—Why didn’t I see it coming?

Why didn’t I suspect anything?

With a single line uttered by the king, my daily life collapsed.

Every day, I had witnessed endless deaths.

I had taken countless lives.

Blood stained my clothes and dyed my skin.

Such hellish days had become my new routine.

Despite that, I still believed—

—I still believed I had a home to return to.

◇◇◇

The enemy had planted a bomb on the bridge we used to deliver supplies. I hid behind a tree and held my rifle.

The moment I pulled the trigger, the person reflected in my scope fell into the river like a broken puppet.

—One, two, three…

Every time I pulled the trigger, someone would fall. The enemy stood still, perhaps confused by the sudden deaths of their allies.

“Not bad, Young Miss.”

My teammate called out to me from under the tree.

By [Young Miss], he was referring to me. I was the only child in the squad. I didn’t really mind the nickname because it was the truth.

“Who’d have thought that the inexperienced young lady would eventually become our ace?”

Human beings were able to adapt to a variety of environments. I didn’t know if it was due to my survival instincts or because of my natural strength, but I had managed to preserve my life.

I didn’t feel anything when I killed someone either.

—It was just…

…Every time I pulled the trigger, my heart became frigid, as if it had frozen over.

“The area is now clear. Time to go, Young Miss. Let’s grab some lunch.”

“OK.”

When I returned to the hideout, everyone else was having dinner.

“You sure have nerve to make me and the young miss do all the work.”

“Sorry…”

“Here you go.” The one who brought me food—and also the only adult woman in the squad—was none other than my captain. She had fiery red hair and jade eyes.

She was beautiful, but her upper arms were as taut as a man’s thighs. Overall, she seemed to be made out of muscle. Perhaps due to the zero femininity, she wasn’t treated like a woman.

“How was it?”

I sat down on a nearby stone and started eating.

Back when I was still a count’s daughter, it’d have been preposterous. As for the food itself, it was made of simple ingredients and tasted quite bland. We didn’t have enough to eat.

“A total of ten bombs were planted on the bridge. They’re timed, but can also be set off with a remote. I defused all of them and brought them back.”

“I see. It seems that we’ve acquired some firepower.”

“There’s a magic ore mine over there, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

My parents would faint if they were to learn of the content of our conversation.

“Less and less magic ore is being sent to our country. Moreover, food is scarce. Captain, at this rate, we’ll run out…”

No one dared to say it.

Tension hung in the air.

‘This battle is lost.’

“Young Miss, as a mercenary, I’m accustomed to the battlefield. There used to be many more child soldiers around. They were just like you, if not younger. Despite not even knowing how to hold a weapon, they had to fight. Of all the ones I know, you’re the only one left. In this hell hole, I at least pray for your survival. Hopefully, after this war, you’ll get to experience how it’s like to live in a peaceful country…”

The captain stroked my head. A large, callous, and rough hand. It was a far cry from the hands of women I knew.

…Instead, it was the hand of a warrior who had taken up a sword and fought.

---

***T/N: Iris became Violet Evergarden. Funni how both are flowers.

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