episode_0084
by fnovelpiaMaximilian left the court-martial with a light step.
The sky of the island was also covered in a sunset. The sight of it turning golden seemed to praise the current era of peace, and I felt satisfied.
“Lieutenant General Adelheid.”
“Lieutenant Karmendorff.”
Maximilian’s personal adjutant, Lieutenant Karmendorff, approached him.
The title he uses is quite awkward. He had been a brigade commander until recently, but was temporarily relieved of his post when the war ended and he was called in for a court-martial.
Maximilian shrugged and walked slowly. Lieutenant Karmendorff followed quickly behind him.
“Lieutenant General. The results of the post-war promotion review are out.”
“Has the relief department already made an announcement?”
“Yes. And… . Congratulations on your promotion, Major General Adelheid.”
I laughed. Just a moment ago, I was feeling the pressure of all the people gathered in the courtroom.
But no matter how much they criticized Maximilian… the empire eventually recognized his achievements.
It was a key role in stopping the enemy from wringing out their last bit of strength and launching a large-scale offensive. Although the number of soldiers sacrificed was not small, it was inevitable to endure a certain amount of bloodshed.
Maximilian’s shoulders shook involuntarily. He turned slightly on his way to the car and began walking at a slightly more leisurely pace.
“I have already contacted the mansion. Butler Alfred will have prepared some good wine. Congratulations again.”
“Thank you. I feel good today.”
Maximilian naturally took out a cigarette and lit it.
Lieutenant Karmendorff, who saw it, naturally brought the lighter as if flowing water. Maximilian’s gaze naturally turned to it.
A lighter with a luxurious design engraved on it. It was given to Maximilian as a congratulatory gift when he was a brigadier general.
Now that he has been promoted to major general, he is looking forward to seeing how many people around him will come to congratulate him. Maximilian took a puff on his lit cigarette.
“Thank you.”
Like the lighter, the high-quality cigarettes tasted excellent. Maximilian loved the sweet grape flavor that gently enveloped his throat.
‘Emma likes grapes too.’
His wife, Emma von Adelheid, is particularly fond of grapes.
Maximilian didn’t really have a favorite fruit, but they say that when you love someone, you start to resemble them. He soon came to like the sweet taste of grapes.
Since it’s come to this, I should buy a few good grapes on my way home, Maximilian said, blowing smoke from his cigarette.
“Lieutenant Karmendorff. Is there a fruit stand open at this hour?”
“Let’s take a look.”
“Hmm. Will it take long?”
“No, you can find it right away. Are you going right now?”
“Okay. I’ll stop by the fruit shop first, then go straight home.”
Lieutenant Karmendorff bowed his head. It was a natural gesture for Maximilian, who was used to dealing with people.
“Let’s go now.”
“Yes. Then… .”
That’s when Maximilian was walking towards the prepared vehicle.
“Huh?”
Something caught his eye. Two young men were sitting on the steps in front of the court-martial, their shoulders hunched. Maximilian noticed that the backs of the two men looked somewhat familiar.
“These are the young people who caused a ruckus in the courtroom.”
“Yes. I declined your request to meet with the director a little while ago.”
Maximilian looked closely at the two young men. He could only see their backs, but one of them was wearing a priest’s habit, while the other was wearing a slightly shabby jacket.
“Um… No. Let’s meet up sometime.”
“… Sir.”
“It’ll only take a moment. I have a personal question.”
Despite Lieutenant Karmendorff’s dissuasion, Maximilian slowly approached the two. The two young men also seemed to notice the presence, and weakly turned their heads to look in his direction.
‘The eyes….’
Maximilian met the eyes of the two young men and barely managed to suppress the sudden goosebumps.
The eyes of the two people looking at him. In particular, the gaze of the one wearing the priest’s robe was cold. Like the eyes of a fish that had been left to rot for a long time, his eyes were devoid of any life.
There is such a thing as a thousand yard line of sight.
The sight of soldiers who were completely consumed by the shock of blood splattering and flesh being torn on the battlefield and the fear of death, unable to escape, was occasionally seen. Those were the eyes that looked at the distant mountains, unable to recognize or accept the situation unfolding before their eyes.
It was the same eye that Maximilian had seen several times when he went out to inspect the front lines. And the priest’s eyes before his eyes were the same as theirs.
On the other hand, the young man sitting next to him was different. His eyes were bloodshot red, probably because he had been sitting here for a long time after being kicked out of the courtroom. His red eyes were filled with sadness and rage.
And then, those eyes were focused solely on Maximilian. Maximilian took a step closer to the two young men.
“Look here.”
“… … .”
He spoke, but the priest remained silent. He just stared blankly at Maximilian with his eyes filled with emptiness.
There was no sign of anger in his eyes. It felt like the remnants of rage that had completely burned away, with not even a spark left to ignite.
Maximilian turned his head, this time towards the angry young man.
The light brown hair was impressive. Maximilian couldn’t help but feel sorry for the clear brown eyes that were bloodshot.
“I heard you wanted to meet me.”
“… You came here on your own two feet. Without fear.”
“You say that… Are you trying to kill me?”
“I would like to do that.”
The young man’s anger was beyond imagination. Maximilian stared into his eyes for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“What’s your name?”
“…Cesar Lee.”
“Cesar Lee… . Do you know me?”
“Do you know? Of course you don’t. How could you not know, a piece of human trash like you?”
“I see. I’m afraid you’re the only one who thinks that way.”
