Chapter 201: Acquiescing to the Imperial Army’s Retreat (1)
Imperial Year 378, May 4th.
“You, you……! You betrayed me!”
Lucy said so, filled with irrepressible rage. And the target of his anger, in other words, me, crossed my arms and tilted my head.
“What did I do?”
“Don’t play dumb! I thought you were a true friend! I can’t believe you would so ruthlessly betray my feelings!”
“Hey, Lucy, calm down a bit……”
“Shut up! Don’t move your lips! I don’t want to hear anything from you, the one who betrayed me!”
He was truly angry. I wondered if I had ever seen him like this before. The image of my friend, always cheerful and with a loud laugh, had disappeared somewhere, leaving only a wounded human being enraged by betrayal.
He clenched his fists and trembled his shoulders. It seemed like pure resentment and anger had engulfed him.
“Yeah, I thought this would happen someday. But, still, I wanted to believe. I wanted to believe how beautiful friendship is! But it was all in vain! The world always, always! Gives the greatest sense of betrayal to those who believe! Ha! I didn’t think it would be you……! I can’t believe you would betray me like this!”
I scratched my head. I was expecting this to happen as well. In that sense, I suppose I did betray him.
In fact, there aren’t many places in this world where the word “absolute” can be used. At least in places where people live, relative standards are generally established.
Therefore, when people experience misfortune, they think they are the most unfortunate, and those who are betrayed experience the greatest frustration in the world. No matter how insignificant the feeling may be when compared to others, the feelings of the person experiencing it become the most important measure.
But I’m not sorry now.
I don’t feel the need to be.
It was an expected procedure anyway. It’s just that something we both knew but pretended not to know has become visible.
I sighed and looked at him askance.
“So? What do you want me to do?”
“Ugh! You, you still don’t acknowledge your sin……!”
“I know. But what are you saying I should do? It’s already happened. And all you can do is either vehemently deny reality or accept it with a bitter face. And those are the only two things I can offer.”
It’s a shameless attitude if you can call it shameless. That’s right. When a person betrays another person, there are always only two things the betrayer can offer.
Accept reality, or just deny it.
I recommend the former if possible, but the feelings of the betrayed tend to lean towards the latter. Lucy grimaced and gritted his teeth.
He must have realized it long ago. That there was nothing else he could do.
He shook his head. Then, as if he was about to say something, he moved his lips, but then he lowered his head and raised it again. His weak voice flowed out from between his trembling lips.
“I can’t forgive you……”
“I understand.”
“Yeah. You were that kind of guy. Damn it! This is the first time I’ve been so disappointed in someone! I won’t forget! I won’t forget, Arisein!”
He spoke as if he was spitting blood and turned around to leave the tent. His back looked unusually small compared to before. And after a while, the sound of a wounded beast roaring could be heard from afar.
I shook my head and sighed. My heart ached to see my wounded friend.
At that moment, there was a hand that reached around my back and over my shoulder. Soft skin rested on my bare skin, and a slight weight was applied. Then, she, who had gotten up, hugged me from behind and said,
“He’s gone. Hmm……”
“You’re awake?”
“I would wake up from a coma in this situation.”
Last night, Levidian came to my tent and fell asleep. If you ask if we just slept, I would answer that Lucy wouldn’t have been so angry.
She rubbed her eyes while hugging me and said,
“Should I introduce Lucy to a female officer?”
“Well. But that guy is unexpectedly picky.”
“He starves because he’s a picky eater. Hehe.”
“Haha. I see. By the way, how should we comfort him?”
I thought about it for a bit and got up. Even if we put aside Lucy’s problem, I have to rack my brains for the Pelasion strategy from today.
While I was picking up my clothes, Levidian stretched. She yawned cutely and prettily, and with a sleepy face, she smiled and said,
“Good morning, Risel.”
“Yes. Good morning.”
How nice it is to wake up with your lover.
“Where’s Lucy?”
“Throwing rocks by the river.”
Al answered simply while tearing off bread. Imagining Lucy squatting and throwing rocks into the water while looking at the morning sun, he looks truly pathetic.
Although it may have been a predetermined sequence of events, Aila’s eyes sparkled as she looked back and forth between me and Levidian.
“Heung. I wonder what Mr. Lucy saw today? Why did he suddenly start using meaningless violence on the river? Ibi-unni, what do you think?”
“Whatever it is, I think it’s rude to barge in suddenly in the morning.”
“Does that mean you were with Risel until morning?”
“To be precise, we were together all night.”
Well, we only slept together twice, but Levidian seems to have become quite confident in the meantime. No, should I see that as a kind of shamelessness?
The mature maiden with ash-gray hair blushed. Of course, she’s just joking.
“Oh my. During wartime, and in the barracks too……!”
“An ancient sage once said. Lovers being together doesn’t discriminate against time and place. So, won’t you stop trying to embarrass me with mischievous questions?”
“Unni, you’ve changed so much. Sob sob. Where has that shy, reserved young lady gone? Sob sob.”
“People change, you know.”
Levidian elegantly scooped up the soup and brought it to her mouth. It was a dignified and natural movement. She was showing that she wasn’t embarrassed by this situation at all.
But why is my face getting hot?
Aila puffed out her cheeks and turned her head toward me. Ugh! Yandere! Are you turning the arrow towards me now?
