Published at 27th of January 2026 7:13 am

Chapter 1945 From heart to heart

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Somewhere within the vast reaches of Mid Sector 101-

"Hm-hmmmmm~"

A young man who appeared to be in his early twenties leaned his chair farther back, letting it tilt comfortably as he intertwined both hands behind his head in a posture of complete relaxation. He casually lifted his feet and rested them atop what seemed to be the control console of a spacecraft's cockpit, utterly unconcerned, and began humming softly to himself, the sound slow and unhurried.

A clear, light smile rested on his face as his gaze wandered across the boundless sea of space before him-the endless expanse adorned with planets of varying hues, distant stars, and sprawling nebulae that painted the eternal night with layers of silent, cosmic beauty.

The young man himself was striking. His soft white hair flowed freely over his forehead and down the sides of his head, resembling a cascading waterfall of pristine snow spilling from the peak of a frozen mountain. His eyes were only half-open, just enough to fully take in the harmonious scenery unfolding before him. Yet within those gently smiling eyes, there lingered a faint glow-a glow that sent an instinctive chill down one's spine. A subtle, unsettling radiance... a terrifying light that betrayed something far more dangerous beneath the calm exterior.

With a single glance, it was easy to tell-these were not the eyes of a normal man.

They were the eyes of a butcher.

Kssh-

The cockpit door slid open automatically with a soft mechanical hiss, and someone stepped inside. A woman. She wore specially crafted black-and-gold armor that fit her form perfectly, radiating both elegance and authority. Her hair was a captivating shade of blue, and her cold, enchanting eyes seemed as though they had emerged directly from a painting titled The Ice Queen.

"Hm?" The woman halted instantly upon noticing that someone else was present in the cockpit. She straightened herself and bowed without hesitation. "Your Highness Richard, I apologize for the disturbance. I will vacate the room immediately."

"It's fine, it's fine~" Richard replied lazily, waving the matter off as he nodded gently several times. "General Victoria, right? Come in." His smile widened just a little. "For some reason, I couldn't find anyone brave enough to share this beautiful view with me. Am I really that frightening?"

"..." Victoria froze for a moment, genuinely taken aback by the question.

If the man known throughout the empire as the Impaler wasn't frightening-if the individual who, without dispute, held the highest confirmed kill count in imperial history wasn't terrifying- then who possibly could be?

"...Forgive me, then," Victoria said after a brief pause. She stepped forward with slow, steady movements and chose a seat beside Richard. "People are not afraid of you, Your Highness. Rather, it is the awe inspired by your position within the empire. That is all."

She sat with composed nobility, resting her hands neatly on her thighs, and turned her gaze forward, silently observing the calm, unmoving horizon alongside him.

"The awe of my position..." Richard repeated softly, his voice almost absentminded. His eyes lingered on the distant void, and amidst the stars and celestial bodies, the image of a certain person slowly took shape in his thoughts -a girl of breathtaking beauty, whose pure, radiant laughter brought joy even to the inhabitants of hell itself.

He released a quiet sigh. "Honestly, if the choice were mine, I wouldn't remain in this position at all. Even now, I still don't understand why we're fighting in Mid Sector 101 on behalf of Lord Hedrick." After a brief pause, he continued, his tone growing more serious. "The only thing that keeps me resolute is the certainty that my father would never fight for another without a reason. His boundless arrogance would never allow it. We all saw a glimpse of what it is capable of during the coronation."

A low laugh escaped him as he turned his head toward Victoria. "That bastard looked us straight in the eyes and said, Sorry. Do you remember?" His smile twisted slightly. "He was fully prepared to die -and drag all of us down with him- rather than submit to Helen or Renara. Hehe."

Richard turned his gaze forward once more, his expression settling into something calm yet contemplative. "That's why I'm not worried. He definitely wants to put an end to what's happening here even more than we do."

His eyes narrowed faintly.

"But something... is holding him back."

"...I've never seen it from that angle before."

