Henry clutched his cheek, feeling the sting of the shock.
With wide eyes blinking in disbelief, he looked up at Duke Vale. “... Uncle?” In Henry's memories, Duke Vale had always been a kind uncle.
He had watched over Henry as he grew up, always willing to help with whatever Henry asked.
There was a time when Henry even liked his uncle more than his own parents.
He was such an important figure in Henry's life that the thought of being slapped by him was unimaginable.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
It was harder to accept mentally that it was his uncle who had hit him than the physical pain from the slap.
Despite Henry's reaction, Duke Vale did not spare him a glance and awkwardly smiled at Roman. “Well, I apologize. I should have ensured my nephew received proper mental training, but he has been such a reckless child since he was young that I seem to have made a mistake. Allow me to apologize on his behalf. For my sake, please overlook this incident.”
The other party was Roman Dmitri.
In the future, he would become someone whose potential was unknown.
Moreover, with the favor of Marquis Benedict, Duke Vale decided that he needed to apologize quickly.
It was a very rational decision.
No matter how much he cared for his nephew, it was not worth risking his own future.
Frankly speaking, even Henry's parents would have slapped him if he had acted like that.
The situation had settled.
Shocked Henry and apologetic Duke Vale.
There was no need to escalate the issue.
Henry's behavior was more akin to a child's play than anything that could be deemed hostile in Roman's world.
Of course, if it weren't for Duke Vale's wise judgment, the situation might not have ended so simply.
“I will let it go for Duke Vale's sake. Then, I will take my leave.”
“Thank you.” Duke Vale forced a smile.
As Roman turned to leave, he glared at Henry with narrowed eyes. “Henry, do you even realize what you've done?”
“... How could my uncle hit me?”
“You foolish child! Roman Dmitri is a talent that Marquis Benedict is keeping an eye on. He would do anything to recruit Roman, so what do you think you gain by offending such a talent?! Henry, when will you grow up? The Albert family may act as if they own the world, but if you behave the same way here, you won't have anyone to protect you like at home.”
It was a harsh reality.
If the Albert family were truly a great family, Henry would not have been assigned to the southern front but would have somehow been exempted from military service altogether.
That was the reality.
Ambiguous power.
Henry did not understand the reality and could not recognize the rising powers around him.
Suddenly, Duke Vale had a good idea.
“Roman Dmitri might have negative feelings towards us because of today’s incident. So, Henry, from now on, I will make sure you train alongside Roman and be part of the reserve unit. You must build a close relationship with Roman Dmitri. Remember, if you do not follow your uncle's words properly, I will send you to the western front, even if it means hearing a word or two from your mother. Do you understand?”
At those words, Henry sensed it.
With one mistake, his comfortable military life had completely come to an end.
After the commotion settled, Roman headed to his quarters.
The accommodations were assigned arbitrarily by the southern training camp, and as soon as he arrived, it was clear he had received some special treatment. ‘Duke Vale really put in some effort.’ On the way here, he had seen other nobles unpacking in dilapidated old buildings.
Given the circumstances of the southern training camp, it was understandable, but the building assigned to Roman was a clean, new structure.
It was a single-story building designed for only one team.
It showed how ambitious Duke Vale was regarding power. ‘Those who openly display their ambitions are easy to deal with.
Life in the southern training camp shouldn't be too bad.’
As Duke Vale requested, Roman would not pull him up to the central government.
However, it was necessary to take advantage of the fact that their interests aligned for now.
Creak.
He opened the door to his quarters.
Inside, the soldiers were almost done unpacking.
As they noticed Roman and prepared to salute, he lightly rang the bell hanging at the door.
Ding-dong.
In an instant, all the soldiers froze.
The meaning of the bell.
During the past few months of training, one command had been ingrained in their minds.
“Emergency!”
“Prepare for combat readiness!”
The well-organized space turned chaotic in an instant.
The soldiers dumped their belongings onto the floor.
They stuffed their gear into small packs, and a scene unfolded where thirty soldiers moved simultaneously.
Roman stepped outside.
After dropping a metaphorical bomb in the quarters, he watched the chaos with a relaxed expression, as if it had nothing to do with him.
How much time had passed? Soldiers began to pour out of the quarters.
Clatter.
They lined up in front of Roman in the order they exited.
Quick and orderly.
Even while panting, they stood straight to maintain their formation.
Roman spoke.
“Two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. Even though you were in the middle of organizing your quarters, taking more than two minutes to prepare for combat is too slow. I have told you repeatedly that the enemy will not give us the luxury of being perfectly prepared. In a situation where we do not know when, where, or who will attack us, we must make the best preparations in a short time to survive in this endless war. If the next emergency signal takes more than two minutes, be prepared for a punishment that fits the crime.”
