Upon hearing the news, Chloe waited anxiously for Gerard. However, Gerard Blanchett was not just her husband.
There were too many people who needed him, the sword of the Empire.
He wasn’t allowed to leave work early for her anymore.
She wondered how many nights she had stayed awake. A few days later, Chloe received a note from Gerard saying he would be back by the end of the day.
Chloe waited for her husband, who still wasn’t home, under the dark and starry night sky.
After a long wait, she saw Gerard approaching from afar by horse.
“Honey…”
She couldn’t help but run up to him.
“My Lady.”
Gerard got off his horse and hugged Chloe gently. His face had turned rough in just a few days. Chloe frowned, feeling sorry for him.
“What about Abel?”
“He fell asleep waiting for you.”
Chloe replied while entering the mansion with Gerard.
“What about you, my Lady?”
“Me?”
“Did you not miss me?”
Gerard spoke softly in an attempt to loosen Chloe’s stiff expression. His wife’s face had been very stiff since earlier.
“I missed you.”
Chloe tried to control her stirring emotions upon her husband’s remark.
The unexpected news of war. Her husband, who had been appointed to lead the war.
She had been terrified for days while thinking about the dream Catherine had told her. She wondered how to put all those feelings into words.
“…I missed you.”
She couldn’t express all her feelings just by saying that she missed him, so she hastily added.
“A lot.”
And Gerard noticed Chloe’s sincerity in her words. He caressed the back of her hand to soothe her.
A brief silence fell over them. Both of them were pretending there was nothing on their mind, but they actually had very complicated thoughts.
In particular, Chloe couldn’t bring herself to ask the obvious question. She was afraid to receive an answer from her husband.
“First of all, let’s get you washed up and warm.”
Chloe removed her hand from his grasp and spoke as they entered the mansion.
“Yes, my Lady.”
However, as he was just about to pull away, she grabbed her husband’s sleeve.
“Sorry, honey.”
She knew she had to ask.
“Yes?”
“…Are you going to participate?”
Chloe stared at his mouth in utter anxiety.
Actually, she hadn’t been waiting while on her own. She had asked Karina about the current situation.
However, her older sister only said that nothing has been decided yet regarding Gerard’s participation. The Imperial faction and the noble faction were divided.
Therefore, she had been anxious all day. She guessed he was going to participate.
She wished he wouldn’t. She desperately wished he wouldn’t participate. Chloe prayed while waiting for the answer from her husband.
“No, my Lady.”
Gerard immediately shook his head after recognizing her expression.
On the day her wife reunited with her sister, whom she had been separated from, she had repeatedly asked him to take care of himself. She didn’t give the details, but she did say that she had seen him get injured in her dream.
He wasn’t afraid to get injured. However, he didn’t want his wife to be anxious.
“I talked about not participating in this one. I have no intention to be separated from you, my Lady.”
Most of all, he was still nervous about being separated from his wife.
“But you’re appointed as the Chief Commander this time…”
“I’ll only be informed about the overall situation and put together the final strategy. The direct commander of the battlefield will be taken by another knight. Therefore, you don’t have to worry too much.”
Gerard gently comforted his wife. Finally, Chloe was relieved.
The problem, however, was that things were not as simple as he said.
The nobles, including the Duke of Norbert, didn’t accept Gerard’s absence in this war. Not just the noble faction, but some of the people in the Imperial faction as well.
However, there was only one person who could command the Marquis of Blanchett to go to the battlefield directly. And that man, the Emperor, respected his friend’s will.
Until now.
***
How nice it would be if the situation went as they wished, as they had planned. However, sometimes life drives humans into a corner.
The arrival of the First Imperial Forces didn’t change the war very much. The Tswai were not only well-versed in the western geography but their army was also well-prepared and organized.
The war, where the Empire was struggling more than they expected, was driving them into the corner.
And then, one day.
[I know why brother-in-law went to war! The Tzuwai…]
Catherine urgently wrote to Chloe during the afternoon. It was too late by then.
