Why do you refuse my call to be subjugated?
I'll never swear allegiance to the man who killed Lord Villar!
Glory to... Altirk.
This castle and throne shall be relinquished to you.
But it does not mean Altirk has been defeated.
How absurd.
As long as I rule here, this is no longer Altirk.
It's Dartania now!
You! The scum who murdered Lord Villar!
L-Lord Villar...
Villar.
You accomplished nothing in life...
So what do you hope to do in death?
Unfortunately, during the last battle, Lord Villar lost his life...
But the rest of us cannot afford to wallow in grief.
Waldlind, Dartania and Nord will surely proceed with their invasion.
To rise against them, it is imperative that we stand together.
Many of you Lords have gathered here to carry on the legacy of Lord Villar, Earl of Altirk.
As ratified by you all, I hereby proclaim the establishment of the Altirk Treaty.
So?
Who will be our leader?
I believe Lord Villar's own younger brother, Lord Selge, is the natural choice, don't you?
Of course I want to avenge my brother.
But I am not worthy for the job.
What's that?
Because he wishes to reclaim his homeland,
Lord Selge believes Earl Lassic David should lead us.
I see. Lord Lassic, eh?
I think he's the right man for the job.
I agree.
My apologies, but I cannot be your leader.
Reason being that I'm only holding my court rank for Sir Theo Cornaro.
Come to think of it, you did serve as Sir Theo's subjugated Lord originally.
Right, and I plan to serve him again one day.
In my mind, no one would make a better leader than Sir Theo. What do you all think?
I oppose such an idea!
Sir Theo once repelled Waldlind, making him a sworn enemy in their eyes.
If he becomes our leader, they're sure to launch an all-out assault on us.
Regardless who our leader is, the Alliance certainly won't show us mercy.
And the Union will have its hands tied.
Which is precisely why our leader must be someone you can all agree on.
And that person is not Sir Theo, but Lord Lassic.
I'm honored that so many of you have such high expectations of me.
But this is between Sir Theo and I–
I'm grateful for your loyalty, Lassic.
But all the Lords here want you to be our leader.
They don't find me qualified to be your master. That's what it comes down to.
Sir Theo...
Who you choose to lead us is your decision. But I do have my pride.
I want to prove that I'm a Lord worthy of Lord Lassic's loyalty.
How so?
I will make my mark in the upcoming war, so you will have to acknowledge me!
Just how convincing a performance do you plan on making?
As this is a matter between master and subject...
I don't see why we shouldn't leave it up to Lord Lassic and Sir Theo.
While the rest of us can serve as their witnesses.
Alright!
For now, let's elect Lord Lassic as our leader, and decide later when the time comes.
Do you all agree?
Agreed.
Understood.
Invade Regalia, she says?
Lady Marrine says she'll leave the post-invasion matters to you.
You may either subjugate Regalia, or withdraw without conflict.
I see.
Lady Marrine intends to reclaim Bultava, eh?
And we're to pose a threat from the rear.
I believe your instincts are correct.
We'll leave five hundred men or so to defend the castle, and mobilize in full force.
Starting with Regalia, if we conquer all territories previously under Villar's command,
the Altirk Lords will have no choice but to surrender.
I certainly hope it ends up that way.
You believe it won't?
Regalia and the other nations signed a pact, lead by Lassic, the King of Sievis.
And I'm told they're ready to rise up.
No matter who our opponents may be, they have no prayer against Dartania.
While we should be wary of Lassic, even he can't appear on every battlefield.
Yes, but this time, I believe it's crucial for us to recognize our foe's abilities.
Are you giving me your opinion?
You're only Lady Marrine's contracted mage, after all.
But I'm here because she sent me to serve you!
Then from here on, be bolder with your recommendations.
And be fully prepared to get slashed if you anger me.
Yes, sir.
I suppose we must concede that Prince Milza is a brilliant leader.
Let's have the men fall back to their designated positions.
Meanwhile, you shall go in as our decoy.
Got it.
Forget about the others!
Head for Selge Constance in full force!
Lassic David!
There you are.
As expected, I was no match for him.
No, you didn't lose many men, and it was a brilliant call you made against Milza.
Just leave the rest to me!
Bring it on!
Lord Lassic!
Looks like my head's still intact somehow.
Milza Kuches... Such a terrifying man.
Lassic David... I knew you were no ordinary man.
Are those Igor Constance's troops?
The odds would be against us if we engaged them now.
That's enough! Head back to our homeland!
I let my chance to kill Lassic slip away.
The master of the castle is Theo Cornaro, with about three thousand troops.
Three thousand? More than I expected.
To think he'd muster that many men in such a short time.
Do you get the feeling we should've allied with him that day?
That is for you to determine, Lady Marrine.
You're right. And it's not as if I regret it.
Most likely, it's that I don't wish to go to war
against him and his contracted mage, Siluca Meletes.
The Altirk Teaty drawn up by him and his allies is a declaration of war against the Alliance.
There is no question that he is a Lord whom we must vanquish.
I'm well aware of that.
But before heading into battle, I'd like to meet with him.
Then shall I arrange a summit?
A summit, huh? What is there to discuss now?
It's futile to negotiate.
Not only does Waldlind intend to reclaim this land,
but there's no way we can withdraw, either.
Still, I'm sure Father is aware of that.
Perhaps, Lady Marrine wishes to meet with you, Sir Theo.
With me?
Waldlind's forces are superior to ours.
I doubt even Father has any dark schemes in mind.
Most likely, Lady Marrine simply has an interest in you.
