Steel Eyed Faker

Chapter 16: Save the Selfless Part 1

Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness.

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-???-  

(A few years ago)  

Pride.  

If Liver were to summarize his old self, then ‘pride’ would be the most apt and closest thing to describe him. Having served the Empire from the moment he became a soldier all the way to a general in the span of several decades, not once had his devotion to his home and his people faltered. Even in the face of enemies that would’ve made most men flee , he stood his ground, no matter how dire the situation was. Against impossible odds, he managed to achieve victory at the cost of his body being battered and broken, brushing against death more times than he cared to count. But never once did he regret his actions, feeling proud of what he accomplished and wearing them as medals of honor.  

Yet not everything went as he wished. Sometimes, the enemy that could hurt him was not the surrounding territories or the barbarians up north but those that he was protecting. Before the previous emperor’s passing, he and Honest never shared the same view on everyday life and general politics. While on the same side, they couldn't have been more different. If he represented pride, then that obese man embodied pure greed and gluttony that took the form of a man.  

With the child emperor taking the throne at an age where he could barely understand much, Liver’s feud with the new prime minister became more volatile by the day. Bribes were sent to his doorstep, which he ignored, continuing to perform his duty as promised to the previous emperor. His loyalty had never been to the one currently on the throne or even to Honest. It was something that neither money nor wealth could buy.  

Yet that man found ways to make a mockery of Liver’s past, twisting facts and painting his image before those he had protected, altering history to turn his greatest achievements into embarrassments. And finally, when their confrontation had reached its peak, he had been labeled a traitor to the Empire.  

"Was everything I did for them forgotten?"  

He remembered saying those exact words as he awaited his death, chained within the dungeon where no light reached, rats creeping closer, drawn by the scent of his blood.  

"All of my work, all of my past—turned to shreds, burned from history."  

He muttered those words with extreme bitterness in his tone. Yet as he waited there, much to his surprise, a visitor arrived out of the blue. Not an old friend, one of his men who fought alongside him, or even Honest came over to mock his circumstances.

But rather the newest shining star of the Empire whose name even reached him far into enemy territory before his imprisonment.

General Esdeath.  

He had seen her a couple of times during the academy’s ceremonies, where he attended to greet the latest batch of soldiers and future leaders. Back then, she was just a young kid who had yet to face the reality of the world and only got recognition from many academic achievements with what he understood, but one who possessed plenty of potential, much like Nagumo's kid.  

Yet the person who stood before him now gave him a different feeling now that he got a closer look at her.

Maybe he hadn’t realized it back then, but the look in her eyes differed from that of foot soldiers who just joined the army or one of those high ranking officials who got their position due to their family's influence. She had grown older and matured from the person in his memories, but those eyes carried a sense of confidence he rarely saw.