The Shattered Goblet
The goblet flew from Catherine’s hand and shattered on the floor, the sound sharp and final—like the bond between her and Raul.
“……What did you just say?”
Catherine stared blankly, her voice hollow.
“Given the circumstances, it appears Vice-Commander Kalis Reizen has deserted alongside Commander Raul Lentz.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Her trembling fingers clamped around the edge of the desk.
“Is it true? Tell me it’s true!”
“The Fenrir Unit tracked them in reverse and confirmed it with one hundred percent certainty. Vice-Commander Kalis left of her own volition and crossed the border with him.”
Catherine staggered, clutching at her own hair.
No. That couldn’t be.
Raul Lentz. The Lentz family. They had been the Valde family’s shadows for generations—loyal hounds sworn to give everything for their masters.
And now that faithful dog had bitten its master’s hand and stolen another tool on the way out?
“No…… It can’t be. Raul would never…… Why?”
“Lady Catherine? Are you all right?”
The flustered adjutant hurried forward, but Catherine lashed out with a savage sweep of her arm.
Her breathing had already slipped past any semblance of control.
“Hah, hah……!”
“Should I summon the medical corps? Your complexion is terrible!”
“……Get out.”
Catherine forced the words through clenched teeth.
“Pardon?”
“I said get out! Now!”
The adjutant fled the office in terror at the near-scream.
Alone, Catherine sank to the floor.
Deep down, she had believed it. Just a little longer and he’ll come back.
She had issued the wanted posters with a calm face in front of the troops. She had even promoted Kalis to commander on the spot.
There are plenty of people who can replace you. Your absence will be filled in no time.
She had hoped the childish ploy would spark his jealousy—that he would finally realize her worth, drop to his knees, and beg forgiveness.
Instead, Raul had not only refused to return; he had taken Kalis with him.
“……You really left, Raul?”
Her lips trembled.
Questions kept circling. Why had he gone? What had changed him so completely?
Was he truly that furious over a few stolen medals?
“No. That can’t be it……”
In her memories, Raul had never once cared about rewards. The Lentz family had always played that role. Raul himself had accepted it as fate and lived that way for twenty years.
Now the world felt upside down.
“He wouldn’t have abandoned me over something so trivial.”
Gratitude? A dog would laugh. What gratitude is there in being worked like a hound for generations while our blood was sucked dry?
Raul’s venomous words rang in her ears like a hallucination.
“No, Raul. You’re wrong.”
To Catherine, Raul’s only purpose had been to offer unwavering loyalty to his lord. She could not accept that he had left while voicing resentment.
“If I say I’m sorry, will you come back?”
She whispered the question into empty air.
“Or would you be satisfied if I petitioned the imperial court again and hung those medals around your neck?”
No answer came.
Catherine rose slowly.
“No. You would never return so easily.”
She took the sword hanging on the wall—the blade Raul had polished every morning until it gleamed.
“You told me to try managing without you, didn’t you?”
She glared at her own reflection in the steel.
“Fine. I’ll show you. I’ll find you, drag you back, and make you kneel at my feet again.”
If it meant bringing him back, she did not care if the kingdom was trampled by the empire or if the front lines collapsed.
“Wait for me, Raul. I’m coming to get you. You belong to me.”
Her mad laughter echoed through the office.
The desertion of the Fenrir Unit’s commander and vice-commander had become common knowledge even to passing dogs, and the news spread across the entire kingdom.
Meanwhile, Catherine von Valde—their superior and the last person to see Raul Lentz—had been summoned by the king and was now traveling toward the Royal Capital.
“Lady Catherine, we will soon arrive at the outskirts of the capital.”
She gave no reply to the voice outside the carriage.
On her lap lay the royal summons. It demanded accountability for improper subordinate management and the loss of military strength.
Whenever the carriage jolted to a halt, familiar buildings slid past the window.
It has been a long time since I last came to the capital.
Catherine gazed blankly outside, lost in thought. This was the place where her childhood with Raul remained untouched.
Memories surfaced: Raul picking garden flowers for her while she played princess. Handing him a towel after sword training left him exhausted. Back then, Raul had always stood one step behind her like a shadow.
She had thought that distance was natural. She had believed it would last forever.
Father will be at the castle too.
At the thought of Duke Valde, Catherine’s brow furrowed slightly. She could already imagine the scolding that would come the moment he saw her.
The carriage finally stopped at the grand castle gates.
With a metallic clink the door opened. A shadow fell across the blinding sunlight.
There stood her father, Grand Marshal of the kingdom’s forces, Duke Valde.
His beard was neatly trimmed, his uniform immaculate. Cold eyes looked down at his daughter as she stepped out.
“You came.”
Catherine bowed with perfect poise.
“Princess Catherine von Valde greets you, Father.”
The duke gave a slight nod instead of answering and turned his back.
“Walk with me a moment.”
“……Yes, Father.”
They began walking through the castle garden in silence.
The duke spoke first, his tone indifferent as he looked straight ahead.
“Enough with the childish games. Prepare for marriage.”
Catherine stopped dead.
She stared at him, doubting her own ears.
“……Childish games? What do you mean? I have earned more than five medals on the front lines alone!”
Her voice trembled with indignation.
