Chapter 1: What the Thorn Princess Once Sought

In dire need of a respite after our victory at the Battle of Eirlain, we returned to Delphion Castle for a time. It was directly south of our current position, so the journey only took three days.

As soon as we arrived at the baron’s castle, we dove right into a discussion of our strategy moving forward. The generals, Reggie’s royal guard, and my own personal advisor—Cain—all gathered in the castle’s council room.

“Immediately following the Battle of Eirlain, I spread the word to the rest of Farzia that Salekhard has joined under our banner, and the results have been everything we hoped for and more. We’ll have all the reinforcements we could possibly need. Several of the noble houses that had previously been sitting on the fence have offered to send us more troops,” said Reggie, flashing a small slip of paper that had been delivered to us by bird.

“Thus, my plan is to have the reinforcements waiting by the Delphion border march west and capture Kilrea. Is our other batch of soldiers ready to row out into the lake?” he asked, turning to Groul.

His knight nodded. “Yes. By now, they ought to have set out in the ship Llewyne left behind in Eirlain.”

“Excellent. While we’re waiting to hear from them, we should likewise set sail and head straight for the royal domain.”

“You certainly aren’t b