⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅

Lilian firmly pressed down on the patient's abdomen.

Even so, it was impossible to completely stop the blood from seeping out.

'But if I don't at least do this, they will die shortly.'

For soldiers of an abandoned unit, the flesh would mostly begin to rot right from where the bullet was lodged, leaving them destined to ultimately die of infection.

Even so,Lilian moved busily, desperately wanting to somehow save even just one lucky person.

"Medic!!! Medic!!!"

The metallic smell of blood mingled with the scent of gunpowder, making her stomach churn.

If there was any consolation, it was perhaps that she hadn't eaten anything, so she didn't even have anything to throw up.

"Bring the patient over here!"

"It's a gunshot wound!"

"Shut up and just lay him down first."

No matter how hard she tried, the wounded kept piling up endlessly. Since most of them were trauma cases, it was a situation that desperately required a highly skilled surgeon.

The problem was that Lilian specialized in internal medicine, and it hadn't been long since she learned the skills to amputate and stitch up a human body. Oh, though she did at least learn how to extract bullets from wounds that were horrific just to look at.

Was it a relief that the senior military doctor taught her that much before dying?

Thinking indifferently, she held a blade in her hand with an expressionless face.

"A brazier."

"Yes!"

No matter how much they were in the middle of a war, and even if this was a temporary barracks for the wounded rather than a field hospital, Lilian maintained what needed to be maintained.

Instead of looking for antiseptics and anesthetics that didn't even exist, she ordered her assistant to heat the blade over the fire and poured strong, cheap alcohol over the wound.

Truthfully, rations and supplies had been cut off a while ago, leaving them in a position where they wouldn't even be able to use this starting tomorrow. However,Lilian's goal was simply to save whoever could be saved.

"Hold the patient tightly. I'm extracting the bullet immediately."

"Understood."

The assistant, who had watched her perform surgeries multiple times, was pale but remained brave. Without so much as a single blink of an eye,Lilian sliced through the flesh as quickly as possible.

"Lian... please, gently..."

"Shh."

Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

While she focused on digging into the wound, the blonde officer let out a groaning sound, but she—Ibel, whom he had called Lian—didn't even pretend to hear him.

It wasn't a situation where she could accommodate every single request anyway.

*Clatter!*

The piece of metal she extracted quickly dropped into an iron basin.

Honestly, under normal circumstances, it would make no sense for an internist to do surgical work, but right now... it was impossible to find anyone in this unit more skilled than Lilian.

Because they were all dead.

If you could afford to be choosy about every little thing, would this even be a war? It would be a playground.

"The treatment is finished, so bind the affected area for now. If there's any alcohol left, give him some to drink. Since there's nothing more I can do for him right now, the only option left is to at least ease his pain."

"Understood...!"

Was it because she had focused so intensely? Her vision blurred. Her body also shivered from the cold wind.

'Perhaps the one who needs the alcohol is me.'

However, Lilian never let a single drop touch her lips.

Because if she were gone, there would be no one to grind the medicinal herbs, and no one to extract the bullets.

She did have one person as an assistant, but even they were unreliable...

'Ah.'

*Blink.*

She had only sat down on an empty supply box for a brief moment, but she must have dozed off. A beat too late, Lilian realized the reason she had woken up.

A man who looked as though he wouldn't shed a single drop of blood even if stabbed with a military knife was draping his jacket over her shoulders.

Instead of just roughly throwing it over her and leaving, he showed a meticulous care by tying the sleeve parts to secure it firmly in place. She knew exactly who he was.

"Your Grace, Grand Duke Ceasar."

"Because you were shivering."

"Thank you for your consideration."

It was warm. Due to the substantial difference in their physical build, the jacket felt almost like a blanket. Or perhaps it felt that way because it was still infused with the man's body heat from just moments ago.

...might be.

Anyway, because she was grateful, she offered her greetings, but Ceaser von Reinhardt replied dryly as he straightened his posture.

