029
Dalgrak.
I stared at the medal on my palm. It was shaped like a cross sword, and its tip was sharp. I felt like my finger would get pricked if I touched it without thinking. The blade was engraved with the number ‘VII’, meaning ‘7’.
The 7th Grade Cross Sword Medal of Merit was proof of great merit in battle.
Among the cadets of the Royal Guard, only I and Ilei received the Medal of Honor. The other cadets and instructors responded that they expected this. From what the instructors said, it seemed that no cadet was as outstanding as Ilei and Ilei in the past few classes.
“It’s funny. I’m getting a medal.”
“Ilay said. He smiled faintly as he put the Cross Sword Medal into his coat pocket.
A month had passed since Lillian’s death. The Distinguished Service Medal was over, and the events of that day were slowly fading from everyone’s mind.
Illeido regained his composure and walked around with a leisurely smile on his face like before. However, I could see the anxiety in him beyond that.
“Luka, for the first time in my life, I regret slacking off on training.”
Ilay should be glad to hear this. The guy who says he’s lazy is being treated as a genius. If other students heard it, they’d grab the back of their necks.
“Even if I trained, nothing would have changed. There were four guards. At that point, it was all over.”
I stared at the crowd in the distance. They were prospective cadets and guard cadets.
The empire recruited cadets early, because news of the rebellion had reached the ears of each noble family. The nobles wanted to prove their loyalty by sending their children as cadets.
“Everyone is rushing in, competing to get in.”
I muttered. Ilay was also staring at the same place as me.
“They say the standards are set too loosely. Even the most idiotic of people can become junior officers.”
Old memories came to mind. I was in that group three years ago. It seems like it was only yesterday that I first met with the captain of the guard.
“Luka, I’m thinking of taking a vacation and going back to my parents’ house for a while.”
I didn’t ask Ilay why she was going to her parents’ house. I could only vaguely guess that there must have been some kind of internal decision.
We were approaching our last year as cadets. From the fourth year onwards, we were treated as quasi-guards. In fact, we were like guards without full armor.
I paused for a moment and then blurted out the question that had been on my mind for a long time.
“… … Why did Lillian smile even though her family died? It doesn’t make sense to say that they weren’t on good terms. It would make sense if she was crazy, but that wasn’t the case.”
I brought up Lillian’s story. I think I deserve to know this much.
Ilay rested his arm on the railing and rested his chin on it. He looked down at the city with eyes that were slack and hazy. The inorganic structures towered high like a forest. Beyond the low-saturation high-rise buildings, the chaotic neon signs of the lower districts were vaguely visible.
“Just as I was meant to be a guard, Lillian was meant to be a bridge between the other families.”
“A political marriage?”
I thought it was a typical story. Ilay continued talking as she watched the sun set.
“That’s ridiculous. Lillian Ramones was born with a husband that was supposed to be hers. He was a man fifty years older than her.”
“So you’re saying you rebelled against your parents?”
“Keep listening. The man is a widower. The terms he asked for when he offered the Ramones a huge dowry were quite detailed.”
Even I, who had been listening half-heartedly, gradually became curious about the story.
“What conditions?”
“He said that the things he said while sending me photos, videos, and records of his ex-wife were amazing. He asked me to raise her to be just like his ex-wife. From her appearance to her speech, and even her little habits. That’s why her name is Lillian.”
I frowned, not understanding because I was so dumbfounded. It was a disgusting demand.
“Lillian was raised within the Ramones family, like a custom-made piece tailored to the needs of her clients. Fortunately, the man’s ex-wife had a connection to Bellato. So Lillian was able to access knowledge and books about Bellato. There was also a condition that she had to be ‘well-versed in Bellato culture.’”
“Then the Lillian we know isn’t her original face.”
“… … No one knows Lillian’s original face. Not even she herself. Every year, she undergoes surgery to change her appearance as if she were growing naturally. She changes the color of her pupils, and shaves and adds bones to her face.
In order to make the voice the same, the vocal cords were replaced with machines early on. It must have been extremely painful. As an adult, you can change your entire face, but the ‘customers’ wouldn’t even allow that. They said that even the identity of your appearance had to be fixed.”
I felt anew what happens when darkly twisted desires meet power.
“So you were abused from birth.”
“Lillian had to live with her tastes and habits set. Whenever she deviated from that framework, she was subjected to terrible physical punishment. It is said that among the family members, only Claude, who was not much older than her, sympathized with Lillian.”
Now I think I can feel a little sympathy for Lillian. She seems to have lived a rather unfortunate life.
As I listened to the story, a question arose in me.
“Then what did Claude mean when he introduced me to Lillian? Didn’t he say Lillian had a predetermined marriage partner since birth?”
Illei smiled sheepishly. He hesitated and then spoke carefully.
“Actually… … it was Lillian and I who planned it. I told Claude that you were the secret son of the captain of the guards. That’s why Claude contacted you and made that offer.”
“Hey, this kid… … No, Claude believes that?”
“Anyone can see that the captain of the guards took special care of you. And if you’re the captain’s illegitimate child, it’s easier to understand why you went from a two-digit orphanage to a guard cadet.”
