I slowly ran my hand over my face.

Rough, thick skin was felt at my fingertips.

Unlike Marco ten years later, Marco at this time had blacker hair.

I calculated the balance of the new body and rose from my seat.

[…We, the German Second Empire, solemnly swear to protect our territory and you, our subjects, against the Third French Empire, which is acting atrociously with a brazen attitude, failing to fulfill the treaty. My subjects, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Friedrich and the Empire will, as always, be victorious.]

The voice of a former Minister of Magic, whose retirement date was unknown, flowed from the massive Artifact.

‘Ten years ago, huh.’

I know what timeline I’ve fallen into now.

The event I’m hearing about from the Artifact now is when France, leading mages, broke the warp magic restrictions at the border to reclaim the Alsace-Lorraine region it lost to the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War.

As in our history, the Franco-Prussian War was a decisive event that influenced the demise of the Second French Empire.

Unlike in our history, where a republic wasn’t established and the monarchy was maintained—the emperor at the time of defeat was deposed, and a stronger mage ascended as emperor—the Third French Empire more overtly sought opportunities to reclaim Alsace-Lorraine, which was a symbol of their defeat. It was a natural progression, as only the facade changed, and what was inside was no different from the Second Empire era.

‘So.’

What was the problem with this situation that Marco Schreiber opened his eyes to the memory from 10 years ago?

I can guess.

I had completed thorough preparations before coming here, and those preparations included an investigation into Marco Schreiber.

The scene I am about to witness will likely be an utterly insane sight, incomparable to the time with Adelbert.

I must maintain my composure no matter what crazy scene I witness. I resolved to do so and began to walk. No, I tried to.

[…Was habe ich….]

The moment I stopped thinking and tried to rise from my seat, Marco Schreiber’s thoughts reached me.

It was similar to what happened with Adelbert.

However, unlike that time, the words weren’t translated. Even though it was clearly Imperial German, it sounded like a foreign language to me.

‘Assimilation isn’t complete yet, it seems.’

It’s just a guess, but as I read Marco’s memories, I’ll be able to empathize with his emotions.

I stepped aside so Marco could fully replay his memories.

[…What did I just hear?]

My head turned on its own. Marco, who had been frozen, grabbed the enormous Artifact the moment he realized that instructions for the subjects were being broadcast.

But immediately after that, the broadcast ended.

The Emperor didn’t disappoint me even 10 years ago. What was playing now was the Imperial anthem. In this volatile situation right before a war, would it not be better to repeatedly announce evacuation procedures and current conditions for the public? Does the Emperor have the mind to issue a single alarm and then idly play the national anthem?

I, no, Marco, raised his head.

The view outside the window was red this early morning, not even the time for sunset. Pulsating waves sent out by the government using amplification magic were piercing my body. My ears felt like they would burst. My heart began to pound fiercely.

[No. Where exactly was invaded?]

The Alsace-Lorraine region is divided into three sections.

Lorraine is at the very top, and then North Alsace and South Alsace in descending order.

[They said south, right? Lorraine is at the very top, so it wouldn’t be that. It can’t be. Are they talking about South Alsace?]

Kwaang—!

Marco kicked off the chair and ran across the empty hallway, exiting the building. By the time he ran out of the mansion grounds like a madman, extras were being scattered in the air. Marco snatched one of the flyers floating down from the sky.

[French Army Alsace-Lorraine Air Raid Status]

His eyes immediately went to the Civilian Casualties section.

[Injured 1 / Missing 0 / Deceased 0]

His heart sank.

‘…Deceased 0.’

[My God.]

No one had died yet.

He raised his head and looked at the street.

The post office. I have to find the post office.

I need to immediately inquire about the well-being of my daughter and son living in the northernmost Lorraine and let them know I will get them out of there.

Prussia will block civilian entry, but since I have connections in the military, I might be able to bring my children here first if I ask nicely. If even that doesn’t work, I’ll bribe the French army.

Then, half a day later, they could be here with me. Nothing will happen.

His madly pounding heart calmed down a little. An unknown hope surged within him.

Therefore, there must be no delay now. I must be even a minute faster, as I don’t know when the French army will cut off communications.

Normally, I left everything concerning letters and telegrams to the servants, but thanks to having lived on this street for decades, I knew well where the post office was.

‘The largest post office in the capital is around here.’

There, I could process warp mail quickly.

However, the moment I arrived in front of the post office, having run without stopping for a moment, despair enveloped my entire body.

‘No.’

Were there this many people on this street? Since when?