"There is no need to be grateful. It would be highly problematic if the only doctor on this front line were to die."

It was quite a blunt retort, but consideration was still consideration. No matter how you looked at it, he had taken off his own jacket for her, hadn't he?

Of course,Lilian didn't interpret his kindness in any other way. There was no way that this iron-blooded man, whose very name made the German army tremble in fear, could be interested in men.

That's right.

In this horrific place,Lilian was completely misunderstood as a 'man.'

Naturally, she had no intention of correcting this fact.

Because she had stolen her older brother's name to become a doctor, she had been conscripted and dragged all the way here, but she didn't want to complicate matters any further than this.

"......."

Meaningless glances were exchanged in the silence.

She was pretty good at maintaining a blank expression herself, but she was no match for Grand duke Ceaser .

Perhaps whatever part of him handled emotional functions had broken when he was young; he was the only man who hadn't let out a single groan even when Lilian removed a bullet lodged in his chest with her clumsy hands.

Well, after rolling around in this absolute dumpster of a place together for nearly a year, she was now at least able to read the subtle movements of his eyebrows.

That expression seems to say, "Go ahead and say whatever you want."

"Seeing that no support has arrived from the homeland despite sending telegrams multiple times, it seems we are certainly an abandoned piece on the board."

Watching her calmly spit out words that essentially meant they were just waiting for the day they would die, the man's eyes narrowed.

The fact that Velencia's young king, who was little more than an immature child, felt an inferiority complex toward the Grand Duke was a truth so famous that even the commoners in the back alleys knew about it.

When she was assigned to the army corps he belonged to,Lilian had already kept a situation like this in mind.

"You do not seem afraid of death."

"Since I didn't exactly live while receiving wonderful treatment at home either, dying like this doesn't feel all that... regrettable. There's no reason for me to suddenly be afraid of dying now."

"Do you not feel wronged? Half of the reason you are here is likely because of me."

"Well, working myself to death to become an internist only to end up in this state does feel a bit unfair. Suddenly being forced to perform surgeries... and looking back, the fact that my very first surgery happened to be on you, Your Grace... that feels a bit unfair too."

Because it was wartime, the chain of command had to be clear. Normally, sitting brazenly in front of Grand Duke Ceaser, or even accepting and wearing his jacket, would have been an offense punishable by death.

However, Ceaser von Reinhardt was a more generous man than the grim rumors branded onto his name suggested, and he was particularly straightforward when it came to debts of gratitude.

Even after that first surgery, Lilian had saved his life about three more times up until now, and Ceaser had not forgotten the value of that debt.

In particular, the fact that she was a doctor completely untangled from things like the justification for the war or the current political situation.

The fact that he was younger than him.

And... the fact that his body was slender, looking fragile enough to break with just a slight nudge compared to even the youngest officer in the military camp—these became additional considerations, causing Ceaser to simply overlook it whenever Lian crossed various lines.

Now that he had been discarded by the king after outliving his usefulness, it was good for him to have at least one person with whom he could comfortably open up.

"How many family members did you say you have?"

The man asked in a voice that was pleasant to the ear.

It was something she thought every time she heard it, but it was a low, quiet voice that truly seemed to tickle the inside of a person's chest.

Shaking off the strange thought, she answered her superior's question faithfully.

"Both of my parents are alive, and I have one pathetic older brother above me."

"Why is he pathetic?"

Along with the question, a large hand reached out and wiped away the dried blood on Ibel's cheek.

The hand, which seemed to hesitate for a moment, soon poked Lilian’s cheek as if it had just made a grand resolution.

⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅

Knowing that the Grand Duke occasionally played such pointless jokes,Lilian shook her head as if annoyed.

"Because he ran away to avoid serving in the army."

Every word that came out of Lilian’s mouth was thoroughly calculated. To prevent her true identity from being exposed, she carefully mixed half truths with half lies.

