The Price of a Life

Chloe had originally been in the navy. The Navy of the Kingdom of Ivanes—the ultimate gathering place for the weak. The reason Ivanes's navy had earned such a nickname was so famous that it could be skipped. At any rate, unlike the army, the navy was practically a haven for the absolute dregs of the military.

Then, three months ago, a bizarre notice was posted in the navy.

It was a recruitment notice for a direct aide to Curtis Shan Berk, the hero of the kingdom's military. Everyone rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

Grand Duke Berk. The King's half-brother. In the event of an actual emergency, he was the man closest to the throne, excluding the King and the Crown Prince. Blessed with a towering physique and a face inherited from the late Queen—whom the late King had reportedly fallen in love with at first sight—he was an object of admiration for young and old, male and female alike. Not only that, he was also a war hero who had secured overwhelming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠victories in three border conflicts.

But why on earth was such a man recruiting an aide from the navy? There was even another condition attached.

At this point, it was beyond suspicious.

"Is it a bullet-catcher role?"

"Sounds like an army impersonator. You might sign up and wake up on a shrimp boat."

Yet, there was one person who fell for the bait: twenty-six-year-old Chloe Amboise. At the tender age of eighteen, she had volunteered for the ramshackle Ivanes Navy. Upon enlistment, she became a legendary officer who drove her naval peers to fits of frustration by stating her sole reason for volunteering was "strictly for the steady, reliable paycheck." A quarterly incentive of 400% meant 160,000 shings. That was enough to feed a family of six for an entire quarter.

There's absolutely no reason not to go, she had thought back then.

And if the Chloe Amboise of today could meet her past self, she had one piece of advice she desperately wanted to give:

"Chloe, my dear... that was the price of your life."

"Pardon?"

Standing beside her, Lieutenant Noel blinked and turned to look at her. Startled, Chloe waved her hands frantically.

"Oh, no, it's nothing. Just talking to myself."

"I see. His Grace will be out shortly," Lieutenant Noel replied with a gentle smile.

Embarrassed, Chloe clasped her hands behind her back and corrected her posture.

It was late afternoon, and the sun was slowly sinking. They stood in the courtyard of Curtis Shan Berk's mansion. Chloe had been waiting since long before the time Brigadier General Berk had commanded her to arrive. If she were even a second late, there was no telling what kind of petty retaliation she would face. Beside her stood Lieutenant Noel of the Royal Guard, Curtis's closest confidant.

"The Berk mansion is quite beautiful at sunset. Please, feel free to enjoy the view until His Grace arrives."

"Ah, yes..."

The magnificent Berk mansion was renowned even among the capital's residents for its sheer beauty. With its pristine, noble white facade and the tragic history of the ill-fated queen who once resided there, it was a place that left onlookers in awe. But to Chloe, the mansion evoked absolutely no emotion. What did it matter how beautiful a workplace was to someone forced to work on their day off?

Today was supposed to be my day off!

It was hard to tell if this was a stroke of good luck or bad. Working on a day off typically meant receiving 150% of her standard overtime pay. To Chloe's miserly alter ego, this was a welcome development. But to Chloe Amboise the human being, she desperately wanted to decline. As mentioned before, hadn't she just pulled her third consecutive all-nighter today?

Unaware of her internal plight, Lieutenant Noel clicked his tongue.

"It seems His Grace intends to take you to the banquet after all, Warrant Officer Amboise."

Chloe tilted her head. "What do you mean by that?"

"...Has His Grace not mentioned anything to you?" Noel hesitated.

Chloe blinked. "...Is there something I ought to know?"

"No, no. It's nothing," Noel said, shaking his head.

Chloe felt a lingering sense of unease, but she decided not to press further. If it were truly something she absolutely needed to know, he would have told her. Based on her experience over the past three months, Lieutenant Noel was a remarkably kind, straightforward man who was always thorough in his explanations.

Furthermore, while Noel couldn't quite compare to Curtis—who was renowned throughout the kingdom for his looks—he was still a highly attractive man by ordinary standards. Consequently, Chloe had almost mistaken his kindness for something romantic at first. But after dealing with Curtis, she realized the truth: his kindness was merely a bond of mutual sympathy forged between two souls suffering under a tyrannical boss.

At any rate, since Lieutenant Noel had closed his mouth, it was likely something she truly didn't need to know. Chloe had learned well during her naval days that in the military, it was best not to pry into things others chose to keep to themselves.

"Do you know anything about tonight's banquet?"

"I was only told it's a pre-banquet for the diplomatic event with Glintland."

"Ah. Actually, it's more like a matchmaking eve for His Grace's impending marriage."

"...Who is doing what now?"

Chloe looked up at Lieutenant Noel with utter disbelief. Looking down at her highly skeptical pink eyes, Noel smiled with a look that said, I knew you'd react that way.

"It means His Grace will soon be having a matchmaking meeting with the Duchess of Glintland."

"...Judging by the title, she must be royalty from Glintland. Surely she wants for nothing in life? I don't know who she is, but does she really have to go through with this?"

Chloe's voice was thick with sympathy for the faceless foreign ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠duchess. Noel replied gently,

"She isn't exactly in an enviable position."

"Did someone catch her weakness?"

"Not quite. If anything, it's His Grace who has been caught."

"That bastard... Excuse me, I misspoke. His Grace was caught?"