“Understood!”
“We will remember!”
The soldiers responded with veins popping in their necks.
It was truly a unique sight.
Among all the troops that had entered the southern training camp, none were as disciplined as those following Roman.
The southern training camp, a vacation spot for nobles, was far from being a place of discipline.
Yet both Roman, who gave the orders, and the soldiers who followed them accepted the current situation as if it were natural.
At that moment, the chief instructor of the southern training camp, McBurney, could not suppress a sigh that escaped during the preparations for training. “I can't believe I'm preparing for this kind of training.” Once, he had been a veteran warrior active on the western front.
He had volunteered for the western front out of loyalty to his country and had protected the Cairo Kingdom through numerous battles over nearly ten years.
Recognized for his achievements, he had risen to the position of captain.
Starting from a commoner, he had reached a remarkable position commanding a hundred men, but his fall from grace was swift.
Three years ago, the Kronos Empire had invaded across the border.
They attacked the Cairo Kingdom as a warning, and many soldiers guarding the western front lost their lives.
McBurney was no exception.
He managed to prevent the fall of the western front after a brutal battle, but that day he lost his right arm, which wielded a sword.
More painful than the burning sensation in his arm was the realization that his life as a warrior had come to a complete end at that moment.
It was as expected.
There was no place for the disabled on the battlefield.
McBurney was stripped of his captaincy, but fortunately, the Cairo Kingdom did not completely abandon him. “McBurney, we are thinking of appointing you as the training instructor at the southern training camp in recognition of your contributions on the battlefield. Although it is a decision to leave the battlefield, we hope you will work for the Cairo Kingdom there.”
McBurney's reality changed.
At that time, he still thought he had work to do for Cairo.
But the reality was grim.
The southern front had a much lower awareness of war compared to the western front, and most of those entering the southern training camp were not truly prepared for war but rather aimed to pass the time and return home.
As a result, the training system at the southern training camp was a complete mess.
Normally, even nobles would train alongside soldiers at the western training camp, but at the southern training camp, nobles were entirely exempt from training.
While training was conducted under the scorching sun, the nobles napped in the shade.
The commander of the southern training camp overlooked this to some extent, which only frustrated the instructor preparing for training.
“What does this even mean?” With a grim expression, he looked down at the training schedule.
He had tightly planned a three-week basic physical training program, but if the nobles commanding the soldiers did not train, it would be meaningless.
War, after all, is a battle of wits.
Commanders are not merely figures of authority; they must understand the level of their soldiers and possess the stamina to move in sync with them.
Those who have never experienced war do not understand this fact.
Most think that simply giving orders will make the war happen.
“Huh.” A sigh escaped him.
It had already been three years at the southern training camp.
His motivation had hit rock bottom, but he could not turn a blind eye to reality. “... I must at least fulfill my duty.” It would be the same this time.
While the nobles leisurely enjoyed themselves, McBurney intended to teach the soldiers properly.
In the fierce battlefield, he had deeply experienced the terror of the word ‘if.’
As expected, the next day, the nobles arriving at the training ground gathered under the shade created by the towering trees before training even began.
“Is that really true?”
“Indeed. When you visit our territory later, I will show you what enjoyment truly is.”
“You promised! I will definitely come, trusting only you, brother!”
“If it’s your visit, you are always welcome!”
They had already finished introductions.
United by the bond of fulfilling their national defense duties, they chatted excitedly like long-lost friends.
In contrast, the soldiers waited for training under the scorching sun.
Unlike the soldiers Roman had brought, these were troops assigned by their families for national defense duties.
They were far from being elite soldiers.
Each noble family had no reason to care about the level of troops that would be stuck on the southern front for two years, and thus, they filled their ranks with conscripts who had not received proper military training.
Soldiers who could not even align their ranks properly.
As they sweat profusely and loosened their gear, McBurney's expression soured from the start. ‘As expected.’ He had hoped this time might be different, that he might guide soldiers with strong loyalty like those on the western front, but as always, he saw those who were embarrassed by the very title of ‘soldier.’ If such rabble were to guard the western front, without a doubt, they would not last a single day before the defenses crumbled.
‘How can we be the same war nation yet be so different?’ He suppressed his emotions.
As the chief instructor of the southern training camp, he had to fulfill his assigned role.
Even if it diminished his professional pride, he had lost his past life along with his arm.
At that moment, soldiers lined up according to their respective factions.
However, among them, there was a group that stood in formation, unlike the disorganized others.
Not only that, at the forefront of their ranks stood Roman Dmitri, standing alongside the soldiers despite the scorching sun above.
McBurney's expectations were shattered.
This year, a mutant from the Dmitri family, different from the trash he had seen before, had entered the southern training camp.