There are three main entrances connecting the inner part of Latila to the outside world.

The Remenus Gate in the north, named after the founder of the city of Remes and the Republic of Remes, predecessor of the city of Latila and the Kingdom. With a road leading to Elves Duchy of O’well situated not too far from the city, Remenus holds an important position in the kingdom’s relation with elves communities in the north prior to the Elestovakian conquest. By far, this is the only gate that was still able to keep its original design from the time it was built, unharmed by any war or natural causes.

The Bosphor Gate in the south, named after the very strait close to where it stood. Being a strategic line connecting Latila to Voyage, Flemton, Upper Granisus and Liston, no wonder why this is the largest and most fortified gate in the entire kingdom. It was also the first part of the city to make contact and be attacked by the Elestovakians ten years ago, and was also where members of the House of Flemton and the House of Voyage successfully repealed the invading army. The Latilians could have had their city intact, if not for a disaster occurring in another place.

“Here”

The Konstantine Gate, named after king Konstantine the Great, first king of the Kingdom, who rebuilt the city of Reme from ashes and renamed it to Latila. It has no important value compared to the two other gates mentioned earlier, but on that fateful day in the Siege of Latila, the gate was unexpectedly breached, and the invaders came and swarmed into the city. Latila was vandalized and plundered for three days before the Elestovakians were pushed out through the very way they used to enter. Still, damage was done, the Kingdom lost many commanders, soldiers and civilians to the invaders.

From then, the gate gained more attention from the Latilian monarch and their Voyager allies, and was hastily repaired, and then renovated entirely new after the war. However, the renovation was useless, or at least its whole original purpose was thrown aside.

The gate which was supposed to welcome the invaders, is now preparing to release an army that would soon conquer the enemies. They are still in the preparation phase though, the final stage of the preparation phase:

“Ave Caesar!”

“I am kindly asking you to stop saying that, and good morning, Aurora.”

While overseeing Elestovakian territory from the top of the wall, Klein Caesar bumped into a hurrying Aurora, who was from the Konstantine Gate hasting go to the camp of his army in Bosphor:

“And why were you in such a hurry? Is there anything emergent?”-asked Klein to the girl. She is breathing heavily, as if her lungs are dying from exhaustion. Behind her is the usual oversized backpack stuffed with something looks like white bricks:

“No ...hah.. .I meant …hah…perhaps? I want to deliver this.”

Aurora throws a “brick” at Klein’s face, luckily he catches it with his hands. Then, the girl collapsed on the wall, letting all of the white bricks scattered around her in a circle. Now seeing closer, as it turned out, those white bricks are just…soaps…

“What the-”

“Yeah, soaps....”-Aurora recovered from where she lay down after a sip of water-”Synthetic detergent might be a better term to call them, but soap is fine…”

Having recovered from the tiredness, Aurora picks up the bars scattering on the ground and puts them back in her backpack. While doing so she not forget introducing this type of soap to the man who is looking at her in confusion:

“Soap, yes. You know it well. They can be used for cleaning clothes and your body…but hey, that was not a deep case study about soap. Soaps can be used to prevent diseases by washing hands regularly…”

“Which is vital for an expeditionary army, I see your point. Usually at least 1/4 of the army would die from disease before they even had chances to see the battlefield.”

“Yes, that is why I think soaps are important…and this one (synthetic detergent) can be used in hard water ... .well I meant water from every river and lakes, and not just a few specific clean ones…I guess this would help us tremendously. It’s not like we could find a freshly tranquil water source if we want to…”

In the antiquity and medieval time, excluding neither Earth nor this world, infectious diseases had always been a headache problem for both civilians and the military, especially for an expeditionary army where thousands of armed men were crammed into a limited space moving force. That and the lack of hygiene and clean water were responsible for at least half of the casualties or any army prior to the modern era. This is the reason why soap is such an important luxury the Latilians must have to maintain their already small army in foreign territory.

“That was clever”-Klein cracks a compliment-”Who was behind this idea in the first place?”

“Your sister.”

Lily, of course. The person who values tidiness and likes to bathe. There is no surprise if the archduchess asks Aurora to make her some soap, and this girl would end up industrializing the whole process to make enough of these items to supply a whole army in years to come:

“At least this time it is good when you overdone it…”

“Heh heh, I’ve calculated everything carefully this time, feel free to admire the great Aurora Borealis for being too useful!”

“Now that is not appreciated, restrain yourself.”

“Okay.”-Aurora nods, but herself was looking for something else-”I got this for you as well”-She pulls out something manifest a pipe with weird substances in it from the bag-”This thing is called a water filter, which help you to clean dirt from your water sources”-and another thing resemble papers-”And eh…just throw a piece into water, if it barely change color then it is safer to drink…”

And many more things. Aurora seems very cautious, which is good, but her precaution is too overwhelming even for a careful person like Klein, as if she is excited for the war. That makes Klein wonders, what is Aurora’s true intention:

“Who are you exactly?”-Klein asked, the question made Aurora tilt her head with stupefaction before replying-”Aurora Borealis.”

