Chapter 14

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Dawn Will Light Your Way
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#14

The heavy silence that had settled over them was like an ice field of immeasurable depth.

Though it was bound to break eventually, no one was brave enough to be the first to shatter it.

Amidst the silence, Walter lowered himself. He drew his sword as he knelt, then laid the weapon at Lucy's feet.

The sight of the general, said to have never known defeat in his entire life, crouched like a beaten man, yet strangely, it did not diminish him. Rather, it made him seem as magnificent as an ancient, unyielding tree. And the woman before him, with her eyes lowered, appeared like a goddess worshipped by saints, elevated by the Grand General's posture.

Golden dust motes floated silently in the sunlight filtering through the window. Beneath the elegant autumn light, the sword, as renowned as the Grand General himself, lay at Lucy's feet, casting a soft, reflected glow.

Walter, still on one knee, looked up at her and gave his answer.

“Dawn will light Your Majesty's path.”

It was a sentence devoid of any ornate embellishment, yet it was enough to completely reverse the atmosphere.

Lucy, who had been looking down at Walter, raised her eyes and turned her gaze toward the center of the conference room.

The woman, who had gone from the lowly daughter of a concubine to a king in an instant, opened her mouth, her voice clear and resonant.

“I have shown all the leniency I intend to. This should be enough.”

Lucy raised a hand and gently pushed aside Duke Kill, who was standing at the head of the conference room.

Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Duke Kill, who had been standing there blankly, was easily pushed aside. Lucy stood before the table and lifted her chin.

“I came here not to persuade you, nor to negotiate with you. I merely came to awaken you from your denial of the grim reality and to give you a chance to accept me. The information about the disease was simply a gift in that regard. And yet, what is your response?”

Bewilderment, rage, contempt, humiliation.

Waves of countless emotions surged through the silence. Yet, no one dared to speak rashly.

“Threats? Nonsense? How dare you insult me so, when I have set aside my own reluctance and stood here to end this chaos. Go on, if you can still spew such words before the sword that serves me, I will gladly relinquish the throne.”

Walter picked up his sword and slowly rose to his feet. After glancing at him standing beside her, Lucy uttered her final words.

“I will give you one day. Those who would stand against my corps, leave this place. Those who would not, prepare to swear your loyalty to the royal family once more. I hope to see you again at this time tomorrow.”

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

When the condensation on the bathroom window reached its limit, it formed droplets that trickled down the glass.

Lucy flattened her palm and wiped the glass. As soon as her hand moved away, condensation formed on the windowpane once more, due to the stark temperature difference between inside and out.

Unlike Pomnos, which was perpetually plagued by a seasonless cold, the autumn in Parnas was so balmy one might mistake it for summer. Even so, craving more warmth, Lucy ladled a few more buckets of hot water into the tub.

“How long has it been since I’ve had a proper bath?”

The house she had rented in Pomnos lacked not only a bathtub but even a proper bathing area. It wasn't because of poverty, but because of Raphi culture.

The Raphi generally didn't enjoy bathing outside of summer. Even then, they would just take a quick dip in a stream.

To them, who maintained their cleanliness by shedding old feathers and arming themselves with new ones, a bathtub was likely as bizarre and useless as a fountain pen for a puppy.

Because of this, Lucy had been forced to live without her greatest pleasure.

“Aah… I could die happy.”

A groan of relief escaped her lips as she submerged herself in the hot water. Leaning her head against the tub, Lucy lazily scanned the bathroom.

The bathroom attached to the commander's quarters was larger and more spacious than she had expected. It wasn't ornate, but the plain scenery was surprisingly relaxing.

She nonchalantly wiped away the droplets clinging to her eyelashes and quietly closed her eyes. *Drip, drip.* Along with the sound of water drops, a low echo brushed past her mind.

「You must be tired, so please rest for a while. I will return before the sun sets.」

With the royal palace sealed off and nowhere else for her to go, Walter had freely offered her his quarters. Then, without a backward glance, he had walked off toward the officers' barracks.

What was it like before that?

After the chaotic meeting had ended, Lucy had anxiously watched Walter, trying to gauge his mood. She was worried he might be angry about her impulsive actions.

But Walter had only stared at Lucy blankly, his eyes betraying nothing of his inner thoughts.

That was all.

Though he must have had many questions, Walter had silently turned and left. He didn't question why she hadn't left everything to him, or why she had created such an unforeseen situation.

Why was that?

“Perhaps…”

Lucy, lost in thought with her fingers on her brow, found the answer at the most fundamental source.

Walter Hyverge is a soldier.

Wars often break out from a tangled mess of countless gains, losses, and ideologies. The ones who calculate these things are politicians, or kings, and the corps move according to their decisions.

A soldier merely carries out orders; they do not inject their own will into a mission. The moment they do, they usually become traitors or deserters.

