“Welcome aboard, traitorous bastards!”

  One of the staff officers of the 1st Group Army shouted those words as the new flock of officers from the defeated revolutionary army arrived in their headquarters. Within seconds, Henry and his colleagues found themselves surrounded by the largely noble officers of the 1st Group Army, where he was reassigned to.

  After the surrender proceedings, due to the deteriorating situation up north—and as a part of the deal he made with Alexa—every enlisted soldier and officer of the revolutionary army was given a chance to prove themselves in the field of battle against the demon horde. Should they succeed, they would get to keep their ranks and positions in the army.

  If not, they would be forced to go home, disgraced and disliked by the general public. Even if they were to be officially freemen from now on, the Imperium’s citizenry hated those who incited the revolution against the crown princess. Henry and his colleagues, after all, caused deaths that were probably beyond a hundred thousand.

  Many families were displaced, their properties destroyed, and entire towns and cities turned into rubble by the fighting. Widows and orphaned children clamored for justice against the barbarians who destroyed their lives, and so on. The prospect of employment or of any peaceful return to civilian life was thus…a precarious proposition.

  Henry knew that if he went back home, he would be a disgraced man. He wouldn’t find refuge anywhere, nor would he find work or any meaning in life. Even his connections in the Young Lotharingia Society, which he had carefully curated, now meant nothing. The only people who could tolerate them after all were those that still believed in the revolution and had gone into hiding.

  Henry and all those who agreed to the surrender were now turncoats to them. In other words, he and his comrades were now essentially hated by everyone in this world. Even more so by this stock of noblemen, who seemed like they would find any fit excuse to try murdering them.

  It’s the consequences of rebellion.

  Henry tried to smile a bit.

  Once again, I’m at the bottom, huh? Even in another world, on a second chance in life, fate makes a mockery of my efforts.

  The worst part about it, was that it was all because of that girl…

  He shook his head. No point in dwelling in those thoughts. She said she’d give him a chance, and they said he and his comrades would have a chance. It was an exceedingly humiliating fate—either they would die to the demon horde, or they would be outcasts forever. It was almost a comedy to Henry.

  Once again, he was an outcast.

  “Gentlemen,” Henry spoke calmly and boisterously. “Haven’t we already had a truce? In the spirit of fighting for the survival of mankind, I advise that we work well with each other.”

  “Pfft, look at this guy!” One of the noblemen jeered as he pointed at him. “Isn’t he the rat bastard who rebelled against Her Highness?”

  “He tried to kill her, even!”

  “Disgusting, truly disgusting!”

  “How are we sure that these bastards aren’t going to sabotage us?!”

  “Enough,” a voice broke through all the commotion. Henry stood stiffly as someone walked in his direction. “You’re the leader of the ‘revolution,’ right?”

  Henry nodded, staring at the old man in front of him.

  “I’m General Kurt von Keitel,” the man introduced, handing Henry a piece of paper. “You and your officers will be forming the command element of the newly formed Nordlicht Division.”

  “Nordlicht Division?”

  “It will be made up of former rebel soldiers who volunteered to join us in battle against the demon horde.”

  “We’re not numbered?”

  “All formations made up by former rebels won’t be numbered,” the general smiled. “This formation, after all, is temporary. It will be dissolved once every soldier has been rotated out of the unit after proving themselves.”

  “And how will we prove ourselves?”

  Henry received the coldest smile he had seen in a while.

  “Why? By being brave, of course. Extremely brave.”

  “...I see.”

  They were going to become expendable bastards, it seemed. It was to be expected, yet he still took a good few seconds to process it. While he did that, though, the general in front of him pinned symbols on his collar.

  “You will now be known as Lieutenant General Henry Richard von Hecker, commandant of Nordlicht Division,” Kurt grinned. “I expect great things from you, general.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  +++

  After two days of deliberation, Wilhelm managed to reorganize the Imperial Army and the surrendered troops of the revolutionary army into a coherent force that could reinforce the Defense Forces. He also assessed the situation with his [Azure Eyes] skill to see if the current force disposition of the combined Imperial Army and Defense Forces units in the central region could face off against the demon horde.

  While nothing was set in stone, it seemed that Wilhelm managed to get them out of the impasse they found themselves in earlier. Since the Imperial Army didn’t suffer as many casualties as it should have in a fully determined assault against the revolutionary army, and because the revolutionary army wasn’t completely wiped out, it seemed that they would have more than enough numbers to plug the gap.

  Even Alexa managed to confirm that things would be fine by consulting her Iron Saintess novel. It seemed that for some reason, in the coming weeks, the demon horde’s plan would change course, probably because they learned that the civil war in Lotharingia ended. Instead of continuing in an overwhelming offensive, the demon horde would temporarily stop and instead only take territory that would be of good defensive use for mankind in the future.

  While she hadn’t told Wilhelm about this information, because again, she still hadn’t revealed the true nature of her ability to see the future, Wilhelm seemed to have gotten that same picture too after connecting the dots of the reports coming to their headquarters in the last few days. As a result, he finally agreed to Alexa’s offer to attend the victory celebrations.

