Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 373: The Dilemma of a Political Marriage (3)

I’d heard the saying before:

“Even in the midst of war, children are born.”

It’s something people say when trying to express how hope can still blossom even in the most desperate moments.

Or perhaps to imply that bringing a child into the world doesn’t require a particular time or place.

But watching the scene unfolding before me now, I had to admit—I had misunderstood what that phrase truly meant.

—“The resistance is too fierce!”

—“Somebody take out those damn monsters on the wall!”

The battlefield I witnessed with my own eyes was far more violent and chaotic than anything I had ever imagined.

Compared to this, the war scenes I’d seen in films or stories were like the difference between a live fish and a slab of sushi—utterly incomparable.

Raw and unfiltered.

Break, destroy, defeat, survive. It was as though people had regressed into wild beasts, governed by instinct alone.

In the face of such desperation—

In the moment just before death—

Wanting to leave behind a child who carries your genes... maybe that’s simply a natural instinct.

Which is why, even in war, children are born.

“The defense is tougher than expected. And what are you staring off into space for?”

“......”

Maybe that’s why Elga, in the midst of all this heightened sensory chaos, looked even more vibrant to me. Had she always been this full of life?

Not just Elga—Mirna, Narmee, and Stella also seemed to radiate more brilliance than usual in this chaotic scene.

Swish.

Arms crossed, Elga said,

“Let’s fall back a little. If we get much closer, we might get caught in the heat. It’s better to stay behind the shield units.”

We stopped staring up at °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the fortress walls and took a moment to talk about what we were feeling.

Aside from Elga, who had spent much of her life on the battlefield, and long-lived Stella, we were all total novices when it came to war.

“It’s more disorderly than I expected. Are all sieges like this?”

To Mirna’s observation and question, Elga responded,

“This is actually not that bad. There are more competent folks on our side than I thought. Usually, both sides end up in total disarray in siege warfare.”

At her words, I looked toward the ladders draped over the walls. The ones climbing them now were all what you’d call elite.

This was the first northern push in decades—of course they’d gathered the best of the best to break through.

—“That Punchnoi will be the first to plant the flag on the wall...! Sweet punch!”

KA-BOOM!

—“That guy’s tougher than I thought!”

—“We can’t fall behind! Let’s go!”

Still, the monsters packed along the fortress wall weren’t pushovers either.

Having evolved in the isolated, Galápagos-like north beyond the great barrier, these monsters had grown beyond our expectations.

—“Human. Death. Liberation.”

Especially that multi-headed, Asura-like creature—it was no ordinary beast. Its blade-like arms tore through soldiers, a completely different level of threat.

—“What the hell is that monster?!”

—“There’s a unique specimen on the wall! Everyone, stay sharp!”

Even a novice like me could tell this siege was a close contest. At this rate, reclaiming the fortress before sunset seemed unlikely.

Stella commented,

“Doesn’t look like we’ll take the fortress today. Traditionally, sieges last for weeks or even months—starve them out, wear them down.”

Her words reminded me of countless war films. I remembered hearing that breaching a fortress takes far more troops and supplies than defending one.

You’d wait until their supplies ran dry and their morale collapsed, then strike.

But Elga shook her head.

“Professor, that only applies when you don’t have a mage. We’ve got a big one.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the armored shield-bearers parted. Down the newly opened path appeared a figure clad in light armor.

Ayra.

“I’ll use siege magic. Everyone, clear the area.”

BWOOOOOO—!

Ayra’s command echoed through the battlefield on the backs of horns and drums. The soldiers and adventurers who had been scaling the walls began to descend and pull back one by one.

—7th-rank Fallen-Helios.

As Ayra chanted, crimson orbs began to appear between the clouds above. It looked like the end of the world.

Was this what the dinosaurs felt when they looked up at the sky before extinction?

Fweeeee—KA-BOOM!

The fiery globes fell from the sky with a whistle, crashing into the fortress walls and beyond with thunderous blasts.

