Territory, royalty, even a pebble. Anything at all.

Aaron’s weighty command filled the empty glass along with the brandy.

“Yes, commander. And also…”

Just as Dyke was about to report something else,

Another soldier urgently pulled aside the tent curtain and sought out Aaron.

“Commander.”

Seeing the soldier’s rushed movements, Dyke furrowed his brows and asked him,

“What’s the matter?”

“Assistant Colin has returned with the survivors.”

“Assistant Colin?”

With wide eyes of surprise, Dyke looked at Aaron.

Aaron didn’t even flinch as he listened to the urgent conversation between Dyke and the soldier.

As if he was in a world of his own, he slowly lifted his glass.

The damned princess.

Colin, who had gone to attack the palace instead of the commander obsessed with the escaped prisoner.

He must have opened a path for her in the tense standoff around the Iorentia palace, on his own orders.

And the princess’s response was an attack.

The Imperial Army could only face defeat, shedding blood mixed with rain.

Even as they writhed in pain, the princess’s obsession with Iorentia did not waver.

Such a fool to think he could tame her.

Laughing at himself, Aaron downed the liquor in his glass in one gulp.

He roughly put down the glass and slowly got up.

When he walked out of the tent, Colin was kneeling in front of the commander’s tent.

“I apologize, commander.”

With cold eyes, Aaron looked down at Colin.

“Due to the rain, the weapons didn’t work properly, so our response was delayed.”

Colin, with his head to the ground, uttered strenuously,

“It’s my fault.”

Colin, remembering the raindrenched battle, gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

That night.

The entire world was filled with darkness, and a torrential downpour was falling.

Colin, who was besieging the palace, was taken aback by the attack coming from Iorentia through the black rain.

All the gunpowder weapons had lost their power due to the rain, and in the end, both the Empire and Iorentia had no choice but to face each other with swords.

The Imperial Army was strong, but in a swordfight, Iorentia wasn’t easily pushed back.

The evenly matched forces collided fiercely in the pouring rain, both inflicting heavy wounds on each other.

Unable to hold out any longer at the palace, Colin had no choice but to gather the scattered survivors and return.

“We should have been fully prepared and on standby.”

Colin spat out sternly as a defeated commander.

“I’ll take responsibility for the defeat…”

Before Colin could finish, Aaron cut him off.

“Forget it.”

Colin raised his head in disbelief.

“Pardon?”

“Wipe the memory of that battle clean from your mind.”

“But…”

“Forget the defeat, remember only the victories to come. Because we’re going to take Iorentia.”

Aaron’s voice was calm, but it echoed more intensely than ever.

“Dyke, prepare a meal for the survivors. Call the military doctors to treat the injured.”

“Yes, commander.”

“Provide everything necessary for them to recover to their best condition.”

Colin, listening to the order given to Dyke, looked at Aaron with a surprised face.

Not holding the defeated accountable.

It was unusual to unconditionally accept a commander who had lost a war.

Colin glanced around in disbelief at the commander’s order.

The other soldiers didn’t seem to question it at all.

They were just moving quickly to follow the commander’s orders.

What on earth is going on?

Colin was about to ask a question to figure out what was going on.

It was Dyke who stopped him.

Standing stiffly behind Aaron, Dyke crossed his hands in an ‘X’.

‘Don’t say anything, don’t do anything.’

The person the Imperial Army feared more than the enemy right now was their commander, Aaron.

Drawing a line across his neck with the palm of his hand, Dyke sent a message of silence to Colin.

‘Touch the commander wrong now and you’ll die.’

Colin, who had been away for a while and was slow to understand the situation, looked at the commander with a shocked face.

The only grand ducal house of the empire, Bergen.

Even in war, when wiping the blood splatter from killing enemies, his leisurely smile never left his lips.

Now, he had forgotten how to smile.

The man who always wore a relaxed smile lost his composure.

With sharp eyes as if ready to tear everything flickering before him, he scanned his surroundings.

To make a mistake now was to court death.

Knowing the commander’s state, the soldiers began to move swiftly for survival.

Even as they rushed to carry out orders, in Aaron’s hand, pebbles were clashing and rolling about.

“Commander. There is another matter to report.”

At Dyke’s call, Aaron, who was returning to the command post, stopped in his tracks.

“A letter has arrived from Day.”

Aaron’s eyebrows twitched.

Day was the name of a spy planted in Eorenti.

Remembering that fact, Aaron quickly snatched the note extended by Dyke.

Having confirmed the letter, Aaron froze on the spot.

The stones, which had been clashing without a pause, also stopped.

Like the deafening silence after a loud explosion, all sounds seemed to retreat in an instant.

Aaron’s ashgray pupils remained fixed on the note, as if they had forgotten how to move.

After gazing at the note for a long time, Aaron slowly raised his head.

A breath as precarious as water seeping from an abouttoburst embankment leaked out.

“That’s fortunate.”

Aaron tightly clenched the letter in his hand.

Just like Delia’s body trembling in pain after consuming poison, Aaron’s hand was shaking violently.

“I was worried. This is really a relief.”

Damn Del.

She was thankfully still alive.

She seemed even healthier than he was worried about.

Healthy enough to discuss a national marriage across the sea with Boswell.

“It’s enough if she’s living healthily.”

He could retrieve her whenever, wherever.

Aaron handed the crumpled note back to Dyke.

In Aaron’s palm, two pebbles started to roll again.

“Tell Day. Report every movement of the Princess and the royal trends without fail.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“We’ll speed up the march. We need to hurry if we want to conquer Boswell across the sea.”

In a low voice, Aaron gave the order and lifted his head to gaze at the starry night sky.

It seems the pebbles in his hand have served their purpose.

The rough surface of the pebble had become smooth due to constant friction, resembling her.

He should find a new, rougher, and more flawed pebble.

Aaron let out a deep sigh and moved to find a new pebble.