  Four days later, they arrived together in a carriage at the Monile Palace. It had been ages since she’d last seen this place, the center of the power of the Imperial Army. Snow already began falling from the skies, the cold biting, so Alexa now wore a full fur jacket with her. Yet, when she arrived, servants and staff of the Monile Palace seemed to be lined up on the path to the entrance.

  All of them had a smile on their face as they looked at Alexa. She was a bit bewildered by it, so she turned to Adele.

  “Hey, what’s happening exactly?” Alexa asked. “I thought we were just…having a brief stop?”

  “I don’t know.” Adele shook her head apologetically. “I’m not your house’s chamberlain.”

  “It’s been a while since I’ve had a talk with him…”

  Alexa looked around as both Wilhelm and Alfred disembarked their carriage too, the two brothers immediately getting into another spat with each other. She ignored them, instead walking ahead, as someone rushed out of the Monile Palace.

  “Sister!!!” A tearful girl ran crying. She was in baggy clothes, her adorable cheeks now the same color as her light pink hair. The girl’s eyes were also red and stuffy, so she must have been crying for a long time. “Sister! You’re back!”

  “Anastasia…” Alexa felt her heart dropping a bit. No longer was Anastasia that annoying brat who kept poking her elder sister back then. The last time Alexa saw her, when she sent her to a secure place so she wouldn’t be endangered by the civil war, Anastasia was dutifully and desperately studying in preparation for the academy.

  After seeing Phoebe and Alexa in action, she had been trying hard to measure up too. Most importantly, she must have been worried sick of Alexa, now her only remaining family member. Alexa therefore quickly extended her hands as Anastasia slammed into her in an embrace.

  “There, there,” Alexa patted her little sister’s head. “I’m so glad you’re safe. I told you, things will be just alright!”

  “Sister! Sister! I’ve heard about everything you did!” Anastasia kept crying. “What if you died? You went straight to the enemy to try capturing their leaders. Everyone knows! But that’s suicidal! You told me you’ll go back home, didn’t you?”

  Alexa’s eyes widened as she melted into the hug further. Then, tears went down Alexa’s eyes too. “Did I really worry you that much? I’m back, aren’t I?”

  “But what if you weren’t? Stupid, silly Alexa! Don’t you dare endanger yourself like that again, okay?!”

  Alexa shook her head as she hugged Anastasia tighter. She had been neglecting her duties as an elder sister too much, hadn’t she? So much so that Alexa nearly forgot about her while fighting. Forgot that someone from her family was anxiously waiting for her to come home.

  “I’m sorry, I’ll try to not do it again…” Alexa whispered to her. “I’m just glad too that I’m back home now.”

  “Sister…”

  Phoebe soon also stepped out of the carriage, sneezing briefly into her handkerchief. That was when Anastasia noticed her and jumped straight at her while crying too. “Big sis Phoebe!”

  “A-anastasia—!” Phoebe was caught aback, as Anastasia practically lunged at her while crying. Alexa, on the other hand, just wiped the tears from her eyes with her handkerchief as she watched Anastasia incessantly complain to Phoebe about endangering herself. It seemed that her little sister really, really didn’t want her idol to die.

  As for Alexa, she still felt…a bit off. Indeed, this was beyond relieving. She was back home now, back at the comfort that she knew and loved. For months, she had been in the grueling task of trying everything just to hold the Empire together, just to save more lives. She even endangered her life many times over.

  I…

  Alexa felt like she wouldn’t recognize herself in the mirror anymore.

  Did I really do all that?

  She changed the timeline beyond the point of reason. The Iron Saintess novel no longer detailed a bloody downfall for Alexa Theresa, where her head would be cut by a group of barbaric revolutionaries. Her original enemies—Phoebe, Wilhelm, and Henry—all of them were now on her side. Two of them would be fighting and serving her as her closest friends.

  One of them…well, she knew he was more than just Henry, and while he was still somewhat hostile to Alexa, he was now going to fight for her too, just to prove himself to her new Empire. Once again, a floodgate of tears came down Alexa’s eyes as she looked at the Monile Palace ahead of her.

  Is this real?

  I…really, changed fate.

  In a year. Before she even took the throne. It was so unbelievable, she almost felt like everything was an illusion. At least, until she felt a hand patting her shoulder.

  “Alexa?” It was Wilhelm. He seemed concerned. “Are you alright? You’re crying.”

  “L-lady Alexa?!” Alfred rushed to her too, alarmed.

  In the distance, multiple maids, and even the head chamberlain, who just arrived in a hurry at the entrance, rushed straight at her in a worry. It seemed that everyone was now concerned at her tearful display. Alexa, not wanting to bother them, just smiled at them.

  “Sorry, everyone,” she steeled herself. “I’m just…happy that I’m still here, and everyone else is still here. That’s all.”

  And in the end, that’s all that matters to me.