Chapter 93: Politically Inconvenient

"They either had information they shouldn’t have had, or they believed your death was certain enough that waiting would not matter."

Zishan’s expression changed as the first moments he could remember after waking up in the middle of the battlefield returned to him.

"There was someone," he said.

Ernest’s attention settled on him. "Who?"

"I don’t know. I never saw his full face. He was wearing a mask." Zishan frowned as he tried to reconstruct the memory. "I didn’t tell the Commander and the others much more back then because I didn’t want to complicate things. The eastern position had already collapsed when I woke up; everyone was running in different directions, and I had no idea where I was. Someone pointed me that way, so I followed him like an idiot."

Elinox’s eyes narrowed. "Where did it lead you?"

"Straight toward the enemy."

Ernest’s expression hardened. "Did he know you were trying to reach allied forces?"

"Yes. That’s why I asked him."

Elinox looked toward her uncle. "Then, it wasn’t a misunderstanding."

Ernest did not answer at once. "A soldier retreating from that position should have known where our forces were withdrawing. Sending you toward an enemy-held route would be a difficult mistake to make."

Zishan stared at him. "So he sent me there on purpose?"

"It strongly suggests he did," Ernest answered. "What we don’t know is who he was, why he wanted you there, or whether House Walker had anything to do with him."

Elinox’s gaze sharpened while Zishan’s thoughts returned to the battlefield again. The man, the enemy forces he had nearly walked into, and House Walker declaring him dead on the same day he had been deployed no longer felt like completely separate incidents.

’Wait...’

[The Host has begun connecting previously unrelated events.]

’Don’t say it like that.’

[The phrasing is accurate.]

Zishan ignored the System and looked back at Ernest. "What if someone wanted me dead from the start?"

Ernest’s face became serious. "I wouldn’t make that accusation yet."

"I’m merely asking. I am not accusing anyone," Zishan clarified.

"Then, it’s possible."

Elinox stood straighter.

Ernest raised one hand before she could speak. "Possible doesn’t mean proven. We need the original death filing, whoever submitted it, whoever approved it and the orders connected to Zishan’s deployment."

"But if those things point back to House Walker?" she asked.

Ernest looked toward her. "Then, Marquess Walker will have far more to worry about than reputation."

Zishan looked at the records again. He had wanted answers about his past. And he was finally getting them. Though what he was learning wasn’t particularly pleasant, he had at least discovered that the original Zishan had genuinely been the adopted son of a noble House.

In simple terms, his past was terrible.

"Would they even want me back?" he asked, spacing out.

Ernest gave him a long look. "If they know you’re alive?"

"Yes."

"That depends on what they were trying to do."

Zishan frowned. "That’s not reassuring."

"It isn’t supposed to be."

Elinox crossed her arms. "And they may already know."

Zishan looked toward her.

She explained, "You’re a Captain now. Your promotion has been entered into the permanent military register under the same name. You also fought at the Western Defensive Line. Your name has already passed through enough officers that it won’t remain unnoticed. And openly claiming affiliation with a noble House isn’t something a soldier can do without consequences."

Ernest nodded. "And you arrived here with my niece."

Zishan blinked. "Why does that matter?"

Both of them looked at him.

He slowly looked between them. "Oh."

Elinox was a High General. Ernest was the Crown Marshal. House Holmes was one of the most powerful noble Houses in Olmost.

If some supposedly dead adopted son of House Walker returned to the capital as an unknown soldier, perhaps they could ignore him for a while.

Zishan Walker was no longer unknown.

He was Level 99 and was promoted to become a Captain. And now he was standing inside the Crown Marshal’s office beside Elinox Holmes.

’Well, shit.’

[The Host has developed a habit of becoming politically inconvenient.]

’How is that my fault?!’

[The System made no claim regarding fault.]

Zishan almost cursed at it aloud.

Ernest continued, "If House Walker tried to erase you quietly, you’ve made that much harder without even knowing it."

"I wasn’t trying to," Zishan replied.

Ernest nodded.

Then, Zishan continued, "I’ve got a long life to live. I was just trying not to die."

’Besides, I still want to eat cupcakes! I just hope the High General could recommend me to some people who know how to bake cupcakes! Hell yeah!’

Elinox looked toward him. "You did that rather well."

"Thank you."

Ernest looked amused for a moment before returning to the family registry. "There’s another issue. If your adoption was legitimate, House Walker cannot simply say you were never one of them. They used their name to register you. Your military service is tied to that House. If they benefited from your status when you were sent into service, they can’t discard the same status because you came back alive."

Zishan leaned forward again. "Wait."

Ernest glanced at him.

"So they could use me as their son when someone had to go to war..."

"Possibly."

"...and then once I was dead, their actual children wouldn’t have to take that risk."

Ernest did not answer right away.

Zishan’s eyes widened as the whole thing finally came together.

He pointed at the family record, then at his military entry. "What the fuck? So they adopted me, used me to satisfy the House’s military obligation, and sent me instead of one of their own children because I was the one they could afford to lose?"

Ernest did not answer right away. "That’s one possibility. We don’t know yet whether that was why you were adopted."

Zishan’s expression tightened.

Ernest continued, "What we know is that your adoption was legitimate, your service could have satisfied House Walker’s military obligation, and they declared you dead on the same day you were deployed. Anything beyond that still needs evidence."