chapter_0207

206 – Sincerity

206 – Sincerity

Lucy, having sent Daniel away, stood up and looked back at the special forces troops entering the laboratory.

Seeing them raise their weapons, Lucy surrendered after a brief moment of contemplation.

She knew that struggling at the entrance, now blocked, would only result in more meaningless corpses.

Moreover, Lucy had no lingering attachments after successfully saving Daniel.

Thanks to this, the special forces quickly secured Lucy, but no one dared to use violence or utter curses.

Even though their relationship was filled with lies, Lucy was still Count Caledra’s adopted daughter.

As the special forces politely bound Lucy, the Allied Nations succeeded in pushing the Imperial Army out of the city, managing to occupy Penbarch overnight.

This marked Daniel Steiner’s first defeat and the victory of the Allied Nations.

–

The next morning, in Penbarch.

The mansion owned by the Count Caledra family.

─ My lady, I am the maid Namerias. May I come in?

Lucy, leaning against the headboard of her bed, did not respond.

Namerias, displeased by the silence, knocked on the door again.

─ My lady! Count Caledra wishes to see your face today! He has requested to meet at noon, so you must prepare now!

Still, Lucy did not answer.

Thinking it was futile, Namerias opened the door and stepped inside.

What she saw was Lucy staring blankly ahead with eyes devoid of focus.

Her expression was not much different from when she had been dragged here by the special forces yesterday.

‘Even when I was washing Lady Lucy at Count Caledra’s command, I felt this way…’

Namerias could not fathom what Lucy was thinking.

‘She looks somehow sad.’

Feeling pity, Namerias decided against offering clumsy comfort.

Thinking it unnecessary to meddle, Namerias approached Lucy with a basket of clothes.

“My lady, may I assist you in changing? If you could stand in front of the full-length mirror, I will take care of everything.”

Namerias spoke as gently as she could, but Lucy showed no interest.

However, perhaps realizing she could not continue to ignore her, Lucy slowly got out of bed.

Rising from her place, Lucy walked to the mirror Namerias had mentioned and stopped.

In the mirror, a necklace adorned with amber quietly showcased her presence.

After observing Lucy for a while, Namerias cleared her throat and moved behind her.

Setting down the basket of clothes, Namerias tried to lighten the mood with some chatter.

“I know it might not be the right time to say this, but my lady, you are incredibly beautiful. I think you are the most stunning person I have ever seen. Have you often been told you are pretty?”

Lucy opened her mouth to respond but then fell silent.

She could not bring herself to utter the name ‘Daniel’ in this place.

Namerias found this somewhat puzzling but did not press further.

Namerias took a comb and neatly arranged Lucy’s hair before slowly removing her nightgown.

Next, she dressed her in a white blouse and skirt, bringing over a chair to set down.

“Would you please sit? I would like to help you with your stockings and shoes.”

Nodding slightly, Lucy sat in the chair, and Namerias smiled as she took out a pair of silk stockings.

Namerias carefully smoothed out the ends of the stockings and slowly pulled them up to Lucy’s feet.

The silk glided smoothly against Lucy’s skin, covering her thighs.

To avoid any wrinkles, Namerias gently rubbed the stockings before slipping on a pair of shoes.

Then, when she stood back to look in the mirror, Lucy had transformed into a refined lady.

Anyone could see she exuded the elegance of a noblewoman.

‘She is so beautiful that anything she wears suits her.’

Feeling satisfied, Namerias decided to take out a jewelry box from the basket.

“It might pinch a little.”

Taking out a pair of earrings, Namerias carefully held Lucy’s ear.

As she inserted the earring pin into the earlobe and let go, the earrings jingled lightly.

‘Good. Now, if I can just replace the necklace, we’ll be done.’

Just as she reached out to remove the rough necklace around Lucy’s neck,

“Ugh!?”

Lucy instinctively grabbed Namerias’s wrist.

Startled, Namerias looked at Lucy, who finally spoke.

“Don’t touch it.”

Feeling an unexplainable chill, Namerias could not help but break into a cold sweat.

Watching Namerias’s reaction in the mirror, Lucy, flustered, released her wrist.

“I’m sorry…”

Hearing the apology, Namerias looked down at her wrist.

The imprint of Lucy’s grip was still visible, leaving it red and swollen.

Though she felt like crying, Namerias realized Lucy meant no harm and accepted the apology.

“It’s alright. It was my fault for trying to change your necklace without asking. But seeing how you reacted, it seems that necklace is quite precious to you?”

