102. Night training
Arriving at the barracks, Daphne looked around. There were large, long iron bars supporting the floor, and a cloth covering it.
This place, made of cloth, was much smaller than the room Daphne had been staying in, but it was surprisingly cozy. Perhaps it was because it didn’t have the ornate decorations that decorated the palace. Daphne liked this simplicity.
A bed was placed in one corner of the barracks, and a desk was placed on the opposite side. Daphne stroked the desk as she looked at the simple place where she would stay for a while. There were an incredible number of people here. She heard that receiving a private barracks was a very special treatment.
Daphne didn't really know what war was. She only knew it as a large-scale fight where people fight each other for something. So she didn't know how dangerous the situation was.
She sat down on the bed. It was a little hard, unlike the soft and fluffy beds in the palace. But it was also something. Daphne smiled as she sat down.
“Why did you insist on coming here?”
Sarah grumbled as she entered the barracks. Asherad had gone to the situation room to hear the report.
“It’s so dangerous here. I’ve even come to a battlefield because of you.”
Daphne blushed at the sarcasm. She had something to say, too. She hadn't expected Sarah to follow suit.
“If you’re hungry, tell me. I’ll bring you something to eat.”
"Yes...."
“If you feel like you’re going to vomit, tell me.”
"Yes."
Daphne has been feeling unwell lately and has been vomiting frequently, and Sarah has been taking care of her. Daphne looked at Sarah, flinching. Sarah still disliked Daphne, and her eyes were cold. But why does she take care of her more than the other maids, even though she hates her?
Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this.
As Emperor Peneus came to the front, the Kingdom of Thalassa's army retreated. They had occupied the neighboring County of Enesil, so supplies would not be interrupted for the time being. Therefore, they had to be driven away quickly. Asherad was talking with the Margrave of Enesil about the siege.
The Thalassa Kingdom's army had exhausted all of its gunpowder. All that remained was the attack. The empire had a vast amount of firearms. With the firearms provided by Count Locania, the siege could be won easily.
“Your Majesty, don’t worry. I will do my best to punish those fools for Your Majesty.”
Count Locania spoke with a confident expression. He seemed ready to lead his soldiers and storm the camp at any moment.
“Today, we will only be exploring each other. Your Majesty, please review the situation and strategy of your soldiers. We will kill the scouts as soon as we find them.”
Asherad nodded at Count Enesil's words. Thalassa's army knew Asherad was coming, but they didn't know exactly what his power was. So they would be searching for information, so there would be no immediate conflict.
Asherad stood up and went out of the barracks, thinking of Daphne alone in the barracks. He was worried that something might happen to Daphne in a place with so many men, even though it was unlikely to happen.
He always wanted to give her a nice place to live, not the cramped room that those rats were running around in, but this place was so shabby that it made his promise seem meaningless.
Besides, Daphne has a child. He had to check her circumstances. Asherad quickly walked to the barracks. Daphne's barracks were tightly guarded by knights. Asherad nodded to them, and the knights bowed politely. He went inside.
"Daphne."
At the call, Daphne, who was sitting at her desk, turned around and smiled brightly. Seeing that happy face, Askeraad couldn't help but smile too.
“What were you doing?”
“I was just drawing a picture.”
There was no grand canvas, but she was drawing on paper with a pencil. Asherad approached the desk where Daphne was sitting. The drawing was hidden by Daphne's hair. Asherad looked at Daphne's bowed neck. It would be uncomfortable to bow her head like that.
“Should I bring an easel?”
“No, it’s okay! It’s not like I’m painting with watercolors.”
Daphne snickered and pointed to the paper.
“I drew Asherad.”
Asherad shifted his gaze. He had never properly looked at Daphne’s paintings. He didn’t want her to waste time on them. However, when he saw the drawing on the paper, Asherad was speechless for a moment.
A young Asherad was drawn. Slightly disheveled, curly hair, dark hair like charcoal. Upturned mouth corners, high nose shading, and sparkling eyes. The boy in the picture was definitely beautiful. Daphne’s drawing skills were quite good.
