“General offensive by combined Orlish, Lorathian, and Gallian armies in the fields of North Gallia has finally commenced! Facing the still advancing and bled-out armies of the Coalition, Orlish, and Lorathian expeditionary forces punched a gigantic hole in their lines, creating deep salients dozens of kilometers, with two pincers coming from the Gallian northern coast and the Gallian southeast. Lorathian Cipher 2 tanks, fresh out of the production lines last year, made their debut with the 1st and 2nd Royal Armored Division’s four hundred tanks destroying hundreds of T-86 and T-18 models in the northern coast. Down south, Orlish forces enjoy absolute aerial dominance, with Orlish armored brigades driving through destroyed masses of CFN vehicles. The MN might have a real chance of victory after all.”

- Geopol Press

+++

West Orland

Eutstadt

June 10, 2025

The cameras flashed as Amelie made her way toward the podium. Delegates from across the world all gave their claps as they watched the Queen of Orland arrive. From Asanai, from Hebei, from Kusari, and all the rest of the Mandate of Nations—they were here. The Defense Conference 2025 was one of the things that she had to look forward to, especially since today, the Mandate of Nations was gaining its first headway into a Gallian victory.

“But the situation remains tense!” Amelie declared halfway through her speech to the crowds, as more cameras flashed. “Yes, the planning and the preparation that we gave for the operation in Gallia is now making its gains. But we still have to remain vigilant to the tense balance of power right now. Complacency is not a virtue. And the side that has the upper hand remains arguable. So do your part!”

The claps ended her speech soon, as Amelie resigned from the main conference, half tired. Of course, she had to spend a few more hours shaking hands, talking to head diplomats, and even a few heads of state that attended the conference, but soon, she was out of her juice when she met William and Nia.

“You look like crap,” William bluntly said, looking her up and down.

“Gee, do you have to be that harsh?” Nia asked, annoyed.

“I mean, that girl’s clearly not having sleep.”

“Yeah, and so are you.”

“Yeah, but that’s my job.”

“And my job as well,” Amelie said, as she went for the sofa. Nia on the other hand opened the box of luxurious donuts that Amelie requested on the table, and Amelie made her pick. “Mhm…smells good.”

“I ordered it from the best as always,” Nia humbly said.

“Thanks.”

William on the other hand sat on the edge of the sofa, taking one for himself.

“Didn’t know you’re into this too.”

“Hey! Who told you to just grab one out of nowhere!” Nia hissed. “It’s for Amelie.”

William bit his donut without a care.

“Pfft, you know, she’s a big girl already. No need for too much sugar.”

“I protest that assessment,” Amelie said as she relaxed on her sofa. “Sugar is what keeps me going.”

“Well, won’t that make you fat?”

“I swear to the Goddess, you’re the worst when it comes to talking to women,” Nia said, crossing her arms.

“Well, maybe it would, but like…I don’t know,” Amelie stuffed herself with the donut, barely even keeping her regal manners intact. “I’m leading a nation at war. Can’t I have some extra nice stuff?”

“Exactly!” Nia defended Amelie with an overly-determined nod.

“Yeah, sure, sure,” William said, grabbing another one for himself. “Anyway, on the subject of the war, I just wanted to ask, you need a report now?”

“Sure, shoot,” Amelie replied.

“We fucked up the river crossing,” William said, bluntly, taking another bite to his donut. Amelie looked up at him, a bit wide-eyed, and William just shrugged. “What?”

“Don’t ‘what?’ me! What do you mean they screwed up?!”

“Mhm, the III OEF Corps fumbled the bag with their airmobile units. The Larissans blew up the final bridge. Quite unfortunate, but we’re already setting up multiple pontoon bridges on the flanks.”

Amelie frowned, resting her back further on the sofa, clearly deep in thought.

“Wouldn’t that affect our speed?”

“Yep. We also lost hundreds of airmobile troops. Some battalions had to surrender because the ground elements of the III OEF Corps were too slow to arrive. The good news is, that the IV OEF Corps and II OEF Corps took their objectives before the enemy fortified those cities. They also destroyed one Larissan Tank Division and one Motor Rifle Division.”

“In the span of a day?!” Nia exclaimed. “How?”

