How many days had passed since Carlints’ army left to siege Cherien Castle?

    As expected, the news that arrived was nothing but bad.

    "Our army is on the verge of defeat?"@@@@

    "Yes. Currently, around 18,000 soldiers have been killed or wounded. The remaining 5,000 troops stationed in the rear to secure a retreat are preparing for withdrawal.

    Carlints has yet to make a final decision, but... I believe he will order a retreat soon."

    "...I see. So that’s how it turned out in the end."

    Parke, the commander left in charge of the fortress, let out a deep sigh.

    The cost of recklessly charging into an obviously doomed battle was devastating.

    So they have about 10,000 troops left?

    At the very least, Airen had done well—she had successfully persuaded Carlints to station 5,000 troops in the rear for a retreat.

    It was a small silver lining in an otherwise grim situation.

    If they hesitated too long, they’d be completely wiped out.

    But if Carlints was still wavering instead of giving the retreat order—

    That means the battle is close... but not quite lost yet.

    Carlints was an S-rank commander, and Airen had the Siege Warfare trait.

    So they must have been holding out better than expected.

    They were probably thinking—

    "Just a little more... If we can break through the gates, we can turn the tide..."

    Instead of retreating, they had sent a messenger for reinforcements.

    That alone told me everything—Carlints was planning to keep pushing forward.

    "...Understood. We’ll prepare to receive the wounded.

    I wish I could send reinforcements, but we only have about 3,000 soldiers left... Apologies.

    In the meantime, we should send word to Kelstein Castle as well."

    "Understood."

    After dismissing the messenger, Parke let out another heavy sigh before turning to face the rest of us.

    "What should we do now?"

    "......."

    Parke exhaled deeply.

    There were six commanders present, including me, Jack, and Silin.

    But none of us spoke.

    All of the capable officers had left with Carlints—

    Leaving only C-rank commanders behind at the fortress.

    There was nothing we could do.

    Then—

    Jack hesitantly raised his hand.

    "Commander Parke."

    "Speak."

    "I’ve been worried from the start, but... the fortress is severely under-defended.

    If we are attacked, we’ll lose it immediately.

    Shouldn’t we request reinforcements from Kelstein Castle?"

    I had been thinking the same thing.

    Serpina’s army wasn’t just going to ignore us.

    If we had captured Cherien Castle, Serpina would have focused her forces on recapturing it instead of bothering with this fortress.

    But since that hadn’t happened—

    We were a vulnerable target.

    "Hmm... I’m not sure if Rashion will send reinforcements, but we can at least request them."

    After that, no other suggestions were made.

    We disbanded to organize the troops that would be sent to support the retreating forces.

    Jack and two other commanders were assigned to lead the rescue operation.

    My only concern—

    Was Airen’s survival.

    She was a strong commander.

    And since I had already warned her that this battle was a lost cause, she wouldn’t have pushed herself recklessly.

    But if she got captured, things would become very difficult.

    If she makes it back safely, I need to convince Carlints to just retreat to Kelstein Castle.

    Continuing to fight desperate, drawn-out battles like this was insanely dangerous.

    After such a crushing defeat, Carlints wouldn’t be stubborn anymore.

    He was arrogant, but he wasn’t stupid.

    Losing so many men would have shattered his pride, but his ego wasn’t worth more than the lives of the soldiers he had wasted.

    Days passed as we waited for the retreating army to arrive.

    Then—

    "Flags spotted!"

    A soldier on the walls shouted.

    The light blue flag of Brans Army waved in the distance as troops hurried toward the fortress.

    From the sheer number of soldiers visible—

    It seemed they had successfully retreated.

    We hurried to the gates to welcome them, following Parke.

    "We’ve received the report, General Miguel. Did you retreat?"

    Parke addressed the man at the head of the group—Miguel.

    I recognized him.

    A B-rank commander—good enough to use as a subordinate.

    "...Yes.

    Fortunately, the enemy didn’t send pursuers, so we were able to return safely.

    But... a loss is still a loss."

    "......."

    She was warm.

    For the first time—

    I wasn’t seeing her as an S-rank general, or a siege specialist, or a commander under a tyrant.

    Just—

    Airen Juliet.

    Breathing. Alive. Here.

    And that alone...

    Was more of a relief than I could ever put into words.

    "Uh, well..."

    "...?"

    "It’s not that I mind, but... how long do you intend to stay like this?

    It’s, um... a little embarrassing."

    "Ah."

    Only then did I realize—

    I had been leaning against her chest.

    Of course, she was wearing armor, so there was no real sensation.

    But from her perspective, it must have been awkward as hell.

    As I pulled away, she cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject.

    "Ahem. More importantly... we retreated safely without being pursued, but in the end—"

    "Carlints was captured."

    "You already heard, then."

    "What happened?"

    Her face darkened.

    "Exactly what you would expect.

    The troops in Cherien Castle were far stronger than anticipated.

    There was no sign of their morale dropping—no disarray in their ranks.

    We inflicted some meaningful damage, but obviously—our own casualties were much higher.

    If I hadn’t convinced Carlints to station 5,000 troops in the rear, our entire vanguard would have been wiped out."

    "And the casualties...?"

    "...A total of 28,000 dead or wounded."

    So after excluding the 5,000 reserved for retreat, only 2,000 troops had made it back alive.

    "It was a narrow defeat.

    If we had just a few thousand more troops, we might have taken the castle."

    She said that with a bitter smile.

    She understood.

    This battle had done nothing but benefit Serpina’s army.

    I glanced around.

    The fortress was filled with the groans of the wounded.

    This—

    This scene alone was enough to describe hell.

    A catastrophic defeat.

    I was glad I had kept her from leading the vanguard.

    If she had—

    It wouldn’t have been Carlints who got captured.

    It would have been her.

    "Either way, I’m relieved you made it back safely.

    Tending to the wounded is important, but you should report to Commander Parke first."

    "Yes... I suppose you’re right."

    She turned to leave—

    But at that moment—

    "...Ah."

    She stumbled.

    Losing strength, she nearly collapsed—but I caught her.

    "Are you alright, Airen?"

    "Thanks to you. I appreciate it."

    This weak body of mine was seriously inconvenient.

    Just as I was cursing my lack of physical strength, she—

    blushed.

    Then, after hesitating, she spoke.

    "If... if you don’t mind, I could, um... hold your hand while we walk."

    "...My hand?"

    "I mean, I-I could... support you, that is.

    You, um... you look like you’re barely standing as it is.

    And... I wouldn’t mind. If you, you know... held my hand."

    She cleared her throat awkwardly, clearly struggling to hide her embarrassment.

    Honestly—

    She was adorable.

    Might as well be honest about it.

    "Then, I’ll take you up on that offer."

    "Alright."

    She reached out—

    And I took her hand.

    It was warm.

    The warmth of someone I wanted to protect.