Prologue (2)
When this happened, she had to see him to prove that the aristocrats were wrong. Moreover, she still had her original purpose, which was to ask Ahin for a match.
What happened to her…as she went through the crowd so indignantly to stand in front of Ahin Estarrot..
Coming out of the recollection and back into the dark corridors, Altair slowly stepped towards the next frame.
This frame contained portraits.
I could see the outline of a character standing against the backdrop of the same golden party as before.
‘Is that boy an Estarrot…’
I couldn’t help but notice how many times he had been seen in the battlefield.
She hesitated and stood in front of the frame. As if it were waiting for her, the colours that were overlapped with the character and the background began to change.
This time, the picture showed a beautiful black-haired boy standing with a glass of red wine in one hand, paired with an indifferent look on his face.
And there was Altair, a girl standing in front of him, staring at him.
“…”
Hello, how are you, Count Estarrot. This is Altair Chernobog.
I am making every effort and doing my best to help the Empire by force in the future.
If it’s okay, can I talk to you about my family’s training hall?
All the words that came into mind vanished as I walked towards him.
She just stood there. Looking at the boy.
The combed black hair was restrained and neat, but the red burgundy eyes that came under his long lashes were strangely erotic.
The cravat, slightly loosened undered his white shirt, showed off a little of his chest. From there, she could see the solid outlines from years of training in swordsmanship. She was truly amazed, after all he’s extremely young yet already so well-built.
His rigid expression revealed that he was nervous, but even that part stimulated the viewer’s intimate instinct.
Would it feel like this if demons that seduce and deceive women were no longer imaginary but real…?
If he had smiled brightly with such a face, Altair would have gladly given him the knight’s oath.
When she came to her sense, she was so immersed in daydreaming about him that she had failed to notice that he had already walked towards the terrace.
“Wait…!”
A loud cry made him look back.
At that moment, however, she turned her head and avoided his gaze.
I’m afraid I’ll lose focus and look at him just like I had just done.
What expression had he made then?
Eventually, with a strong shock, her mind was thrown back out of the portrait.
She was, once again, standing in the long hallways.
The frames on the endless walls were dead silent, and the dim light shone on the next frame.
She slowly moved towards it.
“Do you still want me to face you even in the afterlife? What kind of a person was I to him?”
With a sigh, she proceeded to walk towards where the light was shining without hesitating any longer.
This time, the picture was of the barracks that were used during the war.
Suddenly, she was a little surprised to notice the time difference between the previous few frames, but soon she became one with herself. Back to when she was the commander of the Imperial Army.
“Your Excellency, they’ve crossed the cliff, cut off our supply chain, and are quickly advancing to the rear!”
The old baron, who was assisting her, shouted with a pale complexion.
“That’s ridiculous! Didn’t you say that the cliff cannot be crossed by horse as it is located near a large body of water!”
“I have no idea what all of the scouts have been doing.”
Said the baron, tightly clutching his throbbing head before continuing.
“…Can’t Count Estarrot do something? For example, calling the monsters of the mountain to help, considering how the enemies are scaring them using oil”
‘If he’s the devil, that would be possible.’
Although orders given were incomplete, everyone knew what would soon follow.
“Sir Rochester, I’ll overrule any more rude remarks you make with the military law.”
When Altair lowered her voice and warned him, Baron Rochester bowed his head with a red face.
Ahin said in a calm voice, not even paying any attention to him.
“Try it, try the operation.”
“What is that supposed to mean…?”
“As he said, the mountain’s animals are being driven back by oil.
First, we shall organise a temporary unit centered on mobility and organised by knights and master as the main force. Once they’ve finished their operation, they can immediately launch a new round of artillery attack…”
“Who would want to do such a crazy thing?!”
Baron Rochester shouted with a pale and tired face as Count Estarrot, Ahin, burst into laughter.
“It was you that had made such a proposal.”
“Umm, hmm… I made a slip of the tongue. As you know, the knights are valuable assets of the Empire. We can’t afford to lose them due to such a reckless operation.”
“If you don’t have any better ideas, then you’d better just listen quietly.”
“We’ve already sent a messenger, until then, we will send the reinforcements to the Western Front.”
“Reinforcements won’t be coming, don’t you know that yourself?” Ji said.
There was heavy silence in the barracks.
First, it was Altair’s voice who made a decision.
“That will be only possible if the main unit of Gehen’s forces arrive. If we were to miss this opportunity, there’s nothing we can do about this anymore.
Count Estarrot, you’ll be assigned to organise a temporary squadron…”
Altair unwittingly raised her head and paused.
His lips were closed with an expressionless face but his blinking red eyes were staring at her, as if watching her burn.
My heart started sinking.
No matter how many times I saw them, I never got used to it.
It’s funny, how even up till now, Altair still wasn’t able to face him.
It wasn’t because I was afraid of him. After all, I am the commander of the imperial army, who must keep their dignity. What she was afraid of was seventeen year old Altair being spotted looking at him with a stupid expression.
Like a habit, she dropped her eyes down, then pointed to different locations on the map.
“Then I’ll leave it to you… The rest of the troops shall preoccupy these various posts and block their guerrilla strategy…”
‘This is why you’ve always thought that I despised you.’
Stifling her feelings, she once again stood in the hallway.
So far, she had only seen three paintings, yet she already feels extremely exhausted. It was as if she had gone through life one more time.
She had actually only walked a few steps, but looking back at the path that she had passed, she felt a lot better.
Looking ahead, there was now a huge metal door at the end of the hall, as compared to what once was an endless corridor.
On top of it was a picture of a framed ornate handiwork, likely to be hung in the parlor of an old noble family.
The last trial…
Altair thought as she went straight ahead and stood in front of the painting. It felt relatively recent, so it probably hasn’t been assimilated yet.
Still, she took a step back, surprised.
Ahin Estarrot, who led the demons with his dark red wings spread out, was depicted in the painting. With Altair, who led the imperial army standing in front of him.
‘This depicts the events that occurred after Estarrot’s betrayal.’
[ Burn the devil. ]
The end of the long war. The emperor, blinded with madness, ordered for the arrest of Ahin after he returned from the front lines.
And that very order was what caused Ahin to awaken as a demon.
Her last battle, which was to protect the emperor against an old comrade, was fierce and devastating.
Already, the empire had been suffering from large numbers of immigrants that had lasted for many years, paired with the large and small assaults of demons. Not to mention, leadership there was irreversibly corrupt.
The war was in no way a victory, but ‘when would the empire be defeated’.
Nevertheless, she had no other choice but to fight. Albeit she too had a reason to do so.
She closed her eyes silently, suppressing the rising tingling hot feeling caused by her strong emotions. Then, she retorted.
‘Now, I can finish it…’
Even though she looked back at her life, she had regrets, but she still did her best to make it through life.
There was a lot of misery, a lot of hard work, and a lot of things that made her feel empty. To the extent in which she could no longer feel the warmth of heat.
‘It’s time to be forgiven.’
She tightly held onto the huge handle of the door which was surrounded by thick velvet cloth. With trembling hands, she pushed slowly.
When the heavy door opened, a blindingly strong light came through it.
Without any hesitation, Altair went beyond the door.
Family (1)
Altair Chernobog was distressed.
Hell is the only place to go when you die, so why does it smell like milk pudding and oatmeal cookies?
As she woke up in her fluffy bed, she looked up at the warm sunlight falling through the curtains, as if looking at something unfamiliar to her.
‘This looks exactly like the room that my father decorated when he was still alive…’
Although decades have already passed since then, everything was still in the same spot that I last remembered.
On the ceiling, a roaring white lion symbolising the Chernobog family was depicted. On the floor, a purple carpet was embroidered beautifully.
On her bedside post, her cherished child-sized rapier which she had received from her father, Duke Chernobog.
It was strange.
Why was she lying in a room filled with memories of her father that she had kept sealed off after his death?
While soaking in the sentiment, a light brown-haired maid opened the door and came in.
“My Lady, the housekeeper wants you to come down for your snack time.”
“My Lady…?”
Altair, frowning as she heard the maid’s words, corrected her in a low and clear tone.
“This is terrible. The Chernobog house is mine. Whilst I was on the battlefield, order seems to have been messed up.”
“What? What are you talking about, Miss?”
Did you not have a good sleep?
The maid seemed to ask with an extremely worried expression.
Only then did Altair realise that something was wrong, and she looked down at her body.
It’s tiny…
Her arms and legs, everything was smaller and shorter in size.
The fine muscles that had been cultivated through countless years of training were now pale and soft. Her platinum hari that was always around the waist was now short enough to barely touch the shoulders.
‘Is this a dream…?’
Altair tried to pinch all over her body to confirm if this was indeed real, but she was heroically stopped by the maid who was frightened and had rushed in in surprise to stop Altair.
“What are you doing, miss! If you get even a scratch, my lord will not forgive me easily.”
She clung tightly to Altair with tears in her eyes. It was a gesture of desperation derived from experience.
At that moment, Altair contemplated what to do with this information when she heard a gentle scolding.
“Why were you so late? And were you bothering the maids again?”
A man in white robes stood at the door with his arms folded.
“…Father?”