The NTR Knight Commander has Decided to Desert

Chapter 17

The countless people visible before her eyes,

Dozens... maybe even hundreds—toward them, she—

The woman bearing the name Jane McCree,

Began to shout, pouring out the emotions held in her heart.

"And so, we were thoroughly betrayed by the Imperial Army. My precious fiancé! Even Mr. Smith's young daughters, who had devotedly worshiped the Empire! Despite our fervent loyalty, all we received in return was pillage and the tragic deaths of our loved ones!"

Jane shouted through tears, her voice filled with fierce rage and betrayal.

Hearing her story, the citizens gathered in the village square began to stir.

"How could something like that happen..."

"Even a passionate supporter of the Empire suffered that fate. Doesn't that mean, no matter how much we follow the Empire's will, we could still be stabbed in the back at any time?"

These were the very people who had, until now, aligned themselves with the Empire and avoided any involvement with the rebels.

However, the tragedy suffered by Debbie Jones and the people of his village—who had been even more extreme in their support of the Empire—

And the fact that helpless young boys and girls were brutally killed in the process, was more than enough to shake them deeply.

Reading their reactions,

Jane, tears still in her eyes, once again raised her voice and began to shout.

"That's why I ask all of you here today—please, don't make the same pitiful choice I did... Don't foolishly trust the Empire. Even if you give them your all, in the end, all that awaits is being slaughtered like livestock! What we must believe in and follow is not the filthy Imperial Army, but the rebels, who raise the noble banner of freedom and risk their lives to fight!"

Jane's words pleading for support of the rebels.

In response, the people began murmuring among themselves, visibly shaken.

Originally, this was a place where support for the Britannian Empire was strong, but the story of Jane and her fellow villagers—who had supported the Empire even more fervently—was enough to shake their hearts.

Then, from among them, a few citizens began shouting in voices filled with fear and hostility.

"But the Imperial Army is strong! Defying them is impossible!"

"Even if we don't like what they do, we can't fight a battle we can't win!"

Their words began to disrupt the atmosphere.

Yet even as she watched them, Jane didn't get angry or show irritation.

She already knew through her 'education' that people like this would inevitably appear,

And at the same time, she had already internalized how to respond in such situations.

"Of course, you're right. The Imperial Army is definitely strong. As the saying goes, a war between the rebels and the Empire is like an egg hitting a rock—it won't be easy to win. But..."

With those words, Jane paused to catch her breath and scanned the crowd.

Through that silence, she once again drew the attention of the many eyes watching her.

And then, with a clear voice, she began to speak again.

"But even so, we must fight. To prove to the Imperial Army that we are not mere livestock, but people! To avoid helplessly losing those dear to us through betrayal! We must take up arms and show that we are alive!"

With those words, Jane drew the sword from her waist.

It was a sword too heavy for her slender hands to easily wield, but even so, she gripped it firmly and raised her voice without wavering.

"I won't force you. I'm just an outsider from another village—I have no right to decide this village's future. But I will say this one thing clearly. Whether you live like livestock and are helplessly and miserably slaughtered like I once was, or whether you pick up a sword and protect your loved ones as warriors—this choice lies solely in your hands."

With that, Jane watched the villagers' reactions.

Then, from among them, a few people raised their hands and shouted as if they had made up their minds.

"She's right! We are not slaves or livestock!"

"I will fight! I will take up arms to protect my family!"

The villagers shouted with resolute determination,

And those who had been wavering began to raise their hands one by one, following the tide.

"I'll join the fight too. To protect the ones I love!"

"Better to die shooting at them with pride than be stabbed in the back!"

"We can't entrust our lives to butchers!"

"Let's fight! Let's see if an egg can crack a rock!"

The tragic fate of someone who had lived a life just like theirs—not someone distant or different.

This sparked a shared understanding among the villagers that they could no longer trust the Empire.

And so, the people here, who until recently had only shown passive support for the Empire, began to actively respond to the rebels.

And then,

Watching their transformation,

Jane began to feel a deep smile and a sense of exhilaration she had never experienced before.

'Thank goodness... All the hardship I endured following his teachings was worth it.'