When one of the fragments flew toward us, Narmee caught the smoldering piece in her hand and cried out,

“It’s burning hail! Burning hail is falling from the sky!”

Just as she said, what rained from above was burning hail. Like meteors or fireworks, it scattered through the air, painting the sky—though it wasn’t even noon yet.

Everyone stood there, speechless, just staring up at the scene.

—“So that’s the power of a grand mage... No need for siege engines at this rate.”

—“It’s a weird thing to say right now, but it really looks beautiful—like stars falling from the sky.”

—“It’s super effective. The monsters are dropping like flies.”

I agreed with them.

Beautiful, dazzling, and deadly.

Maybe that was Ayra’s magical philosophy in a nutshell.

As I stood there dumbfounded, looking up at the sky, someone poked me in the side.

“Sir Teo, surely you’re capable of this much. Is there really any need to gawk like that?”

At Mirna’s question, I crossed my arms.

“Who knows.”

Even if I were a grand mage like her, Ayra’s magic had something mine lacked—elegance and grace.

My spellcraft leaned heavily toward practicality. No aesthetic sense. Just functional and blunt.

So even if I used a similar spell, it probably wouldn’t captivate people like this.

Stella spoke up.

“Honestly... it’d be hard to follow that.”

Her eyes were fixed on Queen Ayra, standing alone amidst the raining meteors. Watching her back like that—it was hard to believe we were even on a battlefield.

***

Seizing the fortress after that hail of fire was about as easy as picking clams from the shore at low tide.

The monsters that had shown themselves outside were now all slaughtered, and the forces of Angmar reclaimed the wall without much resistance.

Thanks to that, I was able to climb the high walls and look down upon the interior of Gargarta.

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“So high...”

Below was a scattering of stone buildings—weathered and crumbling as if long abandoned. Only monsters could have survived in a place like this for so long.

Elga spoke.

“Now we just have to deal with the stragglers hiding inside. It’s easier than taking the wall, but honestly, it’s kind of a pain.”

At that, Narmee shot her hand up.

“I think I can take care of that! My hands have been itching all day.”

She began rubbing her palms together, muttering an incantation.

“Rise!”

The fallen monster corpses nearby began to cluster together, transforming into large mud-like figures. Seeing the grotesque creatures, Stella’s amber eyes sparkled.

“What are those—flesh golems? I’ve never seen ones this high-quality. How many can you make?”

Narmee tapped her chin.

“Hmm... about ten for now, probably! There’s a lot of life and death energy tangled around here. If I really pushed myself, I might get twenty!”

“Twenty? That’s amazing! I remember reading a paper that said two flesh golems are roughly equal to one armed ogre in combat power. If you’ve got twenty...”

But Elga clicked her tongue.

“Still creepy as ever. Fighting by manipulating those revolting corpses instead of doing it yourself—I really don’t like that.”

Elga’s attitude was clearly hostile. When I glanced at Narmee to check her reaction, she just shouted like she hadn’t heard a thing.

“Go! Crush the monsters!”

—Grrrr!

Instead, Mirna quietly whispered in my ear.

“There’s a long history of Leones soldiers being slaughtered by flesh golems. Maybe her bloodline instinctively fears them.”

“Hmph. Ridiculous.”

That was the end of their exchange. But I could sense the underlying tension between them with my sharpened awareness.

They might be bound by the name of ‘harem’ and ‘family’, but the old rivalries between their houses wouldn’t vanish overnight.

Maybe that too was part of the so-called Dilemma of Political Marriage. Would they ever truly become a family?

Still, they knew how to cooperate.

“Hey, over by the western training yard—tons of monsters.”

Stella, with her sharp eyes, had spotted them in the distance.

“Then deploy those patchwork dolls to the western district and the park side. Herd them all into a corner and wipe them out in one go.”

Elga laid out a quick plan, and Narmee and Mirna relayed it to the soldiers.

