As winter drew to a close, war broke out as expected. Dehorman's grumbling and Lena, now a seasoned warrior after the hunt, joining the war were all unchanged from the previous year.
“I want to join the war effort too.”
“...Go ahead.”
The only difference was that Noel Dexter had granted Leo permission to enlist.
Sitting in his rocking chair, Noel meticulously turned the pages of his book, then had his son sit beside him and offered some advice.
As if he had known all along that his son would be going to war with his fiancée, Noel began to share what he had prepared.
He explained how troops were deployed and the roles of each unit. He meticulously outlined contingency plans and what kind of requests could be made to superiors.
It seemed Noel had put a great deal of thought into how Lena and Leo could return alive.
Noel’s advice continued throughout the day, ending only when Lena came to ask why no one had come for dinner.
The next day, Leo went with his father to the inner castle to fill out an application.
The knights and soldiers on duty at the inner castle saluted Noel respectfully. Each time, his father would pause momentarily and exchange a few words.
But there was something strange about the way the knights treated his father.
Despite being active knights, they seemed to find it difficult to face his retired father. Their cautious tone was laced with a mixture of reverence and fear.
Noel Dexter merely clicked his tongue with a hint of bitterness, offering words of encouragement to the knights heading to the battlefield without any other reaction.
On their way back, Leo asked,
“Father, don’t you want to fight in the war?”
Any knight would yearn to go to war and earn honor, but his father seemed indifferent.
To Leo, he seemed incredibly strong.
He wasn’t old enough to have retired from being a knight yet, so why had he?
Noel lowered his head and spoke,
“...Taking a life is no small matter. If we were being invaded, I would gladly fight, but I have no desire to aid in a war of aggression.”
Noel Dexter had experienced the horrors of war firsthand.
Just a few decades ago, the kingdoms of Astin and Aster had been one.
Noel, the second son of a long-standing knightly family, was born in the capital and displayed an exceptional talent for swordsmanship, becoming a knight at a young age.
He was the youngest knight at the time, a testament to his extraordinary abilities.
However, at that time, the young king, who had only recently inherited the throne, died mysteriously. He had collapsed in the throne room one night, his body bearing no wounds and no trace of poison.
The kingdom was thrown into turmoil. Countless conspiracy theories arose, and countless people were interrogated, but the culprit remained elusive.
And his death ushered in a new era.
The young king had no heir. It wasn’t that he hadn’t officially designated a successor; he had no children at all.
Fortunately, the late king had brothers, but unfortunately, he had two.
The two uncles, once again thrust into the position of heir apparent, clashed once more.
He may have lost the throne to his elder brother in their youth, but this time, he was determined to claim it for himself.
This struggle for the throne was on a different level than the squabbles of their youth. They were powerful figures with their own independent forces and influence, making it impossible for anyone to mediate.
One refused to yield, citing his seniority, while the other argued his youth as justification.
This petty conflict, fueled by greed, readily escalated under the guise of avenging their young nephew. Advisors from both sides concocted plausible conspiracy theories.
The daughter of some count under the other’s banner was a concubine in the palace, and she summoned a sorcerer who… blah blah blah.
No, it was a knight under the opposite banner who broke protocol and entered the palace late at night… yada yada yada.
Each side branded the other as shameless murderers of their nephew, consolidating their forces.
It wasn’t just the nobles who were divided.
The Knights Order, which should have remained neutral in a matter concerning the royal family's safety, was also drawn into the power struggle and fractured.
Noel Dexter, a knight of the 1st Division, also had to choose a side. There was no concrete information, only rumors and speculation, but he had to draw his own conclusions based on what he heard and his own deductions.
And he kept those conclusions to himself, hidden from everyone.
The escalating conflict and factionalism eventually culminated in a civil war.
This was the infamous “Nine Day War.”
The name stemmed from the nine days of brutal infighting that took place before the full-scale war erupted, as both sides, clinging to their ambitions for the capital, clashed relentlessly.
Surprisingly, that infighting had no victor. Not until the very end of the war.
The Nine Day War went down in history as the fiercest and bloodiest conflict the continent had ever seen.
It was a war where friend and foe were indistinguishable.
Unlike wars against other kingdoms, there were no clear battle lines, and the constant political maneuvering and threats only added to the chaos.
The Knights Order, once the kingdom’s most formidable force, was now divided, fueling the flames of war instead of extinguishing them. Most of the mages in the Northern Kingdom fled to their towers, but some remained, wielding their magic.
In those days, no one in the Northern Kingdom trusted anyone.
Nobles cooperated while remaining wary of each other, and knights, concealing their identities and beliefs, engaged in ruthless slaughter. Barbarian tribes banded together, killing any outsider who seemed suspicious.
This brutal civil war raged for over three years.
Farmland, painstakingly cultivated on the frozen earth, was burned to the ground. The poor were killed for having no money, and the rich were killed for having too much.
And then, the war ended as senselessly as it began.
Both uncles, who had instigated the war, were assassinated by their own sons, leaving both sides without a cause.
The sons, now leaders of their respective factions, declared themselves kings and negotiated a treaty.
Thus, the Klaus Dynasty was fractured, and the kingdom of Astin & Aster was established in the North.
Noel, who had sided with Astin, survived.
He received the surname “Dexter” and a hefty reward for his service, which included taking hundreds of lives. A generous pension was also guaranteed.
Noel left the capital, his hometown and the site of his exploits, and settled in Avril Castle, his wife’s birthplace.
And he began to read, belatedly.
Looking back, he realized that none of them, including himself, had known the truth. They had fought and killed simply for having different opinions, believing it to be right at the time.
It was foolish.
He had grown disillusioned with war.
Leo silently followed his dejected father.
Noel retreated back into his study, and Leo hurried out to the training grounds.
Lena was stretching.
“Lena, I’m going too.”
“Why follow me? Just stay here.”
“You don’t want me to?”
“Nope. Absolutely not.”
Despite her words, she grinned.
“If you get yourself killed out there, I’ll be a widow, you know.”
Leo burst out laughing and took the wooden sword she tossed to him.
“I should be the one worried about becoming a widower.”
“What? You’ll never marry again if I die?”
“We’ll see how you behave.”
They chuckled, pointing their swords at each other.
Leo felt at peace.
He couldn’t avoid the war event, so for now, his goal was to return alive. He didn’t want to see Lena fighting alone like last time, not again. For now, this was enough.
He pushed aside the thought that one day, he would have to strive to either make Lena his queen or break off their engagement.
Those were concerns for another time.
Lena taunted him with a flick of her sword, and Leo charged.
The snow had stopped falling from the sky.