Chapter 3

“It’s been a while since I’ve given you this kind of task.”

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Be careful on the way. There might be an ambush.”

Since the conquest war began, the Empire had never lost a battle. Among the many armies, Rumic’s unit and the special forces, who specialized in assassination rather than direct combat, played a big role. Eria was heading out to meet these special forces. The upcoming battle was large and expected to last long, so their help was essential to minimize losses. The soldiers who knew the terrain well were badly wounded in the last battle, so Eria herself would go negotiate.

“Yes, I’ll be off now.”

After saying goodbye to Rumic, Eria left the barracks. She had received the current location of the unit, so all she had to do was follow the map. With five soldiers following her, Eria set out.

“Luckily, it’ll only take half a day to get there.”

“Haha… That’s a relief.”

One soldier replied awkwardly to her muttering as she looked at the map. His face was grim, but he said it was a relief. Eria scolded them to walk straight. She had intentionally chosen soldiers who were proud or looked down on her for being a woman. That was a good decision. Eria was now a full-fledged knight, and many soldiers trusted and followed her. Still, some held prejudices, subtly ignored her, and didn’t obey orders.

During the war, and probably even after, Eria would always have such labels following her, but she didn’t care. She had always been lonely. Teasing and contempt were already second nature. The good thing was that now she was in a position to pay back the stress she received.

Eria gave the soldiers a short break only when they were so exhausted that they forgot to insult her. Just ten minutes. She wanted to pick up the pace since they were almost at the unit. But as they prepared to set off again, an arrow flew from somewhere. It didn’t hit anyone, but since it was aimed at Eria, it was clearly an assassination attempt. That revealed the ambushers nearby. There were quite a few of them.

Tension filled the air.

“Judging by your clothes… You’re soldiers of the Franca Kingdom. What are you doing here?”

Eria’s voice was sharp, completely different from when she teased her own soldiers.

“Are you Eria of the Lohas Empire?”

The man who stepped forward seemed to be the leader. His wicked smile showed he feared nothing, and for a moment, Eria felt a chill down her spine. She drew her sword, focusing on even the slightest movement.

“We came to kill you.”

“Have you lost your mind in the heat? As far as I know, Franca surrendered to us instead of waging war. And now you stab us in the back like this?”

It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, but every time it did, Eria was infuriated by their cowardice.

“I can’t miss the chance to punish evil scum. Thanks to you, we lost our kingdom.”

“If you didn’t want to lose it, you should’ve protected it.”

Who could it be? The wretch who gave them information. Eria always trusted her unit and considered them family. The soldiers she brought along were annoying, but she didn’t want to kill or abandon them—they were just troublesome. But if there was a traitor, it had to be someone in her own unit, and that thought troubled her.

“Ha…”

Either way, she had to escape here to catch that traitor. Eria stopped talking. Asking pointless questions about who the spy was would only make them scoff.

Soon, the battle began around Eria. There were many enemies, but some were so weak that their numbers dwindled quickly. Still, those who came determined to kill Eria attacked desperately. No matter how skilled she was, she soon grew tired. If she lost focus even for a moment, she’d lose a limb to their fierce attacks. Swords clashed endlessly, and even if she was cut somewhere, she didn’t have time to feel pain—she had to block the next attack. She couldn’t check on her subordinates’ safety or the situation; her body moved on instinct.

“…What the—!”

The chaotic scene grew even more hectic as a small group of armed soldiers suddenly appeared. Eria saw the Lohas Empire insignia on their cloaks, but they weren’t her soldiers or knights. Their faces were covered, making identification difficult, but she guessed they were the nearby special forces.

How did they know to come?

Eria felt like she was the only fool who didn’t know about the trap—everyone else seemed to know except her. She felt useless.

“Are you alright?”

A gentle voice spoke to Eria from beside her. She looked up slightly and nodded firmly, as if to say this was nothing. She could only see his crimson eyes, but she sensed he was smiling faintly.

Without further words, the battle resumed. Their swordsmanship wasn’t flashy. Unlike Eria, who had learned the sword through war, their movements were precise and concise, as if they saw through everything. There were fewer than ten of them, but they quickly cleared the area.