According to rumors, Ceaser von Reinhardt was not only proficient in psychological warfare but also in torture. It was said that during the reign of the previous king, he served as the head of the national intelligence agency, where he received such training.

In any case, rather than spinning a clumsy lie that wouldn’t hold up, she had resolved from the very beginning to blend in a half-truth.

"So, I came in place of my older brother. A military doctor would be much more useful."

"I see."

Grand Duke Ceaser did not comment further or ask probing questions about her family situation.

Thinking that keeping his mouth shut was one of this man's merits, Lilian looked up at the night sky.

Even if it was spring, temperatures varied significantly by region.

This desolate wasteland grew chilly once the sun went down. It was cold enough that even her heavy jacket, tightly adorned with medals, felt precious.

"Which family did you say you were from?"

"I am a commoner."

Lilian answered bluntly, cutting him off. Since being a doctor was typically a profession held by the gentry class or lower-ranking nobles, it was customary to have a family name.

However, she stubbornly concealed it. After all, it was better off not existing from a damn family like that.

Of course, if the Grand Duke wished, he would easily find out that her surname, 'De Angelo', belonged to a ruined noble family.

He would also discover that the family had one son and one daughter, and that a second son didn't even exist.

However, she didn't think he would have that much interest in her.

Besides... shouldn't she worry about making it back alive first before worrying about whether he’d find out or not?

"Do you plan on getting married when you return?"

At the unexpected question,Lilian’s face contorted strangely. Yet, the expression of the Grand Duke facing her was quite subtle.

He was as indifferent and calm as ever, but his jawline was slightly tense.

Startled, Lilian snapped back somewhat defensively and sharply.

“What do you mean marriage? In a world where it’s hard enough just to take care of myself."

"I see."

"Unless... will you give me a hefty wedding gift if I do get married, Your Grace?"

"I'll consider it."

At her remark, which was half-serious and half-jesting, Ceaser elegantly curled the corner of his lips upward.

It was a smile that could make anyone mistake this place for a ballroom.

"So survive, Lian."

“I hope you also return safely, Your Grace."

From the very beginning, Lilian had used the name 'Lian’.It was the name of her twin older brother.

'Lian' and 'Lilian'.

They really named us without putting any thought into it at all.Whenever she repeated her own name, she was reminded of just how indifferent her parents were to her.

'Right, that's why they didn't even realize I ran away from home for a whole week.'

As soon as Lilian saved up enough money to leave the house, she cut her hair short and headed straight for the Royal Tree College of Medicine.

Had she failed the exam, her life would have ended up in the gutter, but surprisingly, she passed and even managed to graduate. On top of that, as the valedictorian.

Only after Lilian moved into the dormitory did her family finally realize she had run away. They sent people after her, but they couldn't drag her out.

The Royal Tree College of Medicine, which already had plenty of competitive applicants, had no intention of letting go of Lilian—the one and only person to get a perfect score on the entrance exam. Thus, they decided to dismiss her family's protests about her "stealing her older brother's identity" as utter nonsense.

'I was truly grateful to that greedy dean. Though that choice is what ultimately dragged me out to this battlefield’

'Will I be able to survive and get out of here?'

Lost in these futile thoughts, Lilian let out a faint chuckle.

It was because she realized that even though she knew she might die, facing actual death was still terrifying.

"Your Grace, if by some miracle you return safely, what do you plan to do?"

"Well. I'm thinking of learning woodworking. Back when I didn't know any better, I once asked my mother. Why couldn't I become a carpenter?"

Grand Duke Reinhardt carrying logs around and working as a carpenter. The image was so utterly mismatched that she burst into a sudden laugh.

"Getting married and becoming a good husband wouldn't be so bad either. Taking care of a family... and living like everyone else."

"And then?"

"I think of my nieces and nephews back at the mansion. I left them entirely in the care of my aunt, and I haven't been able to do anything nice for those kids."

