Chapter 183: Echoes of the Past
All right? Shiao Yi thought, biting back a groan. Did this man really have no intention of doing the work himself?
"If only everyone turned in their paperwork as quickly and neatly as Dominic’s unit does. Everywhere else, you’ve got to chase them constantly before they’ll hand in anything," Commander Johan added with a laugh.
That’s because I’m the one who writes Dominic’s reports... Shiao Yi muttered inwardly.
Commander Johan was clearly the same type as Dominic.
In other words, he’s a man who excelled in combat and bold action but was hopeless when it came to paperwork. He was the kind of knight who wanted to avoid clerical work at all costs.
It seemed knights, as a whole, leaned toward being outdoorsmen—if not outright muscle-heads.
While Shiao Yi quietly worked through the endless pile of documents in the corner of the office, the bored commander kept trying to talk to him about this and that.
If the commander had that much free time, then he could at least write one document himself.
Shiao Yi wished he would stop distracting him when he was trying to focus.
Where was Nina, the aide? If only she would come back soon and deal with this noisy, meddlesome old man.
Better yet, someone should just take him away somewhere—that would make the work go much faster.
"Lately, meetings have been getting more and more boring, you know?" the commander complained.
Ignore him, ignore him, Shiao Yi told himself.
"And what’s with that? General Gabrant has no energy these days. I’ve never seen the man look so deflated before. Honestly, my only fun during meetings was watching Gabrant and Quintus snap and snarl at each other for no reason. But now? There’s nothing. Meetings are nothing but reading reports, repeating pointless responses over and over. Makes me sleepy. But if I fall asleep, they glare at me."
General Gabrant... has no energy? Shiao Yi thought with concern.
"Yeah, the general looks so down. No spirit at all. Like he’s aged all of a sudden. Even Quintus seems hesitant now. Since those two stopped clashing, the meetings have been so quiet and incredibly dull."
Shiao Yi felt a sharp ache in his chest. Was General Gabrant’s loss of energy because of him and Dominic? But also—what exactly was this commander expecting from a meeting?
"Hey, hey, Shiao Yi," the commander leaned in. "Is it true that Dominic ran away from home? I heard he left the house with his lover, the one the general was dead set against."
Damn! Shiao Yi froze. So the rumor had spread that far already? Even to the knight commander?
It seemed they didn’t know the details, but for Shiao Yi, who was right in the middle of it all, the subject was complicated. He didn’t even know what expression to put on his face, so he chose to focus harder on his work instead.
Ah—here, the balance sheet doesn’t match the receipts. The amounts don’t line up at all. What a mess. And no receipt for this section either.
"Well, that father and son pair are completely cold to each other now," the commander went on. "Gabrant wasn’t always like that, though."
His expression turned distant, as though he was thinking of the past. Ah, this was going to turn into a long story, Shiao Yi realized.
"Back in the old days, things were good. We were all young. Gabrant and I got into plenty of reckless messes together. Even Quintus was just a fresh young officer back then. He was cute, you know? Now? You’d never guess it. He turned into such a mouthy, noisy old man."
Shiao Yi thought it was probably a good thing he wasn’t from their generation. Otherwise, he’d have been dragged into their wild antics. Maybe Lord Quintus really had been through a lot. He felt a bit of sympathy for the man.
"I think Gabrant started to change around the time he married Princess Ashe. She was dazzlingly beautiful, the kind of princess that all knights dreamed of. Everyone envied him. Gabrant looked so happy back then."
Shiao Yi’s hand twitched, his pen pausing mid-line. Princess Ashe—that was Dominic’s mother, wasn’t it?
"The wedding was so magnificent," the commander went on. "Gabrant had just returned from one victory after another. The king at the time even gave him the title of Great General, praising his achievements. His Majesty trusted him deeply. So of course, he gave him his precious daughter, the princess he adored beyond words. I was there, you know, at the ceremony. All the important ministers, generals, and nobles attended. It was splendid. Gabrant looked happier than anyone in the world. And Princess Ashe looked so joyful, too."
While the commander was lost in his nostalgic memories, Shiao Yi suddenly asked him a question.
"Wasn’t their marriage without love? Didn’t Lady Ashe dislike General Gabrant?"
Commander Johan looked startled.
"Dislike him? No, I don’t believe that. It was the former king, remember? If Lady Ashe had said no, he would never have forced her into marriage, no matter how much he favored the general. He adored her too much. We all believed it was because Lady Ashe herself chose Gabrant. He was a handsome, dignified general after all. We thought they were in love, that it was a happy marriage. Of course, there were rumors here and there, but I never thought they could be true."
"Rumors?" Shiao Yi asked.
"Yes. That Lady Ashe had left the mansion, or that she wasn’t getting along with the general. But I thought it was just because Gabrant was away so often on campaigns and didn’t like leaving her alone in the capital. I figured he kept her safe in his own domain, away from society, because of how much he loved her. He didn’t even let her attend social gatherings. That sounds more like passionate love than hatred, don’t you think? Or am I wrong?"
Shiao Yi couldn’t answer. He was struck by how differently people could see the same situation.