Yuri Flags with the Heroine (Episode 16): Into the Uncertain Future (Route)

Roaring sounds came from the direction of Fort Horns as the residents of Rose Village tried to evacuate. Countless silhouettes flew in the air against the background of the blood-red sky.

The villagers stared as if it were already the end. But then the flame dragons appeared, buildings erupted in flames, and they truly found themselves in Hell.

“Pathetic! Is this really all you’ve got?!” spat the man astride the largest one, his body large, his red hair like flames.

With all the efforts to strengthen Fort Horns in the past few years, it seemed like it was impossible to breach from the Valhalla side. Which is why the young King Julius of Valhalla ordered that the legendary fire dragon tamed by one of his finest soldiers:

Wolfgang Godward, the “General of Flame” and commander of the First Brigade of the Valhallan Army.

“Bah!” he spat.

Wolfgang rose to the top because of his many achievements and his willingness to sacrifice for his country. When he volunteered to lead the Fort Horn assault, he led the First Brigade to an old dragon nest, then the battlefield. In addition to adding the fire dragons to their military might, he was wearing full armor with high flame resistance, so he wouldn’t burn to death while he commanded right from the frontline.

“Burn it all to the ground!” he yelled.

He wanted to see the fruits of his labour with his own eyes, as an honour for the men he lost taming the flame dragons. He believed that using the Fire Dragon would lead to glory for Valhalla, that felling the impenetrable Fort Horns would burn the name of the Valhalla First Brigade into the land of Amelia.

However, with reality in front of him, he cannot help but be disappointed.

“This all you can muster?!” he cried. “Was Fort Horns really so weak that it could be captured in less than an hour? We were overestimating our enemy’s’ power! We didn’t even need the flame dragons in the first place!”

The members of the First Brigade corral the Amelian soldiers to the fire dragons’ flames, burn them alive like they were sacrifices to their fallen comrades. Their dying screams and rage are like music to their ears, a requiem for their dead.

Upon confirming that the Fort Horns had fallen, Wolfgang ordered his subordinates: “Advance! To Stanley Castle! The flames of Hell light the way for Valhalla’s victory! To war!”

His soldiers cheer.

Wolfgang leads his Fire Dragon Knights and his own mount to Stanley Castle. The infantry left behind stormed through the ruins of Fort Horns and Rose Village. For this march, they had brought no supplies with them, intended to loot and pillage every village on their path for food. This is why they had chosen to invade at the end of the harvest season.

“Bring out what food you have!” the soldiers demanded. “Weapons and armor, too!”

Once Fort Horns had fallen, Castle Stanley was captured, and the Arch region was under Valhalla’s control, their allied forces would come in to supply them and fuel the rest of the campaign. But for now, Wolfgang and his Flame Dragon Riders flew on to Castle Stanley.

---

It was about time to turn in for bed when we saw it: the northeastern sky dyed red. I—Eugenie—jumped out of the house with my uncle. I looked around, saw all of our neighbours were coming out of their homes, too.

“Fort Horns is on fire…”

As if on cue, soldiers bearing Valhalla’s coat-of-arms rush into the village, many are instantly captured. Giant dragons flew over the sky, flying southwest and past us. “All of you be quiet!” the soldiers barked. “We will strike down anyone who shows resistance!”

The rounded up the villagers, bound up their hands, and took us to the village square. Just before the Valhallan soldiers came to my house, my uncle told me to run away and I pushed me and my aunt out the back door of our house.

“Find the gap and go through it into the forest. Lord Stanley will help you,” he said.

“But…” I mutter.

“I don’t know what’ll happen if the soldiers find the women! Just do as I say, and don’t come back!”

Without another word, Uncle shut the door on us. Without any other choice, we ran through the forest, hiding from the enemy soldiers. At some point, we heard voices nearby.

“Is that all of them?”

“Yes, sir.”

“It seems that there are too few villagers, compared to the number of fields and houses. The rest of them—bah, did they escape?!”

“It’d be bad if they disappeared into the forest. Even if they’re just villagers, guerrilla soldiers could tap into their knowledge of the land.”

“Oi! Search the forest! Kill any villagers on sight! Pluck this threat out early before it takes root!”

Just as the Valhalla soldiers suspected, some villagers had fled into the forest with us. We joined them and ran through the darkness to Stanley Castle.

“Ah–!?”

My foot caught in the roots of a tree and I stumbled, rolled down a small cliff and off the road. I heard my aunt calling for me above me… then, screaming.

“Gyaaahhh…!”

