CHAPTER - IV ( PART 2)

However, what Tanya and the others do not know at this moment is that, often, what makes tough times so tough is that they do not happen at the time and place of your choosing.

Thus, there was no way of knowing that the report that Tanya and the others so skillfully put together that day, stating that "the Commies are up to something strange," would lead to a chemical reaction that no reasonable person would anticipate. The truth is that their defeating the enemy mechanized mage unit and swift drafting of a report, which was submitted to so many persons, would result in tough times of their own.

The possibility of a newly formed and effective enemy force. The appearance of a new paradigm in the east. Or perhaps, simply, the military exploits of a young attaché.

Regardless of what circumstances had served as the trigger, among those in the Imperial court who read the Kampfgruppe's report, there was one, in particular, who was of an extremely serious nature.

Someone with fundamentally good intentions. No one would ever disagree with that.

This person's name was Alexandra. As the youngest daughter of His Majesty the Emperor, she was a hereditary commander in the Imperial Army, leading the 23rd Regiment of Imperial Guards.

Strictly speaking, as an Imperial Guard regiment, the unit was not a stand-alone unit. Together with the 13th Regiment, the 23rd Regiment of Imperial Guards was part of the 3rd Guard Division.

Naturally, when it came to combat operations, the 3rd Guard Division was in command. The regiment was not doctrinally set up to be deployed to the front lines on its own. Although, you could say this was all for show, as the commander of the 3rd Guard Division was none other than the current emperor's younger brother.

The real situation was more of an uncle looking after niece. The Imperial Guard, after all, was a reserved post for important people. All important positions in the existing, three-division sized Guard, were occupied by various members of the Imperial family.

As an antiquated relic, they usually spent their time training for an Imperial march that obviously would never come, or serving as a glorified stopover post for injured soldiers or a place where the decorated could enjoy a bit of R and R. Occasionally, it might be used as a recruiting pool

for instructors. But its titles, such as regimental commander, were never used except for ceremony's sake.

However, this particular regimental commander, who was connected to an unrestricted and inviolable noble lineage, took her military duties very seriously.

"The Imperial Guard's place is to guard the Imperial castle; I will not argue that. However, the fact that they have not seen actual combat is unfortunate. With due consideration to the lessons learned in war, should my regiment not be sent to the front lines as well? I believe it would be best if they, or at the very least, regimental command get experience on the front"—and so on and so forth, she insisted, ever serious.

In a sense, she was right.

Of course, she did not consider the implications of sending members of the Imperial family to the deadlocked eastern front of all places. Not to mention, she'd be accompanied by all of regimental command, which, while in possession of some degree of individual training, comprised a range of important people, including women from multiple distinguished and high-ranking aristocratic families.

In other words, the Imperial Guard was a show army, excellently trained as ornamentation but not something you would want to send to the front lines. It was an institution for Imperial family members and aristocrats who wanted to play soldier. That was all.

The Empire was home to several outdated regulations. Hence why such posts still remained.

If you traced back the origin of the Imperial Guard, there were many posts for female members of the Imperial family and the children (including girls) of high-ranking aristocrats. This included regimental commanders of the Guards Cavalry, even in a time when female soldiers were relatively rare. For important positions in the Imperial Guard, as in court, it was not rare for men and women to be nearly equal.

For attached soldiers as well, training was relatively thorough; several had actual combat experience, including those in the capital temporarily or on R and R. They were also well equipped.

However, whether Guard Division or Imperial Guard regiment, these units had not experienced the battlefield as a unit. And in terms of unit experience, most soldiers had experience at the company level at best,

perhaps occasionally at the battalion level if one looked for exceptions.

The majority were parade or ceremonial honor guards.

At the same time, since it was a waste to keep such an extensive unit purely for leisure, they also accepted new recruits for training at the battalion level. However, as soon as these recruits became useful soldiers, the General Staff waved a magic wand to quickly whisk them away.

With the flash of a pen, a bit of ink, and a few documents, what had once been a "battalion of Imperial Guards" could be divided up in the name of "expansion and reorganization," transferring nearly all personnel with useful combat experience elsewhere. The label of "previous Imperial Guard" served as a bit of convenient luster for core personnel in newly formed infantry regiments.

The majority of those left behind in the original Imperial Guard battalion were the children of high-ranking aristocrats or those few others who required "special consideration."

This arrangement worked out well for everyone involved.

So long, of course, as no damnably serious blue blood decided to suddenly discover a sense of noblesse oblige and decide it wasn't right to sit around as decoration during these times of total war.

To great general misfortune, Her Highness the princess, who had an estimable sense of obligation even in normal times, got it into her head that her honorary duties should be literally fulfilled. The reports from the front had apparently become too much to bear.

But what if we were to send the 23rd Regiment of Imperial Guards to the front as reinforcements?! It was a proposal that anyone familiar with reality could only recoil from.

General Staff and Eastern Command were both left cradling their heads.

Under normal circumstances, they might have politely refused. But this was a proposal from a duteous, well-intentioned member of the imperial household. A role for the Imperial Guard—on the front lines! Such a courteous and honorable proposal from such a noble daughter of the imperial line. The Empire was formally an imperial government, and those in the military had pledged loyalty to the imperial household. Once the Emperor himself added his say, that "a week or so of on-site experience couldn't hurt," there was nothing to do but acquiesce to imperial order.

Even General Hans von Zettour was no exception.

The general glared with momentary rage at the aide-de-camp who had delivered the message.

"I must go to the palace at once and speak with His Majesty…" That was all General Zettour said.

Indeed, the general stood up immediately and half jogged from the room. As Colonel Uger, a top-ranking adjutant, dashed about in a panic arranging for palace access, the aide who had been left behind stumbled down the General Staff Office hallways weakly before rushing into the nearest restroom.

Having received a drink earlier in the day from Her Highness Alexandra herself, as well as a cup of coffee from General Zettour, the unfortunate messenger soon found himself sharing that sloshy mixture in his stomach with one of the General Staff toilet bowls.

In short, the man threw up. Stomach juices and all.

However, the aide was not the only one to suffer in such a way that day. General Laudon also threw up that day. In fact, as did General Zettour. Yes, all the important people were throwing up.

This was the nature of the Empire in which they lived, the imperial system. But they did attempt to fight back. They tried, and they tried, and they even managed to stop the full regiment's deployment. Perhaps not a feat of historical proportions, but within that organization, as deeply colored as they were by its culture and its restrictions, it was still a feat that demanded every iota of effort.

It was not a victory, however, but a compromise.

If the entire regiment couldn't go, then perhaps an on-site inspection? After all, there was no stopping the serious once they set their very serious minds on something.