The source of the booming laughter was none other than General Viktor. Despite being bound hand and foot, he stood tall, laughing loudly, as if he were completely unbothered by the situation. The royal guards, startled by his behavior, rushed to grab hold of him, while Andrei, who had raised his arm in anger, froze, staring at Viktor in disbelief.

Was he doing this for my sake? I had never seen him laugh like this before, so it seemed plausible that he was intentionally drawing attention to himself with that laughter.

After laughing for a good while, General Viktor suddenly stopped as soon as he heard Andrei mutter, "Has he finally gone mad?"

His expression shifted instantly, his face now devoid of any trace of humor. He stared at Andrei with a chilling, deadpan look, which made the situation even more unsettling.

"W-What’s wrong with you?" Andrei stammered, looking away for a moment, clearly rattled. Realizing how his cowardice showed, he tugged violently at the rope binding Viktor, trying to reestablish dominance by meeting Viktor's eyes.

“What are you doing?” Andrei began to shout, attempting to raise his voice again.

“Hey, Andrei,” Viktor interrupted calmly.

"...Ugh."

Andrei, who had been about to yell again, was silenced by Viktor's icy tone and cold expression. He was rendered speechless by the same charisma Viktor displayed on the battlefield. Viktor offered a faint smile, shrugging his shoulders as if to lighten the mood.

“Don’t be so scared. Shouldn’t I be in a good mood?” Viktor said.

“Scared? Me? What the he—”

“After all, peace is coming, right? You’re probably more used to peace than I am, so what’s got you so on edge?” Viktor's voice remained calm, despite the obvious provocation.

“You damn bastard!” Andrei seethed, clearly angered by Viktor’s flippant attitude.

I, however, was more focused on what Viktor had said about peace. Just yesterday, we were still exchanging arrows and stones with the enemy, and now peace was on the horizon? What had been discussed in secret?

“Hah, well, whatever. A dead man always has more to say, I suppose,” Andrei muttered, his words sparking more questions than answers.

"Is that so?" Viktor responded with a knowing tone, unfazed by Andrei’s threat. But the comment about Viktor possibly being executed made my heart race, and I quickly gave a signal to the soldiers.

*Clank! Clank!*

The sound of weapons being readied echoed as the soldiers tightened their grips on their spears and began to slowly advance.

“What the hell are you doing?” Andrei snapped.

“You come here in the dead of night, during a war, to arrest the Supreme Commander of the army and claim that you're going to kill him. Do you really think we’ll just let that happen?” I retorted.

There was no way we could just let them take General Viktor to his death. Whether or not my personal affection for him was involved, the fact was that without Viktor, we would be left to die under the command of incompetent officers. We owed our survival to him, and I wasn’t about to let them take him without a fight.

“This is the king’s order! The king’s order, you hear me? You’re defying His Majesty’s will!” Andrei shouted.

“I haven’t received any such order! Neither has anyone else. Isn’t that right, men?” I called out.

“Yes, ma’am!” the soldiers responded in unison.

Andrei pulled out the royal decree, stamped with the king’s seal, but it no longer mattered. We had already made our decision. With dozens of soldiers gathered around, each armed and ready, Andrei and his men stood no chance, even though Andrei was the only one among them who carried a proper weapon.

“Untie him, now,” I ordered firmly.

“You damn…!” Andrei cursed, his eyes darting around as he gripped the hilt of his sword, though he didn’t have the courage to draw it. He knew the odds were against him.

“Captain! W-What should we do?” one of the nervous royal guards asked, as they huddled around Andrei, clearly terrified of the spears pointed at them.

“Are you planning on committing treason? Put down your weapons now!” Andrei yelled, trying to sound authoritative, but the word "treason" only hung awkwardly in the air. He was hoping to scare us into submission with that threat.

“Treason?” I echoed, testing the weight of the word. Oddly enough, it didn’t feel as intimidating as I thought it might. The soldiers around me only flinched slightly, but none of them backed down or lowered their weapons.

Every soldier who had been through this war knew one thing—our deaths were far more likely to come from the swords and arrows of the empire’s soldiers than from any punishment for treason. If the chain of command remained the same, we would only be sent back into harm’s way. And without General Viktor, we would surely be left to die.

“It doesn’t sound so bad, does it?” I said aloud, surprising even myself.

“What?” Andrei looked shocked as my words registered.

Death by rebellion seemed better than a pointless death under incompetent leadership.

As I unsheathed my sword, Andrei’s eyes widened in fear.

“If you stop now, I’ll let this slide,” he said hastily.

“And what about the general?” I asked.

