Chapter 2 – It’s A Mistake, Captain! (Part 1)

Lena slid a paper onto the captain’s desk.

“What is this?”

“A vacation request form.”

“And why are you asking for a vacation?”

He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. It wasn’t a very positive reaction, but Lena decided to state her case.

“We have a subjugation schedule this time, right? Since I haven’t been in the Knight Order for long, you excluded my name from the list, Captain.”

“Yes, and that’s why I told you to stay with the Knight Order to get accustomed to your duties.”

“I think I’ve learned enough from the office work.”

It’s been almost a year since she joined the Knight Order.

No matter how vast the history of the Knight Order was, a year was more than enough time to learn everything.

Moreover, who was her superior? The days of learning under the terrifying captain, shedding tears and snot, flashed through her mind.

“Why can’t you even do that one simple thing?”

“I didn’t see it that way, Lena, but you’re really stupid. What can you even do with that brain of yours?”

“No, it’s not like that. Ha, Lena Leshuriel, are you not in your right mind?”

‘Ugh, my stomach hurts…’

No wonder Ronver, the Lengester family’s secretary, gave her stomach medicine as an entrance gift.

“I don’t need a long vacation. I just want to take about two days off.”

It wasn’t just any vacation; it was her first vacation in a year! She couldn’t yield this time.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going on a trip with a friend.”

“You don’t have any friends.”

“Ugh…”

How did he know?

“I’m going with a cousin who’s like a friend.”

“You mean a fiancé who’s like a friend.”

“Ah, seriously.”

It was surprising enough that he figured out she had a fiancé, but it stung even more that he knew the fiancé was ‘like a friend.’

It could simply be that he was repeating her words back to her, but it was also true that she felt guilty as if her conscience had been pricked.

‘Like a friend.’

It was a fitting expression for a couple who had no romantic interest in each other, even though they were about to get married.

“I’ve been thinking.”

Just as she was deeply reflecting on her relationship with her fiancé, Alhendore spoke up nonchalantly. His expression was oddly grim, showing his discomfort.

Feeling a bad premonition rise up, Lena quickly retorted.

“Please don’t think.”

For the quick-tempered Alhendore to delay getting to the point was a bad sign.

While Lena was making futile efforts not to listen to him, Alhendore just silently gazed at her face.

“Even though you haven’t been in the Knight Order for long, gaining experience is important. I think it’s better to include you in the list.”

As expected! 

Although she anticipated this, hearing it for real made her furious. Lena glared at him and slammed the desk.

“I said I’m going on vacation!”

“Denied. Just pack your bags. Oh, you can take the bags you packed for your trip to the subjugation.”

His firm handwriting crossed out her name on the subjugation list.

[Lena Leshuriel][Strategist]

Did this man age in vain?

“Captain, you’re really too much!”

Lena’s eyes welled up with tears as she cried out loudly. His evil laughter was quietly suppressed under her cries.

***

Two weeks after her vacation request was denied, the day of the subjugation arrived.

Lena, with a pouty face, was fastening her luggage bag while following the march.

“Starting your first subjugation in the land of monsters, our little one must be worried. But don’t worry too much. This brother is here, so just trust me, okay?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you, Sir Radiero. You’re very reliable.”

This slightly unhinged rogue was Aran Radiero, who was in charge of tanking.

He was known as the captain’s right-hand man, but from the first meeting, he acted overly familiar, calling her ‘little one’ and ‘brother.’

“Shut up. You’re making the aide uncomfortable.”

The gentleman speaking was Hyde Cashetra, the long-range dealer who specialized in archery. He was also considered the captain’s left-hand man.

“I apologize on his behalf for his rudeness.”

“No, it’s really okay! Thank you.”

Hyde was, how should she put it, a very gentlemanly person. He seemed more suited to holding a quill than a sword, exuding the scent of old books.

She wondered how such a normal person ended up among these crazy people. Aran’s chatter was giving her a headache.

“How was I rude? I was just saying I’d protect her. She’s trembling like a scared rat!”

“What kind of gentleman calls a lady a rat?”

“Why not? It fits perfectly! Small and scared. Hahaha!”

Should I kill him?

Lena’s expression turned sour. 

A rat? Being compared to a monster was insulting enough, but of all the monsters, why a rat?

‘Do I look like a rat?’

Rats were known for being so timid that they never attacked first. Hearing that she resembled such a creature was an insult to a knight.

‘Should I bury him?’

As she glared at Aran with eyes blazing red, the captain, who had been silently marching, spoke.

“Aran, Hyde. Fall back to the rear.”

Although the sudden command to move to the rear left them both stunned, they silently complied. They were in the middle of a march, after all. A leader’s command had to be absolute in any situation.

Knowing this well, they adjusted their reins without a word. The sound of Aran’s hoofbeats, who wanted to continue talking, sounded particularly dejected, but that was actually a relief.

‘Finally, some peace and quiet.’

A rat. It was still unforgettable nonsense.

“Lena, how much do you know about the land of monsters?”

The captain, who was moving forward without looking back at her, asked. Lena briefly wondered if the question was directed at her and then recalled what she had learned recently.

“Yes? Oh, I heard it’s an inviolable area located in the southwest of the empire.”

“Correct. It occupies a third of the Argentium continent where the empire is situated. The current consensus is that it’s impossible to completely conquer it with human power. Do you know why?”

“Is it because various demon races inhabit the land of demons in addition to the creatures?”

While elves, beastmen, and various other races inhabit different parts of the continent, the Argentium continent, in particular, was home to races that resembled monsters. Such as dwarves or dragons.

“Yes, so be careful. Even though we’re only dealing with monsters crossing the border at the edge of the land of monsters, you never know what might come out.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind!”

As Lena nodded her head, he pulled out a dagger from his chest.

“Keep this with you, just in case.”

“But I’m a strategist, I don’t even go to the front lines.”

Lena awkwardly accepted the dagger as she stared blankly at it. It was a very… extremely burdensome object.

Not only was the handle of the dagger engraved with the symbol of the Lengester family, an eagle, but the eagle was also holding a round gem in its beak.

As she stared at the gem’s mysterious color, like a turtle stretching its neck, she turned her head, puzzled.

“Do you know why combat is dangerous?”

“Um…”

Alhendore glanced at her as she seriously pondered.

“Because unpredictable situations can occur at any time. Keep it… I hope you won’t have to use it.”

“Oh, yes, thank you!”

For a moment, his eyes flickered with a dull light.

Why was that? 

It seemed he regretted bringing her here, yet at the same time, he felt he had no choice.

‘No way, I must have seen it wrong.’

She shook her head to dismiss the unnecessary thoughts.

The one who initially excluded Lena from the subjugation schedule and then put her back on the list was none other than Alhendore himself.

For that person to feel ‘regret’ was an absurd misunderstanding. Besides, for the captain to regret now would be truly shameless.

‘Sigh… I was supposed to go on a cruise with my fiancé.’

The place she had planned to visit during her vacation was a cruise operated by the Earl of Duquer’s family. It was a difficult-to-obtain invitation for a two-day, one-night trip, arranged by her aunt!

‘I thought I couldn’t go because of the subjugation…’

When she was told she would be excluded, she thought it was a stroke of luck. She had already informed her fiancé, thinking she could definitely go. But then…

‘I got dragged back.’

The captain should have seen her fiancé’s face when she told him she couldn’t go after all.

‘You said you weren’t taking me, why change now! You terrible man!’