The mercenaries had neither ladders nor grappling hooks, so they had salvaged a cart that they were using as a battering ram to try to break down the doors, while their fellow archers provided cover.

The crossbowmen of Western Eirinn were famous not so much for their skill, but for the fact that they were said to be practically inexhaustible; no matter how many you killed, their numbers didn't seem to decrease.

But it was neither a spell nor some form of particular training; simply a crossbow was a weapon that any peasant was able to use with minimal training.

"What are you doing here!?" Aria screamed when she saw Daemon, Septimus, and Giselle shooting bolts over the walls with weapons suited to them. "This is no place for children!"

"Look who's talking, you're about three years older than us." Giselle replied as she reloaded her weapon

"They could kill you at any moment! You have to leave!"

"Did you forget we're on the border?" said Septimus. "Here they train us for this since school. And if you're looking for Mary, she's helping treat the wounded."

Aria was opening her eyes to a reality she never expected; even though she didn't mind her being a soldier, she had sometimes thought that her father had been too harsh to expect so much from her.

Now, however, she discovered that outside her palace there were children who were taught to hold a weapon even before reading and writing.

"Okay, as you wish. But you will obey my orders. And the same goes for all of you! From this moment on, I assume command of the defense of this city!"

"And who do you think you are to say something like that?" one asked

"I am Duchess Aria Montgomery, eldest daughter of Berthold Montgomery, Grand Duke of Eirinn! And in the name of this authority from now on you will all do what I say, do I make myself clear?"

Nobody protested.

Not so much because of the status, but rather because to almost everyone, including Daemon and his friends, it really seemed that Aria had all the makings of leading them in that desperate situation.

Under her guidance, the shooters became more coordinated and precise, but despite this the mercenaries still managed to bring their improvised battering ram to the door.

Furthermore, the battlements of the walls were not high enough to provide adequate cover against the attackers' arrows, and less than half an hour after the battle had begun the walkways were full of dead and wounded.

Aria would have liked to send someone to deal with the enemy archers, but apart from her guard and a few elements of the militia, no one had a horse, and the risk of ending up in a difficult situation was too great.

"How many soldiers do we have available?"

"The Captain's twenty legionaries and a hundred city guards and militiamen. Some civilians have spears, but I doubt they know how to use them properly." Alfred replied

"There are too few of them. Are we sure the door will resist?"

"I'm afraid not. It's big, but also very old. It will probably only take a few blows for the hinges to pop off."

"We must eliminate as many enemies as possible before they manage to enter. Bring more crossbowmen."

"We're running out of them. They may know how to hold a crossbow, but they are still civilians. Some get hit before they even shoot a single arrow."

Meanwhile the enemies, in addition to arrows, had also started throwing stones, one of which was about to hit Aria while she was busy giving orders left and right.

"Watch out!"

Even though Daemon was wearing a leather helmet, the impact was strong enough to make him lose consciousness.

That action left Aria speechless; her servants and her guards were expected to risk their lives for her, but this was the first time anyone had selflessly put themselves in harm's way to protect her.

"A doctor, quickly!" she shouted, seeing that the boy showed no sign of recovering

Mary, Giselle and Septimus came running allowing Aria to focus back on the battle, but just as they were about to help the healer carry him off the walls Daemon finally opened his eyes again.

"Aïe... ma tête... est-ce qu'un cheval m'a frappé?"

"Gaia be praised." Mary said, hugging him

"Calme-toi, I feel pain everywhere."

"Sorry, I got carried away."

"You gave us a good scare, damn you."

Daemon was strange though, and not just because of the strange things he said or the way he spoke.

"Don't worry, it's all over now. Thanks for your interest Gi... Gina... Giulienne..."

"Giulienne? What, you don't even remember my name? I'm Giselle."

"Yes, sorry. Giselle. At least it seems that I can understand you. And I suppose you understand me."

"How hard did they hit you?" Septimus said incredulously. "Okay, you've always been strange, but that's too much."

