My Ruin to You - Chapter 85

The vice-captain paced restlessly inside the barracks. His heightened senses caught even the slightest stir outside. Leaning on the table with both hands, he exhaled an anxious sigh, occasionally snapping his head toward the entrance with a sharp reaction.

Thud, thud. He tapped the heavy wooden table with his palm, then roughly ran his fingers through his hair, killing time. Just as the unbearable wait was about to scorch his insides, the tent flap lifted, revealing a handsome man silhouetted against the moonlight. His damp hair lay calmly, and his upturned eyes looked strangely languid. With each step, the indigo cloak draped carelessly over his shoulders swayed gently. His quiet presence soon enveloped the barracks.

“You’ve arrived.”

The vice-captain straightened his previously slack posture. Valen, ignoring his formal bow, took the seat of honor.

“I requested an audience as I have urgent matters to report, Your Highness.”

As the impatient vice-captain rushed to state his business, Valen leaned deeply into his chair and gestured to an empty seat. His languid yet sharp eyes gleamed with a piercing light.

“Should I be the one looking up at you?”

“…My apologies.”

The vice-captain hastily pulled out the chair and sat. His posture—perched halfway, unable to lean back—betrayed his discomfort. The situation was uneasy, but the overwhelming presence of the Grand Duke seated above tightened the vise around him. He hadn’t felt this tense even during imperial audiences. If the Emperor was a benevolent ruler who understood mercy, the Grand Duke was his cold, methodical enforcer.

It had taken only three days for a certain ducal house—one that had refused to attend the new Emperor’s coronation in defiance of the late Emperor’s will—to be utterly eradicated. The justification was treason. Records of embezzled taxes and private soldiers exceeding the legal limit were clear evidence. Once the example was made, the stiff-backed nobility bent their knees. With no way of knowing how far the Grand Duke’s intelligence reached, they had no choice but to yield preemptively.

Yet, how had he looked when comforting his beautiful lover, startled by the report of severed heads? The vice-captain, who had witnessed that bizarre scene right before his eyes, nearly toppled over in shock. It had been in this very barracks, this very spot.

Back then, the captain had also remained standing for a long while, but the Grand Duke hadn’t chastised his discourtesy. Perhaps he had wanted to appear tender to his lover, who might have been cowed for one reason or another—or maybe he’d been too distracted by that lover to care about anyone else’s rudeness.

Once again, high society’s rumors proved unreliable. While only the parties involved knew the truth behind the gossip, the vice-captain would stake his name on one thing: the Grand Duke’s romance was far from over. At least, that’s what he believed.

“Knight.”

Only after Valen cast an indifferent glance, as if urging him to get to the point, did the vice-captain snap his head up. Though he hadn’t been lost in thought for long, it felt like an eternity had passed. Collecting himself, he spoke.

“The captain has sent a distress signal.”

“That was quick.”

“Forgive my presumption, but in my judgment, the infected fleeing the fire may have scattered in all directions.”

“I sent thirty knights to recover six bodies. Now, how many more must I send to save those thirty?”

This was precisely the dilemma weighing on the vice-captain. Beyond knowing the situation was dire, they had no grasp of the conditions inside. And now, night was falling.

A large force would lack mobility, while a squad composed solely of Awakened would raise survival and rescue odds—but they had to prepare for the worst. The assumption that even they could be lost.

“That’s your call to make. You’re the one in command of this encampment.”

The monotone words darkened the vice-captain’s expression. On the surface, it sounded like an acknowledgment of his authority, but in truth, it meant the choice—and its consequences—rested solely on him.

Why must I face such a trial?

It was an impossible problem. In truth, before the distress signal was spotted, smoke had been seen rising from within the stronghold. They must have tried to suppress the infected with fire, only for the situation to worsen, forcing them to call for aid. The fact that no more smoke had been detected since suggested that all the combat-oriented Awakened might already be dead. What was he supposed to do?

The moral obligation to send reinforcements clashed endlessly with his duty as a commander to prevent further losses.

“It would be wise to first assess the situation inside.”

Valen’s quiet suggestion cut through the vice-captain’s torment. His hands, clenched and unclenched over his knees, stilled as his eyes widened.