Previously
Henrietta explains that her family, the Matyas, lost their fortune and several generations of men to the forest, which serves as the source of her specialized knowledge. She frames her desire to enter the forest as a quest for revenge to hide her true goal of recovering the family treasure.
“…You memorized them?”
In truth, it had never been in the form of a physical map; Henrietta had simply pieced together the stories she heard from her grandfather and father in her head, but there was no need to explain the details.
“Unless you intend to rip off my head, I doubt you can purchase it.”
Kalinin looked Henrietta up and down slowly.
He had needed only a second to judge her a beauty, but now his gaze was considerably more deliberate.
Yet in Henrietta’s eyes, his expression was far from welcoming.
‘What am I supposed to use this for?’
His face openly betrayed his doubt and disdain, making no attempt to hide either.
Before he could voice his verdict, Henrietta felt compelled to hurry and pitch her strengths.
“I know how to shoot a bow. I’m even better with a crossbow. Pretty good… maybe?”
“Maybe? I hope you’re not confusing a child’s slingshot with a crossbow.”
The Duke asked in all seriousness.
Indeed, small bow-shaped slingshots that fired stones instead of arrows were often loosely called crossbows.
“I told you I know how to shoot a bow. It’s just that a crossbow is faster and easier to carry when dealing with monsters in the woods, so I thought it might be more useful in combat. And as you know, I also know a bit of hand-to-hand combat….”
His gaze, which had treated her like a shattered plate, softened slightly—now she was merely a cracked one.
Beating one’s ex-husband didn’t require mastery of the martial arts, but he could at least credit her grit in a fight.
“Follow me.”
“Pardon?”
Kalinin rose from his seat without bothering to say where they were going.
Henrietta had no idea what was happening, but sensing this might be her last chance, she scrambled after him.
***
Behind the Duke’s office lay an archery range he used for training.
Leading Henrietta onto the range, Kalinin crossed his arms, jerked his chin toward the target, and said curtly,
“Let’s see what you can do.”
Henrietta picked up the longbow laid out on the range.
It was longer and heavier than the ones she used to practice with, and the bowstring was far too stiff to pull easily.
Worse, the range itself was much longer, meaning she would have to draw the string back even further to reach the target.
She drew and released the string a few times, but it only sapped her strength.
Glancing at the Duke, Henrietta had no choice but to release the shuddering bowstring.
Whish, thud.
The arrow fell short of the target, tumbling into the dirt.
“…”
“In the army, we call that utterly useless.”
The Duke’s eyes now looked at her not as a cracked plate, but as fine china smashed into dust.
“…I’m better with a crossbow.”
Rather than piling on excuses, she pressed her advantage where she felt confident.
Fortunately, with a wave of the Duke’s hand, his aide brought forward a crossbow.
This weapon was also heavier and larger than usual, but it settled snugly into her grip.
Henrietta took aim at the target with total confidence.
The simple act of straightening her back and squaring her shoulders made her look entirely different from when she had held the longbow.
Twang, thwack.
“Oh!”
The aide, who had stood silently by, let out an exclamation.
The bolt struck just a fraction off the bullseye.
With a little generosity, one could easily call it a direct hit.
Still keeping his arms crossed, Kalinin merely gave a single nod.
“Your crossbow skills are certainly better.”
“There was someone I wanted to shoot dead.”
He could guess who.
“Shall I demonstrate my hand-to-hand combat as well?”
He could also guess why she knew that.
She had probably wanted to beat someone to death, and since she hadn’t achieved that wish, her rage remained unspent.
“No need. The court has already vouched for Ms. Matyas’s combat prowess.”
“Does that mean…!”
Assuming her enlistment had been approved, Henrietta balled her fists and her eyes lit up.
The Duke’s expression, however, remained lukewarm.
“Ms. Matyas, do you know what position an ordinary enlisted soldier holds, or what duties they perform?”
“If I don’t know, I can learn. I’m quite a fast learner.”
“A soldier’s daily routine is agonizing, even beyond the risk of dying in battle against monsters.”
“I doubt it’s more agonizing or more miserable than starving to death. Everyone is eager to see how pathetically the arrogant, deranged Matyas meets her end. I have no intention of giving them that satisfaction.”
“Your resolve seems clear enough.”
“Of course!”
“Then.”
The Duke clasped his hands behind his back.
In an instant, the air around him shifted.
“Attention.”
“…Pardon?”
“Trainee Matyas. Do I need to teach you how to stand at attention as well?”
He was no longer the Duke of Krakow who found life utterly tedious; he was the Division Commander of Krakow, bearer of countless military honors.
His previously languid black eyes gleamed with a sharp edge.
Overwhelmed by his commanding presence, Henrietta scrambled into an imitation of attention and answered,
“No, sir!”