Daemon then got to his feet, looking around like a commander surveying the battlefield.

"Listen to me carefully. You and the other children tour the city. Take those who can't fight and bring them all to safety in the town hall. I have to talk to Aria. Damn you, Faucheur. You could also have chosen a better moment." and having said this he left at a brisk pace.

"Wait, Daemon." Giselle uselessly tried to call him. "What happened to him all of a sudden? It doesn't even look like him anymore."

However, when an arrow narrowly missed her, she and the others realized that the situation was becoming truly dangerous.

"Tell you what, maybe it's better to do as he said."

Daemon in the meantime had reached Aria, and looking into his eyes, the girl thought for a moment that she was dealing with a stranger.

"What are you doing here? Your wound is bleeding. You should be in the infirmary."

"The situation is worsening. Soon those mercenaries will be able to enter. And if our crossbowmen are still here when it happens there will be no way to defend them. It could end in a massacre."

At that moment one of the enemies managed to climb to the top of the walls unseen, and leaping onto the balcony, he ran towards Aria shouting and brandishing his sword. The girl was taken by surprise, but Daemon with almost shocking coldness picked up the crossbow of a dead soldier, aimed and hit him between the eyes, killing him instantly.

"You have to listen to me. We are running out of crossbowmen, and continuing with this all-out defense will only get us killed. If we want to avoid having to abandon the city to those animals, we must be the ones to choose the battlefield."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a plan, but I need your help and that of your soldiers."

Aria couldn't believe she was discussing strategy in the middle of a battle with a ten-year-old.

"What's your plan?"

No one could hear their conversations, the fact remains that shortly afterwards Aria called together Pullone, Alfred, Oldrick and all the officers.

"We can still save Dundee and avoid more deaths. Captain Pullone, gather all you men and anyone who can mount a horse, regroup at the south gate and wait for me my. Anybody else, from this moment you are all under Alfred's command. His orders will be as valid as mine."

Once again, no one raised a word of objection. Also because the situation was now so desperate that it was convenient to have someone so charismatic and self-confident as to be able to keep the situation under control; and it mattered little that it was a little girl doing it.

"I'm counting on you, Alfred. And be careful."

"The same goes for you, Miss."



The order arrived peremptorily, being welcomed by the few crossbowmen and conscripts still unharmed as a blessing.

"Retreat! Abandon positions!"

The mercenaries noticed this, and naturally interpreted it as the inhabitants' decision to abandon the city. They would have lost their belongings and homes, but at least they would have saved their lives.

"They're leaving! It's our chance! Come on guys, push! The city is ours!"

Enthused by a victory that now seemed within reach, as well as the loot that awaited them, the bandits gathered around the ram, which after a few blows defeated the old doors, opening their way to Dundee.

"Archers, stay here! If anyone tries to escape from here, kill him and take everything from him! Don't worry, we will try to leave something for you too!"

Once inside the bandits noticed that all the narrowest and smallest streets had been blocked by makeshift barricades, probably created in an attempt to make their raid more difficult.

But they didn't care; some of them had already been to Dundee, and knew that most of the city's wealth was kept in the town hall chest and in the granary. The rest could wait, but the real money was there.

So they continued along the main road, burning and destroying everything in their path.

In the end, all they found standing between them and their goal was yet another barricade at the entrance to the square, little more than a fence, which they knocked down like a wave breaking on an old boat.

But right due to that pile of stones, chairs and tables that they didn't notice three rows of crossbowmen with their weapons pointed against them.

"Fire!" Alfred shouted.

Dozens of mercenaries, caught completely off guard, fell at the first volley. And that was just the beginning, because at a second command from the butler other crossbowmen appeared from behind the roofs of the buildings all around, unloading a new series of volleys on the enemies.

Some of the panic-stricken attackers sought safety in some back alleys, only to discover that behind those barricades there were city guards armed with spears and shields, perfect for fighting in such narrow spaces.

