Chapter 23

I suddenly found myself wondering.

Could a mere commoner kill a medieval king?

I wasn’t talking about a simple assassination.

A king is nothing like a modern president. He’s also the spiritual pillar of the nation, someone they call the father of the country. He’s not some part you can just swap out whenever you feel like it.

Replacing one by force would only bring chaos. Even in China’s Warring States period, the sudden fall of a ruler had never done the world any good.

If I were to kill him, how would I have to do it? And who could replace him perfectly?

The answer did not come easily.

Honestly, the best outcome would be for the Dauphin to simply be a good man. A king who remembered those who had helped him and repaid their kindness. Someone who knew how to be grateful.

If he were that kind of king, I would have no problem swearing loyalty to him. I would even be willing to put my talents at his service.

Not knowing what the future held only made my vague anxiety grow stronger.

Until now, I had simply done my best with whatever circumstances I was given. Things had worked out well as a result, but at its core, I was still walking a tightrope.

I still missed the peaceful days I had spent in Domrémy. If I could only be certain that I wouldn’t lose the people precious to me, I would gladly live out my life as a commoner.

***

Orléans was home to the largest river in France. It guarded the route into central France, making it a place of immense strategic importance.

For France, it was like the heart of the country. For England, taking it would throw the gates of conquest wide open. A fierce clash was inevitable.

“A Scottish commander has spotted an English supply convoy!”

“Really? How large is the supply train?”

“They say the wagons stretch as far as the eye can see. They’re packed with enough food and weapons to supply the entire army!”

For the French, news of those supplies was painful to hear.

“…No. This is an opportunity. If we seize those supplies for ourselves, it could completely change the course of the war. Tell the Scots we’ll join them immediately.”

The appearance of an endless train of supply wagons led to a battle that would determine the victor of the war.

The count joined forces with the Scots, bringing their combined strength to more than four thousand men, and launched a surprise attack on the supply convoy. True to their reputation as a land of knights, a strike force of infantry and cavalry charged in without warning.

“Look at those vermin shamelessly crawling across our land! Crush those filthy bastards and take every last one of their supplies!”

“Kill the English bastards who rape our women! Go-dong! Go-dong!”

The battle began with a French attack. Spotting them in the distance, the English abandoned their advance and brought the supply convoy to a halt on the road.

“Form a defensive square! Link the wagons together and use them as a barricade. Drive stakes into the ground. We already know which direction the cavalry will charge from…!”

The English commander remained calm despite the surprise attack.

“Longbowmen, take aim! Let’s turn those idiots into pincushions!”

The magnificent thunder of charging hooves descended into chaos in less than a minute.

The wagons were fully loaded. Once they were arranged as a barricade, they proved surprisingly effective at stopping the attack. The cavalry couldn’t easily get past the wagon wall.

The count, who had ordered the charge, realized that things were going badly. He decided to call off the reckless assault and clear away the barricade first.

“Enough! Halt the charge and bring up the artillery!”

“…The Scottish infantry are ignoring the signal to retreat.”

The count’s judgment had been correct. Unfortunately, with friendly troops still in front of them, they couldn’t fire their cannons. The Scottish soldiers were left isolated on the battlefield when the French suddenly pulled back.

Each side of the allied force was interfering with the other’s tactics. They were allies, but they had no command structure that allowed them to coordinate. They had simply rushed here together to cut off the English supplies.

While the allied forces struggled in confusion, the English deployed their own artillery.

“Fire!”

Boom! Boom, boom!

The English bombardment continued. The isolated Scots were caught directly in the barrage. The English foolishly blew apart some of the wagons they were using as barricades with their own cannon fire, but the damage was insignificant compared to the losses suffered by the allied forces.

In fact, the destroyed wagons spilled their contents across the ground and turned it into a muddy mess, making it even harder for the cavalry to advance.

“D-Don’t stop here! Keep charging!”

The assault force floundered through the mud. Meanwhile, the English remained behind their barricades and continued raining arrows down on them. The allied troops, already getting tangled up with one another, had no way to avoid the arrows.

The English commander sneered at the allied forces.

“Those barbarians and French bastards think Europe’s finest longbowmen are a fucking joke!

Those idiots never learn. And the few archers they do have are all completely useless.”

The battlefield reeked of fish.

The stench came from the herring that had spilled across the ground from the wagons shattered by the cannon fire.

The battle ended in a crushing defeat for the Franco-Scottish alliance.

More than a hundred knights were killed, with total casualties approaching a thousand. Nearly five hundred Scottish soldiers were killed as well.

The English, on the other hand, had maintained their defensive formation and fought at range throughout the battle, suffering minimal losses. Their supplies were safely transported to Orléans.

This defeat also dragged down the morale of the other French forces.

“This is entirely the fault of the French for abandoning us. You’ve been sending us to pointless deaths from the start!”

“You’re blaming us? The problem is your goddamn lack of mobility! You even ignored the signal to retreat!”

“If only we’d had some sturdy wagons to haul the supplies, we could’ve at least made off with a decent amount of loot even if we lost…”

The defeat bred distrust among the allied forces. Dark clouds gathered over the Orléans front.

***

We arrived in the Loire Valley. About a hundred kilometers from Chinon, this area was under Armagnac control.

Known as the “Garden of France”, the region drew genuine admiration from Maxime.

What a beautiful place.

Lush green hills and fields stretched out around the broad river. Vast vineyards lined its banks. It was hard to believe that a war was raging in Orléans only half a day’s journey away.

Just as we were amazed by the scenery, the guards here were astonished by our story.

“You came all the way here from Lorraine? Why?”

Jeanne told them about her revelation.

