The Great Vampire General is a Girl! - Chapter 97

“The lowest rank is private, then captain, sergeant, lieutenant, lieutenant general and general,” Valerie recalled and said it a little doubtfully. It had been quite a while since Valerie had last memorized it. To those knights, Valerie had only been involved in the military for less than a year. It was because of the war situation. She was not the only civilian involved in the war. So she didn’t learn much theory other than things that were useful in a war situation.

“Good enough, but not quite right, the lowest rank is Private, then followed by Captain, 2nd Sergeant, 1st Sergeant, 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, Commander, Lieutenant General, the highest rank is General. Unlike Avalon, Florentia does not have a king. So the important decisions are made by the general’s council,” Raphael corrected slightly.

They had already boarded the steam train which was now starting to move at a moderate and steady pace towards Florentia’s headquarters. The seat was quite comfortable, covered with foam and black leather upholstery. There were plenty of seats but only half of the capacity was filled.

The train arrived at the platform every less than an hour and consisted of seven passenger wagons and four freight wagons. The boisterous sound of the steam engine sometimes drowned out the voices of the passengers so Valerie had to speak louder.

Inside the carriage, Valerie saw quite a number of female knights and all of them were wearing uniforms. Valerie was a little uncomfortable knowing that she was the only vampire out there who wasn’t wearing a uniform. The massinist took a long time to check her paperwork before she was allowed to board the train.

She was sitting next to Raphael and her husband had been busy testing her with basic knowledge of Florentian military. However, their interactions were often interrupted because the knights who passed by always greeted him and made small talk with him.

“As a cursed weapon user, when you are recruited by the military, your rank is at least a second lieutenant. Supposedly, by killing general Avalon and your achievement in finding Rutherford’s secret lab during the war will earn you a higher rank. But considering your young age, I don’t think you’ll get the rank of more than 1st lieutenant,” Raphael explained.

“Oh I see, it’s because I’m not even twenty yet. What about Damian and Edgar?”

“All the members of the jaguar team are not below the rank of second lieutenant. For normal knights, they usually have their own troops to lead. But since they’re part of an elite team tasked with taking on tough enemies—they’re moving under my direction,” Raphael explained again.

“What does the jaguar team actually do when it’s not in a war situation?” Valerie asked.

During the war, Valerie knew that they were facing strong enemies. But what about when not in a war situation? Their final mission didn’t even involve their swords at all. They served in Ithadurna for administrative matters.

“The jaguar team has members who are all pure-blood vampires. Apart from being strong and capable of fighting shadow or commander level knights fairly evenly, we also come from a high-class noble family,” Raphael explained.

“Oh, is that why they were recruited? because their families are influential?”

“It’s more because they’ve gone through an aristocratic education and attended a good academy. We operate directly under the general council. Unlike the spies, we move blatantly. Not only did we face a formidable foe that ordinary knights couldn’t face—we were also occasionally asked to do diplomacy, help with negotiations and the like. Because that’s why all of our members are used to interacting with dukes or nobles, they will take us more seriously since the majority of us come from noble families who are respected among vampires,” Raphael explained again while leaning against the window. Their train were now entering the tunnel, it seemed that Florentia’s headquarters was behind the hill.

“I see why you are thinking of leaving the jaguar team. You don’t think being with us is challenging enough for you now that we’re on a truce. Well, we really won’t go out into the field too much during the truce. However, I think with a more relaxed task I can train you more often. Maybe like Gregovich, I can take you to a similar place to train and—”

“I need real experience, practice after practice that I do will probably make me stronger. But what I want is to become a true knight. I need to do missions more often and real, I want to feel the challenge to increase my experience. Because I don’t just want to become stronger, I want to be of use to Florentia. If I continue with you guys, then I’ll have a hard time getting a chance to prove myself. The generals will choose the mission according to your capacity, even though I also want to do what ordinary knights do. Join into an elite knight isn’t the right thing for me. I need to adapt longer to Florentia’s environment,” Valerie explained her thoughts. Raphael listened while occasionally nodding.

“I see, I won’t forbid you, I started my career from the bottom with the rank of 1st sergeant. It took me five years to reach commander level. I won’t deny it, if my status as a cursed weapon user also helps my career advance faster. So, because you have Apollon, and If you continue to show your achievements, you should have reached my position in less than three years,” Raphael said again.

