Chapter 4
Chapter 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Betrayed General Betrays
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The source of the laughter was General Victor.
Even with his hands and feet bound, the Royal Guard rushed to grab him as he stood there perfectly fine without any assistance, roaring with laughter. Andrei just stared at him in a daze, forgetting to lower his raised arms.
...Did he do that for my sake?
He'd never laughed that loudly before, so maybe he deliberately amped up the volume to draw everyone's eyes to him.
The general laughed like that for quite a while, then...
"...He's finally lost his mind."
The moment he caught Andrei's mutter, the general stopped laughing.
His face, as he looked at Andrei, showed no trace of the mirth from moments before—it was like a completely different person.
"W-What the...?"
Andrei averted his gaze for a second, then, stung by his own fear, yanked hard on the rope to lock eyes with the general.
"What do you think you're...?"
"Hey, Andrei."
"...Urk."
Andrei, trying to muster some bravado and yell, couldn't finish his sentence under the weight of that low voice and the general's icy expression, frozen solid.
The general, showing just a hint of the charisma he'd displayed on the battlefield, smirked at the cowering Andrei, shrugged lightly, and shifted the mood.
"No need to be so scared. My mood's great, obviously."
"Scared? Me...?"
"Peace is finally here, after all. You're more used to peace than I am—what's got you so frightened?"
"You damn bastard...!"
Andrei fumed at the general, who ignored his words entirely and just kept saying whatever he wanted.
But I was more focused on what the general meant by "peace."
Just yesterday, arrows and stones were flying everywhere—how could peace have arrived?
What on earth had they talked about inside?
"Hah, whatever. A dead man anyway—bound to yap on."
Andrei's words poured fuel on my questions.
"We'll see."
"What?"
The general responded flatly, like he already knew everything, but his casual mention of possibly dying sent me flashing hand signals right away.
Clank! Clank!
The soldiers, poised with tense eyes, gripped their spears and began closing in slowly.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"We can't just let you arrest and kill our supreme commander in the dead of night during a war."
With the general's life on the line, I couldn't let them go.
Setting aside my personal gratitude for how he'd just protected me, without him, we'd all be back under incompetent commanders, dying pointlessly like before.
If we're all doomed to die anyway, shouldn't I at least repay some of the debt I owe him?
"This is the king's order— the king's! You're defying His Majesty's will...!"
"I've never received any such order! Neither have the others, right?"
"Yes!"
He pulled out the decree stamped with the king's seal, but now that we'd made up our minds and drawn our weapons, that scrap of paper meant nothing.
Dozens of our soldiers had gathered—properly armed. They stood no chance.
"Untie the ropes. Now."
"You sons of bitches...!"
Andrei spat curses, his eyes darting wildly.
His hand toyed with the hilt of the sword at his waist, but he knew resistance was futile—he didn't even grip it properly.
"Captain! W-What do we do?!"
The other Royal Guard members, terrified by the spears aimed at them, huddled around Andrei.
"You planning treason?! Drop your weapons now!"
"Treason?"
"Yes! Threatening me, bearer of the king's command!"
He seemed emboldened by invoking treason, but I was surprised to find the word rolling off my tongue felt... not bad at all.
The soldiers around us flinched for a moment but held firm—none lowered their spears or backed off, seeing I wasn't retreating.
Any soldier who's seen battle knows the truth.
Imperial swords and arrows are far closer threats than any punishment for rebellion.
Unless the ones giving orders change, we'll just be thrown back into the meat grinder.
Without General Victor, we'd die without leaving a mark.
"Not a bad idea."
"What?"
Better treason than dying like dogs.
I drew my sword, and Andrei's eyes widened.
"Y-You stop now, and I'll let it slide quietly!"
"What about the general?"
"..."
"Hah."
To the bitter end, Andrei refused to yield on the general, staying silent.
I raised my sword high.
Tension peaked—the slightest gesture from me could decide everything.
Hesitating over such a heavy choice...
"Enough."
