Глава 9

Colonel Hamilton, I hope you understand what you've done.

What I've done? I've succeeded in defeating Victoria's enemies, and brought us an all too rare victory.

You truly think you'll win?

We have eradicated the rabble occupying the city hall and our other important facilities. You can hear it, can't you? Our troops are taking back the city, bit by bit.

Suppose things do go as you intend, the spectre force never recovers from this, and you successfully defend County Hillock—

You will still have brought Victoria a terrible, irreconcilable defeat!

What nonsense are you spouting? I see. You're still soft on those commoners.

Let me say this again, Skamandros. This is war, and victory comes hand in hand with bloodshed.

Enough rationalizing your actions. The locals here have always been part of your plan.

When you ordered the artillery battalion to make those dirty bombs in secret, the spectre force wasn't anywhere close to infiltrating County Hillock!

Not one to give up easily, are we?

But fine. All has gone without a hitch, and there's no opportunity left for you to get in the way.

Without a hitch? Because you fanned the flames of war you saw before you?

War is not an end, but a means.

The wars we fought over the past decades were meant to safeguard Victoria's peace and prosperity. But you? In an afternoon, you laid waste to lifetimes of hard work.

How dare you blindly attack the common folk in the name of the Victorian Army? Regardless of ancestry, these people are still Victorian citizens!

They call themselves Tarans!

And how much of our country's population is Taran? One-tenth? One-fifth?

Right. You see them in the minority, but when the ire of so many is set alight, it could very well burn down the whole Empire!

Hmph. They stand no chance against the might of the Victorian Army.

They should never have had a need for that chance!

Look at that book you're reading. You marvel at the achievements of the first Aslan king, but did you ever consider what it was that propelled a foreign Aslan to become ruler of Victoria?

If the Aslans hadn't signed an armistice with the Dracos, and if the Draco King Gaeil hadn't yielded to the royal family's decision, the Victoria we know today would never have existed in the first place!

What right do you have—to push Victoria to the brink of civil war once again, all for your own hatred and prejudice?!

Do you really believe everything you've just spouted, Skamandros?

Do you really believe that I, the commander of a single garrison in the countryside, could steer the Empire of Victoria with a wave of my hand?

Have you ever wondered, why... why Londinium is so deafeningly silent?

I could have killed you. Even being the noble you are, Londinium would never hold me accountable for the death of a lieutenant to rebel cannon fire.

But I didn't. I respect your loyalty to Victoria, and I cannot bear to see so-called human nature blunt Her blades.

Open your eyes. The war began long ago! And until the last of our enemies lies dead, we will never have true victory!

Have you ever considered that all you do could be playing right into those enemies' hands?

What you fear is, in fact, my greatest hope—

I wish for the fate of the Tarans to be known across all of Victoria!

It is not the people I want to destroy. No, I look to destroy their courage.

I want the whole world to know that, should they dare to turn against us, they must be prepared to withstand the fire of Victoria's rage!

How much innocent blood will it take to douse these flames you started today?

Grand dukes with sinister motives, all the surrounding countries with their hidden agendas, and the outsiders teeming with ambition—

—With all these ill-meaning sides gathered in one spot, Londinium, maybe even all of Victoria, endures far more pressure than one place should bear.

All those parties, biding their time, need just one little push, and, bang—

The fire will spread, and it won't stop at the Tarans, it will spread all across the once-prosperous lands, sparing no one in its path.

And how... is that worse than letting the parasites chew you hollow from the inside-out, not doing a thing to stop them?

It seems there's no going back for you.

In that case, we have nothing further to discuss.

Perfect, then. I have no need to keep you locked up here. Away with you, if you please.

Once you release me, I will make sure you answer for your crimes.

I swear this on Triangle's team—No matter what happens, as long as I live, I will see you court martialed!

Hah. You think that's enough to frighten me?

Listen, Skamandros. If Victoria wishes to lay down judgement, She knows where to find me.

