Chapter 33

After that day, I tried to stay home and refrain from going out as much as possible—but that resolve didn’t last more than a few days.

It was because I heard from Sister Elga that Theodore had returned to Roquate.

“Theo’s unit was defeated?”

“They say the situation at the desert border is very bad.”

“I doubt a knight order would suffer that much at the hands of bandits.”

In the original story, Theodore was only dispatched to the southern desert after marrying Minuelle. Even then, it was more of a narrative device to bring him into contact with Lapheche than a serious military matter.

But now, at this point in the story, his unit had been crushed, and he’d become a recluse from the heartbreak.

‘He’s probably drowning himself in drinks.’

We weren’t close, but as the first friend I made after leaving the temple, I couldn’t help but worry. I just had no idea how to comfort him—I knew absolutely nothing about the world of knights.

“Sister Elga, have you ever experienced something like that?”

“Of course.”

“You have?!”

Sister Elga, who dices bears instead of radishes and slices monsters instead of carrots?

The undisputed successor of House Karnian?

I blinked in shock, and she simply chuckled and tapped my cheek with one finger.

“You always overestimate me.”

Well… in my eyes, the strongest person in the world was our mother, and Sister Elga came right after her.

No, I wasn’t saying that because of family bias. She really was that strong!

“It was a long time ago. But everyone has their first time.”

With a relaxed expression, she let her hand fall loosely over her elegantly crossed legs.

Anyone else might think she looked cold, but I knew that was her own version of a smile. That she had long since overcome the burden of that defeat.

“So… how did it feel? Back then?”

“It was devastating. The deaths of my soldiers and knights under my command were all my responsibility. I made the wrong call, and many lives were lost because of it.”

She gathered the surviving troops and returned home, and then presented her sword to Mother and asked to be executed.

Naturally, Mother flatly refused.

“She told me that even the god of war doesn’t bear the title ‘undefeated.’”

So what could mere mortals say in comparison?

Training, reconnaissance, countless strategies.

One must prepare with everything they have and leave the rest to the heavens. Whether the enemy is a monster or another person, it’s a battle of life and death. If defeat comes, one must accept the result.

Responsibility is something those who wield many lives must bear—it’s not a reason to seek death as an escape.

…That was what she told her.

Just hearing it secondhand gave me chills and made me swallow hard.

‘Wow… Mother has a steel soul…’

I felt like I’d just glimpsed the true side of the Karnian Grand Duchess—the ruler so many admired.

‘And Sister Elga is no less impressive.’

She said she was nineteen at the time? Younger than I am now, asking to be executed as a defeated commander?

Aaaagh.

If it were me, I’d be sobbing and unable to even beg for mercy properly.

“Sister…”

“Hmm?”

“I respect you. You’re the best.”

Her lips curved faintly into a smile.

“Are you trying to be cute?”

“I mean it! Sorry to your husband, but tonight I’m sleeping with you.”

“Juela will be jealous.”

“Jealous? That’s it? I bet she’ll just show up without being told.”

Unless something urgent came up, Sister Juela would never miss time spent with her sisters.

Sister Elga chuckled quietly in agreement, then checked the time and stood up.

“It’s time for afternoon training with the knights.”

“Good luck.”

“See you tonight, little one.”

She patted my head before she turned to leave.

Through the open door, I saw the knights snap to attention at the sound of her heels.

The knights of House Karnian were famous in their own right, but the aura Sister Elga gave off was something else entirely.

Thanks to her short, cropped hair, the line of her neck, her straight shoulders, and her back all stood out beautifully.

“A trained body exudes beauty. Of course. Lady Plendena really knew what they were talking about.”

* * *

Even after Sister Elga left, I sat for a while longer under the drowsy sunlight before heading to Count Tregosnan’s estate.

“Even the god of war could not claim the title of ‘undefeated’…”  

I murmured the words to myself, determined not to forget them.

What a powerful statement. Though I could never bring myself to say don’t even think of running away through death, no matter how right it might be.

When I finally arrived and saw Theodore, that resolve only grew stronger.  

‘I absolutely must not do that.’

Though his face was gaunt, there wasn’t a trace of alcohol on him. It was painfully clear he was suffering deeply—truly and soberly.

Yet, Theodore didn’t turn me away. When he tried to lift his cracked lips into a smile, I nearly choked up.

“Lady Minuelle, have you been well?”

“I’ve been managing… but…”

‘You look so pitiful!’

As my face crumpled into a worried expression, Theodore gave up on smiling and scratched his jaw slightly.

“So you’ve heard. Well, I suppose it’s only natural for rumors to spread, given how disastrous our defeat was.”

“No, no, that’s not it!”

I waved my hands frantically, but Theodore was already half-submerged in a swamp of gloom. At this rate, he might burn himself to ash in it.

‘How am I supposed to even begin comforting him?’ 

After a moment of hesitation, I decided to start like this:

“Um, Theo… do you happen to know my eldest sister?”

