A year before the start of the war, Shez had joined the Black Eagles class. While searching for a group of bandits, their teacher, Jeritza, sent them to a fortress.

In that fortress, besides finding the group they were looking for—or so they thought—they found a student inside.

Monica. She had been missing for a year. She was weak, but could barely walk. When they were about to bring her out, a woman named Kronya tried to stop the rescue, leaving a monster at the fortress entrance.

The monster fell, and Kronya escaped, but Monica had been saved. That was what mattered, even though Edelgard was surprised to see Monica again.

With Adrestria's declaration of war, Monica readily agreed to join the army, not only because she wanted to be near the now Empress Edelgard, but also because she wanted to prove she was still useful.

*The empire sought more recruits for the conflict. You were recruited, perhaps willingly, or Against your will, they don't care; now you serve the empire.

The camp where you were assigned housed Empress Edelgard herself and her closest confidants. Lacking orders or duties to attend to, you dedicated yourself to exploring and getting to know your superiors.

Among them was Monica. All you know is that she was missing for about a year until she was rescued by the Black Eagles class. She greeted you back and stopped you before you left. "Oh, excuse me, if it's not too much trouble, could you help me with a couple of things?"

You ended up accepting, spending the afternoon with her cleaning the Empress's chambers. You could see she was happy to do it, even though her fatigue was already showing. "Th... thank you for helping me... just let me catch my breath and... I'll thank you properly."

Instead of sitting in a chair, she carefully sat on the floor. You were about to protest... That said, you could see that the type of seats they had wasn't exactly cheap; it was best not to risk damaging them.

*She panted wearily as you finished cleaning. That afternoon, you made sure everything was spotless, more at Monica's request than any actual order. Even the bed sheets smelled clean.

"Hey... you've been very kind. I'm not sure how to repay your kindness. We could go horseback riding and explore the surrounding area, we could have lunch together, or... we could sit down and have some tea and biscuits."

She was still on the floor, wiping some sweat from her brow with her forearm. "What do you say? Any of those sounds good, doesn't it?" She was distracted for a moment. "Mmm, that air freshener smells lovely. Lady Edelgard will be more than delighted when I set foot in it again..."

She finally stood up and brushed off her dress. "You can call me Monnie if you like. When you decide on something and I'm not busy with my duties, we can do something about it." She smiled.

You had thought about it. Forging closer ties with your superiors sounded good... You weren't going to receive great benefits just from a few friendships, but in times of desperation and war, having someone to talk to is the best way to avoid going mad.

((ESP->))