Immediately afterward, the Duke of Krakow’s stern voice struck her ears.
“Trainee Matyas. From this moment on, I will teach you the fundamentals of barracks life. I am the Division Commander of the Krakow Division. In the future, you will address me as Division Commander.”
“Division Commander? Right.”
“Every answer must be short and crisp. All statements will end strictly in military form. Understood?”
Henrietta answered with vigor.
“Understood.”
“…I shall explain once more. Every statement will end strictly in military form. Understood?”
When the Duke repeated the exact same words, Henrietta fell into deep contemplation. This clearly meant her answer was wrong, but what was wrong with ‘Understood’? Why was it wrong?
Aha!
“Trainee Matyas. Will you not answer?”
“I said understood, didn’t I?”
“…”
Looking at Matyas’s triumphant expression, convinced she had nailed the right answer, Kalinin was seized by a powerful premonition that she was going to be a troublemaker.
“Trainee Matyas. In times like this, you say, ‘Understood, sir.’”
“Ah…!”
“Trainee Matyas knows nothing about the military, it seems.”
“Uh, yes. I mean, that is correct, sir.”
Henrietta had never met a soldier in all her years growing up.
She had no friends who knew soldiers.
In fact, she had no friends at all.
She knew a few knights by name, but they all belonged to her uncle-in-law’s household, making it impossible to form any close ties.
When all you had was business between you, what kind of bond could you form?
It certainly didn’t help that she had been treated like an unwelcome burden in that house.
Knights took their cues from their master.
After her marriage, she lived in near-total isolation thanks to Count Salt’s depraved character.
Viewing his wife as a trophy, the count insisted on accompanying her everywhere she went to satisfy his vanity.
He cared more about Henrietta’s attire than she did, scolded her during seasonal shifts for not properly taking care of her skin, and whenever they went out and someone said, ‘I’ve heard the rumors, but your wife truly is a beauty,’ he would grin from ear to ear.
Loathing the very sight of it, she refused to go outside or meet anyone.
In the end, her total ignorance of military life stemmed from her environment.
Had she possessed the luxury, she might have read memoirs like ‘A Barracks Diary,’ but at this point she had neither the time nor the money to buy such books.
“What you do not know, you can learn. What matters is the willingness to learn.”
And so the Duke chose not to cast out this prime candidate for future troublemaker.
After all, no military organization turned away a willing volunteer unless they had obvious psychopathological issues.
Seeing how quickly she found the proper response, there was clearly room for improvement.
Whether Henrietta walked away from the army on her own or stayed made no difference to him.
If she couldn’t endure it, that was that. If she could, well, the Krakow Division would simply gain an extra soldier.
At the very least, he would obtain the Monster Encyclopedia and the maps locked inside her head. The gain might be modest, but it was not a loss.
Fortunately, after a little more instruction, Henrietta proved to be as fast a learner as she had claimed.
“It seems you have grasped the basics. Trainee Matyas, how long will you need to settle your personal affairs?”
“I can wrap them up immediately, sir. I brought all my belongings with me when I left the inn.”
“Enterprising.”
“I had run out of money for the inn anyway, so I had to pack my bags, sir.”
“What did you plan to do if your enlistment was rejected in the end?”
“I planned to hold a one-woman protest in front of the base to expose the injustice of my rejection, sir.”
Kalinin swallowed a hint of disappointment.
That might have been rather amusing to see.
“Very well. A senior administrative clerk will escort you to the barracks. Get a good night’s sleep, and I will see you tomorrow morning.”
Dismissing the thought, the Duke spoke, and Henrietta received the order with a sharp salute.
“Yes, sir! I will sleep soundly, sir!”
Kalinin was, in all honesty, mildly impressed.
Without any harsh reprimands and with only a few stern looks, she had completely picked up military speech and the concept of repeating orders back.
At this rate, she wasn’t quite a troublemaker—she was merely a Soldier in Need of Attention.
Nor did she show any of the pride or concern for status that usually served as the biggest hurdle for a noble becoming an enlisted soldier.
Of course, keeping an eye on a Soldier in Need of Attention was the duty of Trainee Matyas’s seniors, which had nothing to do with the Division Commander of Krakow.
He was satisfied with the addition of one more soldier.
Especially a soldier who stimulated his senses in such a bizarre and singular fashion.
“Dismissed.”
“Yes, sir! Moving out, sir!”
Saluting once more, Trainee Matyas turned and marched off the range.
Kalinin picked up the crossbow Trainee Matyas had carelessly tossed aside. Keeping equipment in order was fundamental to a soldier, but he would let it slide for today.
‘I said understood, didn’t I?’
Recalling Henrietta’s earlier response, the corners of the Duke’s lips curved faintly upward.
This afternoon had not been boring in the least.