A Shattered Miracle

The outside world was trapped in a siege, trembling in the blood-drying terror of war. Yet, the royal palace gardens of Europia remained unnaturally peaceful and quiet.

In a corner of the beautiful garden, dew-kissed roses and lilies breathed out their sweet fragrance.

Princess Ceres of the Europia Kingdom, a child of barely ten years, sat huddled on the dirt path, oblivious to the mud staining the hem of her dress.

"Where is it...?"

Her small, white hands were caked in soil.

With wide, round eyes, the child desperately searched for something, parting the thick patches of clover.

They said there's a clover with four leaves...

The palace nannies had coaxed her not to believe in such superstitions, but to Ceres, this tiny leaf was more precious than any jewel in the world.

Please don't let the knights get hurt.

Ceres repeated the prayer quietly in her heart.

Though young, the clever princess felt the heavy shadow looming over the kingdom with every fiber of her being.

The knights fighting the terrifying men of Valerian beyond the walls to protect the people of Europia.

And the tragic news that had crushed the palace just a few days ago.

The deaths of her boisterous uncle, Grand Duke Chronos, who had cherished her like his own daughter, and her cousin Jupiter, who had always played with her so gently.

On the day the news arrived, King Ades had not shed a single tear.

Instead, he sat steadfast on his throne, urging his vassals to fight on, maintaining the dignity of a monarch.

But.

I've never seen Father cry before...

Ceres had seen it.

That night, through the crack of the empty audience chamber doors, she had seen her father's back. King Ades had gripped the armrests of the throne with his wrinkled hands, his shoulders trembling.

The child ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knew the deep sorrow of a father who could not weep aloud because of the weight of his crown.

Sister is sad too...

What was more, her eldest sister Yuno, whom Ceres loved more than anyone in the world, was locked in the office day and night, wrestling with piles of documents to help their father save the crumbling kingdom.

Dark circles had settled under her sister's eyes, and the shoulders that were always so proud had visibly slumped.

I want to help Sister. I want to help Father...

But there was nothing a ten-year-old princess could do.

She could not wield a sword to cut down enemies, nor could she sit at a table to draft strategies.

That helplessness had driven the young princess to this corner of the garden.

A four-leaf clover that was said to grant wishes.

She wanted to find even that tiny miracle and place it in the hands of her sister and father.

I can't find it... the miracle...

But the four-leaf clover was nowhere to be found, and tears of frustration finally welled in Ceres's dirt-smudged eyes as her face crumpled.

Flutter.

A white butterfly fluttered out of nowhere, brushing past the tip of Ceres's nose.

Mr. Butterfly?

It drifted gracefully toward a large hydrangea bush in the corner of the garden.

Drawn by the butterfly's wings, Ceres followed it with her eyes and looked beneath the hydrangea.

Could it be...?

Beneath the hydrangea leaves, a single four-leaf clover gleamed brilliantly in the morning sun.

"I found it...!"

Ceres's face lit up with joy.

Fearing the tiny miracle might vanish, she carefully reached out and pinched the stem of the clover.

Just as she was about to pluck it and run to her sister.

Suddenly, words that Yuno had spoken to her long ago flashed through her mind.

Ceres stopped her hand.

Her sister's gentle voice echoed in her ears.

After a brief struggle, the child let go of the stem and took a step back.

Yes. I won't pluck it. Instead...

Ceres neatly clasped her dirty hands in front of her chest.

Closing her eyes tight, she parted her small lips, praying with a heart more earnest and pure than anyone else's in the world.

"Please... let this scary war end."

Just as the young princess finished her prayer for a miracle.

BOOM—!

A deafening roar struck Ceres's ears.

The ground shook with an impact like exploding gunpowder, and birds shrieked as they took flight.

"Huh?"

Startled, Ceres spun around, her eyes instantly turning white with terror.

"Black armor..."

In the corner of the garden stood a small, dilapidated shed built over a sealed well.

The door of that shed shattered, scattering splinters in all directions.

Out from the rising cloud of dust burst a foul stench.

Along with the smell of rotting corpses and the nauseating stench of damp sewers—which instantly swallowed the scent of roses—men clad in black armor, covered in putrid mud like demons, began to pour out.

"..."

The butterfly that had shown her the miracle was long gone.

In the middle of the sun-drenched palace garden, fifty axemen filled Ceres's vision instead.

"...General."

Adjutant Biensen, who was scouting ahead at the front, froze in surprise.

At the end of his gaze sat a tiny girl, trembling in the middle of the garden.

"It's a child."

Biensen reported in a raspy voice to me, standing behind him.

Stepping over the broken shed door and into the garden, I spotted the little girl as well.

...Ceres.

In the original web novel, she was the princess who would later throw tantrums about wanting to see her sister Yuno, sneak across the border into the Valerian Kingdom, turn both nations upside down, and receive all kinds of coddling despite being a massive nuisance.

"Hic... A-Ah..."

As the monsters in black armor looked down at her, Ceres froze in place, unable to even think of running, gasping for air.

In that moment.

The memory of the day I beheaded Prince Jupiter flashed through my mind.

I had been pushed into executing him.

