V
Before Ashton could recover from his shock and speak, Claudia asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“What do I mean? I just mean what I said, that’s all...” Olivia looked back at her, confusion writ plain on her face.
“Just what you said, which is to say...” Claudia stole a glance at Ashton and saw he’d gone very obviously red. Just as she felt some unspeakable emotion bubbling up inside of her, Olivia made another confession.
“You’re important to me too, Claudia.”
“Eh?” Claudia choked. “You— I’m important to you?”
“Huh? Of course you are.” As Claudia reeled from this, Olivia went on in a list that included Paul, Otto, Gauss, Gile, Ellis, and Evanson. Realizing that she hadn’t been talking solely about Ashton, Claudia felt an unconscious rush of relief.
Eh? Why does that make me feel relieved? It’s not like there’s anything wrong with Ashton being important to the general, is there? Growing suspicious of her own emotions, she turned to look beside her and saw Ashton looking at Olivia with an ambivalent expression she couldn’t give a name to.
Trying again to ascertain what Olivia meant, she asked, “So it’s because all of these people are important to you that you’re not sure what to do? Is that right?”
Olivia nodded. Claudia stared at her, agog. We’re all this important to her...? she thought.
Her initial impression of Olivia, back when they’d first met, certainly hadn’t been a positive one. A large part of that had been Olivia’s almost total lack of humanity, likely a result of the unique circumstances she had been raised in. Even these days, the way she spoke made it clear that she still had those tendencies, but even so, Claudia felt nothing but joy to hear that Olivia thought of her as important. Thus, she made her decision.
“As your aide, I am obligated to do everything in my power to stop you...” she said. “But I swear on my honor as a knight that I will respect whatever decision you make.”
“What?! Colonel Claudia, are you really sure about that?” Ashton was looking at her with open reproach in his eyes, but Claudia nodded decisively.
“I am,” she said.
“Well, maybe you are, but I...I’m...” Ashton’s hands, balled into fists, were trembling. Come to think of it, Ashton had known Olivia longer than she had. Claudia understood with painful clarity why it was so hard for him to accept this.
“If you’re a real man, you’ll respect the general’s wishes and be happy for her when she leaves,” Claudia said firmly. When the others—not just those here under their command, but their superiors back in Fernest as well—heard what she’d done, she would no doubt face harsh criticism. That, she could handle, but in the worst-case scenario, she might even be thrown out of the army altogether.
But I can live with that, Claudia told herself. After everything Olivia had done in service for the Royal Army, she owed her that much. Such was the resolution that now lay in Claudia’s heart.
“All right, but what about our new Eighth Legion? Who’s going to command it?” Ashton demanded.
“Well...” The new recruits were one thing, but all the old hands who had been with Olivia since the days of the Independent Cavalry Regiment were fiercely devoted to her. It was human nature to be drawn to strength, and Olivia’s extraordinary skill in battle, combined with her beauty, made her a powerfully charismatic presence. The candidate to succeed Olivia in leading the Eighth Legion who immediately occurred to Claudia was her cousin, Neinhardt. But assuming he did take the role, he’d inevitably be the subject of unfavorable comparisons.
While Claudia struggled to think of an answer, she saw Olivia raise a tentative hand.
“What is it?”
“Um, well, like I said before, I still haven’t made my mind up. So could you give me a bit more time before I answer?”
“Can I assume that we’ll have your answer before our five days here in Mekia are up?” Claudia asked.
Olivia nodded.
“Very well. In that case, we’ll leave you for tonight. I’m sorry for descending on you at this hour.” Claudia stood up, then barked, “Ashton, we’re leaving.”
Ashton looked mutinous, but he rose and, with a last glance at Olivia, left the room without another word. Claudia saluted, before she too strode briskly from the room.
As Ashton made his way down the corridor in silence, Claudia jogged up behind him.
“Not a word about this to the others,” she said under her breath. “It’d just incite unnecessary confusion.”
Ashton took a moment before he responded. “They’re going to find out eventually,” he said. “Oughtn’t we tell them sooner rather than later?”
“I see you think the general is going to leave the Royal Army,” Claudia said. From her tone, Ashton could only assume that she was of a different mind.
“Don’t you, Lieutenant?” he asked. Claudia didn’t reply, only stared straight ahead and kept walking. A servant they passed along the way pressed themselves against the wall, bowing low.
I was so happy to have Olivia say to my face that I’m important to her. But even if she’s unsure now, I know she’s going to leave me in the end, Ashton thought forlornly. The allure of Sofitia’s proposal would simply be too great.
“I thought you’d kick up more of a stink,” Claudia remarked, the corners of her mouth twitching. Ashton was taken aback.
“I seem to recall you saying something about being a real man,” he retorted.
“All you were going to achieve blathering away back there was making a nuisance of yourself to the general. That was all I meant.”
“Blathering...?” Ashton repeated. “Well, whatever else, I’m trying to be realistic. I’m not going to try and take on an opponent when I don’t have a single card in my hand that can beat them.” With a hopeless shrug, he gave Claudia a feeble smile. The one thing he thought he could beat Sofitia on was the strength of his feelings for Olivia, but he didn’t think for a second that would be enough to make her stay.
Claudia stopped walking. Looking down at her feet, she gave a quiet sigh, then said, “At any rate, we still have time.”
“All the time in the world won’t help us with this,” Ashton muttered. Claudia put an arm around his shoulders, and like that they set off down the corridor once more.
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