[*]
His eyes, like polished lacquer, flickered with firelight—deep and grim.
The young man's eyes were usually so clear, but now they seemed shrouded in a black fog.
After a long moment, he said in a low voice, "So it was a dead end."
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the crackle and pop of the fire.
"Little General," Amy clapped her hands lightly and smiled at him. "Weren't you the one who swore to serve the nation with your life? Why so fearful now?"
"If I were born in a chaotic era, alone in this world with nothing but my own flesh and blood, my death would mean little. But now, with my family and country in peril, even if I'm willing to die in service, I fear it won't be enough to save a collapsing dynasty."
