Chapter 7: Sasha’s Destination
“Sasha will grow up under the guardianship of the Grenfell family.”
“Y–You mean you’re volunteering to become the child’s guardian? No—if that child is taken into a ducal household, the whole world will be in an uproar. Do you want the child to become the target of everyone’s pointing fingers?”
Aizen rushed at him as if prepared to die for it. Yet the man simply looked at him with a face devoid of any particular emotion.
“Lieutenant Aizen.”
“Yes, Major.”
“What difference is there between you and me?”
“Pardon?”
“Once she’s branded as an Infernan, that child has no place in Salvatore anyway.”
“……”
“And it would be good if you understood your place. If the child grows up in a ducal household, she’ll suffer less, at least. I’ll be able to crush the tails of anyone who dares come snapping at her.”
The Major lowered his gaze slightly and looked down at him with an air of faint ridicule. Aizen, seemingly overwhelmed, shook his head.
Even if she pretended to be clever and strong, that child’s heart was tender.
As if she’d really be capable of crushing anyone, he thought bitterly.
Still, the patronage of a ducal family… Just as the Major had said, it would surely be a far better environment than her own home.
Suppressing his humiliation with difficulty, Aizen gave a stiff bow and turned to leave.
“Lieutenant Aizen.”
It was just as he was about to step out of the barracks assigned to his jurisdiction. Aizen stopped and turned back. The Major was fastening the buttons on his shirt sleeve, a languid smile on his face.
“By the way, would you like to be punished for embezzling combat rations?”
“…E–Excuse me?”
Startled, Aizen blurted out a foolish reply. The Major took a step toward him.
“I said I’ll take care of Sasha. So you’d better mind your own conduct.”
Patting Aizen’s shoulder twice, the Major walked out first. As he left, the stiff expression on Aizen’s face slowly twisted.
That brat—listen to the way he talks!
The words he could not voice surged up like boiling rage.
Had the Major planned this from the very beginning?
Even he could not know. But one thing was certain—it would be good for Sasha.
Gradually, the Grenfell family had begun to move. The same could be said for the Berus army. They were advancing as far as the outskirts of Fors, the central city of Inferna. The infiltration of the Berus army had already been detected, and requests for reinforcement had been sent to other subordinate units.
However, before any of those units arrived, a carriage from the Grenfell family would reach this place first—within a week.
Since Inferna was under wartime conditions, it was not a place where civilians could easily enter. Therefore, transferring Sasha, an Infernan, to Salvatore was in reality almost impossible.
Yet he was the sort of man who would accomplish it regardless. The reason he had been so busy lately was due to a deal he had made with His Excellency Dwight.
The man had decided to become His Excellency Dwight’s strategist and bring the war to its conclusion.
Some might say that risking his life merely for a war orphan was a foolish decision.
But he wanted to take responsibility for the life he had personally taken in.
Sasha had survived, yet from such a young age she already bore the burden of guilt toward her family and a longing for them. That fact had continued to irritate his nerves like a splinter.
Or rather—perhaps he simply wanted to protect the child’s bright, innocent smile.
—I wish you fortune in battle.
Recalling the last conversation he had shared with His Excellency Dwight, the man arrived in front of the barracks. Through the slightly open door, Sasha poked her head out.
Her large, colt-like eyes captured his face with piercing clarity.
The moment she spotted him, her face lit up. Watching the child wave both hands energetically, he suppressed the faint smile that threatened to escape.
“Have you eaten?”
At his question, Sasha buried her face into her notebook, quickly wrote something, and showed it to him.
[I ate with Uncle Aizen!]
After reading Sasha’s message, he nodded and took off his coat. Just as he was about to hang it on the standing rack, Sasha took the coat from him.
He frowned slightly and lowered his head toward the child. After hanging the coat on the rack in his stead, Sasha immediately held out the notebook again, as though she had prepared it in advance.
[May I know your full name?]
At the question, the man tilted his head. He could have told her easily enough, but seeing the anticipation shining in the child’s eyes stirred a mischievous impulse.