His bitter smile vanished, and his expression changed fiercely the very next moment he spotted a flashing light in the sky above.

"Get down!"

Kreeee-boom!

An ear-splitting roar struck from all sides.

And then along with blinding flashes, artillery shells began to rain down.

"Are you alive?"

The man who had shielded her with his massive frame asked quietly.Instead of answering, Lilian coughed up a sudden gush of blood.

That was her response.

Bzzzzzz—

An ear-splitting sound rang through her ears, shaking her brain. Even breathing was agonizing, and blood poured continuously from her mouth.

"Shh, it's alright."

It was a situation where absolutely nothing was alright.

Yet, listening to his low, calm voice—the same as always she strangely wanted to believe him. As if things really were alright.

"Grand Duke, Your Grace...!"

"You still have the energy to shout. That's a relief."

Barely regaining consciousness,Lilian clutched her burning throat and lifted her gaze.She remembered that the moment the bombardment poured down, the man had embraced and protected her without a single second of hesitation. But if she herself was already in this terrible state then just what kind of condition must he be in right now?

As she panted and breathed heavily, what entered her field of vision was a broad, blood-drenched back.

His always immaculate clothes were torn to shreds, and chunks of his flesh had been gouged out.

Furthermore, a thick shard of shrapnel had pierced completely through his chest, skewering her along with him.

"If you were alone... if you were alone, you could have dodged it."

"Didn't I tell you? It would be troublesome if our only doctor died."

His dark eyes looked down at her calmly, concealing the agony he was in.

"Hemostasis... I need to stop the bleeding..."

Gush.

Ultimately, a burst of blood erupted from his mouth as well.

Taking the spray of blood head on,

Lilian forced her arm up with everything she had.

"Save your strength. It's already too late."

That wretched king. A godforsaken battle of pride.

This entire war broke out over a single incident where the King of Germany mocked the King of Valencia.

Pouring out curses so profane that she could have been beheaded for treason, Lilian firmly pressed down on the man's chest.As if doing so would make the God of Death arrive even a little bit later.

In truth, she had also been relying on him.

In this place where everyone was losing themselves and going mad, Ceaser Reinhardt alone felt like a person from another world.

His sharp jawline, his resilient eyes, and a quiet voice that commanded a solemn reverence from others by its sheer presence.

Yet, it wasn't his appearance that truly made him seem different.

He never faltered.

His character was thorough and disciplined.A man who never spoke carelessly in any situation and did not easily reveal his emotions. Even when countless others were stained with blood and hatred, Ceaser Reinhardt never lost his dignity.

Watching him memorize the name of every single low-ranking soldier and never complain even inside a leaking tent, Lilian had always thought of him as someone who felt surreal.

Which meant, she had never imagined he would die like this, of all ways. She fully believed that someone like him would make it back alive.

"You must... live. Survive... so that something like this never happens again..."

Another ear-numbing roar echoed out.

And then, it felt as though everything had come to an end.

When he opened his eyes, it was a familiar ceiling.

It wasn't a dark, musty military barrack where the smells of mold and blood mingled, but the mansion of the Reinhardt estate where he had grown up as a child.

The painting of the Great Saint and angels on the office ceiling caught the man's eyes.

'That makes no sense,' Ceaser murmured softly.

Given the number of people he had killed in the war enough to build a mountain out of corpses the place he was meant to go upon death was certainly not heaven.

Yet, the bickering between an old gardener and a servant heard from outside the window, and the scent of peaches drifting through the air, felt remarkably plausible. So much so that he instinctively wanted to believe it was reality.

'What happened to Lian? And the other officers?'

He felt confused.

Raising his thick forearm to place it against his forehead, he subsequently realized that what he was wearing was not a military uniform. The thin, sheer muslin shirt was indeed one he had enjoyed wearing during the summer season.

'To be an illusion or a flash of memories before death, this is far too vivid and lasting.'

