I Became the Strategist the Monarchs Obsess Over

Chapter 22

The returning scout unit looked different from before. If the previous scout unit had a somewhat lax feeling, the returning scout unit exuded an aura of fanaticism, beyond that of elite soldiers.

As evidence, there were no spoils of war to be found anywhere. The load was kept empty for the sake of minimal water and food, as well as mobility. It was on an entirely different level from the previous scout units.

Despite having severed so many enemy heads, they didn't collect any spoils of war. This was an extraordinary occurrence. Usami approached one of the scout unit members and asked.

"What on earth happened?"

To which the scout unit member responded.

"We have seen the light."

"The light? What light are you talking about?"

"The Goddess of War has always been shining upon us. We just failed to realize it."

The Goddess of War. Those words gave Usami a headache. Was Emilia's delusion spreading to the soldiers as well?

However, the wagon was filled to the brim with enemy heads. Even at a conservative estimate, there seemed to be several hundred. As a result of a preliminary skirmish, this was an outstanding achievement beyond imagination.

When Emilia set out leading the soldiers, Usami, to be honest, was worried. He feared that Emilia might die during the dangerous mission of the scout unit.

But the reality was different. They returned with hundreds of enemy heads, and even the scout unit members who accompanied Emilia came back showing some kind of change.

"Usami."

Emilia called out to Usami.

"Lady Emilia?"

"The Goddess of War has shone upon us."

The Goddess of War again. Usami understood that Emilia had grown strong. Moreover, based on this achievement, it was clear that her ability to command soldiers was remarkable. However...

"Lady Emilia! This is not the blessing of the Goddess. It is the result of your own efforts!"

Usami hoped Emilia would escape from the clutches of fanaticism. So, he tried to offer her advice, but Emilia interpreted it differently.

-Srrng

The sword slid out from Emilia's scabbard.

"Usami, everything I have belongs to the Goddess. If you deny the Goddess once more, I will not forgive you, even if you are Usami."

Seeing Emilia place her hand on the sword's handle, Usami felt that something had gone terribly wrong.

When did it begin? When did Emilia start showing such a fanatical obsession with the Goddess of War?

In her childhood, Emilia suffered from auditory hallucinations. Out of pity, Usami once brought a cleric from the church to Emilia, hoping it might help.

However, after meeting the cleric, Emilia began to change. She started displaying a fanatical obsession with the Goddess of War. Usami thought that perhaps it was his responsibility for introducing the cleric to her...

"No, if you think about it, it was Your Majesty's mistake."

Usami soon denied that thought. Emilia's deviation didn't start because of him. Strictly speaking, it was because of Karl von Chronor, the Duke.

After all, Karl von Chronor had subjected Emilia to training that bordered on abuse, starting from when she was only six years old by giving her just a dagger and throwing her into a monster cage.

This was a tragic story. A tale of the abuse Emilia Chronor endured at the hands of her father.

-----

Karl von Chronor fathered 16 children through 10 wives. But now, only three remained.

Why were only three left out of 16 children? The reason was simple.

In the Chronor family, when a child is born, they undergo a strict selection process. Babies born prematurely, with disabilities, or who are overly timid are thrown off a cliff. Even those who pass the selection process are not guaranteed to survive.

The children who begin to walk are all taught how to fight. They learn how to swing a sword, thrust with a spear, and shoot with a bow.

And at the age of six, they are put into a small cage with a starving goblin. If they defeat the goblin, they survive. If they lose, they die.

From waking up every morning to falling asleep at night, they engage in life-threatening training and fight hundreds of monsters in deadly duels. Only those who survive can bear the name of Chronor.

In that sense, Emilia was an exceptional warrior. She hunted and slaughtered hundreds of monsters without ever shedding a tear and merely carried out the orders to slaughter her designated targets without complaint.

Emilia grew up without receiving anyone's love, experiencing only ordered training and life-threatening battles like a machine. She saw it as natural and never harbored a single doubt.

In truth, Emilia was strong because of such training. Overwhelmingly strong. By the age of 10, she was already on par with adult knights, and by the age of 15, it was hard to find knights who could rival her.

When Emilia first enrolled in Arcadia Academy, she knocked out all the instructors during the entrance exam. Emilia's merciless sword, forged through crossing countless lines between life and death, even caused one instructor to resign due to trauma.

Even within Arcadia Academy, Emilia consistently maintained an overwhelming first place. Though she struggled in areas such as politics and diplomacy, in commanding armies, swordsmanship, and magic, she was utterly unmatched compared to her peers.

And one day, Karl von Chronor said.

"Emilia."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"From now on, you are the heir to the Chronor family."

"Yes."

Emilia neither rejoiced nor grieved and simply accepted it calmly. She knew she could die at any moment, and if she did, the position of heir would go to her siblings.

Emilia, who lived every day like a machine, began to change after fully attending the academy. At the academy, there were times when students' parents visited the school. These parents would hug their children or look at them with loving eyes.

Watching such scenes, Emilia felt an inexplicable emptiness and anxiety. Though she didn't understand why, it was a longing and unease for something she lacked.

As each day passed, Emilia solidified her overwhelming status as the academy's top student, but at the same time, she began to feel different from others. She was like a lone swan drifting among ducks.

But for the swan, it wasn't particularly a happy thing. No one in this world was like her. The love, compassion, longing, joy, and sorrow others felt—Emilia couldn't easily blend with others as she had lived focusing solely on survival, suppressing such emotions to the extreme.

The day she realized she was different from others, Emilia felt an indescribable loneliness. An illusion as if she were floating alone in this world, as if all those of her kind had died, leaving her behind.

On days when such feelings arose, Emilia would hide under her blanket, blocking out all light and sound, trembling alone, trying to escape the fear of being alone.

And one day, someone began whispering in Emilia's ear. You are different from others. You are an outsider. That's just how it is. You're not human.

The voice whispering in her ear always told Emilia. You are different from others, so take the sword at your waist and stab your neck. You don't belong in this world.

Then one day, a renowned cleric visited the academy. It was a cleric brought by Usami Akra, the strategist of Duke Chronor.

Emilia told the cleric. That someone was living in her mind and whispering to her incessantly to die.

Upon hearing this, the cleric let out a deep sigh, as if the ground would collapse, and taught Emilia a prayer to exorcise the demon. Despite diligently reciting the prayer, it didn't seem very effective.

However, having no other way, Emilia continued to recite the prayer endlessly. Goddess of War, bearer of the power of all destruction and recreation, I praise you. I wish to become your child.

How many times did she recite the prayer? Hundreds? Thousands? Or perhaps tens of thousands? As she recited the prayer, the voice she had always heard in her mind disappeared. The voice that had always whispered for her to die vanished, leaving only the prayer she had repeatedly recited to endlessly echo in her mind.

The prayer echoed in her mind 24 hours a day. She heard it even in her dreams. But wasn't it better than the voice that used to tell her to die?

And one day, as she endured and lived her swan-like life, a beautiful goddess clad in light, wearing armor and holding a trident, appeared before Emilia.

[You are truly my child. I shall grant you power.]

And on that day, Emilia gained a tremendous aura like never before. It was the moment Emilia awakened as a Sword Master.