looking down on us men like we’re insects? Sorry, that’s just business as usual for me.”

“I mean…I suppose it’s true that those beliefs are common in the high nobility, but…”

“But what?”

“I still find myself uncomfortable when I see her.”

William chuckled to himself as he took another turn. The Archduchess wasn’t exactly the paragon of human decency, and thus, he would not be surprised if she ever tried to subvert the throne just to take it from Amelie. After all, House Dubois had a strong and legitimate claim to the throne, and everyone practically expected that she would absolutely be crowned as the Queen should Amelie or Alice somehow find themselves killed.

Unless Albert was somehow allowed to be crowned as an actual King, which was never going to be possible. If Amelie was gone without an heir, and Alice was gone, and the reformist dynasty of House Ludendorf was gone, then men would never rally behind Albert to turn him into a King. Most men were hardcore Republicans. Only women believed in the monarchy.

They, and, William even, would only rally behind Albert in an emergency if he created a Republican government. If Amelie and Alice died, it would be the end of the Orlish throne. Not even the rest of the loyalists of the OAF would side with the Archduchess if Amelie was gone. The only reason they fought for the crown after all was her promises of reform, and the fact that the NRF was too extreme.

Remove Amelie, and the entire Royalist cause would fracture. Which was what William suspected was the main reason the recent assassination attempt was carried out. To remove her.

Amelie understood the situation much the same. While she would like to be braver to lead closer to the front, she recognized how much of a disaster it would be if she died. Which was why she also felt a bit uncomfortable about the presence of the Archduchess.

She wasn’t sure about that woman’s loyalties. She wasn’t sure if she wouldn’t try anything drastic to “take the throne” from an “inadequate monarch”.

But, I still have to meet her. She’s the new Defense Minister. This means she’s in charge of the Royal Guard, all of our intelligence agencies, and technically the Armed Forces too.

However, of course, the Armed Forces would never let the new Defense Minister, a female aristocrat lord over them. Much like how the Royal Guard haughtily refused to follow the former Defense Minister’s directives on how they should act. The two branches were practically operating independently, except when forced on joint operations.

Just like JTF-Ludendorf. Even JTF-Ludendorf saw nothing but strenuous cooperation between local RGO and OAF units. Amelie sighed about it. She was in a civil war, and those under her still struggled to stay united. She wondered if the Provisional Government was the same. Were they also having stupid interservice rivalries and power struggles inside?

She didn’t know.

“Well, don’t worry, I’m sure you can handle it,” William said as they made their final pass toward the meeting place.

“I’m sure of it. With you by my side, I’m sure we can do it.”

She smiled at William. He may have failed her for some time, but, at this point, she already found him as a close confidant, advisor, and her most trusted military officer, outside of Albert himself. Amelie was sure that William could retain control of JTF-Ludendorf, even if the Archduchess demanded it from him. After all, she was her mastermind in the many battles fought for the Royal Capital. Surely he would still be reliable in a verbal spar with some snobby rich aristocrat.

“Sure…I know that look. That’s the look of desperate optimism.”

Amelie shook her head.

“It’s not! Seriously, I trust you to take care of this!”

“This was supposed to be your job.”

“I’m sure of it!”

+++

He wasn’t.

William was soundly defeated by the Archduchess’ stern chastisement. So much so that at this point, Amelie was already preparing herself to defend him.

“And would you look at this operation you conjured up! Your kind are dying in droves for nothing. Loathe as I may say this, but even I shed some tears at the pitiful display of you men dying.”

Amelie seriously doubted that. Her? Shedding tears for men? What a joke.

“Your Grace, while I would not deny the heavy casualties that the OAF sustained in the ongoing ‘Operation Silent Spear’, I seriously question the possibility of any other plan that would force the enemy out of Halia, and permit the ongoing mass civilian evacuations. It was necessary.”

“Necessary? All those deaths for nothing was necessary? Please, even the foolish Generals of the Great War would not speak in such a way-”

“General Albrecht approved this operation.”

“You mean the same bloodthirsty man that’s losing us this war, and almost lost us the Great War?"

“I must respectfully say, Your Grace, that you do not know what you are talking about.”

“I do! And you would do better to silence yourself when conversing with your betters!”

“Enough.”

Amelie didn’t really shout, but her words were enough to break the back in forth between the two. Truthfully, Amelie expected this…a bit, but she was never really ready for it. Amelie wasn’t sure how exactly should she handle her new Defense Minister, but if she would have to deal with her, then so be it.

“Archduchess.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“What do you really want.”

The Archduchess smiled.

“What I want, Your Majesty is to reassess our current wartime leadership, plans, and organization.”

Which essentially means to reassess and shuffle the positions to favor her.

Amelie narrowed her eyes in response, and the Archduchess almost seemed pissed about that, but she relaxed and smiled.

