Chapter 2
I, Regina von Eisenbach, was born on the battlefield.
They say my mother only went into labor after cutting off the head of a monster commander, despite being heavily pregnant.
Since we were on the battlefield, there was no proper hospital or medical equipment, so my mother gave birth to me in a military tent.
And so, born amid blood, weapons, and the cries of soldiers, I naturally became a part of the battlefield.
The screams of soldiers were my lullabies, and a discarded dagger with a missing tooth was my only toy.
I learned how to hold a sword before I learned how to walk, and I learned the words “enemy attack” before I learned to say “Mama.”
Things only got worse after I came of age.
“The Black Reaper.”
That was the nickname I earned when I first took to the battlefield at sixteen, the age of adulthood.
Like my mother, I was born with deep black hair, as though a piece of the night sky had been cut away.
They said that the sight of me swinging my sword with my black hair flying behind me, drenched in the blood of my enemies, was the very embodiment of terror from their perspective.
Whenever the enemy spotted my black hair, their commanders would sound the retreat before anything else. Even my own allies were reluctant to stand beside me.
People whispered about our Eisenbach family like this.
“They aren’t nobles. They’re a race of warriors wearing human skin.”
It was so bad that enemy mothers would frighten their crying children by telling them, “If you don’t stop crying, the Eisenbachs will come and get you!”
We were heroes who had saved the empire, but we were also terrifying blades that had no place in a peaceful world.
Twenty-four years old.
At last, the Hundred Years’ War, which had been the entirety of my life and the legacy of my family, came to an end.
People called it a miracle.
Fireworks exploded throughout the empire, and flower petals filled the public squares.
But to my family, who had spent our entire lives as a “race of warriors,” peace was a calamity far more unfamiliar and bewildering than war.
“Father, is this… what they call ‘afternoon tea’?”
My older brother, Heinrich, asked with a troubled expression.
Platinum-blond hair and blue eyes.
He was so extraordinarily handsome that he could easily have been mistaken for a statue.
Thanks to his looks, he had earned the nicknames “The Lily of the Battlefield” and “The White Ghost.”
Yet at that moment, he was sweating nervously as though he had encountered the most difficult enemy in the world.
In his enormous hand rested a tiny teacup decorated with delicate patterns.
“That’s right, Heinrich. I’ve heard that the nobles in the capital take a break at three in the afternoon by drinking this… fragrant water.”
My father, Gustav von Eisenbach, looked equally serious.
He had a dignified, sharply defined jawline and eyes that carried the weight of many years.
When he kept his mouth shut, my father was a distinguished, handsome middle-aged man.
“Ahem. In any case, let’s drink this plain water… no, this fragrant water, and learn about noble etiquette.”
But inside, he was a soldier who knew nothing but combat, just like my brother.
“If Mother were here, this would be as easy as eating cake while lying down.”
My brother lamented.
Indeed.
The only sensible person in our family, the one who could tame these two ferocious beasts, was currently absent.
As soon as the war ended, she had declared, “It’s about time I got some rest, too,” and left for her maternal family’s estate in the south to recuperate.
Without Mother, the Eisenbach family was hopeless at practically everything.
“Urgh!”
Crash!
Eventually, disaster struck.
My brother had attempted to lift his teacup elegantly, but he misjudged his strength and crushed the handle into powder.
“I’m terribly sorry! The habit of snapping my enemies’ necks is still with me…!”
My brother sprang to his feet and apologized.
The force of his movement sent his chair tumbling backward with a tremendous clatter.
“Haah. You certainly don’t live up to that face of yours, you fool.”
Father sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead.
I silently stared at the broken pieces of my brother’s teacup.
To be perfectly honest, I was just as uncomfortable as they were.
Until recently, I had been the Black Reaper, commanding the front lines and making the battlefield tremble beneath my feet.
Now, every breath sent pain shooting through my ribs because of my corset.
And that wasn’t all.
The long, trailing hem of my dress was practically designed to trip me up.
I couldn’t help thinking that running laps around the training grounds in full plate armor would be far more comfortable.
“Regina.”
Father called my name in a solemn voice.
“Yes, Commander.”
“I told you to call me Father when we’re at home.”
“Yes, Father.”
Father let out a deep sigh and set down the teacup that was beginning to crack in his hand.
“We’re already a lost cause. The smell of blood has seeped into our bones, and no amount of washing will get rid of it. Just look at your brother.”
Father gestured toward Heinrich with his chin.
“He looks perfectly normal, yet the moment he opens his mouth, all he talks about is ‘beheading’ and ‘ambushes.’ No wonder the young ladies keep fainting!”
“I merely brought up the most interesting topics I knew because the young ladies spoke to me first!”
My brother shouted indignantly in response to Father’s criticism.
“Besides, I even smiled at them kindly!”
“That’s the problem! Your smile is full of murderous intent! The young ladies say that whenever you smile at them, they feel as though they should wash their necks and prepare for execution!”
Father turned his gaze back to me.
His rough, calloused hand covered mine.
“But you’re different. Regina, my precious daughter. Of all people, you deserve to experience ordinary happiness.”
“Ordinary happiness…?”
“Marriage!”
“Of course, marriage!”
Father and my brother answered my question simultaneously.
“Didn’t I meet my old comrade, Count Banner, yesterday?”
Father cleared his throat before continuing.
“He told me that you’re already twenty-four, and if we don’t get you married off immediately, you’ll miss your chance forever.”
His voice was filled with concern.
“Shouldn’t you experience something called ‘love’ beside a decent person, rather than spending the rest of your life on a battlefield reeking of blood?”
Father’s eyes sparkled.
“…I think Mother would have a different opinion.”
I set down my teacup and replied indifferently.
Both Father and my brother flinched at my words.
My mother, Adelaide von Eisenbach.
Her philosophy was that “swinging a sword one more time is more beneficial to survival than wasting time talking about love.”
If Mother had been here, she might have grabbed Count Banner by the collar.
But Father shook his head with a deliberately solemn expression.
“No. Your mother secretly wants this for you, too.”
He continued.
“Wouldn’t it be a shame if our daughter were the only one who couldn’t experience the marriage that every young lady in high society has?”
“That’s right, Regina. You should try the things everyone else does.”
My brother joined in.
The two of them began enthusiastically preaching the virtues of marriage, as though they had been brainwashed by the ladies of high society.
I gave them occasional replies while tapping my finger against the broken pieces of the teacup.
Love, happiness…
As expected, they were still nothing more than abstract concepts to me.
That was when it happened.
My brother casually tossed out another remark.
“And apparently, getting married allows you to officially retire from knighthood.”
My finger stopped moving.
I lifted my head and looked at him. His blue eyes shone with seriousness.
“Retire?”
“That’s right. Under imperial law, female knights can choose to leave military service upon marriage. No matter what happens afterward, you won’t have to answer the imperial family’s summons anymore.”
My brother was convinced that the prospect of retirement would appeal to me.
But to me, retirement seemed like an even more distant prospect than love.
I had spent my entire life as a knight.
It was difficult even for me to imagine myself retiring and living a leisurely life.
But…
“We don’t want you to wield a sword anymore.”
Father’s voice was different from usual.
“Regina, do you know how much it broke this foolish father’s heart when you took a dagger with a missing tooth and played with it instead of a teddy bear, the moment you learned to walk?”
