As the trio stepped outside, a formation of men and women awaited them. Their armor gleamed with a pale steel sheen, closer to moonlight than silver, inscribed with delicate mana filigree that branched like veins of frost across their pauldrons and gauntlets. They stood sorted by height, silent and still.
A woman stepped forward.
"Hauptmann Albrecht, the assignment is complete. The southern route is clear."
She was blonde, tall, and striking. Her armor was forged for mobility, minimal in bulk, yet it failed to hide her pronounced figure or the coiled strength beneath. It was clear she was both powerful and feminine, a mix that demanded attention.
Alb nodded, adjusting his absurd straw hat. Yet despite the ridiculous look, his tone was commanding and absolute.
"Good. Return to the barrack and await further orders."
"Understood, Hauptmann."
The woman complied without question. She turned, her squad following in perfect synchrony. And just like that, they were gone, vanishing with the same unnatural silence in which they appeared.
Both girls stared, eyes wide, mouths half open at what had just happened.
Lina exhaled slowly. "That was Silberschade. And they called you Hauptmann?"
"Yes," Alb replied.
"Which means that you—"
He cut her off with a spin, but unlike his usual dramatic flair, this one was sharp, disciplined. Like a commander addressing his troops.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. My real name is Albrecht von H?llstein. I am the Captain of the 3rd Division of Silberschade. It has been a pleasure to meet the two of you."
Lina and Vierna froze.
Then, instinctively, they bowed.
"Forgive me, Hauptmann Albrecht," Lina said, her tone formal. "I didn’t know who you were before. Forgive me for my past transgressions."
Without thinking, Vierna took Albrecht’s hand.
She knelt, like a knight before her monarch, poised to kiss his fingers.
Which made sense. Albrecht’s position was as high as the sky.
And Vierna?
She was just a peasant.
A commoner promoted to experiment subject.
Even her new status as a "hero" hadn’t earned her real standing. Not in the peerage. Not in the Reich’s rigid hierarchy.
She was a symbol, yes.
But not yet someone with the substance to claim her place among nobles or knights.
“Alb,” she said softly. “Would you kindly… re-propose to me again?”
Alb blinked. Lina gasped.
It caught both of them off guard.
“Vier, what are you—”
But Alb cracked.
He laughed.
The stern, military seriousness fell away in an instant. Shattered by genuine amusement. The hat tilted. The grin returned.
“See, Lina?” Vierna said with a grin. “He’s still the same Albrecht who pretended to enjoy drinking blood.”
He managed a breath.
“I appreciate it, Vierna. Truly. But… please don’t do in front of my troops.”
She let go of his hand with a grin.
“Oh thank God you’re not like some stiff-lipped Ordnungstruppe officer.” Lina muttered. “Because I still hate you, you know.”
“Ouch. Lady Knight, you wound me.” Alb placed a hand over his chest, mock-offended. “Please don’t say that. I’m a sensitive boy.”
He turned to Vierna, suddenly dramatic. “Now, about that proposal—Lady Vierna, I—”
“Ahhh, now that I think about it,” she interrupted, “I’m too young for marriage, Alb.” She winked. “You’ll have to wait till I’m older, got it?” She stuck out her tongue, just a little.
Alb chuckled, shaking his head. “You truly are something else.”
Vierna giggled. “Hehe, jokes aside… I envy you, Alb. You serve House Einhart in a far more meaningful way than I am. I only hope that someday… I can do the same.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Suddenly the sky seems darker.
Alb’s eyes sharpened.
He saw this figure many times, especially in Silberschade knights. Something controlled but fiercely loyal, dedicated, and resolved.
I see the Facility already done its work it seems Albrecht thought.
“I’m sure you will,” he said, keeping his tone steady. “Just train hard. Serve in the way you can.”
She straightened her back. As if invisible strings tugged her spine upright, pulling her back into the role she was made to play.
“Understood, Hauptmann Albrecht.”
And just like that, the same joyful Vierna was gone, replaced by something else entirely.
Vierna turned to Lina, eyes gleaming with something that wasn’t quite admiration — but close.
“Lina… isn’t it amazing?” she said quietly. “Alb probably fought right there on the front line. I’m so jealous.”
“Yeah, me too,” Lina added, her eyes distant. “Must’ve felt good… cutting off those bastards’ heads. Watching their blood spray everywhere.”
“Gods, I really wanted to do that too.”
Alb blinked.
Lina, who just swore she hated him, now looked at him with something like admiration.
But because he’d killed.
These two girls…
They were proud of it.
Proud to be cogs in a machine built to destroy.
“Hey Alb,” Vierna called out with a smile, “are you coming to the feast tonight?”
“Of course. I’m a Hauptmann, I’ve got appearances to keep. How about you two?”
“We’re invited,” she replied proudly.
“Good, good. In that case… would you be my date?”
“That could be fun,” Vierna grinned. “But what about Lina?”
