FMRV | Chapter 28

After that, Theo didn’t have another chance to talk to Luke. To be precise, it had been that way ever since the incident during the eastern Memvern war. It wasn’t particularly strange; they had always maintained that kind of distance anyway.

But when Philip came back from leave with some desserts, Theo was reminded of the time he had gone to the square with Luke. And that smile he had seen during the meeting—the one he had never seen before—lingered in a corner of his mind. Like a fishbone stuck in his throat, it kept bothering him, popping up just when he thought he’d forgotten.

“Leo, about Luke’s house…”

Theo was muttering absentmindedly when the communication crystal in the commander’s office began glowing blue and emitting a low hum. If red signaled an invasion or war, blue meant the appearance of wild monsters.

“Commander!”

A soldier from the 2nd Unit burst into the commander’s office to deliver an urgent report. The soldier was momentarily startled to see Leo there but quickly straightened up.

“A group of monsters, presumed to be mid-tier, has been spotted near the outskirts of the mountains surrounding Twellin.”

Monsters appearing near the capital’s vicinity was a highly dangerous and pressing matter. Twellin was the most densely populated area in the Empire, teeming with people. If the monsters descended into the town, it could result in devastating casualties.

“Your orders, sir!”

In such situations, the best course of action was to send out a mobile vanguard to prevent the worst-case scenario.

“Dispatch the special unit…”

Theo’s voice, shouting orders, trailed off. Both Sion and Leo’s gazes turned to Theo simultaneously.

The special unit, known for its mobility and combat prowess. It was only natural to think of dispatching Luke, the leader—or rather, the former leader—of that unit.

“…Never mind. I’ll go myself.”

“Pardon?”

Theo grabbed the sword he had left on the side. The reporting soldier widened his eyes in shock, looking as if he wanted to protest. He even cast a desperate glance toward Leo for help, but it was futile. Leo was just as surprised.

“Commander, our unit can handle this. There’s no need for you to go personally…”

Leo stepped forward awkwardly, trying to block his path. It wasn’t like they were dealing with high-level monsters; mid-tier monsters were manageable by a small unit under their command. But Theo didn’t stop walking.

“Sion.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Handle the rest of the tasks when I return. And Leo, I need you to find out about the soldier who accepted Luke’s resignation request. I’ll hear the details later.”

“Commander, are you really going?”

This was a task that could easily be resolved with a division leader and a handful of soldiers. Theo was acting differently from his usual composed self. Though his voice and expression appeared normal, there was a strange, fiery anger simmering in his eyes.

“Yes.”

Theo’s tone was resolute, leaving Leo unable to stop him. In the end, the commander left the room with an air of unshakable determination. Watching his retreating figure, Leo let out a short sigh.

“The commander… seems…”

Sion, just as bewildered as Leo, hesitated before speaking slowly.

“…angry. Or is it just my imagination?”

“…Who knows.”

Leo gave a brief reply. But Sion seemed to sense more than that. Theo’s mood had visibly shifted the moment he heard about Luke’s resignation.

Luke, the leader of the special unit, had left the Imperial Army.

The shocking news spread quickly among the soldiers. Although Pale had personally processed his resignation, it wasn’t something that could be done completely under the radar. Pale wasn’t very high-ranking within the administrative unit, so as the paperwork was processed, a few senior members inevitably learned of it.

From there, it went as expected. Once the administrative staff caught wind of it, they began spreading the word to other units. Even if they hadn’t, it was only a matter of time before the news got out.

“He ran away, huh.”

“Ran away?”

“Think about it. He was knocked out of the commander’s position. And how many times did he mess with Commander Theo—uh, I mean, the commander? He probably bolted out of fear of retaliation.”

“If that’s true, that’s pretty embarrassing… Maybe he just felt humiliated after all his fussing didn’t work out.”

“That too, probably.”

Pale overheard soldiers gossiping as he headed toward headquarters. Unsurprisingly, everyone seemed eager to chime in about the already-spreading rumor. They had even stopped referring to Luke as “leader” and now called him “that guy.” If the general public, who revered the Imperial Army, knew about the reality of its inner workings, they’d probably never look at it the same way.

“What are you doing? The commander is waiting.”

“S-sorry!”

The soldiers, gleefully badmouthing Luke, looked startled when Sion scolded them. They quickly straightened up and returned to their duties.

Pale, glancing at the towering door in front of him, swallowed nervously. The last time he’d entered a meeting room full of leaders over the embezzlement incident, he thought his heart might give out. And now, it was the commander’s office. He steeled himself and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Hearing the permission to enter, Pale cautiously opened the door.

“Commander, sir. Pale, a mid-level administrative officer from the 2nd Unit, reporting.”

Theo, who had been reviewing documents, looked up and gestured to the seat in front of him.

“Sit.”

“Yes, sir.”

Theo moved to sit across from Pale. Even though it was only his third time addressing the commander, the atmosphere in the room made Pale feel like he could hardly breathe. It wasn’t just the room—it was Theo Redrick himself. The man’s imposing presence was overwhelming.

“Apologies for calling you during your duties.”

“N-no problem, sir.”

Pale stammered, unable to hide his nerves.

“Still, it’s unexpected.”

“Pardon?”

“I heard there was an administrative officer who handled Luke’s resignation paperwork. I didn’t think it would be you. Weren’t you one of the people who disliked him?”

“Well…”

Pale gulped. He had to tread carefully. On the surface, he was someone who had been exploited by Luke, a victim forced to commit theft under Luke’s orders. That was the official narrative.

But now, he was someone who had quietly and willingly processed Luke’s resignation? That would undoubtedly look suspicious to others. He couldn’t let anyone know that he had done it out of a sense of debt to Luke.

“S-so I processed it.”

“What?”

“I mean… when Leader Luke… said he was resigning, I thought it’d be better for me, so I just did it.”

“…I see.”

Theo nodded, seemingly satisfied with the explanation.

“Do you know why Luke resigned? And so suddenly, at that?”

Luke’s reason for leaving the Imperial Army—Pale had once asked him directly at his house.

‘Honestly, it just felt annoying. Like, at first, I didn’t care, but then I started thinking, what if I flip the entire army upside down trying to get revenge or something?’

That’s what Luke had told him. He said he couldn’t stay in the army any longer because it irritated him too much. If it had been the old Pale, he might have believed that. Luke was ambitious and headstrong, the type who could cause trouble just out of spite.

“That…”

But Pale had seen Luke’s true character. He suspected Luke had a deeper reason for leaving, even though Luke hadn’t told him outright.

“I… I think he felt too humiliated to stay in the army after losing his position.”

Pale decided to relay only what Luke had explicitly told him. It was safer that way.

“…”

Theo didn’t respond. He neither nodded nor said a word. The silence stretched on.

“Do you know Luke’s home address?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked the administrative unit, but they said Luke didn’t register a private residence as his address.”

Soldiers not living in the barracks were required to register their addresses, but Luke had lived in the barracks since joining the Imperial Army. He hadn’t listed a private residence.

Additionally, under military law, a retired soldier was classified as a civilian. Even if his address was on record somewhere, revealing it would violate privacy laws. Not even the commander was exempt from this rule.

“Well…”

“If you know it, I’d appreciate it if you told me.”

Pale hesitated. He clenched his hands tightly, debating internally, before slowly opening his mouth.