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Chapter: 3
I followed the man to Naval Headquarters. That brutal sound still lingered in my ears.
After walking along the road that led in the opposite direction for a while, a large, modern building came into view. Beneath it, neatly laid tiles shimmered under the sunlight.
When I entered the building, a soldier as large as a bear spotted the man and rushed over in a hurry. He immediately raised a crisp salute and said,
“Colonel, you’ve arrived.”
After the man returned a brief salute, the soldier lowered his hand. Then he looked at me and asked,
“Who is the lady beside you…?”
The man introduced me as a bereaved family member. Upon hearing that, the subordinate tried to guide me.
“Oh…! Then this way—”
The man raised his hand to stop him.
“I’ll guide her.”
“Pardon?”
The soldier’s small eyes widened. Then he scratched the back of his head with his thick hand, hesitated, and stepped back.
“Yes, then…”
After that, as we went down toward the basement following the man, naval personnel were all moving busily in their own ways.
Even while attending to their duties, they would stop and salute in unison whenever they spotted the man. And when they noticed me walking behind him, they would glance at me with unconcealed curiosity.
But it wasn’t something that mattered much to me.
“By any chance, have the other bereaved families already visited? Ah, it seems I’m the only outsider here.”
“Most have already come and gone.”
The man replied as he opened a door at the bottom of the stairs.
Here as well, the navy personnel greeted the man respectfully. After walking a bit further, someone approached.
“Commander, we’ve recovered all personal belongings from the Baltic Fleet. It looks like we’ll be able to deliver everything to the bereaved families within the deadline.”
Commander…?
From earlier, the way the naval personnel addressed the man had been scratching at the back of my mind uncomfortably.
Naval Colonel, Baltic Fleet, Commander…
Before long, I realized where that discomfort was coming from.
‘Johannes Schulz?’
I looked up at the man in surprise. My tightly closed lips parted slightly, and a faint sigh slipped through.
“You… are the young duke of the Schulz family?”
At my words, the man raised his eyebrows slightly. Then he looked down at me with an indifferent gaze.
“If you’re asking about my birth status, then yes.”
He gave a brief affirmative.
“Good heavens.”
I stood frozen for a while, unable to continue speaking.
I had thought I alone had borne all the misfortune in the world. But the person who truly had was standing right in front of me.
This man had not only witnessed his father’s execution with his own eyes, but had also been forced to listen to the condemnation of countless people gathered at the harbor.
And yet, how could he remain so composed? How had he been able to endure those painful moments without turning away even once?
“How—”
“You’re asking why I seem unaffected?”
I slowly nodded my stiffened head. Johannes Schulz did not answer and simply continued walking.
We moved silently down a long, white corridor. Then he stopped in front of a door, grasped the handle, and said,
“I believe it is only natural to receive punishment befitting one’s crimes. That is what my father taught me.”
I instinctively drew a breath.
There wasn’t even the slightest tremor in his voice. He spoke as if discussing someone else’s matter entirely—someone unrelated to him—saying that punishment was simply the proper consequence for wrongdoing.
“But how can you not have even a shred of doubt? What if he was falsely accused—”
“Would that change anything?”
“Huh?”
He slowly turned his head and fixed his blue eyes on me.
“A soldier must follow the orders of the supreme commander, regardless of the reason. At present, that authority belongs to the royal family.”
I could not say anything. It might have been my imagination, but for a brief moment, I thought I saw a trace of sorrow in his eyes.
“This is the morgue. Would you like to proceed?”
He asked again, his face returning to its rigid composure. He was asking whether I was ready to face my father’s body.
Instead of answering, I slowly nodded. He pulled the door open.
The morgue was colder than the other areas. The sharp smell of chemical disinfectants mixed with the odor of corpses, filling the space with a strange stench.
I slowly looked around and soon found a bed bearing a nameplate with my father’s name.
“The decomposition is more severe than the other bodies. It may be distressing.”
“…It’s alright. I need to confirm with my own eyes whether it’s truly my father.”
I said that confidently—but only for a moment.
“Ugh.”
The moment I faced the body, an instinctive wave of nausea surged up. I quickly covered my mouth and rushed out of the morgue.
After catching my breath and composing myself for a long while, a wave of self-loathing washed over me.
How devastated must my father be if he could see me like this?