The general, who'd only been watching, finally spoke.
At his word, I and everyone else lowered our weapons.
"Andrei, you were chattering away so busily—why go quiet now? Just say it."
The general said it lightly, like a joke to lighten the air.
Andrei, realizing he'd survived, wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
"...Fine. His Majesty..."
"I'll explain. Adjutant Anna."
"Yes."
"You goddamn bastards...!"
"No need to worry about the war. The Empire and Kingdom have agreed to a one-year truce."
"A truce?"
He explained the situation simply.
The reason for arresting the general was to hand him over to the Empire in exchange for the truce.
"...I see."
"Take good care of things while I'm gone."
Before I could fully grasp what he meant, the general started moving.
"Let's go."
"Hah, you're really insane... Hey, hey!"
Having already untied the ropes around his legs, he walked off steadily. Andrei and the Royal Guard, surrounded by him, quickly slipped away through the parting soldiers.
"General!"
"Please... live on as long as you can!"
I stared blankly at the general's retreating back, his final shout ringing out as he strode away without hesitation.
True to his word about feeling good, even on the road to death, his steps looked impossibly light.
How could he worry about us in a situation where he knew he was going to die?
Is that why he became such an incredible general?
"...What do we do now?"
Even after he left the camp, I stared in that direction for a long time before dismissing the troops and returning to my tent.
My head was spinning.
The general had asked me to temporarily take command of the forces, but I went into the commander's tent, snuffed out the lantern, and left.
If I thought of them as his belongings, I should gather his things, but I couldn't accept that he was going to die, so I touched nothing.
My mind was a mess.
Even lying in bed, exhaustion wouldn't come.
"One year..."
General Victor had said that if the war dragged on, the Kingdom—outmatched in scale—would be at a disadvantage.
Even if we won this war, we'd lose the next.
And without even him, could the Kingdom that kept losing before he became general resist the Empire in a year?
Plus, Andrei wouldn't honor his promise to let it slide quietly—our lives were in danger too.
A king who unilaterally arrests the supreme commander wouldn't hesitate to go after his adjutant and soldiers.
It could even lead to one of those mass purges that happened so often before Victor.
Maybe I shouldn't have let Andrei go—regret bubbled up, but he was long gone by now.
"I need to think this through."
Some preparations seem necessary.
The general's last order was for us to live on as long as possible—I have to follow that.
"Phew."
Only after the soldiers parted and I was fully out of the camp could I finally exhale in relief.
That was close.
I hadn't expected the adjutant to react so fiercely to a threat against me.
Pointing weapons at the Royal Guard captain bearing the king's orders.
Where did that prickly, distrustful attitude from before go?
It was a miracle everyone listened to me even as things nearly spiraled out of control.
I almost missed my last chance to escape the Kingdom.
I was shocked when she murmured that treason wasn't a bad idea.
"That damn bitch, just you wait..."
"Didn't you promise not to talk? She was pretty desperate."
"...A dead man soon, yapping too much."
I poked Andrei each time he muttered nonstop to check on him.
He snapped back irritably but couldn't do anything real to me.
For hot-headed Andrei to hold back this much, he must have separate orders.
And everyone kept assuming I was going to die, but I see it differently.
As long as the emperor wants me, I'm not dying anytime soon.
Satisfying her strict standards is another matter, but my head won't be rolling immediately.
The justification is perfect too.
It's not me betraying or fleeing—the Kingdom abandoned me first.
For sentimental types, I can even expect some sympathy—it's that good a situation.
"Heh."
"...Freak."
If I maintain the right attitude, the Empire will value me highly.
Just manage my image from now on, and I'll look like 'a loyal, capable general discarded by incompetent superiors.'
The Empire's emperor isn't the type to easily discard someone competent yet ambitionless, loyal but firm when needed.
For my dream of world conquest, I can endure a little discomfort.
"So, where are we headed?"
"Can't you just shut up and follow quietly for once?"
"Got it."
"Hah..."
That's why this arrest isn't an end—it's a beginning.