Chapter 25
“Oh dear, Your Excellency… How could you say something so cruel…”
The baron’s theatrical wailing seemed to go unheard. Mia grabbed Chloe’s arm and walked away from the scene. Throughout the exchange, Chloe had diligently followed Mia’s instructions to “look as miserable as possible.”
Once they were completely out of the baron’s sight, Chloe’s shoulders relaxed slightly, as if she finally felt a bit of relief. Her eyes, filled with gratitude and admiration, turned to Mia.
“Thank you so much for helping me escape my father. As I promised, if there’s anything I can do, please let me repay your kindness.”
Mia responded to the girl’s earnest resolve with a sly smile. Of course, she already had plans for how Chloe would be used, but there was no need to bring that up just yet.
The vice commander of the Holy Legion was utterly lacking in tact. In normal times, one might excuse a lifelong soldier for being out of touch with common sense, but this situation was different.
“If you want to disguise yourselves as merchants, shouldn’t you at least purchase suitable goods? Showing up with empty wagons is bound to raise suspicion.”
With arms crossed, Mia stared at Lenard. He snorted in response.
“And where exactly do you expect me to find the funds for that? We don’t have time to waste.”
“I understand that living in the military might make someone ignorant of the ways of the world, but if you think you can pose as a merchant with just that, your cover will be blown in no time.”
Mia stepped closer with a smirk. Despite her small stature, the arrogance of a high noble was more than enough to overpower her opponent.
“Your Excellency really ought to fix your habit of looking down on others. My father holds significant influence in the merchant circles. I know just as much about the world as you do.”
“For someone who claims to be wronged, you sure talk a lot, Lenard. If you truly believed my opinion held no weight, you wouldn’t be invoking your all-powerful merchant father right now.”
Mia clicked her tongue.
“You seem so desperate to have your way… Have you forgotten what’s best for the army?”
“Oh, so now you think I’m not even fulfilling my duties properly?”
“At the very least, I know that your duty isn’t to oppose me in this matter.”
“Is that so? Then what do you think my duty is?”
Despite Lenard’s increasingly emotional tone, Mia remained calm and composed.
“Your foremost duty is to ensure the army functions properly.”
“That sounds like you’re saying I’m not doing my job.”
“You’d know better than anyone whether you’re fulfilling your role.”
“……”
“But know this—I was planning to entrust you with command of the soldiers remaining in Glenn for this operation as a recognition of your efforts. Though, judging from your attitude now, I doubt you’d appreciate it.”
“Of course not!”
Lenard cried out in outrage.
“Calling it a command position is just sugarcoating it—you’re basically dumping me in this backwater village while you all go off gathering critical intel. That’s practically a demotion!”
At that moment, the sharp gaze of the commander, who had been giving orders to the soldiers from afar, turned toward them.
“What’s going on here?”
Etienne approached and asked, his eyes fixed squarely on Lenard. It was as if he’d been waiting for the right moment to step in.
“It’s nothing. We were just making preparations to depart.”
“Then why were you raising your voices?”
As Etienne looked at the vice commander, Lenard bit his lip and averted his gaze.
“Sir Lenard seems to believe that no special preparations are needed to disguise ourselves as merchants.”
Mia stepped in to answer in his place. Etienne nodded, then turned to Lenard.
“Is that really what you said? If so, I can only say I’m disappointed in you, Lenard.”
“I didn’t say preparations weren’t necessary! I just meant that under the current time constraints, it’s inefficient to go that far…”
“Hmph.”
Etienne waved off Lenard’s excuse with a single gesture and furrowed his brow.
“Didn’t you learn that efficiency should never come at the cost of skipping essential steps?”
Honestly, can someone like this even claim to have graduated from the military academy…? Etienne clicked his tongue loud enough to be heard, then fell into thought before finally speaking again.
“Respect Blanchard’s judgment as much as possible. She’s right on this one.”
Faced with his commander’s firm stance, Lenard realized there was no point in trying to push his argument further.
“Understood, Commander.”
The reply was given reluctantly. Even if his words seemed to agree with the commander, fear was on his side.
The mysterious lights that had chased away Etalon and the fear that had taken hold of the soldiers—all of it now served Lenard. And he was even willing to exploit those emotions to push his agenda.
