A High-Ranking One

Aside from being apart from Daisy and the fact that he was in the den of the enemy where he was likely passing some of the people involved in his family's murders every day, Rukelion didn't mind being in the army much. He had simply switched from one daily routine to another.

Downtime was the worst because he didn't have anything he wanted to do. He spent his first week exploring the compound and trying to get more of a feel for the place since that information might come in handy later but not much else.

He couldn't joke around with the young men in his squad considering what he was here for. He was polite to them but would go no further. It didn't seem likely he would be able to get any of them on his side at this point anyway. He needed a situation that bred loyalty, such as the chance to save someone's life, to make that happen.

On his first day off, he went out with most of them to town simply to look around. He couldn't buy anything since he hadn't been paid yet but he wanted to know the general layout of the capital.

It was then that he spotted it in a jewelry store. A silver ring with flowers and leaves carved onto the surface. He knew instantly that he had to get that ring for Daisy.

The problem was that it cost six gold coins. Who knew how long it would take him to save up that much of his wages while still sending money home so she could hire more farmhands? He knew it wasn't practical but he also knew that he was going to buy her that ring or one just like it the moment he could afford it.

They may be playing at being engaged right now but having physical proof of it would help keep people from bothering her more effectively. Plus he was certain she would love it. She had made flower rings for herself on multiple occasions.

Rukelion received his first letter from Daisy before he managed to get paid for his first month of work. It was incredibly long with pages filled front and back with tiny writing. He couldn't help but grin when he saw it and a few of his squad members stared on in shock.

"He can smile?!"

"Must be a letter from his fiancée."

"I wouldn't bother him about it if I were you. You know he can thrash everyone in the squad. The only reason he's here instead of Black Dragon or Golden Eagle is because they didn't have the space."

The last one to speak was Conrad, who had been beaten in two seconds flat on their first day of training and had been afraid to go up against Rukelion since. A wise decision on his part.

The small crowd dispersed after that and Rukelion was able to read his deliciously long letter in peace. It felt like he was hearing Daisy speak to him. He could even imagine her facial expressions depending on the tone of the writing.

He frequently found himself laughing throughout the letter and hugged the bundle of parchment to his chest like the precious treasure it was when he finished. Oh, he had missed her!

He still did of course. The letter had somehow both alleviated his homesickness and made it worse. The reminder that life was going on for her there while he was stuck here trying to fulfil his revenge wasn't a pleasant one but he had come too far to back down now.

After being here a while, Rukelion realized something. His only chance of making it to the palace was becoming an officer. A high-ranking one. How exactly was he supposed to manage that?!

He wanted to believe there was another way but at this point it didn't seem likely. Officers had more freedom than regular soldiers to leave headquarters but they still weren't able to go to the palace unless they were invited along by a higher-ranking officer.

What he really needed was a war where he could prove himself. But he couldn't exactly spark one from here.

Rukelion had been watching the inner workings of the military. Training instructors, officers, clerks, cooks, medics, and other people who helped handle the inner workings of the compound were older adults. Those in the squadrons were in their teens or twenties with few exceptions.

Some squads had married men in them but they didn't have to live in the barracks. They were allowed to live in town with their families like the higher-ranking officers and other adult workers as long as they followed their schedules.

It made a strange sort of sense that most of the people in the squadrons were so young. From what he had seen, people tended to come here hoping for a better life for their families rather than because they were patriotic. Once they had served the required number of years, they took their pensions and used them to set up businesses that didn't involve running themselves ragged as they got older.

The higher-ranking officers were the few who decided to make actual careers out of the military. By asking around a bit, he was able to discover on average how many years it took to gain such ranks. Soldiers loved to gossip.

The answers were discouraging, which was why he had come to the conclusion he needed there to be a war. The only way soldiers became officers without putting in years and years of dedication was under special circumstances involving acts of valor. You couldn't exactly show valor when sticking to a rigid, relatively safe routine like he was now.

Rukelion sighed. Maybe this had been a bad idea from the start. It might have been better to become a low-level palace worker instead of joining the military. But then he wouldn't have any chance to find himself allies.

Yet another reason he needed a war. Dangerous situations like that bred loyalty. All he needed to do was save a few key lives and he would be golden.

He really didn't want to be stuck here for more than a decade. How would he survive that long without seeing Daisy? It had only been a few weeks since he had seen her and sometimes he missed her so much he almost couldn't breathe.

Rolling over, he found something flat to write on and began penning her a letter back.

'Dear Daisy,

'I really needed to read your letters today so thank you. I could practically hear your voice as I did and it made me terribly homesick but made me happy at the same time. I wish I was there harvesting tomatoes with you and juggling them to make you laugh.

'Things are rather dull and repetitive here. My squadron members aren't so bad though. Apparently things are worse in the ones made up of lower-ranking soldiers since they're all competing with each other more. Around here we're closer to the same level.

'No one has been able to beat me, though the Captain came close once. He wasn't very happy about not managing to do it because the Lieutenant cracked up over his failure. From what I understand, those two are close friends who grew up together and somehow ended up in the same squadron.

'No one else here is quite that chummy. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm not close with anyone and I already endure more than enough teasing. At least people are starting to realize when to back off so I don't destroy them on the practice field.

'Based on my level I should be in a more elite squadron than I am but there weren't any openings. The one I'm in still isn't bad though. We're all third-rank soldiers or above but there are a few squadrons above us with higher rankings.

'Golden Eagle is made up entirely of first rank soldiers and their captain is supposedly undefeated. Then again, so am I. At least here in the army. Obviously I lost a lot when I was still learning.

'I swear I had a point to this…Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't send any money back as I haven't been paid yet. I'm sure it will happen soon and you'll be able to receive the money with my next letter. Good luck with the vegetables! (And the pigs.)

'Love, Leo'

Rukelion took the letter to the clerk in the main building in charge of the mail and had him seal it so it could be sent off as soon as possible. He felt a little guilty that Daisy had written so much while he replied with so little but he honestly hadn't known what to say. He didn't want to go into extensive detail about what his infiltration mission was like since she didn't know it was one.

He also wasn't very good with words and never had been. He always spent more time listening to her and bouncing off of what she said than speaking on his own anyway.

This was partly because he had so much to hide and partly because that was simply his personality. He was the quietest and most contemplative of his siblings before everything went down and that hadn't changed after losing them. If anything, it was exacerbated.

Hopefully Daisy would like the letter despite how short it was. If nothing else, he wanted it to put a smile on her face the way her letter had for him.