Chapter 44: The Prelude to the End - Who Will Fight Andra?

Over the next few days, Eleanor felt as if she had become a spider crouching on its web, constantly hunting for prey and the slightest vibration of the wind.

There was no movement from Hetuya for a long time, as if Andra was really preparing to work hard and lead the people to tighten their belts and increase production.

How could that be?

Or... should I write her a letter first?

Eleanor started agonizing over this matter as soon as she woke up in the morning. She agonized over it for days and nights, but didn't write a single word.

What else can I write about?

In her past life, she wrote many, many letters to Andra, each one so long that the paper could be dragged from her hand to the ground.

Andra replied to many more letters, and each long letter she wrote earned her three or four enthusiastic responses from Andra.

It's getting hot, then cool. I've collected useful seeds and eaten delicious fruit. How's your battle going? I had the doctor bring you new medicine and a freshly fluffed cotton blanket...

The leaves in the mountains are so beautiful, I picked one and made it into a bookmark for you.

The stones in the water are very interesting. I'll drill holes for them and string a bracelet for you when I get back.

The clouds in the sky are so beautiful. Shall I draw them on paper for you when I get back? Don't laugh at me if they're not very good.

Such messages, interspersed with numerous sweet nothings and doodles, circulated between the two of them. No wonder their subordinates never found anything wrong with relaying messages between the Emperor and Empress.

They also frequently discuss politics, economics, and history, exchanging ideas that may not be relevant to the times, allowing their thoughts to collide in the air.

Andra was very eloquent when she could speak.

The two of them would eat delicious food while snuggling up by the fireplace or in a warm blanket.

They stood head to head, hand in hand, slowly and deliberately discussing topics that others couldn't touch upon.

If Eleanor wished, she could still write a moving long letter in this lifetime, embellishing it with praise and sweet words that Andra would absolutely appreciate.

But when she actually picked up the pen... she couldn't write a single word.

Why write this letter?

What's the point of flirting with the enemy? Being intercepted is a direct charge of treason.

Even if she successfully sent it out, so what?

In her past life, Andra and she were lovers who supported each other for decades, yet she still didn't let Nolana go.

Snap.

Eleanor sat down at the table without anyone noticing, then listlessly tossed aside her pen and slumped over.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

As soon as she put down her pen, Coral rushed in from outside.

Coral looked into Eleanor's eyes and paused as if biting her tongue, then whispered, "It's a letter from that... the King of Hertuya."

“Oh…let me see.” Eleanor sighed dramatically and reached out to take the letter.

Coral released the letter, glanced at her, and quietly left.

This letter was different from the ones Eleanor usually received.

These days, nobles still prefer to use parchment scrolls as letters, but in recent years she has promoted relatively better quality white paper, and some people have started to write letters on paper.

Andra's letter was written on high-quality paper that she bought from her, which was about the same price as parchment.

My dearest princess, I hope you still remember our promise.

Following this statement, Andra wrote about the natural scenery of Hetuya.

She emphasized the shimmering freshwater lake and the towering Mount Eros. She also imagined herself and Eleanor raising lambs and ponies together after their marriage.

At the end of the letter, Andra wrote.

My family dwindled, even my own sister abandoned me. I personally carried my mother's mangled body to the foot of the snow-capped mountain, letting her follow tradition and die with the wolves.

Every time I wake up in the middle of the night, I feel an endless loneliness and emptiness.

How I long for a wise and lovely wife! I believe Norlana and Hetuya also need this precious peace.

I eagerly await your reply, my dearest little princess.

Taste~

Eleanor couldn't help but touch her forearm. Logically speaking, Andra's letters in her previous life were even more cheesy. But neither letter had such a strong impact.

Hypocrisy and sincerity are mixed together, forming an indescribable mess.

She gritted her teeth and pulled a piece of paper from the drawer, but after poking at it with the pen for a long time, she couldn't write a single word.

Eleanor didn't manage to squeeze out a brief reply until that evening.

Her wording was not impolite; she sincerely expressed her blessings to the other party, but her words were full of tactful rejection.

I wrote "Returning the pearl to you with tears streaming down my face" and "I don't want to marry you, okay?" over and over again, about three times.

Is that alright?

Eleanor stuffed the letter into an envelope and had the servants take it out.

She had a misconception that her mission was accomplished. Since Andra was willing to write to her, she probably didn't want to start a war for the time being, right?

An illusion is ultimately just an illusion.

......

Hetuya's initial invasion went unnoticed; no one issued a declaration of war to the king, and no one deployed troops on the border.

They could be a large, somewhat dubious caravan, or they could be a group of barbarians who came down from the mountains to make a living.

They entered the various city-states by different roads, and then disappeared into the water.

Is this considered an attack? It doesn't seem so; no one reacted at all.

The Hetuyas simply did their business as usual, selling animal hides and dried mushrooms.

Even if the Norlana people refused to sell their salt and iron, and other things were sold at high prices, the Hetuya people did not get angry or draw their swords to rob the merchants' stalls.

This wasn't like a war; there were no Ulala cavalrymen smashing down your doors and looting on winter nights. The Hetuyas didn't stay in any one city; they just moved forward, ever forward.

......

The first person to notice something was wrong was a junior manager at the post station.

She compiled the intelligence submitted by her colleagues and discovered that the frequency of Hetuya caravans staying at the inn had increased significantly in recent months. Where did all these Hetuya caravans come from?

Because Her Highness popularized paper and used notebooks as office supplies at the post station, the staff developed the habit of taking work notes.

