Carine Forest — Outer Camp — Night
Night settled heavily across the camp.
Thousands of lanterns flickered beneath the darkness.
Artillery crews worked beside cooling barrels.
Engineers repaired damaged harnesses beneath hanging lamps.
Priests moved quietly between medical tents.
Far beyond the fortifications—
Carine Forest burned.
Sections of the canopy still glowed red beneath drifting smoke.
The war had paused.
Only paused.
Everyone knew it.
Near the command ridge—
Sous stood beside the outer railing overlooking the camp below.
Adrean sat atop a supply crate.
Darian leaned against a stack of ammunition boxes.
Mirelle remained silent as usual.
Watching.
Listening.
Thinking.
"So."
Adrean finally broke the silence.
"He agreed."
"Yes."
Sous nodded.
"He agreed to the offensive."
A pause.
"He also agreed to place the Laosian forces at the front during the opening stage."
That immediately drew attention.
Darian raised an eyebrow.
"Willingly?"
"Yes."
"That's suspicious."
"Everything he does is suspicious."
"Fair."
The prince sighed.
"What else did he say?"
Sous rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"The usual."
Adrean groaned.
"That explains absolutely nothing."
"Correct."
A few nearby soldiers laughed quietly.
Even Mirelle looked mildly amused.
Darian folded his arms.
"So first he uses us to learn how the enemy fights."
Nobody interrupted.
Because that was technically true.
"The Kingdom."
"The Church."
"The Angelus forces."
His gaze drifted toward the distant battlefield.
"We reveal the infection."
"We reveal the nests."
"We reveal enemy behavior."
A pause.
"Then the moment he has enough information, he suddenly volunteers for the dangerous part."
The camp grew quieter.
Because the accusation sounded reasonable.
Darian looked toward the burning forest.
"Funny timing."
Sous remained silent.
Mirelle didn't.
"No."
Darian looked toward her.
"No?"
"No."
She folded her arms.
"You are assigning motives that don't exist."
Darian frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're trying to make him sound ambitious."
A pause.
"He isn't."
The silence lasted briefly.
Then Adrean laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was absurd.
Mirelle continued.
"It's Logos."
"If you offered him a crown, he would ask how expensive it is to maintain."
"If you offered him a kingdom, he would ask who is going to manage it."
"If you offered him an empire—"
She paused.
"He would probably complain about the paperwork."
Sous nodded.
"That is unfortunately accurate."
Darian looked unconvinced.
"Then why is he doing all of this?"
"Because he lives there."
Mirelle answered immediately.
The simplicity of it caught everyone slightly off guard.
She gestured toward the south.
Toward Laos.
"He likes his territory."
"He likes his people."
"He likes being alive."
A pause.
"And Faros threatens all three."
Darian opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Because that explanation was annoyingly reasonable.
Still—
He wasn't satisfied.
"Maybe."
A pause.
"But some remorse would be nice."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Nobody spoke immediately.
Because everyone knew exactly what he meant.
The containment.
The burn zones.
The men behind the barricades.
The screams.
Darian sighed.
"I don't even need an apology."
His gaze remained fixed on the forest.
"Just..."
A pause.
"Something."
Mirelle looked at him.
Then spoke.
"You wanted him to cry with you?"
Darian turned.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Mirelle's expression remained perfectly neutral.
"You wanted him to cry with you?"
Darian pointed immediately.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Adrean looked away.
Already losing the battle.
Sous was trying very hard not to smile.
Darian threw both hands upward.
"That isn't what I meant!"
Mirelle tilted her head.
"Really?"
A pause.
"Because you drank yourself unconscious while crying about casualties just previous night."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Darian froze.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
He turned toward her.
"How do you know that?"
Mirelle blinked.
"You were loud."
Adrean immediately lost control.
Laughter escaped.
"YOU WERE LISTENING?!"
"I was trying to sleep."
"THAT IS NOT BETTER!"
Even Sous's shoulders moved slightly.
A nearby soldier nearly choked trying not to laugh.
Darian pointed accusingly.
"I trusted all of you."
"No."
Mirelle shook her head.
"You trusted alcohol."
The prince was openly laughing now.
Sous looked away entirely.
Several nearby Cardinals had begun pretending not to listen.
Poorly.
Then—
A familiar voice emerged from behind them.
"This is where you all are."
The laughter stopped.
Not immediately.
But fast.
Everyone turned.
Logos stood at the edge of the ridge.
Simple black coat.
Hands behind his back.
Expression unreadable.
As always.
He glanced between them.
Then toward Darian.
Then toward Mirelle.
Then back toward Darian.
A pause.
"You were crying?"
The silence that followed was catastrophic.
Adrean immediately looked away.
Sous closed his eyes.
Mirelle remained expressionless.
Darian looked as though he had just been mortally wounded.
"...I hate all of you."