How much time had passed?
After the commotion in the middle of the snowy mountains had finally settled, Lenin looked at Walter and asked—
“So, what did you think?”
Her question seemed to be asking only what he thought of the Grand Duke Cannon’s power.
Yet somehow, to Walter, it also sounded as though she were asking what he thought about awakening a warmonger who should never have been awakened with his own hands.
Pretending not to notice, Walter clapped and answered.
“Excellent.”
“……Why are you clapping like that?”
Lenin tilted her head at the unusual sight of her lord standing perfectly straight and clapping with one hand above the other.
Walter continued clapping vertically.
“I feel like this is how I’m supposed to do it.”
The Grand Duke of the North had ordered the development of a weapon.
The situation reminded him suspiciously of someone from Korea—more precisely, someone from the North.
Walter lowered his hands.
“I’ll say this in advance. The officers may also be our principal enemy, but those bastards come first.”
“Pardon? What are you suddenly talking about?”
“It’s a thing. Do not worry about it.”
Those bastards could not even feed themselves, yet somehow they had enough balloons to send the damned things flying all day and cause bullshit.
Walter muttered as he recalled memories from his previous life—or rather, the life before that.
Meanwhile—
“Haaah, haaah…….”
Rubia, who had been lost in ecstasy for quite some time, slowly rose while breathing heavily.
―SWISH….
As though she had just finished some momentous undertaking, she wiped the sweat from her brow with a refreshed expression.
Then she smiled at Walter.
“……It felt good, didn’t it?”
Walter furrowed his brow and stared at her.
What do you mean, it felt good, you brat?
How did she hide this side of herself all this time?
“I don’t know. You certainly look as though you enjoyed it far too much.”
Once again, Walter found himself admiring Raphael, who had taken care of her all these years.
Not just anyone could become the Master of the Magic Tower.
At his answer, Rubia seized his hand as though that could not possibly be true.
“What? Do you mean I was the only one who enjoyed it?”
“No. That isn’t what I meant…….”
“Be honest! You enjoyed it too, Your Grace! You came with me, and now you’re pretending you didn’t?”
When the hell did I come with you, you crazy bitch?
Walter pulled his hand away.
Or rather, he tried to.
―GRIP…!
The more he resisted, the more strength Rubia put into her grip, glaring at him with madness blazing in her eyes.
Let go.
You’re stretching my sleeve.
Walter clicked his tongue, then wrapped one arm around her waist and effortlessly lifted her.
“Oh my! Are we doing it one more time right here…?”
Rubia’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
But the next moment—
FWOOSH!
Walter slammed her into the thick snow.
“So His Grace secretly enjoyed it too—GWAH!”
“Shut your trap and cool your head.”
It was a clean technique that looked as though it belonged in a WWE match.
Walter dusted off his hands.
Leaving Rubia flailing with her head buried in the snow, he looked toward the Grand Duke Cannon.
“Still, I have no choice but to admit it.”
To be honest, even when he handed her the blueprint, he had not expected her to produce a prototype this quickly.
He had thought it would take at least another fifteen days.
Most surprising of all, however, was—
‘……Its power.’
He could overlook all that talk about single-piece construction, bore size, and semi-automatic mechanisms.
What mattered was that he had witnessed its firepower with his own eyes.
A single magical projectile had caused an avalanche on a perfectly intact mountain.
<Firepower! Nothing but greater firepower!>
It was exactly like the phrase she had constantly repeated when she was known as the Iron-Blooded Empress before his regression.
Its firepower alone was far beyond anything he had imagined.
With something like this, he could put aside his concerns about the hordes of monsters and barbarians for a while.
‘The timing is perfect. Things were about to become troublesome.’
Spring would soon arrive.
Spring was the season of life, when all living things began stirring once more.
The same was true in the North.
And that meant—
‘……The bastards who hid in their nests all winter because they didn’t want to freeze to death will start crawling out.’
Walter furrowed his brow as he remembered the hordes of monsters and barbarians that had endlessly prowled near the border around this time of year.
That was precisely why he had gone looking for Rubia in the first place.