The manager ran to the office and carefully compared the pages of his work notes one by one.

She noticed a sharp increase in the number of Hetuya caravans traveling through the area in recent months. This was highly unusual, as the Hetuya people did not typically travel frequently across the grasslands.

They had no good feelings towards the Nolana people and would even fabricate stories in legends about how the Nolana people swindled all the money from the Hetuya people and enslaved them.

They viewed Norlana as a land of swindlers and thieves, and only came to trade because they needed Norlana's salt, food, and all sorts of daily necessities.

Therefore, in order to minimize contact, the Hetuya people always elected a few caravan leaders who were most skilled at long-distance travel and communication with people, and had them lead the centralized trade on behalf of the various tribes.

The Hetuya people believed in the wisdom of their leaders and were willing to let their own people reap the greatest profits. In contrast, the Nolana people would find it difficult to gain the approval of the locals if they went to the grasslands to do business.

Because of these characteristics, the managers of the post station and these wealthy merchants from Hetuya became very familiar with each other, which is why they were able to quickly detect that something was wrong.

If it were a slave of another lord's subordinate lord, they would definitely think that this matter was nothing special and there was no need to report it.

But the staff at the post station held a short meeting and reported the matter.

Similar reports, like He Liu's, converged on the same destination.

When Eleanor saw the detailed intelligence that had been compiled, cold sweat poured down her back.

She quickly took out her self-drawn map and started marking it. As the marked patterns became clearer, her complexion worsened.

Andra's move—it seems like he copied me?!

She still remembered Andra's leadership style from her previous life.

Andra initially enjoyed riding and charging in a straightforward manner, much like the traditional Hetuya general, who also loved the thrill of killing.

Later, Andra "studied" in Norlanda, where he learned some roundabout tactics, but they were still very basic.

The Moonlit Continent is very rudimentary in terms of siege equipment and weaponry, and most countries lack sophisticated tactics.

Scenes of national warfare often closely resemble the descriptions of ancient times in Earth's history books.

The two countries would exchange declarations of war, agreeing to advance simultaneously at a fixed time and place, and then fight to the death.

Although there were siege battles and siege battles, the awkward thing was that most of the countries were basically city-states or tribal systems.

When one country attacks another, it's difficult to tell whether it only wants to capture the city it's attacking or if it wants to wage a full-scale war and fight to the death. All of this information has to be determined by the declaration of war.

In his previous life, Andra learned only a tiny fraction of Sun Tzu's Art of War from Eleanor.

She immediately applied this principle to other situations, using the tactics she had been devising to manipulate various countries.

Eleanor can guarantee she's just playful; Andra loves using different methods to win in every war, much like a player grinding for achievements.

Those poets portrayed Andra in their poems as a magical leader who was resourceful and insightful, believing that Andra's brilliant ideas were flashes of inspiration that arose under the heavy pressure of war.

Only Eleanor knew that she had had a great time and was ready to have even more fun.

And this time? Is she still playing games?

Instead of issuing a declaration of war, Andra followed the example of how Eleanor had helped Myrcella seize the throne a few years earlier, sending elite troops in batches to infiltrate various city-states.

She seemed to want to wait until the very end to gather her troops and launch a final assault on the capital or some other important target.

Isn't this just courting death?

Eleanor immediately thought of guerrilla warfare, but guerrilla warfare has a very important prerequisite: the support of the local people.

Who would wage guerrilla warfare on enemy territory? Wouldn't their manpower dwindle with each battle?

She quickly realized the differences between the two worlds.

First, their city-states were very fragmented.

Andra only needs to persuade one or two city lords to amass large armies in their cities. As long as the benefits she promises are great enough, these city lords will have absolutely no patriotism.

Second, the world was still a slave society, with slaves making up more than half of the total population.

If the two countries go to war, the local slaves are very likely to not side with either side or even rebel against their masters.

Third, the difference in combat power between elite warriors and ordinary people is simply too great.

A shadow fell over Eleanor's face.

The current situation seems clear: Andra's troops are spread out and have not yet begun to assemble.

She could easily win by sending a very strong force—slightly stronger than Andra’s main force—to devour her scattered units one by one before Andra could assemble.

She could even use precise intelligence to concentrate her forces to attack the army personally led by Andra.

Once this force successfully defeats Andra, the Hetuyas will retreat in disarray, and may even be betrayed by the city lords eager to prove their loyalty, falling entirely into Nolana's clutches.

Now the question is—who will fight Andra?

Me?

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Author's Note: I was in excellent form yesterday! So I decided to—add an extra chapter tonight! There will probably be another chapter around 6 PM~ Yay, I'll try to get the little couple to meet soon, hahaha. (Although they'll soon be a pair of bickering lovers x)

Finally, let me explain why I've been making more typos lately: Ever since I was maliciously exposed and mocked, I've developed strange psychological problems. Now, when I write characters with the "woman" radical, or even "she" and "girl," I get emotionally overwhelmed, which seriously affects my writing.

So lately I've been using voice input followed by my own corrections of typos, grammatical errors, and punctuation in my writing. Although AI proofreading might be faster, I haven't used it because some readers might not be comfortable with it.

Using voice input, the reading won't drive me crazy. I really love the word "girl"... When editing, you can use the search function to change all instances of "he" to "she" with one click, which is very convenient. Muah!

Eleanor: Andra, you were too careless, daring to venture deep behind enemy lines. Once I find—

(Looking around)

Andra: As long as?

Eleanor: ......