Victoria's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly, a subtle reaction that betrayed a moment of genuine surprise. Soon after, she returned her attention to the breathtaking view stretching endlessly before her.

She, too, allowed a gentle smile to form on her lips. She, too, was seeing the image of someone reflected in the vastness of space-but the person she envisioned was completely different from the one Richard saw...

Nearly an entire hour passed in silence, the two of them simply sharing the stillness of the eternal night. Eventually, Victoria turned her head and looked toward Richard once more.

"Your Highness," she asked calmly, her tone thoughtful, "what is your opinion on the Seven Thrones Empire's potential war against Marshal Caesar? Do you truly believe he can endure it... that he can hold out against such pressure?" "Caesar is the strongest marshal I have ever seen," Richard replied slowly, his voice measured and firm. "And I've seen many"

"The strongest?" Victoria's eyes curved into a faint, knowing smile. "...Don't you think that title should belong to Marshal Sakaar, considering his current strength?"

"I'm not speaking of personal power," Richard clarified, his gaze still fixed on the distant stars. "I'm speaking of strength within one's role... I'll explain~" He paused briefly, choosing his words carefully.

"When Marshal Aro leads a war, you're constantly on edge. As a soldier, you're always thinking about how you might be sacrificed next, or which dirty trick will be employed in the next moment. You're nervous, wary, never truly at ease. And yet deep inside-you're absolutely convinced of victory under his command, whether you died or managed to survive somehow, your family back home is safe. That certainty is what pushes his soldiers forward, no matter the cost."

"As for Marshal Sakaar," Richard continued, "he treats his army like soulless chess pieces. Cold. Precise. Disposable. And strangely enough, that very approach minimizes their losses in most engagements. As the foremost strategist in the entire empire, that's exactly what one would expect of him. On top of that, his overwhelming personal strength gives his soldiers psychological reassurance-that if an enemy appears whom they cannot possibly handle, he will step in and crush it himself."

At this point, Richard fell silent for several moments, the faint hum of the ship filling the space between them.

"Then... there's Caesar," he finally said. "He's not the most cunning nor the best strategist. Nor is he the strongest in raw power. But there's something about him."

Richard's voice grew slighly deeper.

"His presence at the head of an army makes hearts boil. It makes soldiers want to follow him to the ends of the universe with their swords raised high. There's a living, breathing leadership spirit surrounding him-one that compels everyone to respect him and listen to him, even if they're kings or emperors in their own domains."

Richard turned his head toward Victoria.

"You've fought alongside him many times," he said quietly. "Haven't you felt that yourself?"

"...I know it by heart."

A thin veil of tears surfaced in Victoria's eyes, shimmering faintly as a

breathtaking smile bloomed across her face. She didn't say anything more. Instead, she turned her gaze back toward the beautiful sea of space, silently watching his image reflected in the stars.

"...Do we have any new orders?" Richard asked after several more minutes of silence. "It's been months now since Lord Hedrick met with Lord Orion for mediation, hasn't it?"

"No," Victoria replied, shaking her head slowly. "We are still ordered to remain on standby. Lord Hedrick has not made any moves yet. Perhaps he is considering the terms for ending the war."

"Hm. I strongly doubt that," Richard said, tilting his head slightly. "You mentioned that my father chose Lord Hedrick as his sole partner, correct? A partner of that man will never put down the sword. That has become his fate."

Victoria turned toward him and held his gaze for several seconds, studying his expression carefully.

"...What a pessimistic outlook."

"It's simply the truth-" Richard shrugged lightly. "Review his history and you'll see it clearly. My father has never put down the sword, no matter how much he pretended to seek peace. Everyone who became involved with him either raised a sword themselves or supported those who did. He is a man who loves expansion-this much is obvious."

He paused briefly.

"I'm not saying that this is wrong or right. It's just... the truth."

After a few more minutes of silence, Victoria was the one who chose to speak this time, not wanting Richard to feel that he was burdening her with his thoughts.

"Oh-something did actually happen recently," she said softly. "The Sparkling Serene was summoned to the Bright Galaxy"

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