Steeling myself, I stepped back into the morgue.
My father’s body was so deformed that it was nearly unrecognizable. In addition, a foul stench lingered heavily. Purple blotches had spread across his body, making the sight utterly tragic.
Because of that, I was shocked once again.
Was this severely decomposed body truly my father’s?
“…Is this really my father?”
I wasn’t expecting an answer. I simply felt the need to voice it aloud in order to face reality.
Johannes did not respond either.
After examining the motionless body, I took his hand. The corpse’s hand—one I had touched for the first time in my life—was damp and slippery.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the naval personnel guarding the morgue turning their faces away, unable to look. But I had no room to concern myself with them.
I clenched my eyes shut.
The cold touch of the body, devoid of any warmth. Only then did it fully sink in.
My father was truly gone.
Then I noticed something slightly different from the hands I had always known and touched. I quickly lifted the hand I had grasped and examined it.
“…This isn’t my father’s hand.”
I looked up quickly at the young Duke Schulz and said. His eyebrows rose. I hastily added an explanation, rambling slightly.
“My father’s—my father’s right index finger is bent. I’m certain of it! So, what I mean is, my father might still be alive—”
I couldn’t finish my sentence. Then, one of the naval personnel—the only one besides Johannes Schulz who hadn’t turned away—spoke cautiously.
“Well… I’m not sure if I should say this, but during the process of bodily swelling, the finger might temporarily appear straightened.”
“But—”
“All of the personal belongings recovered from the body belong to Corporal Prim.”
Interrupting me, the young Duke Schulz handed over a box placed in a corner.
“Ah…”
Any faint hope I had vanished in an instant. A sense of emptiness bound my entire body.
So it was true.
A naval badge engraved with the name Isaac Prim, his uniform, and the handkerchief I had embroidered and given him.
The moment I saw my father’s belongings, the emotions I had been barely suppressing began to tremble violently.
My eyes welled up as tears threatened to spill. I forced my eyes wide open and clenched my lips tightly. Gripping the sheet covering my father’s body, I crumpled it in my hands as I struggled to hold back.
Meanwhile, the naval personnel guarding the morgue quietly stepped aside. Only Johannes Schulz remained by my side.
A low voice spoke.
“You may cry.”
Those simple words, spoken by someone who shared the same pain as me, felt more comforting than anything else—even if he had meant nothing by them.
In the end, the tears I had been holding back broke free. I collapsed in front of my father, burying my face and sobbing.
A large hand hovered in the air for a moment before slowly patting my back.
I stayed by his side for a long time, letting my grief pour out.
After finally regaining my composure, I completed the death insurance application with the help of the young Duke Schulz.
If one were to assign a monetary value to the death of a man named Isaac Prim, the amount was utterly pitiful.
“Only 6 million Berks…?”
It was both absurd and tragic to have to deal with such a cold, transactional matter right after saying goodbye to my father. But as someone still alive, I had no choice but to face reality.
“The insurance payout for Corporal Isaac Prim was never very large to begin with. He had previously taken advances on his military salary, and even that wasn’t much, considering he was a low-ranking soldier.”
“But if he hadn’t gone to war, he wouldn’t have fallen ill in the first place!”
“I’m just a lower-ranking soldier myself. Complaining to me won’t change anything. If you’re in urgent need, try asking a military official you know.”
The soldier waved his hand dismissively, looking irritated.
“How….”
The lives of those who fought for their country and died alone were worth less than a single month of luxury spending by high-ranking nobles.
“If you continue like this, it becomes difficult for us as well. We have to explain things to each person individually.”
The soldier glanced around, confirming that no one else was listening, then lowered his voice.
“The Duke Schulz embezzled a massive amount of funds, so there isn’t much left for the insurance payouts of the fallen.”
His tone was stiff, as though he had memorized it. It almost sounded as if he was being told to criticize the Duke Schulz.
Perhaps that was why it felt even less believable.
He ended up practically driving me away after telling me that the insurance payouts given to other bereaved families were also very small.
When I arrived home, a large number of letters were stuffed into the mailbox.
Most of them were overdue tax notices or water bills.
“…Ha.”
Poverty did not even allow me the time to grieve my father’s death.
Without even a moment to reminisce about his final moments, I had to face reality and find a way to earn money.