The clumsy attempt by the mercenaries remaining on the main road to attack the crossbowmen was thwarted when the guards changed their tactic.

"The first and second rows remain on their knees!" Alfred shouted following his mistress's advice "The third row stands up and shoots! After firing, the third row advances five steps, kneels and reloads! The new third row stands up, shoots and advances!"

Under incessant fire, given that most of them were wearing basic equipment and wielding only small round shields, the mercenaries began to lose ground, being pushed further and further back towards the door.

Then, when the enemies had suffered sufficient losses, the time came to strike hard, and led by Oldrick the members of the militia launched a frontal assault which was later joined by Alfred himself. For the occasion, the old butler demonstrated that under his elegant black suit and his composed demeanor he had unsuspected abilities, throwing volleys of daggers in every direction that each time hit the target without leaving any escape.

With what seemed like an easy raid that was taking the form of a massacre for them, many mercenaries at that point sought safety by fleeing from where they had come, but a new, nasty surprise awaited them.

After leaving the city from the south, Aria had led a handful of knights at a gallop all around the walls, falling on the mercenary archers who were still waiting outside the city and wreaking havoc on them.

With the archers killed or put to flight, the young Montgomery had then ordered to go through the doors again and take the mercenaries still engaged in combat along the main street by surprise; at that point attacked from all sides and with no way out, the enemies were forced to surrender.

The battle had ended in a way no one would have expected.

And for what remained of the night, the citizens of Dundee celebrated their victory.



As the sun rose, the city revealed itself to be badly damaged.

There was a lot of damage, especially to the houses and businesses on the main street, but nothing that couldn't be repaired, and the death toll overall wasn't that dramatic.

Aria was the heroine of the battle, and people fought to shake her hands and thank her for her help.

However, she first knew that she didn't deserve all those compliments, and that the person who should have received them was someone else.

"I still don't understand why you insisted that I take credit for your plan." she told Daemon when they were finally alone. "Now to these people you would be a hero."

"It was just an intuition. Moreover, it was your idea to place the barricades. I don't need notoriety. I really like the life I lead here. I want to enjoy it for a while longer, without having any unwanted attention."

"I could put in a good word for you at the Imperial Academy."

"I appreciate the offer, but we both know it would be useless. I am an orphan who grew up in a border province. At most they'd make me work in the kitchens."

"You have to start from somewhere. I don't care who you are or where you come from, but only what you can do to help our country and its people."

"Maybe. But if there really is something great waiting for me in my future, I want to be the one to choose my own path. And for the moment I feel that my path leads here."

Only twelve hours earlier, Daemon was a rowdy boy who almost only thought about having fun, although he undoubtedly had great charisma. Now he was speaking and behaving almost like a man.

Perhaps, Aria thought, he had simply always wanted to keep that part of himself hidden so he could continue to enjoy a peaceful childhood; or maybe he was just waiting for the right moment to reveal his true being.

And this second hypothesis actually almost scared her.

"As you wish. Anyway, if you change your mind, you know where to find me. Just write me a letter. I also have plans for my future, and I am determined to make them come true."

"In this case, it will be interesting to find out which of us will be the first to fulfill its goals."

Shortly thereafter the caravan was ready to leave, and the time came for Aria to resume her journey north.

Before leaving, Aria promised the mayor and other city authorities to plead Dundee's cause once she arrived in Maligrad, to ensure that an imperial garrison regained possession of the city fort, thus averting similar events in the future.

All Dundee gathered to greet her and wish her good luck, and by reciprocating their kindness with waves of the hand as the carriage set off, the young eldest Montgomery daughter felt for the first time that she had done something truly important in her life.

The feeling of having helped defenseless people and having fulfilled her duty to the end was one of the most satisfying she had ever felt.

But her happiness was partially overshadowed by the thought of a boy with an unfathomable mind, who was now observing her sitting astride the walls together with his friends.