I see.
If so, then I'll meet with her. I wish to tell her something, too.
Although your father's probably going to be there...
Yes, and I was sure that I was never going to see Father again.
So you do want to see him.
Of course I do.
I always thought you were afraid of your father.
I admit that, as a mage, Father is a cold, heartless man.
When I was a student at the Mage Academy, he even tried to kill me once.
K-Kill you?
It was for breaking the rules and almost getting expelled. It couldn't be helped.
My father was only following the bylaws of the Mage Academy.
That's still no reason to take your life!
Despite it all, he's still my father.
Father!
It's all right. The summit hasn't started yet.
Nice to meet you.
You're quite young. The rumors were true.
Unlike all the rumors, you seem very gentle, Margrave.
Those close to me have been known to say the same.
Lord Alexis, as well?
Of course.
He was kind enough to call me his friend.
What?
Lord Alexis still loves you with all his heart, even now.
So I'd very much like it if you two could be united.
I'd expect no less from a friend of the Marquis of Jalucia.
So you, too, are a dreamer!
But I was told the same thing by the Earl of Altirk.
By Lord Villar?
Those were... his last words.
If that's so–
We were too naive. Both myself and Alexis.
We never even realized there those who didn't want the era of Chaos to end.
Therefore, I've resolved to unite the continent by military force.
If this great war continues, then our Crests will eventually be fused.
Should that happen, it won't be long before those who writhe in the darkness emerge.
Are you planning to wipe them out, and bring about an era where Lords rule?
Because I myself am a Lord.
Doing so will cause much bloodshed.
I'm prepared for that.
I'd like to strive for the same ideals which you've abandoned.
Are you up to it?
I am.
Because Siluca will show me the way.
Huh?
Come to think of it, you gave up your court rank and territories for Lady Siluca.
I simply considered what was precious to me before making my choice.
As did I.
Though in my case, what turned out to be more precious was not Alexis,
but Waldlind, and the Factory Alliance.
Nothing has changed.
I don't wish fight you, Lord Theo, but I must reclaim this territory.
I don't wish to fight you, either, but there's no way I'm giving in to you.
There you have it.
Let us meet again on the battlefield.
There's no doubt that Lady Marrine is in love with Lord Alexis.
I'd like to find a way to bring them together.
But to make that happen, you're going to need a miracle.
Then could you work a miracle for me?
Easier said than done.
This time, the Alliance and Union will reconcile, and Lady Marrine and Lord Alexis will be united!
Let's turn the Great Hall Tragedy into a miracle!
Sir Theo! This is neither the time nor place to–
Oh, yes, it is!
For the sake of your love!
Hold on, did you just provoke Lady Marrine?
I just want her to remember what it is that's precious.
This battle won't be easy to win.
But we'll be trying to achieve something no one on the continent has thought about.
We can't afford to die here!
I'm so embarrassed, I might die right now.
Love won't help me defend this castle!
Nor my people or country!
Lady Marrine, I have a report for you.
The Waldlind forces are retreating?
The Earl of Le Couleurs, Croute Gallas,
has crushed the Alliance forces led by Nord King Erik in the battle up north,
and is still giving chase as we speak.
This will leave Waldlind vulnerable from behind, so it's probably why they're retreating.
Sir Theo, this is the perfect opportunity!
Now that Waldlind's withdrawn, the main battlefield will likely shift to the north.
Now is the time to head to Sistina.
You said that you were going to turn the Great Hall Tragedy into a miracle.
That you wanted them to be able to marry.
If you're going to make that a reality,
you must achieve a rank equal to that of Lord Alexis and Lady Marrine.
In other words, you must become the leader of the Altirk Treaty.
To that end, you must defeat the Rossini family, and liberate Sistina from oppression.
Now is the time for you to fulfill your original vow.
Let's use those military achievements to get the Treaty Lords to recognize your power!
And I shall show you the way.
How ridiculous is that?
The Rossini's have hordes of loyal, subjugated Lords and soldiers at their disposal.
You'll need at least 10,000 men to attack them!
With the fight against the Alliance still ongoing, no one can spare any troops.
We're not going to flaunt Sir Theo's power through military manpower.
So we won't ask for aid from the other Lords. It'll be just us heading to Sistina.
Impossible!
I like it!
This way, the Treaty Lords will have no choice but to acknowledge your achievements.
And nobody will object to my relinquishing leadership.
Moreno, notify the Lords right away.
To make good on what he said at the meeting, Sir Theo has set off to liberate Sistina!
Right.
Just leave this place to me.
Return to your homeland and fulfill your vow!
Thanks!
A TREATY FORMED
What's that?
What is it, Father?
Theo Cornaro is on his way.
Did you say Cornaro?
He's not a descendant. He's only calling himself that.
Right, the Lord you said you saw at the Union congress?
I hear he said he'd be coming to this island one day.
I wonder what he could be planning to do on this island ruled by us Rossinis?
But on this island, Cornaro is known as the name of a hero.
Someone coming here, assuming that name... I don't like it.
Juzel's right.
Also, Theo Cornaro is not to be taken lightly.
Even the smallest spark can set off a raging fire.
So we need to exercise extreme caution, and eliminate him with all our power.
Hey, you're short on taxes.
The effects of the Chaos reduced my yield, sir...
There's more in that storehouse over there, right?
B-But that's for us to eat, sir!
Bring it over!
Please, have a heart!
If you take any more from us, we'll starve to death!
Out of the way!
Please, sir! I beg of you!
EPISODE 13: TO THE HOMELAND