Early in the war.
Due to the overwhelming demand for commander-level talent, the imperial government judged that the front line could not be maintained solely with the officer training system that had been in place during peacetime.
Thus, the institution known as the Officer Training Center was established.
It was a type of special education institution that gathered candidates from nobility or quasi-noble backgrounds conscripted from all over the empire in one place and trained them into commanders who could be deployed in real combat in a short period of time.
Many nobles, who had to send one or more of their precious children to this unfamiliar institution, which resembled a 'school' for commoners, naturally protested against the idea.
But, in the end, when His Majesty the Emperor himself declared a mobilization decree, they had to hold back tears and send their 'least precious' children to the capital.
Even the nobles without children besides their heirs were not exempt, so some of the noble families who had the risk of losing their authority must have lost their minds.
But what could be done?
The coalition of barbarian people who had achieved great unification in the north dared to extend their sinister grasp to invade Imperial territory.
In the end, war was inevitable.
And I was one of the first graduates of that officer training center.
'Shit, shit, shit!'
“Ahem.”
The deputy commander, standing rigidly in front of me, turned her head and let out a small cough, her chest heaving.
Unlike usual, I couldn't bring myself to greet her in a happy manner.
Eventually, the deputy commander asked me with a worried look on her face.
“Knight Commander? By any chance, have I made a mistake…”
“Ah, Deputy Commander. No, you haven't done anything wrong."
I couldn't believe that in front of the deputy commander, who had come to report, I would openly show my emotions on my face.
It seemed I was really very disturbed as bad memories started to come to mind.
However, I couldn't continue like this.
With an extremely devastated heart, I opened my mouth.
“Call all the captains, including the centurion captains, no… the decurion captains. I have some important information to share.”
The deputy commander looked quite surprised when I suddenly gave the order to gather instead of receiving reports as usual, but thankfully, she immediately followed without asking this or that.
"Yes! Understood."
I moved straight to the conference room and sat down at the round table waiting for the captains to gather one by one.
If it weren't for the deputy commander, managing the unit would have been more than twice as difficult as it was now.
The centurion captains, who were supposed to be the backbone of the Black Lion Knight Order, only knew how to use swords a little. They were not good at doing their jobs.
Well, since they were all people who had risen to the rank of centurion captain, it was not that they themselves were incompetent. Rather, they had developed bad habits from working under my predecessor for a long time.
This is why the leader is important. Because all the people under them have no choice but to be affected.
'Haa, really... '
I usually tended to intentionally refrain from thinking about miscellaneous thoughts during work hours, but perhaps because I was disturbed, various useless thoughts were swirling around in my head.
As such, I kept my head down for a while and squeezed between my eyebrows.
— What, what is it? Fuck, what kind of bastard caused an accident?
— Shh, watch your words. The commander might be listening.
— Shit, I don't want to see the angry figure of that scary-looking nobleman again.
— I agree. Still, he's much better than the former commander.
— Don't you think it's rude to compare him to that pig?
I immediately corrected my posture when I heard the sounds of people running urgently one by one from afar, along with the sound of murmurs nearby.
Finally, everyone was gathered, with a decurion captain coming in after closing the door.
Sitting around the round table were myself and the deputy commander. And the centurion captains.
And as the decurion captains stood in formation according to their respective affiliations, assuming an at-ease posture, the preparations for the meeting were complete.
“Deputy Commander, is everyone gathered?”
“Yes! Everyone is gathered here, except for the personnel dispatched outside and the Decurion Captain Raoul who should be in the treatment center by now.”
Yes, everyone was gathered here except for the people who weren't in the unit right now and the guy with the hole in his shoulder.
"I'm sorry to call you here while you're all busy, but let me be blunt.”
As I opened my mouth, eyes of various colors, nearly a hundred in number, began to focus on me all at once.
There was a wide variety of faces, from puzzled expressions to nervous expressions to annoyed expressions.
After taking a quick glance at the faces of the captains, I finally declared publicly.
"The Princess will be visiting our Black Lion Knight Order soon.”
A chilling silence.
Only a suffocating silence dominated the entire space for a while.
“Hic!”
What broke the silence that lasted for a dozen seconds was the hiccupping sound of a female knight.
As a result, everyone's eyes were focused on just one person for a moment, and she, unable to withstand the pressure, looked as if she were crying.
“Hic… I-I apologize!”
I felt a very clear sense of déjà vu.
In the indescribably complicated atmosphere, I quietly closed my eyes for a moment.
'Yes, it was like this back then too.'
Right before graduating from the Officer Training Center. That is, when deployment into the battlefield was just around the corner.
The candidates were told that His Majesty the Emperor was visiting in person to boost the morale of the new officers.
We all fell into a panic upon receiving the news that a being who was a symbol of absolute authority and akin to a sage god was arriving before our eyes.
There were even people who said, half-jokingly, that it would be better to just go straight to the battlefield.