“This dog… !”
As Cesar became enraged, Karmendorff, who was standing next to Maximilian, took a step forward. Maximilian reached out his hand to stop Lieutenant Karmendorff.
“Lieutenant Karmendorff. Alright.”
“Chief. It’s dangerous. You should keep some distance… .”
“It’s okay, don’t worry.”
Lieutenant Karmendorff made an unresponsive, disgruntled expression, but it was a sincere one. Maximilian turned his head back to Cesar.
“I have no intention of joking around with you. If you want to talk to me, and you intend to have such an unintelligent conversation, I’m going to leave.”
Cesar’s face turned red as if it was going to burst, but that was all. He simply opened his mouth toward Maximilian as if he had lost his words.
Maximilian, who had been waiting for human language to come out of his mouth, finally let out a faint sigh and turned around. He was eager to go to the mansion as soon as possible and meet his wife and two daughters who were waiting for him.
“Lieutenant Karmendorff. Stop it.”
“Yes, I will.”
That was when Maximilian was about to walk towards the car.
“… Maximilian von Adelheid.”
Maximilian’s steps stopped abruptly. He turned his head toward the place where the sound had come from.
“Can I talk to you?”
Unlike his appearance in the courtroom, he passed by using polite language and a relatively calm tone. Maximilian nodded slowly.
“Finally, the intellectual has come out. So, judging from the priest’s attire, did he serve as a military chaplain?”
“That’s right.”
“I see. Where did you belong?”
The priest was silent for a moment. He pursed his lips for a long time as if he was trying not to speak.
“… 858th Engineering Infantry Battalion.”
Finally, his mouth opened. Maximilian stared at him blankly.
“858… . Magic Engineering Infantry Battalion. Are you from there?”
The priest nodded heavily. The process seemed so arduous that it was as if someone was holding his chin.
Maximilian now understood everything. He realized why the young priest had shouted in the courtroom.
He was from the 858th Engineering Infantry Battalion, which suffered the most damage from Maximilian’s operation. Maximilian asked him.
“What’s your name?”
“… Antonelli. This is Lucio Antonelli.”
“Yes, Father Antonelli. What do you want to tell me?”
The stern man in the priest’s robe, Father Antonelli, did not answer right away this time either. As before, he kept his mouth shut and remained silent for a long time, as if he was searching for something to say.
That’s when Maximilian’s patience began to wear thin.
“… You.”
After a long silence, Father Antonelli opened his mouth. Maximilian listened to him.
“Do you have any intention of apologizing?”
“… Huh?”
An unexpected thought crossed Maximilian’s mind. He felt like apologizing. What on earth could he possibly be talking about?
“Do you have any apologies to the 858th Magic Engineering Infantry Battalion?”
That’s what it meant. A sigh escaped Maximilian’s mouth.
“What did you say… . Is that what you wanted to ask?”
“This is purely my own question. Cesar has nothing to do with it.”
“Hmm… .”
An apology, an apology. Do you have any intention of apologizing?
The gap before Father Antonelli asked that question was long, and ironically, Maximilian’s contemplation was short.
“There isn’t any.”
Father Antonelli’s face twitched once. But that was all. His face remained expressionless.
“The deaths of the 858th Magic Engineering Infantry Battalion members were sacrifices that came from their noble and lofty hearts, not from someone pushing them to their deaths.”
“… … .”
“So, yes. I have no intention of apologizing. Apologizing to them would be insulting the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for the Empire. Don’t blame anyone for the deaths of your comrades.”
“This crazy kid has a pierced mouth…!”
Cesar, who had been suppressing his anger beside him, lunged at him once again, but this time he was stopped by Lieutenant Karmendorff. Maximilian looked at him with pitiful eyes.
“Imitate your friend. How good it would be if you could have a calm conversation like Father Antonelli.”
“Ugh…! Let go! I’ll kill you!”
“Tsk… .”
As Maximilian clicked his tongue, Cesar started to scream and start to run wild. Maximilian looked away from him and back at Father Antonelli.
“… … ?”
Tears were flowing from Father Antonelli’s eyes. It was strange. Without any change in his expression, only tears were flowing down his eyes.
Father Antonelli, who had been silently looking at Maximilian, said:
“… Can I ask you a favor?”
“What’s next?”
“To Helena, please say just one word: I’m sorry…”
“Oh, well, I don’t apologize. Who is that anyway? I don’t know that person.”
The expression on Father Antonelli’s face became grotesque. His face twitched and then completely collapsed.
The expression on the face of Father Antonelli was neither crying nor laughing. Maximilian’s spine tingled at the sight of that strange expression.
“… If you have nothing more to say, I guess I’ll go now.”
“Where are you going! Hey! You can’t apologize?! How many times have I… because of you!”
Maximilian turned around. The sound of Cesar’s voice shouting behind him was annoying, but it disappeared as soon as he got into the car.
A moment later, Lieutenant Karmendorf took the wheel, having removed Cesar. Maximilian settled comfortably into the seat.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s go.”
Feeling the floating sensation of the car starting to move smoothly, Maximilian unconsciously looked out the window.
For a moment, Maximilian felt goosebumps all over his body.
Father Antonelli was standing in the same spot as before, blankly staring at him.
Instead of looking at something a thousand yards away, he was looking straight ahead at Maximilian’s car moving slowly forward.
Still with that grotesquely distorted expression on his face.
The distance grew longer, and soon his figure was out of sight.
Really, for a long time.
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