“...” He remained silent, clearly unwilling to compromise when it came to Viktor.

“Ha,” I sighed, lifting my sword.

The tension in the air thickened. With a single gesture from me, everything could escalate into violence.

I hesitated. This wasn’t an easy decision to make.

“Enough,” a calm voice broke the tension. It was General Viktor.

Everyone, including me, lowered their weapons immediately.

“Andrei, why so quiet all of a sudden? You were so talkative before,” Viktor said in a light-hearted tone, as if trying to break the tension. Andrei, realizing he had narrowly avoided disaster, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

“...Right. His Majesty’s orders—”

“I’ll explain,” Viktor interrupted. “Anna.”

“Yes, General?” I replied.

“...These bastards…” Andrei muttered angrily under his breath.

“There’s no need to worry about the war. The empire and the kingdom have agreed to a one-year truce,” Viktor explained calmly.

“A truce?” I echoed, stunned by the sudden news.

Viktor went on to explain that he was being handed over to the empire as part of the agreement for the truce. That was the reason for his arrest.

“...I see,” I murmured, still trying to wrap my head around it.

“While I’m gone, I leave things in your hands, Anna,” Viktor said, as he began to move.

“What? Hey, wait—” Andrei stammered as Viktor effortlessly slipped out of the ropes binding his legs and began walking, without hesitation, toward the exit of the camp.

Andrei and the royal guards quickly surrounded him, moving past the soldiers who were still holding their weapons. Viktor walked forward with purpose, as if this wasn’t a death march.

“General!” I called out in desperation.

“Live well!” Viktor shouted back, his voice filled with surprising cheer. I stood there, dumbfounded, watching his figure grow smaller in the distance. Even though he was being taken away, likely to his death, his steps seemed incredibly light, almost joyful.

How could he still be thinking of us, worrying about our well-being, knowing he was walking to his death? Was that what made him such a great general?

“...What should we do?” I muttered, staring at the direction Viktor had disappeared. I dismissed the soldiers and headed back to my tent, my mind spinning.

Inside Viktor’s command tent, I could still feel his presence. He had asked me to temporarily take charge of the troops, but I couldn’t bring myself to enter his tent, let alone touch anything. If I did, it would feel like I was admitting that he was already gone.

My mind was a jumble of confusion and exhaustion. I collapsed onto my cot, my body too tired to process everything.

“One year…” I whispered.

Viktor had warned that if the war dragged on too long, the kingdom, with its inferior resources, would be at a severe disadvantage. Even if we won this war, we would lose the next one. And without Viktor to lead us, would we be able to hold off the empire?

With Andrei’s broken promises and the king's willingness to betray his own commanders, I feared for our lives. The kingdom wouldn’t hesitate to purge anyone who had been close to Viktor.

I regretted letting Andrei go, but by now, he was already far beyond our reach.

“I need to think,” I muttered to myself.

I had to prepare. Viktor had ordered us to live well, so I had to make sure we followed his command.

---

Finally stepping outside the camp, I let out a long sigh of relief.

That was close. I hadn’t expected Viktor’s adjutant to react so aggressively to the threat against him, nor had I anticipated that they would actually point weapons at me, the royal guard captain, no less.

It was fortunate that they eventually listened to reason. If things had escalated further, I might have lost my last chance to escape from this wretched kingdom.

When Anna muttered something about rebellion not being so bad, I had to fight to keep my surprise from showing.

“That damn woman…” I grumbled.

“What did I tell you? Didn’t I warn

 you she’d be desperate?” Viktor chimed in, his calm voice breaking through my thoughts.

“...That dead man sure has a lot to say,” I muttered under my breath, irritated.

Despite my irritation, I knew that Viktor was right. And the fact that I had restrained myself, even though I usually had a short fuse, made it clear that I had received strict orders.

Everyone seemed to think I was about to die, but I had a different view of things.

As long as the emperor wanted me alive, I wasn’t going to die any time soon. Earning the emperor's favor would be a challenge, but I wasn’t about to lose my head just yet.

The circumstances were perfect. I hadn’t betrayed the kingdom or run away—no, they had thrown me away first. It was the ideal setup for gaining sympathy and support. With a little careful image management, I could easily present myself as “the loyal, capable general abandoned by an incompetent kingdom.”

The emperor of the Dragonnia Empire was known for valuing loyalty and competence. I had no doubt that I could prove my worth.

“So, where are we headed next?” I asked, glancing at Andrei.

“Could you please just shut up and follow quietly?” Andrei snapped, clearly exasperated.

“Sure, sure,” I said with a grin, but I didn’t stop smiling.

This wasn’t the end—it was just the beginning.