“Who in the Empire doesn’t know the Lady of House Karnian?”

“Well… she mostly operates in the north, so I thought maybe…”

Without realizing it, I mimicked Theodore’s earlier gesture and scratched my own chin lightly.

“You know, Theo… when my sister first lost her troops, she said she had no idea what to do. She was tormented for a long time, thinking it was all her fault.”

But our mother didn’t just coddle her eldest daughter because she loved her. She offered her a firm and sobering lesson to help her snap out of it.

“…Ha.”

Theodore let out a dry laugh as he listened, dazed, to the story about how even the god of war couldn’t be called undefeated.

‘Did I mess up? Should I have offered more ordinary comfort?’

Suddenly feeling unsure, I glanced at him—but he wasn’t angry. Instead, he asked calmly: “What happened next?”

“Uh… huh?”

“There’s more to the story, isn’t there?”

‘How did he know?’

“Right after she returned, my sister went to my mother and asked her to take her life.”

When I continued with the rest of the tale, Theodore let out a long, heavy sigh and slumped deep into his chair.

“That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”

“Huh?”

‘Do all knights have this kind of dramatic taste in stories?’ 

As I blinked in confusion, Theodore gave me a mischievous smile. That expression—it finally felt like the old Theo I knew.

“This is embarrassing to admit, but… I’m an only son. The sole heir to the Tregosnan swordsmanship. Everyone’s always placed me on a pedestal.”

Now I could kind of understand.

I was the youngest in my family, and my mother already acted like she was grateful I was simply breathing. So for Theodore, the only heir and a previously undefeated rising star of the central region—yeah, it made sense.

“You’re just a budding little sapling, Theo.”

All the prominent generals and lords renowned for their military prowess were older—well into middle age.

Even Sister Elga, who was already recognized and established, had just turned thirty this year. It was hard to even lump her into the same generation as Theodore.

The only real peer he had was Esadien—but the laws forbade any imperial family member other than the Emperor or Crown Princess from holding official posts, binding him as well.

That’s why Theodore was truly a rising star of the next generation.

“Of course.”

He was smiling more naturally now.

While he stared off into the distance, seemingly recalling the desert, I quietly sipped my tea.

‘Thank goodness—looks like he’s slowly recovering.’

I wasn’t a knight, so I couldn’t understand the weight of bearing so many lives.  

But I could always rush to his side to comfort him as a friend.

“Ah. I shouldn’t have gotten lost in thought while hosting a guest.”

“I’m not just a guest, I’m a friend. Don’t worry about it.”

“You sound just like the Third Prince. You two really are a couple, aren’t you?”

He tossed out the teasing remark so casually that my face stiffened instinctively.

“Ah…”

Seeing my reaction, Theodore tilted his head and asked curiously.

“Lady Minuelle? Did something happen with His Highness?”

“No, no! Nothing like that!”

“Hm.”

Though he narrowed his eyes, he let it go when I waved my hands around to change the subject.

Taking advantage of the opening, I quickly shifted the topic.

“Ahem. Isn’t it tiring to travel back and forth between Roquate and the far south?”

“To be honest, even with the portals the mages open for us, it’s still exhausting.”

Theodore’s voice grew slightly heavier.

“The Border Marquess’ heir fell in battle, and the Marquess himself was gravely injured and is still bedridden, so… it’s an unavoidable situation.”

At first, he said, he thought he’d only need to help out once or twice.  

But the Marquess’s wounds weren’t healing. Even with a priest called in, progress was painfully slow.

Meanwhile, the cult calling themselves the “Cult of Fire” had begun to appear in other territories as well, leaving every region scrambling to handle their own crises.

‘That’s right… they started showing up in the south first, didn’t they?’

“They go around claiming they’re offering everything to the ‘Flame,’ destroying everything in their path and setting massive fires behind them.”

So many people had already lost their homes that even just taking them in was causing severe headaches for the retainers acting on behalf of the Marquess.

“Until now, I’ve been deployed and returned under the title of Tregosnan’s heir, but…”

Theodore rubbed his forehead hard, clearly frustrated even recalling it.

“If their actions don’t die down, I may truly have to stay stationed there… No, honestly, I think I’ll be packing my bags soon.”

“Uh, Theo? Is it really okay to be telling me all this?”

Commander reassignments and the like—weren’t these typically classified?

“For anyone else, of course not. But didn’t you say you were my friend?”

He gave me that familiar warm smile, but the end of his sentence felt intentionally left unfinished.

I crossed my arms and asked,

“And?”

“And that friend is also a member of the Karnian Grand Duchy.”

His smile had vanished. Now, Theodore was looking at me with a steady and serious gaze.

I almost couldn’t believe he was the same man who, not long ago, had been dumped by Lapheche and talking about drowning his sorrows in drink.

But I didn’t dislike this shift. In fact—

‘Now that’s the male lead.’