Asherad looked at Daphne as he saw the young boy smiling at him.
"It's me?"
“Yes. When I first saw you, Asherad.”
She just doesn't know why that picture is so poignant. She was able to draw it because that face was engraved in her mind. Young Daphne remembered his face so clearly.
“Do you still remember that?”
His voice was locked. Daphne smiled brightly and nodded.
“When I was lost, you saved me.”
“...”
“I haven’t forgotten a single day since then.”
Did Daphne know what those words meant? Those words touched his heart even more than the words, “I love you.” Asherad couldn’t say anything in front of Daphne.
At that time, he went to see Daphne.
He approached her on purpose to see the face of that great girl who was loved by her father and to find out what kind of person she was.
He ridiculed her foolishness for losing her way and laughed at her every shortcoming. But Daphne was different. To Daphne, who first came to the palace, Asherad was a grateful and kind person.
Their perceptions of each other were so different.
These two, who were deceivers from the first meeting, had already parted ways.
“What did Asherad like when you first saw me?”
“...”
“I was a little stupid, wasn’t I? I got lost on the way.”
As he looked at Daphne, who was smiling, Asherad closed his eyes for a moment. It was funny how their relationship had gone wrong from the very first time they met.
“You were pretty. You were just cute.”
So Asherad forcibly pulled the intertwined lines together and merged them into one. They were not intertwined. That kind of past is gone. He made it so.
Daphne smiled brightly. Asherad avoided her eyes. It was pitiful to see her foolish naivety in thinking that they agreed. She had been deceived from the beginning, and he was still deceiving Daphne.
“Let’s sleep together tonight.”
Daphne nodded at those words. Asherad kissed Daphne on the forehead and went out of the barracks again. Daphne, who had been staring outside the barracks, lowered her eyes and looked at the stuffed boy in the painting.
“You said I was pretty and cute?”
Daphne raised the corners of her mouth as she looked at the picture.
"Liar."
Her voice was so cold that it didn't seem like it belonged to a child.
"Daphne!"
Daphne woke up to Asherad's voice. She was tired from the forced march and quickly fell asleep in the somewhat uncomfortable barracks. As Asherad shook her body, Daphne came to her senses. When she woke up, she heard some strange sounds. People were screaming, and metal was clashing.
“What is this...?”
“It’s a night raid.”
Asherad had already dressed. The knights following him were already inside the barracks. Asherad put the hood on Daphne and placed it on her head. A look of conflict appeared on his face.
“Daphne, go inside with the knights now, we’ll be there in a minute.”
Daphne nodded. The knights led Daphne, who was still in her nightgown. Daphne was still half-asleep, and her mind was hazy.
What happened?
Daphne saw Asherad hurriedly mount his horse with the knights. It was just dawn. The soldiers were relaxed when the enemy attacked. What should they do now? As she thought about it, a voice was heard from behind her.
“Come here quickly. We need to get on a horse.”
It was when the knights were taking Daphne to the stable.
“Oh, Sarah! I have to take Sister Sarah with me!”
The knights frowned, but Daphne was undaunted. She went into her own barracks right next door. There, Sarah was already awake.
"Daphne!"
“Sister, run away quickly!”
Daphne took Sarah's hand. Without even noticing Sarah's wide eyes, Daphne ran towards the horses with the knights. That was it.
"For a moment!"
They paused at the voice. But soon the tense knights felt relieved. Count Locania was standing there.
“I will take Miss Daphne with me.”
“It’s okay, I will personally follow His Majesty’s orders.”
“I, too, have received His Majesty’s orders.”
The knights looked at each other. An artificial smile appeared on their questioning faces.
“Count, then, how about we all go together?”
“Aren’t you the ones who should be guarding His Majesty? Each and every one of you is lacking.”
At Count Locania's words, one of the knights raised the corners of his mouth and said.
“Then why are you here instead of staying with His Majesty, Count?”