“She may be a goddess-approved hero, but isn’t Your Excellency being a bit too protective of someone whose skills haven’t even been proven?”
His supposedly loyal words, full of concern for the army, carried unmistakable sarcasm. Mia considered it a decent strategy. No matter how much they acted like lovers, officially acknowledging it in front of so many people was an entirely different matter.
Still, Mia had neither the authority nor the intention to answer that accusation. She glanced sideways at Etienne, waiting for his response.
As if the comment had lit a fuse, Etienne finally spoke.
“Blanchard is a highly capable individual whose skills I’ve personally witnessed and trust.”
“And yet she hasn’t even had the opportunity to prove herself in the field!”
“That sounds like you’re saying you don’t trust my judgment as commander.”
“That’s absolutely not what I meant…”
Lenard faltered for a moment but quickly continued, his tone laced with sarcasm.
“Even for you, Commander, personal relationships within the unit violate military regulations. If a disagreement arises, such as it did with the operations staff, how can we trust your decisions won’t be swayed by emotion?”
Murmurs spread among the soldiers. “Romance within the unit”? Though there had never been any official acknowledgment, many nodded at Lenard’s pointed remark.
Even those with unwavering loyalty to the state couldn’t deny that Etienne’s recent interest in Mia had gone too far.
“Regardless of any personal feelings, my judgment that Blanchard’s abilities can serve the army well is entirely objective. Perhaps you all should wait and assess her skills yourselves before passing judgment.”
It was, in effect, an admission of Lenard’s insinuation. The soldiers went silent. With Etienne admitting it so boldly, Lenard had no room to argue further and closed his mouth.
‘You told me to confess only to you…’
Mia hadn’t expected Etienne to acknowledge it so openly either, but she chose to remain silent. After all, she knew this was part of securing her position within the army.
Still, that didn’t mean she was going to agree with Lenard’s plan.
As Mia turned to Lenard, Etienne jumped on the opportunity to press him further.
“You claimed we were short on time. So where exactly do you plan to find the many empty wagons and horses you mentioned?”
His words sounded like he might actually approve the plan if Lenard could deliver, and Lenard’s face lit up in excitement. To him, it seemed like a chance to prove himself to this arrogant commander.
“G-give me a bit of time, and I’ll take care of it!”
Mia watched the flustered vice commander scurry away with a mocking smile. All the while, a man standing behind her had been observing everything.
Only after Lenard was fully out of sight did Mia turn to him.
“You saw that?”
“Your Excellency, please—drop the honorifics.”
“You’re uncomfortable with that? Get used to it. You’ll be hearing it more often.”
“I’m just a mere soldier. There’s no reason for Your Excellency to—”
“Enough nonsense. More importantly, you heard from Etienne, right?”
“Heard what, exactly?”
“If we’re going to disguise ourselves as merchants, it won’t be possible to charge straight into Raven.”
“Ah, yes. I did hear that some soldiers would remain here…”
“Don’t interrupt me from now on. Anyway, we’ve decided to leave command of the remaining troops to you.”
“…You mean me?”
“Who else is here besides you?”
“But… why me?”
“Let’s just say I see great potential in you. The command will be granted in the commander’s name, so do your best. And I don’t mean just keeping them out of trouble—I want you to train them properly. Can you handle that?”
Of course, he wasn’t confident. He knew how to fight, but he had little experience leading others.
Still, since Etienne’s name had been mentioned, Mia’s words were more of a direct order than a suggestion. In such a situation, what could he do but comply? With a resigned look, the man bowed his head. Mia smiled in satisfaction.
“Good. I’m counting on you, Paver.”
“What do you mean, leave some of the troops behind?”
“The commander and vice commander leaving together—does that even make sense?”
Inside the barracks, several officers raised their voices at Mia and Etienne. Doubt was written all over their faces.
“Shouldn’t at least part of the command staff stay behind in case something happens?”
Finally, another officer who had been hesitant also voiced his concern.
Etienne responded in a calm tone.
“Are you saying you don’t trust my leadership? Even if something unexpected happens, the idea that I wouldn’t be able to respond from that distance is laughable.”
