Alicia in her haze thought that when people were unconscious, there were two possibilities.
One was like falling into a deep sleep—eyes closed, then opened, as if nothing had happened.
The other was like dreaming.
Alicia felt like she was dreaming now.
After all, she had only been hit by two arrows, neither hitting a vital spot.
The worst part was when the army surgeon removed the arrowheads—she screamed like a stuck pig and was harder to hold down than one.
On top of that, she had a persistent high fever from the wound infection.
So, Miss Centaur Girl in front of her, are you sure you’re looking for the right person?
And you, little cow-horn girl next to her, could you please put away those iron chains?
‘Theoretically, you two shouldn’t be in charge of me, right? Oh, and the soup-selling lady at the bridge—can you stop staring at me? Even if your eyes are blazing with enthusiasm, I’m not buying your soup.’
Through the haze, Alicia heard someone calling her name, each shout more urgent than the last.
‘What? I was planning to hug that cute, shy centaur girl and pat the little cow-horn girl on the head. Too late now…’
She gently closed her eyes, letting the three charming figures dissolve like mist.
A weathered sigh reached her ears.
“Your Highness… please stop shaking Miss Alicia.”
“Alicia will pull through. Wake up, Alicia!”
‘That’s my boss Laine’s voice. He still has faith in me and wants me to get better. Looks like those two arrows weren’t wasted.’
“Your Highness, with my thirty-plus years of medical experience, the young lady has been in a high fever coma for over ten days. I’m afraid… she might not wake up. Please prepare yourself.”
‘Prepare? For what? A coffin? Seriously, can’t you hope for the best? No, you say I won’t wake up? I’ll wake up just to scare you!’
With that, Alicia mustered all her strength and opened her eyes.
She was greeted by Laine’s relieved and delighted face, his eyes slightly red and swollen, and the old army surgeon’s sour expression, as if he’d seen a ghost.
‘But I really have been walking the line between life and death. My whole body aches, my head feels like a wobbly walnut kernel, and my bones seem three pounds lighter. Just opening my eyes took everything I had.’
As consciousness faded again, the young girl vaguely saw Laine saying something.
“Thank heavens. I didn’t lose…”
…
There was no doubt that the previous battle had been Laine’s overwhelming victory.
With a force of three thousand, he had crushed twice that number of enemies, suffering only five hundred casualties while killing nearly a thousand and capturing over two thousand.
He had personally executed the rebel Baron Caneto, completely crushing the separatist faction led by Lemeng.
When Lemeng fled in disgrace back to Lide’an City, he received news that the neighborly Duke York had arrived with several thousand men, intending to take a collective trip to his city—Saxon City—and refused to leave.
With no other choice, Lemeng gathered his remaining forces and holed up in Saxon City like a shut-in.
That was why Alicia was convalescing in Lide’an City.
Laine officially inherited the title of Grand Duke Maximilian, took control of Lide’an City, and established a new generation of leadership with himself at the core.
Those fence-sitters who had been watching from the sidelines quickly extended olive branches, expressing their willingness to unite under Laine’s banner, accept his great, glorious, and correct leadership, and condemn the separatists headed by Lemeng as unpopular, wrong, and deserving to be nailed to the pillar of history.
As for Alicia herself—she had become quite the legend.
They said she stood unflinching against the attack from Lemeng’s separatist group, guarding the great banner as steady as a mountain, displaying bravery that forced the unpopular Lemeng to retreat, risking life and limb to keep the banner from falling.
The stories elevated her to mythical heights.
Even more impressive, she was fearless in the face of danger, willing to sacrifice herself to save her lord when the enemy launched a shameless sneak attack.
Though seriously wounded, she ensured that our beloved Lord Laine, Your Highness, emerged unscathed!
Look at such dauntless spirit…
“Alright, alright. When you write your own battle report, do you have to gild the lily like this?”
Laine said with disgust, tossing aside the papyrus as if it were a fly.
“Is your face thicker than a city wall?”
‘Tch, that kind of flattery works pretty well on Earth…’
Alicia pursed her lips and silently picked up her self-congratulatory draft—nearly a thousand words of extravagant praise.
“Speaking of which, you’ve been resting for almost half a month. If I hadn’t called for you, you wouldn’t have reported in, would you?”
Laine tapped the table restlessly with his index finger, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
“Do you still want your salary?”
‘What nonsense! I wish I could take an infinite vacation. Working hard for a paycheck is just trading labor for money, but slacking off and still getting paid—that’s real earning.’
Alicia rolled her eyes.
“Why aren’t you talking? Weren’t you so talkative before?”
‘When the boss is lecturing, you keep quiet, or you’ll be the odd one out and get nitpicked. Don’t you understand?’
Alicia muttered inwardly as she continued playing dumb.
Seeing the girl who hadn’t uttered a single word, Laine slammed the table.
“Looks like you’re dissatisfied with me!”
Alicia twitched the corner of her mouth and quickly bowed and scraped.
“Come on now, Lord and Master, how could I dare? By heaven and earth, we all live in this great cosmos…”
“What does your skipping work have to do with the great cosmos?”
Laine immediately exposed her attempt to change the subject, crushing her plan and stomping on it with a thousand feet.
“Oh dear~ Ouch~”
The girl moaned falsely, dramatically clutching her rear end and slowly sliding to the floor with an exaggerated expression.
“Please don’t get angry, Your Excellency. Look, these wounds on my shoulder and hip have flared up again. They itch every time it rains…”
‘The last rain was before the battle!’
Laine felt a surge of blood rush to his head.
The woman in front of him was obviously playing tricks, and it was enough to raise his blood pressure.
But then…
Laine’s eyes twinkled, and a playful smile curled at his lips.
“It seems Miss Alicia’s body is still too weak. I was going to promote you, but now it appears you might not be up to the task…”
A triumphant grin spread across his face.
The girl immediately became alert.
‘What? I’m suddenly getting a promotion? Is there such a good thing?’
“It’s a shame, a real shame. But… wouldn’t it be better for you to go home and rest?”
What else could Alicia say?
If she kept playing along, she’d be fired and sent back to raise pigs.
So she calmly stood up, dusted off her sleeves—no more pain in her rear or ache in her shoulders.
“I’m fine.”
The girl was straightforward now.
She stood at attention and bowed.
“I await Lord and Master’s orders!”
“Is that so? Your face looks so red. Are you still running a fever? Maybe you should go back to your hometown to recuperate?”
‘Tch, that’s just the blood rushing to my head from embarrassment and a bit of defiance after being caught.’
But she couldn’t say that.
Alicia had to tough it out.
“This is radiance! Look, I was sick yesterday, and today I’m fully recovered! Humans are truly amazing, ahaha!”
“Yes, humans are truly amazing.”
A victorious smile crept onto Laine’s lips.
“Then, amazing Miss Alicia, starting next week, come to my castle training ground once a week.”
?!
“I’d like to spar with you and see just how strong the person who forced Lemeng to retreat really is.”
‘To spar with one’s lord is a great honor. Refusing would be extremely rude, like smashing your cup when your boss proposes a toast. A disaster!’
‘I walked right into his trap! You sly bastard, boss!’ Alicia’s face fell.
“But before that!”
Laine dropped his lazy posture, his tone turning serious.
“Alicia, kneel on one knee!”
The girl didn’t hesitate.
She wiped the expression off her face and obeyed solemnly.
“Alicia, you risked your life to save me earlier. I am deeply grateful and recognize your loyalty! Are you willing to become my retainer, swear loyalty to me, and share honor and disgrace?”
‘So that’s it. As they say, merit beyond saving one’s lord is the highest. It seems I’ve stumbled into a chance for a promotion, a raise, and a path to the peak of life.’
‘Strike while the iron is hot!’
The girl lowered her head.
“Yes, it is my honor. But I… um, your retainer, has a question.”
‘What question do you have to ask at a time like this?’
Laine’s mouth twitched.
He leaned back on his throne, returning to a lazy demeanor.
“Ask away!”
But the girl didn’t joke around as usual.
Her jade-red eyes revealed rare seriousness.
“May I ask, Lord and Master, in this chaotic era, where does your ambition lie?”
She didn’t know how the translation golden finger would render those words, but judging by Laine’s distant gaze, he must have understood.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
‘Seriously, what does that mean? I have to pick a boss with big ambitions! If you say your dream is a life of wine and women, I’m bailing out immediately!’
After a long pause, Laine spoke slowly, his voice low but clearly echoing off the stone walls.
“Alicia, look at this world. Since the Imperial Civil War, nearly a century has passed. Now people are born into chaos, grow up in chaos, and see only fragmented warfare, noble power struggles, and a tomorrow that may never come. They think this broken land and endless strife are the natural state of the world.”
His tone was calm, but carried something heavy and sharp.
“That is wrong.”
Laine shook his head, his eyes as sharp as steel.
“Chaos is not eternal. It stems from human greed and shortsightedness, and it will end through human resolve and strength. Those who claim to have great ambition, if their only goal is to become another larger warlord, then this chaos will never end.”
He stood up, walking before the girl, looking down at her without contempt.
“We need to tell those people—the farmers who can’t straighten their backs in the fields, the travelers who fear on every trade route, the commoners lost amid noble infighting—tell them that this chaos must come to an end, that it must be ended!”
He turned, his eyes blazing.
“When we, who hold swords and stand high, begin to believe this and draw our swords for it, then people’s hearts will turn. When more and more people believe peace will come and are willing to pay the price…”
“Then the tide of history will sweep irresistibly toward a war to unify the realm.”
He leaned down slightly, close to Alicia, who still knelt on one knee, and stared into her eyes.
“My ambition is to unify the realm and achieve eternal cessation of arms.”