Dawn tore its way through the trees, as if ripping the darkness apart.
That morning—like a wound of light—the march was long and silent.
Adelheid walked at the front, with Kaito advancing beside her.
Their gazes were fixed on a single destination.
There it stood—
Dreisburg.
A forgotten village.
Houses coated in dust, on the verge of collapse.
Unpaved roads.
And the few people who still remained there looked like—
ghosts without graves.
Children chewing on tree bark.
Elders leaning on cracked canes.
Empty eyes.
Broken hopes.
Kaito stopped at the edge of the road and, without realizing it, clenched his fist.
Noticing his expression, Adelheid spoke.
"Give the order, Commander.
We take the well, seal the central square, and force them to surrender without a fight.
It will be simple."
But Kaito didn't answer.
His gaze was fixed on a child—
a small boy bringing bark to his mouth.
And a mother stirring an empty pot, pretending to "cook" just to deceive her son.
Swallowing was difficult.
"…No.
We won't take this village by force."
Adelheid turned around, clearly surprised.
"…Not take it?"
"We won't seize it.
We'll earn it. With trust."
"With… trust?"
"If we take even the little they still have,
I wouldn't be a leader.
Just a looter.
A kingdom cannot be built on starving bodies.
Nor on fear."
Adelheid narrowed her eyes.
There was no anger in them—
only the look of a strategist caught off guard by an unexpected move.
"…Then how do you plan to 'win them over'?"
Kaito took a deep breath.
"We'll use the soldiers. Not to attack here, but to raid a warehouse.
A supply base in Grelburn. Light security. Provisions for two companies.
We'll steal those supplies."
"And then…?"
"We distribute everything here. To everyone. Children first.
We repair the well, clear the roads—we work alongside them.
We eat the same food, sleep under the same roofs.
We become people who live with them, not above them."
Adelheid fell silent for a long moment.
Then, she smiled.
It wasn't the rigid pride of a soldier.
It was something else—
a gentle satisfaction, almost tender.
"You have the makings of an emperor, Commander."
Kaito smiled back.
"I'm not an emperor yet.
Just a foreigner holding cards he doesn't know how to play
and a map stained with mud…"
"Precisely because of that," she replied,
"you are more frightening than any king I have ever served."
---
Hours later…
The subdued soldiers returned.
Three carts loaded with bread, grain, dried meat, oil, and tools—
loot taken without leaving a trace.
Adelheid handled the distribution,
while Kaito made sure the children were the first to eat.
No one refused the food.
Not even the elders who could no longer speak.
And then something almost miraculous happened.
The villagers—
changed the way they looked at them.
"Who are they…?"
"Outsiders…? Did they bring food?"
"Why is that black-haired man fixing the well with us?"
"They say they're not from the kingdom…
That they hate the nobles, so they came here…"
Kaito, sleeves rolled up, carried sacks of rice alongside the villagers.
"…Thank you, boy," said an old man with wrinkled hands.
"It's been a long time since I received anything."
Kaito met his eyes.
"…This time, maybe you can gain something too."
"…And you?
What do you gain?"
Kaito smiled, a little embarrassed.
"…Your respect."
---
When night fell
The village of Dreisburg felt like—another place.
Lights in the houses.
Smoke rising from chimneys.
Laughter, voices, conversations.
There were living eyes there.
By the central bonfire,
Kaito and Adelheid shared bread and dried meat.
"Any complaints?" Kaito asked jokingly.
Adelheid took a sip of her bitter tea before answering.
"Only one.
The country you're building is… too human.
It almost makes me believe there's still hope left in this world."
"…Is that a bad thing?"
"For someone born for collapse, yes," she smiled.
"But still… seeing you like this makes me happy."
Kaito lowered his gaze.
He wasn't used to the warmth of her words yet.
"…Adelheid."
"Yes, Commander?"
"Thank you… for staying with me, even when I lose my way."
She moved a little closer.
The fire's shadows overlapped.
"I don't follow you because I see the path, Kaito.
I follow you because you—
are the path."
---
And so, that night—
Dreisburg did not simply become a "saved village."
It became the first bastion born of trust,
a place where hunger was healed,
and where the origin was not blood, but human warmth.
A kingdom that was not born to dominate…
but to be reborn.