In an instant, the relaxed atmosphere was filled with tension. The knights were suspicious of Count Locania. In response to this blatant attitude, Count Locania spoke with a calm expression.
“What are you talking about? It’s not that strange that I’m here.”
“He Majesty went out as soon as he got up. He would not have had to face the Count.”
Count Locania sighed.
“I told you that kid is no pushover. Even in this urgent situation, I can’t believe I’m using guys who still work properly...”
He was clearly referring to the Emperor. Count Locania was the obvious enemy. The knights raised their swords, leaving Daphne and Sarah behind. Even in a situation where there were many against one, Count Locania’s face did not change.
“They are people who are too precious to die.”
As he clicked his tongue, the knights' screams were suddenly heard. Those standing behind had cut the knights' throats. The knights who looked back were shocked. They were the knights that Count Locania had brought. Sarah and Daphne were speechless, their swords pointed at their throats.
“Ahhhh!”
The swords were plunged into the hearts of the survivors. Blood spurted out. The dying knights looked at the Count with blank eyes.
The Count of Locania was a traitor.
Could it be that he was also the one who led this surprise attack? I had to tell His Majesty the Emperor about this. The person in the very center was a traitor!
But the knights could not say anything, for they were already dead. They squirmed a few times and finally fell into Ceres' arms.
“Gyaaaah!”
Daphne and Sarah screamed as the swords at their necks were withdrawn. As the knights fell to the ground, Count Locania spoke.
“Stop screaming and let’s go quickly.”
The Count approached Daphne, who was shedding tears and did not know what to do.
“They said you were nine years old, but you still haven’t come to your senses?”
There was no other way; he had no choice but to knock her unconscious. Count Locania stepped on the corpses of the knights and approached her. Daphne was covering her head with her head bowed.
His original plan was to have Daphne run away 'alone' to a designated location. He had to choose one knight...
“What should I do?”
At that moment, Daphne's voice, which had been trembling and swallowing her tears, became calm. Her calm gaze, different from before, turned to the Count. Count Locania burst into laughter.
Daphne came to her senses.
Arriving at the barracks, Daphne looked around. There were large, long iron bars supporting the floor, and a cloth covering it.
This place, made of cloth, was much smaller than the room Daphne had been staying in, but it was surprisingly cozy. Perhaps it was because it didn’t have the ornate decorations that decorated the palace. Daphne liked this simplicity.
A bed was placed in one corner of the barracks, and a desk was placed on the opposite side. Daphne stroked the desk as she looked at the simple place where she would stay for a while. There were an incredible number of people here. She heard that receiving a private barracks was a very special treatment.
Daphne didn't really know what war was. She only knew it as a large-scale fight where people fight each other for something. So she didn't know how dangerous the situation was.
She sat down on the bed. It was a little hard, unlike the soft and fluffy beds in the palace. But it was also something. Daphne smiled as she sat down.
“Why did you insist on coming here?”
Sarah grumbled as she entered the barracks. Asherad had gone to the situation room to hear the report.
“It’s so dangerous here. I’ve even come to a battlefield because of you.”
Daphne blushed at the sarcasm. She had something to say, too. She hadn't expected Sarah to follow suit.
“If you’re hungry, tell me. I’ll bring you something to eat.”
"Yes...."
“If you feel like you’re going to vomit, tell me.”
"Yes."
Daphne has been feeling unwell lately and has been vomiting frequently, and Sarah has been taking care of her. Daphne looked at Sarah, flinching. Sarah still disliked Daphne, and her eyes were cold. But why does she take care of her more than the other maids, even though she hates her?
Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this.
***
As Emperor Peneus came to the front, the Kingdom of Thalassa's army retreated. They had occupied the neighboring County of Enesil, so supplies would not be interrupted for the time being. Therefore, they had to be driven away quickly. Asherad was talking with the Margrave of Enesil about the siege.
The Thalassa Kingdom's army had exhausted all of its gunpowder. All that remained was the attack. The empire had a vast amount of firearms. With the firearms provided by Count Locania, the siege could be won easily.
