Chapter 33 - Struggles of Ones Heart

- 1.5km East from Hornets' Nest, nearby woods –

- 1125hrs, local time –

 The calm breeze rustled through the gentle, yet dense, woods. The clear blue skies attempted to shine through the lush treetops which are filled with various trees that are different from the ones on Earth yet similar in such green scenery. However, underneath said lush woods, a bunch of armed men are trying to find cover between bushes and the trees. Some of them were screaming as they feared the training bullets whizzing above and beside their heads and how they didn't know where the shots were coming from. One of them covered their heads with both of her hands beside the bushes she was hiding in, while her leader who was hiding behind a tree looked confused as well. Even if he tried to peek, a near-precise shot would hit the tree he was covering behind, putting the pressure even further on them.

"Captain! What do we do?! I can't see where they're shooting from!" exclaimed the girl in armour. She tried again using the gadget that was handed to them as a form of alliance between nations, trying to scan the surroundings with the thermal camera mounted on her helmet but to no avail. She could barely see any of their opposition. "Even this heat-detecting equipment could not detect them! Should we retreat?!!"

"Even if we retreat, where should we go?! When our heads slightly out of our cover they'd immediately fire at us!"

Knowing the dire situation, the girl told her comrade beside her to help her chant a stone wall wide enough to cover their retreat. The two then quickly cast a spell to conjure a stone wall and she exclaimed in a hurry, "Everyone! Fall back! We're going to get surrounded if we stay here!"

All of them agreed and even their captain, falling back near to where they started their simulated combat training. They're low on morale as they'd never expect out of twenty that were in their group, only six remaining. Most of them started to know the fear of getting shot and dying, even if they were using paint rounds.

"Damnit! How did it become like this!"

- Hornets' Nest's Training Command Center, Ops room –

- 30 minutes earlier –

"Ohh!!! The Harpy recon team was completely shot down from the skies!! How would the Trainees react to this?! It seemed that they weren't prepared for anti-air tactics! Will they keep the numerical advantage? Let's find out!"

The news of a platoon of twenty Apollyon regulars being tested personally by ABEL's top operatives spread like wildfire. Jeanne, who took the opportunity, started streaming their training by using drones and UAVs and commenting on the training as if it were a World Cup football match. Currently inside the Operation room, aside from Jeanne commentating on the training, the Marquis and the curious princess and prince were also present, invested in how the battle unfolds. Aurora, in particular, was transfixed—her eyes following how Jaeger gradually shifted the battle's balance, each move confirming his efficiency.

"So, this is how Jaeger fights… It seemed very… efficient" Aurora's awestruck expression didn't go unnoticed by Jeanne, who added as she looked behind her left shoulder, "This is just the surface of it, aside from being efficient, he's much more cunning and ruthless than you'd think"

Aside from them being lively about the training, the Ops room was cluttered with scattered electronics—Jeanne and her engineering team hadn't yet fully assembled all the command systems. Fortunately, the air conditioners were running, keeping the room surprisingly comfortable in the midst of the jam-packed room.

Jeanne then kept on commenting cheerfully as there were movements from the participants, "Oh! Looks like Jaeger's team is advancing! From the looks of it, one of 'em stayed behind! Your Highness Prince Conrad, what are your comments on this turn of events?"

Conrad, who was unaware due to how he was immersed, suddenly had a mic being shoved near his mouth by her and was offered a seat beside Jeanne. The prince got confused and stumbled around his words. "I uhm… wouldn't- I mean, I have no idea how this since I am quite not sure about the difference in style of combat much."

"Excuse for my rudeness but aren't you also being taught… ya know…art of war?"

Conrad chuckles, "No need to be too formal, a family of my friend is also a friend of mine. Also… yeaaaa… about that…" he nervously looked away as he chuckled awkwardly. The crowd around let out a burst of small laughter, including Jordan. "Maybe you should've not skipped those classes, your highness," said Jordan.

As the live feed continued, the energy on stream surged as Jaeger's team slowly chipped away the trainee's numerical advantage throughout the combat training, by splitting their team into a backline recon using infantry deployable drones while the remaining three went on the assault in an arrowhead formation while utilizing optical-thermal camouflage. The trainees, inexperienced in real combat, were quickly overwhelmed by the coordinated tactics. After thirty minutes of engagement, Jaeger's team tried to chase the remaining trainees down and now only the girl who had initiated the retreat and her comrade that helped her earlier remained.

Back on the battlefield, exhaustion etched on their faces, the girl and her friend darted between trees and underbrush, desperate to secure cover and outflank the enemy. But to no avail, they were getting pressed back way too much. "Darn it… should we just surrender?" asked the man.

