“What?”
When she spoke out without realizing it, the Grand Duke, who was looking at her inside the rocket, was startled. Suddenly, her vision became confused and she felt slightly dizzy. The sense of balance was also transferred. The Grand Duke was lying in bed and then he seemed to sit up.
-What I felt wasn’t an illusion.
Hearing his voice for the first time in half a year made her feel like she was going to cry.
-I was lucky. I can’t believe I cast a spell at the moment His Highness was looking at my portrait.
“Ah… Uh, haha.”
Elliot smiled awkwardly. ‘All night’ was a long time to be considered ‘a moment’.
“Can you see my face?”
-Sure. It looks very good.
He belatedly covered his red cheeks with the back of his hand.
-It’s so nice to see your face. At times like this, I’m glad I’m a witch.
“Why can’t I see…”
Hazel could see him through the eyes drawn on the parchment, but all Elliot could see is a portrait the size of the first word of his thumb. This was all because the Vatican was conservative. Developing and utilizing spiritual power in various ways was prohibited by strict regulations. Because of this, those with holy power could only use their power in accordance with their innate characteristics. Because wizards were not restricted by regulations, they developed and used their power freely. Like Hazel now.
-My face is the same as the face in the portrait.
“Still…”
She wanted to see people breathing, laughing, and moving right in front of her eyes. However, just hearing his voice after such a long time was an incredible gift to him. Why didn’t he think of this method earlier? Elliot shook off his regret and asked.
“How are you doing?”
-I’m doing great.
He knew she would answer like that.
-What do you mean?
“I’m doing well too.”
Of course, he had no choice but to answer like this. No matter how difficult things were, they two had the same feeling of not wanting to worry each other.
-Aren’t there a shortage of supplies? While listening to your voice and talking to you, if you tell me that you are short on supplies other than magic potions, I will…
“You can talk about that with the engineer in charge of logistics. Just talk to me about us.”
It’s a rare opportunity.
-Uh… Luna and Luca are doing well. These days, Luna is working hard on studying the management of the mansion, and she and Luca have started touring the estate. You don’t have to worry about the kids.
“I’m not worried about Luna and Luca because we have a great babysitter. I’m worried about you.”
-Why me?
“Aren’t you going to start a fight at the duchy?”
-Ah… I feel sorry for Luna because she was so good at preventing it from breaking.
‘I’m not saying I won’t bet.’ Elliot swallowed her sigh.
-I am truly proud and sorry… When did Luna and Luca grow up this much? I feel like I raised a child with you.
‘Now that they’re both grown, you don’t plan on raising our child with me?’
He would have to say this only when he returned alive. Elliot swallowed these words.
“Speak about yourself, not the kids.”
-My story? There’s nothing special happening every day, so I have nothing to say…
“I like all the trivial stories. What did you eat for dinner tonight and what was the weather? Please at least tell me this story.”
If her life was boring rather than peaceful, then his hard work would feel worthwhile.
-Hmm… The weather today was cold but sunny. So, I went for a walk with the kids for the first time in a while…
Elliot, who was listening to her trivial story, had a happy smile on his face for the first time in a long time.
-I ate beef stew with the kids for dinner.
“I miss the taste of your beef stew.”
On his necklace, ‘Hmm…’ He heard her pondering deeply.
-If you tell me exactly where you are now, I can boil it and send it to you…
“No, that’s enough. I want to eat while looking at your face.”
-Then, on the day you return, I will make a pot of stew and wait for you.
When would it be? The end of the war was still far away. It was unclear whether he would be alive after it was over. However, Elliot’s would also rise in those words full of determination to wait.
“Yes, I will definitely go back.”
After that, the two people continued to talk about trivial things.
-Luca asked me to help her with her math homework, but she said it was getting difficult for her and I couldn’t help her. So, to Luna, what?
“Why?”
-It’s already two in the morning?
He thought it had been less than an hour since they talked, but three hours had already passed.
-Don’t you need to sleep?
“…are you tired?”
-No, I mean your highness, not me. I feel like I’m holding on when you should be resting…
“No, not at all.”
There was no sound for a moment, and then Hazel spoke again.
-Then I…
A giggling sound could be heard coming from her necklace.
-I’ll read you a storybook.
Did she notice that he was struggling against fatigue because he wanted to keep hearing her voice?
-Now lie down and close your eyes.
“Yes, Nanny.”