At Namerias’s question, Lucy raised her hand and lightly touched the necklace.

It was neither a particularly exquisite piece nor a remarkable design.

It was the kind of necklace that could be easily purchased at any jewelry store.

That was the extent of its value.

However, even if someone offered her rare and expensive jewelry, Lucy would not trade it for the necklace she wore now.

“Yeah…”

Because through this necklace, she could recall her memories with Daniel.

As Lucy remembered the moment Daniel had given her the necklace, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

“This is the first birthday gift I ever received.”

Namerias, who had been observing Lucy’s face in the mirror, felt an unexpected solemnity wash over her.

For reasons she could not quite understand, there was a sadness emanating from the smile Lucy wore.

–

Meanwhile, the Imperial Army brigade pushed to the outskirts of the city fell into utter chaos.

“We managed to retreat, but the casualties are significant! The total casualties amount to 713, with 320 dead among them! Considering those missing or captured, we have lost nearly 20% of our forces!”

At the report from the personnel officer, everyone in the command tent fell silent.

With a heavy atmosphere hanging over them, the operations officer, who also served as the brigade commander, sighed.

“It’s unavoidable. Who could have predicted that the Allied Forces would use Etherium to launch an assault? Moreover, we fought without our brigade commander present.”

In a generally unfavorable situation, retreating with only a 20% loss was not a bad outcome.

Nevertheless, those gathered in the command tent exuded a gloomy atmosphere as if the army had been decimated.

The reason was simple.

The absent brigade commander showed no signs of returning.

Losing Daniel Steiner felt like a far greater loss than the army’s defeat.

They could not even bear to report Daniel Steiner’s disappearance to headquarters.

“…So, the brigade commander has been captured by the enemy?”

It was Pelf, the intelligence officer, who spoke.

Though he wanted to deny it, given that there had been no news of Daniel Steiner thus far, the assumption that he had been captured by the enemy seemed the most plausible.

“What should we do then? We cannot continue fighting without the brigade commander.”

The operations officer, who had been biting his lip, exhaled softly.

“The search continues. If there is a god, may he be on our side. However, if the brigade commander has truly been discovered and killed or captured…”

After a brief pause, the operations officer continued.

“For now, we must retreat to the bridge and await orders from headquarters.”

“…Are we giving up on Penbarch?”

“I don’t know. I’ve heard that it was the brigade commander who insisted we must occupy Penbarch, so perhaps a withdrawal will be necessary.”

The thought of returning to the Imperial City after losing troops cast a shadow over the faces of the officers.

Pelf, the intelligence officer, felt the same way.

‘If the brigade commander were here, such defeatist talk would never have occurred…’

It was at that moment that Daniel Steiner’s absence was felt most acutely.

“Urgent news!”

A sergeant burst into the tent.

The sergeant saluted the gathered officers and spoke urgently.

“The brigade commander has been found in a clearing in the nearby forest and is on his way here!”

Silence fell over the command tent.

The first to react was Pelf.

“Is that true!?”

The sergeant nodded in response to Pelf’s question.

“Yes! The brigade commander said for all officers to wait in the command tent!”

If Daniel’s return was indeed true, there was no reason he would not do so.

With hope returning to their faces, the officers waited in the command tent as per Daniel’s orders.

After about an hour, the sound of boots marching outside the tent could be heard.

Moments later, Daniel Steiner entered the command tent, his uniform torn in several places.

Though it felt strange to see him bandaged on his arm, there was no doubt he was Daniel Steiner.

All the officers rose from their seats, showing respect to Daniel Steiner, yet they could not bring themselves to say, “Congratulations on your return.”

There was something about Daniel Steiner’s expression that seemed grimmer than usual.

“Since it seems everyone is here, I’ll get straight to the point.”

A chilling voice filled the command tent.

“We will not give up Penbarch. It will be the Allied Nations that will give up, not us.”

Daniel Steiner walked to the head of the table.

As the operations officer stepped aside, Daniel naturally took his place at the head of the table.

The tips of Daniel’s fingers trembled slightly as they rested on the table.

“Therefore, contact the command headquarters. Tell them that although we have lost Penbarch, we do not need to withdraw from the operation. I will…”

Suppressing his anger, Daniel recalled the last image of Lucy and continued.

“I will show Count Caledra what true war is.”

Author’s Note:

Thank you to Haedaljoa for the 10 coin support! Thank you for your continued support! I will write diligently for the support I receive!

And thank you to all the readers who are reading this!

Have a great weekend and a happy day!

I will see you again tomorrow!