BXBX NOVEL Chapter 128
Chapter 128
“Hoooo…”
Finally. The fateful day has arrived.
Lavrenti, with a solemnity greater than ever before, meticulously bathes and dresses, buttoning her shirt one by one with unwavering determination.
“….”
She glanced at her desk.
The remnants of the battle she fought fiercely until yesterday, no, until this morning, remain untouched.
The hours of despair spent sitting there feel as vivid as yesterday. She had done her best, but the midterms had defeated her mercilessly.
For a while afterward, she was bedridden from the shock. How could she stand beside her Master with such meager results?
Self-loathing welled up within her.
If she were expelled for failing grades, what would she do? How could she face her Master?
Lavrenti’s mind was filled with a bleak future.
‘But this time is different. It will be different. No, it has to be different!’
She clenches her fists and looks at a notebook on her desk. That was the decisive reason Lavrenti could maintain her courage.
It was a gift from her eternal master and the object of her admiration, Karl, given to no one else but Lavrenti herself. It was the key to victory, the guiding line to hit the target.
If she were to lose this battle even after receiving this, it would be a disgrace to the Imperial Army.
It would be unthinkable for someone who fought in the same war as Karl and even received a medal!
Bang! Bang!—
“Hey, when are you coming out?! We’ll be late for the exam! Hurry up, Lav!”
“Eloise, aren’t you being a bit impatient?”
“Impatient? You’re more than ten minutes late!”
Unable to bear Lavrenti’s sudden ritualistic bathing, Eloise pounds on the door.
Although not as much as Eloise, Lefia, who was standing next to her, also couldn’t hide her anxiety as time ticked away.
It’s unfortunate. A sharpshooter of the Empire should embrace the aesthetics of waiting. You two haven’t had that experience, so even a brief moment seems like a long wait to you.
Lavrenti muttered to herself (if she muttered out loud, Eloise would react) and opened the door to join her classmates waiting outside.
“What took you so long?”
“Something came up. Stop nagging, Eloise.”
“Of all days, why today?! Of course I’m nagging!”
“Um, shouldn’t we get going? We’ll really be late.”
The reason Eloise and Lavrenti stayed close to Lefia was, of course, to monitor and keep an eye on her.
But now, for some reason, they had become genuine friends. Lefia was even making suggestions, and the other two girls were accepting them with a ‘Maybe you’re right.’
“So, how confident are you about this exam?”
“Very confident.”
“Whoa, what’s with that confidence? Did you get some lucky break or something?”
It’s not luck, it’s love. A love so great you couldn’t even dream of it, Eloise.
The urge to brag welled up, but Lavrenti, like a true sharpshooter, held back.
If she mentioned it here, Eloise would likely bother Karl. And Lefia, despite her pretense, might find another way to get close to Karl.
There are no eternal enemies, but there are no eternal allies either. The only constant is the repetition between the two.
Lavrenti kept those words etched in her heart.
“Hey, Eloise. Are you confident about this exam? I heard it’s going to be harder than the midterms.”
“What, Lefia? Are you scared? Oh dear, our princess has surrendered to the final exams! How sad!”
“I’m not scared! And I told you to stop calling me princess!”
“My apologies, Your Highness!”
If Karl had seen this, what would he have said? Would he have smiled, saying they were getting along well? Or would he have worried that Eloise was teasing too much?
“Juniors.”
At the familiar voice, the three girls turned their heads.
Selena stood there, dressed more neatly than usual, her arms full of something.
“Isn’t it finals season? You all seem pretty excited.”
“Ah, yes! You’re right, Senior Selena!”
“…You don’t have to be so tense, Junior Lefia.”
Was it because she asked so seriously about their first meeting, about what Karl’s embrace felt like? Or did she instinctively realize, ‘Ah, this is the main wife’?
Since that first meeting, Lefia had been almost excessively deferential to Selena.
“Hello, Senior Selena. Are you on your way to proctor the exams?”
“Yes, Lav. The professor asked me to do it today and tomorrow.”
“Is that allowed? Senior Selena, if the professor keeps bothering you, just tell Karl! Okay?!”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Eloise. It’s not like the professor is asking me to do anything strange.”
Surely, even if professors treat graduate students like slaves, they wouldn’t do that to her.
Even if they did, Selena didn’t want to tell Karl. If a Medal of Honor recipient got involved for such a reason, it might tarnish Karl’s reputation.
“But just tell me, okay? Senior Selena. If they keep bothering you, I’ll take care of it!”
It’s scary to think she might actually do something. She’s not just any elf, she has experience leading special forces.
I should never tell her, at least.