After thinking it over for a long time, Ceaser reached out and shook the silver bell sitting on the table.

A clear metallic ring echoed through the quiet office.

Through the half-open window, the summer air slowly seeped inside, gently swaying the curtains.

The warm breeze carried the scent of grass and the warmth of the garden heated by the sun.

"Bring me the newspaper."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Robert, the butler who quickly arrived at the bedroom in response to the ringing bell, noticed that his master's condition was slightly different than usual.

Things must not have gone well for him in the capital. Well, that must be why he came down to the estate after such a long time.

Thinking so and brushing it off as usual, Robert quickly returned with today's newspaper and a glass of cold water.

In any case, his duty was to serve his master well, not to fret over the complex political situation in the capital.

"……May 1st, 1835?"

An absurd laugh escaped Ceaser’s lips after he completely emptied the glass of water.

It was an unbelievable date.

Because drinking a clean, unpolluted glass of water on the battlefield was such a luxury, Victor ordered the butler to bring him something to drink again. He added that he should bring a cup of coffee as well.

Have I finally gone mad?

His last memory was a temporary field hospital for the wounded. It was bombed, and he had likely breathed his last there. Yet here he was, back four years in the past with his limbs completely intact.

After calmly reviewing the events written in the newspaper articles that he had seen before, he immediately headed to the mirror.

It was an object he would never normally bother to look at unless he was putting on formal attire for a banquet, and he had never found a reason to, but right now, it was incredibly useful.

In the full-length mirror, a man with an imposing, intimidating build stared back at him. Astonishingly, the slash wound near his eye, which he had received while fighting a major war against Germans, had cleanly vanished. It was more accurate to say that at this point in time, it hadn't even happened yet.

His knee, which had been uncomfortable after being grazed by a bullet, was perfectly fine, and above all, the look in his eyes was different.

The eyes of someone who has survived facing death multiple times are inevitably filled with an irrepressible murderous intent. However, the man currently in the mirror was quite…handsome.

In other words, he didn't look like a dangerous explosive.It meant that he was alive.

"So I looked like this back then."

Soon, he began unbuttoning his shirt one by one.

Even inside the house, it was his suffocating preference to button his shirt all the way to his neck and wear a full vest, but right now, he had no choice. He needed to inspect his body immediately.

"The gunshot wound on this side has disappeared too. However, my body feels completely useless."

The butler, who late arrived with water and coffee, pretended not to hear his master talking to himself.

To strip completely naked in broad daylight and criticize upper body muscles that looked nothing short of magnificent to the butler—the butler thought his master was acting a bit strange.

However, in the deeply historic house of Reinhardt, it was an abuse of authority to even blindly question what the head of the family was doing.

Instead, the butler immediately bowed his head at his master's command.

"Go out and call a reporter from the most famous newspaper company."

"To come here."

"Understood. Would a political daily newspaper be best? Or would you prefer a gossip column?"

At the butler's question, Ceaser pondered for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"Both. Because I am going to place a marriage advertisement."

This time, no matter how experienced the butler was, he couldn't stop his eyes from widening.

A day later, Ceaser realised he was still in his estate.

I never even imagined a return like this. It seems God scraped together what non-existent mercy He had and bestowed it upon me.

As he thought about this nonchalantly, his next move was to pull out a sheet of paper and write down every single piece of information he knew.

It was everything.

From minor details like personal information about officers and soldiers, to the grand scale of where and what battles took place. And on the final page, he described in quite explicit detail why he had been abandoned and what kind of corner he had been backed into as a result.

What the problem had been, and why it had been impossible to survive,he recorded it all meticulously.

At this current point in time, I am the only one who knows about the war that will break out between Germae and Valencia in the future.

If preventing it was what God wanted, he was willing to oblige. No matter how fierce a war is, international conventions dictate that places holding wounded soldiers must not be attacked.

