Her Graceful War Song by Summer's Blaze

Barrett was on duty today, tasked with helping the Capital Guard maintain order.

As the eleven young soldiers rode past him one by one, he carefully studied each of their faces. When his gaze fell on Thomas, he noticed that the once-handsome, striking figure seemed less radiant than before. A mix of nostalgia and complex emotions stirred in his chest, along with a fleeting sense of inferiority.

Heroes.

Barrett had once been a hero too. When he returned from the Victory Pass battle, the citizens had cheered for him the same way.

But now?

Now, he had been reduced to a mere ninth-rank capital guard, stripped of the glory that once surrounded him. No longer the golden boy, no longer entrusted with important duties. Watching the eleven young soldiers, Barrett couldn't shake the sense of being worlds apart, like a speck of dirt beneath their feet.

If he was ever going to rise again, it would have to be through his brother-in-law's support. Or perhaps, another war would break out, giving him the chance to earn military merits once more.

How foolish Barrett had been back then, always imagining things so idealistically. He had once thought military accomplishments were easily won. After all, back at Victory Pass, Wyatt Sullivan had taken a blade for him, losing an arm in the process.

And on the Southern Frontier battlefield, Barrett had witnessed the true horrors of war-the brutal siege, mountains of corpses, and rivers of blood. Only then did he realize that earning glory on the battlefield was not as simple as Aurora had once made it sound. How many brave soldiers had died with their ambitions unfulfilled?

And how many, like the eleven young heroes, had been captured and tortured? To escape and form an intelligence network like they had-they were probably the only ones who could pull off such a feat.

As thoughts of captivity and torture filled his mind, a chill ran down Barrett's spine, freezing him to the core.

incident. The king hadn't pursued the matter yet, but had sent people to keep a close

would the Warren family. The new crown prince wouldn't be as concerned with preserving their reputation as the current

could only continue scraping by. Despair settled deep in his bones at that moment, and his mind wandered to something Aurora had once said with such conviction: All she wanted was success. Yes, success. But it was far too

up

version of himself and Aurora. But in the thick crowd, no one noticed him. Their attention was fully captured by the eleven celebrated heroes

rescued them,

didn't notice Barrett either. His attention was focused on the heartwarming scene unfolding before him-Richard's three sons stepping forward to embrace Joshua

tall, his face filled with pride.

knelt before him, bowing their heads to the ground, their voices trembling as they

smiled instead. He helped them to their feet and said, "I have

around them, families had come out to greet their loved ones, and each tearful embrace was a sight that tugged at the

easygoing, but he had none of his usual demeanor today. He wept like

people thought they were separated by life and death, but unexpectedly, they experienced the joy of a reunion. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she realized this joy could never belong to

true cruelty of this world lay in how blood ties, once so

she returned home,

to her

sharing in everyone else's

she was left with her