An Ordinary Woman and a Veteran Soldier
Clara Schmidt was a university student.
After exchanging letters for the past several days, I had slowly come to learn a few things about her.
She belonged to the literature department at the Royal Academy.
She loved long walks and sweet snacks.
She hated war and fighting.
In every way, she was my complete opposite.
And that was exactly why I felt drawn to her.
Being with her felt like it might let me forget my burdens.
Today was the day of my first date with Clara.
“Ahem.”
I stood before the mirror, checking my clothes.
The officer’s uniform had been buried in the closet for a long time.
The weather was chilly, so I chose a simple shirt and threw on a coat.
I ran a hand roughly through my hair and stepped outside.
The wind was cold, yet the sunlight was bright and clear.
It was perfect weather for a date.
I walked along the riverbank toward the Royal Plaza, where we had agreed to meet.
What should I do first when I saw her?
The only relationships I had ever known were the fleeting romances I’d had with people I met at rest areas near the Argea Front.
They had burned fiercely and ended just as fast.
Perhaps that was why I felt as though I had never experienced a truly ordinary romance.
“Kaspar!”
From a distance, Clara approached, wearing a white dress and calling my name with a wave.
A smile rose naturally to my lips.
“Clara.”
We decided to visit a café first.
It was a place filled with books.
After ordering two cups of coffee, Clara pulled out a notebook and pen.
Then she looked at me and asked softly.
“You mentioned you were a soldier, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What was the battlefield like?”
“…Didn’t you say you disliked war?”
Clara twirled the pen between her fingers, thinking deeply for a moment.
“I do hate war. But that doesn’t mean I hate the soldiers who protected us.”
Her words brought an unexpected chuckle from me.
“It was dirty, stinking, and repulsive.”
“…It must have been hard.”
“Still, there were some accomplishments, in their own way.”
If I had never gone to the battlefield, I would never have picked up a sword.
I would never have dreamed of becoming a Sword Master.
In that sense, I couldn’t say I entirely despised the battlefield.
“…Though none of it means anything now.”
I spoke with a bitter expression.
The man I didn’t even want to call father—Heinrich von Eisenmarck—rose in my mind.
‘Do not think of returning to the battlefield.’
‘Do not even consider exile.’
‘And do not dream of being recognized as a member of Eisenmarck.’
Because of his words, every achievement I could have earned on the front had vanished.
I had become a man who no longer knew how to live.
Clara stared at me intently, then let out a small, teasing laugh.
“It seems your mind is still tied to the battlefield, Kaspar.”
“…Is it that obvious?”
“Very.”
She reached out and took my hand.
Her warmth flowed into me.
Holding a woman’s hand was hardly a rare event in my life, yet for some reason it felt like the first time, and I grew embarrassed.
“I’ll pull you out of it.”
Seeing her bright smile, I couldn’t help but grin.
“That sounds almost like a confession.”
“Oh, not yet.”
“True.”
She took a book from her bag and handed it to me.
“What’s this?”
“A poetry collection.”
“Poetry… It doesn’t seem like it would suit me.”
“I think it suits you quite well, actually.”
She stroked the back of my hand as she continued.
“It’s my first gift to you. For a reply, another poetry book would be fine, or even a poem you wrote yourself. Anything would make me happy.”
“I like that.”
I accepted the book and slipped it into my bag.
She watched me quietly, then made a suggestion.
“Shall we take a walk?”
“Sounds good.”
We began strolling through the shopping district near the plaza.
It wasn’t noisy, but it brimmed with lively energy.
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I had walked streets like these.
Until a year before my discharge, I had given up all my leave to focus solely on training in pursuit of the Sword Master rank.
Besides, the rest areas near the front lines were nothing like the bustling capital.
Clara suddenly asked me.
“Is there anything you want to do, Kaspar?”
“…Well. Becoming a Sword Master?”
“What kind of joke is that? There are only three Sword Masters in all of Nicator.”
“True.”
With a wry smile, I recalled the names of the kingdom’s Sword Masters.
The Northern Grand Duke, Heinrich von Eisenmarck.
The Marquis of Ansi, Frederik von Ardenburg.
The Commander of the Northern Knights, Gerhardt von Reichenbach.
Come to think of it, they were all tied to the North.
If a Sword Master emerged from the southern front, that balance would break.
Politically speaking, Heinrich’s decision had been the correct one.
“Something I want to do…”
As I spoke, I gazed quietly at Clara.
“For now, I’d like to start by winning your heart.”
“Is this a confession already?”
She covered her mouth in mock surprise.
But she didn’t look displeased.
“I’ll give you my answer in a letter. I really enjoyed today!”
“See you next time, Clara.”
“Yes!”
Clara walked away, unable to hide her smile.
Left alone in the shopping district, I stepped into the first bookstore that caught my eye.
The Path to Scholarship, Beginning at Twenty
I muttered to myself.
“Scholarship, huh…”
I hadn’t read the contents, but the title alone told me enough.
Perhaps this book might give me a new goal.
With that thought, I purchased it.
Leaving the bookstore, I turned back toward the plaza to head home.
My mood wasn’t bad.
Memories of what I had lost didn’t weigh on me as heavily, and even my encounters with Princess Adelheid and Elfriede felt cleanly erased.
I wished every day could be like today.
“Captain Kaspar…?”
Someone called my name.
It was an unfamiliar voice.
When I turned, I saw a man standing there with an eyepatch over his left eye and a crutch under his arm.
