Chapter 13

“Is that woman really Aine?”

“Idiot. There’s no way the enemy commander would be captured this easily.”

“No, I know because I saw her with my own two eyes. That woman is definitely—”

Not knowing whether we had been rescued or captured, Mane, Wilhelm, and I entered Brontfort Fortress.

The moment we entered, countless eyes were directed toward Aine.

Some people couldn’t believe that the famous Aine Kleine had been captured. Others glared at her with hostility, while some looked terrified or simply fascinated. Everyone had a different reaction.

I don’t understand. Why are they looking at me like that when I’m their enemy?

But what Aine found particularly difficult to understand were the gazes filled with something resembling admiration.

Aine didn’t think much of it. They had probably mistaken her for someone else.

For now, the person she needed to focus on was the man walking ahead of her.

Cled Hartz, the governor-general of Brontfort Fortress.

Aine had encountered him only a handful of times on the battlefield, but every time she did, she experienced an eerie sensation.

Unlike when she faced other people, there was something dangerous, unsettling, and precarious about confronting Cled.

It felt as though a razor-sharp blade were being held against her throat.

The fate of Mane, Wilhelm, and myself is entirely in that man’s hands.

If he decided to kill them, they would all be executed here.

On the other hand, if he decided to spare them, they would probably spend some time as prisoners.

Aine had already prepared herself for that.

As long as Wilhelm could survive.

While Aine was organizing her thoughts, Cled suddenly stopped walking.

There was a door in front of them.

“For now, please come inside. There are still things I need to discuss with you.”

Cled opened the door as if deliberately showing her what was inside.

“Is something wrong?”

When Aine didn’t immediately enter, Cled asked if there was a problem.

“It’s just unexpected.”

“What do you mean by unexpected?”

“To be honest, I expected you to take me to a torture chamber or interrogation room.”

The room visible through the open doorway was surprisingly comfortable.

It looked more like someone’s private office than a place where prisoners were held.

“I considered it, but you are quite an important figure.”

Cled merely shrugged without showing much reaction.

Aine followed him inside, and before long, the door closed behind them.

She had escaped the countless gazes that had relentlessly followed her, but she felt no sense of relief.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline. Caffeine doesn’t agree with me.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to serve you Imperial tea. Unfortunately, we don’t have a habit of enjoying tea from an enemy nation.”

Instead, an even sharper gaze was fixed upon her.

Cled’s eyes were so persistent that they seemed capable of proving that a person could be strangled to death by nothing more than a stare.

If I were in his position, I’d be suspicious too.

The commander-in-chief of an enemy nation suddenly surrendering when the war was essentially already won?

It was certainly bewildering.

His first thought might even be that this was some kind of trap.

Yet, unexpectedly, Cled appeared remarkably calm. Perhaps he was simply putting on an act, but at least on the surface, he remained composed.

“There’s something I want to ask you first.”

Aine spoke first as she watched Cled sit across from her after serving the tea.

“What happened to the people who came with me?”

The moment they entered Brontfort Fortress, Aine had been separated from the other two, so she wanted to know what had happened to them.

There was always the possibility that the Empire had decided the others were useless and killed them.

From Cled’s perspective, however, there was no reason to tell her.

He could have used the two as hostages to force Aine into giving him the answers he wanted.

Yet, after taking a sip of his coffee, he readily answered.

“Your subordinate should be receiving treatment from our military physician.”

Aine’s life was already practically in their hands.

And there was no reason to provoke someone who had willingly surrendered.

There’s no need to decide whether to use them as hostages until after we’ve spoken.

Having reached that conclusion, Cled stared at Aine before beginning their serious conversation.

She’s more delicate than I expected.

She was a terrifying woman who had effortlessly escaped the traps devised by the Empire’s greatest strategists, who had spent countless days and nights planning them.

Not only that, she had driven even Cled himself into situations where he had nearly lost his life several times.

Because of her title as a hero, Cled had always imagined Aine as a woman with a large physique, perhaps comparable to that of a formidable knight.

But the woman sitting before him was someone he might have mistaken for a beautiful young lady resembling a flower if he had not known her name.

However, the moment he met Aine’s eyes, that thought quickly disappeared.

Cled had always been able to tell what others were thinking simply by looking into their eyes.

Yet he could not read Aine at all.

It felt as though a wall had been erected to prevent anyone from peering inside.

This was the first time Cled had encountered someone whose thoughts and emotions he could not discern.

Naturally, he became interested.

Then his gaze fell upon her hand.

“What happened to your hand?”

“My hand? Ah.”

Looking at her charred hand, which was covered in burn scars, Aine answered casually.

“I got it while rescuing someone from the flames.”

“Judging by how poorly it was treated, it seems to have happened recently.”

Aine had no intention of hiding it, so she simply showed him her hand as it was.

Cled continued staring at it before speaking.

“I’m curious why you surrendered to us. According to you, wasn’t the war already yours to win once you captured Brontfort Fortress?”

“As Your Highness said, it was indeed a war we had essentially already won.”

At his question, Aine felt a bitter taste in her mouth.

He was absolutely right.

The battle had been won.

All she had to do was return home and resume her ordinary life.

Unfortunately, everything had fallen apart.

They must have spies planted in the kingdom as well.

She had no intention of telling an easily exposed lie and damaging their trust in her.

Especially since there was a possibility that she might have to remain with them for a long time.

“As you will soon learn, a rebellion has broken out in the kingdom.”

“A rebellion?”

“Vinet Orion, the king’s younger brother, gathered his own forces, murdered the king and queen, and attempted to seize the throne for himself.”

Cled looked genuinely startled for the first time, apparently having never expected such a situation.

Seeing his reaction, Aine answered the questions she expected him to ask before he even had the chance.

“I did not support Vinet, that bastard, becoming king. So Vinet tried to eliminate me and sent a pursuit force after me when I fled.”

At first glance, it sounded as though the kingdom itself had abandoned her.

But Cled noticed something strange.

“Then it makes even less sense. Shouldn’t you have gone to the military forces loyal to you rather than coming here?”

According to Cled’s investigation, the Kingdom’s First Army was fiercely loyal to Aine.

Even if she ordered them to march into certain death, her soldiers would probably obey without hesitation.

If anything, surrendering to the Empire was likely the most dangerous choice Aine could have made.

If the Empire decided to kill her immediately, there would be no opportunity for revenge or anything else.

“I came here to make a deal with Your Highness.”

“A deal?”

“Yes. A deal.”

Aine sighed inwardly.

Now came the biggest problem.

Wilhelm.

Our fate will change depending on how he responds.

If Cled accepted her proposal, the situation would unfold much as she had expected.

But if he refused, everything could become a disaster.

Once Wilhelm’s identity as a prince became known, the Empire would undoubtedly do everything in its power to keep him alive.

The problem was that he would have to spend the rest of his life as a prisoner of the Empire.

Aine absolutely did not want that.

“I heard that you are currently dealing with complications regarding the succession.”

That was why she needed to find a way to make him unable to refuse.

“If you help me take my revenge, I will help you become the Emperor of the Empire.”

The die had been cast.

All Aine could do now was pray that it would land on a six.