Who is Being Dragged to the Gulag

“Yena, drink this.”

“Thank you.”

Erika’s teary-eyed gaze fixed on my face. She supported my neck and brought a glass full of water she had gotten from somewhere to my lips.

Gulp, gulp─!

I felt like a newborn baby. I leaned my chest forward and drank the water Erika gave me straight.

…This can’t be helped,

I need to be able to move my body to hold the glass with both hands, right? With various parts of my body tightly wrapped in bandages, and my broken arm suspended in the air for fixation, I was in a state where I couldn’t do anything without help.

Maybe I shouldn’t have broken my arm. I didn’t know Instructor Gartel would worry this much. I caused unnecessary concern.

The memory from yesterday is still vivid.

“Yena, don’t move even a finger. Safety is the top priority. I’ll transport you to the infirmary right away.”

“Ah, no, I can walk…”

“You’re a cadet who needs my, no, the military academy’s protection! Wolf plotted against you. I’ll explain the details later, for now, let me carry you.”

I couldn’t forget the sight of him embracing my back with his rough palms and snorting through his mustache soaked with sweat. Was it because he was worried about me?

“You’ve been taking care of me since yesterday, I’m sorry.”

“No! That’s what friends are for.”

Then there’s one more person here who will remain in my memory for a long time.

“I should have gone with you! I stupidly stayed still after hearing what you said. If, if I had known such a thing was happening…”

“Don’t blame yourself, Erika. You didn’t neglect me. You were keeping your promise to a friend. Thank you for trusting me until the end.”

Sitting modestly on a round chair, I gave a bright smile to Erika, who was warmly embracing my arm.

I truly believed she was a girl whose kindness no one could match. Although it was only for a day, she was the only one who stayed by my side and nursed me without sleeping.

She trusted me until the end, too.

If Erika had barged in while I was crushing Wolf’s joints, it would have been quite troublesome. If she had seen ‘that scene’, it would have been difficult to explain.

It was worth taking care of her diligently.

“When I get better, I’ll definitely buy you a cream cake.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you said you liked it last time, remember?”

“Hehe.”

I wiped the tears forming on her eyelids with my thumb, then

“It’s okay now, you can take a nap.”

“Mmm…”

Seeing Erika nodding off, tired from staying up all night, I pulled her closer and let her rest on the soft blanket.

Creak─!

“How’s your condition?”

“I rested well thanks to this child.”

“That’s good, and your arm?”

“The nurse officer said it will heal without problems.”

“Whew──.”

After enough time had passed for Erika to fall into deep sleep, breathing softly, Gartel, whom I was seeing for the first time since getting injured, came in neatly dressed in his uniform.

“What happened to Wolf?”

The first topic I brought up after facing him was none other than Wolf’s future whereabouts.

I need to know the result of what happened, right? Even at a glance, it wasn’t a light crime, so I was curious about what punishment he received.

“He’s scheduled to be admitted to an Imperial prison soon. Starting with conspiracy, violation of military discipline, injuring a classmate, to assault, he’ll probably rot behind bars for at least a few years.”

Finally, I won’t have to see that stupid guy’s face anymore, it was welcome news.

But wasn’t it the Stremann family?

Moreover, Wolf was the eldest son, the highest rank in the family, so considering this, a heavier sentence than expected was given.

“It’s a miracle he even survived, originally he was deserving of the death penalty.”

As I looked up and tilted my head, he soon resolved my doubt.

“There was pressure from the Stremann family, and the school’s strong desire to handle the incident quietly, so it ended here, tsk.”

While explaining the details, Gartel clicked his tongue and crumpled the bundle of documents in his hand. Judging by his lips chewing and fingers fidgeting, he was clearly not satisfied with the result.

Well, should this be seen as the expected outcome?

The Gartel I know is a person with great pride as an officer, so he despises those who betray a soldier’s duty.

“Ah, and you might not know this, Yena, but there was someone colluding with Wolf.”

Thud─

“His name is Manfredo von Eckart, the equipment manager who helped that damn rat this time, and the one who tampered with your equipment.”

He sighed deeply as he put down the paper he had just crumpled next to Erika on the mattress.

“Is, is that true?”

I substituted my answer by pretending to be startled.

I had already roughly figured out who Wolf was plotting with by having Helena investigate, but there was nothing good about showing it.

“Yes. Evidence was also confirmed that he intentionally damaged your diving equipment before, and although your protective gear was too damaged for forensic analysis, circumstances showing it was tampered with were revealed.”

“I, I see.”

“He didn’t confess to removing the mana suppression device, and he committed acts of treason, abuse of command authority, and damage to military property, so he certainly won’t have a good fate.”

Thud─!

Gartel suddenly bent his waist at an angle slightly less than a right angle and muttered.

“I apologize on behalf of the military academy. This is clearly a fault of the school. We should have filtered out such a person who doesn’t even deserve to be called a soldier beforehand, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Everyone is safe now.”

“You can refer to that document for detailed personal information. Anyway, this guy was also planned to be imprisoned in the Bern detention center like Wolf, but…”

When he raised his upper body, he continued speaking while staring at the research facility boasting its majesty beyond the window with deeply sunken eyes.

“On the grounds that he caused serious damage to the Federation’s training facilities, diplomatic personnel led by Director Serti requested that Manfred be sent to a Federation detention center.”