“Your Majesty, don’t worry. I will do my best to punish those fools for Your Majesty.”
Count Locania spoke with a confident expression. He seemed ready to lead his soldiers and storm the camp at any moment.
“Today, we will only be exploring each other. Your Majesty, please review the situation and strategy of your soldiers. We will kill the scouts as soon as we find them.”
Asherad nodded at Count Enesil's words. Thalassa's army knew Asherad was coming, but they didn't know exactly what his power was. So they would be searching for information, so there would be no immediate conflict.
Asherad stood up and went out of the barracks, thinking of Daphne alone in the barracks. He was worried that something might happen to Daphne in a place with so many men, even though it was unlikely to happen.
He always wanted to give her a nice place to live, not the cramped room that those rats were running around in, but this place was so shabby that it made his promise seem meaningless.
Besides, Daphne has a child. He had to check her circumstances. Asherad quickly walked to the barracks. Daphne's barracks were tightly guarded by knights. Asherad nodded to them, and the knights bowed politely. He went inside.
"Daphne."
At the call, Daphne, who was sitting at her desk, turned around and smiled brightly. Seeing that happy face, Askeraad couldn't help but smile too.
“What were you doing?”
“I was just drawing a picture.”
There was no grand canvas, but she was drawing on paper with a pencil. Asherad approached the desk where Daphne was sitting. The drawing was hidden by Daphne's hair. Asherad looked at Daphne's bowed neck. It would be uncomfortable to bow her head like that.
“Should I bring an easel?”
“No, it’s okay! It’s not like I’m painting with watercolors.”
Daphne snickered and pointed to the paper.
“I drew Asherad.”
Asherad shifted his gaze. He had never properly looked at Daphne’s paintings. He didn’t want her to waste time on them. However, when he saw the drawing on the paper, Asherad was speechless for a moment.
A young Asherad was drawn. Slightly disheveled, curly hair, dark hair like charcoal. Upturned mouth corners, high nose shading, and sparkling eyes. The boy in the picture was definitely beautiful. Daphne’s drawing skills were quite good.
Asherad looked at Daphne as he saw the young boy smiling at him.
"It's me?"
“Yes. When I first saw you, Asherad.”
She just doesn't know why that picture is so poignant. She was able to draw it because that face was engraved in her mind. Young Daphne remembered his face so clearly.
“Do you still remember that?”
His voice was locked. Daphne smiled brightly and nodded.
“When I was lost, you saved me.”
“...”
“I haven’t forgotten a single day since then.”
Did Daphne know what those words meant? Those words touched his heart even more than the words, “I love you.” Asherad couldn’t say anything in front of Daphne.
At that time, he went to see Daphne.
He approached her on purpose to see the face of that great girl who was loved by her father and to find out what kind of person she was.
He ridiculed her foolishness for losing her way and laughed at her every shortcoming. But Daphne was different. To Daphne, who first came to the palace, Asherad was a grateful and kind person.
Their perceptions of each other were so different.
These two, who were deceivers from the first meeting, had already parted ways.
“What did Asherad like when you first saw me?”
“...”
“I was a little stupid, wasn’t I? I got lost on the way.”
As he looked at Daphne, who was smiling, Asherad closed his eyes for a moment. It was funny how their relationship had gone wrong from the very first time they met.
“You were pretty. You were just cute.”
So Asherad forcibly pulled the intertwined lines together and merged them into one. They were not intertwined. That kind of past is gone. He made it so.
Daphne smiled brightly. Asherad avoided her eyes. It was pitiful to see her foolish naivety in thinking that they agreed. She had been deceived from the beginning, and he was still deceiving Daphne.
“Let’s sleep together tonight.”
Daphne nodded at those words. Asherad kissed Daphne on the forehead and went out of the barracks again. Daphne, who had been staring outside the barracks, lowered her eyes and looked at the stuffed boy in the painting.
“You said I was pretty and cute?”
Daphne raised the corners of her mouth as she looked at the picture.
"Liar."
Her voice was so cold that it didn't seem like it belonged to a child.
