Betrayal of Dignity - Chapter 3

Episode 3

TL: Jasmine

“Salute to the commander!”

The wounded, who were bandaged here and there, also gathered up in lines and bowed to the man. It was the first time Chloe had actually seen the commander, who only walked in and out of the barracks with the wounded. The tall blonde man was dressed so neatly that it could be believed that he had just attended a ceremony at the royal palace. Chloe blinked quietly, and she secretly opened the curtains a little more.

“I heard the obituary of the commander of the 1st Army, who headed south this afternoon.”

The place where it had always been noisy was quiet. The sound of cuckoos sitting on the tree was so loud that she could hear it.

“As everyone knows, the commander of the 1st Army of the Kingdom is my father, Duke William Von Tisse.”

Chloe paused for a moment, then exhaled a little. Her hand holding the curtain trembled.

“It is said that the enemy had his head cut off, and hung on the wall,”

There was no agitation in his voice announcing his father’s disastrous death. In the five-year war, the man who went up to the commander’s position was said to be twenty-two years old. Chloe was overwhelmed by the calmness of the man who was only three years older than her and held her breath

“Do you want to go back home?”

The soldier who received a sudden question from his superior could not easily answer. The commander approached him and asked again,

“Does it mean you don’t want to go back?”

“…..I want to go back!!”

After hesitation, the soldier shouted loudly.

“Why?”

The soldier answered the commander who asked the obvious question.

“My wife, who was pregnant when I set out, is waiting at home. She gave birth to our child alone, but I haven’t seen my son yet!”

“I see. Do you want to go back too?”

“That’s right!!”

After being asked, the soldier raised his voice even louder.

“Why?” “It bothers me that I left my sick mother alone. Without me…she can’t even move by herself.”

“I have to work so that my younger sibling doesn’t get hungry!!”

Chloe could also clearly hear the cry in the voices of those who were asked one after another. Chloe’s eyes were also moistened. After hearing the story of the last soldier, the commander finally raised his voice.

“The reasons why we have to end the war and go back home are so full and overflowing, and I’m no different It means the same goes for me, who has to pick up the gun without recovering my father’s body, let alone having his funeral.”

The sound of soldiers inhaling quietly as if swallowing tears came from here and there.

“Two days later, we will cross the mountain range again. We will raise our guns even if we are tired, injured, cold, and hungry. Is it for the country? No! It’s to protect our precious people!”

She had the illusion that the commander’s words resonated throughout the castle. Chloe gently placed her hand over her chest, lub-dub, lub-dub she felt her heart beating hard and loud without realizing it. The man’s words had the power to make the audience listen to him.

“Are you desperate? Do you want to go back?”

“Yes!!”

“How desperate are you?”

“I’m desperate enough to give my heart!!”

The youngest-looking soldier shouted with a bandage on his arm. His face was a mess with tears.

“It is not God’s will to win or lose the war. If we lose this war, it means only one thing! It would be a proof that they were more desperate.”

“No way!!”

The soldiers now shouted with all their might. The sound of their shouts that they would fight to death shook the castle.

“I will not back down. I will not bring defeat to my soldiers. In the name of my dead father, I will add another flag of victory to the Tisse family. Not for the country. It’s only for myself!!”

It was dangerous for the commander of the royal army to say, but no one could object to him. It is because of the sincerity overflowing in his eyes and voice.

“No other commander is better than me. I’ve been proving it every moment, and so will this time. I will do anything to bring victory to my army. Because that is Tisse’s pride and dignity. So now it’s your turn to prove the earnestness you told me.”

Now the atmosphere between the soldiers has changed completely. Their eyes, full of despair and resignation, shone with a sense of victory. The voices of soldiers vowing to be loyal resonated from everywhere.

“This…Is it a speech…?’

She had read books saying that a great leader is an orator, but she never actually experienced it. In this situation, there was one thing Chloe could definitely recognize.

That person is serious.

Chloe’s two cheeks, which were always pale, heated up when she remembered it. Chloe was concentrating on him, unknowingly pulling all the curtains and opening the window.

“Let’s go back home with the flag of proud victory in our hearts. People will praise the achievements of the great soldiers who have won the hardest battle, and your family will be honored for generations. I’m sure, the same goes for me.”

“Uwah!!”