With her terrifying talent, the North’s defensive strength would rise exponentially.
Before, Walter would have been forced to abandon the pile of overdue documents in Gray Castle and run outside to start swinging his sword.
Now?
‘One click, and it’s over.’
Overwhelming force.
That was the only solution.
Just imagine it.
The current model was only a prototype, but one day, countless Grand Duke Cannons would be lined up in a row along the border.
According to Rubia, the magical weapon was being developed with complete automation as its ultimate goal.
That meant they would not need to assign any additional personnel.
Once they finished mass-producing the magical weapons, even the North, which remained in a constant state of war, would finally be able to breathe.
‘And Rubia will handle that part without me even needing to interfere.’
Just look at what had happened after she fired the Grand Duke Cannon once.
Even if Walter ordered her to stop, she looked ready to grit her teeth and build it anyway.
I’m not sure whether I should consider that fortunate.
Walter muttered to himself and gave a hollow chuckle.
But only for a moment.
Whatever.
Something good was still good.
“Then may I continue with the project as it is?”
Rubia had somehow gotten back up.
Her eyes sparkled brightly as she asked.
Walter looked back and forth between her and the Grand Duke Cannon.
“……What are you planning to do next?”
“Hmm. First, I’ll identify areas for improvement based on today’s results. Then I’ll reinforce it further and ultimately revise whatever needs to be revised for mass production while preserving whatever should remain unchanged. Its power might change slightly during the process, but fortunately, the mana ore supply is steady, so the difference shouldn’t be significant.”
Rubia explained everything smoothly without hesitation, as though she had prepared in advance.
Walter smirked.
“Do you really enjoy it that much?”
“Well, of course……!”
Of course I do!
Rubia was about to continue, but suddenly closed her mouth.
Her entire life flashed before her eyes.
From the time she was first called a genius by her family to the countless forms of discrimination she suffered at the Academy.
―Why are you suddenly changing your mind? Last time, you said my appointment to the Red Magic Tower was practically confirmed!
―Now, now. I said it was practically confirmed. I never said it was confirmed.
―Then can you at least tell me the reason?
―I already told you. It is impossible due to internal circumstances.
―Then what exactly are those internal circumstances?!
It was a memory from shortly before she graduated from the Academy, when her appointment to the Red Magic Tower was suddenly canceled.
In the end, she was driven into the Blue Magic Tower.
Just when she thought she might finally rise again with Raphael’s help—
―My paper was rejected again?
―Yes. I’m sorry.
―Why are you apologizing, Master? It’s because I wasn’t good enough.
Every paper she prepared was strangely rejected by those above.
Rubia forced a bitter smile in Raphael’s study.
In truth, she already knew everything.
She knew that the family of the person who had tormented her at the Academy controlled the dean of the Magic Department.
She knew that the graduation examiner belonged to that person’s faction.
And she knew that was why her papers were rejected every time, even after reaching the final review.
―It’s just… It’s all… my fault.
―I’m sorry. Because I have no influence, even my disciple is forced to suffer.
―I told you not to apologize!
She had lashed out at her master in frustration.
She hated herself for doing it.
She hated her own stubbornness, which would not allow her to change even a single research topic.
In the end, she had shut herself in her room and become nothing but a burden.
Like an idiot.
Then she met His Grace.
His golden eyes had burned fiercely.
Just like her own eyes in the past.
―Accepted.
―……Pardon?
―I said you’re accepted.
The lord of the North, the successor who had inherited the Heart of Winter, had spoken with absolute conviction.
―Because you’re the only one.
I’m the only one.
Those were words she had never heard once throughout her entire life.
Walter Levior, the Grand Duke of the North.
He was the first person in the world to acknowledge her.
He had accepted her when everyone else had rejected her.
He had brought her out of the room where she had locked herself away and returned her to the world.
“You’re the only person who ever did that for me.”
Rubia lowered her head and whispered.
At last, the tears that had been brimming in her eyes spilled down her cheeks.
Walter smirked.
“Come on. Why are you suddenly crying?”
He gently brushed the snow from her red hair.
Rubia pressed her lips together.
She wiped her tears away with determined strokes and raised her head.
