What was that?
Wouldn't it be in the Alliance's best interests to ally ourselves with that mage Siluca?
If we recognized a Lord who expanded his territories after claiming to be with the Union,
we'd have little hope of suppressing a surge of like-minded Lords
If I act on your advice, I will have no choice but to attack Theo Cornaro.
Your adopted daughter will surely share a fate with her Lord.
You're sure of this?
I am prepared for that.
Our decision is as follows.
Theo Cornaro's request to pledge allegiance, as well as to join the Alliance...
...is denied.
I advise that he forfeit his territories and court rank, and quickly depart from Savis.
Otherwise...
The Valdrind Order of Knights will arrive in full force to regain the King of Savis's lands,
and subjugate Viscount Theo Cornaro.
You overplayed your hand, you see.
Unfortunately, I cannot follow your advice.
The next time we meet will be on the battlefield.
Unbelievable!
Sure, I get that a contracted mage must set aside his personal feelings.
But he takes it way too far!
Don't be so harsh on Father.
If the Alliance won't have us, then we'll just lean on the Union.
Villar Constance...
You really think the Lustful Earl will take our side?
Margaret?
The earl says he has no intention of meeting with you now.
I know that your bid to join the Alliance fell through,
but you have some nerve to show up here!
When Plan A doesn't work out, the only option is to go with Plan B.
If Lord Theo manages to survive, the Kreische family's prestige will be sullied,
and that will allow us to hold back the Alliance's resolve.
Do you really think saving your Lord will help the earl?
No.
If he does not, then it won't be long before the earl is destroyed.
You little brat!
Lord Villar is a capable warrior, and won't lose easily to the Lords of the Alliance.
You mean that Lustful Earl–
Lord Villar is well aware of what those at the Magic Academy call him.
However, there are many in Artuk who believe in witchcraft.
And it's out of consideration for his people that the earl contracts with female mages.
But I hear he dissolves those contracts once they're past 25.
If they were bound for their entire lives, they could never marry nor bear children.
The earl would pity anyone who ended up that way.
The Margrave of Valdrind will be launching an attack on us with the King of Savis.
And we will counterattack from this castle.
They have at least 20,000 troops on their side.
And we've got maybe 3,000?
Not only that, but we're up against Valdrind's knights-at-arms, eh?
Confronting them head-on won't get us anywhere!
Right, so that's why we're going for a siege.
Sir Lassic will take the West Gate.
Sir Neyman, the East Gate.
And Aishela and the mercenaries, please defend the south front gate.
If they see we're a force to be reckoned with, even if we end up surrendering,
we can get them to meet some of our conditions!
Let's all work a miracle!
Yeah!
They're not at full strength?
Are they wary of reinforcements sent by the Earl of Artuk?
But they have no way of knowing that our talks broke down.
I'm counting on you, everyone...
Commence attack!
We won't hold out for too long, eh?
Everyone, withdraw! Wait for Siluca's orders!
Allow me to guide you...
...to the afterlife!
Aishela!
Are you all right?
I think my number's up.
I'm going ahead of you,
but you don't have to come, okay?
Aishela!
Don't die on me! Open your eyes!
I will heal that person.
You still have a mission to fulfill.
You must remain on this land.
Take care of Aishela.
Now!
Let's go!
Fall back! Fall back!
Lord Theo!
We held them off somehow, huh?
Yeah.
Lord Theo!
Here is the latest.
Sir Neyman was killed in action at the East Gate.
Sir Neyman?
No way...
They're struggling at the West Gate. It's been breached, and Sir Lassic is retreating.
Even Lassic?
Irvin! Captain Gluck!
Fall back! Retreat to the castle!
Everyone attack!
Sir Lassic, I think it's time.
Change of plans! We counterattack here!
If it's one-on-one, Lassic can't be beaten.
Fall back!
We'll overwhelm them with numbers where there's more room!
Wha...
They're cutting off our retreat?
Give me that!
King of Savis! Prepare to die!
Don't give me that, punk!
To think you'd slay the King of Savis!
I'd like to offer the troops I seized to you, Lord Theo.
No. I want you to hold onto them.
Why?
In a sense, your defeat of the King of Savis made this a victory for us.
And so the next step of our strategy will be to broker a ceasefire.
Now, under what kind of conditions would Valdrind agree to withdraw?
That would be for Lord Theo to retain the minimum court rank, and to leave this region.
And for all of the Savis Lords to be directly subjugated by Valdrind.
Sir Lassic, we'd like you to become independent, and assume the leadership of Savis.
What are you saying?
What will be left for Lord Theo if he throws it all away?
He'll have his reputation!
A young wandering Lord, appearing from nowhere,
puts up a valiant fight against the Knights of Valdrind!
With a luminous reputation like that, he can mount a comeback anytime.
And that's not all I'll get to keep.
What else is there?
I'll still have you.
The mage who'll make my dreams come true.
W-Well, I'm under contract to you, so that's a given!
Sir Neyman was killed in action, and Aishela is gravely injured.
We don't want any more casualties.
With our military gains as leverage,
I'll head to Valdrind to propose a ceasefire before the day is out.
Our conditions for a ceasefire will be Lord Theo's life.
No way...
As the King of Savis is now dead,
all the blame for this battle will be leveled at the Knights of Valdrind.
