Chapter 71

The colonel, smiling while being blown by the wind atop the castle's spire, seems as if he could be swept away and vanish at any moment.

No, he will truly disappear. I am certain of it.

For some reason, the ability of the "Scythe of Death" is manifesting. The air is filled with the presence of death. However, it is not directed at me. The invisible Grim Reaper is now placing the scythe against Colonel Altsar's throat. I must save him.

Feeling several times the fear I usually feel on the battlefield, I call out to the colonel.

"Did you say you envy Duke Litrayu?"

"Yes. You saw her during the autopsy, didn't you?"

I did. Her pitiful corpse, stripped naked and with her hair undone.

"I found her appearance to be pitiful."

"I felt the same, but at the same time, I felt an intense envy. She has let go of everything, including her life, and is thus freed from all suffering. I don't know what kind of suffering she endured, but..."

Indeed, if you put it that way, it's true. At that moment, she was freed from all karmic ties and was in a state of purity. No one could hurt her anymore, not even Colonel Altsar and I, who had been in fierce opposition, felt pity for her.

Leaning against the spire's window frame, Colonel Altsar looks into the distance.

"Thinking that I will someday be like her, I feel a strange excitement. I even feel a sense of anticipation. I know it's not healthy, but I can't help it."

I wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. I understood how the colonel felt. Duke Litrayu had lost everything. Stripped of everything, I felt a strange beauty in her. It was artistic, literary, something that couldn't be ignored.

Not knowing how to respond, I spoke frankly.

"I also thought that Duke Litrayu looked filled with a mysterious sense of peace at that time."

"Do you understand?"

The colonel smiled a little happily, but as his subordinate, I had to set him straight.

"But that is the subjective view of the observer. The dead do not think, do not feel, and do not suffer. They do not find peace either. It is the living who find meaning in the dead. This is a matter of your own heart, not Duke Litrayu's."

The colonel looked a bit puzzled at my words. He placed his hand on his chest and slightly bowed his head.

"My heart?"

"Yes. You are captivated by death."

Being called a man of death, one might be offended, but the colonel is smiling.

"That's not bad."

This is serious.

I am not a psychiatrist or a religious figure, just a soldier. But I am the only one here. If I give up, the Grim Reaper will take the colonel. I absolutely cannot let that happen.

The colonel has been acting strangely ever since he forced Duke Litrayu to commit suicide. He himself admits that her death has affected his heart. If there is a breakthrough, it must be there.

But I don't know how to approach it.

If I had studied psychology in my previous life, it would have been better. I always make the wrong choices.

But I can't lose to Duke Litrayu's ghost. I am a man called the Grim Reaper.

I made up my mind and approached the colonel closely, not at the distance between a superior and a subordinate, but at the distance of family or friends. Even with my dull sense of smell, I could detect the colonel's pleasant scent. I started to feel a bit nervous.

No, no, now is the time to take care of the colonel's heart.

I leaned in close to the melancholic colonel and tried to shake him psychologically with a gentle voice.

"If you wish, I can take your life right here and now."

"Huh..."

Oh, he reacted! Is this the breakthrough?

The colonel, who was frozen in place, looking up at me, I quickly followed up.

"Rather than having your heart taken by Duke Litrayu, it might be better to kill you here and make you mine forever."

Even if someone is captivated by death, the human survival instinct is strong. When faced with death, most people take action to survive. I don't want to threaten my respected superior, but I have to shock him into reality.

...But the colonel's reaction is strange.

The colonel's pale cheeks, which had been white from the cold wind, suddenly turned red. His eyes seemed to regain their strength.

Did I anger him? That's bad, threatening a superior is a serious crime.

The colonel was trembling, but then a hoarse voice came from his trembling lips.

"That... that's unfair... such things..."

I don't know how to interpret these words. Maybe I messed up.

With no choice, I steeled myself and smiled. Colonel Altsar let out a big sigh. It was a huge sigh. Scary.

Then the colonel glared at me and approached with a menacing expression.

"You said that much, so you have to take responsibility, right!?"

What responsibility? It's probably a choice between two things, but I don't know which one. Which one, which responsibility?

I don't know, but the time to retreat has passed. Just like turning your back on the enemy in battle means death, I can't turn my back on the colonel in this situation. So there is only one answer.

"Of course. I am the colonel's adjutant."

As an adjutant, I must take responsibility for my words until the end. Otherwise, I would be wasting the lives of many soldiers. It's only natural.

I made a natural statement, but Colonel Altsar suddenly turned away.

"Y-Yes... then, that's fine."

It seems I have escaped the tiger's mouth. I might have jumped into something worse, but it's probably just my imagination.

As evidence, the presence of death brought by the "Scythe of Death" has completely disappeared from Colonel Altsar. I seem to have defeated Duke Litrayu's ghost. For now, at least.

Feeling a bit relieved, but cautious, I decided to reinforce my point with the colonel.

"Please look at me, who is alive, rather than at her, who is dead."

"...Yes."

The colonel, still turned away, answered softly.

I am worried. Can I save the colonel...?

* * *

【In the Palm of Death】

On my way back to the office, I look up at my tall adjutant walking beside me. Just seeing his calm profile makes my cheeks heat up.

That... that was unfair!

I still feel guilty about forcing Minsiana to commit suicide. This guilt will probably never go away.

It was an imperial command, but it doesn't matter whose order it was. This is a sin I will carry to my grave.

I wish I could just throw this burden into a grave with me, but my adjutant saw through everything. He is impressive.

And those pick-up lines. With such a good voice and words, I started to feel that dying didn't matter.

"What's wrong?"

Yuin asks me with a straight face. His voice is very pleasant. And he has a good face, sir. He probably doesn't realize it. This unconscious villain.

I am the legitimate child of the previous head of the Medilen family, one of the Five Royal Houses, but I am also the younger aunt of the current head. I am not a favorable existence for the main branch. I am a source of family conflict.

Naturally, no one dared to approach me.

But Yuin is not afraid of the prestige of the Five Royal Houses. He is a reincarnated person from another world.

I heard a little about his past. In his country, there are no nobles, and commoners hold important positions. Therefore, he has less fear of nobles than others.

Because of this, Yuin can approach me boldly.

Though I have no romantic experience, I have read many love stories and seen plays. I have a normal level of romantic longing.

Yuin's attitude just now was exactly... exactly that! Exactly it was.

The sweet temptation from a man, something I thought only existed in love stories. And it was from Yuin Chrombert, the adjutant I had a crush on.

He was like a gentle Grim Reaper. Like the avenging knight Dibert in the medieval Schwaidel literature "The Ghost Knight of Ulka," or the rival Black Archer Eystin in "The Hunter of the Magic Bow."

Just thinking about the exchange makes me feel dizzy.

"Sir, you still don't seem to be feeling well."

"No, I feel great."

I will support you for life. I can support you.

But Yuin, with a concerned look, says strangely gently.

"Don't overdo it. You are an important person, sir."

"Y-Yes."

An unconscious handsome man is providing lethal kindness for free. Is this a place of rest? If so, there's no need to die.

I forced a smile to avoid worrying my important adjutant.

"I will live with the death of Duke Litrayu, but I won't be crushed by it. Don't worry."

"Sir..."

Yuin looks touched. This man really has expressive features.

I feel bad for Minsiana, who is tormented by the fires of hell, but I don't intend to join her yet.

I have a wonderful adjutant who is kind to me here.