Conversely, if you think only of the mission itself, you become someone like the Grand General.

“…Is that it? If it’s because of his position, that would make sense.”

The Sword of Parnas, the Royal Family's Dog.

They were extreme titles, but Walter might even prefer the latter nickname. Because then and now, he truly was a dog of a man.

A dog only follows its master's commands; it doesn't question their absurdity. He probably wouldn't see Lucy's eccentric behavior as a whim or a mistake.

No, he probably wouldn't think anything at all.

He would simply follow his master's command, assuming there was some profound meaning behind it.

“……”

Having finished her thoughts, Lucy's eyes flew open.

“I'll have to be careful with this.”

He seemed like he would accept even the most absurd orders without a second thought, and she couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Someone with their own thoughts and will is easy to read, which makes them easy to handle.

But Walter...

Honestly, she had no idea what went on in that man's head. Even digging into his past only yielded endless praise for his achievements; she could find no information about his personality. There was no history of him getting angry or being happy—no record of any such emotions.

Was this what it felt like to receive a legendary weapon from a blacksmith, but not know its shape?

A sharp sword where you couldn't tell the blade from the hilt—if you held it wrong, you'd be the one to get hurt.

“I'll have to think very carefully before giving him any orders.”

I can't just think of him as a simple man.

Lost in thought, Lucy felt her cheeks growing warm and climbed out of the tub.

She roughly towel-dried her hair, rummaged through a drawer, and changed into the daily fatigues issued to soldiers. After stuffing some odds and ends into her pockets, she was swinging her long hair in the air as she opened the bathroom door, when an unexpected person greeted her.

“Huh?”

The one surprised by the unexpected encounter wasn't Lucy.

A pair of drooping ears perked up, and sharp eyes went wide. Walter's adjutant, Zen, was staring at her with a look of surprise, his tail held ramrod straight.

“Uh… uh! What’s a female cadet doing here…! No, you! Right, you!”

“Hello, Instructor. Do you remember me?”

“Uh… yeah. I remember! Weren't you the one at the military academy?”

‘Her name was definitely, uh, what was it again,’ Zen stammered, then snapped his thick fingers.

“Arshuno! It's Arshuno, right? There aren't many female cadets, so I remember! What are you doing here?”

Lucy considered correcting the mangled name, but then realized it was touching that he roughly remembered her name at all after meeting only once, and she offered a gentle smile.

Besides, if you said it quickly, it sounded similar to her own name. She decided it didn't really matter.

“I’m just here on some business… Ah, the Grand General said he would be back before sunset, so he should be here soon. You came to see the Grand General, right?”

“That's right. Well, I guess I'll have to wait until he gets back.”

“As his adjutant, I thought you'd always be with him, but the Grand General has been on his own for the past few days. Did something happen?”

Zen fiddled with his ear and clicked his tongue.

“The full moon was the day before yesterday. We can't work for three days around the full moon.”

Lycans, who lose their reason and go berserk during the full moon, go into seclusion before the moon is full, burning Mirage Herbs.

They spend the full moon in that dazed state, then pull themselves together and return to their work.

While one might pity them for being ruled by the moon, those who have seen a rampaging Lycan shudder, saying there is no worse nightmare. With their massive builds and superhuman strength, it was only natural to feel afraid, but seeing a Lycan up close, one couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

“Huh? Turn around for a second.”

Zen, his nose twitching, sniffed around Lucy with a puzzled expression.

She obediently turned around as he'd asked, and the sniffing sound grew louder. She could see the shadow of his tail wagging furiously on the floor beyond her.

“What do you have in your pocket? There's a strange smell.”

“My pocket? Nothing much.”

She fumbled around and pulled the odds and ends out of her pocket.

Frostbite prevention cream, a bear-repellent bell, and a dirty ribbon. A couple of round pebbles and a round piece of bone the size of a fist…

The trivial items she had mindlessly stuffed in her pocket before leaving Pomnos were still there. Zen looked at the objects with interest.

“Oh, this stone is kind of pretty. Where'd you pick it up?”

“My mother found it on a walk and gave it to me as a gift.”

“Oho. It’s all sparkly, looks like it has some gold dust mixed in. You could probably get a good price for it.”

Zen, who had been carefully examining the stone, suddenly stuck out his tongue and began to pant. His burning gaze was fixed on the large piece of bone lying next to the stone.

“Whoa, so this was the source of the smell! It smells really unique! What is this?”

His vertical pupils narrowed, and his yellow irises glinted dangerously, like the eyes of a starving beast. Lucy flinched backward and waved her hands, trying to calm the excited Lycan.

“Ah, this is… what was it? Some kind of dragon's tailbone or something. It's just a fake they sell at the market.”

“A dragon's tailbone!”

With a thunderous shout, Zen bared his fangs.