But the duke did not stop walking. He spoke as if tossing the words over his shoulder.
“I know. Remarkable achievements. Yet it seems you have forgotten who bled to place those medals around your neck.”
He finally halted and turned to face her.
“Raul Lentz. I never expected that brat to be so persistent. When I first sent him north, I thought he would die within months.”
“What are you saying……?”
“My original plan was for you to return from that hellish north after only a few months, terrified.”
That would have broken her pride and allowed a politically advantageous marriage.
“But an unexpected variable appeared.”
The duke stepped closer and looked down at her.
“That worthless hound lasted five whole years. He ground his own body to dust to hide your incompetence and turned you into a fake war hero.”
“Father……”
He waved a hand.
“I will clean up this mess myself. As Grand Marshal, I will execute the traitor Raul Lentz.”
Catherine clenched her fists.
“No.”
“Oh?”
“I will bring him back myself. I will find him and return him to his rightful place.”
“Bring him back? The deserter who abandoned the kingdom?”
“If I am as incompetent as you say, Father…… then retrieving the tool that compensates for that incompetence is also part of my ability, is it not?”
She met his gaze directly.
The duke was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Very well. I will give you the chance. But remember this, Catherine. If you fail to bring him back, you will cast aside the Valde name and live as the broodmare of the man I choose.”
Catherine bowed deeply.
“……I understand.”
“I will speak to His Majesty on your behalf. You will be granted full investigative authority to capture the deserter.”
She nodded heavily.
“……Understood.”
The duke turned and gave a subtle signal toward the garden beyond.
A man emerged silently from hiding.
Catherine’s hand flew instinctively to her sword hilt, but the duke’s calm voice stopped her.
“This is the man who will serve you from now on.”
The stranger stopped before Catherine and dropped to one knee. Golden hair caught the sunlight; his features were sculpted and noble.
“It is an honor to meet you, Princess. I am Julian von Castor, eldest son of the Castor count family.”
He moved to kiss the back of her hand, but Catherine withdrew it coldly.
Julian’s smile never faltered. He continued smoothly.
“From today onward I have been ordered by the Grand Marshal to become your new shadow and assist in the pursuit of the traitor.”
Catherine’s brow twitched.
Shadow? That position belonged to Raul Lentz alone. It was absurd for some unfamiliar count’s son to claim it.
The duke chuckled, clearly amused by his daughter’s reaction, and clapped Julian on the shoulder.
“He will be far more useful than Raul. Julian graduated at the top of the Royal Military Academy and has already proven his skill in the Central Knights.”
Catherine stared at Julian, eyes piercing.
He was a polished gem of a man.
“……Do not misunderstand, Sir Julian.”
Her icy tone made Julian’s smile stiffen.
“You cannot replace Raul.”
She walked past her father and into the castle.
Kalis and I arrived in Luan, the holy land of mercenaries.
“……Commander, are you truly going to start here? The mercenaries who came from Luan during my mercenary days were all dangerous.”
I snorted and gave her shoulder a light tap.
“It’s fine. I’ve been here several times on Catherine’s orders. Let’s eat first.”
The moment I opened the tavern door, noise and dozens of eyes turned toward us—more precisely, toward Kalis behind me.
“Two meat pies and a bottle of strong rum over here!”
“Oh-ho, look at this fellow. Got some coin, do you?”
The food had not even arrived yet.
Three large men with yellowed teeth surrounded our table. The one in the center was a massive figure easily two meters tall, a hideous bear scar slashed across his face.
“Hey, if you’re in Luan you pay the toll first. And lend us that lady behind you for a bit.”
Every neighborhood had a few of these types.
“Kalis.”
“Yes, Commander.”
She moved to draw her sword, but I raised a hand to stop her.
“You rest. I didn’t bring you along to deal with trash like this.”
Still seated, I tilted my head up at the giant.
“Toll? That’s something only the strong collect. Not some lard-ass who only knows how to stuff his face.”
“You little shit……!”
The giant’s fist flew at my face.
I twisted my head aside, snatched the fork from the table, and drove it straight into the back of his hand.
“Aaaagh!”
While his hand was pinned, I stood, grabbed his hair, and slammed his face into the table.
Crack!
The wooden table splintered and the satisfying sound of his nose breaking rang out.
The other two panicked and drew daggers, but my kick was faster.
Thud, crash!
In seconds the tavern became chaos. All three writhed on the floor, groaning.
I shook the blood from my hands and grabbed the giant’s hair again.
“Want more? Or die here?”
Reading the killing intent in my eyes, the man shook his head in terror.
“P-please spare me! I’m sorry…… I didn’t recognize you!”
“What’s your name?”
“Hans…… My name is Hans!”
“Hans? Don’t tell me you’re Hans of the Forest?”
“Ah, yes! How did you know my nickname? As expected of the boss!”
Why the hell are you here?
In the later part of the story, this half-bear beastman Hans was chosen by Catherine and became her companion. I remembered him being stronger than Raul back then.
But right now he looked weak. This really was the early stages of The Empire’s Flower.
“Stand at attention, brat.”
“Yes, sir!”
I grinned.
I’ll strip every secret technique and opportunity from your family.
Hans, completely unaware, looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes.