A week ago, while in Cairos, Flora Lawrence spent a lot of time with the tactics professor who once taught her.
Tak.
The pawn took a step forward. Flora Lawrence, who attempted to press down the opponent, spoke without taking her eyes off the board.
“Immediately after the battle in Cairos, Roman Dmitry headed to Benedict Castle with the pretext of taking down the rebels. As a result, the rebels were controlled, but actually, there were so many risky factors in that move. First, it was bold and dangerous to call Marquis Benedict’s faction to be rebels and arrest the other nobles from the empires’ factions. It surely had a temporary effect of suppressing the empires from intervening, but if the battle with Benedict extended longer, the empires would have intervened in the civil war.”
It was kind of a revival for them. The storm had passed, and now she was slowly reviewing the situation. Rather than looking at the results and being convinced that the method was right, she was analyzing the process, which brought the results once again.
The professor stopped the pawn from moving. Meanwhile, his gaze through his glasses wasn’t looking away from the board.
“There is a point in what you said. Just three days. Even if that amount of time had been dragged on by a little, the civil war in Cairo would have shown a different color than it has now. However, Roman Dmitry’s judgment was bold and reasonable. He secured the weapon called the ‘Phoenix Magic Tower,’ which the rebels didn’t expect him to have, and drove them into the castle that they thought was unbreakable. His intentions were clear. He knew that if they were given the time and options, the civil war would have lasted longer, so he deliberately forced them to choose an option that they thought had the upper hand.”
Tak.
He countered with a Knight. Raising his glasses, he looked at Flora.
“There is a difference between recklessness and boldness. The fact that the Kronos Empire didn’t waver and the fact that Roman Dmitry didn’t care about Kronos say that he was confident in the plan. And that made a difference in the success of the plan. Hence, Benedict’s rebel troops collapsed a lot faster despite the strength they held.”
“Then what do you think of his decision to open the gates? Although it was at a stage where Cairo wouldn’t suffer, the cost of failure was fatal. And the rebels had been sorted out, which produced a favorable outlook. Was it necessary to endanger the Western Front?”
“I agree that his choice was risky. If the battle outside the gate were lost, then the victory inside would have been worthless.”
The horses moved. While they exchanged attacks on the board, they analyzed tactics in their heads.
“But again, Roman Dmitry’s judgment was driven by a reason—the confidence that he could handle Gustavo. In addition, Kronos’s power was in a situation where it was easy to handle them with the Kingdoms’ Alliance, so if we could secure the advantage in strength, the variable was not as big as when the rebels were subdued.”
Tak.
The words of her professor weighed on Flora Lawrence. It looked like a disadvantage at first, but it soon took the form of preying on the opponent.
“Flora. Roman Dmitry’s bold judgment shone in this war from beginning to end. It is definitely an area of experience that cannot be acquired through books, but Roman Dmitry skillfully led everyone to the war as he intended. In conclusion, everything seems to be a trick, but in reality, it was a dangerous decision that could have fallen us into the abyss with the smallest mistake. Apart from the perfection of tactics, the war can also be said to have been created by Roman Dmitry’s personal capabilities.”
Tak.
The Queen moved forward and drove the opponent to the corner.
“Checkmate.”
Surrounded by her enemy’s men, Flora Lawrence admitted defeat by putting her King down.
Left alone, Flora checked the chessboard. Even though the odds with her professor were even, she couldn’t focus on playing because she was busy analyzing Roman Dmitry’s tactics.
“…an area of experience that cannot be acquired through books.”
She couldn’t readily accept her professor’s words. Flora Lawrence was not ignorant of Roman Dmitry’s life. Since he was once a person she was pushed to get married to, she asked around and found out what kind of person he was. There was no basis for the experience that her professor talked about. Roman Dmitry obviously lived a life far from the battlefield and suddenly changed into a new person.
Then…
“Is it the realm of talent?”
There was no other way to explain it. Roman Dmitry’s actions from the battle with Barco to the Southern Front and then the Northeast—Flora Lawrence used the issues in Cairo for her study, and it gave her goosebumps.
At first, she admired Roman Dmitry and his actions. However, the more she analyzed it, the more she noticed how absurd his accomplishments were. In particular, his actions on the Southern Front that brought a perfect end. He discerned Edwin Hector’s intention to occupy the Warp Gate, and the actions that he had taken at the moment played a decisive role in the Cairo Kingdom regaining the Southern Front.
In the meantime, Flora Lawrence studied really hard. She studied the tactics of the great men known in history and discovered that Roman Dmitry wasn’t a match for them.
‘How can Roman Dmitry always make the right decision, even with his life on the line? After the war, I realized he was right, but during the situation, even I would have never made that decision.’
She was also at the crossroads of choice. When Daniel Cairo decided to make them stay on the Western Front with the promise of a promotion, working with Roman Dmitry threw her into great confusion.