Elliot smiled and did as he was told. As he put the necklace on his ear and closed his eyes, a monotonous yet calm voice sweetly entered his ear.
-Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom…
On the battlefield, where the spear and sword clash and her bloody scent vibrates, Elliot falls asleep peacefully while listening to a cute and hopeful fairy tale.
* * *
The commanders of each army were sitting around a large round table in the middle of the barracks.
“Everyone is here.”
Everyone’s attention was focused when the Grand Duke, who was the one who convened this meeting, entered the barracks with the deputy commander of the cavalry. The Grand Duke’s expression, holding a large, thick scroll of parchment in his hand, was serious yet bright.
“What happened? You have a lot of energy these days.”
The moment Elliot sat down in his empty seat, Giselle muttered quietly in the seat next to him.
“Because I want to eat stew.”
Daniel was the only one who understood what these words meant.
“The reason I called you here today is…”
Elliot started the meeting without hesitation.
“This is because we need your agreement and support for the operation that will be carried out jointly by the Grand Duchy and the Holy See.”
The Grand Duchy and the Holy See were secretly preparing an operation. Everyone’s puzzled eyes turned to Elliot and Giselle.
“I believe you all know that if the war of attrition continues like this, the imperial army will be defeated. If we want to end the war early and lead to victory, we have no choice but to use extreme force, even if it is reckless.”
“What do you mean by super precipitation?”
Duke Monette asked with a stern face. Commanders, who had suffered greatly from the quantitative and qualitative scale of the military, were passive in all-out war. So Elliot proposed a raid that could be carried out with only a small elite force.
“We are going to infiltrate the castle of Villette.”
All commanders looked skeptical at the proposal to infiltrate Villette Castle, which the Billund army was currently using as a front-line base.
“I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t thought about such an operation.”
The lord looked around at the other commanders as if to see if they did not sympathize with him.
“Isn’t the reason why everyone hasn’t put it into practice is because there is no benefit to doing so?”
Several people nodded their heads in agreement.
“Not only is it difficult to destroy the command center within the castle with just a small elite army, but even if the gates are opened from the inside, the imperial army cannot even approach the gates due to the monster army stationed in front of the castle.”
“The Holy Knights can wipe out the monsters in one go with their holy power.”
“The Holy Knights don’t have the holy power to wipe them out in one go, so we’re going through all this trouble…”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
The Pope spoke firmly and the lord fell silent. Does the Vatican have some tricks up its sleeve? In fact, the commanders gathered here did not know that the secret was not in the Holy See but in the Archduke’s family.
“Even if the Holy Knights are killed in one go…”
Duke Monette, who was quietly looking at the map spread out on the round table, spoke.
“Aren’t the corpses of monsters and humans only increasing? This is an operation that only increases the corpse army, so Billund’s troops will not suffer any damage.”
“I understand your concerns.”
Elliot explained the operation again.
“As you said, there is no point in killing an army of monsters. The Legion must be rooted out.”
“That means…”
“The plan is to infiltrate the castle and eliminate summoners and necromancers first.”
Without those two, both monsters and corpses would be useless to the Billund army. Suddenly the barracks became quiet. The heavy silence reminiscent of a funeral meant only one thing. This was an operation that involved walking out on a limb.
“This… Are you saying that the Grand Duchy and the Holy See will work together?”
After a long silence, a lord asked.
“As you know, summoners and necromancers are wizards, so they can be defeated with holy power like monsters.”
Giselle, explaining the role of the Holy See, added a decisive word that would help her gain the support of the lords.
“I decided to participate in this operation myself.”
While all the commanders were shocked, Daniel quietly let out a sigh of displeasure.
“So what kind of support do you need?”
Duke Monette, commander-in-chief of the imperial army, asked. It meant that I agreed to this operation. Afterwards, the commanders who heard Elliot’s detailed operations and the roles each army would play had no choice but to acknowledge it. This was a difficult and dangerous operation. Nonetheless, it was a carefully planned operation.
“I can’t wait to die like this, so let’s do it even if it’s reckless!”
“For the victory of the empire!”
At the end of the strategy meeting, the commanders loudly shouted words of encouragement. Even after they left, Giselle, Daniel, and Elliot did not leave.
“Then let’s start the meeting.”
Secret Holy Knights disguised as priests sat in the commanders’ seats. Everyone knew that Elliot had holy powers. From then on, the real strategy meeting began.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 28.
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