And I can't wait to see it done.

Cello, Oboe, we're making for the communications center.

If Bagpipe fails to escort the Messenger out of the city, then that will be our last chance, and we must seize it.

Considering the situation, the communications center has most likely fallen to the enemy. This will be a difficult battle.

But we've never been the type to shy away.

Forward, soldiers of Victoria! We do this for Triangle now, for her team!

What's the situation?

I'm not getting a response—Hill?

You're not here. How dare you desert your post?

Where did you go without my specific instruction?!

Phew... There's way too many wounded here...

We need to get the ones with light wounds into the buildings that are still standing. Anyone with more serious injuries or symptoms should be taken to the closest clinic—Remember to quarantine them.

There aren't enough beds in the clinics.

District Seventeen, the Taran quarter, suffered the worst of the damage in the bombardment.

Some residents cleared out an area to set up a few tents with a few dozen beds, to act as a temporary base.

I've passed on all the prevention methods you've taught me, and a few volunteers are moving the less gravely injured to the tents now.

As soon as I finish taking care of the first aid supplies we have left here, I'll go join them.

You're good at this, and they trust you too.

Haha... One of the things I learned in the army over the years is how to make friends.

They always tell me the guards of honor are the face of the military, and I never doubted it. I've got used to them praising Victoria's glory and prosperity with their applause and cheers.

That's definitely part of what Victoria means, say what they will.

But it's not... the whole story.

After the conversation we had, I remembered some things from ages ago I'd forgotten.

My da's a lawyer, and he used to tell me stories about how my grandda's grandda came to Victoria with nothing. He went from rags to riches.

The Victoria he described was an advanced, open-minded, prosperous country.

Here, technology and capital conquered savagery. The people's hard work and wealth wouldn't be destroyed just like that by Catastrophes or racial conflict.

In making it to such a magnificent land, we Vouivre were able to live a 'civilized' life, compared to one of barbarism and violence in the old country.

Victoria was the most advanced industrialized nation in the world, for a very long time..

But we had to give up a lot, in order to become Victorians...

When I was five, I climbed to the top of the tallest tree in our garden. My da caught me having a blast and gave me a good scolding.

Then he locked me in my room and gave me dozens of books to read. The next day, he hired a Leithanian piano teacher for me.

I missed the view from the top of the tree, but I didn't give it much thought. I knew my da was doing it for my own good.

He was helping you to get used to the rules.

That's right. Books, piano, the garden... He understood that those were all things we'd need to know, in order to enjoy the life we had.

And, I also remembered another thing...

This one time after school, I saw a few older kids bullying a young Feline girl behind my favorite bakery.

They laughed at her, saying her clothes were dirty and that she didn't know anything.

After they left, I went up to her and gave her a few novels I had in my school bag.

I thought she'd be able to talk to the kids her age once she finished reading them, and the others wouldn't pick on her anymore...

About a week later, I was all excited, went looking for her so we could talk about the books, but she just shook her head and handed them back to me.

I could tell right away. She never even flipped them open. I was really mad. Here I was trying to befriend her, lending her my books, and she wouldn't even accept my kindness.

It wasn't until much later, I realized...

She couldn't read.

She was the child of a bakery worker, not even a baker. How was she supposed to get an education? Forget enjoying any of the same things you did.

It turns out, even being able to read a novel is a luxury.

Victoria's always been an unequal society, hasn't it?

I wasn't willing to accept that before... I'd let myself grow accustomed to the 'rules,' and that was how I became a proper Victorian. And those who live outside the rules, well, our country would never accept them.

It takes courage to open your mind on your own like that.

Waking up from a dream of a glorified imagination of a civilization, shaped by a people's collective consciousness isn't easy. Trust me, I know that better than anyone.

Because you're from Laterano?

Because I left Laterano.

If we get the chance, I'm hoping to hear about your past... instead of having you listen to the silly troubles of an ordinary girl.