Therefore, the Knights have no room for compromise.
You fought a splendid battle.
However, once again, you've overplayed your hand.
So the talks broke down, huh?
To think that they'd call for Lord Theo's life...
I don't understand!
Lord Theo fought gallantly, and did everything the right way!
But this way, your lives and standings will definitely be safe. So...
With terms like that, we'd never accept them!
- We'd never abandon you, Lord Theo! - We'll fight till the end!
Please forgive me for my incompetence.
No. Ever since I met you, I've lived life to the fullest.
I'm sad to see my dream come to an end,
but the satisfaction of pursuing it is greater.
Thank you.
Lord Theo was prepared to be stripped of all but a Knight's court rank,
and resume his life as a wanderer.
I believe we could've accepted those terms for a ceasefire.
If we end it here, there may be rumors that the Knights of Valdrind were defeated.
If so, we would lose face as warriors.
If we surround them in full force, we can level that broken-down castle in one fell swoop!
Under that plan, we would be unable to protect Lady Marrine.
The Earl of Artuk's mercenaries turn up when you least expect.
They may be lurking near the battlefield as we speak.
The Earl of Artuk won't make a move.
He sent that mage Siluca packing, after all.
I see...
So you're all convinced Artuk won't make a move.
Wouldn't you say that's precisely the best time to strike?
Th-Then we'll leave a hundred men here, and the remaining forces will attack!
No, a mere one hundred men won't do.
Lady Marrine, your approval!
May I ask one thing?
What is it that you fight for?
For the Kreische family's crest, of course.
Very well, then.
You say it would cause you to lose face.
And if that is your reason,
I would've thought the Kreische family crest meant nothing to you.
You Lords may fight as you see fit.
As you wish!
We swear on the Hammer of the Kreische clan!
They sure didn't leave many men at their stronghold.
They must be sure that the Earl of Artuk won't come to our aid.
Do you really think the earl won't show up?
Yes. I was told he wouldn't.
That the earl had no intention of meeting with me now...
Not now?
If the Earl of Artuk has been waiting for this exact moment...
Is that the Earl of Artuk's forces?
Absurd! No way reinforcements are coming!
There she is! Marrine Kreische is here!
Villar...
Hey, there...
My dear cousin.
Head back to the stronghold to aid Lady Marrine!
Fall back! Fall back!
Sir Theo!
Whoa!
Aishela!
Thank goodness!
I wouldn't know what I'd do if you never woke up again!
I thought I was a goner, too.
It's all thanks to Priscilla!
If you can heal wounds that serious, then as I thought, you must be Farnese's G-
It was all God's will!
Th-Thanks.
Here's my report.
The Knights of Valdrind suffered immense casualties.
They must've decided that further combat would be ill-advised,
as the entire force is in retreat.
Guess we found a way out of that jam!
That said, under no circumstances is the Earl of Artuk our ally.
There's no telling how he'll deal with you.
Speaking of the Earl of Artuk...
Pardon me!
So you're Lord Theo, huh?
I watched you guys in battle.
I'd like to pay my utmost respect.
I'm sincerely grateful to you for saving us in our time of crisis.
Don't mention it. It wasn't only for your sake.
I might have let Marrine get away,
but in terms of military gains, we did good.
Now, I'd like to discuss the next steps with you...
Your Lordship!
First allow me to apologize for my numerous affronts!
What's this? I see no reason for you to apologize.
What?
You entered into a contract with me, and carried out your mission splendidly, yes?
You threw Savis into a state of disorder, and pried it away from the Alliance.
Therefore, the Mage Academy no longer has any reason to penalize you,
and I can now welcome a superior mage into my ranks.
W-Well...
Then what will happen to Lord Theo?
Well, Lord Theo will become the leader of Savis.
I won't ask him to serve me.
Let's join forces in this battle, as Union comrades!
King of Savis, Viscount Theo Cornaro...
All hail!
I cannot agree to that.
You have other conditions, perhaps?
I'd like to pledge my allegiance to you as a knight.
I'm content having a high enough court rank to employ Siluca.
What's he talking about?
Most likely, he won't relinquish Siluca.
However, since that would be the same as disregarding your kindness,
he is willing to serve you.
Not like the guy matters to me at all.
I sense he is a different kind of man than the Lords under your control.
Along with Siluca Meletes, I'm sure you'll find him useful.
Well, if you say so.
Very well, but I won't allocate any territories to you. You'll be living in my castle.
And Siluca, I'm going to treat you as one of my own mages, is that acceptable?
Very well, my lord.
Um... Lord Theo?
Don't say a word. This was my own decision.
I'm returning to being a knight, and leaving this land.
I'm handing over my court rank to you, Lassic.
You sure about that?
It's fine with me.
But that doesn't mean I'm abandoning my dream.
Someday, I'm going back to my homeland.
All right.
But remember, my loyalties will always lie with you.
If you ever need me, I'll drop everything to come to your aid.
Thanks.
I, too, have made a promise to God to guide you.
I'll be joining you in Artuk, so I look forward to continuing work with you.
If you want to spread the gospel, I hope you clear it with the earl first.
Now that I'm a lowly knight, with no territories to speak of.
Hey, you'll get more territories in no time!
I hope that's true!
Could it be that I...
DECISION
EPISODE 5: FOREST OF ETERNAL DARKNESS