Chapter 34 : Was this a Romance Novel? (6)

‘Ah, honestly.

I wish everyone would just die.’

Wolfgang felt her mind drenched in exhaustion as if a violent storm had just swept through.

Surprisingly, it was her first time directly facing Prince Jaiha.

She had heard that he sought out the Blood Pact alongside Saintess Jeanne but never encountered him there.

Perhaps Saintess Jeanne had meddled to ensure they wouldn’t meet.

She wasn’t exactly fond of Jeanne, and today’s meeting with Prince Jaiha had left an odd impression.

He gave off the aura of a fanatic blindly following some kind of command.

Coincidentally, Wolfgang had encountered such individuals before—fanatics who had plagued her relentlessly for nearly ten years.

Her experience allowed her to recognize the signs immediately.

‘…It reminds me of those lunatics who created the Jackals.’

The Winter War wasn’t fought solely against the Wendigo.

Fanatics who worshipped the Wendigo as a god were also adversaries.

Facing them was straightforward when it came to brute force.

What made fanatics truly terrifying was their omnipresence and the difficulty of distinguishing them.

They exploited this to the fullest, infiltrating covertly, disrupting operations, and causing chaos.

They even used connections with nobility to cut off supplies or forcibly recall armies.

In response, Wolfgang had sent many of them to join their beloved Wendigo.

The problem was that she sensed a similar aura in Prince Jaiha.

After enduring ten years of dealing with such individuals, Wolfgang wasn’t about to dismiss it as mere paranoia.

If it were just a coincidence, she might have let it slide.

But sensing something akin to those deranged Wendigo fanatics?

There was no way she could leave that unchecked.

‘That type always causes trouble.’

Frankly, the Kingdom wasn’t Wolfgang’s concern.

She knew her body’s original owner was Lana Frost, who had been falsely accused and exiled—a story she found unpleasant to listen to.

But if asked whether she considered herself the same person as Lana Frost, Wolfgang would only respond with confusion.

She didn’t feel like Lana, though the story left her with a third-party sense of discomfort.

It was like reading an NTR novel—unpleasant, but not as painful as directly experiencing it.

For Wolfgang, Lana Frost’s tale was just that: an unsettling story, but not her reality.

‘I’m Wolfgang Leonhart, not Lana Frost.’

Still, could she simply brush it aside?

No, she couldn’t.

Even if she wanted to ignore it, the ominous vibe from Prince Jaiha was hard to overlook.

Memories of the Wendigo fanatics sent shivers down her spine.

Wolfgang acknowledged her ties to the Kingdom through her body’s original identity and judged it inevitable that she’d become involved with it eventually.

Ignoring that fact would be shortsighted and foolish, akin to turning a blind eye to a visible threat.

If she had done so during the Winter War, she would have died long ago.

‘Better to address the problem now while I’m still the Eastern Defense Army’s commander.’

Once retired, she’d just be another ex-general with some old accomplishments to her name.

Handling the matter now would ensure a smooth transition to a peaceful retirement.

‘Resolving this is necessary for a clean and comfortable retirement.’

Some might argue there’s no need to worry since the Empire and the Kingdom are natural enemies.

But that’s too naive. Even bitter rivals can set aside differences for mutual gain.

After all, even in the real world, nations in trade disputes sometimes cooperate, leaving others caught off guard. And with monsters as a common enemy, cooperation was already a possibility.

Thus, Wolfgang concluded that going to the Kingdom herself was the best course of action.

Before she could dwell further, Galina, who had approached silently, startled her.

“You’re planning to go to the Kingdom, aren’t you, Captain?”

“That seems likely.”

“And you won’t listen even if I try to stop you.”

“You know me too well.”

Galina’s expression faltered.

She had always known this day would come—the day Wolfgang would leave to reclaim her past.

Her instinct was to hold Wolfgang back, to cling to her and plead desperately, but she knew her role.

A subordinate’s duty wasn’t to obstruct her superior’s path. So, forcing a smile, Galina whispered:

“If this is goodbye, I won’t think of it as the end. Just promise… when it’s all over…”

“Hm?”

“Please return to the Empire, even just once.”

Galina’s words, accompanied by a single tear, carried all the emotions she struggled to suppress.

Wolfgang, however, stared at her with an incredulous look.

“If it’s that upsetting, why don’t you just come with me?”

Tears for something so simple?

Of course, Wolfgang had no intention of abandoning everything she had built in the Empire.

She wasn’t crazy enough to return to the Kingdom for Lana Frost, a name she barely associated with herself.

She was a war hero of the Empire, commanding respect and holding wealth and fame in her grasp.

Giving all that up to return to the Kingdom? Unthinkable.

‘Even if a god told me to return, I’d refuse.’

Her reason for visiting the Kingdom wasn’t sentimentality but to crush the so-called Saintess. Jeanne’s aura reeked of something sinister, like a cult leader scheming in the shadows.

If Theodore’s words were true, Jeanne had managed to oust Lana Frost as the Saintess within half a year.

That level of cunning and power couldn’t be ignored.

‘Left unchecked, she’ll become a wave that drowns me later.’

Reversing the roles, Wolfgang imagined how she’d react if her victim returned as a hero in a rival nation far stronger than her own.

Of course, she’d try to eliminate the threat.

For Wolfgang, dealing with Jeanne now was a preventative measure to ensure her peaceful retirement.

However, starting a war wasn’t an option—it would be too complicated geopolitically.

Even a century ago, the Empire’s resistance against the Kingdom was bolstered by other nations wary of the Kingdom’s growing power. International politics added another layer of complexity.

Thus, Wolfgang needed a different method.

Diplomacy or sabotage could isolate the Kingdom, or she could take matters into her own hands and deal with Jeanne directly.

The choice was clear.

‘Use everything I’ve built—my troops, influence, and connections—to bring her down.’

There was just one problem.

“The Emperor will never approve this.”

Of course not.

What Emperor would agree to let their commander walk into enemy territory?

None.