chapter_0033

32 – Could it be that the Commander is aiming for this?

32 – Could it be that the Commander is aiming for this?

Lucy’s intuition sounded an alarm.

The woman in front of her was dangerous.

There was a certain madness lurking in her eyes, as if she could see right through the other person’s heart.

However, Lucy did not lose her composure.

What would change if she were suspected? Nothing at all.

“Please clarify what you wish to say, Cadet Frien. Are you implying that I have committed a crime? Or are you suggesting that I am lying?”

Frien’s pupils trembled slightly.

Though she had approached with some hesitation, she had not expected Lucy to respond so calmly.

Rising to her feet, Frien forced a smile.

“Officer? I was merely sharing an experience. According to my experience…”

“I see. Gaining experience in everything is important, as it helps create judgment indicators. But where did you learn this so-called ‘experience’ of suspecting others without any basis or evidence?”

It was a polite yet barbed remark.

Lucy was questioning whether Frien’s disrespectful attitude towards her superior was also based on her experience.

This was tantamount to insulting the family that had educated Frien and belittling her humanity.

Frien was not unaware of Lucy’s intent.

Thanks to that, one of Frien’s eyebrows twitched as she smiled.

Tick-tock—

In the silence that had settled again, the sound of the clock’s hour hand echoed hollowly.

In an atmosphere so cold that anything could happen, the familiar sound of boots approached with a clatter.

As Frien instinctively turned her body, the office door opened, and Daniel entered.

“Captain!”

“You’ve arrived.”

Frien’s face lit up as she saluted, and Lucy also stood up and assumed a salute position.

Daniel, who returned the salute, hesitated for a moment before conveying the words of the deputy chief of staff.

‘What is this?’

There was an inexplicable heaviness in the air inside the office.

‘Is it just my imagination?’

Though it felt a bit uncomfortable, it wasn’t important right now, so he decided to overlook it.

“Cadet Frien. I’ve discussed your treatment with the deputy chief. Normally, it is not permissible for a mere cadet to go to the battlefield, but this time, they said they would make an exception as part of your training.”

Frien did not seem overly surprised.

Since the personnel department had already given a definite answer, it was only natural that the deputy chief above would have permitted it as well.

Still, receiving the confirmation from Daniel’s mouth was not a bad thing.

“I will do my best! Captain Daniel!”

As Frien spoke with enthusiasm, Daniel turned his gaze towards Lucy, who was looking at Frien with a frown.

“And Lucy, you too have been confirmed to join the Northern Army Group as my aide. So both of you should pack your things and prepare to head north. We will depart as soon as the personnel are gathered.”

The two saluted Daniel in acknowledgment.

As Daniel returned the salute, Frien slowly turned her gaze to Lucy.

“Coincidentally, it seems we will be spending some time together, Officer Lucy.”

Lucy did not shy away from Frien’s gaze and narrowed her eyes sharply.

“Indeed. Quite coincidentally.”

In that tense atmosphere, Daniel couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

‘What on earth is going on with you two?’

He couldn’t understand why they were baring their teeth and growling at each other.

–

As soon as the company personnel gathered at the headquarters, I gave a brief speech and introduced myself to the junior officers who would be my subordinates before setting off immediately.

…I wondered what I would do if Lucy and Frien fought on the way to the Northern Army Group, but fortunately, they did not directly clash.

Of course, there were occasional minor frictions, but each time, I intervened and mediated, so the tension did not escalate into a gunfight.

The problem was that during the month of marching to the northern outpost, despite my repeated mediations, there was no sign of the embers of discord dying down.

“How about taking a nap if you’re tired? I can handle Officer Lucy’s role perfectly well.”

“How commendable of you to try to imitate a stork when you were born a crow.”

Sitting in the passenger seat of the command vehicle, I glanced at Lucy and Frien through the rearview mirror.

Despite the sharp words, both of them wore calm expressions.

In fact, Frien was even smiling benevolently.

However, eavesdropping on their conversation was suffocating.

Even the driver next to me, who was driving, was subtly glancing at the rearview mirror with a face that clearly expressed, ‘Why are they fighting?’

‘This is hopeless.’

I was getting tired of mediating their fights.

Sighing, I looked out the window and noticed that the sun was already setting.

“Stop here.”

The driver pressed the brake and asked, “Are we camping here for the night?”

“Yes.”

The command vehicle, which had been slowing down, came to a complete stop.

I opened the door and stepped outside, surveying the surroundings.

Amidst the bare branches of trees, I found a clearing large enough for about 200 soldiers to lie down.

There was also a water source nearby, making it suitable for supplying drinking water.

However, the chilly wind seemed to penetrate my officer’s winter coat.

I frowned as I exhaled a breath mixed with cold air.

