The Duke of Raphael gazed at the young soldier before him.

The soldier looked exceedingly young, though his tall stature gave him the appearance of an adult.

Raphael couldn’t see his face in detail because of the helmet he wore. However, having been through countless wars, he could estimate a soldier’s age just by looking into their eyes.

Judging by this young soldier’s eyes, he seemed to be around seventeen or eighteen years old—similar to Raphael’s age when he had training in the Empire of Union.

“What are you doing here? What do you hope to gain by enduring the grueling drills in this training camp?”

The Duke, Raphael Rodney, addressed the young soldier suddenly, his tone slipping into informal speech.

Startled, the young soldier stepped back, glancing at the duke nervously.

Taking advantage of a moment when the other soldiers were not watching, Raphael Rodney Duke pulled out an identification card bearing his title from the Empire of Union and showed it to the soldier.

“Listen carefully. I am Raphael Rodney, Duke of the Empire of Union.”

“D-Duke! Is it truly safe for you to reveal that so openly?”

Kristin was visibly alarmed by the duke’s actions.

Moments ago, they had been masquerading as merchants, their conduct casual and lacking etiquette. Yet here was the Duke of Raphael Rodney, now wearing a grave expression as he questioned the young soldier.

Kristin couldn’t help but glance around in concern before looking back at the duke, who continued speaking to the boy.

“Before this war begins, were you ordered to kill someone?”

The young soldier trembled at Raphael Rodney Duke’s pointed question, cautiously responding.

“Y-Yes, sir. How did you know? We’ve been training here for that exact reason. In a few days, we’ve been ordered to assassinate a certain duke of the Union Empire. After that, we are to eliminate a woman as well. Following that, they plan to abduct His Majesty, the emperor of the Union. Once His Majesty is captured, they intend to mobilize many troops to invade the imperial palace of Union.”

“Is that true?”

Raphael questioned the young soldier, his tone sharp and doubtful.

“I’m telling you because I want to live. We all know very well that we won’t survive this war. That’s why I’m being honest with you.”

Hearing the soldier’s confession, Kristin finally pieced together Princess Rebella’s schemes.

Until moments ago, she had assumed this was just another typical war between empires.

But putting everything together now, it was clear that Princess Rebella was plotting to use even Duke Raphael for her ends.

“Is that everything you know?”

“Y-Yes, sir?”

The young soldier could not bear Raphael Rodney Duke’s sharp gaze and merely lowered his head.

At that moment, a soldier suddenly called out from behind, urging him.

“What’s going on? Is there a problem?”

The soldier’s voice sounded young, and he began walking toward Kristin and Duke Raphael Rodney.

“Ah, brother. It’s nothing. These people were just asking for directions, so I was helping them…”

“Jamie, we need to get back to training. Hurry up and finish whatever this is, or we’ll get hell from the instructors again!”

“Got it, brother.”

The young soldier responded to the approaching soldier, who nodded in understanding and began walking toward another part of the training ground.

Once the soldiers had moved away, Jamie, the young soldier, seemed to relax and raised his voice slightly.
“Why is the Duke of the Union Empire here?”

“You do no need to worry about why I’m here. I already know everything.”

“Y-You do? Are you serious?”

“If you tell me the truth, I can prevent this war. Do you remember the face of the person painted in the portrait hanging inside the training ground?”

“R-Really? The soldier who called me just now is my older brother. If you can stop the war, that would be amazing, but even if you can’t, we just want to survive.”

“Good. That’s why, as the Duke of Union, I will help you and your brother.”

“W-What? I mean, yes. I’ve stared at that portrait so often during training that I could practically draw it in my sleep.”

As Jamie spoke, his face turned toward Duke Raphael Rodney.

Seeing Jamie looking at him, the duke slowly lowered the scarf that had been covering his face.

Jamie’s eyes widened in realization, and he pointed a trembling finger at the duke.

“T-The person in the portrait looks just like you, Your Grace. No, it ‘is’ you! We’ve been training with your face as our target!”

As expected.

Duke Raphael confirmed everything he needed to know.

Princess Rebella wanted him dead before Kristin to eliminate any loyal vassals capable of protecting the emperor.

Although many capable fighters existed among the marquises of the Union Empire, none could rival Duke Raphael.

Thus, to Princess Rebella, Duke Raphael had to be removed.

Moreover, Kristin, who stood as an obstacle at his side, was likely another target of her displeasure.

In the past, Kristin had been killed in a carriage accident before he was assassinated. He had assumed her death was due to personal animosity, but now he realized the order of events had simply been reversed. The outcome, however, remained the same.
The Union Empire instantlywas reduced to a vassal state by the Praga Empire.

Having arrived at this conclusion, Duke Raphael felt a sense of relief. In this life, he could uncover the mysteries that had haunted him in his previous one.

“So, that’s how it is. Now, I have a request—or rather, an order.”

“W-What is it? I need to go soon. If I stay here too long, you two will be in danger.”

“Soon, a letter will arrive here. It will say that the location to kill the duke has changed, instructing you to move to the duke’s mansion. You and your brother should hide inside my estate when that order comes”

“B-But we were told that only the most skilled soldier here would go for that mission.”

At Jamie’s words, Duke Raphael shook his head.

“That won’t be the case. If the target location changes from Grace Hall to my estate, they’ll know security there will be much tighter—nothing like an ordinary wedding venue. They’ll likely send a few more soldiers. When that happens, volunteer to go with them.”

“V-Volunteer?”

“Why not? If you want to keep enduring this hell, feel free to stay. But I’ve memorized your voice, height, and manner of speech. Your life is already mine.”

“However, if you follow my orders, I will take you in as my soldiers and reward you with something far greater than whatever Princess Rebella can offer.”

“Diamonds. Let the reward be diamonds. With that, I can make a promise too. Isn’t it better to become a citizen of a safer nation rather than living in an empire where war could break out at any moment?”

Kristin, who had been listening to the conversation, spoke to Jamie.

Her words struck a chord with the young soldier.

Diamonds were a gem Jamie could never dream of owning, no matter how hard he worked as a mere soldier.

But now, being promised such a treasure just for following orders left him with no reason to refuse.

Moreover, Jamie was utterly exhausted from months of grueling training and desperately wanted to escape this hellish place—preferably with his brother.

“I’ll do it. I’ll do it. No matter what, if I can make it to the Union Empire, I will go to your estate.”

“Good. And once you arrive at the estate, evade the other soldiers’ eyes and come to my troops. I’ll make the arrangements in advance. Once you’re there, change out of your armor and into the uniforms of my soldiers. That way, no one will suspect you. However—”

“B-But what if they notice we’ve disappeared? What happens then?”

“There won’t be a problem. If anyone asks, my men will say they found you intruding on the estate, killed you, and burned your bodies. But one more thing. On the day of the invasion, you and your brother must testify as witnesses before Princess Rebella.”

Kristin, concerned by the duke’s words, glanced at him.

If anything went wrong, it was clear the brothers would be in grave danger.

Still, Duke Raphael continued, unperturbed by her worry.

“You can testify without revealing your identities. Cover your faces and bodies completely, and with my soldiers surrounding you, no one will know who you are. Just speak the truth about what you’ve seen. I will ensure you and your brother are completely protected.”

“Understood. Then I’ll see you on that day.”

As the young soldier spoke and turned to run back to the training ground, Duke Raphael casually tossed him a dagger he held dear.

“Keep this dagger safe. It’s my token of promise to you—to stay silent and survive until the time comes.”

Jamie caught the dagger, bowed several times in gratitude, and sprinted back to the training grounds.