“We lost a hundred tanks too, so it’s not like we’re doing good,” William clarified. “Yeah, the thing is, the attrition rates are just very high. We’re having battalions moving so fast that they get cut off, encircled, or what else? Both sides. However, the enemy is suffering three casualties to one. Or around two to one. Something in that ballpark.”

“...In that case, we’ve faced setbacks, but we’re also still advancing at breakneck speeds?” Amelie asked.

“Yep. Right on the money. The word is that the OHC is going to be a bit more careful going forward. We had one of our armored battalions get axed in a bad ambush because they were driving in these straight convoys to assault a town within…two hours…from the start of the operations. Yes. Extremely tight schedules, so our forces screwed up and advanced way too fast. Shit happened. Yesterday, on Highway 38, twenty-four Löwe tanks were destroyed in one engagement. In thirty minutes. Yep. Thirty goddamned minutes. Absolute massacre.”

“I thought…I thought that we’ve demonstrated well that Larissan tanks are inferior. How are they pulling this out?”

“Again, overconfidence and tight schedules lead to disorganized formations and unit movements. Doesn’t matter if you have a superior tank if your entire battalion dives headfirst into an ambush by an enemy two times your size. An enemy that will surround you, outmaneuver you and kill a good chunk of your men and vehicles. Bad blunder.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Amelie sighed, shaking her head.

“Well, at the very least, it’s still nowhere as bad as the Grand Duchy Campaign. I still have night terrors about the losses we sustain here.”

“Yeah, on that, the losses are getting too painful, actually,” William said, his face scrounging up. “I just checked our stockpiles. We’d be run dry by the next six months. On average, we now lose around thirty tanks each day, mostly to the Federalists. They’re ramping up the fighting in all directions. And that’s just tanks. We’re losing more in other equipment categories.”

“Wait, remind me, how many tanks do we produce each day?” Nia asked.

William then counted on his hand.

“We have twelve major tank manufacturing plants online right now, six of which went online only four months ago. All in all, they produce a combined eighteen Löwe tanks each day. Which means we always have a shortfall of twelve tanks each day that we meet with our dwindling stockpiles instead.”

“Well…all those automobile factories are taking their sweet time to retool for war production,” Amelie muttered. “Minister Wittfield told me that it’d take more time before we reach the point of true mass production.”

“Well, hopefully, these losses are temporary,” William said. “Because the thing is, the Federalists know that we’re making headway against their allies. So they’re exerting pressure here with local offensives. Attacks meant to just…force us to get our heavy equipment out. And then they try to eliminate them.”

“On average, how many tanks do the Federalists lose?” Amelie asked.

“Well, our local commanders say they lose slightly more,” William shook his head, unconvinced. “I’m more inclined to believe that they’re losing around sixty or seventy percent of what we are losing. That’s what the figures that my agents deep in Federalist territories are saying. And they’re producing metric tonnes of heavy equipment. Wuringen is not called an industrial giant for nothing.”

Amelie looked down at the box of donuts. Pissed by these developments, she decided to munch up more like a goblin to soothe her mind.

+++

Amelie cautiously opened the door to Jacqueline’s office. It had been a while since she visited her office personally, and considering the events for the past few days, it had been something she was concerned about.

When she looked inside the office, she saw how Jacqueline had her head buried atop her desk, and piles of paper around her. Instead of the usual tea, however, Amelie smelled something awful. It was alcohol.

“Miss Prime Minister,” Amelie asked cautiously as she peered into the room. “Jacqueline. It’s me.”

“I said…no one will disturb me. I’m busy…” Jacqueline weakly said. “Can you close…”

Amelie finally saw Jacqueline’s ragged face as she looked up. There was a brief surprise in Jacqueline’s eyes, before the woman just sighed to herself, and began fixing her hair and the mess on her desk.

“Err, Amelie, sorry, I just…”

“You’re drunk?”

“I had some red wine,” Jacqueline said, clearly a bit doozy. “Just a treat for myself. That’s all.”

“Okay…”

Amelie went inside, checking the messy appearance of her Prime Minister’s office. Amelie knew that her office was also her literal home now, but, with Nia by her side, Amelie had kept it well organized and…not this. Papers piled everywhere. Signs of dust. It seemed that Jacqueline wasn’t keeping her office well.

“Hey, um, don’t you have a secretary?”

