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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Subconsciously, I reached into my pocket. Only when I felt the familiar soft texture did I relax.
After confirming that I was alone, I pulled out the handkerchief. A white handkerchief with a pink ribbon, as cute as its owner.
“Sniff… Ha…”
I couldn’t resist bringing it close to my nose and taking a deep breath. The handkerchief still held the lingering scent of Emilia’s mana.
I savored her unique fragrance.
Someone might call me a pervert, but I had a perfectly rational reason for doing this.
It was crucial to be able to distinguish Emilia’s mana signature. I had used it to find her when she was kidnapped by Jin.
What if I forgot her scent while we were apart for a week?
What if I returned to the Imperial University and had to rely on her mana signature to find her again?
The thought sent shivers down my spine.
That was why I had to periodically smell the handkerchief, making sure I never forgot Emilia’s scent.
Of course, I couldn’t smell it too often, or my own scent would contaminate it.
If I could guarantee that my scent wouldn’t linger, I would have spent all my free time with my nose buried in the handkerchief.
“Time to go back.”
I had to return to the war council.
Kane had sacrificed his pride to bring the knights under Pelaine’s command. It was our turn to do our part.
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“What’s going on…?”
Erica yawned, trudging back to the barracks. She was exhausted, even though she had been sitting still the entire time, listening to the cheers and commotion.
Why were they making such a fuss about the Commander-in-Chief? They were all vehemently opposed to following Pelaine, but after a single duel, they were suddenly willing to accept her command.
Erica couldn’t understand it.
“Hm?”
She spotted Schlus Hainkel standing alone beside the barracks and peeked around the corner.
He looked anxious, as if he was plagued by a sense of unease.
He resembled an addict experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
He frantically searched his pockets with trembling hands, and then—
‘Huh?’
…pulled out a white handkerchief.
What was that?
It was a handkerchief with a ribbon, something a man wouldn’t normally carry.
An adult woman would usually carry a handkerchief with frills or lace.
It was the kind of handkerchief a young girl would use.
And Schlus—
‘What the…?!’
…brought the handkerchief to his face and sniffed it.
At first, she thought he was wiping his nose, but he wasn’t.
He was taking deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling repeatedly.
Erica, watching him, could only think one thing.
‘What a pervert…’
Creep.
Erica turned away in disgust, but—
“Erica? What are you doing…”
“…!”
…bumped into Iris.
She suddenly felt the need to hide Schlus from Iris.
And at the same time, she didn’t want Schlus to know that she had been watching him.
Driven by both desires, Erica swiftly drew a rune and cast a perception-blocking barrier around herself and Iris.
It was a meticulously crafted barrier, concealing its presence from anyone.
Even Schlus, with his heightened senses, wouldn’t be able to detect it.
“Mmm…?”
“Wait a moment.”
She covered Iris’s mouth with her hand and waited for a few seconds.
Schlus didn’t approach them, nor did he seem to notice them.
She had successfully concealed the barrier…
…from Schlus Hainkel.
It was a far greater sense of accomplishment than when she had surpassed her teachers in rune calculation speed at the academy.
“Mmm!”
“Ah, sorry.”
Erica, hearing Iris’s muffled groan, remembered her presence and released her hand.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing… Iris, have you…”
“Have I…?”
“…”
…ever given Schlus a handkerchief? Or have you lost a handkerchief recently?
She wanted to ask, but the words caught in her throat.
She couldn’t bring herself to ask.
She was afraid of the answer.
It would feel strange, whether Iris said yes or no.
‘I’m going crazy.’
Now that she thought about it, everything about Schlus was suspicious.
Iris had clearly met him before, and…
He had been involved in a scandal with the Crown Princess.
The rumors had died down recently, after the Crown Princess stopped wearing the ring, but…
And then there was his overly familiar attendant…
The merchant’s daughter who seemed to be eternally loyal to him…
And the eccentric prodigy who adored him…
It felt like she was the only one who didn’t know much about Schlus.
“Iris.”
“Yes?”
She couldn’t hold back any longer.
Erica was determined to get answers to the questions that had been plaguing her.
“What’s your relationship with Schlus Hainkel? You met him before coming to the Imperial University, didn’t you?”
“…”
Iris opened her mouth slightly in surprise, and then smiled.
It was an infuriating smile, as if to say, ‘I expected this question.’
Of course Iris, the meticulous planner, would have prepared an answer to such a random question.
But if she thought she could weasel her way out, she was mistaken.
This time, Erica wouldn’t let her go until she got a satisfactory answer.
“You’re right. We met a long time ago. Ten years ago.”
“Ten years ago…”
It was an answer she hadn’t expected.
And since it was Iris, it couldn’t be a lie.
“You asked about our relationship? It’s hard to define, but… I suppose it’s accurate to say that he’s the only person who knows what’s behind my mask.”
“What…?”
Iris placed her index finger on her lips, as if to keep it a secret, and then turned and walked back to the barracks, smiling.