His heavily breathing friend looked at him while she wiped a drench of sweat from her nape, calming down. "we're very much out of options, aren't we?". He nodded in reply, and he received a sigh of defeat from the girl instead. She then grabbed a white cloth out from one of her pouches and tied it to her rifle which her comrade followed suit. But as they were about to surrender, one of Jaeger's teammates appeared out of nowhere as he disabled his optical camouflage, pointing a rifle at them and noticing the white flag on their rifle.

"Oh, you guys were about to surrender?" the two nodded in unison, Then, breaking the tension, the mercenary exclaimed, "HELL YEAH!! I GOT THE MOST CONFIRMED KILLS! Time to grab that seventy-year-old wine!"

As he was gleefully cheered, the others also disabled their optical camouflage as well, along with Jaeger who shook his head in amusement, "You guys seriously will do anything if it's a bet huh…" he quipped.

"Hell f**king yeah we do!" Jaeger's teammates roared in unison, lifting their rifles into the air. Cheers of "Free drinks!" echoed as they made their way back to base, their voices gradually fading into the distance. Left behind along with the two trainees, Jaeger turned to them and extended his hand. "Shall we go?"

The two hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances, but eventually accepted his offer. With a firm grip, Jaeger helped them stand up, they brushed off the dirt off their armour and clothes after. "Impressive. The fact that you both held out this long means you've got solid instincts—something you'll need to survive in combat."

The trainees blinked, taken aback by the unexpected praise. The girl hesitated before replying, "Y-your words are much appreciated, sire… but—"

"Losing is part of learning as well, you'll get better later" Jaeger patted her shoulder, giving a subtle reassuring smile underneath his serious stare. "Again, holding out this long is very impressive…. Say, what are your names?"

The girl removed her helmet, letting her shoulder-length brown hair fall naturally, a hairpin securing the left side of her bangs. "Katherine," she said, standing a little straighter. "A knight in training." Jaeger's gaze briefly scanned her posture, armour, and build, mentally noting that she seemed around sixteen or seventeen.

Her companion followed suit, removing his helmet and running a hand through his short hair, pushing his bangs back. "Edgar," he introduced himself. "Knight in training as well—but two batches ahead of Katherine, in a sense, I'm her senior."

"Nice to meet you both, and oh… That reminds me, do you want a recommendation on special operation training? Kind of a waste of talent for you both to be stuck with regular training. I thought about it as we do this quote on quote, combat exercise"

Again, the two exchanged glances, not knowing what he meant, "Special operation? What is that? A different form of unit?" Katherine remarked. He knew the kingdom had a shadow unit operating directly under the king, but the fact that these two had never even heard of them was surprising. "I'll explain along the way" he added and guided them back to the FOB.

Their walk back to the FOB was filled with conversation, the young knights peppering him with questions about the world of covert operations. Now and then, they commented on how such tactics seemed dishonourable, a sentiment Jaeger expected. He didn't mind their opinions—they always have a different kind of warfare. By the time they neared the base, the initial stiffness between them had faded. Whether they realized it or not, they started to respect him.

"So in a sense… Special Operation is like reconnaissance but we're tasked with doing specific things instead? Am I right?" said Kathrine, trying to grasp the explanation, on which she received a chuckle from Jaeger, "Not entirely wrong, but not quite right either. Special operations require absolute secrecy. More than just gathering intelligence, you'll be tasked with high-risk missions where failure isn't an option."

The two nodded, absorbing the information thoroughly. Curiosity sparked in their eyes as they exchanged glances before turning back to Jaeger. "So… what exactly does special operations training involve?" Katherine asked. "Is it different from our knight training?"

Jaeger smirked. "Different? Oh ho ho~ absolutely. It's gruelling as hell."

Edgar raised an eyebrow. "How… gruelling, exactly?"

"Well, for starters, you'll be running for hours on end with gear heavier than what you're wearing now. You'll train in complete darkness, be forced to go without sleep for days even and push past exhaustion until your body feels like it's breaking apart. OH! And there's this thing where you need to train to swim while being handcuffed, that's one of the fun parts. My favourite part of the training is being tossed out of an aircraft and forced to swim back to shore with my legs tied. Just for you to reign supreme during operations far away behind enemy lines to kill anything like..." He paused, pointing at his head with his index finger, "their strategical defensive weak point, their logistics, their chain of command or even the leader themselves."

Katherine blinked, utterly surprised. "That… sounds excessive." While beside her, Edgar swallowed hard. "You're joking… right?"

Jaeger smirked, "do you think I'm joking about it? I mean… c'mon guys, I bloody beat your asses out, didn't I?"

The two knights looked at each other, both dumbfounded and slightly intimidated. Yet, beneath the shock, there was a flicker of intrigue.

