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"What the hell are you talking about? She was definitely in the evacuation line!"
Annette Rosenberg was not on the final list. This simple report visibly aggravated Heiner's emotions.
The commander-in-chief was a man who remained unfazed even when he heard news of defeat. He simply prepared anew and planned the next plan.
The aide, unknowingly flustered by the unprecedentedly intense reaction from his superior, responded.
“That, that’s why, I also looked into it... It seems like she got left out of the evacuation procession.”
“...Left out? Where to?”
"That... I heard there was an operation to rescue stragglers and civilians from the occupied area during the evacuation. It looks like she joined that operation. But..."
The aide hesitated for a moment. Just being not on the list was enough to trigger such a reaction, so relaying this...
But it was something he couldn't ignore. The aide moistened his dry lips and continued speaking.
“But the operation failed, contact was lost, and the enemy was hastily dealt with before they left─.”
Thud!
The aide's shoulders shook at the loud noise. The commander-in-chief had jumped to his feet, causing his chair to tip over.
“The enemy...”
The commander-in-chief looked as if he'd just heard news of Padania's downfall. No, even if he had, it seemed less shocking than he was.
“What are the enemy doing...?”
His voice was shaking terribly.
The military vehicle carrying the commander-in-chief rattled through the city, moving at a rapid pace as if pursuing the enemy.
According to survivor testimony, the Frances army locked the prisoners in a church and attempted to burn them together. Fortunately, the door suddenly opened, and they managed to escape, but... it appears there were wounded inside.
The buttons, pressed all the way to his neck, felt unbearably suffocating. He felt as if his breathing was being suffocated. He tried to undo the buttons, but his fingers failed.
"Many people were unable to move due to smoke inhalation and injuries, so Ms. Rosenberg helped them escape until the very end. However, the building collapsed midway through... and they were unable to escape..."
Heiner tried repeatedly with trembling hands to unbutton his shirt, but failed. He clutched his chest and neck, coughing softly.
"It rained lightly, and the survivors tried to put out the fire, so they were able to extinguish it. However, due to the circumstances, rescue efforts were not possible. They're trying now, but... It's already been three days..."
The coughing that continued for several times soon turned into a moan that sounded like a sob.
“I think we should assume she is dead...”
Heiner gasped and let out a muffled groan. His head was filled with a humming noise. He curled up tightly, as if he were experiencing unbearable cold.
It felt like it was all his fault that things had turned out this way.
No, it was all his fault.
Not only had he ruined her life, but he had also ordered her to move to the central front. All claims about not knowing the front would be pushed back were meaningless.
He felt a pain like a knife piercing his chest. If he relaxed even a little, he felt like he would burst into tears and vomit blood.
"Please..."
Heiner groped, clasping his hands together and placing them on his forehead. He prayed fervently to a god he had never believed in.
“Please get out of me...”
Don't take her away from me.
Please don't take everything away from me.
Please leave that one woman for me.
You have taken everything from me so far... Please, just that one woman...
Disjointed prayers poured out. Everything around him was crumbling with each passing moment. Heiner prayed and prayed, feeling his entire body being torn apart.
After what felt like an eternity, the vehicle came to a halt. Heiner immediately got out. The sight of the city in complete ruins came into view.
The church where the rescue operation was carried out was located in an area that had already been recaptured. The infantry that arrived later had already largely eliminated any remaining forces.
But he still couldn't be 100% sure of her safety. He never knew where snipers might be hiding.
The passenger who hurriedly got out of the driver's seat said with an embarrassed look.
“Your Excellency, we haven’t been able to pinpoint her exact location yet, so it’s dangerous. It would be best to get in the car first...”
Heiner stared blankly at his subordinate's face for a moment, then turned his head. Then, like a half-mad man, he began to walk aimlessly.
He searched the rubble for the shape of a church.
However, as if to testify to the fierce fighting, most of the buildings were in terrible ruins. It was impossible to even tell what they had originally been.
Heiner stumbled through the rubble, tracing the traces of the battlefield.
Corpses, still uncollected, lay strewn here and there. The surfaces of their uniforms had turned black or white.
The scene, bleached white by countless shells, resembled skeletons. He suddenly stopped and gazed into the distance. From where he stood to the horizon, everything was a pile of ash.
Every time the wind blew from afar, ash flew.
Heiner groaned softly, almost crying and laughing. The ruins he had walked through his entire life were, in the end, ruins again.
Why is life like this?
Why is every path I walk like this?
Why did I drag that woman here, too?
Annette was a woman who didn't belong in this terrible place. She had always lived in a beautiful world filled with fragrant flowers and sparkling jewels.
'No...'
Was the world that woman lived in really all that beautiful?
Was that really the case?
Even in the lowest depths of life, wasn't she still noble and dazzling?
Even when she fell to the ground, even when she was abandoned by everyone, even when she thought of death, even when she was in a worn-out nurse's uniform, crushed by fatigue, in the middle of a battlefield filled with blood and groans.
Wasn't she still noble and dazzling?
