"Her Majesty calls for hope! In a stunning speech that called for the Kingdom to rally to the capital's defense, the Queen spoke about the shortcomings of Her Majesty's government and the lamentable effects of the civil war. Once again, she showed her humility in the face of this great disaster. A reminder to all of us, that while Orland is divided, we are all a part of the Orlish people, and we must band together to fight for a better future. In this sea of darkness, eventually, as the Queen promised, there will be hope."

- ROCN News

+++

"A ceasefire?"

"Eight days. The Putschists believe that there must be a temporary ceasefire to facilitate negotiations."

Negotiations? Amelie raised her eyebrow at William's suggestions. A ceasefire for negotiations? She didn't expect this, not from Heindhöff.

Though…perhaps, somewhere out there, in their blackened hearts, there's still humanity inside.

"Why?"

"They want to discuss the surrender of Halia."

That line almost dropped Amelie's soul. Of course, she should have expected it. Of course, a benevolent ceasefire? A ceasefire to ensure that the dead and wounded are evacuated? A ceasefire to give the troops some reprieve? Of course not, why would they be interested in that?

"Well…"

"At least they want to talk."

Amelie looked down at the file that William held, contemplating the idea of talking to these people. Of course, she wanted to talk to them and have a chat, about achieving peace and preventing bloodshed.

But definitely not in the scenario of her being the one to surrender. She would not surrender. Why would she?

"It's an interesting proposition, but-"

"Amelie, we have to take it."

She looked up at him.

"William, what are you trying to say?"

"We must take their offer for ceasefire. Have a talk of the possibility of us surrendering."

"Are you serious?"

I mean…I suppose eight days is eight days. Even if it would be dishonest. That's enough time to maybe smoothen some things out.

"Yes."

"Explain."

"Of course, we won't surrender. But we can clearly use that eight-day period to get in supplies, evacuate those that must be evacuated, dig in, and let reinforcements in. Give us breathing room for our logistical woes."

"But, what about them? Won't they do the same? Plus, I said already on national television that we won't surrender. I even riled up the people to stand up and fight."

"You have a point. But what do you think? It's not like battlefield conditions are going to improve without a short break. Plus, time is on our side, not theirs. They need to rush beating us before we mobilize. Why not extend the timeframe to put further pressure on them?"

"Did you talk about this to General Albrecht?"

"Yes. The OHC's position in this matter is that it's up to JTF-Ludendorf to decide if we should take this offer or not, so long as it doesn't compromise our frontlines."

"Will it compromise our defense lines?"

"No. We don't expect it. Both sides are stuck in a severe logistical situation. We are limited by the fact that they have some fire control on our supply lines. They are limited by the amount of supplies they can bring through the limited bridges of the Ludendorf River. We estimate that in terms of replenishing manpower and material losses, both of us would be recovering it at roughly the same rate."

Still…negotiations. This sounded stinky to Amelie. Maybe it wouldn't compromise her defenses, but they had been fighting for a while now. There was no way that the Putschists had no ill motives for suggesting a "ceasefire", especially one that demanded her surrender.

And again, she would not surrender. They may only take Halia from her dead, cold hands. She'd either live as a Queen of Orland in the Royal Capital or die here (though, deep inside, she had a creeping thought that she would scurry out of the capital should push come to shove anyway.)

Nope! Stay brave. I won't back down!

"But their terms are to negotiate my surrender…"

"Of course, they're full of themselves. They don't expect you to surrender, but maybe they're testing the waters while buying time."

"Why?"

"Do you know what Halia is?"

"Well, it's Orland's capital. Why would you ask me that?"

"Yes. A metropolis originally populated by millions of people. More than fifteen hundred square kilometers of heavily urbanized financial and industrial districts. Can you imagine trying to fight through the underground subways and sewers of Equene District, alongside its packed skyscrapers? Or maybe through the industrial factories in Portview District? Or through the magically warded Greenwall District, with estates brimming with magical traps and artifacts?"

"It'd be hell."

"Exactly. Fighting through Halia would lead to staggering losses for both sides, especially for them. In fact, outside of Ginzhu, no one even has an idea on how to fight through a modern metropolis outside of starving it off, which we almost averted by evacuating the civilians."

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Wait…so that's why you proposed that."

"And why we executed it. Now, we only need enough to supply and feed our armed troops and the auxiliary units supporting them, not millions of helpless civilians. Imagine the leverage they would have if we hadn't pulled off the evacuations by executing Operation Silent Spear. We'd be begging for them to give the 'women and children' mercy by now."

Well, she didn't really think of that when she signed off that order. She just wanted the civilians out, not eliminating a potential liability to war negotiations. She wondered why William didn't mention it, but she was impressed by his foresight.

Though…he was an expert in this. Of course, he would know that.

"So your point is, they're testing me if I would surrender or not because they don't want to fight through this city."

"Exactly. You have a reputation, Amelie. To them, they think that you would be very soft, even to your troops. Of course, they would go, 'the bleeding heart Queen will surely surrender, just bomb and starve her soldiers enough, she'll beg for our mercy!', and, you probably would."

"I'm not that…well…I mean, I don't want my troops suffering…"

"See. But, you don't want to surrender either."