***
"Daphne!"
Daphne woke up to Asherad's voice. She was tired from the forced march and quickly fell asleep in the somewhat uncomfortable barracks. As Asherad shook her body, Daphne came to her senses. When she woke up, she heard some strange sounds. People were screaming, and metal was clashing.
“What is this...?”
“It’s a night raid.”
Asherad had already dressed. The knights following him were already inside the barracks. Asherad put the hood on Daphne and placed it on her head. A look of conflict appeared on his face.
“Daphne, go inside with the knights now, we’ll be there in a minute.”
Daphne nodded. The knights led Daphne, who was still in her nightgown. Daphne was still half-asleep, and her mind was hazy.
What happened?
Daphne saw Asherad hurriedly mount his horse with the knights. It was just dawn. The soldiers were relaxed when the enemy attacked. What should they do now? As she thought about it, a voice was heard from behind her.
“Come here quickly. We need to get on a horse.”
It was when the knights were taking Daphne to the stable.
“Oh, Sarah! I have to take Sister Sarah with me!”
The knights frowned, but Daphne was undaunted. She went into her own barracks right next door. There, Sarah was already awake.
"Daphne!"
“Sister, run away quickly!”
Daphne took Sarah's hand. Without even noticing Sarah's wide eyes, Daphne ran towards the horses with the knights. That was it.
"For a moment!"
They paused at the voice. But soon the tense knights felt relieved. Count Locania was standing there.
“I will take Miss Daphne with me.”
“It’s okay, I will personally follow His Majesty’s orders.”
“I, too, have received His Majesty’s orders.”
The knights looked at each other. An artificial smile appeared on their questioning faces.
“Count, then, how about we all go together?”
“Aren’t you the ones who should be guarding His Majesty? Each and every one of you is lacking.”
At Count Locania's words, one of the knights raised the corners of his mouth and said.
“Then why are you here instead of staying with His Majesty, Count?”
In an instant, the relaxed atmosphere was filled with tension. The knights were suspicious of Count Locania. In response to this blatant attitude, Count Locania spoke with a calm expression.
“What are you talking about? It’s not that strange that I’m here.”
“He Majesty went out as soon as he got up. He would not have had to face the Count.”
Count Locania sighed.
“I told you that kid is no pushover. Even in this urgent situation, I can’t believe I’m using guys who still work properly...”
He was clearly referring to the Emperor. Count Locania was the obvious enemy. The knights raised their swords, leaving Daphne and Sarah behind. Even in a situation where there were many against one, Count Locania’s face did not change.
“They are people who are too precious to die.”
As he clicked his tongue, the knights' screams were suddenly heard. Those standing behind had cut the knights' throats. The knights who looked back were shocked. They were the knights that Count Locania had brought. Sarah and Daphne were speechless, their swords pointed at their throats.
“Ahhhh!”
The swords were plunged into the hearts of the survivors. Blood spurted out. The dying knights looked at the Count with blank eyes.
The Count of Locania was a traitor.
Could it be that he was also the one who led this surprise attack? I had to tell His Majesty the Emperor about this. The person in the very center was a traitor!
But the knights could not say anything, for they were already dead. They squirmed a few times and finally fell into Ceres' arms.
“Gyaaaah!”
Daphne and Sarah screamed as the swords at their necks were withdrawn. As the knights fell to the ground, Count Locania spoke.
“Stop screaming and let’s go quickly.”
The Count approached Daphne, who was shedding tears and did not know what to do.
“They said you were nine years old, but you still haven’t come to your senses?”
There was no other way; he had no choice but to knock her unconscious. Count Locania stepped on the corpses of the knights and approached her. Daphne was covering her head with her head bowed.
His original plan was to have Daphne run away 'alone' to a designated location. He had to choose one knight...
“What should I do?”
At that moment, Daphne's voice, which had been trembling and swallowing her tears, became calm. Her calm gaze, different from before, turned to the Count. Count Locania burst into laughter.
Daphne came to her senses.
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