By the time Chloe had checked Catherine’s message, the council hall in the palace was filled with silence. There was a message from the leader of Tzwai.
[I, Quheldam, the eldest son of Catarman, ask for the Marquis of Blanchett to come to the battlefield. I’ll return one of the seized castles on the condition he joins the battlefield. I promise on my honor.]
Quheldam was the son of the Tzwai’s leader, whom Gerard killed nine years ago. He was mad at himself for not chasing after the son of the leader, who was about 10 years old at that time, after the child ran away, which was the cause of the problem this time.
Quheldam never intended to keep his vengeful thoughts against Gerard to himself. He even called Gerard by his first name so that he could not run away anymore.
“If it’s become like this, uhm…”
The Duke of Norbert looked at Gerard with a cough.
Moreover, all the nobles gathered in the council hall looked at the Emperor and the Marquis of Blanchett alternately. Although they didn’t say anything, they were communicating with their eyes.
The noble faction and Imperial faction were also hoping that Gerard Blanchett would step forward as a hero in this situation.
“…”
However, Gerard pretended to not recognize those gazes.
He wasn’t that virtuous or had a strong desire for honor. He wanted to stay with his family rather than being a hero who saved his country.
Anyone could call him stubborn or coward, but he had no choice.
The next day, however, when an article announced it on the front page of the Empire’s newspaper, Gerard knew he couldn’t get away from this any longer.
[The Tzwai offer to negotiate on the condition that the Marquis of Blanchett will participate in the battlefield.]
It wasn’t determined which one of the nobles who participated in the meeting had leaked the information. Whether it was the noble or the Emperor.
Owen had to make the decision as the Emperor now.
“Blanchett.”
Owen called Gerard in the council hall. Owen knew his friend didn’t want to go to war and has been tacitly supporting his friend’s will until now.
However,
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“For the sake of Hernia…”
The noble faction was getting worse day by day, and doubts kept brewing within the Imperial faction, and he couldn’t take Gerard’s side forever. He desperately needed his friend’s assistance to bring full control over the war.
“Will you please participate in the war?”
The request sounded similar to an order. However, the Emperor’s eyes were filled with worry and anxiety.
“…I’ll participate for the Sun of Hernia.”
In the end, Gerard had no choice but to break his stubbornness.
“I will bring victory to Your Majesty and Hernia.”
Gerard offered a faithful answer.
In fact, on the other hand, he was also considering participating. With the Tzwai winning every day, it was only a matter of time before they pushed into the Capital after the central defense fell.
For the Emperor.
For the sake of the people in the Empire.
In the end, to protect his family.
Gerard had to participate.
***
It was the second day when the Imperial Army marched out. Their morale was sky high with Gerard Blanchett as their commander.
A lot of people gathered to pray for Gerard.
“I hope you’ll come back safely.”
“Sure, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor helped Gerard, who bowed politely in front of him to straighten up. He felt sad while patting his friend on the back.
Owen hugged Gerard.
“Don’t take the lead foolishly, and come back intact because I don’t want to be despised by my sister-in-law.”
Owen whispered to his friend.
“…Is it an order?”
“Order? I ask you as a friend.”
“Yes, Owen.”
Gerard replied to Owen.
Owen’s eyes widened upon his answer. Gerard has never called him so intimately. It had always been ‘Your Majesty’ or ‘you’.
“Did you just… What? Why are you doing something you usually don’t do?”
Owen asked while taking a step back from Gerard. He wondered what happened to his friend, who had been acting cold to him since their academy days.
It felt touching and cringey.
Gerard shook his shoulders lightly that only Owen could see the movement. Seriously, not even when he asked him to call him that.
“Please take care of Chloe and Abel while I’m away.”
It was Gerard’s turn to ask favor from Owen. Owen nodded.
At that moment, they were not a master and his knight, but friends who asked each other’s favors.
