Alice in Wonderland

Alice and Hadrian spent the second day of their stay in this Castle.

- Alice Pov -

After what happened last night, I had every intention of sleeping in the same room as my brother, but I ultimately decided against it. I prefer that you don't know the reason.

After that, the day passed, I fell asleep, and while it was still early in the morning, Sascha, dressed in her battle attire, went to wake me up and dragged me out of bed without hesitation.

I have no choice but to obey her because she is more powerful than I am. she told me that we would go to the forest not too far away from this Castle for today's training.

After that, I get ready to put on the clothes I typically wear during training to make it easier for me to move around.

As soon as I stepped outside the Castle, the first thing that took me by surprise was the soldiers already lined up in front of Sascha and me.

They wore uniforms made of light iron that protected vital areas, and there were a total of one hundred, male and female. On average, they were between the ages of 17 and 25.

Each had a bag slung over their shoulders, containing food, drink, and other items required for certain activities, such as going to war.

"Alright, you trash rookies, let me introduce princess Alice, who will be accompanying all of you during training," Remarked Sascha with a harsh tone and an expression that was entirely different from how she appeared when I met her the night before.

After hearing what Sascha had to say, those people who had been staring at me for a significant amount of time immediately yelled in unison.

"Welcome princess Alice," Even though I was feeling a little overpowered by their fervent enthusiasm, I just smiled and nodded a little as I usually do.

"Okay, don't be an idiot, hurry up and start walking," Once more, Sascha issued the command.

Following that, the one hundred soldiers marched forward into the woods with a confident stance, while Sascha and I followed closely behind them.

"Are they a part of my practice sessions?" I questioned Sascha, who was walking in close proximity to me.

"Yes, young master was right, your mind is very sharp," Sascha paid me a compliment while she showed a hint of a smile.

However, after that, she continued, "even so, whether you are able to complete this training is an entirely different question."

"Since yesterday, I forgot to ask my brother, what the eye symbol on your uniform means, and it's been bothering me ever since," I asked the question that had been nagging at me since the previous day because I was too bored to think of anything else to do.

"oh, you're referring to this symbol, right?" While she spoke, Sascha pointed at her chest, where a prominent symbol of the red eye could be seen.

I nodded.

"Even though I don't fully comprehend the meaning myself, but I've heard young master say that..."

"He is always watching us wherever and whenever through this symbol so as to ensure that if their struggle is seen directly by the young master, the soldiers become even more excited the very first time they hear it," As Sascha explained it, she had a grin on her face and carefully stroked the symbol affixed to her breastplate.

Because the various symbols in this world contain a bit of the soul of the person who created them, the aura emanating from the mark will be more potent in proportion to the strength of the person who created it.

I believe what Sascha said because my brother is stronger than what he shows to people, so it's not surprising.

During the journey, we discussed the Geist Legion, an army my brother founded, and without realizing it, we had already arrived at the entrance to the forest.

It was clear to me that the soldiers who had been walking in front of me had stopped to take a break.

Although it appears to cover a small area when viewed from the Castle, this forest seems to cover a large area from where I am standing right now, which is at the entrance.

The towering tree gives away its age, which must be hundreds of years, and I can also see the animals on it. It feels like the entrance to a wonderland.

In the depths of the forest, the sound of birds chirping can also be heard, as well as the occasional appearance of small animals snuck out from behind the bushes.

While taking in the new things that I saw, I became aware of Sascha's booming voice.

"Give me your attention, because I'm going to start explaining the point of your training from here on out," Remarked Sascha as she observed the trainees who, in the distant future, would become members of the Geist Legion.

Sascha continued speaking after noticing that everyone was watching her, "Within this forest, we have enemies waiting, your mission is to overthrow them. It is up to you whether you want to take them captive or kill them."

"However, they will clearly not hesitate to kill you one by one. If you're wondering who will lead, Princess Alice will be your leader in this mission."

After that, I could see those soldiers beginning to get ready for the battle, such as by setting up their tents and getting their weapons ready.

In the meantime, I made my way towards Sascha, who was chilling out by leaning against a giant tree.

"Why don't you tell me to join them?" I inquired about it while resting against the giant tree, just like Sascha did.

"Young master gave me the order, and he told me that your job is to be a reliable commander by his side, so he told me not to order you to do anything meaningless," When I heard it, all I could do was sigh because Sascha had responded in such a laid-back manner without paying attention to me.

From what Sascha has told me, I can exhale a sigh of relief because it appears that I will be spared the ordeal of enduring military training similar to that I have witnessed in the capital, where it seems that the training is truly a living hell.

"But won't that make me more disciplined, and will make it possible for me to establish good relations with the troops that I lead?" I inquired while simultaneously endeavoring to glean as much information as possible from the 'creepy smile woman.'

"He also anticipated that you would inquire further about it," When Sascha responded, she did so with a surprised expression on her face as she looked at me.

"Young master is confident that he won't be disappointed by you because he has faith in you and is aware of how diligently you have been training all of this time."

"By the way, these soldiers have been indoctrinated since childhood to always follow orders. You don't have to worry about it," With a gentle smile, Sascha made a calming attempt to convince me not to overthink the situation.

"Are you a part of this as well?" Since Sascha is the same age as sister Emilia, and she is already this powerful, I wanted to know where she got her strength from, so I inquired as to whether or not she had been indoctrinated.

"Don't be rude. My love is pure not because they indoctrinate me, or maybe you could say the young master directly indoctrinates me... hehehe," Suddenly, Sascha, who appeared calm and gentle, changed into a strange person. She started grinning and laughing, completely ignoring that I was standing next to her.