But at the time, I only held the treasured sword of Kalista that Sabre had handed to me.

Unable to sever the neck in a single blow, I had to dig the blade deep into a living man's throat to survive, sawing and twisting through tough muscle and hard bone.

The vibration of tearing flesh and crushing bone that traveled up my hands.

The heat of the hot blood that gushed out, staining my hands crimson.

The brutal moments as Jupiter, thrashing like a pig in a slaughterhouse, called out Yuno's name and died slowly, so slowly, in agony.

Since that day, no matter how much I washed my blood-stained hands, the phantom vibration remained at my fingertips, keeping me awake at night.

Slide.

Unconsciously, my gaze drifted to the axe in my right hand.

The axe in my hand felt like a living, breathing creature whispering in my ear.

Wash away the regret of that day when you sawed through his neck with a dagger.

With ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this axe, you can send her off instantly, comfortably, before she even feels the pain.

The madness of the battlefield was trying to paralyze my brain.

That child might grow up to harbor a blade of vengeance.

She is royalty of an enemy nation.

Leave no loose ends.

But.

"...Bullshit."

I bit my tongue hard and muttered to myself.

My fading reason snapped back.

No matter if I had become Valerian's dog to survive, or if I had branded myself a traitor and cut off enemy commanders' heads.

I was still human.

No matter how brutal the battlefield, I could not steal the future of a trembling little child who looked barely ten years old.

That wouldn't be strategy or survival. It would be the act of a pure demon.

If I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crossed that line, I felt I would truly become a monster.

I loosened my grip on the axe handle slightly and turned to my men, who were holding their breath, waiting for my command.

And then.

"Our only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠targets are the King of Europia and opening the gates."

At my words, the eyes of Biensen and the other men wavered.

"We break through to the main palace gates first. Cut down any soldiers we encounter along the way... but do not touch unarmed women and children."

A look of relief washed over the faces of the fifty elite soldiers, who had secretly felt uneasy.

No matter how bloodthirsty they had become, none of them enjoyed slaughter.

"Aaaaaah!"

Only then did Ceres snap out of it, screaming as she bolted in the opposite direction.

"Father! Sister!"

The child fled, wailing in terror, her dress ruined by mud, not even realizing she had lost one of her shoes.

I let her small figure disappear from sight.

Go ahead. Scream all you want and run around. That way, the palace guards will be drawn to the wrong place.

"We don't have time."

I issued the next orders to my subordinates.

"Follow me and seize the main palace gates. Once we secure them, Biensen! Take the rest of the men, leaving only five with me, and open the city gates. General Sabre will support us from the outside!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Stay alive... and we will dine at King Ades's table tonight, just as promised. Once the gates are open and the palace is secured, I will be the first to bring out Ades's head."

"Long live General Lasen!"

I took the lead, dragging my axe as I dashed toward the main gates.

"W-What is happening? Is it the enemy?!"

"Intruders! Intruders in the palace—Aaargh!"

As soon as we left the garden and entered the corridor, we clashed with the Europian royal guards who had rushed over after hearing Ceres's screams.

They were the armored elite soldiers of Europia.

But they had never dreamed that enemies—let alone black-clad demons reeking of sewage—would emerge inside the royal castle.

"Out of the way!"

I swung my axe without hesitation.

*Crunch!*

A guard's body slammed into the wall.

"I-It's Lasen! The traitor of Europia! Stop him! The enemy's numbers are small—Gah!"

The guards who stepped forward with shields had their skulls split and limbs severed by the axes of the men following me.

To prepare for the siege, most of Eurosola's regular forces had deployed to the outer walls.

The royal guard remaining in the palace was a skeleton crew, less than a tenth of their usual strength.

Caught completely off guard by the sudden internal raid, they couldn't even form a proper line, making them no match for my elite soldiers.

"Clear the way! Run for the main gates!"

Cutting through the corridor filled with screams and clashing metal, we tore through the palace interior like a hot knife through butter.

Ceres's distant screams echoed occasionally from behind, but I never once looked back.

Before long, we finally reached the main entrance of the Europian palace.

Even the small garrison guarding the gates was ruthlessly swept away by Biensen's axe.

"General! We have secured the main gates!"

A blood-spattered Biensen shouted, panting heavily.

I caught my breath and nodded.

"Biensen."

"Yes, General!"

"As I said before, leave only five men with me and head straight for the outer city gates. Open them!"

Biensen's expression hardened with resolve.

But as his gaze drifted to the mere five axemen left by my side, his eyes filled with worry.

"But General, heading to the King's chambers with only five guards is too dangerous! I should rather..."

"There is no time. King Ades is mine, and these five are more than enough."

I cut off Biensen's protest firmly.

At my stern command, Biensen bit his lip and bowed deeply.

"I will open the gates and return with General Sabre to receive you. May fortune favor you in battle!"

Biensen exited the palace gates and dispersed toward the city streets.

The area before the main gates grew quiet in an instant.

The remaining five axemen and I prepared to secure the palace.

*Creak—Slam!*

The main gates Biensen had passed through shut tightly behind us.

There was no escape now.

I adjusted my grip on my dripping axe and began to walk slowly toward the inner audience chamber where King Ades would be.