Aria was not the kind of commander who was content.

For her, there were no half measures; there was either defeat or victory, but in both cases one could speak of victory or defeat only when the outcome of a battle was clear and unquestionable.

And whatever his officers might say, the battle that had just ended was certainly not one of those with a certain outcome.

"Well done, Consul. This battle will be remembered for centuries. Never before have the rebels suffered such a disastrous defeat."

"You speak of it as if we had won a crushing victory. We have certainly turned a difficult situation around, but we can hardly call it a victory. The enemy has fled, his forces have suffered relatively few losses, while ours have been hit hard."

In fact, when all was said and done, it was difficult to even speak of victory. Even by the most optimistic counts, the rebels counted at least four thousand men killed or wounded among their ranks, while Basil alone had lost more than three times as many.

Looking in perspective however, the imperial army still had a decisive numerical advantage; but more importantly, the pincer maneuver had blocked the road to Faria for the rebel forces, who would had no choice but to retreat towards the west to avoid a new encirclement.

Aria's plan in case the decisive victory in that battle failed was to immediately pursue the enemy to prevent him from reorganizing and dealing the final blow.

However, Daemon had managed to take many more troops away from Bedburg than she expected, while on her side her legions were exhausted, between the march and the repeated clashes.

They had to catch their breath.

"Notify the legions' commanders. We will head to Faria. We will occupy the city and take total control of the northeast."

"Do you think it's wise to loosen up right now? The enemy may try to reinforce himself."

"Chasing him now would be useless and dangerous. The men are too tired. Once they have had enough rest we will resume the offensive."

"At your orders, Consul."

Aria would also have liked to rest a bit, considering that she had practically not slept a wink for almost four days.

However, when she was told that the approximately four hundred enemy soldiers captured at the entrance to the village were all Eirinn volunteers, she wanted to go and meet them.

"What are you doing? Stop now!"

The legionaries didn't go lightly.

Not only had they used rods and chains to bind the prisoners like animals, but also once they learned the names of those who had killed the greatest number of their companions they were having fun settling the score. It was only a miracle that when Aria arrived no one had yet lost his or her lives due to all those beatings.

"These people betrayed the Empire and took up arms against us. They are traitors, and as such deserve only death."

"These people are my compatriots! They are part of my people! And you won't touch them!"

Most of them she had never seen, but Aria still recognized some familiar faces; and one in particular left her speechless for a moment.

"Julie!?"

Julie was Alfred's niece, whom the old butler had cared for since the death of her parents.

A complete tomboy, even worse than her; when they were little they always played together, especially the kind of games you wouldn't expect from two little girls, like mud wrestling and sword duels.

She always said that one day she would be a soldier, and there she was: chain mail, leather breastplate, and a proud expression that not even wounds, defeat and beatings had managed to break.

What Aria would never have imagined is that one day they would find themselves fighting not together, as they always wanted, but against each other.

"She's coming with me. Bring her here."

The soldiers obeyed, but when they were in front of each other, Julie did not look at all like someone who was happy to see an old friend of hers again after many years.

"What are you doing here, Julie?"

"The same as everyone. I'm fighting for our country."

"For the country!? They are rebels. They have invaded and occupied Eirinn."

"They sure did a lot better than your brother."

"What do you mean!?"

"None of this would have happened if Victor had been a ruler equal to your father. He dragged us into a war we had no hope of winning, and many of my friends died because of him."

Julie had never mince words, she always said what she thought aloud and was beyond reproach in her sincerity.

"It wasn't just Victor's fault. I'm sure our uncle stirred him up."

"We've known each other since we were walking on all fours Aria, so just spare me your fake surprise. You know very well what kind of person Victor was. Your uncle just had to use the right words. And in any case, even before the war your brother's behavior as ruler was far from praiseworthy."

"I'm very aware of my brother's faults, and for what it's worth I'm sorry for what he did. But now things have changed. Now I'm here. And I promise you that everything will be fine."

Julie responded by looking around her in silence, her eyes scanning the legionaries all around them.

"Forgive me if I find it difficult to believe your words."

Despite that less than friendly approach, Aria was still happy to see Julie alive, and was almost on the verge of ordering her chains removed so she could send her home to her grandfather.

"Save your breath." she said, reading her thoughts. "I will stay with my companions." so she went back to her place.



Even though the retreat had taken place relatively easily, the need to get away from the encirclement as quickly as possible had led to a sort of free-for-all.

Therefore, the entire Free State army was now largely scattered across the region, along a territory that went from the edge of the forests around Faria in the east to Lake Ysen in the west.

Only the Third Corps and the Great Guard had managed to keep their ranks closed and evacuate everyone together, reaching the small town of Arendt after an entire night's march.

The air was thick with worry, and not just because for the first time an army that had seemed unbeatable had tasted the bitter wine of defeat.

