The NTR Knight Commander has Decided to Desert

Chapter 15

A village engulfed in flames.

Screams of people echoed from every direction.

Armed Imperial Army soldiers barged into homes like they owned the place, looting food and belongings.

"Wh-what the hell is this! How... how could Imperial warriors do something like this to us...!"

"No, Debbie! Stop, it's too dangerous!"

A man protesting in shock and fury,

And a woman trying to stop him.

However,

Even as they stood there, visibly agitated and desperate,

The Imperial Army general, a native dressed in extravagant attire, spoke in a cold voice.

"Pathetic. If you had handed over the food peacefully, there would've been no bloodshed. This is all your own doing."

"We told you! We simply don't have the resources to give any more! Is this really all we get in return for our loyalty?"

"Ridiculous. You call that loyalty? True loyalty means giving everything without hesitation for your sovereign. Your homes, your property, even your lives."

"You... you bastard..."

The native general spoke with shameless arrogance.

Not long ago, he had seemed like a cheerful and righteous warrior, but now his vile true nature was fully exposed.

Unable to contain his fury any longer, the man drew the rifle slung across his back.

"D-Debbie!"

"I... I was a fool. I never should've trusted scum like them! Loyalty? Citizens of the Empire? Because of trash like them, I... I've been..."

Tears of blood in his eyes, the man aimed the gun at the general's head.

But then...

- –Bang!

"!!!"

"...Huh?"

A burning sensation surged through the woman who had tried to stop him.

Realizing too late what it was...

A voice full of despair began to spill from her lips.

"Ah... Aaaah..."

"To think you dared to aim a gun at me, an Imperial general—Gand. That's treason. And by Imperial law, traitors are executed on the spot."

With those words, the general crushed the man's head underfoot like a bursting tomato and walked away.

Following behind him, the Imperial warriors who had pillaged the village departed with sacks full of food and goods.

A horrifying tragedy that unfolded in mere hours.

The Imperial Army's atrocities shattered everything built atop decades of so-called patriotism.

Overwhelmed with unspeakable despair, she could only stare blankly at the scene before her.

'How... how could something like this happen to me... to us...'

*

A gaunt-looking female resident sat before them.

Watching her, Franklin asked in a cautious voice.

"Now, tell me in detail. What exactly happened?"

Though she'd already heard a rough account, Franklin pressed for more specifics.

Her question carried the dignified authority of a general.

"Y-yes... I understand. I'll tell you... everything."

And so, the woman—

Introducing herself as Jane, she began to tremble as she recounted her story...

A story so painful it made her weep blood just thinking about it.

*

A young woman in her late teens with brown hair and blue eyes.

Jane McCree.

A settler from the colony, she had little interest in the ongoing war beyond mild annoyance at the news.

It had been nearly two years since the war began between the Britannian Empire and the colonial rebels.

While the rebels continued their struggle under the banner of freedom,

A significant number of colonial residents still questioned whether independence was even necessary.

Among them was Jane's fiancé,

Debbie Jones, who remained a staunch supporter of the Empire.

Since childhood, when he lived in the homeland, Debbie's family had upheld unwavering loyalty to the Empire and the Emperor.

He harbored intense hatred for the rebels, who were stirring up needless chaos, and hoped the Britannian Empire would soon bring order to the turmoil.

Jane, being engaged to Debbie, shared the same views.

Though they had heard rumors of Imperial tyranny in other regions, such things rarely happened in the area where Jane and Debbie lived.

In fact, the Imperial Army had often driven out the barbaric natives who caused trouble, so Jane felt indebted to the Empire and believed she should live in loyalty to it.

As a result, most settlers in Jane and Debbie's community believed in loyalty to the Empire and the Emperor.

So when war broke out in their region, they willingly offered their settlement as a forward base to the Empire to express their devotion.

However—

Their actions, meant to show goodwill toward the Empire,

Returned to them just days ago as a horror beyond imagination.

Gand, a native of the Mok tribe and now one of the Imperial Army's commanders.

He arrived with 400 armed Imperial soldiers and made a declaration to Debbie, Jane, and the other residents.

They were to immediately hand over one hundred sacks of corn and various other supplies.

Though they carried documents bearing the seal of General Neto, the commander overseeing the region,

The demand was so outrageous that even a devoted Imperial loyalist like Debbie had no choice but to refuse.

A hundred sacks of corn amounted to nearly seventy percent of the village's food supply—without it, surviving the coming winter would be nearly impossible.

So Debbie and Jane politely declined and offered a compromise they could manage...

But before they could even finish speaking,

Gand gave the order to burn the village and loot everything.

Thus began the Imperial Army's brutal massacre and pillaging.

Debbie was killed in the process, and many residents lost their families or suffered severe injuries. The entire village was reduced to ashes.

Their loved ones,

All the property they had built up until now,

And—

Even their loyalty to the nation was lost.

Jane and the surviving residents barely escaped with their lives.

Left with nothing but empty shells of their former selves,

They decided to follow the only path left to them.

Revenge.

A burning resolve to stab a blade into the filthy Imperials who had betrayed their faith and loyalty.

Consumed by that emotion,

They began heading toward those who might offer even a sliver of help in this situation.

People they had once viewed with indifference—or even hatred—and wished would disappear.

The rebels.

*

"...That's what happened. And according to later reports... General Gand wasn't punished at all for any of it."

"How tragic... to be so thoroughly betrayed by someone you trusted."

As Jane's tale of hatred came to an end, Franklin spoke in a cool voice tinged with quiet human anger.

"It's still hard to believe... but it's true. And now, all we have left is to die fighting them."

"Hmm..."

Jane spoke with burning hatred and unwavering resolve.

In response, Franklin gave a silent nod, and Jane pleaded with her in a voice filled with desperation and anguish.

"General, please... please give us a chance. Anything at all. If we can just hurt those filthy Imperial bastards, we'll do anything. You can use us as foot soldiers, or even as human shields if you must. As long as we can take revenge on the Empire, we'll do anything!"

Watching Jane, who radiated such clear hostility even as she sat there,

Franklin began to ponder how best to make use of her.

'Her resolve is impressive, but... I doubt she'll actually be of much use.'

First of all, their numbers barely reached around thirty at most.

And even among them, half were either elderly or children not even in their mid-teens.

On top of that, the woman named Jane standing before her was neither versed in magic nor trained in any notable combat techniques—just an ordinary human woman.

Nothing more than that.

Someone who would likely be more of a hindrance than a help on the battlefield.

Though her resolve was admirable, Franklin's cold assessment was that she probably wasn't all that useful.

'Well... there's no reason to turn away someone who came willingly. Even if combat is out of the question, maybe I can assign her some simple chores for now?'

Thinking it wasn't anything particularly important, Franklin moved to wrap things up.

"I understand what you mean. In that case, I'll start by assigning you a few tasks within the castle—"

"Please wait a moment, General."

"Hm?"

At that moment, a familiar voice rang out unexpectedly.

Franklin felt both glad and curious upon hearing it,

and turned her head toward the source of the voice, her expression stiffening.

"I heard everything. Pardon the interruption, General."

With those words, and with Franklin's permission, Cromwell took a seat.

Watching him abruptly insert himself into the conversation, Franklin cautiously asked a question.

"What is it, Cromwell? Do you have something to say to her?"

"Yes, I do. And... it's something only she can do—something of great importance."

"!..."