The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family

40 - Consequences - Part 1

Eric's Point of View

My sister has become truly terrifying.

What kind of person conquers an enemy fort with a single squad just because they lost their temper?

I dread to imagine what would happen if she got control over an entire army instead... or worse... the royal army...

I cannot let her marry his Highness.

Consider it for a moment. The two of them have a fight, and to act out she conquers one of our neighboring countries... or worse, as a birthday present for their child...

Imagine the political chaos that brings?! We'll be attacked from all sides in an instant, just from the fear they'll have of her!

...

That must never happen.

...

Really, the thought of what she's done is making my head hurt. There is no way we can bury this as an achievement of the knights.

Lily may have changed, but in the end I still have to handle the political mess she makes... though this is out of my hands entirely...

but...

I've learned some important things over the last two weeks...

The stronger the herald in their service, the stronger the Lord must be.

Not just physically, but mentally as well. You must be someone for them to revere... someone they can kneel in front with honesty and sincerity, not out of love, but of respect... and I am a far way from being the kind of person able to have someone like Lily in my service.

I cannot stay the same. With people like Lily I cannot afford not to stand out or be humble. I mustn't hide my presence around his highness anymore either, or I won't be able to stand out when I really need to.

I need to be stronger, to be a person worth the respect they will show me. I... cannot continue down the path our family has done for more than a century. Father has told me never to shine more than his highness, to always be humble, to never show emotion... to stay near, but never overpower... however, we can no longer afford his highness that courtesy.

...

After looking over the reports of the battle I am once again surprised with the results. When Lily left the battleground I feared that the battle would take a turn for the worse... but during the two weeks she has been gone, everything has been going well. We've chased down the remnants of their army, and we've hardly lost any people... and I think I finally found out why.

Our army has always been considered weaker than that of the Tepet army, and for good reason. None of them have the endurance required to join the Tepet army. The Eastern Border is attacked quite often, so their army specializes in defense, just like ours. However, since they get attacked often there is lots of glory to be gained. In other words. Those with the proper endurance join the Tepet army. What does that leave us?

People with so low endurance that the Tepet army doesn't want them. They choose us as we're still better than the Salenders, and better than the infighting in the north. We forcefully train them in the exact way that the Tepet army does... but is that really the right choice?

Lily's way of fighting was the completely opposite of how we have fought till now.

It was aggressive. It was offensive... but it worked perfectly... in fact, it worked too well. Even after Lily left I realized that our troops were a lot faster than I've ever seen the Tepet army move. I know that some people run far, and other people run fast. What if all of ours are those that run fast? Then, shouldn't we adjust our style to that? However, there is more to it than that. Lily showed me that fear could be used as a weapon. However, to do that you need fearless soldiers, fearless leaders and... a fearless lord. Even then... it requires perfect discipline. If just one shows fear, then the enemy won't be affected... but... our soldiers are incredibly disciplined. We've struggled for more than two decades in making sure of this. Even on the laziest of days all of our soldiers follow their schedules...

Doesn't this mean we have all the prerequisites? Furthermore, the citizens of our territory are known to be quiet but often with deep voices. The 'roar' Lily showed us... we could definitely pull it off... but it would require a rework of the entire training regimen with a focus on discipline and strength rather than endurance. It would demand a complete change from how we've always done things.

And I need to become someone that can pull that off.

I need to be someone that can convince father that this is the right path to take. There must be no doubt in my voice, or my words. There must be no hesitance, and it must be flawless.

That's why I've been working day and night since I realized.

I'm writing up a formal battle report of the battles done, as well as the strategies and tactics used during all of the events, along with my personal observations, and the conclusions drawn with it. I even conferred with our head knight for suggestions of a new training menu that would go with this new way of fighting.

I need him to take me seriously. Lily managed to do this with soldiers untrained and only following her because she looked amazing. If we can get this down formally... we might even end up rivaling the Tepet army. I am sure of that, because I've seen them fight multiple times.

I'm certain that this is the path I must take.

I must change to protect everyone. The people... the soldiers... my family... even Lily.

---*---

Father arrived the next day at a speed commendable to an army. Honestly, seeing them march only made me more certain of the decision I had made.

I, was of course ready to meet father at the gate. Mother would be waiting at the mansion with Lily, as was tradition. In other words, I would be the one responsible for reporting the mess to Father. That included Mother's prompt decision to have a twin brother to Lily studying in another country.

Father stepped up to the gate with an expression of utter confusion.

No... I get it Father.

With all the burnt out body bonfires... and the happy but sleepy citizens and the soldiers humming the song from yesterday... Truly... not something you'd expect from someone that sent an emergency messenger that they were under siege...

Father looked to the head knight next to me, and then to me.

"Report."

Instead of answering I gave him the written report. Believe me, this was too complicated to say with words without missing something.

So, when Father looked to our Head Knight, the head knight nodded. I bet not even he wants to try to explain the situation.

So.

After spending a good deal of time reading it, he looked down at me with a stern expression.

"Are you fooling around?"

...See...

"In some ways I wish I was," I reported back. I'm tired. Lily, I hope this is your last campaign until we grow up...