The area in front of the post office was filled with crowds, it was unclear where all these people came from. Someone had brought a saw to tear down the closed iron gate and was hacking at it.

Dozens of post office employees who had woken up from sleep, received an urgent request from the government, and come to work, were horrified seeing the crowd of citizens rushing at them.

“No, you can’t do this! If you want to send it quickly, please stand in line. Don’t push!”

Ironically, people swarmed even more like bees. I felt someone pressing my back with their shoulder from behind. Everyone was pushing each other.

Kwaang—!

“Argh!”

Someone was pushed and fell to the floor. On one side, a young man shouted until his throat bled.

“Let me in first! Please! My mother lives in Baden, no, just 3 minutes away from South Alsace!”

Me.

I have children in Alsace-Lorraine, not Baden. Family in the Grand Duchy of Baden, which hasn’t even been invaded yet?

“You think you’re the only one?! I have family in the Rhine too!”

“Who here doesn’t have family there?!”

Then couldn’t they wait a little longer? The French army doesn’t have the skill to rapidly dispel Baden’s barriers and magic too, do they? The Tsheringen family is strong, located in the border region, stronger than other families, and Bavaria next to it is also a country strong enough to rival Prussia. In the end, that is, that is, the people here…

They don’t deserve to go in before me. It must be that way. They aren’t desperate.

But I had neither the strength nor the will to argue with them about how desperate they were. Those who weren’t desperate had the strength to argue, but I had no strength to use for such things.

In an instant, this place turned into a scene of chaos.

My ears went numb.

The loud shouting lessened, and ironically, now the whispers of the people sounded loud.

“How far have they occupied?”

“South Alsace.”

“…I knew this would happen. It had already been French land for 300 years; there was no way those people would become Germans just because of a treaty.”

“Those crazy frog-eaters must have colluded with the mainland to break the barriers our Imperial Family erected. And to do something like this on December 31st. Do you have family there too?”

“A cousin in Baden…”

After that, I have no memory.

When I came to my senses, I was holding a cheap fountain pen from the post office. The nib was broken, and all the ink had leaked out, staining my hand black. I didn’t care and hastily wrote, wiping the ink that gathered on the nib with my hand.

I am sending all the cash I have immediately. If you need more, I will send as much as necessary, so if you can get out by giving it to the French army, get out through them.

I wrote up to there and tore the letter paper.

If content like this were discovered, I would be executed by Prussia. I wrote the letter euphemistically, using words the children could understand as much as possible.

I don’t know if I wrote properly or not. When I came to my senses again, I was at the national army headquarters.

“No.”

“If you say Marco Schreiber, they will let you in.”

“We are on official duty, so we cannot contact civilians arbitrarily. Please go back.”

“Don’t you know who I am? Ten minutes, no, five minutes… no, even just one minute is fine, just one time…”

“I know. You are the former Undersecretary of Magic. I know your children are in Alsace-Lorraine.”

“They aren’t just there. It was because of the conscription order from the Prussian government, wasn’t it? In that less-developed land where no mainland Germans migrate, because of that damned Alsace-Lorraine assimilation plan! My children were dragged there just because they are the children of a politician!”

As I raised my voice, the aide waved his hand.

“I know you are serving the nation and His Imperial Majesty. I will inform them properly, so please calm down. Berlin is still safe, so please meet with acquaintances and compose yourself until the next status report comes out.”

“You will inform them?”

“Yes.”

“You must inform them.”

The aide nodded listlessly. I staggered out of the headquarters like someone who didn’t know if they were alive or dead. My eyes reflected in the door were bloodshot.

Thud—

I grabbed a flyer fluttering in the sky.

The update time was just now.

[Injured 2 / Missing 0 / Deceased 0]

One more injured person, but still no missing or deceased. Could this be why those with no ties to the region—like that aide just now. He likely has no ties in the Empire’s southwest—are reacting so indifferently?

My tension eased a little, and I chuckled slightly.

After that, I kept going in and out of the post office, lining up again, waiting for letters, lining up again… I had the servants check the mailbox and checked the extras.

Over four hours passed, and while the statistics were updated twice, the number of casualties remained almost the same.

[Injured 4 / Missing 0 / Deceased 0]

No one had died.

The main text stated that the Imperial Army had eliminated roughly half of the French forces in South Alsace.

[In the face of the enemy’s concentrated offensive, our Imperial Army counterattacked with firm resolve, reducing the French forces by half. In this battle, the excellent strategy and combat power of our Imperial Army were displayed, and the enemy is retreating miserably before the might of the Empire. The French army’s frontline is continuously moving southward even at this moment.]

