"Your Grace, the enemy is advancing fiercely. The outer wall has already fallen; our troops are retreating toward the inner city."
Behind the wall, Duke Grant sat at his writing desk in a hastily donned coat as reports came one after another. His thick brows knotted, and his pupils glinted with a savage light.
He had originally planned to stall, to wait and see how things unfolded in the capital, even at worst he could buy time through formal talks, rally neighboring nobles to resist, or continue recruiting to build strength for the coming defense.
He hadn't expected the Valeria Empire to strike so quickly.
They had sent a letter that afternoon asking to negotiate, and by nightfall troops were assaulting the fortress. Astrid Calliste truly wouldn't suffer any loss if she could avoid it.
Just as he was wondering where reinforcements might come from, a piece of news from his servant made him grimace.
"The adjutant… he… fell in battle while fighting the scaling troops…"
