Chapter 28

The sunlight streams through the windows of the enormous room, illuminating the entire space without the need for any other lighting objects.

"Hmm..."

Her fingers tap constantly against the chair's armrests, and occasionally, Elizabeth sighs as she waits for the maid to finish adorning her hair.

"Is this really necessary? I'd prefer to wear simpler clothing that allows for easy movement. And this... What is this that you're putting on my head?"

A garment made of long white cloths with beautiful golden details envelops her entire body.

The fact that it resembles a dress so much bothered her; after all, she's going to war, not to a ball.

"How, supposedly, am I supposed to fight wearing these clothes..?"

"Unfortunately, miss..." said the maid, as the thin teeth of the curved wooden comb gently slid through Elizabeth's long golden hair. "..., this wouldn't have happened if you had ordered us to create more clothes like the ones you used to wear before 'escaping the Kingdom'."

Elizabeth fell silent for a moment, then, changing the direction of her gaze, she murmured;

"I didn't escape..."

After setting the comb aside, the young maid picked up the small arrangement of blue gemstones shaped like bright petals and fastened it into Elizabeth's hair, forming a small fringe on one side.

"Of course, and I didn't receive a marriage proposal from sir Reymond..."

"What?!"

Elizabeth abruptly straightened up and turned towards the young woman.

"Is this serious?"

Smiling, the young woman briefly nodded in approval. Her teary eyes shimmer in the sunlight.

"Congratulations, I'm sure you'll be very happy. I've never seen a couple so... passionate as you two."

Upon hearing Elizabeth's words, the maid's smile became heavy, difficult to maintain. She placed her hands on the chair's backrest, and the smile that once seemed to be of happiness became as sad as her tears, which slid gently down her face.

"He-he was also... he's also going..."

Her lips parted. But Elizabeth couldn't say anything.

She walked over to the young woman and extended her arms to do the least that should be done in such a situation; give her a hug with all her heart.

But that hug wasn't just for the young maid.

Although not saying it out loud, Elizabeth knew. She needed it as much as anyone else.

The tears slowly accumulating in her eyes were proof of that.

"Are you alright, Marie?" Elizabeth asked, while stroking the young maid's brown hair. "Have you calmed down a bit?"

Wiping her endless tears with the dark fabrics of her clothes, Marie replied;

"...Yes, miss..., I apologize for my lack of manners."

"It's okay, don't worry. On the contrary, I should be thanking you now."

"Apology..?"

"The Frost Peaks were more dangerous than I expected, and it was thanks to the fire magic you taught me that I'm still alive."

Elizabeth walked towards the bed and sat down, stretching her legs and leaning her back against the wall.

"Come here," she said, patting the bed with one hand.

"I have nothing of value to give you, but I still owe you, so come and cry as much as you want. I'll listen to every word or even complaints you have to say."

Marie hesitated.

"No, how could I do such a thing, miss?"

"Come, Marie. If anyone says anything, just say it was my order."

Her feet moved briefly as Marie tightly held onto the cloths of her long black dress with white details and constantly sniffled.

Elizabeth moved her hand again, patting the bed while smiling.

Allowing herself to be led, Marie moved her feet towards the bed.

Getting on it was a difficult decision, as she always hesitated to start the action. In the end, Elizabeth ended up pulling her by the arms.

Obviously extremely nervous, the young woman shrugged and placed her hands on her legs, and stayed that way. Until gently, Elizabeth brought her head towards the pillow she placed on her own lap and removed the black hair clip from her hair, so she could stroke it more easily.

It didn't take long for the tears to start accumulating in her eyes again. Even less time was needed for them to trickle down her face.

Respecting the young woman's silence, Elizabeth didn't say a single word. She just stayed by her side the whole time, as she tried to calm the fear in her heart.

As expected, this didn't happen all at once. When Marie's tears began to diminish, Elizabeth could already hear the army preparing outside the castle.

The horses neighing fervently as they constantly sank their hooves into the ground.

The guards, who now, thanks to the unprecedented situation, bear the title of knights, constantly check the condition of their weapons and some, those who have volunteered to use them, their armor.

Some still remain fearful and apprehensive about their fates while others try to maintain their mental clarity and their common goals in sight; to return home.