Jacqueline hicked, before nodding.

“Yeah, but not for my secondary office here,” Jacqueline said. “I like the peace and quiet when I’m here. Besides, this isn’t my actual work office anyway. It’s my office. She manages…the actual one.”

“Yeah, I guess…this is more of your personal room,” Amelie said. “You alright?”

“Nope,” Jacqueline shrugged, looking down. “Look, you’re at the helm already, right? I don’t feel…very much like a Prime Minister anymore. You have all the big decisions already. Even the minor ones. I feel…”

She shook her head.

“Redundant.”

“You manage the political state of the nation,” Amelie reminded. “That’s very important. You also manage the domestic situation. That’s just as important.”

“I had myself elected into this position Amelie to lead the Kingdom. To lead. I’m not. I’m just…you’re the real Prime Minister now. So why even…keep me?”

“You’re definitely drunk.”

“What am I even saying?”

Amelie went for the chair, looking at her friend’s face.

“What happened, Jacqueline?”

“Walter and I had a fight.”

Amelie snorted a bit. Something about the two had always reminded her of a married couple. Always bickering but still working with each other as best as they could. So it wasn’t something that surprised her. They always butted heads when it came to many things after all.

“Yeah? About what?”

She placed her hand on her forehead, using it as support, all while slowly touching her hair.

“We were talking and I…well, suddenly I blurted out that erm…you know, that I…,” Jacqueline said, clearly shirking back from saying it out loud. “...Look, he didn’t seem amused. And he reminded me of my duties. I…well, now that explains why I feel this way about being the Prime Minister.”

“You tried to confess?”

“N-no! I mean…no, but…maybe…” Jacqueline looked away, clearly embarrassed. “Whatever, fine, I did!” Jacqueline laughed to herself. “How low have I fallen?”

“Well, a woman has a right to love, now doesn’t she?”

“I almost committed a scandal out of stupidity,” Jacqueline said. “Ugh…why is the government even staffed now by youngsters nowadays? I swear, this might be our greatest mistake. I’m stupid, you’re probably stupid too.”

Amelie puffed her cheeks.

“Hey, what? Okay, maybe I am, but isn’t that the point?” Amelie asked. “The reformists are mostly young people like us. Not those old women who like to step on men as much as they want. They voted for you and your government here because they think you represent them. Have pride in that. And do it.”

Then, Amelie smiled as she looked at the window, seeing the faint moonlight.

“I thought something extra bad happened to you. Hehe, it’s just…well, you’re still single and in your thirties. I think it’s natural. I guess all those years of being a reformist career politician finally caught up on you, and the feelings finally bloomed!”

“You make me feel old,” Jacqueline frowned. “Don’t make fun of me that way. And it was just a blunder. I blabbered and said something stupid to him. That’s such a rookie mistake.”

She buried her face as she turned red.

“You look so embarrassed of yourself,” Amelie pointed out, like a curious child.

“One day, if you try approaching a man, I bet you’d do it worse.”

“Pfft,” Amelie confidently shook her head with a smug smile. “As the great Queen of Orland, I can make any man kneel to me when I want to. Heh…my beauty is still well taken care of after all. I tell you what, once the war is over, I’ll get a King quick and easy, mhm.”

“Have you ever even tried it?!” Jacqueline asked.

“Nope, did you?”

“Well…” Jacqueline shook her head, looking down again. “I don’t know. To be honest, I’m not used to having men near me. Years ago, at school, we never met them outside of…hostile encounters. When I worked my way up in the government, well…it was the same. Walter was the first guy politician I encountered and…it’s why I worked with him for years even if he’s from a different party. The way he views the world and life fascinates me.”

“Mhm, someone’s got a crush.”

“Shut up, will you?! This isn’t a romance story! You know what? Shoo. I got work to do. I’m gonna clean up, then deal with the MPs, then…yeah. I’ll get my ass questioned again in Parliament, and defend your regime. As usual.”

Damn, she even shoos me. The Queen.

Jacqueline then crossed her arms and smirked.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m back at the game. Screw this.”

“Well, there’s my Prime Minister back. I thought you lost that fire in you.”

Jacqueline growled.

“I just had a bad day okay?”

Amelie giggled like a gremlin.

“Sure, Jacqueline.”