Chapter 2
The Grand Duke sometimes played such silly jokes, and knowing this, Ibel shook her head as if annoyed.
“Because I ran away to avoid conscription.”
Every word Ibel spoke was carefully calculated. She was careful not to reveal her true identity, mixing half-truths with half-lies.
According to what she had heard, Victor Bayern was skilled not only in psychological warfare but also in torture. During the reign of the previous king, he had been the head of the National Intelligence Service, so apparently he had received such training.
In any case, from the beginning, she had decided that it was better to mix in some truth rather than tell clumsy lies that would not work.
“So I came in my brother’s place. Since I’m a military doctor, I would have been more useful.”
“I see.”
Victor Bayern did not make any comments about her family situation.
Thinking that his quiet nature was one of this man’s good qualities, Ibel looked up at the night sky.
Even though it was spring, temperatures differed depending on the region.
This desolate land became chilly after sunset. Even the heavy jacket covered with rows of medals was precious here.
“Which family did you say you were from?”
“I’m a commoner.”
Ibel answered firmly.
Doctors were usually from the gentry class or lower-ranking noble families, so normally they had a family name.
But she stubbornly hid hers.
After all, there was no point in having such a damn family.
Of course, if the Grand Duke wanted to, he could quickly discover that her surname, ‘Claren,’ belonged to a fallen noble family.
He would also learn that she had one son and one daughter in the family, and that there was no second son.
But she did not think he would be that interested in her.
Besides… she had to survive and return first before any of that mattered.
“Do you plan to get married when you return?”
At the unexpected question, Ibel’s face twisted strangely. However, the expression of the Grand Duke facing her was rather subtle.
He still looked indifferent and calm, but his jaw had tightened slightly.
Startled, Ibel answered somewhat defensively and sharply.
“Marriage? What marriage? It’s hard enough to take care of myself in this world.”
“I see.”
“No, wait. If I get married, will you at least give me a large wedding gift?”
“I’ll consider it.”
At her half-serious, half-joking remark, Victor raised the corner of his mouth beautifully.
It was the kind of smile that could make someone think they were in a ballroom rather than here.
“So survive, Abel.”
“I hope you also return safely, Your Grace.”
Ibel had used the name ‘Abel’ from the beginning.
It was the name of her twin brother.
‘Abel’ and ‘Ibel.’
Their parents really had named them without giving it much thought.
Whenever she repeated her own name, Ibel could remember just how little her parents cared about her.
‘Well, that’s why they didn’t even realize I had run away for a whole week.’
As soon as Ibel saved enough money to leave home, she cut her hair short and headed to the Royal Saint Elburn University of Medicine and Pharmacy.
If she had failed the entrance exam, her life would have fallen into the gutter. But surprisingly, she passed and even graduated.
As the top student.
Her family only realized she had run away after she entered the dormitory and sent people to find her, but they could not drag her out.
The Royal Saint Elburn University of Medicine and Pharmacy had quite a few competitors and did not want to lose Ibel, the only person who had received a perfect score on the entrance exam. So they decided to dismiss her family’s complaints that she had stolen her brother’s identity as nonsense.
‘I used to be grateful to that greedy dean. Though that was what eventually dragged me onto the battlefield….’
Could she survive this place?
While thinking pointlessly, Ibel let out a small laugh.
She knew she was going to die, but now that she was actually facing death, she realized it was frightening.
“What will Your Grace do if, by some chance, you return safely?”
“I’m not sure. I might learn carpentry. When I was young and knew nothing about the world, I once asked my mother. I asked why I couldn’t become a carpenter.”
The Grand Duke of Bayern carrying logs and working as a carpenter.
It was so unlike him that she could not help but laugh softly.
“Getting married and becoming a good husband wouldn’t be bad either. Taking care of a family… living like everyone else.”
“And then?”
“I’m reminded of my nieces and nephews left back at the estate. I left them in my aunt’s care and never did much for them.”
His expression had been wearing a bitter smile, but it changed frighteningly the moment he saw a flash of light above their heads.
“Get down!”
BOOM!
A deafening roar that seemed to tear apart their ears struck from every direction.
And then… together with flashes of light, shells began falling like rain.
“Are you alive?”
The man who had covered her with his large body quietly asked.
In response, Ibel spat out a mouthful of blood.
Eeeee—
A piercing ringing sound shook her brain. Even breathing was painful, and blood kept pouring from her mouth.
“Easy. It’s all right.”
Nothing was all right.
And yet, hearing his low and calm voice as always, she strangely wanted to believe him.
As if everything really was all right.
“Grand Duke… Your Grace…!”
“You still have enough strength to shout. That’s a relief.”
Barely regaining consciousness, Ibel grabbed her burning throat and raised her eyes.
She remembered how, when the bombardment began, the man had pulled her into his arms without the slightest hesitation and protected her.
But if she was in this condition… then what state was he in?
As she gasped and breathed roughly, what entered her sight was his broad back covered in blood.
His clothes, which were always neat, had been torn to pieces, and chunks of flesh had been ripped away.
Moreover, a red fragment had pierced through his chest and continued through her body as well.
“If you had been alone… you could have avoided it.”
“Didn’t I tell you? It would be troublesome if our only doctor died.”
His dark eyes calmly looked at her while hiding his pain.
“Stop the bleeding… We have to stop the bleeding…”
Cough.
Blood eventually burst from his mouth as well.
As she was splashed with it, Ibel forced her arm upward.
“Save your strength. It’s already too late.”
That damn king. That fucking battle of pride.
This war had started because of one incident in which the King of France had mocked the King of Richter.
Ibel cursed so violently that she could have been executed for treason, while pressing down hard on the man’s chest.
As if doing so would make the God of Death come for him even a little later.
The truth was… the truth was that she had relied on him too.
In this place where everyone was losing themselves and going mad, Victor Bayern alone seemed like someone from another world.
His sharp jawline, stern eyes, and quiet voice alone gave him an authority that made others fall silent.
But his appearance was not what truly made him different.
He never lost his composure.
He was thorough and restrained.
A man who never spoke carelessly, no matter the situation, and never easily revealed his emotions.
Even when countless people were stained by blood and hatred, Victor Bayern never lost his human dignity.
He memorized the names of even the lowest-ranking soldiers and never complained, even inside a tent where rain leaked through.
Watching him, Ibel had always thought he seemed unreal.
Which meant that, at the very least, she had never imagined he would die like this.
She had thought he would survive.
“Y-You have to live. Live… so this will never happen again…”
Another deafening roar, loud enough to make her ears go numb, rang out.
And then, everything seemed to come to an end.
……When he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar ceiling.
It was not the dark and musty barracks filled with the smell of mold and blood.
It was the estate mansion in Bayern where he had grown up as a child.
The painting of the Great Saintess and angels on the ceiling of the study caught the man’s eyes.
That couldn’t be.
Victor Bayern muttered quietly.
How many people had he killed in the war?
He had killed enough people to build a mountain out of corpses alone. The place where he should have gone when he died was certainly not heaven.
Yet, the argument between the old gardener and servant coming from outside the window, and even the peach scent floating through the air, felt incredibly real.
So real that he wanted to blindly believe this was reality.
‘What happened to Abel? What about the other officers?’
He was confused.
He raised his thick forearm and placed it against his forehead, then realized that he was not wearing a military uniform.
The thin, slightly translucent muslin shirt he was wearing was indeed the one he used to enjoy wearing in summer.
‘This is too vivid and has lasted too long to be an illusion or a fleeting vision of the past.’