“Oh my, this guy and that guy.”
I sighed in annoyance.
“The captain of the guard is from the Custoria family. If you were to have a child with the current captain of the guard and marry him, who is of Custorian blood… … I thought Lillian would be freed. I also somewhat agreed and gave Lillian your information in advance.”
“I feel really dirty right now.”
You were trying to use me by playing around with my head? My sympathy for Lillian was quickly washed away.
“Sorry, Luca. I wanted to help Lillian just as much. And I thought you and Lillian would be a good match.”
“Put aside the sweet talk. But it was a lie that was going to be discovered later anyway. How are you going to handle the consequences?”
Illai scratched his chin and laughed.
“By the time you were caught, you would have become a full-fledged member of the guard. A promising new recruit who was favored by the current captain of the guard. The Ramones family and her fiancé wouldn’t be easy to mess with. I would have helped you as much as I could. At that time, we didn’t know that the Ramones family would become the main culprit of the rebellion.”
Claude’s proposal and Lilian’s approach were not accidental. They were all planned events. I was angry and frustrated.
I moved my eyes and glanced at Ilay. Ilay avoided my gaze.
Ilay is my friend. But Ilay is not a good person. He uses and deceives others when necessary. He killed his own subordinate with his own hands, and he lied to me.
But the funny thing is, I still trust Ilay. He would gladly act for me if he had to weigh his life against mine. My life would be pretty high on his priority list.
Ilay cares about me. That much is certain. I felt it during the Lillian incident.
“Ilay, have the ribs I broke last time healed?”
I asked calmly. Ilay tilted his head while smoking a cigarette. Since returning from the last battle, Ilay had often smoked cigarettes.
“Oh, you were paying attention? It’s not quite… … No, wait! This is, still!”
Ilay, who realized the intention of my question belatedly, was flustered. The cigarette fell out of the guy’s mouth. And I clenched my fist.
Kwajik!
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The sound of bones breaking is refreshing. Feeling much better, I took out my terminal and called the medical team. The android would arrive soon.
* * *
I visited Kinuan regularly. Today, he was drinking tea and reading. He is a man with an old-fashioned side in many ways.
“Hey, our war hero has finally arrived. I heard he received the Cross Sword Medal of Honor?”
Kinuan greeted me as he closed the book. But those words were not compliments. He was an anti-imperial man.
“It’s a 7th-grade military service medal that even dogs and cows receive. It’s nothing compared to the instructor’s brilliant achievements.”
I sat down on a nearby chair without being told to. Kinuan and I had a fairly casual relationship. We were closer to a master and disciple than a superior and subordinate.
“I read your report too. You took the lead very actively. It was a merit worthy of a medal. Ahem, you are truly a passionate and exemplary soldier.”
“You’re being very sarcastic today. I wanted to test out Archie’s fighting skills in a real fight. I also wanted to see what my limits are.”
I was half serious. I had been waiting for such a large-scale real-world battle. It was a chance to test my abilities.
Of course, the reason I’ve been so active in the underground for a while is because of Lillian and Ilay.
Anyway, my actions, which were half sincere and half false, were not easily suspected by others. Everyone knew that I had an extraordinary desire to achieve.
“Looking at your battle records… … it seems that you used the Archies fighting techniques well. However, it was a battle that relied on your own personal skills. You are a flawed commander. Didn’t your subordinates listen well?”
“No. They were all excellent soldiers of the Empire. They would jump into battle at the command of an unfamiliar platoon leader.”
After hearing what I said, Kinuan touched his chin and thought for a moment. After a while, he took out the kettle and poured tea into my cup.
“… … Then you were a kind-hearted commander.”
“yes?”
A thought suddenly occurred to me. I had never paid attention to it until now because it was something I had heard in an urgent situation, but Iley had once said something to me in a similar tone.
‘Luka. There are quite a few members of the platoon left. I’ve been thinking about this for a while… … You really are a kind person.’
The meaning of those words seemed to be the same as Kinuan’s now.
“You chose to take more risk yourself rather than risk sacrificing your platoon members. That’s why I said you were kind.”
“Because there is no loss of power.”
I spoke my mind calmly. I continued the battle while minimizing casualties among my platoon members.
“Do you really think there is none? If you lead a battle, your nervous system will become fatigued and your judgment, which is important for a commander, will gradually become clouded. You have used up resources that should have been saved to protect your platoon members. To be blunt, preserving your fighting power and judgment is more important than the lives of one or two platoon members. And what if you get injured or die? The loss will be more than all of the platoon members combined can bear.”
“So you’re saying I should have destroyed my platoon?”
I said in a loud voice.
“A great commander must know how to expend his subordinates at times.”
“… … I will do so when the time comes.”
“If you look at the combat records alone, your platoon should have suffered twice as much damage as it did now. You took that damage instead.”
To be honest, I thought, ‘Shouldn’t I be praised?’ Kinuan chuckled lightly as if he had read my mind.
“But I like this about you, because it makes you look good.”
“From now on, let’s actively consume the load.”
I answered coldly. Kinuan only smiled faintly.
