Chapter 23

A major event occurred in the country recently: the King was assassinated during a speech. He was struck in the heart and is in critical condition. The assassin was a suicide operative who swallowed his gun on the spot.

In a house near the Arkes family in the town of Margaret, several people were watching the news. The event took place yesterday afternoon, and it has been broadcast incessantly today.

Justine watched the scene of the King falling after being shot, a strange sensation crossing her heart. An assassination during a speech by the King just before the war with the Norman state was not a good omen. However, even if the King were to abdicate right now, the war would still proceed. Hayes has been appointed as the Supreme Commander of Air and Land Forces and has already set out with three aircraft carriers.

The Orant Empire’s emblem—a black eagle with a red iron "T" at its center—represents chivalry. The path of hegemony is now being carved out; the golden age for the military has arrived.

Yet, this had nothing to do with Justine; she could not go to the battlefield.

"Three more years," Justine muttered, her brows furrowed.

She went to the backyard and, after much hesitation, sent a message to Olavid through her communicator: *Give me a chance to go to the front lines.*

Before lunch, she received a reply: *Dream on, you heartless bitch.*

When Justine first entered the Silver Academy, she did not know Olavid's true identity. She hadn’t joined the student council yet and was living on a tight budget, relying entirely on scholarships. Three years later, she was caught by Olavid "leeching" off two men at once. As it happened, the two men were relatives; during a family gathering, they realized their girlfriend had a lot in common. Olavid took a semester off, the other transferred, and Justine joined the student council, where her finances were no longer strained. This past was kept tightly under wraps by two "decent" men, and no one knew a thing.

After emergency treatment, the King was out of immediate danger. Olavid stood by the hospital window, blocking the view behind him, and looked down at his messages.

The woman who acted as if nothing had ever happened had sent a request. He sneered; even now, there wasn't a single apology. Olavid bitterly cursed her as a heartless woman. At the time, he had fallen into a deep depression and became manic, unable to accept that she had been with someone else just to fill her stomach. If she had only spoken up, would he have let her go hungry? That damn pride of hers had trampled his dignity. During his therapy, he refused to tell his psychologist the truth until he learned that Justine had joined the student council and was accepting bribes to eat. He had healed himself.

Back at the academy, Justine pretended not to know him, and he chose to ignore her. Even though they were in adjacent classes, they rarely bumped into each other. The more Olavid thought about it, the less he could calm down. Why was she sent to the Meris base and yet still able to enjoy a vacation by the sea? He was among those following the "Most Handsome Officer" account, originally intending to watch her suffer. Her own account had been frozen for a long time without updates.

Olavid’s face was grim by the window. Camille stepped forward and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Camille had patiently accompanied him during his depression, and his family liked her. Although nothing had been made official, it was implied that they were together.

Olavid said irritably, "I'm going out for a walk."

Watching his retreating back, Camille’s eyes held worry. When the Queen asked, she shook her head, not knowing what was the matter.

Olavid walked aimlessly on the lawn of the Royal Hospital. In his pocket was a box containing his mother's ring. Regarding Camille, both the King and Queen were satisfied with her background and character; the wedding proposal was scheduled for when the King awoke. Thinking about his only experience with true love—which had landed him in a depression—he felt his entire life was meaningless.

Opposition to the war was strong, and many people approached him privately, as he was the first heir to the throne. But Olavid rejected peace. If life was meaningless, he would destroy the countries that refused to obey.

His wrist device buzzed with a notification—a different tone from the others. After ten seconds, Olavid finally checked it.

*Please, Ola, give me a chance to apologize.*

Olavid had a sour expression and waited a full minute before replying.

*Not accepted.*

*Ola, I have been regretting it the whole time, I just didn't dare to face you.*

A corner of Olavid's mouth curled up. He didn't reply. He looked up while walking and found the scenery here quite pleasant.

When the Queen noticed Olavid was in a better mood upon his return, she asked, "Ola, what happened?"

