I'm not sure when it was the first time I stood on the battlefield. Back then, it was a time when there was a constant war with the Zaruda and Mist kingdoms every year... so it's already been a couple of decades.
　Count Salzberg's eyes gaze into the distant past as he opens his mouth.　
　Thomas Salzberg was still in his early teens when he first took the field of battle.
　He inherited his physique and martial talents from his father.
　And his mother gave him the trait of being an earthling, the ability to absorb more of the vitality of the people he killed.
　Count Salzberg was born with a natural talent and the perfect environment to prolong it, and he became a warrior with the ability to become the ruling class of the earth world.
'In my first battle, I killed twenty-five of Zaruda's knights and bled many of the commoners who were drafted into the army.
　Words filled with confidence and pride.
　In the common sense of the earth, there is no need for a legitimate son of a nobleman to go to the front lines, and it is easily avoided as a dangerous act that does not respect his position, but in the land world, this is a different story.
　The higher the rank of the person, the more strength is required of him or her.　
　This is due to the warfare spreading throughout the earth world and the existence of dangerous creatures far beyond the category of beasts called monsters. And it can be said that this is the result of a combination of factors such as the technique of the martial arts.
　A skilled hand in the martial arts is a match for a single rider. There are warriors who were even described as "unjustified" in the legends.
　And the problem is that those adjectives in the earth world refer to the literal meaning of the word.
　Numbers are certainly an important factor, but the martial power of an outstanding individual can overwhelm the logic of those numbers. Because it overwhelms them, a general or king must also increase his own power.
　In order for them to survive.
　Because it is such a world, there are very many people in the earth world who are excellent in warfare.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you want to do with your life.
　The young Count Salzberg was all of these things. And a great ideal....
'When I was young, I only wanted to be a good lord who was loved by his lordship. I thought that stabilizing the livelihood of the lords and defending the land from the hands of invaders was what it was all about.
　At those words, Ryoma nodded silently.
　According to the information that he had ordered the Igazakishu to gather, the Count Salzberg before he took over the title was indeed clearly different from the present.
　A loyal warrior who had placed himself on the front lines of the grueling battlefield and continued to defend the northern borders of the Roserian Kingdom.
　The heir to a young family of counts who put the peace of their people first.
　The current Count Salzberg would have an unimaginable reputation.
　But it's clear that the young Count certainly had what it takes to be called that.　
　Everything changed more than a decade ago now.
　It was even more than a year before the day Elena Steiner had lost her beloved family through the machinations of the now deceased Hodram Arleberg.　
'That day was also a night with such a heavy cloud cover outside...'
　Nodding at Count Salzberg's mutterings, Ryoma quietly turned his gaze out the window.
''You mean the day you lost your then-ex-wife, right?''
'Yes. The day I lost the woman I loved with all my heart in a flash.
　The scenes of those days passed through Count Salzberg's mind.
　It was not a fond memory, nor was it a nostalgic one.
　If I had to choose, I'd say it was a painful experience filled with humiliation and ridicule.
(Well, I suppose it's no wonder humans are distorted if they're subjected to such a thing... although I think it's a shame really.
　Ryoma cowered his shoulders in silence.
　The main culprit that led the heroic Count Salzberg astray.
　It was a tangle of love and lust, as well as human jealousy and envy, as told in many myths.
　Count Salzberg had a bride with whom he had pledged his future since he was a child.
　She is the second daughter of Viscount Muhebach's family, Asteria.
　The Viscount Muhebachs are a small but influential family with a well-developed mercantile estate close to the royal capital Piraeus, and they are one of the most prestigious families that are related to the dukes of Gerhard, the leader of the aristocracy.
　This relationship between Count Salzberg and Miss Astelia Muhebach, it is said that they were very close when they were young.
　The Count Salzberg's servants have long remembered their visits to the Count's house, going back and forth between the two houses and playing games in the garden.
　But just because they were close as children doesn't mean that they will remain so in the future.
　In many cases, the relationship will change as time passes.
　The Viscount Muhebach family, which has a fiefdom near the royal capital and a decent position among the aristocracy, is required to socialize as a nobleman at various evenings, tea parties, and plays.
　It is truly a different world of glittering, refined ladies and gentlemen.
　What about the Countesses of Salzberg, on the other hand?
　In terms of the size of his territory and his title, he is certainly superior to the Viscount Muhebach family.