The soldiers raised their fists up and shouted his name. Chloe stared intently as the man turned his head slowly, making eye contact with the soldiers, one by one.

And

“Ha…!”

He made eye contact with her. Chloe fell off the window in surprise at the sight of him exactly looking at her as if he knew the hidden audience from the beginning. She breathed heavily against the wall next to the window, but belatedly realized that she had not turned off the lamp light on the table and bit her lips.

It was natural that the room lit in the dark would have looked bright. Chloe barely reached out her arm and closed the curtain, then limped towards the table and blew out the lamp.

Darkness sank into the room, but her heart still pounded. Chloe sat carefully in bed. She raised her good leg first, pulled up her weak right leg with her arm, and lay down properly on the bed. One skinny and unsightly leg was revealed through the scattered poplin pajamas.

Chloe lowered her clothes down, groomed her appearance, and blinked quietly in the dark. Outside, she could hear the soldiers moving vigorously. When someone brought a late meal, the noise changed even more loudly.

Damien Ernst von Tisse.

“He is a great person.’

It was Chloe’s first impression of the commander. Even in crisis situations, he was a calm, strong man with energy that overwhelmed the audience. If it were, her. Could she have said that even after hearing the news that her father was killed? Ha. Just imagining her father’s death made her shudder.

She lied down with her eyes closed and tried to sleep, but she couldn’t sleep at all. Chloe finally opened her eyes gently and stood up and sat back down. Outside the window, she could still hear soldiers talking along with the sound of burning a bonfire. That man probably went back inside the barracks. He’ll be there trying to prove what he said.

“Please….. help them win. So that soldiers can go back home… To protect precious people….”

Evening prayers had long ended, but Chloe put her hands together again. And she prayed earnestly that everyone could return to a peaceful daily life

Early in the morning the next morning. Chloe got up from her seat with a light heart. The sky was blue when she opened the curtain. The blue sky at dawn was also Chloe’s favorite color. Darkness that embraces the brightness which is different from the night sky. Sometimes on a clear day where she could

see the purple dawn in the sky, was beautiful enough to make her stop breathing and stare blankly.

Squeak.

Chloe prepared familiarly and hurried out of the room. It was troublesome when her maid Mary woke up, so she had to move quickly. After carefully passing the stairwell quarters where the weary servants were sleeping soundly, she passed the kitchen and exited the castle. The barracks were full of soldiers, so it was better to use the side road next to the stable.

(T/N: stairwell- a shaft in a building in which a staircase is built.)

“… Lady Chloe.”

Next to the stable, Gray saw her and opened his mouth. It was a long time ago that Uncle Chester brought a child who was being beaten in the market. Gray’s weakness was that he spoke less and woke up faster than anyone else in the morning.

“Hello, Gray. Good morning.”

“What are you doing in the forest early in the dawn?”

“I’m going to pick some herbs.”

“If it’s a herb, I’ll pick it up for you.”

Gray looked at her and spoke politely. It was a long time ago that he spoke informally to Chloe and was scolded a lot by Uncle Chester, and now Gray was treating Chloe politely like a complete servant.

“Aye. Are you going to surprise me by picking the leaves of the silver bell flower?”

Gray’s face turned a little red as he remembered his past of picking poisonous herbs that resemble medicinal plants instead.

“I’m not like that anymore.”

“I’m relieved, but I’ll go there myself, Mr. Gray Wilson.”

“But it’s still dangerous. The weather is very cold.”

Ahem, Chloe cleared her throat by looking at Gray hesitating with a face of concern. This was the reason why she woke up early without her servants knowing: The servants in Verdier Castle were too worried about the weak lady. In particular, the boy with black eyes in front of her, she added,

“Gray. Did you do all the homework I gave you?”

“…Yes.”

Gray nodded. Chloe felt somewhat envious when she saw Uncle Chester’s old vest, which had come down to his waist when he first wore it, sprung up. He is the same age as her younger sister Alice, both Alice and Gray grew up tall like young shoots, next to her.

“Homework, do you want to see?”

“It’s okay. But can I take the test right now?”

Gray stood there speechless, with a face flushed in red. “I’m sorry.” Chloe muttered as she walked past him, avoiding his gaze as if she was not confident enough to take the test yet. Even if you stay low now, when the dawn breaks you will have more chances to stand out

“Then I’ll be back. It’s a secret from others. Got it?”