“What would you do with it?”
Sasha pouted in disappointment. Then, as if she had expected that answer, she turned to the next page of the notebook and showed it to him. The words seemed to have been written beforehand.
[Uncle Aizen said he would help me. It’s a great opportunity for me, and he said the place is close to where Major Uncle lives. If I at least know your name, maybe I might run into you by chance.]
The writing was neat, though it seemed to carry the traces of long contemplation.
“Sasha.”
At the sound of his subdued voice, Sasha’s hand holding the notebook trembled slightly before she quickly hugged it to her chest.
“If you go with Aizen, you will never see me again.”
That statement was both true and not entirely true. When the war ended and he returned, the world would likely be in an uproar for a while—but he had joined the war with that intention from the beginning, so it hardly mattered.
Thus, Sasha might only see him in newspaper articles.
That much was a clear fact.
Aizen and he lived in entirely different worlds.
Which world would you want to live in?
The question suddenly crossed his mind. Sasha, who never lost her bright smile no matter what happened, might actually prefer a simple life rather than the dazzling life of a ducal household.
[Why do you say such cruel things?]
Sasha wrote again and showed him. The hand holding the notebook trembled, and the child squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as if holding back tears before opening them again.
She had long known that Major Uncle was a blunt person, but this felt a little too harsh.
A surge of sadness welled up inside her, and tears threatened to spill.
Sasha stubbornly held them back, sticking out her lower lip as she looked at him. Seeing her like that, he let out a short laugh.
Even in a situation like this, his confident smile somehow seemed annoyingly handsome.
Whether he noticed her feelings or not, Major Uncle simply pretended not to and lay down on the cot.
Is he really not going to tell me?
Sasha stood there stubbornly, looking down at him. His eyelids remained tightly closed, showing no sign of moving.
Just as the frustration she had been suppressing began to rise—
“…When you go to the Grenfell family, you’ll naturally find out.”
At those words, Sasha blinked in surprise.
The Grenfell family…
She was sure she had heard that name before.
That’s right—Uncle Aizen had mentioned it.
Overjoyed, Sasha quickly scribbled something in her notebook again and shook the Major as if trying to wake him.
[Oh my goodness! Are you saying I’m going to the House of Duke Grenfell? Really? You’re not teasing me again, are you? What will I do there? Will I become a servant who manages the mansion? Or a gardener? Ah! Please don’t worry because I’m skinny. I’m actually quite strong, and I’m very good with flowers.]
Reading the long message, the man glanced between the notebook and Sasha’s excited expression. His lips threatened to curve upward, but he forced himself to suppress the smile and lay back down again.
Sasha’s response was quite satisfying to him.
“…Just hurry up and go to sleep.”
At his words, Sasha clutched her pounding heart and quickly lay down on the sleeping bag spread across the floor.
Uncle Aizen was kind and nice, but Sasha wanted to share a peaceful everyday life with the Major Uncle—the one who had first found her and extended a hand.
That night, brimming with happiness as if she might fly away, Sasha dreamed.
In the dream, she was planting rose seedlings in a garden overflowing with blossoms. Sasha wore a straw hat, and beside her stood Major Uncle.
The tiny seeds scattered across the garden like the transparent entrails of summer bursting open.
Under the warm sunlight, the man standing there looked more noble and beautiful than roses glistening with dew.
But the happy moment lasted only briefly. Gradually, his face stiffened and transformed into that of someone furious.
“How dare you deceive me?”
Startled, Sasha jolted upright, her body trembling.
There was something she had momentarily overlooked.
At present, he believed Sasha to be a boy.
Darkness filled the surroundings. Sasha stood there for a while, staring toward the cot where Major Uncle lay with a troubled expression. After hesitating for a long time, she finally lay back down again.
Maybe… I can tell him tomorrow.
If it’s Major Uncle… if I prove that I’m useful, maybe he’ll accept me.
With such naive thoughts lingering in her mind.