If this rule were to be broken, not only both nations but all surrounding countries were supposed to join forces and condemn the violation.

Yet,Germae launched an assault as if completely disregarding such trivial things.

‘In other words, it means the beloved King Valencia permitted it.’

He had been caught in the crossfire of two kings venting their rage.To sum it up in a single line, that was what it was.Because of that, his officers, his soldiers, and his doctors were slaughtered.

*Crack.*

Perhaps because he had accidentally applied too much pressure to the hand holding the fountain pen, the pen snapped.

After a moment of silent tribute to the remains of what used to be a cherished fountain pen, he discarded it without regret and drew a new one.

For now, this was still fine.Because this wasn't the time when he had to hold a piece of charcoal and hand down orders for guerrilla warfare.

‘First, I need to weed out my most loyal subordinates.’

War reveals the absolute bottom of human nature.

There were those who deserted and those who betrayed, but until the very end there were also many comrades-in-arms who fought alongside him.

‘Lian.’

Suddenly, the elegant fingers holding the fountain pen stopped.

The sole non-combatant.

The person who had desperately tried to keep him alive until the very end.

‘What was it he said at the last moment? He told me to survive.’

He didn't know why such a miracle had occurred.

There was no way all of this was a dream.

After pondering for a long time, his thoughts landed on Lian.

‘If it wasn't me who caused this miracle, it must be Lian. Perhaps he returned with me as well.’

If it really was Lian who brought him back to life……

A Reinhardt always repays their debts.

But what method would be best?

Where on earth was he supposed to find a man who used to be a commoner? He remembered which school he had graduated from since it was in the records, so he had memorized it.

However, finding him based on that alone was bound to be a very difficult task.

‘Come to think of it, Lian always cleverly concealed the truth.’

Thinking that Ceaser hadn't noticed, Lian had looked quite proud of himself, so he had simply let it slide.

Since lying and hiding a truth you simply don't want to speak about are slightly different matters.Right, let's stop here for now...

"Bark! Bark!"

"Agh! Stop it! For a bloodline of the great Reinhardt to behave like such a beast!"

"Growl, bark! Bark!!!"

"Do you think I don't know you're doing this on purpose? I told you to stop! Oh, good heavens!"

Listening closely to the noise coming from outside, his expression instantly became blank.

His lips, which had softened slightly for a moment while thinking of Lian, hardened tightly, and his posture stiffened as well.

Indeed, Ceaser von reinhardt had a few secrets of his own. Secrets he didn't want to tell anyone.

"When on earth are you going to send that fellow to the asylum?"

That evening, at the dinner table, after he had completely assessed his situation.

His face bore scratch marks that anyone could see, and his aunt, Rosalyn Reinhardt, was throwing a furious fit.

"The firstborn is so exceptionally clever, so why is the second one like that! For the sake of that child, we must have him admitted immediately. At this rate, the Reinhardt name will become a laughingstock."

Despite being quite up there in years, Genevieve, who let her long hair hang loose, was still unmarried.

The reason to explicitly mention that she was unmarried was because that was the very reason Genevieve was currently staying here at the estate mansion.

After dabbling in investments close to a scam and blowing her share of the inheritance, his aunt had been living here around the time Ceasor’s younger sister, Diana passed away.

Since the house was spacious anyway, they rarely crossed paths, and considering that someone was needed to look after the twin sons Diana left behind, Ceaser had readily agreed to it.

‘But it didn't turn out as expected.’

The twins, who turned nine this year, had a terrible relationship with Rosalyn.

The fact that she was bringing up a psychiatric hospital said it all.

‘What did I do back then?’

As Ceaser stared at her blankly without giving any response, Rosalyn flinched and muttered something to correct herself.

"No, I mean, it's not like the honor of Reinhardt would be damaged over a mere child... but still, the second one's condition is serious. I know you might not understand well since you've just returned here after two years."

"An asylum, you say……."