If the siege had been resolved thanks to Ayra’s magic, the mop-up operation was completed in half a day thanks to the combined efforts of the three noblewomen.

“These are the last of them! I’ll set them to autonomous patrol now. Then I’m done! Ugh, I’m soaked in sweat. I wanna bathe. Isn’t there a spring or something around here? Yingying needs water too!”

—Gyuiiing.

Narmee flopped onto the cold stone floor, grumbling.

She wasn’t the only one. Everyone had worked hard clearing out the last of the monsters and now looked exhausted and grimy.

Only Elga and I—who hadn’t directly fought—looked relatively fine. Then Stella wrinkled her nose.

“Hmm... something smells like sulfur. Come to think of it, Gargarta was once famous for its mineral hot springs. Maybe one of them is still intact.”

As they chatted, I focused my senses.

Nymphs are said to have a natural instinct for finding water. Thanks to that, I could faintly hear hot water rushing from somewhere below.

“There’s water flowing beneath the fortress.”

Narmee suddenly sprang up.

“Really? Let’s go, right now!”

—Yingyingyayeng!

When Narmee dashed off, I turned to Elga, Mirna, and Stella.

“You ladies should rest too. You’ve done more than enough. I’ll handle the rest. I’ve been saving my strength all day, after all.”

At that, the others also disappeared after Narmee.

I used the energy I’d conserved to divide up rooms for the soldiers and adventurers and set up guard routes within the fortress.

It was tedious work, but someone had to do it. And, not to brag, I was good at this sort of thing.

Time passed. By evening, the task of securing the fortress was finally complete, and I could take my rest.

I hadn’t done nearly as much as the noblewomen, but I was still recovering from the energy I’d used in the tournament, so my body felt a bit stiff.

While I was checking the rooms that would serve as quarters for the ladies, Elga, who was organizing her belongings, spotted me and spoke in a low voice.

“There’s a hot spring in the basement. How about soaking for a while? I’ve locked it down so no one else can use it.”

“Locked it down? Why? Lots of people probably want to wash up.”

Elga started to explain but then shook her head.

“You’ll understand when you see it. Anyway, go clean up. You reek of medicine from your bandages.”

Fair point. I didn’t smell like a half-fairy anymore—just of bitter herbal medicine. I hadn’t said anything during the battle, but it had been pretty awful.

So, I headed underground.

Just half a day ago, this place had been overrun with monsters. The idea of heading into the depths felt eerie—but now, with over a thousand people bustling around, it actually felt... normal.

—“This biggest room will go to that Punchnoi! And give all your fresh-fruit juice rations to him too!”

—“Look at that guy. Hilarious. I thought all nymphs were whiny brats, but some of them are actually pretty decent.”

—“Wanna form a party with him after the war? Could be fun.”

Everyone was getting along fine.

So, this must be the bath, huh.

I peeled off my bandages, ready to soak myself in hot water for the first time in ages. But when I opened the door, a dazzling golden light pierced my eyes.

It was a luxurious bath.

Looking at the statues and mirrors around the room, it reminded me of the grand baths in the Angmar royal palace—no, it was identical.

I’d used the court baths often enough to recognize the design.

Which meant this place must have been used as a royal bath, back when this fortress served as the Demon King’s base.

Solomon bathed here.

Perhaps to wash off the wounds of war?

That thought made the atmosphere suddenly eerie.

No wonder Elga had blocked entry. If word got out about what was hidden down here, there’d be chaos.

I’d better wash up and get out quick.

Just as I was unwrapping the last of my bandages—

Squelch, squelch. Bare feet touched the wet floor. I turned my head and saw a silhouette cutting through the mist in the distance.

“I was told no one would be here. Elga lied to me.”

“...Lady Ayra.”

“I came in first, so I won’t kick you out. But don’t look this way—not even by accident.”

Don’t look?

“Why not?”

To my puzzled question, Ayra’s silhouette—shrouded in mist—replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Because I’m not wearing anything right now.”