Selena nodded and said, ‘Come on, let’s go. We’ll be late,’ leading the three girls.
“So, Lav. You can do well on this exam, right?”
“You should worry about yourself, elf.”
“Heh, you get so sensitive during exams. But guess what?! I’m going to be at the top again this time!”
“This time will be different. It has to be!”
Lefia tried to mediate, saying, ‘That’s right, it will be different. So let’s stop arguing!’ while Selena worried, ‘I wonder if Lab can really do well on the exam.’
They were a noisy bunch, but they were getting along well, these four women.
* * *
I suddenly found myself thinking. How will I be recorded in history? What kind of description will the Empire’s annals give to the name ‘Karl Adelheit’?
The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, ‘The madman who received the Medal of Honor twice.’
Whether it’s the Medal of Honor from my past life’s memories or the one from this world, it’s ultimately something you only get after a near-death experience and a little chat with the King of Hell.
Most military achievements don’t even get you nominated.
And even if you are, there’s a very high chance the Ministry of War will say, ‘Ah, this can be covered with a Order of Military Merit,’ and cut you off.
But I’ve received that medal not once, but twice. To be honest, both times, I questioned whether my actions were worthy of such an honor. But what could I do?
When the Ministry of War and the Imperial Family say, “Take it,” you better accept it quickly, or it feels like you’re committing a grave sin.
Next, there are several other things.
I was the first Imperial citizen to receive a medal from those haughty elves. I wielded the sword of one of the Twelve Knights of Lasker.
Oh, and there was that time I split a rock and found a lost sacred relic of the Church. Let’s add that too.
‘That’s enough for now… hmm. Next would be… that, right?’
I’ll be remembered as the guy who frequented the Crown Prince’s Palace since he was a mere noble’s son.
Yes, that’s probably how it’ll be recorded.
In fact, even today, the Crown Prince summoned me, forcing me to make another appearance at the Imperial Palace.
I’m grateful I wasn’t hit by a gender-bending beam. If that had happened, rumors would have spread throughout the Empire about the Crown Prince being secretly in love with a noble daughter.
[TL/N: }
“Have you arrived, brother-in-law?”
I offer a respectful bow, and the Crown Prince urges me to sit down.
He’s family now, but I’m worried that he’s treating me too casually.
The Imperial Family should remain a place that all nobles look up to and respect, even if they just sit there and do nothing. If it becomes like this, it’ll—
“How did you do on your finals?”
“…That’s a sudden change of topic.”
“But aren’t the final exams just over?”
What a wicked brother-in-law.
Asking someone who just finished exams, ‘Did you do well on the exam?’
That’s something even the Geneva Convention prohibits! …Not really? Right. It’s not.
“It seems like just yesterday we were all gathered, watching the New Year’s ceremony as the world was covered in pure white snow. But spring has already passed and summer has arrived.”
“The weather has gotten quite hot. Even the wind is warm.”
“Time flies, brother-in-law.”
The Crown Prince keeps laughing, as if something is incredibly amusing. I have a rough idea of what it is. I heard the news from my father just yesterday.
“Congratulations.”
“Hmm?”
“On the Crown Princess’s pregnancy.”
“I see your father told you. I was going to make a formal announcement tomorrow.”
Pregnancy.
Yes, my sister is finally having a child. It’s still too small and fragile to be called a life, but it’s definitely my niece or nephew. My niece or nephew has just come into this world!
“You know, brother-in-law, I hope it’s a daughter who resembles the Crown Princess.”
“I would also be delighted to have an Imperial Princess who inherits Your Highness’s wisdom and the Crown Princess’s beauty.”
“Right? So, I’ll be counting on you.”
“Your Highness?”
What does he want me to do?
As I blink in confusion, the Crown Prince looks at me with an expression that says, ‘You’re asking the obvious.’
“Aren’t you going to the Holy See soon?”
“…Ah.”
“If you have time there, please offer a prayer to the Light. I pray every day, but I think your prayers might be heard a little more clearly.”
I can sense how much the Crown Prince, my brother-in-law, longs for a daughter.
Besides… that’s right. The finals were so tough that I briefly forgot.
That I’ll soon be officially invited by the Church to visit the Holy See for the Feast of All Saints.
“Please, let there be no incidents this time. Please!”
How many nightmares have I had since Shulifen said, ‘I think they’ll definitely create a medal named after you’?
Something like, ‘Everyone! The recipient of the Karl Adelheit Medal is… Karl Adelheit himself!! Oooooh!’ I think I’ve had that dream nine times.
Damn it. Me receiving a medal named after myself. What could be a more permanent mark on history?