GRE 2

Chapter 2

I, Regina von Eisenbach, was born on the battlefield. It is said that my mother went into labor only after severing the head of a monster commander while heavily pregnant. Because it was a battlefield with no proper medical rooms or tools, my mother gave birth to me in a military tent. Born thus amid blood, weapons, and the clamor of soldiers, I naturally became a part of the battlefield. The screams of soldiers were my lullaby, and a chipped, discarded dagger was my only toy. I learned how to hold a sword before I learned how to walk, and I learned the word “ambush” long before the word “mother.”

After coming of age, it was even worse. “The Black Reaper.” That was my nickname after standing on the battlefield upon turning sixteen. Resembling my mother, I was born with jet-black hair like a slice of the night sky. My appearance, soaked in enemy blood while wielding a sword with my black hair flying, was said to be the very embodiment of terror to the enemy. The moment my black hair was spotted, the enemy commander would immediately blow the retreat trumpet, and even our own allies were reluctant to stand anywhere near me.

People would whisper about our Eisenbach family like this:“Those people aren’t nobles. They’re a combat race wearing human skin.”

So much so that mothers in enemy nations would soothe crying babies by threatening, “If you keep crying, the Eisenbachs will come and get you!” We were heroes who saved the empire, yet at the same time, we were grotesque, unbluntable blades unsuited for a peaceful world.

At twenty-four. The 100-year war—which had been the entirety of my life and the burden of our family—finally ended. People called it a miracle. Celebratory cannon fire erupted across the empire, and confetti fluttered through the squares. However, to our family, who had lived as a “combat race” our entire lives, peace was a disaster far more unfamiliar and baffling than war.

“Father, is this… what they call a ‘teatime’?” My older brother, Heinrich, asked with a bewildered expression. Platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. A spectacularly handsome man who wouldn’t look out of place called a statue. Thanks to that, he had been called the “Lily of the Battlefield” or the “White Phantom,” but right now he was breaking out in a cold sweat as if he had met the most difficult enemy in the world. In his massive hand, he held a tiny teacup decorated with delicate patterns.

“That is correct, Heinrich. I’m told that capital nobles drink this… fragrant water to relax the moment the clock strikes 3 PM,” Gustav von Eisenbach, our father, replied with an equally grave expression. With a heavy, sharp jawline and eyes etched with the depth of years, Father was a dignified, handsome middle-aged man whenever he kept his mouth shut. “Ahem, so we too shall drink this plain water… no, this fragrant water and learn aristocratic etiquette.” Yet beneath that exterior, he was a soldier who knew nothing outside of combat, just like my brother.

“If Mother were here, this would have been a piece of cake,” Heinrich lamented. Indeed. The only person of common sense in our household—the one capable of taming these two beasts—was currently absent. Right as the war ended, she had said, “I need to rest a bit now too,” and left for recuperation at her maternal family’s home in the south. The Eisenbach household without Mother was clumsy at everything.

“Ugh!” Clatter—! Disaster struck in the end. As my brother tried to lift his teacup with elegance, he failed to control his strength and reduced the handle to powder.

“I apologize! The habit of snapping an enemy’s neck bone must have lingered…!” Heinrich leaped up to apologize. The resulting force knocked his chair backward, creating a thunderous crash. “Haah, you can’t even live up to your face.” Father pressed his palm to his forehead and let out a sigh.

I silently stared at the pieces of the teacup my brother had shattered. To be completely honest, I was also intensely uncomfortable. Until recently, I was the one commanding frontlines on the battlefield as the “Black Reaper.” Yet now, the corset made me feel a stabbing rib pain every single time I breathed. Was that all? The trailing hems of my heavy dress were practically begging to be stepped on so I could trip. The thought that it would be infinitely more comfortable to just wear full plate armor and run around the training yard naturally crossed my mind.

“Regina.” Father called me in a solemn voice. “Yes, Commander.” “I told you to call me Father at home.” “Yes, Father.”

Father let out a deep sigh and set down the teacup that was beginning to crack in his hand. “We’re already a lost cause. The smell of blood has soaked into our bones and won’t wash out. Look at your brother.” Father pointed his chin toward Heinrich. “Looking like that, the moment he opens his mouth he talks about ‘beheadings’ and ‘ambushes,’ so naturally, young ladies faint.” “I was merely offering the most interesting stories I knew since the young ladies spoke to me first!” Heinrich cried out in injustice at Father’s words. “Besides, I smiled kindly at them!” “The problem is that your smile carries killing intent! The young ladies said that whenever you smile, they feel like they need to wash their necks and wait!”

Father looked back at me. His rough, calloused hand covered mine. “But you are different, Regina, my precious daughter. You, at least, must enjoy ordinary happiness.” “Ordinary happiness, you say…” “Marriage!” “Naturally, marriage!” Father and Heinrich shouted in unison at my question.

“Didn’t I meet my old comrade, Count Banner, just yesterday?” Father cleared his throat and continued. “He told me that since you’re already twenty-four, if we don’t have you married off right now, you’ll miss your window entirely.” Father’s voice was full of concern. “Shouldn’t you also experience something called ‘love’ by the side of a proper person, rather than a blood-soaked battlefield?” Father’s eyes sparkled.

“…I think Mother would have a different view on that.” I set my teacup down and replied nonchalantly. At my words, Father and Heinrich flinched simultaneously. Mother, Adelaide von Eisenbach. She was a person whose philosophy was that “swinging a sword one more time is much more advantageous for survival than whining about love.” If Mother had been here, she might have grabbed Count Banner by the collar.

However, Father shook his head with a stern expression. “No. Your mother, deep down, must be hoping for it as well.” Father continued. “How could we let our daughter be the only one missing out on the marriage that every young lady in high society partakes in?” “That’s right, Regina. You have to try what everyone else does.” Heinrich even chimed in to back him up.

The two of them began launching into a “praise of marriage” sermon, as though they had been brainwashed by high society matrons. I gave a noncommittal response while tapping my finger against a piece of the broken teacup. Love, happiness… To me, those were still pie-in-the-sky notions.

Right then. Heinrich abruptly threw out a remark. “And they say that once you marry, you can officially retire from active military service.”

My finger stopped. I raised my head to look at Heinrich. His blue eyes were shining with seriousness. “Retirement?” “Yes. Under imperial law, female knights can choose to be discharged upon marriage. No matter what happens later, you’ll never have to answer the imperial summons again.”

Heinrich was certain that retirement would appeal to me. Yet, retirement felt like an even more distant concept to me than love. I had lived my entire life as a knight. It was hard for me to even imagine myself idling about in retirement. However…

“We don’t want you holding a sword anymore.” Father’s voice was different from usual. “Regina, do you know how much this worthless father’s heart broke… when you played with a chipped dagger instead of a teddy bear the moment you learned to walk?”