It felt like he'd been hit in the back of the head. Heiner stared blankly at the wreckage, then slowly lowered his head.
It was not the world she lived in that made her noble and beautiful.
Just because she is there, because she exists─.
A surge of heat welled up in his chest. It was something utterly primitive and uncivilized. Heiner covered his face with trembling hands.
Annette.
Annette.
Annette.
When you smile, it seems like flowers bloom all over the world...
Suddenly, a yellow butterfly flew past him. Heiner looked up and saw it. The bright yellow butterfly didn't match the ruins.
A butterfly, hovering in one spot for a moment, fluttered behind him. A subordinate was running towards him from the end of that path.
"Your Excellency!"
Heiner stared blankly at the scene, as if he'd lost his mind. Everything felt like a vague illusion.
"...Go..."
The subordinate's mouth moved, but it was inaudible, as if the world had been silenced.
“Survivor... Acquired...”
Heiner blinked a few times, seeming to come to his senses a little.
“Location found!”
At that moment, light returned to his once dark gray eyes. His eyes slowly widened. Heiner took a step forward.
One step, two steps, the staggering steps continued. Slowly, the pace quickened. A thin layer of dust, a mixture of dirt and ash, rose from beneath his black combat boots.
He started running through the ruins.
The surrounding scenery passed quickly. Everything felt so still, as if it had stopped. In a world where only the sound of his own breathing was clear, he ran and ran.
At the edge of his vision, he saw a crowd of soldiers and civilians. The soldiers hurried toward him and saluted him.
“Hello, Commander-in-Chief!”
“Rescue, rescue work...?”
Heiner asked urgently, breathing heavily. The soldier, sensing the commander's uneasy expression, answered with some caution.
"We've just begun. We only finished clearing out the remaining troops this morning..."
"According to the survivors' testimonies, it must have been inside the church. They said they didn't see it from the entrance."
Heiner turned away without even listening to the soldier's words. He ran to the back of the collapsed building and began digging through the rubble with his bare hands.
He didn't even notice the chafing and bruising on his palms. He was so absorbed in his work that he felt completely numb.
The soldiers who saw this were taken aback and hesitated. They didn't even dare to intervene. The commander-in-chief looked as if he had lost his mind.
Soon, rescue operations began in earnest. Not only the deployed soldiers, but also nearby civilians who heard the news offered their help, however small.
Three bodies were discovered during the work. Heiner continued his work, clinging to a fading hope.
Even though his head was screaming that it was useless, his body kept moving. He couldn't give up.
He prayed earnestly once again.
God, if you really exist, please take my life and save that woman.
From all death and suffering and sin...
Annette Rosenberg was not on the final list. This simple report visibly aggravated Heiner's emotions.
The commander-in-chief was a man who remained unfazed even when he heard news of defeat. He simply prepared anew and planned the next plan.
The aide, unknowingly flustered by the unprecedentedly intense reaction from his superior, responded.
“That, that’s why, I also looked into it... It seems like she got left out of the evacuation procession.”
“...Left out? Where to?”
"That... I heard there was an operation to rescue stragglers and civilians from the occupied area during the evacuation. It looks like she joined that operation. But..."
The aide hesitated for a moment. Just being not on the list was enough to trigger such a reaction, so relaying this...
But it was something he couldn't ignore. The aide moistened his dry lips and continued speaking.
“But the operation failed, contact was lost, and the enemy was hastily dealt with before they left─.”
Thud!
The aide's shoulders shook at the loud noise. The commander-in-chief had jumped to his feet, causing his chair to tip over.
“The enemy...”
The commander-in-chief looked as if he'd just heard news of Padania's downfall. No, even if he had, it seemed less shocking than he was.
“What are the enemy doing...?”
His voice was shaking terribly.
***
The military vehicle carrying the commander-in-chief rattled through the city, moving at a rapid pace as if pursuing the enemy.
According to survivor testimony, the Frances army locked the prisoners in a church and attempted to burn them together. Fortunately, the door suddenly opened, and they managed to escape, but... it appears there were wounded inside.
The buttons, pressed all the way to his neck, felt unbearably suffocating. He felt as if his breathing was being suffocated. He tried to undo the buttons, but his fingers failed.
"Many people were unable to move due to smoke inhalation and injuries, so Ms. Rosenberg helped them escape until the very end. However, the building collapsed midway through... and they were unable to escape..."
Heiner tried repeatedly with trembling hands to unbutton his shirt, but failed. He clutched his chest and neck, coughing softly.
"It rained lightly, and the survivors tried to put out the fire, so they were able to extinguish it. However, due to the circumstances, rescue efforts were not possible. They're trying now, but... It's already been three days..."
The coughing that continued for several times soon turned into a moan that sounded like a sob.
“I think we should assume she is dead...”
Heiner gasped and let out a muffled groan. His head was filled with a humming noise. He curled up tightly, as if he were experiencing unbearable cold.
It felt like it was all his fault that things had turned out this way.
No, it was all his fault.
Not only had he ruined her life, but he had also ordered her to move to the central front. All claims about not knowing the front would be pushed back were meaningless.