‘Even though it’s summer, this place is hardly different from winter.’

The only difference from when I had come to the north before was that some of the snow had melted.

No wonder the military leadership wanted to end the war before summer was over.

If the weather was like this now, once winter came, soldiers would surely die from frostbite during the march.

‘Among my soldiers right now…’

There were two soldiers who almost fell behind due to their inability to withstand the cold.

They were fine now, though.

As I turned my head slightly, I noticed about 200 soldiers in imperial uniforms standing still behind the military vehicles, waiting.

The driver walked over to them and conveyed my orders to the squad leader.

Upon hearing the orders, the squad leader turned around and shouted loudly.

Then the soldiers moved in unison and entered the clearing.

Once inside the clearing, the soldiers set down their gear and began to take out and set up military tents.

Some were retrieving combat rations from the transport truck, which had turned into a food storage.

As I stood with my hands behind my back, watching the scene, two squad leaders approached me briskly.

This was perfect; I had something to assign them.

“Lieutenant Mckell. Take two quick soldiers and scout the nearby terrain. There’s a high hill nearby, so you can go up there and survey the surroundings.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Immediately saluting, Mckell called over two soldiers who were setting up tents and disappeared into the woods.

I was about to kill some time, but Sergeant Glendy wouldn’t let me be.

“Captain, isn’t it a bit early to be camping?”

He looked quite young, as if he had just been promoted to sergeant recently.

To exaggerate a bit, he still had a boyish appearance that hadn’t completely faded away.

His face was filled with some dissatisfaction, but I responded as casually as possible.

“Sergeant, don’t you know that preserving the soldiers’ stamina is the most important thing on the battlefield?”

“I understand that, but… the original estimated arrival time at the outpost was five days ago. It has been five days past the estimated time; is it okay to be leisurely now?”

I nodded my head, signaling him to continue.

The sergeant hesitated, seemingly deflated, but clenched his fists and spoke.

“Why was there a five-day delay? I was puzzled, but after checking the current location with the doctrine, I found that this place is not in a straight line to the outpost. I believe you are intentionally taking a detour, Captain.”

Of course. Even when there was a main road, I deliberately took a side path, and even when I could take a side path, I moved through rough terrain.

The reason was simple.

‘The later I join, the later I can be deployed to the battlefield.’

If I joined quickly, I would just die fighting sooner.

Does he not understand this obvious logic?

Well, Sergeant Glendy was a hardliner who would willingly sacrifice his life for the empire.

He was somewhat of a case where his mind was tainted with nationalism, though not as much as Frien.

Seeing him like that made me smile, which caused Sergeant Glendy to flare up.

“Captain! Are you laughing right now? I wasn’t going to say this, but the soldiers are also starting to doubt you! It’s being openly said that you’re a coward avoiding the battlefield because you’re from the headquarters!”

That was a welcome sound to my ears.

The lower my evaluation, the less the headquarters would entrust me with operational support.

Of course, I couldn’t say this out loud, so I decided to deflect.

“When you focus on the trees, you can’t see the forest. Someone whose eyes are only on the trees wouldn’t understand if you explained the forest to them. That’s your limit, Sergeant Glendy.”

“What on earth does that mean…?”

While Sergeant Glendy was bewildered, Lieutenant Mckell returned from the other side of the forest.

He had completed the reconnaissance.

But for some reason, his face was flushed.

Just as I was about to ask what was going on, Lieutenant Mckell approached me and spoke with a trembling voice filled with excitement.

“Captain! I-I found something! The enemy supply unit is preparing to camp! As far as I know, the intelligence department couldn’t definitively find their supply route…! You were indeed circling around to search for this!”

…What is he talking about? Why is the enemy supply unit here?

In the midst of my disbelief, I noticed a glint of determination in Sergeant Glendy’s eyes.

“Is that true? Could it be that you were aiming for this from the beginning…?”

Sergeant Glendy’s dissatisfied expression transformed into one of awe.

“I apologize! I was rude!”

Watching Sergeant Glendy bow his head as if seeking forgiveness left me dumbfounded.

Just when I felt that things were taking a strange turn, I locked eyes with Frien, who was nearby.

The respect in her gaze was truly burdensome.

On top of that, the two squad leaders were looking at me as if I were some kind of genius strategist.

It felt like I had crossed a river of no return.

If I were to order them not to attack the enemy now, I might be subjected to a collective beating by these nationalistic zealots…

With no other choice, I grasped the brim of my uniform cap.

“Relay to all troops.”

As I pressed my cap down firmly, I secretly sighed and said, “Prepare to eliminate the rats.”

A word from the author (Author’s note)

I apologize for the delay…

The writing ended up getting longer than I expected. ㅠㅠ