Henry grabbed his cheek. Feeling a tingling pain spread throughout it, he looked at Viscount Bale with a shocked expression and wide eyes.
“…Uncle?”
In Henry’s memory, Viscount Bale was a maternal uncle who loved him a lot. From a young age, Henry grew up watching the man do anything he asked for. Naturally, there was a time when he liked his uncle more than his parents. He was so important that he never imagined being slapped in the face by him.
Tears welled up within him. It was more difficult to mentally accept the fact that he had been hit by his maternal uncle more than the pain on his cheek.
Despite that reaction, Viscount Bale didn’t even look at him and smiled awkwardly at Roman.
“This… I am quite sorry about this. I had to make sure that my nephew had his mind straight. He seemed to have made a mistake due to being young and immature. I will apologize. For my sake, please turn your eyes away from this.”
The opponent was Roman Dmitry. No one knows just how much he will develop in the future. Moreover, since he was favored by Marquis Benedict himself, Viscount Bale decided to apologize quickly.
Indeed, it was a very rational decision. No matter how much he usually cherished the nephew, it wasn’t enough to exchange affection for his future. In the end, even Henry’s own parents would have slapped him.
Henry was shocked when Viscount Bale asked for forgiveness.
There was no need to escalate the problem any further. Henry’s actions were like a child’s pranks and would not be considered hostile by Roman.
Of course, without the wise judgment of Viscount Bale, the situation wouldn’t have ended this easily.
“Because of Viscount Bale, I will let this go.”
“Thank you.”
Viscount Bale tried to smile. Seeing Roman retreating, he looked at Henry with angry eyes.
“Henry, do you know what you did?”
“…But how can uncle hit me?”
“You idiot! Roman Dmitry is a talent that Marquis Benedict is keeping his eyes on. He will do anything to get that guy on his side, so what are you doing by trying to look high and mighty by looking down on such a talented man?! Henry. When are you going to grow up? There will be no problems if you act like this in the Albert family, but out here, you cannot act like this. Your family cannot protect you here.”
He told him the cold reality. If only the Albert family was a great family, Henry wouldn’t have been assigned to the Southern Front. His parents would have pushed to get him exempted from military duty instead.
Still, he now showed him the reality and the ambiguous power. Henry didn’t know the reality and didn’t recognize the rising power.
Nevertheless, suddenly, Viscount Bale came up with an idea.
“Roman Dmitry may be someone you don’t like today. So Henry, from now on, start training. You will be attached to the reserve forces with Roman, so try to become friendly with him. Keep this in mind—If you don’t follow your maternal uncle’s advice, I will send you to the Western Front, and even if your mother begs, I won’t change the decision, okay?”
At that moment, Henry understood that because of one mistake, his comfortable life on the Southern Front had entirely turned into ashes.
After the commotion was over, Roman headed over to his dorm. Dorms were randomly assigned in the training center to all trainees, but as soon as he arrived at his dorm, Roman could see what kind of preference he was given.
‘Viscount Bale worked hard.’
On the way here, he saw the other nobles unpacking in old, worn-out rooms. It was a scene understandable because of the situation at the Southern Training Center, but Roman was assigned a very neat and new building as accommodation. It was a single-story building designed to accommodate only one team. Indeed, Viscount Bale’s ambition for power was truly great.
‘It is easy to deal with people who openly express their ambitions. Maybe my life at the training center will not be all bad.’
Unlike the demands of Viscount Bale, Roman would not be able to give him the power to rise to the Central Government. However, he judged it was necessary to take full advantage of the current situation.
Kik!
He opened the door to the house. Inside, the soldiers were almost done unpacking their things. When they saw Roman and were about to salute him, Roman lightly rang the bell hanging by the door.
Tring!
All soldiers instantly stopped their work. The meaning of the bell was imprinted into their minds over the past few months.
“An emergency!”
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
In an instant, the well-organized place turned into a mess, and the soldiers poured their things onto the floor. They took in small things, and 30 soldiers hurried at once.
Roman came out. After the dropping of the bell, as if he had nothing to do, he just walked away and gazed at the door, relaxed.
How long was it?
The soldiers began to walk out and lined up in front of Roman. They were all quite quick and tidy.
Even while they were panting for breath, they stood upright.
Roman said, “2 minutes and 39 seconds. Even though you were in the middle of cleaning the place and unpacking, spending more than 2 minutes preparing for battle is too much. I have been telling you people that the enemy will not come to us at a perfect time. In a situation where we do not know when, where and who will attack us, we need to make sure we can prepare in the shortest time possible to survive. If it takes more than 2 minutes the next time I announce an emergency, you all will be punished appropriately.”
“We understand!”
“We will keep it in mind!”
The soldiers shouted out quite loudly. Indeed, it was a unique sight. There was no one more disciplined than Roman’s troops among all the troops who followed their masters here.
The Southern Training Center was called a resort for nobles. Nevertheless, it didn’t matter to Roman’s soldiers. When Roman gives orders, they follow—It was a situation that was normal for them now.
At the same time, McBurney, the general instructor of the Southern Training Center, couldn’t hold back his sighs as he prepared for training.
“I am preparing for this kind of training.”
He was a veteran warrior who once served on the Western Front. As he was loyal to the nation, he himself volunteered to go to the Western Front, where battles frequently took place. And in recognition of his performance there for 10 years, he was promoted. He, who had started out as a captain, had become a commander. Nevertheless, it was only for a short while as he soon fell into an abyss.
3 years ago, the Kronos Empire decided to cross the border. They attacked Cairo, and many soldiers lost their lives back then. McBurney was not much different. Although he prevented the fall of the Western Front, he lost his sword-wielding right arm. When he felt the pain of losing his arm, simultaneously, he also felt his life as a warrior come to an end.
And as the battlefield wasn’t a place for the disabled, McBurney was stripped of his position as a commander. Still, the Kingdom didn’t abandon him entirely.
“McBurney, in recognition of your achievements on the battlefield, I intend to appoint you as the training instructor of the Southern Training Centre. Even though you must leave the battlefield, I hope you will continue working for the future of the Cairo Kingdom.”
McBurney’s reality had changed. He felt like he still had work to do for the future of Cairo, but the grim reality was that, unlike on the Western Front, the awareness of war was far low on the Southern Front, and most of those who came here weren’t here to prepare for war but to spend time in vain before heading back home. As a result, the training was a total mess.
Usually, even the nobles at the Western Training Centre were trained as soldiers, but the nobles here couldn’t even bother to hold a sword. Furthermore, while their soldiers trained in the scorching heat of the sun, the nobles would take shade and rest under the trees.
Even the Southern Training Center’s commander didn’t care about it, so only McBurney, the trainer, was having it rough.
“What is this?”
He looked down at the training schedule with a sad face. The training system was planned quite well, with basic physical training for 3 weeks, but everything was meaningless if the nobles didn’t train with their soldiers.
War is, after all, a battle of heads. Commanders not only exist to give orders, but they must also understand the level of the soldiers and have the stamina to move accordingly and give orders without messing up their breathing. However, those who had never experienced war did not know such things. Most of them were just trash who thought wars could be won in the flash of an order.
“Haah…” He sighed. It was only his third year here, but the motivation he had was already crumbling.
“…They should at least do the bare minimum.”
Still, he thought it would be the same this time.
Nevertheless, while the nobles enjoyed leisure time, McBurney would still teach the soldiers. It was all because he had deeply experienced the fear of the word ‘If’.
As expected, the next day, the nobles who arrived at the training ground took shade under the giant trees before the training even started.
“Is that so?”
“It is. Later, when you come to our estate, I will show you what true pleasure is.”
“You promised. I will visit you for sure.”
“Brother should always come!”
They were chatting like old friends with excitement in their voices when they were supposed to be training.
And on the contrary, their own soldiers were standing and experiencing the scorching heat of the sun. Unlike the enlisted soldiers Roman brought, they were troops the nobles’ families sent to protect their children. Thus, they were far from being elite soldiers. Obviously, there was no reason to send the best troops of the family to a place like the Southern Front, where no wars took place, and waste good resources out of fear.
The level of the soldiers was so low that they were unable to even line up properly.
Seeing them sweating even before training, McBurney only sighed.
‘As I thought.’
He was hoping for a different scene this time.
As it was on the Western Front, he wanted to lead strong soldiers who were loyal to the nation and feel proud of what he did, but now, he felt ashamed looking at people who were titled as soldiers but couldn’t even do the bare minimum of what a soldier should be able to.
What if these soldiers were sent to defend the Western Front? The Western Front’s defense would collapse without holding on for a single day.
‘This is the same nation, then how can the two sides be so different?’
He suppressed his emotions. As the instructor, he had to be faithful to his role. He cannot lose his calm.
However, just then,
’…?!’
Unlike the clumsy ones he saw earlier, he now saw soldiers lined up straight on each side, and in front of them, there was Roman Dmitry. Even though the sun was shining brilliantly, Roman Dmitry and his soldiers were standing straight without moving a single inch.
He then realized that his thoughts were wrong. This year, unlike the trash he had seen before, Dmitry’s Future had entered the Southern Training Center.
Editor’s Thoughts: Finally, the training of the soldiers will begin in the ! What an ending for this one. Also, in the last line, Dmitry’s Future is referring to Roman, just in case anyone didn’t get it. And Henry’s comfortable life on the Southern Front seems to be over as well.