“Because, Your Majesty, if we don’t, we might lose too much of our people in this war. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, but I do not see any justifications for your demands. What do you really want?”

“I want JTF-Ludendorf. I want to be in charge of the defense of the Royal Capital, Your Majesty. Not some unknown Major of the Army.”

“He’s a part of the Royal Guard.”

“Only in paper. The order never truly recognized her to be a part of our sacred organization. His men aren’t even knighted.”

“As if that matters. They still serve as my personal security.”

“And how many times had he failed in that?”

“You’d do well to watch your words closely. I did not forget what happened to my mother.”

The Archduchess fell silent. Indeed, the memory of Queen Areya’s death under the “competent” protection of the Royal Guard had been the greatest shame of every knight of the Kingdom, and of the Archduchess even.

But the Archduchess didn’t relent.

“I am the Defense Minister, Your Majesty. This is my place to decide.”

“And I overrule that.”

Truthfully, Amelie was just pushing her “Queenly” powers to force her to retreat. Of course, she sounded like a power-hungry tyrant who wanted everything to go her way at this moment, but she didn’t mind. William was in charge of JTF-Ludendorf because of his military expertise in conventional warfare (which she seriously doubted that Pristina possessed) and for the fact that she had beyond verified his loyalty to her.

William was going to be in charge, regardless of what happened. Though, of course, she didn’t want to push the Archduchess off too hard, so she wanted to relay that message as politely as possible.

I don’t like you, but I don’t want you to be my enemy too. At least, not at this moment.

The Archduchess let out a sigh of defeat. Amelie expected more opposition from her, but she seemed to have given up.

“I see. Then the rumors are clear then?”

“What rumors?”

“You and William-”

“Do not continue any line of that. It’s fake news. War propaganda conjured by my enemies. You can’t seriously tell me that you believe that.”

How appalling. Just because she was spending too much time with the main officer in charge of the defense of the Royal Capital, and her very own personal guard as well (outside of the Lady Lubaine and her Royal Guard Knights) did not mean that she absolutely was into him!

How ridiculous. I mean, seriously? That guy? William and me? We’re at war and these fools are spreading nonsense. I mean, surely, I can’t be into him.

She looked back at William, who seemed confused, bless him for his temporary ignorance.

Yeah, no, not at all! I swear!

“What exactly is this all about? I assure you both, I have no criminal records or connections nor am I involved in any illicit activities under the Queen’s or-”

“William, just stop talking, it’s not helping. Please, no need to worry about it.” Amelie turned back to the Archduchess. “And nope, not true. And stop spreading that nonsense. Or believing it for that matter. I feel uncomfortable that people even think that way.”

Amelie was beyond flustered at this point, which worried William greatly. What the hell was she talking about?

“I see, alright, I believe you, Your Majesty.” The Archduchess conceded.

“Thank you. Ugh, just thinking about it is so awful.”

“Oh, is that so, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, but anyways, no, that’s not the reason why I’m keeping him in this position. He’s here because he has the skills to do it. And because I can trust him.”

“Do you seriously doubt my skills and loyalty, Your Majesty?”

“...”

“I have a proposal then. What if, instead of bickering here, we both prove ourselves? I will be in charge of the Royal Guard in this city and William with the OAF. And both of us will be conducting a joint operation, and we shall see which of us performs better. How does that sound?”

William seemed angered by that. That alone proved that the Archduchess was doing this for clout or for personal gain. Did that woman think she could hound some glory by winning the Battle of Halia for herself? No, William knew that those were nothing but delusions. Glory didn’t exist in battle, and no one should lead any army by virtue of being a glory hound!

“I veto this.” He declared, and the two women turned to him.

“Oh, and on what authority?” Challenged the Archduchess.

“By virtue of being the head of JTF-Ludendorf, I expressly prohibit any operation that would endanger the integrity of this joint operation, and promote interservice rivalry. I veto this.”

“Oh, so you want to be in charge of the Royal Guard in this city until the end of this battle?”

“If it weren’t for my current leadership, the Royal Guard would have left all the work to the OAF. At least now, they’re doing some of the dirty work.”

The Archduchess didn’t deny that. She knew well the pervasive culture within the Royal Guard about their belief that men should do the dirty work in the ground. That when combat occurred, unless necessary, they would be the ones to do the dirty fighting - not women.

“I do not deny that we women have been foolish in that way.”

“What?”

“Which is why I formed the Ducal Defense Forces in the west. We women have magic, and it would be a waste if we didn’t put our superior power into use. This is why I am proposing this. The Royal Guard will be there on the same operation. In the front.”

And then she glared down on him.

“And prove to you that we are superior in the fields of battle, and are worthy to be in charge of this war.”

The Archduchess looked back at Amelie, now smiling.

“Have I made myself clear, Your Majesty?”