“Risel, this is all your fault! How dare you take my Ibi-unni……!”
“Levidian is mine, not yours.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
With our joint attack, Aila looked like she had been hit. She looked around and, realizing that the only person who would take her side was throwing rocks by the river, made a tearful face.
“Waaah! Everyone will hate me!”
She immediately drank the soup and ran outside with a few pieces of bread and fruit, a surprisingly rational action for someone running away in frustration. Should I say it’s just like Aila?
Al, with his usual indifferent attitude, made a cold-hearted critique.
“The number of people by the river will increase.”
Joey, who couldn’t adapt to this atmosphere, smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. And next to him, Namia, in a meditative posture, concentrated on her breakfast without making a single comment.
Anyway, Levidian, you’ve really changed a lot. The intervals seem to be getting shorter and shorter.
I said to her,
“I’ve discovered an encouraging fact. If I join forces with you, even Aila will run away.”
“Oh my, you’re right when I think about it. This is why people get lovers.”
“I think it’s a little different…… But you seem to have become quite confident?
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to hide. Thinking like that, I can easily counter Aila’s teasing. As always, a counter should return the opponent’s power as well.”
She smiled brightly, and I instinctively smiled back and thought.
Women are truly amazing.
You who occupy half of the world, even if men rule the world, as long as you rule men, the world will be yours.
Thinking about it now, I guess Levidian is the type who can’t stand being on the receiving end. Seeing how she’s steadily getting back at Aila for what she did.
Al, with the attitude of a cold-hearted critic, dusted off his hands, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and drank water. Then he asked,
“When is the wedding?”
“After the war. My guess is, after we take over the Empire, the Herduke Empire will probably be established. My father will become the Emperor. Then I’ll become a Duke or a Prince and rule Grenoian. So, in order, it’ll be post-war cleanup, my father’s ascension, and then the wedding.”
“That will take a long time.”
“That’s how it is with royalty. Of course, officially, it’ll be then, but we’re planning to hold a ceremony internally as soon as the war is over. Honestly, waiting for that would take a few more years.”
“Complicated.”
“It’ll be simpler than war.”
Al silently nodded.
Honestly, it’s uncertain whether the Herduke Empire will be established. My father doesn’t seem to want to become Emperor.
But what other position would suit a nation that possesses the largest landmass on the continent and has gained the unknown frontier of Grenoian, greatly increasing its potential for development?
Actually, this kind of thought is something you would only have when victory is certain, but I have no intention of losing even a little bit.
It might be a twisted thought, but even if I lose the war, I don’t want to lose to Artshever. Me winning against Artshever means the Herduke Kingdom winning against the Anopuri Empire, but who knows?
Although it’s said that the victory or defeat between me and Artshever is inseparable from the victory or defeat between the Kingdom and the Empire, if it can be separated, it can be done as much as possible.
“But, Hyung-nim, how are you planning to attack Pelasion?”
“Hmm, that’s a bit of a problem, but for now, we should build a defensive line by creating a base camp by the river until Kun arrives. I’ll plan the Pelasion attack strategy after that.”
“Mr. Kun? Come to think of it, you ordered him to bring 1,500 reinforcements, right? Are they the Gray Tribe by any chance?”
“That’s right. 1,500 Guards. They are the key to the attack.”
Joey, in what others might see as a beast from hell growling, was lost in thought. Even though I’ve known him for a long time, I can’t help but feel like the air at the table suddenly smells of sulfur.
Levidian, who was cutting a blue apple for dessert after finishing her meal, said without looking at me,
“Are you planning to use the Guard for offense? I’m sure you said you would use them for defense before.”
“Of course, not for offense. The fact that they are excellent warriors is like saying that water flows downhill, but this war will be fought by the soldiers of the Kingdom Army. I’ve said it over and over again.”
“Yes. I know. Here, eat this and explain.”
She held out the fruit she had just cut, and I took it in my mouth. It tastes sweeter than a regular apple.
I said while chewing the apple,
“First of all, let me make it clear that Pelasion is not a city that can be captured with 1,500 men. It’s one of the structures built around the time the Empire completed the Barrier construction.”
“It didn’t look like that from the outside? Especially the extended part looked very flimsy.”
“When did you see it?”
“Oh, Risel. You’re the one who sent me as a scout.”
Ah, right. Yesterday, I sent her as a scout with the assassins to the front of Pelasion. Last night was an event to commend her for her hard work. Hmm, is this an example of how excuses multiply the more you make them?
I scratched my head and said,
“I admit that it might look that way. It was completed in Imperial Year 90, so it’s a bit old.”
“But Pelasion was originally built as the final defensive line, a fortress city.”
“Final defensive line?”
“Yes. In case the Grener break out of Grenoian and sweep through Orknesia to the Imperial Capital, it was built as the last bastion to protect the Imperial Capital, relying on the Pelasia River. So it has to be sturdy.”
“But the Grener haven’t crossed over since the Barrier was built, have they? Because the Guard were hunting them all. And the walls of Pelasion looked completely different from the Barrier I saw before.”
She couldn’t hide her doubts. And I could only smile awkwardly. Actually, there’s some shady business involving the Imperial Army administration here.
I scratched my head and said,
“So, this is how it happened……”
Pelasion was built as a scaled-down concept of the Barrier. This is true. It’s even in the Imperial history books.
Leave a Reply