I looked up, Valhallan soldiers were charging down the road I was on just now. On horseback, they easily chased down the villagers, stabbed them with their spears. “Kill all the escapees!” they cried. “Before they can become guerilla soldiers!”

“B-But, we’re not—ghk!”

Horses whinny, people scream, the soldiers shout, spears pierce into flesh.

“Aaaah…!” someone screams.

I lay there frozen, strangling a scream in my throat.

Is this really happening? Shouldn’t this be all a bad dream? A nightmare… yes, this is what a nightmare would be like. But, I feel smell the blood on my nose, feel of the soil beneath me, and pain when I fell earlier.

This is not a dream—it’s all real.

“Huh?!”

“H-Hey? What the–!”

“Gahhk…!”

The sounds overhead suddenly changed. The Valhallan soldiers suddenly started panicking and screaming.

“Huh…?!”

In the darkness, the voice of a noblewoman rang out. I couldn’t see her—but I immediately knew who it was: Rosalind! Rosalind had come to save us!

---

As I rode through the forest, I heard screams and immediately went towards. When I broke out the woods and into the road, I saw the Valhallan soldiers slaughtering helpless villagers.

“Charge!” I cried as I drove Neptune through the soldiers and trampled them, before I jumped off with my spear at the ready.

The soldiers who had been enjoying the slaughter were thrown off-balance from surprise. Without mercy I stabbed my spear into the gaps between their armor and their helmets, they could only let out short gurgles as they died.

Neptune continued to rampage and keep the others from regrouping, I slew a handful more Valhallan soldiers.

“Rosalind!” someone screamed from behind me. “Look out!”

Immediately, I grab Neptune’s reins and turn around, a Valhallan soldier was right behind me. Neptune reared and knocked off his helmet, exposed the startled look on his face. His eyeballs rolled upward, and finally, he collapsed.

Behind him, Genie held a crossbow, looted from the soldiers I felled. She shook as she stared at me with a horrified expression. “I… I wanted to protect, you Rosalind, so I…”

I dismounted Neptune and hugged her. She was shaking violently from her first-ever kill, but as I continued to hold her, she began to calm down.

I looked around… apparently no other survivors than Genie. We slew only a small squad of eight, barely a scratch to the Valhallan army’s numbers. On the other hand, there are ten villagers’ corpses nearby… and among them was Genie’s aunt.

I averted my eyes and gave my condolences.

“Auntie…” Genie whispered.

“Genie… I’m sorry, but we can’t stick around here. We have to leave, before reinforcements come!”

Eugenie cried, then looked at me and nodded, a determined look in her eyes.

“Come on, let’s go!” I cry.

“Y-Yes! Are we heading to Castle Stanley?!”

“No, we’re not.”

“Huh…?”

“… On my way here, I flame dragons flying towards the castle… to go back there will be throwing away our lives.”

“Then where are we going?” Eugenie asked.

“Anywhere but here,” I said. “My brother told us to escape from the Arch region, to forge a path to my own destiny.”

“Destiny?”

“Yes.”

You could say my original plan succeeded in a sense, but you could also say it failed. Certainly, I’ve changed the fate of this world. But did it lead to a good outcome, or did things just get even worse for all of us?

I can’t say anything right now.

After all, I lost my status as a daughter of the Marquis, abandoned my territory, and fled for my life. Even so, I was able to avoid the worst bad end. Genie is alive. This is not a bad end as long as she is alive.

However, I’ll have to wait and see what kind of future is in store, one the game never had.

“Let’s go, Jenny!” I cried. “Hold on tight!”

“Y-Yes, Rosalind!” Genie said. “I’ll come with you wherever you go!”

I rode Neptune from behind to hold Genie in my arms, grabbed the reins, and spurred Neptune. “Let’s go!” I yelled.

We run in the direction away from Castle Stanley, all my thoughts on now was getting out of the Arch region.

Once, I was I was a normal high school girl, who died an early and sudden death.

Then, I was reincarnated as the villainous girl “Rosalind Stanley” in the Otome game “Rose of the Battlefield”.

In order to avoid my personal ruin, I had grown up quite differently than the original Rosalind. As a result, I’ve set us on a future that the game never depicted.

You could say I still haven’t avoided my ruin. Still, I have no regrets.

Genie is safe in my arms. While I was riding through the woods, I kept thinking she might have died and despaired each time, the kind of despair you’d feel when your world was ending.

But when I think of it, as I hold her in my arms, I didn’t fear anything.

The future that awaits us is uncertain—still, I will go straight towards it.

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