　The location of the frontier area in the northern part of the Roserian Kingdom and the presence of external enemies, including the magical Woltenia peninsula, made his family a nobleman and a prominent family of military prowess.
　However, when viewed in terms of the power structure within the Kingdom of Roselia, the Countess Salzberg was only one independent power on the frontier.
　Their influence was extremely limited, only in the northern part of Roseria, and their rank in the court was only as high as their titles.
　Even if the fame was high, it was not accompanied by any real benefits.
　With this, if the successive counts of Salzberg had been skilled in political strategy as well as military might, the outcome might have been different, but unfortunately, they have refrained from creating factions as much as possible due to the inherent purity of warriors.
　Certainly, as a warrior in the service of the Roserian Kingdom, the path chosen by successive counts would not be wrong.
　But what about as an aristocratic family?
　People dislike dissimilar things.
　And the Countesses of Salzberg, who were aristocrats, but were renowned for their military prowess and rarely showed themselves at court, were truly alien to many Roserian nobles.
　Still, the two sides were balanced and kept in a delicate balance.
　But the presence of Thomas Salzberg would upset that balance.
　And finally, the events of that night had come to pass.

'It seems that, to them, the honour I've earned has been an irritant.
　In a battle against the Kingdom of Mist, Thomas Salzberg defeated the enemy general and brought victory to the Roserian army.
　The victory was presented to the king by Elena, who went to the northern border of the kingdom as a reinforcement.
　As the general in charge of the military affairs of the Kingdom of Roseria at the time, Elena did the most natural thing, but as a result, things took a turn for the worse.
Invited to King's Landing, Thomas Salzberg attended a ball hosted by the king.
　And that's when he saw it. His fiancée and a young nobleman walked into the circle of the ball, leaving his fiancée behind.
　Naturally, young Thomas immediately felt compelled to stop them. But.....
That's what they wanted...
　Indignation appeared on Count Salzberg's face as he spat bitterly.
　Young Thomas didn't understand what it meant for Asteria to dance another man in lieu of his fiancée.
　And the intentions and position of Viscount Muhebach's family who allowed it to happen.
　At that time, while pretending as if they had noticed it by accident, the nobles with a stomach thoroughly rubbed off on Thomas, who had been ignored by his own fiancée.
　Along with the mockery of being a pathetic hero who had been run off by his fiancée.
　At the banquet he was supposed to attend as a hero, his fiancée crushed his mens reps.
　There are few things more miserable than this.
　And with a scornful look in his back, Thomas Salzberg left the castle. 'Is it all because of that?

'Is that what it all comes down to?'
　It's true, I'm sorry to hear that. But this would not be the only thing that twisted the Count's mind.
　A nobleman's marriage is inevitably preceded by the will of the family.
　After finishing listening to Count Salzberg's story, Ryoma asks with a sigh.　
Well, it's one of those things that started it all, I guess you could say.
　A fierce smile appeared on Count Salzberg's face.
　An unexpected breakup with the woman he loved. And the ridicule of those around him.
　In other words, the Count must have realized that he would be willing to give up his own pleasures for the country and its people.
　It was not worth it to give up his own pleasure to serve his country and its people.
　But that was not the only thing that broke Count Salzberg's heart.
　Something else had to have happened to break his heart.
''I see.......I would be glad to hear about that as well....
　However, at Ryoma's words, Count Salzberg slowly shook his head and pulled the sword that was propped up by his side from its scabbard.
It's a very late night. I'll tell you more with my sword.
　His voice is cold and hard as ice. It seems to be something you don't want to talk to others about.
　The sword held in the middle of the table reflects the pale light of the candle and shines.
　That figure eloquently refuses to have any more conversation.
''I see.......well, that's fine.　　
　To be honest, Ryoma wanted to continue his conversation with Count Salzberg.
　After the unification of northern Roselia, Ryoma would go to the royal capital, Piraeus, again.
　Ryoma's biggest enemy is Lupis Roserianus and the nobles who carry her around.
　The Count Salzberg's words are a valuable experience, even if it means knowing the enemy's tricks.
　But at the same time, Ryoma knew that this was hurting the count's heart.
''Well then, let's have you as a partner.
　When he said that, Ryoma slowly pulled the wailing out of its sheath and took the eight-phase stance.