The great Curtis Shan Berk has a weakness that was caught? The unprecedented revelation made her slip up without realizing it. Noel graciously overlooked the naval-born Warrant Officer's slip of the tongue. Lieutenant Noel was one of the rare figures in the army celebrated for his gentle character, and he knew all too well how many aides had come and gone under his friend's command.

"Well, in the end, it's because of his bloodline."

"Wow."

Chloe offered a flat, uninspired exclamation. She didn't care what kind of bloodline it was—she just wished she could get a hold of that weakness herself.

Just then, a dazzling figure emerged in the distance, flanked by attendants as he walked out from beneath the mansion's facade. A magnificent estate under the blue sky, and a radiant human being stepping out from it. His blond hair, in particular, shimmered brilliantly. It was Curtis.

"Speak of the devil, His Grace is coming out."

"Ugh."

Chloe stuck her tongue out. Noel chuckled.

"What's with the 'ugh,' Chloe? What on earth do you see His Grace as?"

"I don't know. A discipline vending machine?"

"A vending machine? Ah, like that new machine installed in front of the capital's fountain recently. You put a mana stone in, press a button, and out comes a dose of military discipline?"

Noel seemed to take her words as a joke. But Chloe was entirely serious. The beverage vending machine in front of the capital's fountain was designed to be incredibly shiny and beautiful to attract people's attention. And so was that man. A purple-eyed beauty with neatly swept-back, shimmering blond hair. His broad, masculine shoulders and the navy Royal Guard uniform draped over them were striking enough to capture anyone's gaze instantly. Not to mention his long legs extending beneath his jacket. His firm, upright posture was the very picture of a disciplined Royal Guard officer. He wore the exact same uniform as Chloe, yet the fit was so vastly different it was hard to believe they were the same clothes. It was the ultimate case of "same outfit, different vibe."

Meanwhile, my old navy buddies told me I looked like a sewer rat.

To be fair, Chloe's dark navy-blue hair and her navy uniform had a way of blending together in a rather dull fashion. At any rate, her boss possessed a truly staggering level of beauty. However, that fact was utterly useless to Chloe. Did a boss's pretty face make physical discipline any less exhausting? Did a pretty boss mean fewer hours of overtime? Not at all. A gorgeous, shiny machine that dispensed military discipline whenever you pressed a button. To Chloe, Curtis Shan Berk was exactly that.

"Warrant Officer Amboise! If you've arrived, why aren't you running over here? Are you crawling?"

Right on cue, a thunderous shout erupted from the discipline vending machine. Unbelievable. He didn't even greet her; he just went straight to scolding. Of course, as a soldier who did whatever she was ordered to do, Chloe immediately responded.

"Loyalty! My apologies, sir!"

She sprinted toward him.

"How utterly ungraceful, running like that."

That was Curtis's assessment of Chloe as she arrived, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠panting for breath. He furrowed his handsome brow and stared down at her. Chloe's heart sank. What is it this time?

"What is wrong with your uniform? Did they not teach you how to iron a dress uniform in the navy?"

"My apologies, sir. It must have creased again while I was rushing over."

"Where are all your standard-issue ceremonial decorations?"

"Pardon?"

Chloe asked blankly, then winced. When she had received her dress uniform three months ago, it had indeed come with a heap of accessories. She had vaguely heard they were for major events and shoved them into a corner, but apparently, today was the kind of day they were meant for. Hey, we don't have things like that in the navy!

Coming from the navy, where formal protocol was practically nonexistent, there was no way Chloe could have anticipated this. Furthermore, because the Royal Guard was constantly run ragged by Curtis under the pretext of "lax discipline," everyone made it a rule not to wear any cumbersome decorations. Thus, Chloe hadn't given them a single thought during her entire three months on the job. You could have told me! But she couldn't say that to her superior. Foreseeing her fate of being disciplined yet again after tonight's banquet, Chloe replied,

"My apologies, sir. I will correct this immediately."

But to her surprise, Curtis did something entirely unexpected.

"Tsk."

Clicking his tongue, he reached up and unpinned a decorative badge from his own jacket. It was an exquisite ornament crafted from silver and a deep red gem—definitely not standard military issue.

"Wear this, at least. I cannot have my aide looking like a disgrace at the banquet."

Not only that, but he actually pinned the ornament onto Chloe's collar with his own hands. Chloe's eyes widened. Up close, she could see the crest of Grand Duke Berk delicately engraved inside the gemstone. It was clearly his personal property.

"Oh. My apologies, Brigadier General."

Isn't this incredibly expensive? Chloe stared down at it, utterly flustered. Tending to a subordinate's uniform himself? The great Brigadier General Berk? There was a specific reason for her shock. Brigadier General Berk was a notorious germaphobe. It was exceptionally rare for him to lay a hand on anyone else's clothing. Wait, does he actually cherish me? Or did he get shot in the head?

Unaware of Chloe's inner turmoil, Curtis clicked his tongue again.

"Like casting pearls before swine."

Nope, he definitely didn't get shot. With that single remark, any tiny shred of affection she had briefly tried to summon vanished instantly. Yet, even if it was a pearl on a pig, he apparently deemed it necessary to keep it there, as he didn't take the badge back.

While Curtis's butler rushed over to pin another ceremonial ornament onto Curtis's jacket, Chloe aimlessly clutched and released her collar, muttering hollowly to herself. Discharge. My only salvation is getting discharged.

Dear God, please let me retire from the military.

Regardless of her prayers, the carriage set off, carrying an off-duty Chloe and the boss she desperately wanted to punch.