Chapter 4

The sweltering heat had long since passed, and the mornings had been slightly chilly for a while now.

As the sun rose and the pleasant weather beckoned, Adam and Emma, who were walking towards a town a little distance from their assigned quarters, found themselves thinking about their daughter, whom they had left behind in the capital.

"What a nice day! It feels so good."

"Yeah, if I had known we could have such a peaceful life, I might have brought Lily with us."

However, when they first arrived, they were so busy every day that they had no time to spare. Besides, their daughter was very considerate of others. If they had brought her, they might have regretted it.

It had been a while since they moved to the eastern fortress in early spring, and their lives had finally settled down. Today, their days off coincidentally overlapped, so they were heading out to buy supplies for the winter.

"True. It was only around the end of summer that we started to have the time to chat like this."

"Exactly. Just gathering medical supplies required endless paperwork and explanations. It was so frustrating!"

Emma began to complain about her work. In such situations, the best thing to do was to fully support her and praise her.

Besides, she was a formidable person who had managed the rear support at the western fortress.

"You did manage to get everything done, didn't you? That's impressive."

"Of course! I refuted all their arguments. It's unacceptable for a place that's supposed to be richer than the west to have such poor stockpiles!"

The storage facilities, neglected due to embezzlement, poor management, and lack of attention, were in a deplorable state.

"They said, 'It's strange that the inventory is missing when there's no record of it being taken out.' I wanted to ask them the same thing!"

Thinking about it made her angry again. Emma clenched her teeth, looking as if she had bitten into a bitter bug.

"Thanks to you, we can treat the wounded in battle."

"Exactly! The complacency in the eastern fortress was even worse than the rumors suggested."

After venting for a while, Emma calmed down. Then, she started to worry about her husband's work environment.

"How about you?"

"It's as bad as the rumors. I've dispersed the subordinates I brought from the west to other units. It seems like I can finally get things under control."

Originally, all the units in the eastern fortress had been reassigned to the capital and the western fortress in early spring. Adam and his team had been sent to the eastern fortress as a result.

At first, they were so shocked by the war between the eastern powers that they didn't question their own situation. However, after coming to the eastern fortress, Adam realized something was wrong.

—It's insane to send people who don't know the situation to a new post.

Fighting in an unfamiliar terrain and conditions would be a huge disadvantage.

His doubts were confirmed when he consulted Dylan, the son of the Duke of Gold, who had made the decision.

"The eastern fortress has long been a peaceful and secure place, so to be honest, it had become more like a job for the second and third sons of noble families. Many were punished for their misdeeds, and the rest were so demotivated that they didn't even have the energy to commit crimes."

They were all from prestigious families with good education, but their credentials were often bought, so their reliability was questionable.

"When we heard that a war was starting at the eastern fortress, almost everyone requested a transfer. I decided it would be better to replace them early."

—Better...

Adam was shocked to learn that such a dangerous gamble had been made for such a reason. Having led a more challenging life than most, he hadn't been surprised by anything in years, but he was surprised by his own reaction and laughed.

"I understand, Lord Dylan. If there's anything I can do, I'll help."

It was so amusing that he couldn't help but offer his assistance.

He had assumed that Dylan, being a noble, would favor the nobles. Adam, who was in charge of the western fortress, known for being a dumping ground for commoners and disgraced nobles, thought there was no way Dylan would favor such people.

Unaware of this, Dylan gratefully accepted Adam's offer.

"Yes, that's why I called all of you! I appreciate your cooperation."

With those words, Dylan openly favored those from the western fortress.

Adam was taken aback. A faction quickly formed between the units from the capital and the western fortress, but the latter outnumbered the former, giving them the upper hand.

"Factions will form anywhere, and the strong will always win. Since the people from the western fortress are of lower rank, I balanced it so they could win by numbers."

Dylan's strategy, which assumed conflict from the start, left Adam speechless. He realized Dylan was a dangerous character, but it was too late.

They tried to work together to improve the fortress, but since Dylan was also a "noble inexperienced in war," they never truly understood each other. In the end, they decided to let Dylan return to the capital once things had settled down.

Thinking about this, Adam looked into the distance with half-closed eyes. It had taken a lot of effort to dismantle the factions and improve communication.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. I really owe a lot to my subordinates."

The noble-born subordinates befriended their acquaintances, and the commoner-born subordinates continued to be friendly despite being treated poorly. The units from the capital, when faced with actual tasks, hesitated and gradually softened their attitudes. Seizing this opportunity, Adam invited them to cooperate, and they finally started to rely on him.

Now that the system was in place, they were sending spies to the eastern continent to gather information. They didn't know when the conflict might reach them, so it was better to leave their daughter in the capital.

"At least, it would be easier to visit the capital more often. I wish I could see her on days like today."

"True. —But she seems to be doing well according to her letters. She's making more and more friends."

"In the capital, she won't get involved in strange things, so I'm relieved that Lily is finally making normal friends."

Lily had omitted mentioning the races of Silver, Elliot, Tania, and Robin in her letters, so her parents didn't know that all her friends were non-human. Additionally, the only humans around her were royalty, making it a far from normal environment, but she had managed to gloss over these details.

She also didn't mention her trips to the dark market during the flower festival or her visits to the beastfolk village in the Nograye forest. Despite this, she had plenty of other things to write about, and she was considerate enough not to burden her parents with her adventures.

Unaware of the full story, Adam and Emma happily imagined Lily's peaceful daily life.

"It seems she has more boy friends. Do you think she has a boyfriend?"

"..."

"I notice that Silver and Elliot are mentioned a lot, so I suspect one of them."

"She's only thirteen, it's too early."

"Girls mature faster, so it's better to be prepared."

"It's too early."

"You feel these emotions too, don't you?"

"It's not a bad thing to be concerned. Once we understand the situation in the eastern continent, I'll go to the capital to report and visit her."

Adam's face darkened, showing his protective instincts.

"No way. The captain can't leave the fortress. Make sure to inform the liaison from the capital."

Adam didn't respond, so Emma knew he was thinking of a way to go to the capital. Determined to stop him, she suggested she go instead.

"If I go, it will be easier to arrange. I'll visit her."

"No. It's too dangerous for you to go alone."

"But if we keep saying that, we'll never see her."

While discussing what to do, they arrived in town, and the conversation ended there. The next day, their busy work schedules resumed, and time flew by.

They were not neglecting their daughter. They just knew that the eastern fortress was too harsh a place for her to be in at the moment. They had to do something to improve the situation to avoid a tragic end.

Adam and Emma didn't know that while they were busy with work, Lily would find a way to reach the eastern fortress. She would follow the "proper procedures" and join as a "combatant."

They couldn't imagine that their thirteen-year-old daughter would achieve such a feat.

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