Elizabeth had participated in many high-risk missions before, but never anything even close to that. She had never had in her hands the duty to protect so many people.

If one of her missions were to fail, though it's not the correct way to look at it, only she and her own squad would die, at most, along with a few more people.

And then, as if in a game, another team would complete that same mission again, this time possibly succeeding, and if not, this same cycle would repeat, slightly increasing the number of dead with each attempt. That is, if the mission wasn't simply canceled and set aside until further notice.

However, now this wasn't the case. Failing wasn't an option, for it wouldn't only mean her downfall, but that of an entire people.

For the first time, as her hands trembled, she felt something that probably many in her world had felt decades ago.

However, in her case, not only mentally, but perhaps due to her extremely heightened physical senses as well; war was impending.

"Miss, can I... can I ask you something...?" Marie asked, looking at Elizabeth with tear-filled eyes.

Even without hearing her, Elizabeth knew what she was going to say. It was more than obvious and clearly evident on her face.

"Marie... I can't," said Elizabeth, gently brushing the hair from the young woman's face.

"You know that..."

"Then-then... could you promise me one thing...?"

In a war, thousands of people die, that's an obvious and undeniable fact. Would Elizabeth's pain be caused by her knowledge of this, or by her knowing exactly what Marie was going to ask next?

...Perhaps both...?

"Could you, please... I beg of you, then, please, bring him back to me..."

As she stroked Marie's hair with trembling fingers devoid of any firmness, Elizabeth hesitated, knowing the weight of those words, but ultimately ended up making the promise;

"I'll do my best, Marie... that I promise you for sure."

"T-thank you, miss... thank you..."

Elizabeth knew that those words, although not assurances of certainty, would surely help ease at least some of the fear in Marie's heart.

But was this really right?

Was this truly the best path? The most suitable one?

It might be a cruel reality, but the fact is that when one expects something, undoubtedly, the disappointment of failure will be much greater.

And, despite unquestionably becoming stronger, Elizabeth was fully aware that perhaps even with her giving "her best," it wouldn't be enough to fulfill that difficult promise.

These thoughts didn't just take a few minutes; they were long hours.

As she looked through the small window of the large carriage carrying her towards the war's frontline, Elizabeth couldn't get those thoughts out of her mind for a single moment.

These doubts clouded her mind and left her practically blind to the passage of time, but not to the sad scenes that continued to unfold around her.

The streets of the capital, where commerce stretched across almost the entire city, were now "empty."

The carts or stalls were nowhere to be seen, and the shops were all closed; all that remained in that place was the people, and only the people, many begging again for their children, spouses, or relatives to be spared from this damn war, which they don't even know why it's happening, while others simply cry and plead for them to finally put an end to this nightmare.

And so it went in every city they passed through.

Elizabeth couldn't take it.

Although she initially wanted to convey a confident and strong image, to give hope to those people, she couldn't continue to look at those desperate... miserable expressions, and those pleading looks, because in the end, one way or another, she always ended up thinking of Marie.

This only stopped when she finally reached the frontlines and opened, at last, the carriage door.

It began with the sight.

The battlefield was still far away, hundreds of meters, perhaps kilometers. But she could still see them perfectly.

Mountains of destroyed and torn bodies, some burned and others completely crushed. The truth was that there was almost no land left in that place, bodies continued to fall upon other bodies.

Now, the fight was being waged by those who still remained alive, with no room for pain or remorse; your life would only be preserved if you walked over the bodies on the ground without looking back, without looking at the faces of your comrades who continued to be trampled constantly.

Elizabeth's eyes widened as they met the lifeless eyes or any kind of hope belonging to one of those being trampled.

With the emergence of countless insects and worms that consumed not only the eyeballs but also everything around, an unparalleled putrid smell invaded her nostrils with full force, as if, despite the distance, she could smell the stench emanating from that destroyed and deadly environment.

As she leaned on the carriage, Elizabeth quickly brought one hand to her mouth to prevent the vomit that was trying to make its way through her lips.

She couldn't.

Repeating what was happening with practically everyone around her, Elizabeth succumbed to the involuntary and instinctive action of her body.