My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

Once I boarded the carriage, I turned to Winter’s parents and Lily and called out.

"Thank you so much for everything!"

"Lady Salvia! Hngh...."

"Take care."

"Return safely."

Each of them bid their farewells in their own way, and the carriage set off. The sight of Winter’s estate gradually faded into the cold mist.

"Winter!"

"Yeah."

I called out to Winter, who was seated on the driver’s bench. He responded bluntly without even turning his head.

"Thank you for coming to pick me up!"

"It was nothing. I just hurried because I was worried my parents would start training you in swordsmanship. You hate the cold, too."

"Still, that training was really helpful! And I’m fine with the cold now! How is everyone else?"

"They’re all safe and in hiding. It looks like our location hasn’t been compromised, so you can return home."

As expected. Fortunately, this wasn’t a society like 21st-century Korea, where the state had access to nearly all personal information.

"Oh, and...."

Winter suddenly added as if he’d remembered something.

"When you return, go see Aquila and Ishina first."

"Huh? That’s obvious, but...."

"They seem to be really worried about you."

Winter’s words made me uneasy.

In romance fantasy novels, when the heroine leaves, the male leads tend to lose their minds.

What if my short absence had been perceived as "the runaway heroine" trope? What if they went crazy and started obsessing over me?

—Salvia, you can never leave my side.

—I’ll make sure you never even think about running away again.

Would they turn into possessive lunatics like I had done to Victim not too long ago? What if my life suddenly took a turn into a much... spicier romance fantasy? No, that can’t happen! My life should be a wholesome, all-ages romance novel!

While I was drowning in my anxieties, the carriage continued on.

We shared the provisions Winter had brought along, eating together at intervals. He tirelessly drove the carriage without showing a hint of exhaustion. His stamina and endurance were truly incredible.

But as the sun set and night fell, we had to stop.

The carriage came to a halt in the middle of a forest. I hesitated, unsure of what to do, since I had always curled up in the luggage compartment before. As I was contemplating, Winter approached me.

"Salvia, you sleep over there."

"What about you, Winter?"

"I’ll stand watch. Wild animals might come out at night."

I paused for a moment.

Hmm, in romance fantasy novels, when spending the night in a forest, the heroine always sleeps while the male lead stays up. It’s a classic scene.

But my pride as a Border Defense Army soldier wouldn’t allow it.

"Winter, let’s take turns keeping watch."

"But...."

"I think it’s the more efficient and rational choice."

"...That makes sense."

In the end, Winter gave in to my argument, and we decided to take turns standing watch.

Truly, a day befitting a former Border Defense Army soldier.

***

A few days later, Winter’s carriage finally stopped in front of an unfamiliar house.

"This is the house of the dark sorcerer, Victim. We’ve been hiding here."

Poor Victim... he even lost his house now.

As soon as I stepped off the carriage, a familiar face rushed toward me.

"Lady Salvia!"

Before I could react, Karon tackled me with a force that nearly knocked me over, leaving me with nothing but a face full of Karon.

As I struggled to bear his weight, someone moved Karon aside and stood before me.

"Salvia."

I stared at his face for a moment before finally managing to speak in a trembling voice.

"Aquila."

As I became overwhelmed with emotion and nearly burst into tears, Aquila was the first to speak.

"I knew you’d come back."

"Yeah. Was it you who put the advertisement in the newspaper?"

"Yeah. I’m glad you saw it."

Aquila looked at me with gentle eyes.

"Salvia, before you left, you promised you’d succeed."

"...Yeah."

When Aquila had helped me onto the carriage that day, I had said something.

"Aquila, I’ll... I’ll make sure I succeed."

I hadn’t even known what I was talking about at the time, but I had vowed to accomplish everything. Looking back, it had been foreshadowing my eventual alliance with the revolutionary group.

"So, did you succeed?"

"Yeah. I accomplished everything...."

Contacting the battalion commander of the Snowy Mountain Battalion, overcoming my trauma—

During my time alone in the North, I had grown a lot.

Without hesitation, I threw my arms around Aquila, embracing him tightly. It had been the longest time we had been apart since my days as an officer, and it made my heart ache.

"Aquila, what about you? How have you been?"

"I did everything I needed to do. Everyone evacuated safely."

At that moment, I noticed the bandages wrapped around Aquila’s arm.

"...What’s that? You’re hurt?"

"A little. It’s not serious."

"You always say it’s ‘a little’! When did this happen?"

"The day I sent you away, while fighting the Imperial Army."

His calm response made my heart ache even more, and I silently pulled him into another embrace.

I didn’t want to nag him about it. I knew he had done his best.

Instead, I just wanted to tell him—

"You did well...."

"You too, Salvia."

"And I love you."

At those last words, Aquila stiffened. Well, it was true that I didn’t say it very often.

But I truly loved Aquila. To the point where I could do anything for him.

We held each other for a long time until I started feeling the stares around us and finally let go. Meeting Aquila’s gaze, I gave him an awkward smile.

The next person to approach me was Ishina.

"Ishina...."

"Salvia, you’re not hurt, right?"