It said that the broken warp control magic had been repaired and barriers were gradually being increased. In essence, the path for advancing to North Alsace and Lorraine was blocked.

The Empire’s defense capability was worth trusting.

As long as the French army didn’t reach Lorraine.

Only Lorraine.

Click—

Someone placed a plate of soup in front of me.

“Master. Please stop looking at the statistics now. We will report and inform you. More importantly, you should eat something, even lightly, especially at a time like this.”

“……”

“Think about what conversations you’ll have when the young masters and misses arrive. Seeing that the casualties haven’t increased much, everyone should be able to return safely. Especially since the young masters and misses are nobles, aren’t they? They will be the safest.”

The Head Butler, unable to bear it any longer, comforted me by my side.

‘…Right.’

Worrying won’t change anything, so I should change my mindset.

Since I’ll see their faces after a long time, we can talk about all sorts of trivial things about how they’ve been. My children have lived there for five years, so they might even be able to tell me how to help the poor Old Humans of Alsace-Lorraine.

They must have grown fond of the place from living there for quite a while, but I’ll tell them not to go and live in such a crazy land again. If the Imperial government blocks migrating to Berlin, let’s all defect to Austria together. That’s what I’ll say. It’s been a long time since I stepped down from the Undersecretary position, and I have money to spare. If I could avoid driving my children into the danger of war, I was confident I could immediately leave for America.

Yes. America would be better. It’s freer there, and as long as the British Empire stays put, there are no particular neighboring countries to fight with.

“Tomorrow is the New Year.”

“Yes.”

“After a long time, I’ll be able to greet the New Year’s morning with my children.”

“……”

Perhaps realizing my words were like a spell I was casting on myself, no one answered.

After a while, someone broke the silence and opened their mouth.

“Yes. You will be able to.”

That number of casualties is proof. The French are still insufficient to avenge their defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.

Regardless of the sense of relief, perhaps because I had worried for a long time at my old age, my head was throbbing.

I had to take a nap for a while and wake up, as advised by my physician.

When I woke up, it was already nearly 10 AM. I called a servant and asked.

“What’s the casualty status? It was updated every two hours, so one must have come out at 9. Yes, have any letters arrived from the children?”

“……”

I took my arm, which had been pressing my eyes, away and slowly raised my head.

“Hey.”

“Nothing has come out yet. But…”

I shot up from my seat.

Only now did the gray paper in his hand catch my eye.

The moment I snatched it, I saw French. Everything except the numbers was written in French. I meticulously interpreted the text, careful not to misread even a single letter.

The Third French Empire’s….

“……”

[Decisive Victory for the Third French Empire: Advance into the Lorraine Region Following the Recapture of South Alsace and North Alsace]

“…Lorraine?”

Did I read it wrong?

Lorraine. Lothringen. Lorraine? As I muttered like a madman, the servant reluctantly opened his mouth.

“It’s a newspaper published by the French Imperial Newspaper 30 minutes ago. Your friend came in a hurry to deliver it…”

The servant couldn’t continue and trailed off.

‘What is this?’

Clearly, Prussia said they had dealt with half of the French army in South Alsace and blocked their advance. But when did they reach Lorraine, passing through North Alsace?

I tried to read the main text with eyes that were shaking like crazy. It wouldn’t work as I wanted. I resented my French skills, which had stopped at the Gymnasium level.

In my haste, I persistently stared at the part with numbers. I could read it haltingly.

[French casualties total 10, all with minor injuries…]

“……”

“Master.”

“Clearly…”

Clearly, just now the Imperial Army said they had eliminated half of the French forces…

I slowly leaned my body against the bed. My vision spun.

“……”

No, it must be false propaganda from those frog-eaters. It must be a strategy to lower our army’s morale. Of course, that must be it.

But why haven’t I received even a single reply from my children? Why aren’t our military statistics coming out anymore?

‘The Empire.’

I opened my eyes before a conclusion I had never thought of, no, never wanted to imagine.

What if the Empire made a false report?

“……”

Our proud German Empire and Prussia and the Hohenzollern Imperial Family told the subjects a bold lie.

Why didn’t I suspect it? Why had I never once doubted the nearly stagnant number of injured, the fantastical ‘0 deceased’? It’s only natural that such an absurd figure couldn’t occur.

I was stupid. My hope destroyed the most natural suspicion.

A deafening roar, as if my ears were tearing, was heard.

When I opened my eyes again, my friend was sitting beside me.

“Are you alright?”

“……”

“That was a foolish question.”

My friend sighed heavily and opened his mouth.