As they reached the gates, their platoon erupted into cheers, hailing them for surviving the longest. Before heading off, Katherine and Edgar turned back to Jaeger, offering him a brief bow—a silent acknowledgement of his guidance.

"We'll… think about it," Katherine muttered before following the others, waving at her friends as she trotted towards them. Jaeger exhaled, about to turn away when something caught his eye.

From within the crowd gathered, he spotted Aurora. He hadn't expected to see her here, standing with an air of quiet patience, as if she'd been waiting for someone. For a moment, she played her usual role, the ever-graceful princess—offering warm waves and words of encouragement to the knights in training. But the moment her gaze landed on Jaeger; her poised expression softened into something else entirely.

Her polite, practised smile melted into something sweeter, more genuine. With a small, almost eager wave, she made her way toward him. "I see you've gotten acquainted with some of the knights you fought against. How were they?" she asked, maintaining her regal tone.

Jaeger shrugged. "Eh, most of them are too impulsive and way too overconfident—especially that captain of theirs. But those two earlier? I wouldn't mind having them under my command. Holding out that long was impressive." He paused, then raised an eyebrow. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

She chuckled whilst covering her mouth with her delicate fingers, "Oh? You're saying I can't be here to see my subject's new kind of military training?"

"I-I wasn't saying it like that, but more importantly…" Jaeger sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. But before he could continue, he noticed the way everyone around them was staring—some whispering, others blatantly gawking. His temporary teammates were the worst, breaking into smug grins as they let out teasing whistles, clearly enjoying the sight of the notorious mercenary acting way gentler around the princess.

Jaeger clicked his tongue. "Yeah, I think we should move—since there are some—" he shot a glare at his teammates "—dumbasses here who don't know when to shut the hell up about someone's relationship!"

"Chill, boss! We ain't ruining your after-work date! Haha!" one of them called out, earning a round of snickers from the others.

Jaeger sighed, running a hand down his face in disbelief. [These idiots…] Meanwhile, Aurora—who had been composed just moments ago—was suddenly turning red, her face heating up with every teasing remark. Without another word, Jaeger grabbed her hand—not rough, but firm enough to leave no room for argument—and dragged her away from the crowd, heading straight inside the base.

As they walked, Jaeger slowed his pace, ensuring she wouldn't trip, until they were moving side by side.

"No, like… seriously, Your Highness," he muttered, casting her a sideways glance. "You've been trying to get close to me a lot. I know you said I could rely on you, but… you've seen how I…"

He stopped, his words trailing off. He didn't want to bring up the incident on the tarmac.

Aurora, however, remained steady—both in step and in demeanour. Her voice was soft yet unwavering. "Truthfully, my dear friend, I don't fully understand what happened a week ago… when you had that ordeal with your party, and I know… you're hurting right now, and I don't mind lending an ear."

"Are you for real? It's not going to be a pleasant story though…"

Aurora didn't flinch. Instead, she met his gaze head-on, her gentle emerald eyes full of sympathy. Something about that look chipped away at his walls, and he let out a slow sigh. "Does His Majesty know you're here?"

Aurora's lips curled into an amused smile. "Are you trying to avert the subject, Jaeger?~" He exhaled through his nose, shaking his head knowing how she saw through him. "You're sharp as ever, huh?"

Aurora giggled, clearly enjoying their conversation as they continued through the base. Along the way, personnel from both ABEL and Apollyon's forces greeted her with respectful waves, not just out of duty to her royal status, but in recognition of the grace and kindness she had shown toward them. She returned each greeting effortlessly, occasionally stopping to exchange a few words about the ongoing technology exchange.

Jaeger watched in quiet observation. The way she carried herself—poised yet approachable, regal yet sincere—left an impression on him. She never let formality create distance, speaking to soldiers, crew members, and even young knights with the same warmth and attentiveness. Her unwavering support for their efforts was unmistakable, and without realizing it, Jaeger found himself respecting her more than before.

Once they reached a quieter area, away from the crowds, Jaeger finally broke the silence. "Say, I heard from some of the guys around your castle, that you were this … [Hidden flower], He glanced at her. "Did something change? 'Cause, well… you know… I didn't know what was happening outside my room during my arrest."

But instead of answering seriously, Aurora's expression shifted. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and her smile curled into something teasing. Tilting her head slightly, her silver-blue gradient hair cascaded over her shoulder as she placed a delicate finger to her lips.

"That's a lady's secret~" she cooed playfully, her voice lilting with amusement whilst the mercenary groaned. "Ugh… dammit. You learned that from my mother, didn't you?"

Aurora giggled. "Who knows?~" She stepped a little closer, her gaze holding his with quiet curiosity. "Though… are you going to tell me what really happened back then, Achilles? Or are you going to keep dodging?"