Chapter 4
The owner of the laughter was General Viktor.
Despite being tied up hand and foot, he stood upright without any help and burst into laughter, causing the Royal Guard members to hastily grab him, while Andrei stared at him blankly, forgetting to lower his raised arm.
...Could he be doing this for me?
Since I've never seen him laugh so loudly before, could I think that he deliberately laughed loudly to draw attention?
After laughing like that for a while, the general,
"...Has he finally gone mad?"
As soon as he heard Andrei's muttering, he stopped laughing.
As if he were a different person from the one who had been laughing just moments ago, his face looking at Andrei showed no trace of amusement.
"Wh-what's this?"
Andrei briefly averted his gaze, but perhaps feeling his pride hurt at showing fear, he tried to make eye contact with the general while pulling the rope strongly.
"What are you..."
"Hey. Andrei."
"...Ugh."
Andrei, who was trying to raise his voice forcefully, couldn't finish his words at that low tone and frozen cold expression.
The general, showing a bit of the charisma he displayed on the battlefield, grinned at the shrinking Andrei and then shrugged lightly, changing the atmosphere.
"Don't be too scared. Shouldn't you be happy, of course?"
"Scared? I'm n..."
"Peace is coming, after all. You should be more familiar with peace, so what are you so afraid of?"
"You damn...!"
Andrei was getting heated at the general who was ignoring his words and saying only what he wanted to say.
I was more concerned about the peace the general was talking about.
Just yesterday, arrows and stones were flying around, but now peace is coming?
What kind of conversation did they have inside?
"Ah, forget it. You're going to die anyway, so of course you'd talk a lot."
Andrei's statement added fuel to that question.
"Is that so?"
"What?"
While the general reacted calmly as if he already knew, I immediately gave a hand signal at the words suggesting that General Viktor might die.
-Click! Click!
At this, the soldiers who had been waiting with tense eyes began to grasp their spears and slowly approach.
"What are you doing!"
"We can't just let you arrest and threaten to kill our allied commander-in-chief in the middle of the night during a war."
When the general's life is at stake, we can't just let them go.
Setting aside my personal fondness for him just protecting me, if the general disappears, it's clear that we'll die under incompetent commanders like before.
If we're going to die anyway, shouldn't we repay at least a little of the debt we owe to the general?
"Hey, this is a royal order, a royal order! Are you daring to defy His Majesty's will..."
"I've never received such an order! The others probably haven't either. Isn't that right?"
"Yes!"
Although he pulled out an order stamped with the king's seal, once we've made up our minds and drawn our weapons, that piece of paper doesn't mean much.
With over dozens of soldiers gathered now, they can't resist with only Andrei properly armed among them.
"Untie the ropes now."
"You bastards..."
Andrei cursed and rolled his eyes frantically.
His hand was fidgeting with the scabbard at his waist, but knowing resistance was impossible, he wasn't even properly gripping the handle.
"Captain! Wh-what should we do?"
The other Royal Guard members, terrified by the spears pointed at them, gathered around Andrei.
"Are you trying to commit treason? Put down your weapons quickly!"
"Treason?"
"Yes! How dare you try to threaten me, who came with the king's order!"
He seemed to gain confidence thinking I was conscious of the word treason, but I was rather surprised that the resonance of the word I rolled in my mouth wasn't bad.
The surrounding soldiers flinched for a moment, but seeing that I showed no sign of backing down, not a single one lowered their spears or stepped back.
Soldiers who have experienced war would all know.
The fact that the swords and arrows of the imperial soldiers are closer to us than the punishment for treason.
Unless those giving orders change, we'll be driven to our deaths again.
If we lose General Viktor too, we'll die soon without leaving anything behind.
"Not bad."
"What?"
Rather than a dog's death, rebellion is better.
As I drew my sword, Andrei's eyes widened.
"If, if you stop now, I'll let this slide quietly!"
"What about the general?"
"..."
"Hah."
Andrei maintained his silence as if he wouldn't give up the general even at the very end.
Finally, I raised my sword as well.
The tension was escalating, and with one gesture from me, everything could be decided.
As I was hesitating, this being a difficult decision for me too,
"Stop."
