I Can't Lose You, My Love!
Early morning, the rebel camp was unusually bustling.
Jane, serving as temporary commander of the militia, was busy preparing something with the others.
“Everyone, please hold on. We must finish as much as possible before tonight.”
“Understood.”
They were felling trees nearby and working with surprising efficiency.
Though their combat strength was low, in crafting with their hands they appeared more professional than even elite warriors.
“By the way, Lady Jane. I heard the battle is right upon us, but what exactly are we making all these small barricades for?”
“They seem insufficient to block the enemies, and the shape is a bit off… Is this acceptable?”
“Yes, it’s sufficient. Please make them carefully like this.”
Despite her caution, the militia followed Jane’s confident words and continued their work.
Looking at the small barricades they were building, a deeper expectation and excitement began to rise in Jane’s heart whenever the people responded to her speech.
‘Amazing… How on earth did Sir Cromwell come up with such thoughts?’
Clara had suddenly appeared before him.
Neto, the general, felt surprise and asked her, “Clara, how did you end up here…?”
Clara answered in a perfectly calm voice, “I had a private meeting with General Burgoyne. I did it to somehow save you, General.”
With that, she sat down.
Seeing her, Neto suppressed his surprise and sat as well.
“Wait… Even if you had a private meeting, how could that arrogant man have allowed this situation…? What exactly did you talk about?”
“I said, ‘From the beginning, I loved you, General Neto, and Cromwell only forced me into marriage by using his position and fame. To someone who doesn’t know the situation, your actions seem wrong, but in reality, what we did was simply to seize true love.’”
Clara was shifting all the blame onto Cromwell.
Of course, her claim was far removed from reality.
Originally, Clara had been the one to approach Cromwell first, and there had been no blackmail or coercion between them.
Furthermore, the reason she betrayed Cromwell and chose Neto was because she had concluded that Cromwell, with his lowly origins, would never advance further.
So, in this place where Cromwell wasn’t present, Clara was trying to flip all the blame back onto him.
Neto looked at her with a somewhat surprised expression and asked, “Did Burgoyne actually believe that story? No matter how hard it was, it shouldn’t have been easy to deceive him with such flimsy words.”
“Indeed… Moreover, regardless of my own case, the fact that General framed Cromwell is true, so I was kept in confinement. But he allowed me to come here to visit you, even if only limitedly.”
“Haa… I see… So that’s it…”
Only this had changed; nothing else had been altered.
Yet Neto felt disappointment, but at the same time he realized there was a small chance for revival.
‘Still, it’s fortunate… Even if it’s small, there’s a gap like this.’
Better to observe the surroundings and exert some influence than to remain completely isolated from the outside world.
If done well, he might seize the opportunity to overcome this crisis.
So, after deciding that, he managed to shake off his desperate feelings a little and began to calmly organize the current situation together with Clara.
“Even if Burgoyne is meticulous, he couldn’t have noticed our relationship. But if he knew everything… it must mean there’s a spy among us.”
“I think so too. Otherwise, we couldn’t have arrived here and confined him. Probably one of the people who conspired with us to oust Cromwell.”
The three possible betrayers, excluding minor figures, were William, Richard, and Olivier.
William, who had risen to general after serving as Cromwell’s vice-commander, and Richard, who had allied with him for higher promotion.
And Olivier, who had long served as Cromwell’s adjutant but actively participated in ousting him out of greed for the knight commander position.
All three were traitors who had sold their superior or benefactor for their own gain, so there was more than enough reason to betray again at this point right after defeat.
“Personally, I suspect William. As you know, he suffered the biggest blow by losing the most troops in the last war. Maybe he made this to cover his mistake.”
“William… There is some possibility. But… I find it hard to believe that such a simple guy would do this. Given his personality, if he had complaints, he would have shown them earlier.”
“Then… Who do you think, General Neto?”
Clara asked calmly.
Neto cautiously shared his thoughts, “In this situation, we should choose the one who was least likely to betray from the start. The one closest to Cromwell.”
“…No way…”
Clara immediately named the name that came to mind, “…Olivier…?”
“Right now, it’s hard to think of anyone else. Richard is suspicious, but the possibility of stabbing in the back is higher with Olivier.”
“Hmm… Indeed…”
“So, we should keep an eye on her movements. Right now, there’s nothing we can do, but when the situation changes, the first one to interfere will be her.”
“Yes, understood, General. Then, I’ll report her situation periodically. And… Please hold on. I can’t lose the one I love like this.”
“Yes, thank you, Clara.”
Clara spoke with sincerity to Neto’s words.
Seeing her unchanged even in this situation, Neto felt a small sense of relief inside.
‘It’s fortunate… I was worried that this woman might betray me in the current situation, but she still thinks of me like this.’
A woman who had abandoned her fiancé who had thrown herself at her for advancement.
So, Neto had worried she might betray him, but from the situation, it didn’t seem so.
If she wanted to abandon him, she wouldn’t have come here to meet him.
Feeling a small joy that someone was still by his side despite difficulties, Neto began thinking hard to resolve this crisis.
After the conversation with Neto ended and the time became pitch black, Clara left the tent.
Immediately after,
A strong sense of irritation, which hadn’t been visible in the tent, appeared on her face.
‘Damn it! How did things turn out so troublesome? I thought I had a good lifeline, but it turned out to be such rotten rope…’
Neto was a general, famous in the empire, but for Clara, he was someone who only had fame but no substance, so she could easily discard Cromwell.
But now, Neto was just a bothersome parasite that she needed to get rid of as soon as possible.
Already a criminal waiting for execution, having lost all status.
Sticking to him would do no good, only become a hindrance to her bright future.
But even so,
Clara couldn’t easily leave Neto.
She had done too many things with him.
Not just Cromwell, but embezzlement, corruption, and other dirty deeds.
If discovered, she would be punished with him.
Even if not killed, her dreams of advancement would be shattered.
So, to share the crime and prevent him from talking about her, she needed to appease him as much as possible.
To prevent him from committing suicide and dragging her down with him.
‘To do that, I have no choice but to make him believe until the end. Make him think I’m his last hope to save him… Then, he will do his best to protect me until the last moment and die.’
Also, using his corpse as a stepping stone to somehow resolve the worsening situation.
So, while cursing her own situation that got her into this mess, Clara headed back to her tent with a small expectation that there might be a reversal in the upcoming battle.
Then,
“…?! What… What is that…”
Suddenly, something appeared in her eyes.
Even in pitch black darkness, clearly…
No, even clearer because of the darkness.
Shocked, Clara immediately started moving as fast as possible to where her superior Olivier was, to report the situation.