"What are we doing here?" Scalia said, pacing under the tent set up in the center of the camp. "We should go back to Faria."

"Impossible." Oldrick replied. "Doing so means getting too close to Aria and her army. After managing to escape, it would be foolish to push our luck like this."

"Big brother was so angry, he almost scared me." Sapi said as he tried to ward off the sadness by playing with a squirrel. "Just like that day."

"Poor Daemon, I don't envy him at all. He was so sure he would win, but instead Aria screwed him over. I imagine he will also be worried about Mary, Lady Valera and all the others."

"Were we able to contact them?" Scalia asked again

"I sent one of my messengers to warn them of the outcome of the battle. Of course I told him to keep the news confidential, at least for now, but of course it's only a matter of time before everyone knows what happened."

The two looked around for a moment, trying to convince themselves that the army's loyalty had not waned despite the defeat.

"Oldrick. How many defections have there been so far?"

"Only a few hundred. By now they are almost all veterans. They know that against the imperial army there is no room for surrender, not after what we have done. And despite the situation, I'm sure almost all of them still have faith in your brother. Daemon has demonstrated on several occasions that he can turn around even the most desperate situations, and they trust that he will do it again."

Scalia moved the edges of the tent slightly aside, peering inside.

"Incredible. He has hardly slept for days, and right now despite what has happened he sleeps like he did when he was little."



In my old life, I had never given the right importance to rest.

More than once my doctors had told me that for a person in my position dedicating so few hours to sleep could be detrimental, not to mention dangerous.

However, right because of my role, I had always believed that being able to spend many hours in bed was a luxury that I could not afford. Too many things to do, too many commitments to worry about.

Unfortunately, I had brought such a bad habit of mine into my new life too, sleeping much less than I should have. The problem was that my brain and body simply seemed immune to fatigue, and having spent many years fortifying both to make them even more resistant had certainly made the problem worse.

This is why when I suddenly felt overcome by a strong tiredness once I reached Arendt, I immediately understood who must be the creator.

This time the meeting took place at the foot of the arch that I had wanted to build as a tribute to my greatest victories; or at least what was left of it, since according to what I had heard my enemies after my exile were careful not to complete it.

My client certainly didn't lack a sense of humor.

"Do you think you're funny?"

"If I may say so, it's a good project. I bet it will be a great eye-catcher once it's finished."

"If they ever finish it. But it doesn't bother me that much."

"Why?"

"I told you already then. I led France to heights she had never reached before, and I made the culture and ideas of the Revolution the beacon that will illuminate the Earth for centuries to come. This is just a jumble of bricks, a monument to satisfy the people's thirst for glory and pride. The real achievements are those I have reached in people's consciences. And they will last infinitely longer than a stone arch."

There was no point in beating around the bush; I knew very well why he wanted to see me again.

"If you are here to accuse me of defeat and fire me, I'm ready to resign even immediately. The last thing I want is to have a boss above me ready to stick his finger in the wound at every useful opportunity."

"Do not get me wrong. I never thought you'd make it straight to the finish line without running into some unexpected events. Invincibility is not for mortal creatures. I was just curious to know what you felt on this occasion."

Since lying or dissembling would have been useless, I decided to be honest right away.

"For a moment I saw myself that day, outside Waterloo. It was like witnessing a tragedy whose ending I already knew. But then, a moment before seeing Natuli appear from that woods, I remembered something."

"What?"

"That I have dedicated this new life of mine to not repeating the mistakes of the previous one, just as you hoped I would by allowing me to preserve my memories. I took lost, purposeless people and nurtured the potential I saw in each of them. Now I can count on capable collaborators, who trust me, and who always listen to their instincts. Because like you said, in the end I'm still just a man. But if I surround myself with people like this, I know that somehow I will always have a card in my hand capable of subverting even apparently hopeless situations. And that's why I'll win in the end."

If I could have seen his face, I would have sworn Faucheur was smiling.

"And so? What will you do now?"

"What I have always done in similar moments. I will turn the tables and win."

"It will be interesting to see how you do it. But remember Emperor that only three years remain before the Demon Lord reaches Erthea."

"Don't worry. They will be enough."



Daemon awoke at the same time as someone pulled back the tent flaps.

"Adrian."

"I envy you. After what happened you can still sleep."

"What time is it?"

"It's late at night. From what they tell me you were snoring for almost ten hours."

"I had some sleep to catch up on. When did you arrive?"

"Right now. I'm sorry if I wasn't present at the last meeting, but as you can easily imagine the roads are quite dangerous lately, so I preferred to take the long way around."

"And how many of your men do you have with you?"

"«A little more than half. The rest is scattered here and there. But I'm in contact with most of them."

"So much the better. Because we're going to need all the help we can get to get out of this story."

Daemon then turned back to the table to focus on his maps, when the sound of a firing pin being raised behind him broke the silence of the tent.

"Maybe the time's come for me to collect my insurance."