He appeared to have lost his left eye and right leg.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, I’m…”
The man pulled out the dog tag hanging around his neck.
The metal caught the sunlight with a dull gleam.
“My name is Martin. I served as a corporal in the 7th Assault Unit on the Argea Front.”
“The 7th Assault Unit…”
The 7th Assault Unit had operated alongside the 7th Shock Sword Battalion I belonged to.
They couldn’t wield aura like the sword battalion soldiers, but I remembered they had many outstanding troops.
I walked closer and asked.
“Did you need something from me?”
“No, sir! It’s just… it’s been so long since I last saw your face, I couldn’t help myself…”
Martin smiled sheepishly and scratched his head.
If he was an old comrade, there was no reason not to talk with him.
I asked, “Where were you headed? I was on my way to the plaza.”
“Oh! I’m heading to the plaza too!”
“Then let’s go together.”
We started walking toward the plaza side by side.
Martin’s steps were slow, so matching his pace was a little uncomfortable, but I didn’t show it.
That was the least courtesy I could offer someone who had returned from the battlefield with wounds.
A question suddenly occurred to me.
“After your discharge, how have you been living?”
“Ah, well… I’m getting by somehow.”
“No difficulties in daily life?”
“Ha… There’s no point in hiding it.”
Martin’s face filled with worry as he spoke like someone pouring out a long-held complaint.
“I was on my way to the Royal Veterans Affairs Office. Life has become so difficult lately. Prices keep rising, but there’s no money coming in. I was going to see if I could receive the compensation that’s supposed to be given to discharged soldiers.”
“…I see.”
Looking at him, I thought perhaps I had been worrying only about my own full stomach.
“Are there many like you?”
“Quite a few, I imagine.”
“I’ll go with you to the office.”
“…! Thank you, sir!”
Together with a visibly delighted Martin, I arrived at the Royal Veterans Affairs Office.
There were quite a lot of people.
They all wore their old military uniforms, and here and there I saw injured veterans like Martin who had lost a limb.
They stood before the firmly shut doors of the office, holding up signs and protesting.
— The State Must Honor Its Promises!
— Provide Treatment Fees for the Wounded!
— Disclose the List of the Fallen!
Martin stared blankly at the scene before turning to me.
“Thank you for coming with me. I’ll take my leave here.”
He gave me a respectful bow, then joined the crowd of protesting veterans.
The group quickly grew louder.
They began chanting the slogans written on their signs.
Yet the doors of the Veterans Affairs Office remained closed.
“…Damn it.”
I fingered the gold coins in my pocket.
That bastard Heinrich had handed me such a huge sum, yet he gave no compensation at all to the soldiers who had sacrificed themselves for the kingdom.
I felt as if I had received special treatment.
It was clear now that I had been worrying only about my own comfortable problems.
Even if I joined that protest, it wouldn’t change anything.
I hailed a carriage and headed for the Eisenmarck Mansion.
I wasn’t going to meet Heinrich.
That man wasn’t someone I could see just because I wanted to.
Instead, I had come to see Elfriede.
As soon as I arrived at the mansion gates, I gave my name to the gatekeeper and asked him to call her.
She must have been inside, because she came running out in plain clothes, breathless.
“W-what is it, Kaspar?”
“Elfrie… No, Sister.”
At that single word, Elfriede’s face crumpled as if she were holding back tears.
I looked at her calmly and spoke.
“Last time, you asked me what you would have to do for me to return to the Eisenmarck Mansion.”
“I did say that. Have you decided to come back?”
“Yes.”
Elfriede’s expression brightened noticeably.
“What is it? Tell me anything. As long as it isn’t returning to the battlefield…”
“Compensation for discharged soldiers. Medical fees for the wounded. Support for the families of the fallen.”
“What did you just…?”
“I heard those payments aren’t being given to the veterans at all. I don’t know if it’s that bastard Heinrich’s will, but with the power of Eisenmarck, it should be easy to resolve.”
“Kaspar, that’s…”
The brightness that had briefly lit her face vanished in an instant.
She looked less like someone hearing this for the first time and more like someone hearing a painful truth again.
“Without Father’s approval, there is nothing I can do…”
“As expected.”
I laughed hollowly and looked up at the sky.
Clara’s words from earlier came back to me.
‘It seems your mind is still tied to the battlefield, Kaspar.’
Even though I had left the battlefield, it seemed I could not abandon the connections I had built there.
I looked at Elfriede again and took out the pouch from my pocket.
Showing her the countless gold coins inside, I said.
“Heinrich gave me this. He told me to take it and live quietly.”
“…And?”
“If the country won’t protect them, then I have to step forward. After all, I earned some merit on the battlefield, didn’t I?”
At my words, Elfriede’s face turned deathly pale.
“No, you mustn’t! That path…!”
Elfriede cried out, then immediately covered her own mouth.
Seeing her like that, I felt nothing but disbelief.
“Why? I can’t return to the battlefield, I can’t meet a woman, and now you want to stop me from helping my old comrades too?”
“That’s not it. The moment you help them, you may become Father’s enemy.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
I smiled brightly at Elfriede.
“If I can make that damned bastard choke on it, wouldn’t that be the greatest happiness for me?”
With those words, I left the mansion.
Elfriede stood with a devastated expression, murmuring something I barely caught.
“In the end… you choose that path again…”
They were cryptic words, so I let them go in one ear and out the other.
At any rate, my goal was set.
I would save my comrades.
Even if that path meant becoming the enemy of my father, the most powerful man in the kingdom—Heinrich von Eisenmarck.