Upon hearing the news, Chloe waited anxiously for Gerard. However, Gerard Blanchett was not just her husband.
There were too many people who needed him, the sword of the Empire.
He wasn’t allowed to leave work early for her anymore.
She wondered how many nights she had stayed awake. A few days later, Chloe received a note from Gerard saying he would be back by the end of the day.
Chloe waited for her husband, who still wasn’t home, under the dark and starry night sky.
After a long wait, she saw Gerard approaching from afar by horse.
“Honey…”
She couldn’t help but run up to him.
“My Lady.”
Gerard got off his horse and hugged Chloe gently. His face had turned rough in just a few days. Chloe frowned, feeling sorry for him.
“What about Abel?”
“He fell asleep waiting for you.”
Chloe replied while entering the mansion with Gerard.
“What about you, my Lady?”
“Me?”
“Did you not miss me?”
Gerard spoke softly in an attempt to loosen Chloe’s stiff expression. His wife’s face had been very stiff since earlier.
“I missed you.”
Chloe tried to control her stirring emotions upon her husband’s remark.
The unexpected news of war. Her husband, who had been appointed to lead the war.
She had been terrified for days while thinking about the dream Catherine had told her. She wondered how to put all those feelings into words.
“…I missed you.”
She couldn’t express all her feelings just by saying that she missed him, so she hastily added.
“A lot.”
And Gerard noticed Chloe’s sincerity in her words. He caressed the back of her hand to soothe her.
A brief silence fell over them. Both of them were pretending there was nothing on their mind, but they actually had very complicated thoughts.
In particular, Chloe couldn’t bring herself to ask the obvious question. She was afraid to receive an answer from her husband.
“First of all, let’s get you washed up and warm.”
Chloe removed her hand from his grasp and spoke as they entered the mansion.
“Yes, my Lady.”
However, as he was just about to pull away, she grabbed her husband’s sleeve.
“Sorry, honey.”
She knew she had to ask.
“Yes?”
“…Are you going to participate?”
Chloe stared at his mouth in utter anxiety.
Actually, she hadn’t been waiting while on her own. She had asked Karina about the current situation.
However, her older sister only said that nothing has been decided yet regarding Gerard’s participation. The Imperial faction and the noble faction were divided.
Therefore, she had been anxious all day. She guessed he was going to participate.
She wished he wouldn’t. She desperately wished he wouldn’t participate. Chloe prayed while waiting for the answer from her husband.
“No, my Lady.”
Gerard immediately shook his head after recognizing her expression.
On the day her wife reunited with her sister, whom she had been separated from, she had repeatedly asked him to take care of himself. She didn’t give the details, but she did say that she had seen him get injured in her dream.
He wasn’t afraid to get injured. However, he didn’t want his wife to be anxious.
“I talked about not participating in this one. I have no intention to be separated from you, my Lady.”
Most of all, he was still nervous about being separated from his wife.
“But you’re appointed as the Chief Commander this time…”
“I’ll only be informed about the overall situation and put together the final strategy. The direct commander of the battlefield will be taken by another knight. Therefore, you don’t have to worry too much.”
Gerard gently comforted his wife. Finally, Chloe was relieved.
The problem, however, was that things were not as simple as he said.
The nobles, including the Duke of Norbert, didn’t accept Gerard’s absence in this war. Not just the noble faction, but some of the people in the Imperial faction as well.
However, there was only one person who could command the Marquis of Blanchett to go to the battlefield directly. And that man, the Emperor, respected his friend’s will.
Until now.
***
How nice it would be if the situation went as they wished, as they had planned. However, sometimes life drives humans into a corner.
The arrival of the First Imperial Forces didn’t change the war very much. The Tswai were not only well-versed in the western geography but their army was also well-prepared and organized.
The war, where the Empire was struggling more than they expected, was driving them into the corner.
And then, one day.
[I know why brother-in-law went to war! The Tzuwai…]
Catherine urgently wrote to Chloe during the afternoon. It was too late by then.