After some time, the attacks stopped, and silence fell. The metallic, sour scent of blood hung in the air. It was over. It was done. Realizing everything was finished, Eria slammed her sword into the ground and hunched over slightly. As she relaxed, her stomach churned. Sometimes the stench of blood made her nauseous.

But she survived.

She had survived, and as payment for that, she would take the traitor’s life. Even while resting, her mind was busy organizing what she needed to do next.

Then someone approached her.

“Are you Dame Eria?”

Eria turned her head slightly to look at the man who called her. Judging by his eyes, he was the one who’d asked if she was alright. When he removed his mask, his beauty was so striking that Eria’s mind went blank for a moment. She’d never seen a famous artwork, but she thought no masterpiece or statue could be more beautiful than this man before her.

‘Wow. This is the real thing.’

There were plenty of handsome men in the Empire’s army or other kingdoms’ forces, but none gave this kind of impression. It was the first time she’d been so awestruck by someone’s face. In war, daily washing was unthinkable, and under the blazing sun, even handsome faces and moist skin changed over time. But this man’s skin was milky white, flawless, and full of life, as if he’d never been touched by the sun. His features were distinct. If faces had ranks, this was not a king or emperor, but a god.

“Are you not?”

The moment Eria realized she was reflected in those burning scarlet eyes, she quickly averted her gaze. It was almost laughable that, having just escaped death and started plotting revenge, her first thought was how handsome the man was—but what could she do, it was instinct. Eria suddenly felt, more than ever, that before she was a knight who wielded a sword, she was a woman. She thought she had lost all such emotions or instincts on the battlefield.

“……Ahem. That’s right.”

At Eria’s reply, the man gave a faint smile.

“It’s an honor to meet the brave knight who is known by many names in war. My name is Kan. I am part of the Lohas Empire special forces.”

He introduced himself. Kan. Eria repeated his name in her mind as she greeted him formally.

“How did you know to come here? You’re far too armed for just a simple welcome.”

“I received information today from a spy I planted. They said the Franca Kingdom would attack Captain Rumic’s army and you, Dame Eria.”

“What?”

Eria’s eyes widened at Kan’s words. Her heart kept pounding, unable to calm down from the sudden news. So, if she hadn’t misheard just now……

“Franca’s army didn’t just attack this place?”

“That’s correct. As soon as I received the information, I sent troops, but the situation there is still unknown.”

Of course. The momentum was far too fierce for them to be after just one knight. Since no one expected this attack, she worried casualties might occur among her own troops. Would they be alright? She hoped everyone was safe. Eria’s face showed her concern before she looked back at Kan.

Times like this called for a clear head.

“So, what should I do now?”

“For now, let’s head to our camp. And……”

Before Kan could finish, someone approached. Eria turned her gaze. One of the soldiers she had brought was standing with his head bowed, held captive.

“We caught him trying to escape. You’ll need to decide what to do with him. He’s the spy behind this attack.”

It wasn’t unexpected. She had always thought someone with many complaints about the unit or herself might turn traitor. Yet, facing the reality, a sense of betrayal made her mind go blank.

Even if she disliked him, she considered him her subordinate, someone she needed to look after. But the other side thought differently.

Even if he was new, they had shared life and death for at least half a year. How could he……

“Sanchez. You……”

The traitorous soldier only bowed his head in fear. Eria clenched her teeth to hold back her anger, finally managing to answer Kan.

“Are the other soldiers……”

“One was seriously injured and has already been moved. The other……”

Kan’s eyes turned regretful.

It was hard not to react emotionally in such a situation. She wanted to cut down the traitor or grab him by the collar and yell, but she held back. It was a habit. Even when she should have been angry, she learned to suppress it. Ever since she was young, any emotional reaction would be met with, ‘It’s because she’s a woman.’ She hated that phrase most of all, so she learned to endure.

“Please show me the way.”

On the way to the base, Eria said nothing. Even when she learned that the location she knew was only a meeting point and the camp was deeper in the mountains, she had no particular thoughts. Her mind was filled only with worry for her unit—what was happening, were there any wounded.