“Listen carefully, Marco. This absolutely does not mean that something has already happened to your children. Understood? What I am about to tell you is merely statistics, and it is not information approved by His Imperial Majesty.”

Emperor’s approval? Such a thing couldn’t possibly be credible now.

“France has already planted its flag in the capital of Lorraine. We don’t know how many casualties there were in Lorraine. But in Alsace… Haa… I wonder if I should even tell you this…”

“Tell me!”

A shout I had never heard before came from my throat.

My friend said with a sorrowful face.

“Those bastards killed all the mainland Germans as they came through Alsace.”

“……”

Information from the intelligence department, not yet reported, but over 300 deaths counted on our side, the rumor that France had sharpened its sword to avenge the Franco-Prussian War defeat, was heard.

Someone grabbed my back and neck.

‘No.’

No.

This might not be a dream, but I still don’t know what happened to Lorraine. My children in Lorraine might still be alive.

“I don’t think so either, but you should prepare yourself slowly first…”

“This is French propaganda.”

“…I just heard this from the Prussian intelligence department. His Majesty’s approval hasn’t come yet, but…”

“It’s still unknown. There’s no way my children are gone like that.”

“You’re calling mages over 30 years old children. Well, to us who are nearing 100, they are still young, I suppose.”

“Yes.”

“……”

“So, it can’t end like this. It’s against nature. For a child to leave before their parent.”

“Everything in our lives is against nature, Marco.”

“……”

“Is your eldest daughter in her early 30s? Even if she’s still young, at that age, she should gradually be able to accept her fate…”

“What on earth are you trying to say in front of me?!”

With a roar, the side table I slammed my fist on shattered.

Magic Power surged and flowed out from every opening on his face. Blood vessels burst. His vision became heavily distorted, repeatedly turning black then red. Lines of strong contrast were drawn, and the world shattered into fragments. This cannot be happening. The Empire said that Alsace-Lorraine was safe from France for 10 years now, and said it was safe… We, the German Second Empire, solemnly swear to protect our territory and you, our subjects, against ———. Meine Untertanen… My subjects, Kaiser Friedrich and? The Empire will, as always, be victorious.

Squeal— Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Kwaang—!

.batztejtrhafnegnirhtoLhcanguZreD .ba tztej trhaf negnirhtoL hcan guZ reD .ba tztej trhaf negnirhtoL hcan guZ reD….

Chiiiik—

The sound of a steam locomotive hits my ears.

I opened my eyes. A bright white light pierced my optic nerves.

“It must be hard to believe.”

I, no, Marco, looked down at his feet.

A large coffin wrapped in the Prussian flag.

No, is this a coffin? This is a box.

[Why did you report lies to the subjects?! All 353 who died were civilians!]

“I believe words cannot express your grief at losing your children.”

[Yes… to explain… All approximately 300 mainland Imperial citizens were mages and fall under the Empire’s reserve force, so they were included in the combatant statistics, not the civilian statistics. Our government has never released data on combatant statistics to the public, and the number of casualties written in the statistics you, our subjects, received is strictly limited to civilians, I must inform you.]

[I understand that a mobilization order for the reserves was not issued until the moment Lorraine was occupied. There are doubts in some quarters that leaving the subjects of Alsace-Lorraine as they were was not a military strategy…]

[I can answer, but you should know that this question is highly suggestive of treason.]

“……”

“Excellency Marco Schreiber, as a subject of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Friedrich, the noble blood shed by your children defended the Alsace-Lorraine region from the wicked Third French Empire. Our Empire owes a great debt to their sacrifice.”

[We have lost 353 loyal subjects of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Friedrich, members of our proud Empire. We will not forget their sacrifice and loyalty in defending Alsace-Lorraine for the Empire.]

Voices from who knows where continuously overlapped and were heard.

The train did not return.

“Do you regret it greatly?”

A strange voice, not that of a man, woman, New Human, child, old person, young person, or anything. It sounded as if several voices were mixed together.

Marco turned his head.

Sunlight reached the back of his brain. He turned his head, but the person wasn’t at eye level.

“Mr. Marco Schreiber. The former Undersecretary of Magic and a loyal confidant of His Imperial Majesty. You sent your children to the border region for His Majesty’s territorial expansion, and you’ve received such a price, so you must feel quite unwell.”

“……”

“There’s no way to bring back the train that has already left for Lorraine, but there is a way to make amends. What do you say?”

Marco’s gaze slowly lowered.

A small child, whose height barely reached his chest, smiled with terrifyingly bright golden eyes.

“With just a handful of your blood, you can turn everything back.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep