By Zephyria “It’s been a while, Major Hares.”
Hugo felt a momentary unfamiliarity with Leonardo’s honorifics, which he was hearing for the first time, and looked at him.
Cordelia’s red eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe it. She stared at Leonardo for a long time with trembling eyes before barely opening her mouth.
“Really, is that Blaine?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Leonardo was wearing an uncharacteristic gentle smile. And it was the first face Hugo had seen since he met Leonardo.
‘I didn’t know he could make that kind of expression.’
Cordelia’s face, which was filled with surprise and joy, gradually became tinged with pity, and she looked at Hugo and Leonardo alternately before saying.
“The Council said they arrested Blaine…. So that rumor was true.”
Instead of answering that, Hugo slowly examined the atmosphere as if gauging the relationship between the two and asked.
“Did you know each other during your military service?”
“Yes, that’s right. When I was in the Imperial Army, I was in charge of the operation unit that included Blaine a few times. Perhaps the fact that I reached the rank of major at an early age is largely due to Blaine’s contribution.”
Having said that, Cordelia took a step forward towards Leonardo and said with a face mixed with various emotions.
“It’s been a while, Blaine. You weren’t even an adult back then….”
Cordelia’s face seemed to have a lot of things she wanted to ask him and a lot of things she wanted to say, but she only looked at him with affectionate eyes, perhaps out of consideration for him, and didn’t ask anything else.
Leonardo also stared at her, but couldn’t make eye contact anymore and lowered his head.
Cordelia looked even more pitiful at that sight. But she quickly composed herself and turned her gaze back to Hugo and asked.
“But, why did you bring Blaine here?”
“Leonardo will also participate in this subjugation.”
At Hugo’s words, Cordelia’s expression became subtle. Hugo could intuitively tell that she, who seemed to have quite good feelings for Leonardo, was not simply accepting the Council and himself, who had arrested Leonardo and brought him for subjugation.
However, instead of telling Hugo what she was thinking, she shifted her gaze to the handcuffs on each of their wrists.
“You’re not going to enter the peninsula with handcuffs on your wrists, are you?”
At Cordelia’s barbed words, Hugo also looked down at the handcuffs connecting Leonardo and himself and opened his mouth.
“I plan to unlock them once we enter.”
“You can unlock them now. I know very well that Blaine is not a dangerous person.”
At that moment, Leonardo raised his head, which had been deeply lowered, and looked at her. However, Hugo stared at her with a somewhat cold gaze.
“Sir Hares, I will make the judgment on whether this guy is dangerous or not.”
At his low, cold voice, Cordelia realized that she had made a mistake and slightly lowered her head and replied.
“I’m sorry.”
Leonardo frowned slightly at her appearance and looked up at Hugo. Hugo, knowing Leonardo’s gaze, turned away appropriately and continued what he wanted to ask Cordelia.
“Come to think of it, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
Hugo, narrowing his brow slightly, asked her in a heavy, sunken voice.
“Is it true that Paren’s army has entered the peninsula?”
Cordelia’s gaze wavered slightly. But she quickly agreed, as if she had no intention of hiding it.
“It’s true.”
“Why didn’t you report it? The fact that the successor of the Hares family, who is acting as the proxy for the Margrave’s duties, has allowed the armies of other countries to enter the peninsula without even reporting it could lead to a serious matter that could result in treason. I won’t assume that you didn’t know that.”
Leonardo, who was listening to Hugo’s words from the side, interrupted in surprise.
“Hey, that can’t be true. The peninsula is not the time to worry about that—”
“Leonardo, you stay quiet.”
Hugo’s cold gaze reached Leonardo as well. Leonardo’s expression was terribly distorted, but he knew that this was a major national matter that could cause problems, so he didn’t say anything more.
Cordelia remained silent for a moment with a heavy expression. Then, as if she had decided on an answer after much deliberation, she opened her mouth calmly.
“Yes, I know very well.”
At her words, Hugo’s gaze, which had been directed at Leonardo, returned to her. Cordelia raised her head, which had been lowered, and stared straight at Hugo.
“However, Your Excellency. This place is abandoned land. And do you know who were the first to give it the name of abandoned land? It is the Imperial Army.”
Her face was as solemn as the words coming out of her mouth. The title she used to call Hugo had returned to Your Excellency, but Hugo did not bother to correct it.
“Now that the bill to disband all the nobles’ private soldiers has been passed, the only noble families that can have a royal guard in the name of the family are the Agrizendro family, where Your Excellency, who guards the outskirts of the imperial capital, is located, or my family, the Margrave’s family, which guards the border in the barren land. But Your Excellency knows what this means.”
She turned around and looked at her royal guard members, who were suffering from injuries and receiving treatment, with a pitiful face and said.
“After His Majesty disbanded the nobles’ private soldiers, he doesn’t even seem to see the people of the territories with royal guards as imperial citizens. Otherwise, while the imperial citizens are suffering from demon beasts and dying day by day, he wouldn’t have only ordered my family to protect the territory and the border on our own.”
Hugo looked at her with a slightly cold face at the words criticizing the Emperor that came out of her mouth, but she continued without caring.
“Even if I request support from the Imperial Army, the army is only concentrated in the direction of Turandoss, where the war has just ended, and the Yulissia border, where they are checking the power, and not a single Imperial Army soldier can be found here, where the army is most needed.
And I roam the peninsula every day with the royal guard to protect my territory and border, and cut down countless demon beasts.
However, as the number of demon beasts has recently increased and the number of injured has soared, the morale of my royal guard, which remained like a handful of flames, is as precarious as a lamp before the wind, as if it will go out at any moment.”
Turning her gaze back, she looked up at Hugo and said with a lamenting face.
“In such a situation, even if the armies of other countries come to this land where our own army does not come, if their purpose is to cut down demon beasts and protect their territories and people like me, how can I dare tell them to retreat? Shouldn’t I be grateful to them instead?”
Cordelia knew that her actions were worthy of disrespect, but she complained about the resentment towards the army that did not come and the hard work she had done. Hugo looked at her silently.
A slight moisture formed in Cordelia’s eyes, but she never shed tears.
A long silence followed, and under Hugo’s still cold gaze, she lowered her head and said as if suppressing her emotions.
“I’m sorry. Your Excellency came to help…. I couldn’t control my emotions and was rude. Please forgive me.”
Hugo sighed softly.
“It’s okay. Raise your head.”
She looked at the ground, bit her lip tightly, and then raised her head. Her face was once again filled with strength. And she said as if she had no regrets.
“I have nothing more to say about Paren’s army. Even if Your Excellency blames me, I will not make any other excuses. But currently, they are my support army. And they also came to protect their country from demon beasts. I cannot send them out.”
Hugo looked at her with sunken eyes. He knew very well that she was not at fault. As he had done with the commanders of the Southern Branch, Hugo had no intention of blaming her greatly for this matter.
However, it was necessary to make sure of things in preparation for future problems. As the successor of a noble family who swore allegiance to Laina Rogia and protected him, she could not simply let this matter pass. Once a precedent for breaking the rules is set, it will spring up like mushrooms after that.
However, Cordelia’s appearance, standing silently and enduring, looked quite tired, and Hugo, who had to make a decision as the Legion Commander of the Council and the Duke of the Empire, had a bitter smile on his lips.
Just as he was about to open his mouth, it was Leonardo who spoke to Cordelia before him.
“I will help.”