"Nothing."

With others around, Queen Ophina did not ask further.

King Guston woke up, and everyone crowded around him, joy written on their faces. Guston asked the Queen and the others to leave, leaving only Olavid behind. Ophina led the others away, her expression perfectly composed, though there was no smile in her eyes once she turned her back.

Guston spoke slowly, with great effort. "Ola, stop the proposal. Camille is not a good choice; she won't be able to handle your mother."

Olavid sat to the side and took out the ring box, which was accepted by the Captain of the Knights, Carlos. Although he didn't know why his father had changed his mind, Olavid complied. Guston closed his eyes to rest, and Olavid left.

Outside the ward, Ophina looked at Olavid, waiting for his move; the photographers were already prepared. Olavid was expressionless. "Mother, I’m heading back."

Ophina’s gaze turned cold instantly. She controlled her tone. "Have you forgotten that there is still something to do?"

"Father needs to rest. He told you not to disturb him."

Having said that, Olavid strode away, ignoring the group of people behind him with their varied expressions. Camille went pale and looked at the Queen, at a loss. Ophina glanced at her. "You go back first."

Camille bit her lip. This wasn't what had been agreed upon, but she couldn't object now, so she had to leave. Ophina stood in the corridor, looking through the glass wall at the people in the ward, her eyes icy. Death had shown him mercy and had not taken his life.

Late at night, Justine was in her office writing personnel evaluations when a liaison officer knocked to say someone wanted to see her. The office was equipped with video cameras. The moment the feed connected, Justine looked up and put down her pen. The liaison officer stepped out, closed the door, and went to clear the record of this session.

Only one lamp was lit in Olavid’s bedroom, his features hidden in the dim, yellow light. "Go to Norman. The first condition is loyalty."

Justine stood up. "What do you want me to do?"

"During this year's Festival of the Holy Spirit, the royal family will have a parade. Kill the Queen."

"Your Highness, if I assassinate the Queen, Hayes will be the first to kill me."

"Don't you want to go to Norman anymore?"

"I need to be alive to get there."

"I doubt your loyalty."

"Your Highness, loyalty doesn't mean asking someone to die."

Justine walked toward the camera, looking at Olavid on the screen. "I'll go and keep an eye on Hayes for you; isn't that better?"

"Why should I trust you? You lied to me before."

"That's because you were stingy. Other people's boyfriends give gifts; if you had given me something valuable, would I have ended up like that?"

Justine showed no shame, speaking with righteous indignation. Olavid was so angry his face turned black. "You have the nerve to blame me? You were the one who didn't speak up."

"You wouldn't just offer warmth directly. It's not like no one in your class was dating—couldn't you see that?"

"I don't look at other girls, so how would I know?"

"You didn't know, and that is exactly your problem."

"Justine, you cheated on me behind my back, and you still think you're right!"

Olavid gritted his teeth. Justine sighed. "Have you forgotten about you and Camille hugging? I thought you were waiting for me to break up with you, and then, as it happened, Froy confessed to me. How could I refuse?"

"I didn't hug her! She tripped and fell into me. What you saw was a misunderstanding."

"I asked you who she was, and what did you say?"

"I was afraid of exposing my identity; I didn't want you to ask too many questions."

"That was your problem too. It was my first time dating; I didn't have as much experience as you. I just felt like you wanted to break up."

"What do you mean I had experience? I was in so much pain the first time because of you!"

Justine’s eyes widened, and she lowered her voice. "You didn't say that back then."

"Shut up. Do you still want to go to Norman or not?"

The light dimmed, hiding the flush on Olavid’s face.

By one in the morning, Olavid was vigorously washing his face to cool down. What kind of foolish things had he said? However, after the confrontation, he realized that Camille had appeared by his side long ago, testing and encroaching on his space. Had his father changed his mind because he knew this?

Olavid looked at himself in the mirror; both sides were guarding against him while trying to win him over. A cold sneer crept onto his face.