*

"It won't be easy to defeat them. But even so, we must fight. To prove to the Imperial Army that we are not mere livestock..."

"Wait, that part right there. The speech is starting to run a bit long, so it might be better to pause briefly there."

Huh? But wouldn't that break the audience's focus?

"It's actually the opposite. A well-timed silence can refocus scattered attention. It's like when a loud person suddenly goes quiet—you instinctively wonder what's going on."

"Ah... Yes, I think I understand what you mean."

The calm voice of the Imperial Army officer, Cromwell, offering feedback.

In response, Jane nodded and began reviewing the speech again.

It was a written version of her experiences and sincere emotions.

To be precise, it was Cromwell who had organized and revised her somewhat rambling stories into this form—and honestly, Jane found it quite fascinating.

'I never thought about putting my story into writing... But seeing it like this, even I, who lived it, feel the truth of it more clearly.'

For someone like her, a simple farmer who had only barely learned to read and write, it was a rather impressive realization.

After firmly memorizing the contents of the speech once more,

Jane's gaze turned to the man who was helping her at that very moment.

To the rebel officer named Edward Cromwell.

'He really is amazing... Well, if even that terrifying General Franklin trusts him, it makes sense. He must come from a good family and have received an excellent education.'

He was someone who enabled her to do things she had never even imagined as a simple farmer.

Feeling a deep interest in that fact, Jane once again began to recite the speech in front of him.

*

Jane, practicing her speech diligently right before my eyes.

Watching her like that, I couldn't help but let out a wry smile at the situation.

'I never thought I'd end up using what I learned in Korean class like this...'

Organizing thoughts or others' stories into writing and delivering them—that was something I'd done countless times during school.

Especially the Korean teachers I had seemed to love assigning that kind of homework at the drop of a hat.

It was probably part of preparing us for essay writing, but the fact that I'm using that knowledge not for college entrance exams, but for inciting people in a fantasy world...

As for the other speech techniques, I learned them through different means, though not necessarily legitimate ones.

So overall, this situation was giving me quite a strange feeling.

'Still, this Jane woman... Her voice projection is way better than I expected. If this were the modern world, she could've been a voice actor or an actress.'

Her voice was clear and her pronunciation precise, making every word of her speech easy to absorb.

Judging that this level of delivery would be more than enough to convey the message to the people, I slowly began to smile.

*

Militiamen arriving steadily before our eyes.

Seeing the 'results' of Cromwell and Jane's tour of nearby villages, a deep sense of joy welled up in Franklin's heart.

"How many people do we have in total?"

"Just the ones gathered so far exceed 600. Including those who are still arriving, we might easily surpass 1,000."

Hearing Cromwell's report, delivered with a smile, Franklin also couldn't help but smile—but she quickly suppressed the emotion and spoke in a calm voice.

"Good work. For now, focus all efforts on managing them. Since we've finally gathered public support, we can't afford to let the mood fall apart."

"Yes, General. I'll keep that in mind."

And so, as always, Franklin masked her emotions behind a façade of calmness.

However, at that moment, she was completely unaware—

Of Cromwell, who had been unable to meet her eyes and was sneaking glances while blushing.

'She really doesn't remember anything... This must mean she blacked out, right?'

The passionate kiss that still made his face burn just thinking about it.

But seeing how completely unaffected Franklin had been since then, Cromwell concluded that she must have written it off as something that happened in a drunken haze.

Of course, that and the fluttering feeling he had now were completely separate matters.

'A heroine... huh? I can't be sure, but maybe this is some kind of flag?'

With that thought, Cromwell subtly brought his hand to his lips.

Just then.

"General!"

An aide came running over with urgency in their voice. Franklin and Cromwell both turned their eyes toward the commotion.

"What's all the commotion?"

"Th-they've arrived! At last... the reinforcements have finally arrived!"

"What did you say?"

News that came a bit earlier than expected.

At that, Franklin began to show a smile at the corners of her lips,

while a slightly conflicted expression began to cloud Cromwell's face.

'If it's the reinforcements... that bastard must've come with them, right? Better than him not coming at all, but this might make things a bit more annoying than before...'