Chapter 1 – Lunatic

Vivian Blight was now facing the crisis of her lifetime. And for good reason—what stood before her was a toxic, dangerous beast, armed in all sorts of vibrant colors.

“Because of you, my body ended up like this.”

“S-so, what exactly are your symptoms?”

“It won’t stand.”

“What?”

“I said, it won’t stand.”

“H-ha ha. I see. That’s truly unfortunate for someone so young. At that age… impotence can often be psychological. Perhaps you should seek counseling in that department. Well, then—”

‘Well, then, I’ll be off.’ She wanted to leave after saying that, but the man’s large body blocked her way.

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you have a habit of not understanding things unless I say them twice, Sergeant Vivian Blight?”

“Ah…”

Vivian’s lips parted, then she swallowed dryly. Her spine tingled with cold. Beep—beep—beep—her mind was flooded with emergency signals, as if an alarm was sounding to warn of an enemy invasion.

“Wh-what are you talking about…?”

“There’s too much witness information for you to feign ignorance.”

“Ahaha…”

Vivian let out a dazed laugh as she recalled: humans laugh when under pressure they can’t handle.

She had read during her trainee days that the brain releases hormones as a defense mechanism to relieve stress.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

The source of all this pressure opened his mouth.

It was none other than her direct superior, the so-called mad dog of the military, Colonel Leonhardt Evermier von Feldenstein, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Ardenia Imperial Capital Defense Ground Forces.

“Ah, it seems there’s been some sort of misunderstanding!”

Vivian desperately searched for a way to escape this situation. But no matter how hard she wracked her brain, she couldn’t think of any solution.

Useless brain. 

Instead of releasing hormones for defense, she wished it would come up with a way to handle this crisis.

You know how sometimes, in an accident or in a moment of danger, people display superhuman strength and surpass their physical limits? She wanted that kind of power right now—to knock out this madman and escape to the comfort of her sweet quarters.

If some shady entity whispered in her ear, ‘Do you desire power?’ she felt she’d say yes.

But luck never comes so easily. Above all, Vivian’s soft-hearted nature made her feel guilty about all this.

Leonhardt—this toxic beast—wasn’t just making up nonsense. She screamed silently.

‘If I’d known it would come to this, I should’ve shouted for a deposit of 30 billion clean Alden, with no risk of being traced!’

But it was too late for regrets. Everything was already spilled water, like broken glass. Words once spoken—no, curses—could not be taken back. That was the problem.

‘I don’t even know why those words came true in the first place!’

Vivian just wanted to cry. But no matter how hard she tried to squeeze out tears, her dried-up, desert-like office worker sensibility made it nearly impossible.

Even if she summoned all her sad memories, was there anything recently that made her eyes burn with tears? Nothing came to mind. At most, having to do another night shift after duty, working 72 sleepless hours without even a proper break?

That wasn’t sadness anymore—it was just daily misery. Besides, the tear tactic probably wouldn’t work on this madman anyway.

“…A misunderstanding.”

“Yes, a misunderstanding…”

“But I definitely heard it. Your voice.”

“H-hallucination.”

“‘Leonhardt Evermier von Feldenstein! Just become impotent already!’—that’s what you said.”

He recited it perfectly, not missing a single word. This madman even had a good memory.

“Who would dare say such blasphemy…?”

Of course, it was her.

“I never forget a woman’s voice once I’ve heard it.”

“Wow, that’s impressive!”

“Right?”

“Yes…”

Whoosh, a chill passed through the gap in the fastened collar. In the cold wind, the last leaf clinging to a branch fell. As if foretelling the misfortune to come.

The beginning of early winter. It was the time when the harsh north wind blew. By the time the sun was setting after work, it was so cold that even one’s breath would show. For some reason, Vivian could only sweat cold sweat like an ice cup left outside during the rainy season.

“So then.”

“Yes.”

The madman, praised as the most handsome in the Ardenia Empire, smiled. In a way, it was a breathtaking sight.

His cool and beautiful blue eyes, the flames within them blazed. That fire surged, ready to burn everything, spreading everywhere and catching on everything around.

When those intense eyes stared directly at Vivian, she couldn’t move, as if caught in an invisible snare.

“You’re going to take responsibility, right?”

