“Never thought... it would come to this.” The elder shook his head, grief heavy as rain. “You... how much of your life did you burn?”

Medith fell silent. The ache came first, then her voice. “Let’s not talk about that. We lost much, but gained more. I might... have become a Magic Breaker.”

“A what?” The elder blinked, mind lagging a beat. “You mean that thing from last time, with the ‘mouse’?”

Medith nodded. The women jumped in like sparrows at dawn. “It’s real. We saw Medith fire a blinding white pillar, with our crest glowing on it.”

“A few seconds later, the pillar blew. You wouldn’t believe what we saw after that...”

“It’s a long story.” Medith cut through the swirl. Calm first, then the pivot. “We won’t sort it out tonight. Elder, why are you here?” She had sent a message, yes—barely a week ago.

The elder’s smile turned odd, like a fishhook. “Her Majesty, of course. The Emerald Hawk flew straight into the grand hall. The Queen was discussing training results with us. The hawk arrived, a letter landed, and her crown nearly fell off.”

“By the heavens, you don’t know how crazy she got. She wanted to mobilize the whole army to rescue you. Never mind you’d already solved it.”

“It took the entire Elders Council and the Prophet Squad to hold her back. So I brought half your members and came myself. If anything else happened, I couldn’t answer for it.”

He threw his head back and laughed, like thunder rolling off a cliff.

A chill ran down Medith’s spine, a winter reed in sudden wind. Her eyes slid to Sais. Sais barely reacted, cold moonlight on snow, like she’d known all along.

“Sigh.” Words thinned to one breath in Medith’s chest.

Just then, Haidra walked in wearing a purple dress. Her shoulder-length gold hair shone like polished wheat, combed smooth as a river at dusk.

Her lips wore the fire-red lipstick she’d “stolen” from Medith. Same-color high-heeled sandals clicked like castanets. The hem brushed her knees, exposing half her legs—long, alabaster, firm as sculpted marble. She looked no different from any refined girl.

Hard to believe this poised “noble miss” was the infantry Captain who stirred a great nation.

“What? Did I... did I smudge my lipstick?” Haidra’s face flushed like evening clouds as everyone stared. She covered her mouth in a fluster, irresistibly adorable.

Medith crossed her legs with lazy grace. “No. I’m just marveling at which noble lady decided to show up.”

“Hahaha! Commander, if you don’t mind, shall I play matchmaker?” Elyu strolled over in formal finery, joy bright as lanterns.

“Eh—eh?! Your Majesty... what are you saying?” Haidra fumbled, spilling her wine across the table like a startled brook.

Delaia had changed into silk court dress. His beard and hair were newly tamed. Sunlit gold hair. A handsome, spirited face. Eyes like starfields. The plodding air he once wore was gone, swept clean as a spring sky.

“Your Majesty.” Medith and the others started to kneel. Elyu lifted a hand. “Right now, I’m Elyu, not the King of the Eastern Nation. You owe me nothing.”

Medith smiled, a petal drifting on tea. “In that case, I won’t be polite, Elyu.”

“Hahaha! Back to the point. I’ll broker your marriage with Captain Haidra. How about it?” Elyu couldn’t hide his grin.

Medith caught on and pulled a wry face. “Oh dear... but your country bans same-sex marriage, right? We’ll get torn apart for morals.”

“But you can have the wedding in Xurenxus City!” Milia chimed in, voice bright as bells.

Iling’s eyes gleamed wickedly. “Yeah! I’ll be the first to sing and dance! I’ll also make a—ah, ah, ah—” Sais pinched one cheek between cool fingers.

“I’ll be the first to bless you two. Hah. Grand Com-man-der?” Sais ground out the last three syllables, teeth flashing like a knife edge.

“Ahem... actually, I’m straight. I don’t like women.” Medith’s confession dropped like a pebble in still water.

Elyu pinched his chin, amused as a cat. “Oh my, Commander, are you hinting you want to be Queen?”

“That wouldn’t be so bad.” Medith’s eyes teased him like a fox flicking its tail.

Sais finally snapped. She grabbed a fistful of Medith’s white hair. “What did you say? Say it again. Louder, in my ear.”

“Sis, sis, dear big sis! I was wrong, I was wrong!” Pain stung her scalp like nettles. Medith begged for mercy.

“Then who do you love? Who do you like?” Sais asked sweetly, fingers twisting, almost yanking a strand free.

“You, of course, sis! Your presence is that single crimson spark in the Milky Way—seductive and radiant, beguiling yet pure.”

“Your figure would shame every goddess alive; they’d gladly serve as your backdrop.”

“Your beauty makes fish sink and geese fall; even flowers close and the moon hides. Even sages don’t dare a third glance—they’d lose their composure!”

Medith poured out everything she had, a broken string on a lute still humming. Her words ran out before her fear did.

Sais snorted, then burst into laughter. She folded over the table, clutching her belly, laughing until tears shone like dew.

The room roared with laughter. Warmth rose like a hearth fire, chasing the chill out of the night.

“...We’ll hold the memorial tomorrow,” Elyu said, half-jesting, half-weary. “After that, how about you come to the Royal Capital with us? You’re our great hero. If I don’t grant you honors, the whole country will doubt me.”

Medith waved both hands like fending off bees. “Spare me. I don’t want to get mobbed a second time.”

Delaia chuckled awkwardly. Silence fell like ash after flame.

“How many... died this time?” The dread hit first, then the question. Medith had a number in her head. She prayed she was wrong.

Elyu said nothing. He had someone bring a stack of reports. Medith’s almond eyes skimmed them. After a few pages, the blood drained from her face.

“Over thirty thousand... dead?” Shock struck like a hammer. It was more than half above her estimate. The Mountain Bandits in the city, even rampaging, shouldn’t have been able to kill that many.

Delaia pointed east of the gate, toward the prisoner camp. “Mostly there. The captives got weapons and clashed with the Mountain Bandits. The bandits’ main force never reached the field because of them. Their morale burned hot, but they were just civilians. When we arrived, the ground was carpeted with bodies.”

“That alone killed over ten thousand. Then there were those seized inside the city, and when Lachesis rose, they slaughtered more. Plus over four thousand from the City Guard...”

A chorus of sighs. Leaves in wind. Once war starts, both sides are destined to lose. Sia City looked like a winner. In truth, it lost miserably.

The Segireneto coalition looked beaten; in truth, it was annihilated. Sinis died in the city. His men and gear were wiped out. They’ll be gutted after this. That level of elite troops and equipment—Eunomia’s Royal Capital doesn’t have many of those. They’re ace units, maybe five percent of the total at best.

The Mountain Bandits—blinded by greed, damned a thousand times over. Their deaths stir no pity.

But the knot between the two armies is the real thorn. Too tangled. To this moment, Medith couldn’t fathom the hatred that drove them to fight to the last breath.

“I’ll discuss this with my father and the prime minister,” Elyu said, voice level as still water. “You don’t need to wade into it. You’ve done more than enough.”

Medith nodded. Relief came first, then the hollow. She didn’t want to step into that web again. She had more urgent things to do.

“After the memorial tomorrow, stay a few days,” Elyu said, rising, fatigue pooling under his eyes. “Then the Commander can go home.”

Medith nodded. She stared at the stack of reports that carried countless lives, and for a long time, she had no words at all.