Chapter 181. Krafte War - After the Battle
I woke up a day later.
Whether it was the aftereffects of the poison or from overexertion, I didn't know, but despite receiving Eris's treatnt, my body was not in good shape.
Still, thinking I should get my body moving and fulfill my duties, I tried to get up, only to be thoroughly scolded by Eris, who ca after a terrified dic reported .
...She said that with so many casualties from the street battle, it was difficult to use her power to fully heal just , and that she'd only moderately healed , half-intending for to suffer and regret a little, and yet I was trying to move again.
After scolding for a good while, Eris, as Queen, ordered to rest quietly and left. What could I do when Her Majesty the Queen commands it?
Thanks to that, I was sitting quietly on a bed in the recovery barracks, leisurely munching on a heaping pile of fruit.
From outside, the faint sound of the drizzling rain could still be heard.
The damage was clearly severe, but we had won, one way or another.
In any case, unlike us, who had plenty of places to shelter from the rain since our garrison was in the city, the Krafte Army must be having a hard ti during their retreat.
Even if I can't work, I wanted to at least know the status of our losses to plan for the next step, but under the pretense of Her Majesty's orders, not even my subordinates are visiting.
It's a relief that Shandra, who got caught up because of , is reportedly recovering well, but just sitting here alone eating fruit is making restless.
Of course, the acting Commander-in-Chief Louis Desaix and the Chief of Staff Alexandre Berthier are both competent.
Honestly, the two of them are probably handling things just fine on their own without .
...But that's that, and what's annoying is annoying.
Damn them. Who's the head of the military, or Eris?
It seems I'll need to properly tighten the army's discipline once my recovery is over.
No matter if it's Her Majesty the Queen, a Commander-in-Chief who can't even get a war situation report after a battle, the state of this army is just—my thoughts were cut off by footsteps approaching.
A rather fast gait, splashing through puddles, and soone following that person.
Just from the sound, it was neither Eris's characteristically energetic walk nor the typical gait of a soldier.
...Who walks like that?
As far as I know, the person who walks like this is—
I couldn't believe it, but when I saw the person who briskly pushed aside the entrance flap and stepped in, I froze in surprise.
The person who entered silently took off their robe, soaked with rainwater, and handed it to their subordinate, who then imdiately left the barracks.
“Christine?”
It's only been a day since the battle ended, how are you here?
“...You look better than I expected.”
Christine’s voice was a little low, so I gave an awkward laugh.
I feel a sense of déjà vu.
“I feel like I've heard those words before.”
Hearing my words, Christine smiled.
Why does her smile look so nacing...
“More importantly, how did you get here so soon?”
With the rain, I doubt even Lumiere has heard news of our victory yet.
Christine replied as she slowly approached .
“I was staying at the Fortress of Verdun.”
“What did you say?”
Verdun is just above Barua.
That's a place that would be imdiately attacked or isolated if Barua fell, and you were there?
“Around the ti Barua was surrounded and contact was lost, I moved there and stayed. It was more convenient for providing support using my intelligence network. I even assisted General Jero Morelle’s supply disruption operation, but it seems you didn't know yet.”
“If by so chance we had fallen, you would have been in danger. Why would you go to such a dangerous frontline area—”
“The Krafte Army was concentrating its attack on the city of Barua, so how dangerous could Verdun have been? In fact, it wasn't attacked at all.”
“That’s just hindsight, Christine. If you had been in danger—”
“You being safe is also hindsight, Pierre.”
As I fell silent, Christine, who had co right up to the bed I was sitting on, quietly knelt to et my eyes and spoke.
“The enemy was clearly carrying out a decapitation strike, and the Commander-in-Chief himself ran out to buy ti for our allies to retreat, I hear.”
“...”
“And in the end, you were found on the verge of death, poisoned by a demon's toxin, after facing Count Wittelsbach and the knights of the Empire alone.”
...It's Christine, after all.
I'd deliberately tried not to think about who her eyes in my headquarters might be, but now I regret it.