“Re-responsibility…”

Responsibility. Just how was she supposed to take responsibility? In the first place, how could a mere administrative soldier like her do anything about this madman’s… issue?

She felt dizzy, but Vivian gritted her teeth and endured. 

Get a hold of yourself. Even if you’re thrown into a tiger’s den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you. 

Right now, keeping her mind sharp and overcoming this crisis was her only hope.

But no matter how she thought about it, it was unfair. What had she done wrong? She hadn’t done nothing, but it wasn’t like she’d committed some grave sin either.

Every accident always has fault on both sides.

Vivian recalled how all this had started. It began about two weeks ago, with ‘that incident.’

* * *

Thursday, the day of the week that passes the slowest. Thirty minutes before the end of the workday. The atmosphere in the administrative office of the Ardenia Imperial Capital Defense Ground Forces 3rd Brigade was heating up to a boil.

“Looks like he did it again today. A crowd of women gathered at the parade ground.”

“This time they say it’s three-timing.”

“I heard five?”

“He got caught two-timing last time, and already again?”

“This time, even Sergeant Hayes from Communications Maintenance got involved?”

“A man?”

“No, they say he messed with Sergeant Hayes’s fiancée.”

“That’s why he came out without his rank insignia…”

It was so overheated that it was about to explode.

The whispers of administrative soldiers could be heard everywhere. And for good reason—right now, a rare spectacle was unfolding at the parade ground.

In the Ardenia Imperial Capital Defense Ground Forces 3rd Brigade (Imperial Army of Ardenia, Central Defense Ground Forces-3rd Brigade), also known as ICD-3BDE, or simply the 3rd Brigade, there existed a very, very special creature.

That creature was called by many names.

“Hey, you b*stard!”

Dog b*stard, cow b*stard, horse b*stard. ×× b*stard.

“Cheating on me? You crazy jerk!”

Madman, womanizer, poisonous mushroom, poisoned apple, carnivorous plant, dog in heat, scoundrel, pest, lunatic… and so on. None of them were normal, but all these nicknames referred to a single person.

“Oh, it’s a misunderstanding, Honey!”

Even from a hundred meters away, his radiance was dazzling. Hair that gleamed like golden silk, a sharp and prominent nose, evenly arranged features, and eyes clear and sparkling like cornflower blue sapphires. He was as sacred and beautiful as an angel depicted in a religious painting.

“Then what about me?”

“I, that is…”

This beautiful creature’s name was Leonhardt Evermier von Feldenstein. He was the commander of the Capital Defense Ground Forces 3rd Brigade.

He was truly debauched. If you asked what the epitome of debauchery and insincerity was, everyone in the brigade would naturally think of Leonhardt.

His lower half was lighter than a feather, and every time he opened his mouth, lies would pour out—so in a way, it was inevitable.

Such a Leonhardt was now in crisis. He’d managed a precarious balance with his lovers until now, but somehow this misunderstanding had arisen. As expected, if the tail is too long, it will be stepped on.

“I love everyone equally!”

His cry was desperate, but none of his sincerity reached the crowd, who were filled with rage.

“Don’t make me laugh!”

“Are you kidding right now?”

And so, Leonhardt was surrounded by four women, and by Sergeant Hayes, who had not only lost his fiancée but also his sanity, on the verge of being torn apart.

They say life is a tragedy up close, but a comedy from afar.

Right now, it was a scene so disastrous that not even bones would remain, but for those watching from the safety of the administrative office, it was nothing more than a fun spectacle before leaving work.

This was the rare sight unique to the 3rd Brigade, one of the few special perks in the harsh life of the military.

“Crazy guy, he’s only decent-looking at least…”

People curse even the king when he’s not around. It was only natural, but as a minimal safeguard, they bestowed upon the brigade commander the nickname ‘Crazy Guy,’ which was, of course, short for lunatic.

Crazy Guy—on the surface, he looked perfectly fine. More than fine; he was dazzling.

“Careful, you might get bitten if you’re not careful.”

“Come on, even a dog in heat doesn’t date within the military.”

“No matter how desperate, at least he’s got some sense.”

“Who would even want to date after seeing that mess?”

He was truly exceptional. Not just in looks.

He was the elder sibling of the current Empress Adelaide, so even his status was noble. Having a distinguished background and appearance was his greatest advantage—and at the same time, his greatest flaw.