"Of course I don't. But…"

"Yes, but that's a but for now. The point is, you won't surrender. But here's my plan. I want you to keep that 'bleeding heart' appearance."

"What?"

"Fool them. Make them think they can push you just enough to the edge. They'll make a mistake. Like delaying an attack or stopping strikes on civilians. Something which will benefit us, because they want to appear more approachable to you. You're a nineteen-year-old woman after all. Call yourself an adult, but you're still vulnerable to mind games. But they forgot one factor - me, who will absolutely not let you to do something as stupid as that."

Amelie seemed indignant and denied that - but, then she realized. Yes, if her troops were in a bad position and the Putschists presented her with a favorable offer.

She'd probably stupidly bite.

Goddess. I'm an idiot.

"Alright, I'll follow through with your plan."

+++

It was already four in the afternoon when an all-out ceasefire was declared across the Grand Duchy of Ludendorf. Almost as if the hell ended - the guns and artillery fell silent.

But it took hours before the negotiations took place. A problem arose with the fact that Heindhöff demanded the personal presence of the Queen, which, understandably, Amelie refused (she wasn't going to die for no reason if they, unsurprisingly, stabbed her back).

Surprisingly, the Putschists sent a delegation of senior and junior officers, who were blindfolded and shipped to the designated location of negotiations. It indeed shocked Amelie that they would go to such lengths to talk to her.

Now, Amelie arrived on it under heavy security. It was in a town near the frontlines, outside of Halia. The town was heavily garrisoned and fortified by scores of Royalist troops. Sandbags, barbed wire, and makeshift bunkers littered the town.

When she exited William's SUV, the lines of young men - soldiers, lined up in front of the Himmelsbach Council Hall, the town's administrative center, and where she would conduct the negotiations.

They all stiffened in her presence.

"Attention! Her Majesty has arrived!" The officer in charge shouted as the lines of men looked up at her in attention. She noticed that many of them seemed apathetic and unbothered, as if they only stiffened up for a ceremonial order, yet none held hostility.

At least there are some improvements.

She approached one of the soldiers lined up. He seemed…way too young to be a soldier. But he was here, his rifle slung on his shoulder, looking at her with apt attention.

She gave him a gentle smile to calm him down, but he further stiffened.

"Soldier, what's your name?"

"Private Jon Torvus! I serve with the 63rd Battalion, Your Majesty!"

And his voice sounded way too young. Yes, this man was definitely not eighteen, she thought. But why? Why would he be here? It was illegal for the Armed Forces to recruit children.

And then the horrifying thought gnawed through her. She was employing child soldiers now?!

"Why…do you serve the Army?"

The soldier didn't answer immediately, seemingly confused by her question. The look of the officer in charge made him look determined, however. And thus, his gaze hardened.

"Those crazy men killed my mother, Your Majesty. I volunteered here to avenge her, prove that not all of us men are like them, and defend the Kingdom and her people. I serve to protect."

"You do not agree with the views of the NRF?"

"No, Your Majesty. Not all women are evil. They are wrong."

"Am…am I evil?"

"What?"

"That's enough questioning, Your Majesty," William said, cutting in between her and the young soldier. "I believe that the delegation of the rebels is awaiting us. It would be prudent to make haste."

She looked at William's concerned look, then back to the soldier's confused expression. Amelie sighed…William could be a bit of a handful at times. It wasn't like she was some child who needed shelter from criticism.

Though…I suppose I always appear to be sulking at him. I guess I can understand his actions when I act that way. Always down…

"Alright, Major Porter."

She looked down at the soldier and gave him her one last question.

"Soldier, what's your age?"

Almost immediately, his emotions disappeared, replaced by a poker face.

"I am eighteen, Your Majesty."

Somehow, she sensed that he was lying. Though he supposed that she wouldn't be able to do much about it. Many young men routinely lied about their age ever since the Great War to serve.

It had always bothered her. Their almost strange sense of senseless loyalty. Even when the state screwed them.

All while the Army, ever desperate for more manpower, looked the other way for these recruits to "let them in". Now that she thought about it, the Putschists were probably doing the same.

Child soldiers. Dammit…I'll address this nonsense one day.

Men…such strange people. To go to extreme lengths both to fight her and to defend her and the Kingdom. At the same time. A strange duality that she could scarcely understand.

She walked away from that soldier, looking at the lines of men that she passed through, all of them still standing stiffly in attention. All of them were uniformly grizzled from past battles. Their eyes showed that these men saw war, and will see more war.

And worse, she could tell, many of these men would not return home. She rarely saw the troops at the ground, so this was a strange, but welcome development for her. After all, if they were going to risk their lives for her, the least she could do was show up sometimes.

To give them her presence, even if it could be unwanted at times. After all, she knew that in the Armed Forces, there was nothing that people hated more than some armchair commander who ordered people to death behind the comfort of the base.

So she stopped and turned around to give them a few of her words.

"Men of the 63rd…thank you for your service. You are all serving the Kingdom well, defending our people and nation in the front itself. That, I appreciate greatly. And I'm sure, the people appreciate it as well. May the Goddess be with you."

They all gave her a respectful nod. She did as well.

Then, she finally proceeded to go to the entrance of the Council Hall.

Now…onto the rebels.