I was left with nothing to say, so I quietly apologized to her.
“...I'm sorry.”
Christine silently leaned her body and rested her head on my chest.
Is it because she was in the rain? Her body is cold.
“You'll catch a cold like this. I should start a fire—”
The mont I thought that, my chest began to feel damp.
Rainwater? Ah, no.
“Ch-Christine. Are you crying?”
“Every ti, every single ti, you act like a man itching to die.”
“That's not it at all. There was no other way, so I had to do it to win, no matter what.”
“...Yes, I'm sure you did. Because it's you, that's what you would have done.”
Christine said softly in a choked voice, then a mont later, pulled away from and smiled with reddened eyes.
Her smile is sohow chilling...
“Your subordinates are failing to properly assist you, which is why you end up in mortal danger like this every ti. The subordinates must be the problem, right?”
As I was thinking that, I heard Christine's next words and froze completely.
No, why is her train of thought going there...
“It seems they're all lacking the necessary skills for their positions, so wouldn't it be better to purge them all and replace them?”
“...Yo-you're joking, right?”
Christine stared at , then answered with a twisted smile.
“If you act so recklessly again and really die, it won't be a joke.”
Oh, my head.
The Black Witch of Aquitaine.
I completely raised the white flag before my fiancée, who seed determined to live up to her nickna.
“I understand. I won't do anything like this again, no matter what. ...If only to save my innocent subordinates.”
Only then did Christine open her arms to embrace , whispering softly in a choked voice.
“Please. Really, you have no idea what I go through every ti.”
I always try to choose the best option, but as a result, I really almost died this ti, too.
Once by Gremory, once by Gilles de Lionel. I barely survived thanks to the enemy's whim.
It's always the best choice for , but for Christine, her blood must have run cold each ti.
Having no other choice, I hugged her back and replied.
“I'm sorry. I will never do this again.”
After coaxing and comforting her for a long while, I finally faced a slightly calr Christine and added, as if joking.
“But, still, talking about purging subordinates who fought hard and are innocent is a bit...”
But Christine just looked at with her reddened eyes and replied with a very displeased expression.
“Should I have threatened to follow you in death if you died, then? I'd like you to know that I was holding back as much as I could.”
In the end, I surrendered completely.
“Ah, I understand. I was wrong. Really, truly, about everything.”
Only then did Christine's sowhat chilling smile give way to a relaxed one, and she patted my back, whispering.
“You've been through a lot, Pierre.”
“...Thank you, Christine.”
Only then could I smile too.
...That aside.
Whether she even ate during those few days she was helping Jero Morelle, or if it's just because she was soaked by the rain, her frail appearance is quite displeasing to .
I picked up an apple from the plate of apples on the table and handed it to her.
“This also gives a strange sense of déjà vu, but you look more like the patient than I do. Have so of this.”
Christine looked at the apple I offered with a very subtle expression, then ekly took it with her mouth.
Oh, for her to be so ek for once—
That thought lasted only a mont.
Crunch-
Crunch-
As if intentionally making the sound, Christine smiled, deliberately and slowly munching on the apple right in front of my nose.
The way she looks needlessly seductive while chewing an apple, this is completely intentional, right?
As I stared at the sight with my mouth agape, Christine soon wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled closer.
From mouth to mouth, from tongue to tongue, the sweet juice and finely crushed flesh of the fruit passed over.
I unconsciously swallowed it and wrapped my arms around Christine's waist, and she slapped my arm with a sharp smack.
“Wh-what?”
I pulled my arms away in surprise, and Christine looked at and spoke.
“Since you have sinned, I will not permit you to touch .”
...To do that and then tell not to touch her, isn't that punishnt too terrifying?
“Uh, until when?”
I asked without thinking, and Christine pointed to the fruits on the table and gave a deep smile.
“Until you've eaten all of these fruits.”
*
Mittelmarch, the capital of Krafte.
While Crown Prince Heinrich was repelling the rebel army of the Duchy of Saxe-Warsaw and engaging in successive battles with the army of the Northern Allied Kingdom.