“I know, but- whatever, why did you come to this land?”

“I remember having told His Highness before I met you”-the girl packs her belongings back in her bag-”I want to become a saint, when I am alive of course.”

“That’s-”

“And if I help His Highness to achieve his dream, do you think he will help me with my dream too?”

Speechless, judging by her attitude and words, Aurora is not lying, she might actually want to become a saint, but it makes Klein even more perplexed. Wartime saints are nothing too extraordinary in Kristianity, but a girl at this age wanting to become a saint by that method, seems unthinkable.

Also, among many people he could’ve brought from Milishila here, why did Belisari choose this dreamy girl to be his advisor and engineer in the first place?

(It is not my duty to question)

Though, if his prince chose Aurora, he would accept it, and he would accept everything about the person Belisari trust:

“Quite an ambitious, but ideal dream you have”-he speaks-”Being titled a saint while still alive, eh? I’d say good luck.”

“Thank you, I wish you the best luck too.”-Aurora says with an adorable smile of a child-”Anyway, can you help bring these things to the army in the south? I have to go to Konstantine Gate now, bye~”

As her bag was thrown to Caesar, Aurora immediately without delay sprints back toward the direction where she came from, disappearing before Klein even noticed:

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“Perhaps that energy is the reason Belisari chose her?”

Klein thought for himself without saying into words. He picks up the backpack from the ground (quite heavy to say the least), then turns around and returns to his army camp.

“Huh?”

From the backpack, a letter fell out.

**

Earlier

Knock! Knock!*

In the foot of each gate, there would be a series of office rooms built inside the wall, not only serving as places where commanders and officers of the army discuss their tactics and strategies, but also provide safe travel routes from gate to gate. Konstantine Gate is no different. In fact, because the compact stone layer of the gate was destroyed before, Konstantine was rebuilt entirely with this half-wall half-headquarter format. It is also the gate where it was decided to situate the secondary office of the head of the Latilian Army, in other word, Lily Sobieski Voyage’s office.

And now, Lily in that very office, with a lighted cigarette on her left hand, is working with piles of report papers from the Flier Scout Unit. Convenient, because her old librarian friend Angela, who has just rejoined the army, was an expert navigator. Words said that Elestovakian militia forces around Latila are getting thinner and thinner due to the loss of a huge finance for an unknown reason, but whatever the cause is, it is great for Latila and her army. At least in the first phase of the war there will be little bloodshed:

“Greeting Liliya.”

Unexpectedly, while doing half-way the report, Lily sees prince Belisari sneaking his eyes into her office:

“Morning Belisarius. Come in”-she says-”What brought you here today?”

“Am I not able to visit my dear friend now, Liliya?”-the prince shakes his head-”Also, I see you’ve taken care of these flowers well.”

On the only window of the room, stood a ceramic flower vase filled with white lilies, the gift Belisari gave his archduchess earlier in Vlenna. The flowers flourished in sunlight, blooming beautifully:

“They made nice decorations for my office. I’ve never been given flowers before, but at least I know how to take care of one.”

The Archduchess answers, then continues with the contents of the report. Driven by his curiosity, Belisari comes closer and sits next to Lily to read with her:

“What made you think so much?”

“I got papers from our espionage agents in Elestovakia”-Lily hands the sheet to Belisari-”The Imperial Army has arrived at the border of Alysiae Occident, right underneath Vlenne Exterius, waiting for the supply force to catch up to them, and in the meantime establishing camps. I dare say they will attack the city in less than three weeks.”

“Coincident”-Belisari takes out a letter from his pocket-”From Leopol to me, written yesterday arrived this morning thanks to fast aerial delivery.”

Among twenty ships purchased by Aurora, two of which were converted into flier carriers and docked on the sealane between Latila and Vlenna. They serve as checkpoints for the Latilian Navy, as well as bases for fliers taking off from Vlenna landing in Latila rapidly without the need of rest and resupplying in the continent where the Elestovakians have full control of. Arlin and Angela are the masterminds behind this mail delivering tactic:

“He says a Milishilian patrol galleon had reported encountering the Elestovakian Navy sailing along the shoreline from Levantia, a week before this letter was written. By now it is likely they've been stationed somewhere close to Vlenne Exterius, and might even arrive in Vlenna earlier than the army.”

“They will probably assault the city with naval force first. How did Leo respond to that piece of information?”

“He reserved the Vlennian Navy behind the wall already, and put cannon mounts on high alert….and he sent me this letter, saying that he needed help as soon as possible.”

“I see”-Lily sighs-”The war is crazily near. Say, Belisarius, how long until we depart from Latila?”

“According to the original plan, two weeks, according to the recent development ...I say a week? Should we adjust the schedule?”

