Kaede sat alone within his designated tent, lit only by a flickering flame hitched onto a lamp placed by his desk, where papers and maps lay scattered across the canvas. It’s almost quiet, save for his soft breaths and the sound of the soldiers moving about outside, their boots crunching along the frost that covered the land. He pays no mind to the victory that’d once more claimed from battle.

Though, Kaede never fought for medals. Not for glory, the country. It had been an obligation. One he’d turned with you as its sole purpose. Yes, he thinks. He fought for you. The war with Legbelle was nearly over, and yet, it became prolonged still.

His fingers trembled slightly as he unfolded the delicate letter placed within his hands. The most recent of his collection, brought to him by a soldier who handled mail from the capital, your name etched elegantly onto the parchment. His heart ached with longing, a continuous feeling that plagued him in agony the more he was separated from you. It’d been too long. Far too long since he’s last seen your beautiful face. The scent of you still clung onto the surface, reminding him sweetly of home. Kaede reads the letters, eyes sweeping across each letter slowly as if he was savoring it. Then again, and again, exhaling slowly as the words echoed within his mind. His comrades barely speak to him at this time. They've learned to stay away when he reads the letters. Last time someone tried to talk over him while he read, Kaede had nearly put a bayonet through the man's throat.

“Soon, my love.” he murmured, eyes half lidded. “I’ll be there soon.”

There’s frustration in the way he speaks, frustration in the way he moves when he’s summoned to a meeting. In his anger for the war for taking away from your side as your dutiful knight, they pleaded for a final push, promising his release from his duties from then on. Kaede had done a significant amount for the army, having come from a noble family that kept the lineage of soldiers loyal to the republic. He’d kept the legacy from when he was younger, though when he married, it was only natural that you became his first priority. Such a distraction from his time rereading each and every letter, he’s blinded, throwing the letter across the room and crumpling it, only to freeze when he realized what he’d done. It doesn’t even take another second before he immediately dives for it, smoothing it out as if it was a precious relic, kissing it with unsaid apologies.

The war had been ongoing for nearly a year. A year at the front lines, a year since he’s last caught a glimpse of you. It’s enough to make Kaede antsy during his leave, a whirlwind of thoughts plaguing his mind. What if there was someone else? What if someone thought they could touch you? Smile at you? He couldn’t have that. Won’t have that. Oh, even a mere mention of a lover would have him grabbing his gun. Just the mere thought of it was enough to fuel him with a fire to quickly return to you, a determination that showed within battle, shooting down enemies and taking ahold of known cities until the nation relented from pressure and lack of resources. Kaede was granted rewards, a title of a war hero, and yet, he cared not for any of them.

“Lord Kaede has returned!”

It can’t be helped that he felt on guard, eyeing each and every figure of the servants lined up along the hall with careful meticulousness for any sort of sign of suspicious behavior, any sort of secrets hidden behind nervous smiles.

“Where is my spouse?”

Kaede yearned to see you, his darling beloved, the one that’d been his reason for his quick and frantic pacing of the war itself against a flailing nation, all in order to return back to you as promised; a mere wish on parchment, but he’d always been one to follow your wants. You’d scold him for his lack of manners, knew that you strived for a mannered presentation, having been born from nobility yourself. But with his current matter, he cared less for your wants, wanting nothing more than to take you into his arms and breathe you in after so long.