After the meeting in Trisichellia....
　Rosward was strolling alone.

　The area was already dimly lit.

　'Hmm, I wasn't much help...'

　Rosward smiled bitterly.
　Well, Rosward had gained experience as a military man, but none as a diplomat.

　Perhaps Almus had also brought him in to give himself some experience.
　Rosward interpreted.

　'And yet ... it's been a long time. Most of the wars have been over within a year so far...''

　This war was substandard in many ways.

　Normally, it was against a country with less power than our own....
　In addition, it was a battle on land.

　But this time it was against a nation that was stronger than their own.
　In addition, the main battlefield was at sea.

　It's a wonder we were able to win.

　But is it possible that Prince Marcus is a hostage? Well, what should we do?

　Taking the next heir to the throne hostage.
　It is not an unusual story to take the next heir to the throne.
　In fact, it's a common story.

　In the first place, this is what Romalia has done so often in the past.
　It's just that what was done to me was done to me and I got it back.

　Consequences, if not retribution, but........
　At least Romalia, Alms, and Julia are not in a position to grieve.

　Of course, it's true that it's hard for parents to have their children taken hostage.

　''However, your brother wouldn't let his son go alone either. Or rather, every country will always send someone to accompany him as well.......

　When a royal prince goes to take a hostage in another country ...
　The sons and daughters of his vassals would always accompany him.

　These sons and daughters would later become the prince's entourage when he returned home and became king.
　As a companion in pain and suffering.

　Of course, Almus is not the type to force such things.
　

　At that time, Rosward would answer or not answer........

　'Well, it's only natural for a vassal to answer. It's not a bad deal for me or my son....

　The Persis Empire is an advanced nation.　
　It is a country that attracts all kinds of wealth and knowledge from all over the world.

　I can send you to study there.
　That's nothing but a reward, and........

　For Rosward, who came up through the ranks with the encouragement of Almus in the first place, it's only natural that he would want to have the confidence of the next crown prince.

　Ron, Gram, and the Rosewards have a flawed family history.
　It is preferable to have a child along with them to prevent the downfall of the family.

　

　Rosward sighed.
　Rosward couldn't push through if his wife was vehemently opposed to it.

　For what it's worth, Rosward also has a lovely son.
　I don't want to let him go.

　Well, it's because he's cute that I want to send him to study abroad.

　''........But the crown prince's main room is the princess of the Persis Empire. If that's the case, the next king is a mixture of Adelnians and Persians?　Hmmm, it's getting more and more racially mixed up in this country. Well, I don't really care.

　What has been going through Rosward's mind lately is what will happen to Romalia after Almus dies?
　It is a simple question.

　It is no exaggeration to say that the kingdom of Romalia is held together by the genius of Almus.
　This can be seen by considering the division of national opinion before the Pofenian War.

　As a matter of fact, the Kingdom of Romalia is not one.
　It is all due to the resourcefulness of Almus that the interests are coordinated and well organized.

　Therefore, it will be quite tough after the death of Almus.

　''Well, is it the same for all nations? After all, there's a huge barrier between the first and second generation, and the second and third generation.......you have to live a long life!''

　In short, all of them should live longer.
　

　By then, the state system should be in place.

　''It's time to go home I don't want you to get attacked in the dark or something.

　Rosward thought, and as he turned to go back the way he came....
　Quite quickly, something tugged at my clothes.

　I looked down and there was a little girl, about five years old.

　Her hair was a beautiful blonde and her eyes were jade green.
　

　''Um, you are?''
　'I was just taking a walk and got lost. Can you take me there?

　It seemed to be a lost child.
　Rosward patted the girl's head, then asked again.

　'What's your name?'
　Hannah Barca. I'm Belshazzar Barca's daughter.

　Well......
　Rosward was convinced.

　He looks like Alexios.

　If you ask me, he looks very clever.
　Maybe the blood of the Barca clan is alive and well.

　''You're Sir Rosward Fabius, aren't you?
　Yeah, I do. How do you remember the name?
　He's my future enemy. I'm not surprised.

　At this, Rosward smiled bitterly.
　Rosward is not a child enough to get pissed off at being called an enemy by a five-year-old girl.

　Instead, I find it rather comical.

　'Do you hate me?'
　No, not really. I have nothing against Romalia. I'm rather disgusted with Azul Hanno and his grandfather and father.

　Rosward and Hannah start walking side by side.
　Hanna sighs and tells Rosward to complain.

　'Those people think of this war as just a colonial grab, a conflict of interest on Trisichellia Island, that's all. Utterly ... they don't see the essence of it.
　'Essentially?　What the hell is that?

　It's only what a five-year-old little girl says.
　Nevertheless, Rosward, who was a little intrigued, asked Hannah back.