“By doing so morale would be harmed a bit, and our force might be underequipped, but the sooner we take off the sooner we arrive at Vlenna to help them.”

Morale and equipment versus time, choosing between one is critical. This is a problem that cannot be resolved with just Lily and Belisari:

“Should we consult with Klein, Arlin, Aurelian and your father?”

“I hate Zenos, but we cannot ignore the importance of this topic and let only two people among many to decide.”

The archduchess crosses her arms

”Personally, I would choose to depart immediately, risking the fall of Vlenna is not favorable. Not only that would make us lose a great ally and create more difficulties for our army, but also severely damage our reputation to civilians in territory we will occupy.”

“That is a great point, I can see.”

“As for morale and equipment, I don’t think there will be much of a difference between a week and two weeks. I don’t expect any major combat at least until we reach Carthagia. Look.”

The woman hovers her finger on the report earlier talking about the demilitarize of Elestovakian Army bordering Latila:

“Oh…so it really went into effect…”

“What?”

“The diamond strategy”-Belisari explained-”Aurora’s diamonds we sold earlier were hunted down by Elestovakian aristocrats around here…”

The prince then elaborates the plan to Lily exactly how Aurora elaborated the plan to him months earlier, which at the end made Lily chuckled-“A very brilliant move there. I didn’t see that coming.”

“I was surprised when Aurora suggested that idea too. That girl is quite clever, I must say.”-said the prince.

“I understand why. Anyway, that said, we still need opinions from other commanders. I will get some papers, ink, and envelopes.”

Back to present

“From Arlin:“Klein and I have carefully analyzed yours and His Highness’s new plan, and to some extent we do agree with you judging by what we’ve understood about the current situation. Your brothers will cooperate and continue preparing the army to be ready in a week. We are currently announcing this development to officers under our command.”

Within twenty minutes after sending the letters, Lily and Belisari have had the answers from their colleagues. Aside from Klein and Arlin’s approval earlier, the northern army did not object, Aurelian and Zeno said the same thing the archduchess told Belisari earlier about the pros and cons of taking off within a week, and they eventually decided to follow the new plan. The only force hesitated is the Knights Cathedraller, which delivered their concern via the reply of Gerald via mail, arguing that their militias might not feel comfortable from this change. Nevertheless, they said they will follow the Latilian movement no matter what:

“I think we can conclude now.”-said Belisari, to which Lily agrees with him.

The schedule is now set in a week. In other words, the Latilians will invade Elestovakia two weeks before the Imperial Army arrived at Vlenna’s outskirt. After hearing news of the Latilian invasion, the force attacking Vlenna shall be divided into two groups, one to attack the Vlennians as they’ve planned, the rest will have to move immediately to confront the Latilians under Arlin and Klein’s command, thus lifting the pressure on Leopol and his troops in Vlenna.

“Your Grace, Your Highness”

The office door opens, standing in front of it is Angela, who had flown from the Latila Palace here to bring news from King Justinius-“His Majesty has just called the Elestovakian ambassadors to arrive at noon, there he will hand them the war declaration.”

“Excellent.”-Lily nods.

The clock was set. From now, there will be no more time to lose.

“I gotta go for a while.”

The archduchess stood up from her seat and hit the ground running. Her first task is to announce this change to the army under her and Belisari command, the army of Konstantine Gate:

“Deliver this message to the officers”-Voyage hands a dozen letters she prepared prior and a gold coin to a bodyguard by the door of her office-”Make sure every one of them receive and read it at least once, if needed, stand there until they’ve finished reading. If they dare to ignore you, show them this…”

Lily then takes the silver cross necklace off her neck and gives it to the man:

“...and tell them this is an emergency order from Archduchess Lily Sobieski Voyage, that alone will ensure they will read. I expect no less than everyone receiving this message within five hours, now you may go.”

The guard, without needing his commander to finish, rushes out immediately for his mission.

Meanwhile, Belisari, still sitting in Lily’s office, writes letters to administrators of Latila Port and Maritimer/Milishilian firms across the city, asking them to evacuate their valuable traders away from Elestovakia and Vlenna before the invasion commences. By doing this their allies will not be caught in the flame of war, and their alliance will be ensured safely. They only have them as allies, cannot lose them by idiotic mistakes:

“I’ve included addresses here”-Belisari gives the sealed envelopes to Angela-”Deliver them to the Milishilians and the Maritimers.”

“Okay, do you have anything else?”

“If you do go by the furnace center, tell them to hurry and finish our orders.”

“Roger”

Angela takes mails, puts them into her bag and jumps out of the window, it is the shortcut to the runway of the wall.

“Hey no need to be that hasty-....

Purrr

The flier has long taken off before he even finished.

“Haizz….I guess that is okay.”-the prince scratches his head-”Time is no longer an abundant resource after all”

“...”

“...”

“I must also hurry for the preparation.”