He felt a pain like a knife piercing his chest. If he relaxed even a little, he felt like he would burst into tears and vomit blood.
"Please..."
Heiner groped, clasping his hands together and placing them on his forehead. He prayed fervently to a god he had never believed in.
“Please get out of me...”
Don't take her away from me.
Please don't take everything away from me.
Please leave that one woman for me.
You have taken everything from me so far... Please, just that one woman...
Disjointed prayers poured out. Everything around him was crumbling with each passing moment. Heiner prayed and prayed, feeling his entire body being torn apart.
After what felt like an eternity, the vehicle came to a halt. Heiner immediately got out. The sight of the city in complete ruins came into view.
The church where the rescue operation was carried out was located in an area that had already been recaptured. The infantry that arrived later had already largely eliminated any remaining forces.
But he still couldn't be 100% sure of her safety. He never knew where snipers might be hiding.
The passenger who hurriedly got out of the driver's seat said with an embarrassed look.
“Your Excellency, we haven’t been able to pinpoint her exact location yet, so it’s dangerous. It would be best to get in the car first...”
Heiner stared blankly at his subordinate's face for a moment, then turned his head. Then, like a half-mad man, he began to walk aimlessly.
He searched the rubble for the shape of a church.
However, as if to testify to the fierce fighting, most of the buildings were in terrible ruins. It was impossible to even tell what they had originally been.
Heiner stumbled through the rubble, tracing the traces of the battlefield.
Corpses, still uncollected, lay strewn here and there. The surfaces of their uniforms had turned black or white.
The scene, bleached white by countless shells, resembled skeletons. He suddenly stopped and gazed into the distance. From where he stood to the horizon, everything was a pile of ash.
Every time the wind blew from afar, ash flew.
Heiner groaned softly, almost crying and laughing. The ruins he had walked through his entire life were, in the end, ruins again.
Why is life like this?
Why is every path I walk like this?
Why did I drag that woman here, too?
Annette was a woman who didn't belong in this terrible place. She had always lived in a beautiful world filled with fragrant flowers and sparkling jewels.
'No...'
Was the world that woman lived in really all that beautiful?
Was that really the case?
Even in the lowest depths of life, wasn't she still noble and dazzling?
Even when she fell to the ground, even when she was abandoned by everyone, even when she thought of death, even when she was in a worn-out nurse's uniform, crushed by fatigue, in the middle of a battlefield filled with blood and groans.
Wasn't she still noble and dazzling?
It felt like he'd been hit in the back of the head. Heiner stared blankly at the wreckage, then slowly lowered his head.
It was not the world she lived in that made her noble and beautiful.
Just because she is there, because she exists─.
A surge of heat welled up in his chest. It was something utterly primitive and uncivilized. Heiner covered his face with trembling hands.
Annette.
Annette.
Annette.
When you smile, it seems like flowers bloom all over the world...
Suddenly, a yellow butterfly flew past him. Heiner looked up and saw it. The bright yellow butterfly didn't match the ruins.
A butterfly, hovering in one spot for a moment, fluttered behind him. A subordinate was running towards him from the end of that path.
"Your Excellency!"
Heiner stared blankly at the scene, as if he'd lost his mind. Everything felt like a vague illusion.
"...Go..."
The subordinate's mouth moved, but it was inaudible, as if the world had been silenced.
“Survivor... Acquired...”
Heiner blinked a few times, seeming to come to his senses a little.
“Location found!”
At that moment, light returned to his once dark gray eyes. His eyes slowly widened. Heiner took a step forward.
One step, two steps, the staggering steps continued. Slowly, the pace quickened. A thin layer of dust, a mixture of dirt and ash, rose from beneath his black combat boots.
He started running through the ruins.
The surrounding scenery passed quickly. Everything felt so still, as if it had stopped. In a world where only the sound of his own breathing was clear, he ran and ran.
At the edge of his vision, he saw a crowd of soldiers and civilians. The soldiers hurried toward him and saluted him.
“Hello, Commander-in-Chief!”
“Rescue, rescue work...?”
Heiner asked urgently, breathing heavily. The soldier, sensing the commander's uneasy expression, answered with some caution.
"We've just begun. We only finished clearing out the remaining troops this morning..."
"According to the survivors' testimonies, it must have been inside the church. They said they didn't see it from the entrance."
Heiner turned away without even listening to the soldier's words. He ran to the back of the collapsed building and began digging through the rubble with his bare hands.
He didn't even notice the chafing and bruising on his palms. He was so absorbed in his work that he felt completely numb.
The soldiers who saw this were taken aback and hesitated. They didn't even dare to intervene. The commander-in-chief looked as if he had lost his mind.
Soon, rescue operations began in earnest. Not only the deployed soldiers, but also nearby civilians who heard the news offered their help, however small.
Three bodies were discovered during the work. Heiner continued his work, clinging to a fading hope.
Even though his head was screaming that it was useless, his body kept moving. He couldn't give up.
He prayed earnestly once again.
God, if you really exist, please take my life and save that woman.
From all death and suffering and sin...
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