Erica, dumbfounded, stood there, staring at Iris’s retreating figure.
The only person who knows what’s behind her mask…
Did that mean Schlus knew a side of Iris that even she, her longtime friend, didn’t know?
“Ha…”
It was strange.
She had thought that learning this would make her hate Schlus even more.
But instead, she felt betrayed.
By Iris, not Schlus.
No, it wasn’t exactly betrayal. It was a different feeling.
Erica tilted her head, pondering her emotions, and then—
“Jealousy? No way…”
“Erica.”
“Gah?!”
She jumped, startled by the deep voice behind her.
Schlus was standing right behind her.
“Let’s return to the war council. There’s something you need to hear.”
“Y-yes…”
Schlus patted her shoulder and walked towards the barracks.
Iris’s face lit up as she saw him approaching.
The two, who had been standing apart, were now walking side by side, their hands brushing against each other. They started talking, their voices low.
Erica watched them, her heart filled with a strange, inexplicable feeling.
“This is… our first war council since that day…”
Pelaine’s voice, low and solemn, echoed through the barracks.
“It’s been a grueling three days. We were forced to retreat to the fortress and barely managed to hold out against the enemy. But the situation has changed. The Imperial Knights Commander has returned, and reinforcements have arrived. It’s time for us to unite and launch a counterattack. Any objections?”
“No, sir!”
[T/N: I’m going to keep it as sir and not ma’am since a person who has been knighted is awarded the title of sir if u guys think I should change it let me know in the comments]
The knights responded in unison.
It was hard to believe that these were the same knights who had been defying Pelaine before the duel.
Of course, there were still some who were staring at Pelaine’s ears with displeasure, their arms crossed.
But none of them voiced their objections.
They all agreed that they had to retaliate against the enemy who had taken their comrades.
“First, let’s address the most pressing issue. The enemy camps surrounding the fortress.”
They were certainly a nuisance.
The enemy was surrounding the fortress, albeit loosely.
“They’re only infantry for now, so it’s not a major threat, but once they start building siege weapons, it will become a serious problem. We won’t even be able to escape.”
“…”
Of course, the encirclement wasn’t perfect. The knights could break through if they wanted to.
They had done so twice already, when we entered the fortress and when we rescued the Imperial Knights Commander.
But it was a different story for civilians.
They would be intercepted by the enemy if they tried to approach the fortress.
We wouldn’t be able to receive any supplies from the merchants hired by the suppression force.
“We’re already suffering from a chronic shortage of supplies. We’re running low on everything except water. We need to launch an attack and disrupt the enemy’s encirclement before they can think about building siege weapons.”
“I agree. The enemy is underestimating us.”
Kane nodded in agreement.
“We’ll launch the attack at dawn. The goal is to break the enemy’s encirclement. If we encounter their heavy cavalry, we’ll avoid direct confrontation and focus on preserving our forces. Now, the assault formation…”
“Ah, I have something to say about that.”
“…?”
I couldn’t help but interrupt.
There was no reason to fight the same way as before, now that we had mage reinforcements.
“If we encounter their heavy cavalry, we’ll charge and engage them in a decisive battle.”
“W-what?!”
Pelaine’s eyes widened.
But that didn’t stop me.
“We’ll deploy the mages in the assault formation.”
“Mages in the assault formation? What if they get captured?”
“…”
Kane frowned, objecting.
Pelaine remained silent, staring at me.
That was the common perception of mages on the battlefield.
They were powerful, but after they used their magic, they became liabilities.
Deploying mages in an offensive formation was practically suicide.
There were even assassins, like Hertlocker, who specialized in hunting down reckless mages.
Of course, there were exceptions, like Sergei, who was physically strong enough to single-handedly destroy a fortress.
“They’ll be part of the assault formation, but they’ll be deployed defensively. Their target isn’t the enemy infantry. They’ll focus on annihilating the enemy heavy cavalry if they deploy in large numbers.”
“…!”
There was a reason why I hadn’t used any grand magic on our way here.
We had five of the Empire’s top mages.
Well, three, if you excluded Trie and myself.
The enemy, unaware of our true strength, would likely deploy their heavy cavalry in a dense formation to try and crush our knights.
That’s when we would strike.
We needed to utilize our mage advantage.
“The enemy is overconfident. And we’re demoralized.”
The knights were trying to maintain a positive attitude, but the fatigue of the regular soldiers was evident.
It was a miracle that they had managed to hold out for three days without sleep, their morale at rock bottom.
“What we need to boost morale isn’t anything complicated. We need a monumental battle. A meaningful counterattack. A decisive victory that will shock and terrify the enemy. That’s why we’re here as reinforcements.”
“If we can inflict heavy losses on their heavy cavalry… it will certainly boost morale.”
“It won’t stop there. We’ll retake Fort Four in one fell swoop.”
“…?!”
The knights stared at me and my companions, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Everyone, except for Iris, had the same expression on their faces.
It was as if they were saying,
‘Me?’
Yes, you.
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