“You want to be the commander, Val?”

“To be more precise I wanted to become a general,” said Valerie confidently. Raphael didn’t laugh or smile in the slightest when he heard Valerie’s ambition. He didn’t know what made Valerie so excited to be a knight. She always seemed in a hurry and seemed like she was running out of time. She rushed as if disaster would befall Florentia in the near future.

Valerie admits that she had the ability to see the future. However, Raphael only knew one person who could actually do it and that was Alexander Gregovich. While Valerie has not explored her strength to the fullest. It was not strange If Valerie did have that power. Because she wields a cursed weapon called Apollon, which was named after the god of divination.

“Again, I can’t guarantee that the generals will agree. You are my blood partner, according to the rules you will serve on missions with me..You may need to convince a general to recruit you. Cursed weapons users are treated special, usually the division head will gladly accept you. So you have to think about it carefully. In which division will you serve?” Raphael saw his wife’s eyes were firm to show that he didn’t take her lightly. Valerie must know, if she decides to separate from the jaguar team, then Raphael couldn’t always protect her.

“Oh, sir Raphael?” A woman was heard greeting. Raphael and Valerie turned their heads and saw a mature woman who was probably in her early forties. But she was attractive, and looked dashing in her well-fitting military uniform. Valerie loves the design of the outfit. Dominated in white and fit the body, but looks easy to move. The women’s military uniform was a white long-sleeved coat with rank stitching and the Florentian emblem.

“How are you, Lieutenant General Isabelle?” Raphael stood up and saluted her then bowed and greeted her. Isabelle nodded at his formal greeting and didn’t wait to be invited to sit across from them.

“I didn’t know you would be returning to headquarters so soon. Aren’t you on leave?”

Valerie also nodded at her, she smiled while occasionally watching her. Isabelle was a charming woman with shoulder-length short light blonde hair and light makeup. She has a firm face but feels friendly. The woman also nodded back at her with a smile. Valerie was pounding, she had never met a woman as charismatic as herself.

“General Aramir asked us to do some business in Ithadurna, I also ended my leave because Valerie wanted to join Florentia sooner,” Raphael replied.

“Valerie Dubois— ah sorry, I mean Valerie Chastain, we can finally meet. Welcome to Florentia. Well, I know that you’ve been involved in wars before so you’re not really a rookie. Sorry for all this procedure, this is a military rule,” Isabelle told her. Valerie couldn’t deny the strong maternal and nurturing aura from Isabelle. She remembered Veronica Dubois and missed Lapella.

“Thank you Lady Isabelle, I mean Lieutenant General Isabelle,” Valerie was a little nervous.

“Being a female knight isn’t easy enough. It’s a profession that men usually do. If you want to ask anything you can look for me. you can call me Lady Isabelle when it’s just the two of us,” she said again.

“Valerie is tough enough, she’ll be fine,” Raphael responded.

“I know, Raph. But we women need to be more mentally prepared to do a job like this..I already scolded General Maxwell for hiding her identity. It was very dangerous, I don’t know what the Dubois family was thinking at the time. It seems, you used to be so popular with Avalon bachelors that you took your father to extremes,” Isabelle laughed. Although she was a high ranking knight, she did so with elegance. Valerie was amazed, how could someone look so strong and elegant at the same time?

“He said my father couldn’t decide quickly who would marry me, so he temporarily hide me. Some have tried to kidnap me several times and there are internal family problems. But Duke Dubois regretted it to the point where I could barely return to the military because he forbade me,” Valerie responded.

“Oh, apparently Duke Dubois has a complicated reason..is that why he married you to Raphael?”

“Yeah, he—”

“That’s because Valerie and I have dated before,” Raphael cut in, he didn’t like it when people saw their relationship as an ordinary arranged marriage. It wasn’t a problem before. But right now, he felt compelled to confirm that their marriage was real. Florentia headquarters was filled with men, some of whom did not hesitate to seduce married women.

“Thank you Raphael for allowing your wife to become a knight..You know, not many female knights have that opportunity,” when Isabelle said it, her gaze was a little sad.. Valerie guessed, she might have sacrificed a lot to achieve her position now. Would there be a time when Valerie has to give up the things she loves in order to achieve a high position in the military?