“Anyway… please leave it to me!”
I’ll make sure I never disappoint you!
Her eyes were swollen as she desperately tried to hold back her tears.
The sight was unbearably adorable.
“All right. I’ll be counting on you from now on.”
Walter smiled again and stroked her head.
Lenin watched the two of them with a deeply dissatisfied gaze, even though she knew it could not be helped.
For now, however, let us move on.
***
In any case, the long-awaited first demonstration of the magical weapon Walter MK―2 concluded successfully.
Lenin and I began descending the snowy mountain together.
Lenin, who had been following behind me the entire time, asked—
“Lord Walter, do you intend to return directly to Gray Castle now?”
“…….”
I was about to answer that I did.
Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to me, I rubbed my chin.
Before long—
“No. Since we’ve come this far, let’s stop by the village for a while. Is that all right?”
“I will follow whatever my lord wishes.”
“Thank you.”
The moment I turned toward the village, Lenin stepped sharply in front of me as though she had been waiting for the opportunity.
She faced me directly.
“If you are grateful, please stroke my head as well.”
“……Hmm?”
I smirked.
I had thought I felt a sharp gaze from somewhere while I was stroking Rubia’s head.
Without saying anything, I looked at Lenin.
Her icy silver hair.
Her cold, downcast eyes.
Her expressionless face, which did not move in the slightest.
It was the face I had always seen throughout my previous life.
But I knew.
Whenever I called her name, she always smiled faintly for a brief moment.
And whenever my attention wandered elsewhere, she would look at me with the slightest trace of a sulk.
The world believed she was a cold-blooded woman who would not shed even a single drop of blood if pricked with a needle.
But I knew better.
She was far more expressive and temperamental than the rumors suggested.
She was also surprisingly jealous.
All in all, she was a subordinate who required a great deal of attention.
Yet the way she tried so desperately not to show any of it made her even more difficult to ignore.
She had been the same on that exceptionally cold winter battlefield.
Even when she threw herself in front of a sword meant for me and lay dying—
―Lord… Walter… Your face… almost got damaged.
―Do not speak.
―It is fortunate… I took the strike instead. Otherwise… Cough!
―Shut up. I never gave you such an order.
―Then just consider it… insubordination.
―Did I not tell you to stop talking?!
Every time Lenin moved her lips—
Fresh blood poured out beneath the freezing snow.
Please.
Please, do not say anything else.
―Lenin, can you hear me?
―Yes, Your Grace.
―Stay conscious. We will return together alive. No matter what.
―…….
―Lenin?
But the only response that returned was the hollow wind.
At the final moment when Guard Knight Lenin left my side—
She had simply been happy that I called her name.
―GRIND….
As always, a faint smile remained on her lips.
That winter had been particularly cold.
We won the war that year.
But I failed to keep my final promise.
―CRUNCH, CRUNCH….
The memory of that day—
Walking alone while carrying her cold, stiff corpse in my arms—
Was one of my countless regrets.
“Enough. Watch where you’re walking. You’ll trip.”
“Stroking my head once will not wear your hand away.”
“I told you to watch where you’re going.”
“It is fine. I would not fall even if I walked with my eyes closed—”
Before she could finish—
FWOOSH!
Lenin caught her foot and plunged directly into the snow.
I clicked my tongue.
“What did I tell you?”
“…….”
I naturally wrapped an arm around Lenin’s waist and lifted her.
As a result, she ended up nestled in my arms.
I chuckled quietly.
“Instead, I’ll carry you to the village like this. How does that sound?”
Lenin’s cheeks rapidly turned red.
She lowered her head deeply.
Then, in a barely audible voice, she answered—
“……I-If that is my lord’s will.”
“If it is my will?”
“I will… obey.”
She desperately tried to hide her flushed cheeks.
I smirked and lifted her properly into my arms.
She really had not changed at all in this regard.
―CRUNCH, CRUNCH….
Along the mountain path blanketed in pristine white snow—
Only the sound of my footsteps echoed quietly.
It was similar to the scene from before my regression, when I had carried Lenin home in my arms.
And yet, it was entirely different.