Chapter 83

Chapter 83
…And thus, the memorial services for all the military personnel who perished in combat have concluded.

Commander Hayden observed Second Lieutenant Platon, who stood presenting his briefing, through a prolonged and unblinking gaze.

Most individuals would have grown uneasy under a superior officer’s silent scrutiny. Platon simply met his eyes with bright, transparent pupils that seemed to inquire if there remained any further business to address.

I can understand why Haydam wants him as his adjutant.

The commander had dumped the entirety of the funeral responsibilities for the recent campaign’s casualties onto Platon the exact second the boy received his commission, partly as an evaluation test. Platon executed every task without a single complaint or mistake. Without a doubt, he had observed his father Anton manage military operations for years and possessed a greater familiarity with army procedures than anyone of his age rightfully should.

He has clear talent, no doubt… yet still.

Aside from his competence, the simple reality that he was Anton’s son continued to cause unease within the commander. No matter how peculiarly wired the boy might be, when a crucial crisis arrived, he would ultimately side with his father. And Haydam could not possibly have requested him as an adjutant without being fully aware of that fact.

What was Haydam planning when he appointed Platon as his adjutant and even dragged the already-retired Anton into the Max situation?

The fact that Anton had willingly cooperated with Haydam’s little scheme had come as a surprise, yet the commander had simply figured that Haydam—being a regressor—held some vulnerability over Anton that Anton himself remained unaware of. That much did not seem particularly unusual.

Then lightning struck Yosef.

Following that incident, the conviction that Haydam possessed capabilities far beyond ordinary regression began to take root with frightening intensity. The feline that had abruptly started following Haydam around, alongside the young girl who had appeared from another zone, could not be dismissed either.

The girl did not appear ordinary… yet she is still distinct from Haydam.

The female from the Love Area conveyed the impression of someone not entirely human. Haydam, conversely, felt so far removed from humanity that the commander occasionally found it difficult to accept that the boy was his own flesh and blood.

And that near-inhuman son of his had recently thrown himself with relentless dedication into severing Daphne from him through divorce.

He is my blood, yet I cannot begin to fathom what is running through his mind.

The manner in which he handled the Max affair alone demonstrated that he was far removed from anything resembling traditional justice. There was zero possibility that Haydam would attempt to force a divorce between Daphne and himself simply because “she looks pitiful.”

While the commander’s reflections drifted, he noticed Platon remaining patiently stationary before him and inquired, “Did you also assist in propagating the rumor that I intend to get a divorce?”

Bones or Lucas would have flustered and scrambled to issue denials. Platon’s response remained straightforward.

“Yes.”

The commander narrowed his remaining eye and studied Platon for another moment before proceeding.

“Then do you also think I ought to pursue a divorce?”

“No, sir.”

“You do not?”

This unexpected reply provoked a follow-up inquiry.

“Then why are you aiding the initiative to push me toward a divorce?”

“Because Lord Haydam desires it.”

“Would you eliminate even your own father if Haydam commanded you to do so?”

It was a question that should have elicited at least a flash of anger, yet Platon replied without the slightest hint of emotional disturbance.

“If Lord Haydam wished to eliminate my father, he would not require my hands to do it.”

“As a soldier, that answer is a complete failure. You are aware of that, I presume?”

“My apologies, sir.”

“As an adjutant, however… I am less certain.”

A flicker of curiosity awakened. The commander posed one final question.

“Come to think of it, you were close to Daphne as well, were you not? I recall the two of you grew up like siblings.”

“Yes, sir. Although I have not seen her in some time, she has always felt like an older sister to me.”

“In your perspective, would your sister and Meursault make a suitable match?”

That inquiry finally caused Platon to pause. Following a brief hesitation, he asked cautiously, “Why do you ask me this, sir?”

“You already understand. After Haydam divorces me from Daphne, into whose hands he plans to entrust her.”

“Ah…”

Platon’s expression lit up with sudden realization.

“So Your Excellency was unaware.”

“…Aware of what?”

“It is nothing. I do not believe it is my place to interfere.”

Commander Hayden’s brow twitched with slight irritation.

“…Meursault.”

“I am Platon, sir.”

“Where has Meursault gone?”

Only then did a profound sense of wrongness settle over the commander. He began searching for Meursault in earnest.

“Why are you the one delivering this report? That should have been Meursault’s responsibility.”

“I was informed it would suffice if I reported in person.”

“Who gave you that instruction?”

“Director Meursault…”

“Meursault?”

The commander’s expression shifted into something dangerous just as a soldier burst into the office. It was a familiar face—one of the guards posted at Daphne’s residence.

The instant he laid eyes on that countenance, the commander knew with absolute certainty that the missing Meursault had stirred up trouble.

True to form, the soldier approached with an expression conveying total helplessness regarding how to articulate his upcoming report.

“Y-Your Excellency… Director Meursault…”

“Director Meursault?”

“He is… with Lady Daphne…”

Hayden’s brow instantly tightened.

“I gave strict instructions that Daphne was turning away all visitors. Did he approach her anyway?”

“I-It isn’t a matter of him simply visiting…”

At the phrasing “it isn’t a matter of him simply visiting,” one of the commander’s eyebrows shot upward. The soldier rushed to elaborate, “He is proposing to her right now.”

“…What?”

“He is making a marriage proposal in front of Lady Daphne’s residence as we speak. I witnessed it with my own eyes—he is down on one knee inside a perimeter shaped like a heart made of candles.”

For a second, the commander was so utterly stunned that he forgot to close his mouth.

“I… shall take my leave.”

Even Platon, who typically remained indifferent to the surrounding tension, seemed to gather by pure instinct that this was the ideal moment to vanish. He slipped out of the office prior to the commander recovering his wits.