If she thought about it, why did she even head to the Western Front? It wasn’t just about taking risks. However, in Cairo, she was convinced that it was the most suitable place for development.
But will it still be the same now? No. The more she thought about it, the more she looked back on the past. It showed her what the right choice was.
‘I need to exclude human relationships and choose the best option for my own development.’
Then, there was no longer any need to worry.
A week after that, on the day of the party, Flora Lawrence met her father in an area where there were fewer people.
“Flora. You can come back now.”
Viscount Lawrence said. With a slightly red face from drinking, he spoke with the emotions he had suppressed until now.
“At first, I wanted to support you with what you wanted. It was a wrong decision for a father to make you shoulder the burden of our family, so I sincerely supported you without knowing what you wanted to do. However, do you know how anxious I get when Kronos invades the borders each time? If something happens to you, I will never be able to have a peaceful night.”
The Western Front—people called it the death line. It is a place that others try to avoid at all costs, but Flora Lawrence willingly went there.
His heart ached. It wasn’t easy to survive on the battlefield with the body of a woman, and whenever he thought of Flora suffering there, his eyes would become watery. So he tried to build friendly relationships with Dmitry. He knew if something happened, Lawrence could not solve the problem alone.
He looked at Flora. And as a father, he couldn’t watch her do that anymore.
“I won’t stop you from doing what you want to do. I won’t force you into a marriage and to live like other women in noble families either, but stay at a distance where your father can come running to you on time.”
He spoke the truth.
Flora knew her father’s heart. However, she couldn’t do that again.
“Father, I experienced a lot on the Western Front. When I was living in Lawrence, it felt like the entire Northeast was my world, but that wasn’t true. No, Cairo. They are nothing but a small speck on the Salamander continent. The moment Kronos makes up their mind and declares war, we have no choice but to watch as the ground we live on burns and the people die.”
Just like the flowers in a greenhouse, she grew up seeing only the good things in a limited environment. If she had lived like that, she wouldn’t have heard of the harsh realities of the kingdom, but now that she knows them, she can’t go back.
She had seen and heard too many things. In this world, the ever-changing situations implied that peace would not last very long.
“The war has already become a reality. The signs that have been appearing all over the continent indicate that it isn’t a problem that should be ignored any longer. When the time comes, what will Lawrence do? In the battle against Barco, we received help from Roman Dmitry because we couldn’t fight for ourselves, but when another war breaks out, we can’t find a force to lean on as we did back then. Because Kronos will conquer the continent and wipe out all the forces that oppose them.”
She faced reality and looked straight ahead. In the trials to come, Flora Lawrence wanted to do something.
“So when that happens, I need to gain as much experience as possible and develop further.”
“Flora…”
When she left Cairos, she had already made the decision. While looking at her father with sad eyes, Flora Lawrence said in a firm voice,
“I am thinking of joining the Dmitry army.”
On the next day, just when the aftermath of the party hadn’t cooled down yet, a situation occurred that made Dmitry excited. It was Flora Lawrence’s visit.
Chris, who faced her, had a puzzled face.
“… if I am not mistaken, are you saying that you want to become a member of Dmitry’s staff?”
“Yes, that is right.”
It was a bold statement. And then she added,
“What I want is to be directly under Roman Dmitry’s army. In the future war, the presence of staff members will be needed, and I am sure that Dmitry also needs my talent since I have experienced war on the Western Front. I am not going to request to be treated as a noble. If you use me as a staff member, I will risk my life to serve Dmitry.”
Chris scratched his head. This was unexpected. Flora’s future wasn’t something he could decide, so he said,
“It isn’t for me to decide whether you can join or not. Please wait here. I have to convey this to the Lord, but I am not sure if he will accept you.”
“I know.”
Flora reacted calmly, and Chris stepped back. He reported it to Roman Dmitry, and his reaction was unexpected.
“Flora Lawrence is a useful resource. If we accept her as a staff member, she will definitely do the job well.”
During the battle in the West, she had proven her worth. In a situation where the West could have collapsed if Kronos’s attack had been successful, her decision to deal quickly with the magicians gave Cairo an advantage.
Not just that, she also gave strength to Roman’s opinion. Thanks to that, Roman Dmitry was able to push forward with his plan easily, and it became an opportunity for him to reconsider Flora Lawrence, whom he had previously viewed negatively.
No prejudice was involved. The past was past, and Roman was judging people based on what he saw and felt.
The current Flora Lawrence—it was clear that she was useful. Moreover, since she was from the northeastern region, it wouldn’t be easy to find such resources with limited manpower.
“However, joining the Dmitry army is a different thing. Tell Flora that one week from now, if she joins the training schedule and proves that she is suitable for the Dmitry army, then I will officially accept her.”
“I understand.”
Chris took the command and went out. Normal people would see the meaning behind Roman’s words in a different way, but his thoughts were different.
“… does that mean he will refuse her?”
Dmitry’s training—perhaps it was going to be a tough time for Flora Lawrence.
