Reboot Sienna

Hain seemed relieved only after getting Sienna’s assurance.

“Your Royal Highness, you need to get your hair done again.”

“Huh?”

“You have to brush your hair well because your clothes are a mess. It’s been a really long time since you’ve seen your prince.”

“Uh-huh…”

Sienna’s cheeks blushed like peaches.

She was both surprised and relieved by the order to go to the front. At the palace, it was hard to hear from Carl, so she wanted to see him with her own eyes and make sure he was safe.

“Is this outfit that ugly?”

Sienna asked Hain carefully.

“It’s not that ugly, but it’s not feminine. It’s too rough. Do you want a brooch?”

Hain put on Sienna’s chest a brooch with jewels embedded and embroidered gold thread around it.

“It’s better than before. If you do your hair well, you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t have been able to keep the dress properly anyway, but I think I should have brought at least one dress secretly. I wasn’t clever.”

“No, forget it. But more than that, what should I do with my hair? Do you think it’s better to put it up or down?”

Sienna said she was okay, but she was concerned about her appearance. On the other hand, she thought there was no point in looking good to him, but she still wanted to show him only good things. Contradictory, but that was her mind.

*

The carriage arrived at the barracks. The tents were lined up in large plains, and soldiers were busily coming and going between them. It was only after checking the party that the carriage could enter the camp.

As soon as Sienna got off the wagon, she found Carl first. It was not until she saw Carl standing with the knights that she felt relieved. He looked healthy.

“Long time no see.”

“Why on earth are you here?”

As soon as Carl saw Sienna, he suddenly got angry. She was happy to see him, but soon she got upset by his reaction. Hiding her true mind, she said in a pained voice, “Coming here was not my will. It was an imperial command so I had to follow it.”

“Foolish! You always pretended to be smart. Why didn’t you drag it on, saying you couldn’t go to dangerous places, or you needed a lot of preparation to go far away?”

“I guess I was really stupid. I didn’t think about that.”

Sienna said, drawing a sour glance. As the atmosphere became tense, a gentle-looking knight appeared next to Carl.

“Your Highness, don’t be too angry. His Royal Highness is worried too. When he heard that your Majesty was coming, he couldn’t sleep well.”

“Pavenik! Get out of the way if you’re going to talk nonsense.”

“It’s true. Those on night watch complained about not being able to sleep because you did not sleep and went around the camp all night. They were saying why they have to stay nervous when there have been enough sleepless nights.”

When Carl was about to say something, Pavenik opened his mouth again.

“Your Royal Highness must be tired of your journey here, so why don’t you share your regrets in the prince’s barracks? I will show the Phoenix Knights where to stay.”

He closed his eyes and showed a manly smile. Carl turned his back and said, “Follow me.”

Sienna walked along with Carl, who turned heartlessly. It must have rained a few days ago—the ground was muddy. Looking at the mud clinging to the soles of her feet, she felt fortunate not to wear a dress. But as Carl strode away, it was too tough to follow.

“Could you walk a little slow… Argh!”

As soon as her foot was stuck in the mud and was about to fall forward, Carl turned around and held her.

“You can’t even walk properly.”

“That’s because you walked too fast and I had to run after you.”

He grabbed Sienna by the waist and reached out his hand to help her get her feet out. Sienna alternated between Carl’s hand and his face. She looked like he didn’t understand what the hand meant.

“I’m afraid you’ll fall again and blame me. It’s my fault to have a foolish wife who can’t even walk properly.”

There was a playful smile on Carl’s face. She refused because she felt teased.

“I can walk alone.”

“You’re being stubborn for nothing.”

He held her hand and said firmly in a resonant voice.

“You may be fine, but I’m not fine. So why don’t we walk like this?”

Carl walked holding Sienna’s hand. He also slowed down his pace to make it easier to walk with her.

Walking in step with him, she felt a little relieved. His reaction to why she came was certainly hurting. She was so happy to be able to come to see him because she was worried about his safety. But when he scolded her for coming all the way here, she felt like a fool.

Still, she felt his warmth in his hands and thought what Pavenik said earlier about Carl being anxious might be right.

‘To my surprise, he could be affectionate.’

Considering the fact that he asked for reinforcements saying the situation on the frontline was fierce, the atmosphere of the camp seemed to be good. There were not many wounded soldiers and no signs of fighting. Rather than being at the barracks, it was closer to the training camp.

Sienna wanted to ask about him, but she didn’t open her mouth. She didn’t want to break this moment when she walked hand-in-hand with him.

The barracks where Carl stayed were located in the middle of the barracks. Although she thought his barrack would stand out for housing the head of the division, it was no different in size or shape from other barracks.

The barracks were constructed with wooden pillars in all directions and poles in the middle to surround the tent. Standing close to the barracks, a soldier guarding the front lifted the tent to make it easier for two people to enter.

It was warm in the barracks. The iron pot in the middle was filled with hot charcoal, which controlled the temperature. There was a desk with maps and books and a table with two simple beds next to it. One of the beds seemed to have been added at the news of the princess’ coming.

“The barracks are designed as practical as possible for mobility, but if you want anything, you can get it from a soldier.”

“It’s okay. We’re at war and I don’t want to take the soldiers’ time away for useless things.”

Sienna sat on a bed that was as simple as a table.

“It’s stronger than I thought. I don’t think it’ll be uncomfortable to use.”

It seemed hard and cold, but she didn’t want to complain about the cushion of the bed.

“Now that I am here, the atmosphere at the barracks was better than I thought. I heard in the capital city that the war against Castro is fierce. Were there any battles today?”

Only

Carl said, sitting on the camp bed opposite her.

“Even if you are at war, it doesn’t mean there’s a battle every day. The front is actually pretty far from here.”

“I see.”

“And we’re deliberately telling the capital that the war isn’t in our favor.”

“How come?”

“The nobles in the capital have no war experience. They forget that the people who are fighting here are humans. They consider war too lightly because they only judge by the numbers in the documents. So I have no choice but to remind them. You can’t bring them directly to the battlefield, but it’ll bother them because the cost of sending soldiers comes out of their pockets. It’s also a way to eat away their interests.”

Sienna nodded. She herself heard about the horrors of war, but she was not interested in how the war was going on.