One candidate, the son of a wealthy merchant who had received the title of honorary nobleman, had hiccupped like that.
Is that friend still alive?
Although it was a face I missed if I missed it, there was no way to know his whereabouts.
As soon as everyone graduated, they scattered to fill the gap in personnel on the front line.
Lost in thought, I slowly opened my eyes, and the 1st centurion captain sitting beside me cautiously spoke to me.
“If it’s the princess… don't tell me you are talking about Princess Alicia? No, why on earth would she come here…”
I don't know, you bastard.
For a moment, I almost spat out the harsh expression that came to mind as soon as I heard the truly meaningless question, but I barely managed to exercise my faint remaining self-restraint and hold back.
Centurion captain. If even a high-ranking individual like the 1st centurion captain asked that out loud, there was no need to mention the embarrassment that other subordinates must have felt.
“Who on earth is coming? The imperial family? Why is the imperial family coming?!”
"This can't be real..."
“Why on earth would someone like the princess be interested in a mare knight order…”
All the knights, even the captains, were showing reactions that were almost like making a fuss, throwing away their dignity. But I didn't even think about reprimanding them.
There was no way the princess, who had grown up like a flower in a greenhouse, suddenly became interested in military affairs.
The reason she was bothering to come here was probably because of me.
The events that happened that night began to flash through my mind one by one.
The princess's naked body without even a single thread on. The way she trembled with fear when she saw my face. And even physical contact that I did not ask consent for.
‘What happened today. Never forget it.'
The things that would prick my conscience to ask why on earth you are doing this to me... were too many.
When I saw my subordinates collectively showing signs of panic, regardless of their positions, I tightly shut my eyes.
'I'm really sorry, everyone.'
My sin is great.
* * *
Alicia von Diana Solaris, princess of the empire.
Unlike other members of the imperial family, who adhered to mysticism as much as possible to maintain the dignity of the imperial family, she was unusually active in external affairs.
Alicia did not hesitate to approach even the lowest of the low and perform generous good deeds, and in her spare time, she would visit the church and offer her own prayers.
Her benevolent nature and sincerity were already too well known.
Therefore, when she said she would visit the Black Lion Knight Order, one of the knight orders protecting the empire, for the purpose of consoling them, no one doubted the purpose of her visit.
In the first place, it was not unusual for the imperial family and other high-ranking officials to inspect military units or knight orders from time to time.
However, since Alicia had never shown any interest in the military affairs of the empire, some people suspected that she might have begun to take an interest in the succession race.
But such impure opinions soon disappeared because the reputation she had built up as a princess was really solid.
Of course, Princess Alicia herself had completely different thoughts.
"Your Highness the Princess. The carriage and escort for the visit to the Black Lion Knight Order are ready."
“Alright. I have some things to prepare, so could you please tell them to wait a moment?”
“Yes, Your Highness the Princess.”
After sending all the maids outside, Alicia looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror and inspected her clothes one more time.
A pure white dress reminiscent of bridal attire and a large navy blue ribbon that further highlights her mysterious silver hair. Even a necklace made of pure gold with a large sapphire embedded in the center.
It was truly a dazzlingly beautiful appearance.
However, her expression was just pouty. Was there something she was dissatisfied with?
“Hmph! That man, after doing such a shameless thing that night, how could he not even bother to contact me once?"
Alicia began to talk to herself in the mirror.
Alicia was now telling herself a secret that she could not reveal even to the maids of the detached palace, who had been assisting her since she was a baby.
“Since you dared to shake my heart like this, of course, you will have to take responsibility."
The hobby she enjoyed periodically to relieve the stress accumulated from acting the ideal princess in front of others was no longer enjoyable.
Also, the memory of that night, now a week later, still surfaced vividly to this very moment and tormented Alicia constantly.
It was all that man's fault.
“He's even making me go visit him myself. As expected, I can’t just let it go."
— Rustle
Muttering a few meaningful words, Alicia suddenly began to remove all the clothes covering her lower body.
Shoes, stockings, garter belt, and…
"Haa…"
Even the piece of pure white fabric that should cover the most secret parts.
“Wolfgang von Schwarz. You must be prepared.”
— Rustle, rustle…
Alicia let out a warning in a low voice to a man who was not presently here and then put on all the clothes she had taken off on the carpet herself again.
Just one thing. Except for the most important thing.
“Sorry, I made you wait a little long, didn’t I?”
“Please don’t say things like that. We are always ready to assist the noble lady.”
“Huhu, thank you. Well, shall we leave then?”
“Yes, Your Highness the Princess.”
After Alicia left.
Under the gorgeous full-length mirror in the princess's bedroom.
Only the pure white underwear, which had lost its owner, was lying there alone and forlorn.
Current Paid Chapter: Chapter 12 - Emergency Request for Support
If you find something really out place, let me know in the comments.
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