Alb grinned. “I can handle two dat—”
“Nope,” Lina cut in. “We’re not your dates. We’re just your friends.”
Her face twitched. “Ugh. Even saying that felt wrong.”
Alb laughed. “Of course, Lin. Of course.”
Vierna giggled. “Alright, Alb. I think we’ll go back to our home, I want to rest a bit. Today’s been… fun. See you at the feast?”
“Sure. See you there,” Alb said. “By the way, remind me, where’s your home again?”
“Einhartturm Research Facility,” she replied brightly. “That black, tall building. But you must’ve heard of it.”
Calling that place a home...
Has the Arkmarschall revised the indoctrination methods?
I’ve seen it before—never like this. Alb thought.
“I have to go. Bye-bye, Alb.” Vierna waved.
“Bye,” he murmured.
Alb stood there a moment longer.
He’d seen Lina’s scarred face before. Clear as day. But he never thought much of it.
Maybe she was a war orphan. A burn victim from a raid. A survivor.
But now...
The most likely answer was far worse. It wasn’t the war.
It was the work of the Facility.
And suddenly, everything made sense.
Why the Arkmarschall placed them at the front during the assembly. Why they were always… watched.
Just like that, the two girls who’d spoken of blood and severed heads turned back into the ones he’d met in the tavern—
laughing, teasing, holding hands.
They walked off together, skipping toward the place where children stopped being children.
Giggling like two normal girls on a field trip—
The girls walked side by side, chatting softly about the upcoming feast. About Alb. About anything.
Lina gave a hollow chuckle.
“You know… I was thinking. Aren’t we broken?”
“What do you mean?”
Lina’s voice dropped.
“I know back then I agreed with you, that the Research Facility was our heaven. But after talking normally with you and Alb… I felt comfortable, and isn’t that what heaven should feel like?
We said we loved being experimented on. We called that heaven. Hell I even fantasize myself cutting down people just back then, isn’t that like the biggest flag saying that we’re broken?
I mean think about it, if we told anyone else wouldn’t they just say, ‘wow, you two are so broken’?”
Vierna replied, her voice is as serene as ever. "Lin, I know what other people would think if they heard us. And yes, from their point of view, we are broken."
She looked straight ahead. "But think about it this way. We’re at constant war with the Imperium. That means strength is everything, mana count and combat ability are almost everything that mattered. We were born with a defect.
People call it ‘experimentation.’ But isn’t it more like a cure?”
Lina surprised, “What?!”
“What did they actually do? They tried to increase our mana count right? That’s like trying to cure the symptoms our defect causes.” Vierna insisted.
“The Ignition and Infusion they did to me? I could feel the effects, my mana definitely increased, even if just a little.
Be honest with me, can you say that your mana was the same as when you came here two years ago?”
Lina hesitated. "I… can’t say that. Well I do get access to enemy powers now too."
“Right?” Vierna said. “So if we don’t repay that, doesn’t that make us ungrateful?”
Lina sighed. "Well… when you put it that way."
“In here, we get shelter, purpose, and a chance to matter and apparently even combat training. That’s a lot, Lina. And given our condition, I doubt anyone else would’ve offered the same. All it cost us was a bit of pain.” Vierna said.
“And about that thing you called ‘heaven’, comfort’s not a bad thing. But if that’s all heaven gives, it just makes us lazy.
To me, heaven isn’t comfort handed out for free. It’s something we earn. By enduring.”
Vierna said all of it as though she were trying to convince not just Lina, but herself as well.
Lina groaned, half-laughing. "Argh… I can’t debate you. So yeah, I’ll follow what you say."
"That’s not good, Lina," Vierna teased. "That’s why you need to hit the books. And I need to be brave like you — so we can repay the town, the Arkmarschall, and the Facility.”
"As long as you read about Malkurus too."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"You said you wanted to be brave, right? And what’s braver than Malkurus the Musket Camel?"
Vierna snorted. "Hehe. Fine. It’s a deal."
Soon they arrived, the black structure loomed. Leopold’s magic still clung to their skin, whispering directions into their minds, it was like the building’s location had been injected straight into their brains.
A man waited at the entrance. A handler.
But it didn’t feel like that.
When the girls arrived—when they greeted him and he bowed in return—it was as if they were the ladies of the house, and he merely the maid.
Was it the Arkmarschall’s doing? Hard to say. But nothing in Einhartturm happened by accident.
The Facility hadn’t changed.
Sterile hallways. Endless white. The distant echo of screams.
But the girls had changed. At least the way they saw it.
As the girls arrived at their chambers, they noticed the change immediately.
The two beds were gone, replaced by one large one, wide enough for both to share.
It was a gift from their kind and generous Arkmarschall.
The girls waited for the aforementioned feast, keeping themselves busy to make the time pass.
Should Lina's bed stay as one or separated like it was before?