When Hayden finally collected his senses much later, the initial words escaping his lips were:

“Haydam… that brat has pulled another stunt.”

◇ ◇ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◇ ◇

“That absolute lunatic!!”

Daphne’s butler spat out the curse while glaring out the window toward Meursault. Precipitation had begun falling a short while prior, thoroughly drenching both Meursault and the arrangement of candles he had set up. The spectacle appeared wretched in the extreme, yet Meursault himself refused to shift even an inch from his one-kneed posture.

“Does that man hold zero regard for Lady Daphne’s dignity?! It is pouring rain and still he refuses to depart at a sensible hour…!”

The butler muttered that unseasonal spring precipitation served as a disastrous omen regardless of the angle one viewed it from. Daphne, who could not even bring herself to glance toward the window, remained seated at the tea table with a distressed expression, exhaling a heavy sigh. I occupied the seat opposite her, calmly sipping black tea.

Apparently finding my composure entirely unbearable, the butler ceased cursing at the window and directed his frustration at me instead.

“Lord Haydam! This is hardly the moment to sit here leisurely sipping tea! Please remove that man from the premises immediately…!”

I placed my cup gently back onto its saucer.

“Very well.”

“Lord Haydam!”

His face brightened at my apparent compliance, only to plunge back into shadow at my subsequent words.

“Provided Lady Daphne wishes it.”

“Wh-what?”

“Lady Daphne, how would you like me to proceed? Shall I dismiss Meursault?”

Daphne bit her lower lip and glared at me with undisguised resentment.

“Haydam… why are you putting me through this?”

“I am simply executing a promise. You desired a divorce from my father, did you not?”

At my matter-of-fact tone, the butler erupted.

“What kind of outrageous slander is that?! Divorce?! Lady Daphne would never entertain such a notion!”

The butler fumed with rage, yet Daphne spoke as though his protests had completely missed her ears.

“The directive… is flawed.”

“L-Lady Daphne?”

Declaring the directive flawed amounted to an implicit confession that she had, in fact, desired the divorce precisely as Haydam asserted. The butler stared at her in profound shock. When Shin Eun-jo and I had visited earlier, she had played dumb with great efficiency, but the abrupt spectacle of Meursault’s proposal seemed to shatter her emotional defenses entirely.

“I have not even finalized my divorce from Hayden yet. And here he is proposing out of nowhere like this…!”

As though she had completely forgotten her obligation to maintain the demeanor of a refined lady, Daphne pressed a palm against her forehead and cried out passionately.

“If something happens to Meursault…! If Hayden decides to impose a severe penalty upon him, then what…?!”

Rather than ordering Meursault driven away, she was actively defending him. The butler’s jaw dropped in horror, yet I felt only a sense of vindication. Had Daphne prioritized her own personal safety even at this juncture, I would have simply gathered Meursault and departed.

“L-Lady Daphne, what on earth are you saying…!”

“Butler.”

I addressed him with what I deemed a reasonable degree of consideration.

“If you feel unequipped to manage the situation about to unfold here, you are dismissed. I give you my word that no harm will befall you.”

“I… that is…”

The butler glanced back and forth between Daphne and me, visibly torn, before retreating with an expression of deep apology he could not entirely conceal.

Daphne emitted a short, hollow laugh and fixed me with a gaze loaded with accusation.

“So you did not come here to assist me after all.”

“Oh?”

“You came seeking retribution. From the very beginning.”

I could not suppress a quiet snort of amusement.

“Why would I harbor a desire for retribution against you, Lady Daphne?”

“Because of my actions regarding Luna Moon… No—if this isn’t retribution, then what could it possibly be?! You pressured Anton, who had even commissioned a portrait specifically for you, into immediate retirement, and you pinned a monstrous fabricated accusation onto Max…!”

Basic logic dictated that a ten-year-old—no, was he eleven now?—could not possibly have orchestrated Anton’s retirement or framed Max single-handedly. Surviving over a decade inside this apocalyptic realm as an otome-game transmigrator evidently required considerably more than sheer good fortune.

Still, assuming I had orchestrated all of this purely to exact revenge upon her felt like a mild manifestation of main-character syndrome. Then again, as the original otome game’s protagonist, she had stood at the literal center of this universe, so perhaps her perspective was understandable.

While I entertained these idle musings, Daphne’s voice, which had elevated in volume momentarily, dropped back down; she was evidently terrified her words might carry through the window glass.

“You are the one who orchestrated Meursault’s proposal while I remain legally married, aren’t you? Or will you attempt to claim that Meursault is standing out there in this downpour making a proposal of his own volition? The Meursault I know would never commit such a reckless act. He is not a man prone to such imprudence…!”

I waited patiently until she concluded her outburst, then parted my lips.

“First of all… yes, I am the one who advised Meursault to propose.”

“Haydam!”

“I informed him it was a necessary step to secure your divorce, and he concurred without hesitation.”

Daphne breathed heavily, struggling to contain her boiling fury.

“Did it genuinely have to escalate to this extreme? Stationing that rigid blade of a man in the middle of a tacky display of candles?”

“My apologies, but the candle arrangement reflects Meursault’s personal aesthetic.”

I had been equally startled upon arriving and witnessing it firsthand. Had roses been abundant during this era, that man likely would have secured a million of them.

“There existed a far simpler path, you realize. A peaceful resolution that would have avoided all of this public spectacle.”

Daphne’s brows knitted together in utter bewilderment.

“Then why on earth create this entire mess…!”

“Because it annoyed me.”

“Wh-what?”

I rested my chin in my hand and offered her a bright, cheerful grin.

“Both you and Meursault. Just sitting around waiting for someone else to finalize your divorce—that was what annoyed me.”