The general, who had been watching us, spoke up.
At his words, everyone, including me, lowered their weapons.
"Andrei. You were talking so much earlier, why have you become so quiet now? Just speak."
The general spoke jokingly as if trying to change the atmosphere.
Realizing he had survived, Andrei wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"...Right. His Majesty..."
"I'll speak. Adjutant Anna."
"Yes."
"You damn bastards..."
"There's no need to worry about the war. The empire and the kingdom have agreed to a one-year ceasefire."
"A ceasefire?"
He briefly explained the current situation.
The reason for arresting the general was to hand him over to the empire to make a ceasefire.
"...I see."
"I'm counting on you while I'm gone."
Before I could fully understand the meaning of those words, the general started moving.
"Let's go."
"Ha, really crazy... Hey, hey!"
Having somehow untied the ropes binding his legs, he walked steadily, and Andrei and the Royal Guard members surrounded him and quickly fled through the soldiers who were making way.
"General!"
"Please, live long!"
With a final shout, I stared blankly at the general's back as he moved forward without hesitation.
True to his words about feeling good, his steps seemed incredibly light despite clearly walking towards his death.
How could he worry about us even knowing he was going to die?
Was it because he was such a person that he could become such a great general?
"...What should we do?"
Even after he had left the camp, I stared in that direction for a long time before dismissing the troops and returning to my tent.
My mind was in a whirl.
Although the general had asked me to temporarily take charge of the troops, I just entered the commander's tent, turned off the lights, and came out.
I should have gathered his belongings if I thought of them as mementos, but I didn't touch anything because I didn't want to accept the fact that the general was going to die.
My head was complicated.
I was too tired even lying on the bed.
"One year..."
General Viktor had said that if the war dragged on too long, the kingdom with its severe class differences would be at a disadvantage.
That even if we won this war, we would inevitably lose the next one.
Moreover, could a kingdom without even Viktor resist the empire a year later?
The kingdom that had suffered repeated defeats before he became a general?
Furthermore, since that Andrei is unlikely to keep his promise to let things slide quietly, our lives are in danger too.
A king who even arbitrarily arrests the commander-in-chief wouldn't hesitate to lay hands on his adjutant and soldiers.
There could be large-scale purges like those that often occurred before Viktor.
I began to regret letting Andrei go, but he has already fled far away.
"I need to think about this a bit."
It seems I need to make some preparations.
The general's last order was for us to live long, so shouldn't we follow that order?
----
"Phew."
Only after the soldiers made way and I completely left the camp could I breathe a sigh of relief.
That was dangerous.
I didn't expect the adjutant to react so strongly to the threat against me.
To even point weapons at the Royal Guard captain who brought the king's order.
I wonder where her initial strict and distrustful attitude towards me has gone.
I was really fortunate that everyone listened to me even in a situation that was about to reach its extreme.
I could have missed the last chance to escape from the kingdom.
I don't know how surprised I was when she murmured that rebellion wasn't bad.
"That damn woman..."
"Didn't I say I wouldn't speak? She was quite desperate."
"...A man about to die sure talks a lot."
I occasionally poked Andrei, who kept muttering for confirmation.
He was just responding with irritation but couldn't do any special harm to me.
Seeing the hot-tempered Andrei endure this much, it's right to think he received separate orders.
And everyone seems to think I'm going to die, but I think differently.
At least as long as the Empress wants me, I won't die immediately.
Satisfying their strict standards is another matter, but my head won't be cut off and displayed right away.
The justification is perfect.
I didn't betray or run away, but the kingdom abandoned me first.
It's such a good situation that I can even expect sympathy votes from emotional people.
"Hehe."
"...Madman."
If I maintain the right attitude, I can be highly utilized in the empire.
If I manage my image well from now on, I'll appear as 'a loyal and capable general who was discarded due to incompetent superiors'.
The Empress of the empire is not the type to easily dismiss a subordinate who is capable but without ambition, loyal but knows when to act.
I'm also willing to endure some discomfort for the sake of my grand dream of world conquest.
"So, where are we going?"
"Can't you just shut up and follow quietly?"
"I suppose so."
"Hah..."
Therefore, this arrest is not the end, but the beginning.