In July, Justine's transfer order came through. She was to form a special operations unit and head to the Norman war zone. She would be assigned to the 117th Assault Battalion under the 3rd Army's Rapid Response Division. It was surprising that Justine would go to the front lines, and even more surprising that she was allowed to reform a team from scratch—essentially cultivating an assault battalion loyal only to her. Many were curious about who had promoted her. Later, when they saw she had selected General Serfin’s son for the list, they knew who she had sided with.

Avery got Eric to Justine as quickly as possible. "I’m sending one over; you must take him."

Eric saluted Justine, flashing a grin with white teeth. Justine nodded. Avery hugged her. "Don't get killed."

"You can go now."

"You heartless woman."

"If you don't let go, it will be considered insubordination."

Eric laughed out loud. Avery punched him. "What are you laughing at?"

Eric rubbed his arm. "The commander wants you to go back; hurry up."

"Damn, who sent you here?"

"If you don't leave, you'll be saluting people non-stop."

"Don't embarrass me."

"I promise I won't!"

Not long after Avery left, Arthur brought three men in, requesting with a serious face that Justine take them on. Bucky, Dant, and Jasper puffed out their chests, feeling nervous.

Justine asked Arthur, "Why didn't they go to someone else? There must be plenty of people fighting over them."

Arthur told them to answer, and the three shouted in unison, "Reporting to the commander, we want to be your subordinates."

Justine asked why. Bucky replied, "Commander, you're smart. Following you means we won't die."

Justine laughed. "Good eye. Accepted."

Arthur said his goodbyes to the three. The Corfa base had cultivated and produced excellent talent, and he was proud of it.

When Pudyva came to report, Justine contacted Professor Ryan. "War means people die; this isn't a joke."

The other party's voice was as cold and calm as ever. "He wants to follow you himself. If he dies, you're responsible."

Justine thought about it; if she encountered problems, it would be good to have him around, so she immediately promised not to let Pudyva lose his life.

Justine was late in the process, and many talents had already been recruited. Aside from those who came to her voluntarily, the rest were the ones left behind. She needed teamwork, so individual skill was secondary; the main priority was a calm temperament, as there were already hot-headed people in the team. Because of this, any attempt to plant spies in her battalion failed.

None of the "best of the worst" were chosen; she picked only the inconspicuous ones. Justine organized the assault battalion into five assault companies, separating reconnaissance, heavy weapon support, air support, medical, and demolition teams. The five company commanders were Sand, Willian, Lucy, Perrin, and Bucky. Eric was in charge of reconnaissance, Jasper of heavy weapons, Toran of medical, and Dant of demolition. Raven and Lacra were Justine’s personal guards, responsible for her safety.

It took a month to assemble the nearly five-hundred-person assault battalion, including logistics, communications, and maintenance personnel. The requirement for logistics and cooking staff was the highest. Soldiers go abroad to fight, and they don't fear hardship or exhaustion, but they do fear bad food. However, the head chefs at the base were unwilling to go; they had high salaries and good benefits, and going to the front was pure suffering. When a group of them begged Justine for a good meal, she had to recruit cooks from outside, offering excellent pay. But no one applied, so Justine went to the village chief. To her surprise, the villagers were very willing, but with one condition: the whole family had to go.

Three families joined, their young children sent to boarding schools. There were sixteen people in total, including four young women, two of whom had husbands.

Before setting off, Justine held a general meeting. She told everyone, "If you bully the girls in the battalion, no matter who you are, as soon as it happens, I will send all of them home, and all of you will eat military rations for every meal. You won't get any hot food."

After a silence, someone raised their hand and asked, "Commander, what about outside the camp?"

Justine didn't answer, but her silence was the answer.

She was the commander; she had set the line. If the soldiers below broke it, everyone would be punished together. Everyone here was going to the battlefield for the first time, and their commander demanded discipline, so this standard was etched into their minds.