Chapter 97: 97. Expected backlash...
"Dame Thyra, explain yourself?" Tanja looked down on Thyra from his high ground. Thyra wasn't sure whether he had some king fetish or not, but even in the meeting room, Tanja put his seat slightly above everyone else.
"Are you dumb or something?" Thyra wanted to ask but knew it wasn't the right time. Thyra answered with as much courtesy as possible, "It is as Baron Argon had explained. I have nothing to add."
"Does that mean you accept that you have willfully ignored the royal decree?"
Thyra looked at her half-brother and took a deep breath. It would be wrong to say that she had no idea what had led to this situation and could also understand why Borg warned her. But she couldn't understand how idiotic her half-brother could be.
Tanja, the fourth prince, was an eighteen years old boy. Thyra thought humans were more mature compared to their age in this world. But, now she understood that there are exceptions in every world.
To summarise the scenario, more than five hundred soldiers surrendered after the war. However, even taking into account Thyra's soldiers, the total number of the kingdom's soldiers was no more than five hundred. That also includes about one hundred soldiers who were injured in the battle.
After talking to Baron Argon, they decide to lead the prisoner to the Digen along with the injured, 100 of Argon's soldiers, and fifty of Thyra's soldiers, along with Selda and Nisa. Nisa was picked because she was the only one in her army who came from a noble family.
Thyra and the rest of her soldiers, along with Baron Argon and his fifty soldiers, followed the order over the next two days to check out the villages attacked by the children of the beast god and clean them up.
The order was actually given to Argon and his 600 soldiers after Digen received refugees from the villages around the area. However, they hadn't expected the presence of an enemy army, resulting in the loss.
However, as Thyra was securing the villages around Digen, the three weeks' time that was allotted to reach Digen had expired. However, like any sane person, she had expected that that wouldn't be a problem as she was already doing her job. That was also what Baron Argon had expected.
"Your Highness, I must inform you that my force would have been annihilated without the presence of Dame Thyra and her army. It should also be noted that Dame Thyra had already reached the vicinity of the city three days ago and was helping me to complete the mission allocated by Your Highness."
"Lord Argo, you shouldn't use your incompetence to protect Dame Thyra." It was Baron, whom Brog had warned her about. Baron Narn added, "The soldiers his Highness had assigned to you should have been enough for you to complete the mission designated to you."
"Lord Narn, I must remind you that the mission did not mention the empire army. I also need to remind you that the enemy was three times bigger than our force. And if Dame Thyra hadn't come in time, the entire army would have been wiped out."
"Your Highness, if I may," Thyra looked at the man, confirming it was the second snake Borg had warned her about, Sir Pyra. He was also a royal knight, and he didn't hide his enmity towards Thyra.
Receiving Tanja's nod, he turned towards Baron Argon and gave a knight's salute. "Lord Argon, there is a couple of things I need to confirm. Would you mind answering them?"
Argon frowned, but in the presence of the fourth prince, all he could do was nod. So, Pyra asked, "Lord Argon, I think your army was composed of experienced soldiers and rookies. Also, you have 200 of the royal soldiers of His Highness's army, right?"
"Yes."
"You have also said you were also able to hold on to your position and your camp because of the experienced soldiers and the royal army, right?"
"Sir Pyra, are you disrespecting the fallen soldiers? Whether rookies or experienced, every one of them died protecting the kingdom from the foes."
"I think Lord Argon misunderstood my question. I have no intention of questioning or disrespecting our fallen soldiers." He smiled, adding, "But let's not get emotional over things. I am just asking a simple yes and no question. And I am still waiting for an answer."
"Yes." Argon wasn't sure what he was planning. The only thing he could do was give a nod.
"Your Highness, the enemies were three times larger than our experienced soldiers. They attacked our camp in the darkness of the night. Due to the sacrifice of brave soldiers and due to Lord Argon's excellent commanding ability, they were able to defend against the enemies for four to five hours."
Pyra paused and turned towards Thyra. And with his back towards the fourth prince, Thyra had no problem noticing the blatant enmity in his eyes as he asked, "I think the soldiers under Dame Thyra's command are all rookies. They weren't rookies and didn't train for more than six months, right?"
Thyra looked at Prya and smiled at him, asking, "Are you saying that the soldiers that your Highness had personally led were weaker than the soldiers that I trained? Are you disrespecting Your Highness?"
"I wouldn't dare." Pyra quickly turned around and went to his knees.
"Then what do you want to say, sir Pyra?"
"There are questions about the ability of the royal army. That is also why I couldn't believe the story. Soldiers that the royal army could not beat were easily beaten down by a group of new soldiers led by a young royal knight. Such a story doesn't make sense."
"Sir Pyra," Argon's voice wasn't low when he asked, "Are you telling me that I am lying?"
Pyra didn't even look at him. He turned towards Tanja, bowing, "There is nothing that could be hidden from Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will take a decision that is good for this army and this kingdom."
"Your majesty," Even before Argon could complete his sentence, Tanja raised his hand to stop him. He then looked at Thyra and was surprised to see that she had a smile on the edge of her lips.
"Is there anything to laugh about, Dame Thyra?" Tanja wasn't too happy to see her careless expression.
"We have more than 300 soldiers who have returned from war. Asking any one of them would have clarified the situation."
Thyra smiled at Pyra, adding, "However, some might question their royalty. Then, how about 500 prisoners of war who were sent to the Digen."
"No, they are enemy soldiers. They might lie too." Thyra shook her head as if she was talking to herself. Then she looked at Tanja, asking, "What should I do, your highness?"
It wasn't just Tanja. All of them were confused.
So, Thyra said, "Your Highness, what should you do? Believe your commanders who went to war and came back with a win or those who hide behind the walls and make illogical comments?"
"What are you trying to say?" Narn shouted as Pyra glared at her.
"I am saying that even an idiot would have known to send a scout and check the battlefield or integrate the enemy soldiers. And Your Highness is smarter than everyone else in this room. So, he would know what to do."
"We are not talking about the war." Narn was the first to change the topic. "We are here to decide the punishment for you for disobeying the royal decree."
"Yes, what more can you do? Besides doing dirty politics." Thyra frowned and said, "The first thing we need to do now is figure out how such a large empire army got so far into our territory without being found. Right now, that should be our top priority, and you..."
"Yup, I am guilty. I disobeyed the royal decree. But I did it to save our fellow soldiers and our weak citizens." Thyra sighed and turned towards Tanja, adding, "Your Highness, punish me and get it over with. I have a lot more things to do than argue with idiots about reality."
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