—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The first thing Arwen Orka did after regaining her memories was to accurately assess her current situation.
Arwen Orka.
Brigadier General.
Moreover, she was the Chief of the Inspection Department, who could be considered one of the real powers in the Imperial Army.
Not only that, but she was also currently receiving abundant trust from President Mikhail Bismarck.
Ironically, the problem was that this very President was now the most threatening enemy to Luthers Edan.
Having lost her memories and consumed by needless greed, she had put her lover in jeopardy.
“Ugh, urp.”
As soon as she realized this fact again, she desperately tried to suppress the nausea that was rising once more.
This was how she felt even after regaining her memories.
The memories and experiences accumulated over decades of life had hardened her heart.
Hadn’t she actually attempted suicide?
As such, the reason she could think and move now was because of her previous memories and the sense of responsibility stemming from them.
If it weren’t for that, she would have truly ended her life.
Alone, in a remote place where no one, not even Luthers, could find her.
Yes.
She couldn’t collapse yet.
She had to correct all the mistakes she had made and prepare the path for her beloved to move forward.
So that her sins could be washed away, even if just a little.
That was why she made the list first.
Luthers would already not be considering a resolution through dialogue with President Mikhail.
The President was the embodiment of politics.
He was skilled at handling crowds and possessed tremendous oratory and eloquence.
It wasn’t for nothing that the Imperial family, which had maintained its lineage for over hundreds of years of history, had been relegated to the back room overnight.
However, the President was a politician, not a soldier.
Instead of having eyes to read the battlefield, he had eyes to see the political situation.
He had the ability to appoint people to the right positions, but he lacked the ability to truly empathize with them and make them “his people.”
Therefore, President Mikhail Bismarck had placed his closest aides in positions necessary to control the military.
For example, like the newly appointed Chief of Military Police, Reinhard Himmler.
Most of them were focused on positions specialized in intelligence, inspection, and investigation.
It was natural.
To control an organization, one must first block its eyes and ears.
The signs must be caught from the beginning.
As soon as someone harbors discontent or dares to challenge that power, cracks would start to form in the President’s iron-clad authority.
Arwen decided to thoroughly exploit this point.
While Luthers and the members of the Eagle’s Nest were planning the coup more thoroughly and secretly,
The Inspection Department led by Arwen was executing another “small purge.”
The first targets were the 30th Mechanized Infantry Division, located not far from the capital Hoenbaren.
As a general who had recently joined the President’s inner circle, but whose reputation wasn’t particularly good to begin with, it was not difficult to get rid of him.
“You unjustly extorted money from your subordinate officers and gave orders outside of your duties. Is this the loyalty you speak of, General?”
“Ah, no, that’s…”
“Moreover, I heard that you spoke privately about President Mikhail Bismarck last time…”
“What?! I never did such a thing! What nonsense is this!”
“Really? It seems your memory has deteriorated due to excessive drinking lately, General. How about we listen to it here? Honestly, I don’t think it’s much… but I’m not sure if the President would think the same.”
“—!!”
“By the way, I haven’t handed over this data to the secretariat yet. What will you do, General?”
“…I understand. I’ll comply with your suggestion.”
He closed his mouth at the evidence that the Inspection Department, especially Arwen, had desperately sought out, and submitted his retirement application as it was.
For the new division commander, she recommended someone who had made remarkable achievements in the war against the Titans and who hated Titans with a passion.
Major General Friedrich Handel.
The fact that he lived with a wall between himself and politics was a bonus.
This was possible because the Inspection Department had all the personnel information about the Imperial Army.
Until then, everyone felt it was just another “inflexible” and cruel measure of the Silver Guillotine, no different from usual.
From the beginning, she had a fairly good relationship with the personnel staff of the Supreme Command.
If she could so easily get rid of a general-grade officer, what about field-grade officers?
She turned her attention to field-grade officers to avoid the President’s suspicion as much as possible.
She relentlessly displayed the power of the Inspection Department against them as well.
There was no one who didn’t have even a speck of dust when thoroughly shaken.
She meticulously investigated the battalion commanders and regional commanders of units stationed in the capital Hoenbaren, responsible for the capital’s defense.
Those who were truly vicious were literally forced to retire, and if not to that extent, their positions were changed or they were relegated to remote posts.
And for those positions, she mainly placed people with deep “loyalty to the country” that Arwen had carefully selected.
The list she secured in this way totaled twenty people.
Among them was Colonel Julia Anke, who had previously taken care of Lea Gilliard.
These were people who would willingly stand by his side when Luthers tried to carry out the operation.
‘Both Lea and Charlotte must have regained their memories. I don’t know where they are or what they’re doing… but they’ll surely come to help Luthers.’
She wanted to contact them right away and inform them of this information if possible, but she couldn’t.
Because she knew.
What right did she have to meet them?
-What were you thinking when you did that? No matter what, even so….
She recalled what Lea had said to her at a bar in Hoenbaren once.
At that time, Lea had such sad eyes.
Arwen at the time couldn’t even grasp the situation, but now that she had awakened all her memories, she deeply felt why Lea had reacted that way.