"Yes, I was doing just fine there. Honestly, I ate better than I did when I was here."

"Good. I’ll be more careful from now on to make sure this doesn’t happen again."

After sharing our emotional reunion, I was briefed on the current situation of the Dark Sorcerer Special Forces.

Everyone was still in hiding. Even if they were staying in their original homes, they had registered fake identities to avoid being tracked. Aquila, Winter, Karon, and Ishina had chosen to stay at Victim’s house as an added precaution.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Moreover, the government seemed to be prioritizing the pursuit of the Second Prince’s forces over us.

Regardless, I had returned safely to the capital, and my time in the North had come to an end.

It had been one of the most nerve-wracking periods of my life, but at the same time, I had gained more than ever before.

During that time, I had learned to withstand the cold, secured cooperation from another revolutionary group, and redefined the direction of the revolution.

‘They’ll soon get a taste of the people’s fury.’

Grinning at the thought of the fiery revolution I would unleash upon the state, I turned to Aquila.

"Oh, right, Aquila."

"Hm?"

Aquila, who was sitting on the sofa next to me, lifted his head.

"Do you want to go to my house for a bit tonight?"

"Your house?"

"I think I left something there."

***

That night, after dragging Aquila back to my house, I headed straight for the master bedroom and sat on the bed, leaning back against it.

"Alright, let’s sleep here tonight."

"...Here?"

"I have a lot to tell you."

I planned to tell him everything about my time in the North. Since we hadn’t been tracked down thanks to the fake identity, it should be fine to spend the night here.

As I recounted my story, Aquila sat beside me, leaning in and listening with interest.

Toward the end of the conversation, he quietly spoke.

"By the way, Salvia."

His voice was serious.

"It’s been three months."

"Three months? ...Oh."

"I bet that within three months, you’d be ready."

...Right. That... that thing related to his male lead capabilities.

"So, are you ready?"

I blinked slowly, staring into space.

"Hmm...."

During my time alone in the North, I had missed Aquila terribly.

So that means I...

"...If I weren’t ready, would I have asked you to stay the night with me? Are you that dense?"

What happened after that... well, it wasn’t exactly suitable for an all-ages story.

Anyway, that’s how things went down.

And the next morning—

"Cough, cough! Water!"

The first thing I reached for upon waking up was water.

The Border Defense Army had done an excellent job of training my body, but unfortunately, my vocal cords weren’t included in that regimen. A true tragedy.

And to my frustration, my body turned out to be sturdier than expected. It was an endless series of "I don’t think this is possible... but somehow, it keeps working."

Anyway, let’s stop skirting the edge of the all-ages rating.

As I gulped down the water Aquila handed me, I glared at him.

"Hey...."

"Yes, Salvia?"

His voice was as gentle as could be.

"Do you have no conscience?"

I felt wronged all over again.

Why are male leads good at everything the first time they do it? Is that just a male lead trait?

Sure, it’s common for major male leads to be naturally gifted at everything, but Aquila’s skills had exceeded my expectations. And that made him incredibly annoying.

Of course, after last night, I had decided to significantly raise his male lead ranking. He was now the only one among them running a positive score.

Still, I was annoyed! Very annoyed!

"You’re beautiful."

As I fumed, Aquila, perhaps trying to pacify me, lightly kissed the bridge of my nose.

"Beautiful, Salvia."

"Mm...."

I glanced at the clock, deep in thought. Hmm. I had been slacking off on my physical training since my discharge. Maybe I should add a morning workout.

So, anyway, things went down. Let’s leave it at that.

***

But not everyone’s business was wrapped up so neatly.

At that same moment, Dalin of the Snowy Mountain Battalion was lingering outside the battalion commander’s office.

"I think there’s some kind of secret group I don’t know about...."

She had no idea what it was, but she wanted to join.

Her reason was simple. Salvia seemed interested in it, and Dalin wanted to do everything Salvia did.

Knock, knock, knock—

Dalin knocked on the office door, but no one answered. It seemed the commander was out.

"Hmm, excuse me~."

Despite it being an empty office, Dalin boldly pushed the door open and stepped inside. She wasn’t one to worry about consequences.

"Let’s see...."

She scanned ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ the battalion commander’s desk with curious eyes, searching for anything related to the "group" Salvia seemed interested in.

That’s when a book on the shelf caught her attention.

It had a red cover. Almost unconsciously, Dalin reached out and pulled it from the shelf.

The title on the cover read:

What Is the Commune Movement?

"What’s this?"

The unfamiliar title and difficult words made her tilt her head in confusion, but she opened the book anyway.

And a little while later, when the battalion commander returned—

"G-Gah! Captain! What are you doing here?!"

"Commander!!"

"W-What’s going on?!"

"This book is incredible!"

"What?! Wait, what did you just read?!"

"Where can I find more books like this?!"

Gavle, who had momentarily been pleased that Dalin recognized the book’s value, suddenly remembered why he had rushed to the office in the first place.

"This is not the time for this! Get outside and prepare the soldiers!"

"Huh? Prepare for what?"

"War! War has broken out!"