They would see each other again, she was sure of it.

And almost certainly, it would have happened on a battlefield.



The crash of the ax hitting Ophelia's neck and the screams of the crowd brought Aria back to reality.

How many things had happened since that day.

And now she knew that she had not been wrong in her judgment of Daemon.

The moment she heard the first rumors about what was happening down there, a stone's throw from her homeland, she immediately understood that Daemon had to be the mind behind the rebellion.

So that's what he meant by talking about something big that he saw in his future.

Perhaps it was also thanks to him and the events of that night that she had finally become what she was. Since meeting Daemon she had learned not to take anything for granted, to think unconventionally, and not to be shackled by dogma.

And right for this, the thought of her having failed was crushing her soul even further.

She had failed to achieve the goals she had set for herself in life before him, but moreover she was aware that now she would no longer have the opportunity to atone.

And she honestly still couldn't explain why she was there to witness that macabre procession towards the gallows from the top of a balcony instead of from inside one of those cages.

What she had done was the most unforgivable crime one could commit against the Empire, regardless of her reasons for acting that way.

Saedonia had no mercy for traitors, or for those who attempted to subvert the imperturbable order of its social order.

It was probably just a matter of time, but her turn would come too.

But even though she had always known that she could only end up that way she had no regrets, and was ready to meet her fate.

Daemon had to be stopped, one way or another.

The change of which he had become the herald was too great, and his ambition to make it spread like a destructive wave across Erthea was too vast.

She too wanted to change the world as much as he did, but not in that way, and not at the price that such an upheaval would surely require.

"The bloodlust of the plebs is terrifying. They've seen dozens of people die, and it's still not enough for them."

"Your Majesty!?"

"I was sure I'd find you here."

Both then turned their gaze once again towards the square while Severus, escorted by two guards, stoically climbed the steps towards the gallows.

"I am sorry." Ademar said. "I really wish it had ended differently."

"For what it's worth, Your Majesty, I want you to know that I acted in the best interests of you and the Empire. My officers only obeyed my orders, so I beg you not to be too harsh on them."

"Are you ready to die, then?"

"I have sworn to my father and to you to fight with all my being, for Eirinn and for Saedonia."

"It seems the first news brought by the explorers were true, unfortunately. Faria is lost. Grand Duke Montgomery is dead, and your brother has fled. Eirinn is now under the control of rebel forces."

Aria's fists clenched, and even though she tried to hide it, a few tears fell from her eyes. She had longed for so many years to see her father again before Gaia called him to her side, and now she could no longer do so.

At least the thought of being able to see him again soon cheered her up a little.

"I know I don't deserve anything after what I did. But if your friendship with my family is as great as you have always told me, I beg you to honor the promise you made to me that day. When I too am dead, the Montgomery Family will no longer exist, but General Lefde will be able to honor my father's legacy more than worthily. You have my word that if you choose him as the new ruler, he will never disappoint you."

"So you're ready?"

Severus in the meantime had handed himself into the hands of the executioner, who after having tightened the noose around his neck was preparing to pull the lever.

The Emperor nodded to one of his guards; Aria was ready to offer her wrists to her chains, but instead Ademar placed an ivory staff surmounted by the golden head of a lion in her hand.

"Your Majesty..."

"The legions that fought in the east against the rebels are still very tired from the long period spent at the front. It will take a few more weeks to reform and re-equip them, then they will join those ready to march against the Free State."

"But what..."

"Congratulations, General Montgomery. From this moment, you are the Commander of the Southern Army. Ten legions are at your orders."

Aria was so shocked that not even the deafening roar of the plebs when the executioner opened the trap door managed to startle her.

"I..." she tried to say as Ademar turned to leave

"Actually I wanted to save you both. But the Senate was adamant about this. They said that the Emperor in his entire life has the power to pardon only one person accused of high treason. I had to make a choice between you and him. It's up to you now to convince me that I made the right one."