By the time Chloe had checked Catherine’s message, the council hall in the palace was filled with silence. There was a message from the leader of Tzwai.
[I, Quheldam, the eldest son of Catarman, ask for the Marquis of Blanchett to come to the battlefield. I’ll return one of the seized castles on the condition he joins the battlefield. I promise on my honor.]
Quheldam was the son of the Tzwai’s leader, whom Gerard killed nine years ago. He was mad at himself for not chasing after the son of the leader, who was about 10 years old at that time, after the child ran away, which was the cause of the problem this time.
Quheldam never intended to keep his vengeful thoughts against Gerard to himself. He even called Gerard by his first name so that he could not run away anymore.
“If it’s become like this, uhm…”
The Duke of Norbert looked at Gerard with a cough.
Moreover, all the nobles gathered in the council hall looked at the Emperor and the Marquis of Blanchett alternately. Although they didn’t say anything, they were communicating with their eyes.
The noble faction and Imperial faction were also hoping that Gerard Blanchett would step forward as a hero in this situation.
“…”
However, Gerard pretended to not recognize those gazes.
He wasn’t that virtuous or had a strong desire for honor. He wanted to stay with his family rather than being a hero who saved his country.
Anyone could call him stubborn or coward, but he had no choice.
The next day, however, when an article announced it on the front page of the Empire’s newspaper, Gerard knew he couldn’t get away from this any longer.
[The Tzwai offer to negotiate on the condition that the Marquis of Blanchett will participate in the battlefield.]
It wasn’t determined which one of the nobles who participated in the meeting had leaked the information. Whether it was the noble or the Emperor.
Owen had to make the decision as the Emperor now.
“Blanchett.”
Owen called Gerard in the council hall. Owen knew his friend didn’t want to go to war and has been tacitly supporting his friend’s will until now.
However,
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“For the sake of Hernia…”
The noble faction was getting worse day by day, and doubts kept brewing within the Imperial faction, and he couldn’t take Gerard’s side forever. He desperately needed his friend’s assistance to bring full control over the war.
“Will you please participate in the war?”
The request sounded similar to an order. However, the Emperor’s eyes were filled with worry and anxiety.
“…I’ll participate for the Sun of Hernia.”
In the end, Gerard had no choice but to break his stubbornness.
“I will bring victory to Your Majesty and Hernia.”
Gerard offered a faithful answer.
In fact, on the other hand, he was also considering participating. With the Tzwai winning every day, it was only a matter of time before they pushed into the Capital after the central defense fell.
For the Emperor.
For the sake of the people in the Empire.
In the end, to protect his family.
Gerard had to participate.
***
It was the second day when the Imperial Army marched out. Their morale was sky high with Gerard Blanchett as their commander.
A lot of people gathered to pray for Gerard.
“I hope you’ll come back safely.”
“Sure, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor helped Gerard, who bowed politely in front of him to straighten up. He felt sad while patting his friend on the back.
Owen hugged Gerard.
“Don’t take the lead foolishly, and come back intact because I don’t want to be despised by my sister-in-law.”
Owen whispered to his friend.
“…Is it an order?”
“Order? I ask you as a friend.”
“Yes, Owen.”
Gerard replied to Owen.
Owen’s eyes widened upon his answer. Gerard has never called him so intimately. It had always been ‘Your Majesty’ or ‘you’.
“Did you just… What? Why are you doing something you usually don’t do?”
Owen asked while taking a step back from Gerard. He wondered what happened to his friend, who had been acting cold to him since their academy days.
It felt touching and cringey.
Gerard shook his shoulders lightly that only Owen could see the movement. Seriously, not even when he asked him to call him that.
“Please take care of Chloe and Abel while I’m away.”
It was Gerard’s turn to ask favor from Owen. Owen nodded.
At that moment, they were not a master and his knight, but friends who asked each other’s favors.