　''The thing is that this might have been one of the few chances we had to stop the Romarian kingdom from running amok. With this defeat the chances of Pofenia's survival for the next hundred years have been greatly reduced.

　Rosward tilted his head at Hannah's words.
　
　In the first place, the main cause of this war was Pofenia.

　''Our country didn't intend to go out of control, but.......what do you mean?''
　It's simple. The Kingdom of Romalia is a peninsular country. By its nature, it needs to be prepared for enemies both from land and from the sea. But as a practical matter it is impossible. Pofenia had a hard time just maintaining its navy. It would have been impossible for any superpower to have both an army and a navy. There was only one way for such Romalia to survive...

　Hannah held up one finger.

　'The idea is to conquer all the coastal areas of the Teutonic Sea and make the Teutonic Sea an inland sea. Then all that's left to do is to prepare for enemies from land.
　''It's an interesting thought... but there is no one in our country who thinks like that. There's no way we can beat the Persis Empire in the first place.
　'What are you talking about? Do you think the Persis Empire will last forever and ever?　There's no way an empire that bloated can last that long. It might last until Emperor Xerxes' time, or maybe even after that, but not after that.

　Rosward gulped.
　Because for the words of a five-year-old little girl they were strangely convincing.

　'Persis will surely collapse within the next hundred years. And there will be a military power vacuum in the Eastern Teutonic Sea. Romalia will intrude there. And in order to protect its interests, it will wage a sustained war of its own. Yes, Sir Rosward Fabius is right, no one will want to take over the world from the Romalis. But there are many nationalists who want to defend their country. And to defend the Kingdom of Romalia, they must invade other countries. And there is no end to it. Romalia will continue to expand indefinitely, and Romalia cannot stop it. When it is stopped, it will be Romalia's downfall.

　Hannah sighed.

　'That's why it had to be stopped here and now. This wasn't just a colonial war, this was a battle for the fate of Romalia and Pofenia, no, the entire Teutonic Sea, for the next few hundred years. And yet they were dragging their feet together.......too little sense of urgency. It's only natural that we should lose.

　Okay, interesting.
　Rosward was unconsciously impressed.

　Even if it was a baseless delusion(...), if he could speak so convincingly, it must have a promising future.
　However.........there was one thing that bothered me as Rosward.
　He wondered why Hannah had told him such a story.

　''........Why would she tell me that?''
　Well, that's easy. It's insurance. Romalia doesn't mean anything to me since I'm going to destroy it...yes, it's insurance. For me, my biggest concern is not that Romalia will conquer the Teutonic Sea. If it is conquered and the people can live happily there, then so be it. And the reputation of Romalia's governance is pretty good there.

　But.....
　Hannah continues.

　'Romalia is young now. It is a sturdy, physical nation that won't let any enemies get in its way. But no superpower has ever been able to remain safe forever. As Persis eventually fell, and as Pophenia was defeated by the Romans, every nation eventually begins to age and rot from the inside out. The body may be as robust as ever, but when the entrails begin to decay, no matter how hard they may be to keep out foreign enemies, they perish.

　Hannah is.....
　She continues in a grave voice that is so grim it's hard to believe she's a little girl of five years old.

　'If it's enough for Romalia to die alone, no problem. But if it was left to drink up many nations in its belly?　What if we were a superpower that straddles the entire Teutonic Sea?　The corruption of Romalia will be synonymous with the corruption of the world. When a rat struggles, there is nothing wrong with it. But when a giant elephant struggles and suffers, a lot of damage is done. I am concerned about that. Therefore, if I am defeated by you I hope that you will do your best to prevent that from happening afterwards. Though I don't know if you'll live to see that happen.

　Hannah grinned and smiled...
　I stopped.

　I noticed that we had already arrived at the inn addressed to Hannah and Belshazzar Barca.

　'Well then, Sir Rosward Fabius. Goodbye. And ... we'll meet again some day. I look forward to the day when I take your head in Rosais, the capital of the Kingdom of Romalia.
　Well, I'm looking forward to it.

　Rosward smiled bitterly.
　Then he looked away from Hannah and then.....

　'Totally.........what kind of education does Belshazzar Barka have? But.........he was a strange kid. And also ... it was an interesting story. Maybe I'll ask my brother about it when I get home?





　At this time, no one knew yet.
　That the First Poffenian War was just a prelude to the First Poffenian War.
　The Second Poffenian War, which would occur later, would be the real national crisis for the nation of Romalia.

　The most.........
　I'm the only one....

　The demon who would later be named the greatest general in the history of the world and the worst, strongest, and deadliest enemy of Romalia....
　Except for Hannah Barca.

　And .....
　While many died out in life after the unification of the Adelian peninsula, the only man who survived and continued to support Romalia would later mourn and regret it.


　　This, if I had killed him, if I had killed him then, this would not have happened!''

　-Rosward Fabius Cunctatore.