For some reason, Lea had already regained her memories.
In the end, it all stemmed from her own mistake.
Even if Luthers hadn’t revived his fiancées’ memories, if she hadn’t persuaded Lea or Charlotte, perhaps both of them wouldn’t have suffered like this.
Maybe the moment they regained their memories, they would have run straight to Luthers and embraced him.
“Ugh…”
Arwen clutched her chest.
Struggling to breathe through the tightness in her chest, she staggered and flung open the window wide.
The cool night air brushed past her face.
Arwen once again gathered her breaking heart and mind.
Not yet.
Not yet.
She couldn’t collapse yet.
She couldn’t rest until she had paved the way for her beloved.
Even if this cycle failed, it was so that her lover could reach even further into the future.
It was something she had to endure as a comrade and lover who had accompanied the war hero from the beginning, who had risen up after countless deaths.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Arwen.”
“Mmm…”
“What are you doing? You need to wake up. It’s morning.”
Arwen flailed her arms on the bed.
Usually, she was someone who emphasized dignity to her subordinates, talking about FM and whatnot, but in bed, she was just a woman who acted spoiled towards her man.
One of the few sides Arwen showed only to Luthers.
“Really, I can’t live like this.”
In the end, Luthers grabbed her hand and slowly supported her waist to get her up.
“I’m sleepy…”
“You’ve been working hard for the past few days. Usually, I’d just let you sleep more, but not today.”
Luthers spoke in a firm voice to his lover who was rubbing her eyes while nestled in his arms.
“It’s Memorial Day.”
“!!!!”
At those words, Arwen suddenly came to her senses and jumped up.
It was a movement like a freshly caught live fish.
“S-s-sorry! Luthers! I miscalculated the date!”
“It can happen. You’ve been up all night for two days straight, right? And you’ve been sleeping really late before that too.”
“Ugh…”
Arwen made a crying face while pulling her hair.
“It’s okay, we can start preparing now. I intentionally left some extra time. If we move too hastily, you always forgets something.”
“Ah.”
“You’re unexpectedly scatterbrained, unlike how you look.”
“Strangely, it’s more so when I’m with you…”
“It was like that in the first cycle too.”
“I guess that side of me just pops out, huh.”
The two exchanged banter and then burst into laughter.
“Okay. I’ll get ready quickly. We need to go commemorate our comrades who, without fail, sacrificed themselves in this cycle too.”
“Yes, even if we meet them again in the next cycle.”
Arwen nodded and quickly finished her shower.
She arranged her silver hair, changed her underwear, and applied light makeup.
She put on her uniform, tidied her appearance, and headed to the parade ground where the memorial service was to be held, taking the white chrysanthemums she had prepared the day before.
Memorial Day.
It was an event to console the comrades and spirits who had been crushed in this fortress until now.
Naturally, it had to be conducted in a more solemn and serious atmosphere than any other event.
“I’m here.”
“You finally came.”
She approached Luthers, who was already waiting at the parade ground after finishing all preparations.
But something felt a bit strange.
Wasn’t Luthers Edan looking at her with a bitter expression?
Moreover, there were no other people at the parade ground.
As Arwen began to sense something was off, Luthers spoke.
“Hmm…?”
“What are you doing? You need to put down the chrysanthemums.”
He pointed to the white chrysanthemums Arwen was holding.
“Uh, where do you want me to put them down? The memorial stone hasn’t been installed yet…”
“It’s right here. The memorial stone.”
“What?”
As soon as Arwen made a dumb sound, Luthers’ body suddenly rose up into the sky.
His legs, dangling limply in the air, came into her view.
The bright sky suddenly darkened, and a vast darkness engulfed her surroundings.
“This is my grave, you know. Arwen, the grave you made for me.”
“—!!!!”
At those words, Arwen bolted upright in bed.
“Hah… hah… gasp… hah. Ugh, sob… sob…”
She breathed heavily and turned her head frantically.
It was a hallucination.
It was just a nightmare.
Luthers Edan was not dead.
But even though she repeated this thought several times a day, Arwen was still trapped in that nightmare.
“Sob… ugh, sob…”
In the end, she burst into tears that she had been desperately holding back.
To make up for her mistake.
For her lover who was undoubtedly waiting for a chance to counterattack somewhere.
Even though she was continuously striving, enduring the pointing fingers of those around her, being called the President’s dog, a whore, and enduring insults saying she must be moaning in the President’s residence every night.
The water she had spilled couldn’t be unspilled.
Even though she had awakened from the nightmare, her surroundings were still dark.
As if possessed, Arwen picked up the small carving knife that was placed on the shelf next to the bed.
And without hesitation, she cut her arm.
Only when blood flowed along the deeply left scar did Arwen finally breathe a sigh of relief.
It was the third scar.
For some reason, she felt like the cycle had been getting shorter recently… but it couldn’t be helped.
She couldn’t live without doing this.
“Luthers…”
Arwen murmured that name in a sobbing voice.
Today, it seemed she wouldn’t be able to sleep for quite a long time.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