“My name is Jeanne la Pucelle. I have received a command from Heaven to end the fighting at Orléans and lead our king, the Dauphin, to Reims to be crowned.”

She introduced herself as la Pucelle rather than d’Arc. For reference, la Pucelle meant “the Maiden,” or “the Virgin”.

“You truly received a revelation from Heaven?”

Jeanne’s compelling prophecy stirred the people into a frenzy. Perhaps because they lived so close to the war zone, they seemed especially enthusiastic.

Word quickly reached Orléans.

“They say people who received a revelation from God have come from Lorraine to help us.”

“Probably just con artists looking for an opportunity.”

“Haven’t you heard the prophecy that a young maiden will save France? This isn’t something you can dismiss as a simple fraud!”

The people of Orléans were intensely curious about the prophecy.

They were a pitiful lot. Orléans had borne the full brunt of the war between nations.

The rightful Duke of Orléans, the man who should have protected them, had long since been taken prisoner by the English at the Battle of Agincourt. With no one to protect them, they were practically refugees.

“Even if they are frauds, I just hope they’ll help us…”

***

“Let’s find an inn first. All this traveling is killing me.”

“…You finally developed a human heart, Brother. What a relief. I’d already started thinking you’d become a demon and was considering an exorcism.”

“I don’t think even a demon could possess the boss. He’s a monster who’s never caught so much as a cold in his life.”

“Woof, woof!”

“So many people slander me for no reason…”

We stopped our journey on Rue Bouchard in Chinon. The castle where the Dauphin was staying was about four hours away from here.

Rather than showing up unannounced, we should send a letter first.

I used what remained of our travel funds to hire a messenger. We sent the castle a letter describing the revelation along with evidence to support our claims. It would take at least a day to receive a response.

“Just unpack your things and take it easy. Everyone needs to recover from the journey so we’ll be ready if anything happens.”

We ate our fill on Rue Bouchard.

The streets inside and outside the walls were narrow, with many alleys designed more for pedestrians than wagons. Small shops and restaurants lined the streets.

At some point, Agathe had become friends with Leo, and the two returned carrying armfuls of food to eat later.

Before anyone even suggested it, we all gathered in front of the inn. The people who had scattered earlier somehow found their way back as if by magic, and we spent a pleasant time together.

Late that afternoon, I went to check on the horses tied up at the stable. Someone else was already there.

“Jeanne, I was wondering where you went. So you were here feeding the horses.”

“Were you looking for me?”

“Not really. I was thinking that maybe I should learn to ride too, for the future, and somehow ended up here.”

“Oh, if that’s why, I can teach you!”

“Right now? Don’t you need some rest?”

“I got plenty of rest in the wagon!”

“I certainly wouldn’t mind learning from the best rider we have.”

We took one of the horses and headed outside. It was the white horse Jeanne usually rode.

Walter followed us out and wandered around nearby.

It was beautiful outside.

Dusk settled over the countryside as the horse snorted softly.

The white horse pushed its face toward me. Startled, Jeanne hurriedly grabbed the reins.

“I’m fine. More importantly, with the sun already that low, we don’t have much time to practice.”

“Hmm…”

She thought for a moment, then climbed onto the horse. From the saddle, she held out her hand to me.

“Come on, get on. I’ll teach you how to keep your balance before it gets dark.”

“Uh…?”

Without thinking, I took her hand. She pulled me up, and I found myself sitting on the horse behind her.

Jeanne flicked the knotted reins, and the horse started running.

Is this really how you’re supposed to do it?

I was unusually flustered. Staying close was the right thing to do when riding safely, but the… considerable pressure against him me from her back left me completely frozen. And there was quite a lot of contact.

“Your body’s way too stiff! Focus on the rhythm of the horse!”

“…….”

I couldn’t concentrate. Honestly, at this point, I had no confidence that I could focus on riding at all.

Slip.

I lost my balance and fell from the horse. Just as I was about to hit the ground, Jeanne d’Arc caught me with astonishing reflexes.

“Th-Thank goodness…”

Jeanne supported me beneath the knees and behind my back.

She was carrying me in what was commonly known as a princess carry.

“.……”

The awkwardness was unbearable.

“Let’s call it a day and head back.”

“What? …Okay.”

On the way back, an awkward silence lingered because of how strangely I had acted.

Get a grip. You’re an adult. What are you doing?

I spoke up to break the awkwardness.

“I’m good at working with my hands, but I guess I’m not very coordinated when it comes to physical stuff. Will you teach me again when we have some time?”

“I’d be happy to teach you as many times as you want.”

Fortunately, the conversation started flowing again soon enough.

Now that we were talking, I decided to ask something I had been wondering about for a while.

“I never asked before, but why have you been introducing yourself to people as la Pucelle lately? Did you stop liking the name d’Arc?”

“…I heard that your background matters when you hold public office.”

She spoke as she picked up Walter, who had been wandering around nearby.

“Even though I’ve been called by God, if people focus too much on the fact that I’m a commoner, some of them might not take what I say seriously. I chose la Pucelle because I want to emphasize my revelation, not my social status.”

“That makes sense.”

She needed to invoke the authority of God. There was nothing to gain from emphasizing her common birth.

“I’ll call you La Pucelle from now on too.”

“……No. Please call me by my real name.”

***

Even before Maxime sent his letter, reports about them had already reached the Dauphin’s court.

The appearance of a saint and a saintess sparked fierce debate among the nobles.

In the end, the letter Maxime sent was the deciding factor.

Ignoring the objections of the nobles, the Dauphin invited them to court.

“By order of His Majesty Charles, you are hereby summoned to the royal court.”