Chapter 15: Battle on a Bridge (1)
The Four Lords and Seven Gates: this term referred to the four lords and the seven noble master families representing the Lillian Kingdom. Originally, the master families referred exclusively to masters of some kind of swordsmanship, but the emergence of the Sefira family, the Masters of Archery, broke that tradition. Consequently, the conservative high nobles, who valued tradition over life itself, had found the existence of an archery family distasteful.
“How can archery be compared to swordsmanship? Even if they have made contributions in war, the ones who risk their lives on the front lines are the knights wielding swords!”
At the time when the Sefira family became known as the Masters of Archery, Queen Lillian favored them, and as such, no one dared to touch them. However, the situation had changed drastically now; the crisis of the Sefira family was the hottest topic among the nobility.
In the past, when large-scale wars between nations were frequent, the accomplishments of the Sefira family stood out. But in the current cold war era, where local skirmishes or honorable duels by knights were common, the Masters of Archery had become a burden.
Naturally, various nobles continuously exerted political pressure, arguing that the Sefira family was unfit for their status as a master family. They claimed that the kingdom would become much stronger if a swordsmanship family were in that position instead. This argument was reasonable and raised quite frequently, eventually reaching Queen Lillian. This put the Sefira family to the test—a trial to dispel the public’s distrust.
The Sefira family declared that they would participate in international battles and achieve military accomplishments. However, they had another major flaw: they were quiet. Being quiet meant they lacked social skills, and lacking social skills meant that they had no political power in the noble society.
This wasn’t a problem when large-scale wars were common, as they had Queen Lillian’s support due to their overwhelming military achievements. However, times changed and the affection of Queen Lillian, which seemed everlasting, had waned.
The Sefira family, which was inexperienced in politics, had neither noble allies nor factions to support them. In a situation like this, the Sefira family didn’t have an opportunity to intervene in battles. The swordsmanship families were managing and controlling the battles entirely, so they rejected the Sefira family’s participation for various reasons.
“Times have changed. Bows, the weapons of cowards, are only used by those who hide behind others. Do you think archery can defeat swordsmanship?”
Although the Sefira family was a master family, they lacked political influence; they could not ignore the swordsmanship families and participate in the battles. They tried to engage in politics by entering social circles, though it was late, but even that didn’t go smoothly.
The only reason the Sefira family managed to endure despite the worst circumstances was due to the overwhelming support from the people of the kingdom. The ancestors of the family were originally nomads who settled in the Lillian Kingdom with the great support of the native people. Since they were able to become a noble family through the blood and sweat of the people, they vowed to protect them.