2/7
...
Because Fort Mist was a military base, there was not enough housing to accommodate more than five-thousands troops that arrived as reinforcements.
Due to that, most of the soldiers would sleep in tents with only the high-ranking personnel receiving better accommodations.
As a prince, I received a personal residence. In fact, it was one of the largest houses in the fort, with a total of ten rooms.
Of course, it was nothing compared to the places where I usually live, but I was pretty satisfied with it. After all, there was enough room for me and my girls to stay comfortably.
After the meeting with General Anson, a soldier brought me to what would be my home during my time in the fort. Aunt Dayana and the others came with us.
The house was a bit dusty. Obviously, nobody had bothered to clean it in the middle of the war.
I considered asking some of my men to help me with it, but Andrea refused, stating she would take care of it.
Aunt Dayana and Aunt Sera came here as my aides. Katherine, Rose, and Lina were going to participate in the war. Ysnay, on the other hand, was a high-level powerhouse with enough strength to change the direction of the war.
Only Andrea was without a role. She was not a combatant as Katherine, Rose, or Lina; nor experienced in management as Aunt Dayana and her mother. Thus, she decided to take the role of my attendant/servant.
She would take care of cleaning the place and preparing our meals. It was not a bad arrangement, considering that all the servants had left the fort.
I did not refuse. I could see that Andrea wanted to support me in her own way; plus, it was great having someone to take care of these daily chores.
After taking care of the matter with the lodgings, I took walk around the fort. It was a good way to understand better the situation here.
Several of the soldiers that saw me greeted me respectfully. In fact, some of them were looking at me with eyes of admiration. They probably had heard the news of what happened in the rear gate.
To my disappointment, though, I did not see any woman in the entire fort.
Well, it was not strange taking into account that the fort was being sieged by an army of daemons and everybody but the military had evacuated it.
It was not that there were not women soldiers, but they were uncommon. Even if a woman became a practitioner and needed work, they usually went to the Imperial Guards or became the private soldier, bodyguard, or attendant of a noble.
That was much better work than being a soldier.
Sigh, I hope that the soldiers do not cause trouble after seeing my girls. After all, they have been fighting without seeing a woman for several weeks. They must have many pent-up emotions.
While I was walking, I caught a glimpse of a female figure standing on the walls and looking towards the daemon camp.
I tilted my head and jumped on the walk before calling out at her.
"Rose? What are you doing here?"
The female was startled. She turned towards me with a look of surprise before smiling when she recognized me.
"Claus, were you in the middle of a walk?"
I nodded. "Yeah, but I was not expecting to see you here."
"Well, I was thinking about something," Rose said with a wry smile.
I furrowed my brows. I guess I have an idea of what she is thinking about.
Shaking my head slightly, I stood beside her and looked in the direction of the daemon camp.
However, I soon realized Rose was not looking at the daemon camp.
Instead, she was looking at what was happening outside the walls.
Several daemons were walking through the battlefield to collect the bodies of their comrades who died during the previous battle.
They would be buried tonight, perhaps burned if the daemon army did not mind using the mana of the mages. It was to prevent any plague or sickness from spreading to the army.
And Rose was looking at that scene with a complicated expression.
"… Claus, I was wondering... Did these daemons deserve to die?"
"…"
"I mean, they are people like us. I'm sure many of them did not want this war. Perhaps they had wives and children, or mothers who are waiting for their return but will only receive the news about the death of her sons."
"…"
"… Don't you think that is very tragic? What did they do to deserve to die?"
I sighed. As expected, she was thinking about it.
"It looks like the words of that man shocked you."
Rose smiled bitterly and nodded.
"… I mean, I hate him for what did. But at the same time, I can't help but think if what I'm doing is wrong... I cowered when it was time to kill humans, but now, I'm killing daemons without flinching... Is that not very hypocritical of me?"
"Perhaps," I nodded before looking at her with a smile. "Rose, do you want to hear my opinion?"
"Your opinion?"
"Yes. You see, if just now, one of the soldiers in this fort tries to attack you, I'll kill him without hesitation."
"Huh?"
"And if I learn that someone harmed you, even if just a little bit, I will not hesitate to make him suffer the worst paint possible."
"C-Claus?"
"So what if he is human or daemon? So what if it's a he or a she? I don't mind. Someone that dares to touch the woman I love deserves to die!"
"L-Love…" Rose blushed deeply. She looked at me with an embarrassed expression before lowering her gaze.
I chuckle and grabbed her hand, intertwining my fingers with hers despite her slight resistance.
"Rose, nobody is perfect, and nobody can save all the people in the world. In fact, if you try to care for too many people, you will only tire yourself out.
"Thus, you must choose who or what you want to protect. For me, what I need to protect are you and the people I love. I don't mind if I must kill to guarantee their safety. Perhaps these daemons are not done anything wrong, but if they break through this fort and arrive at the empire, many people will suffer, even the people I love."
Rose's eyes opened wide. She looked at my unwavering gaze for several seconds before looking at the daemons below with a complicated expression.
But quickly, her eyes started to glow with determination.
"… Thank you, Claus. I think I understand."
"Glad to hear that." I smiled and caressed her smooth hair. "Right, don't you think I deserve a reward?"
"Huh? Reward?"
"Yes, like a kiss."
Rose looked at me in a daze. But when she processed my words, her face turned completely red and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly.
Finally, she bowed and ran off with a flustered expression.
"S-Sorry, I-I forgot I needed to do something!"
"Hahahahaha!"
This girl…
Don't worry, I'll get that kiss from you soon enough.