“Where… is that?”

I had been listening steadily to his long explanation, but when an unexpected word popped out, my eyes widened round.

Going to a Federation detention center?

It was quite unusual for an Imperial officer to be detained in another country’s facility. This whole incident was unusual in itself, but I didn’t expect him to be dragged to the Federation for trial.

Moreover, for special personnel like soldiers, there’s only one place that comes to mind.

“They called it Gulag, I hear. I understand that Principal Lustet readily agreed since the guy didn’t know any confidential information anyway.”

“Ah…”

I expressed deep condolences. It’s not just any crime, but for causing trouble equivalent to rebellion in terms of sentence at a military facility, to be sent to the notoriously cruel Gulag.

He probably won’t return alive. He’ll spend his life laboring in the Far East region where people freeze to death.

He showed with his own body how far one can fall due to a moment’s greed.

“Ah, and for the individual duel, it seems you’ll be awarded additional points considering the situation at the time, on top of the points that were allocated before being transported.”

“I understand.”

“We’ve reflected your skills as much as possible, so don’t worry about being disappointed. Then I’ll see you on the day of the training completion ceremony in three days. Until then, focus only on treatment.”

Squeak─

As if his business at the infirmary was now finished, Gartel stood up and approached the door he had entered through, pulling the handle.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yena.”

“Yes?”

“You’re a brave child befitting the noble profession of an Imperial officer. I hope this incident hasn’t broken that will.”

“…Thank you.”

And then he ended the conversation with uncharacteristically gentle advice, before disappearing into the corridor.

Click─

---

It was shock, and more shock.

“Is that true?”

“Yes…”

Crash─!

Rina was about to celebrate the end of the long, long training with a refreshing wine, but upon hearing Helena’s bombshell declaration, she dropped the wine glass on the floor.

“Pri-Princess! Are you alright!”

Helena approached with a start and cleaned up the glass shards on the floor.

“Y-Your leg! Please wait a moment!”

An accident occurred where one of the scattered pieces pierced Rina’s ankle, but she didn’t even feel the pain and blankly stared out the window at the night sky.

‘Wo-Wolf was arrested?’

It was the second most heart-pounding news in her life after hearing “The Emperor was deposed” when they lost the Great War.

Wolf, who didn’t budge even when abusing household servants or treating other noble children ruthlessly, was suddenly arrested? Her limbs stiffened and her mind couldn’t process it well.

‘And, and while targeting Yena?’

Even as she tried to shake off the confusion and think deeply, it was such a shocking story that it was not easy to accept.

“Does anyone else know about this incident?”

“No. You’re the only one, Princess.”

That means there are details the school doesn’t want to disclose to the cadets. Judging by the instructors being unusually quiet when they usually announce everything about the candidates, one could guess this was no ordinary matter.

“Haah.”

“A-Are you alright?”

“Yeah, no, yes…”

Rina sat down on the bed as if collapsing with her legs weakened, and covered her face with her hands, sliding them down.

‘What on earth is he being imprisoned for?’

She wasn’t flustered because Wolf was in crisis. She had never been interested in him in the first place, and given his behavior so far, she had expected something like this to happen.

‘Why does Yena’s name come up again in the first place!’

However, she was uncomfortable with hearing that child’s name again.

If he was someone hiding something, he shouldn’t have done such a reckless thing. Does it mean he has nothing to be afraid of? Could it be that I’ve been misunderstanding alone all this time?

“I don’t understand what’s going on… Helena, is there not even one thing you’ve found out about Yena Freud?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no. It’s okay. If we couldn’t get even one piece of information working together, maybe there were no secrets to begin with…”

Rina gave up. She couldn’t even grasp why Wolf was arrested or properly understand the flow between Yena and Wolf, so what more could she do?

‘The only way is to confront directly.’

There was only one way left to sort out this jumbled mind.

Go to Yena Freud directly, lay out all the suspicions she had, and check her reaction. Then determine whether she is really innocent or if it’s an act.

Objectively speaking, it was a last-ditch effort because there was no evidence to turn suspicion into certainty even after searching for days, but for Rina, it was her final trump card.

‘I’ll settle this.’

Click─

Rina vowed to drink the wine tomorrow when all problems were resolved well, and stored the wine she was holding in the closet.

And Helena,

‘Princess…’

Could only look at Rina with pitiful eyes.

She wanted to confess right away that she had discovered this incident while investigating at Yena’s request, but having made a deal with Yena, she couldn’t speak carelessly.

‘She said if I violate the terms of the deal, the Princess’s safety would be endangered.’

Seeing how the eldest son of the powerful Stremann family in the Empire was overwhelmed, she became even more reluctant to speak up.

‘The backer must be quite a big shot.’

That’s why she overwhelmed Wolf despite being a commoner. In the end, she could only watch the Princess, who looked haggard like a mouse drenched in drizzle, from one step behind.

Because she had to protect the Princess. There was no need to stake the family’s reputation and make a gamble with no chance of winning for the sake of one piece of information.

‘Please.’

May you at least sleep peacefully.

“Anyway, thank you.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Then I’ll go to sleep…”

Shuffle, shuffle.

Helena tightly closed her eyes as she watched the Princess dragging her bunny slippers.