Due to its location, Mittelmarch, which was close and effectively surrounded on three sides by Saxe, Warsaw, and the Northern Allied Kingdom, was exposed to direct threats.
Thanks to this, key governnt officials had decided to relocate to a temporary capital and were in the midst of preparations.
The intelligence organization managed by Chancellor Justin von Wittenfeld was no different.
A basent filled with torture devices and all sorts of classified docunts.
As the agents bustled about, destroying what needed to be destroyed and anding what needed to be anded, Chancellor Justin von Wittenfeld entered the basent with a leisurely stride.
“Are the relocation preparations almost complete?”
“Yes, Your Excellency the Chancellor! Most of the docunts for disposal have been destroyed, and the essential docunts are over there, ready for relocation!”
“Yes, I see. Good work.”
Justin von Wittenfeld nodded, his glasses glinting at the reply from the aide who had served him for a long ti, and then snapped his fingers.
At the sa ti, the classified docunts they had diligently prepared for relocation caught fire.
“Gasp?”
“Wh-what! How did it catch fire?”
While the aide and agents were panicking.
Justin von Wittenfeld leisurely stepped outside and pulled a handle.
Simultaneously, iron bars descended, sealing off the basent from the stairs.
“Ch-Chancellor, Your Excellency! What on earth have you done?”
As the aide who had served him for nearly ten years watched in horror, Wittenfeld spoke leisurely.
“What do you think greed is?”
“Wh-what.”
“Greed for wealth? Greed for power? Everyone covets those things. Sothing so common that everyone covets cannot be called true greed.”
While Wittenfeld spouted cryptic words, the agents tried desperately to put out the fire on the docunts, but there was nothing in the basent that could help with extinguishing it.
An agent, unable to just watch, took off his overcoat to smother the fire, but the flas instantly consud his coat as well.
“Th-this is no ordinary fire!”
“Cough, cough...”
The aide watching this scene shouted urgently at Wittenfeld with trembling eyes.
“What on earth are you talking about, Your Excellency the Chancellor! Please open the door! At this rate, we'll all die!”
“True greed is the desire for knowledge, to see sothing never seen before, sothing that did not exist. For example, the shock and betrayal seen in one who has been betrayed by soone they'd absolutely trusted for a long ti.”
Before the trembling aide, Wittenfeld spoke leisurely.
“Allow to introduce myself again, my faithful aide. The na for this ‘ga’ is Justin von Wittenfeld. My true na is Vassago. I'm also the CEO of Abyss Corporation's ‘Greed’ division.”
Wittenfeld, no, Vassago, watched the process of the aide's face becoming stained with shock, betrayal, horror, and fear as if appreciating a delicate work of art.
“N-no way, y-you must be joking, Your Excellency the Chancellor. Why all of a sudden, p-please, o-open the door.”
“Ah, not bad. Honestly, I am greatly looking forward to seeing the reaction of our beloved His Majesty the Great King, but it's a pity that company policy prevents from seeing it.”
“I-it's a lie, a lie. W-we're the demon's... No way...!”
As Vassago snickered at the sight of the aide sinking to the floor and tearing at his hair, the sound of flapping wings echoed beside him.
“You still have terrible taste, Vassago.”
“Ah, I thank you for the trouble of coming to greet , Gremory.”
“A s-succubus! Really, a demon...!”
Gremory glanced at the aide, who was overco with betrayal, and placed a hand on Vassago’s shoulder.
“Fufufu, well then, good work until now. Don't take it too personally. Is it not only natural for those who have outlived their usefulness to be ‘disposed’ of?”
“Demon, demon—!”
Vassago, who smiled with satisfaction as he watched the aide grab and shake the iron bars, snapped his fingers, and the flas engulfing the basent began to burn even more fiercely.
Savoring the desperate screams of the subordinates who once served him as they burned to death—
“Well then, shall we take a stroll through the World of Dreams for the first ti in a while?”
Vassago vanished along with Gremory.
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