PTSD Military Chaplain of the Academy

The sky, imbued with blueness, resembled a canvas.

Angels flying joyfully with their wings spread wide in this picturesque sky appeared quite dynamic.

However, upon lowering one’s gaze slightly.

A naked man, with blackened wings sprouting from a muscular body, barely hiding behind a rock.

His curly hair, swaying in the wind, gleamed with a sheen and appeared smooth like silk. His face, which should be visible, would have originally been so beautiful and radiant that anyone seeing it would exclaim in admiration.

He must be an angel, just like the other angels flying beyond that rock.

Yet, the intense gaze directed at this side, while his arms shield his face.

A gaze filled with hatred towards everything. So intense that it almost felt like a strange heat that could pierce out of the painting.

Francisco von Carthroy Duke, sitting in the center of the art gallery admiring the painting, was momentarily captivated by that gaze.

It was a bizarre gaze that seemed intent on burning everything. At the same time, it was a gaze so overwhelming that it could not possibly belong to an angel.

Those eyes were glistening with hatred and rage, the gaze of greed and freedom.

Even just looking at it felt as if he would be engulfed by the brutally intense gaze. Deep down, he wanted to purchase the painting and take it home.

Carthroy Duke, who had been extremely uninterested in art, including paintings and sculptures, could make an exception for this painting. It was that much of an evocative piece.

No one could imitate that gaze. Only after fully surrendering everything could such a gaze escape.

“A fallen angel. It’s quite a famous piece, indeed.”

After a long time sitting on a bench and admiring the painting, an unknown man with a deeply pressed fedora approached and sat beside Carthroy Duke. Carthroy Duke remained silent, still unable to tear his eyes from the painting.

“Alexandre Cabanel. Personally, I think he’s a fantastic painter. His expression of texture in paintings is remarkable.”

Alexandre Cabanel. Carthroy Duke filled his mind with those eight characters and continued to indulge in the painting without spare for words.

As if consumed by a greed he could not escape.

“Fallen angel… is that what it is?”

Wings darkening to a deep black. Although the white portions were still stained, surely that purity would soon be entirely tainted.

Above all, the intense gaze. A gaze akin to a spear that could pierce through everything. A gaze infinitely fierce for an angel supposed to be kind.

The fallen angel had thorns growing around the rock. Even though touching them would surely cause blood loss and pain, the fallen angel hiding its body behind the rock hesitated not.

Just desperately hiding behind the rock, covering its face, with a single tear of misery welling up. A teardrop clinging to the edge of its eye came into view at that moment.

Fallen angel. A being who defied God’s will, rebelled, lost everything, and plummeted from the heavens.

When one understood the name and its implication, the painting revealed an even broader worldview.

The meaning of that concentrated droplet of tear was neither sadness, despair, nor regret.

Just a rising anger. A tear shed not out of fury at the mere fact of being fallen, while firmly believing in the righteousness of one’s actions to avoid accepting the feeling of “I was wrong.”

It was not the tear of a loser. It was a tear filled with resentment and indignation for the inability to assert one’s will, having fallen miserably without rising to heaven.

“Fallen angel, Lucifer. Or Satan. In the Old Testament, he is called Lucifer, but in the New Testament, he is referred to as Satan.”

“Lucifer…”

“It means the morning star. The brightest star in the sky, the angel most loved by the Lord.”

Why, then, did he fall and become a fallen angel on the ground?

“Lucifer certainly received the Lord’s love. More than any other angel, perhaps an excessive amount of love.”

However, he ultimately fell deep.

“Pride arose within him. Having received the Lord’s love excessively, he harbored a desire to become God and rebelled alongside other angels.”

And the result was, as expected, expulsion from the celestial realm.

“Along with the angels who rebelled with him, Lucifer was cast down from heaven. The morning star, once brightly blazing, fell.”

Pride and greed, failures and frustrations, and anger.

Lucifer, bearing all of these, burned himself, even the glory of the time when he shone the brightest.

What caused Lucifer to develop such greed? What could possibly transform the most beloved angel into a fallen angel suffering in the flames of hell?

“Will he serve under control in heaven, or govern freely in hell?”

And Lucifer chose free will.

He chose free will, even at the cost of defying God’s will.

“Human free will is said to be a blessing bestowed by the Lord. However, it is a virtue that should not apply to angels.”

“For the personal opinions of angels should not interfere directly with God’s will.”

The result of obedience is to praise God while blowing trumpets in eternal paradise.

The result of disobedience is to fall from heaven and enter that deep abyss of flames.

“Thus, it is said that Lucifer still reigns in hell as the chief of demons. I am not well-versed in the exact theological doctrines, though.”

Carthroy Duke gazed blankly at Lucifer’s eyes. Those eyes, full of intensity.

Greed, pride, shame, humiliation…

And more deeply colored than those was an emotion.

‘Anger at a twisted world.’

He wanted freedom. Perhaps it would have been better had he been human.

But he was an angel, where free will was not permitted.

“It’s one of the artworks hated by the Holy Empire. While superficially, they claim they don’t care since it’s merely an artwork… it’s understandable why they would dislike it. Who would beautifully illustrate a fallen angel like this?”

“……”

“Critics from the Holy Empire or devout reviewers have used this point to deliver scathing critiques. I do not know how Cabanel reacted.”

Will he serve in heaven or govern in hell?

“Anyway… as you wish, the insufficient budget has been brought from the Construction and Development Department. However…”

Will he be controlled or will he become free?

“Are you truly okay with this? No matter how much the head of the Construction and Development Department is related to your lordship, if this continues without pause, you will have no grounds for excuse when the investigation comes later. Isn’t this rather deliberate?”

Will he gradually sink into a false peace, or break it to achieve true peace?

“Of course, it might be overstepping to worry about your lordship… but, well, never mind.”

“……”

“Highly confidential information related to the royal family has been prepared. Due to security classification regulations, this is filled with things your lordship should not know.”

Can he truly liberate the current empire?

“Will you still listen? If you hear it here, it will be difficult for me to assist you afterward.”

Carthroy Duke’s answer was already determined.

“…I’ll listen.”

“Understood.”

As if waiting for this response, the man with the fedora lightly placed the briefcase on his lap. There was a palpable weight in that series of actions.

“Two pieces of information are prepared.”

“Is it printed on paper?”

“It has not been printed. It’s only a leak.”

“A leak, you say?”

“I will hand over documents, but they are related to the Defense Department’s operations. There may be someone monitoring your lordship.”

In other words, it was an alibi and a decoy in case of sudden investigations.

If someone were watching Carthroy Duke, it was obvious that the documents he receives would be the first to be suspected.

Even if these documents were stolen, the other side would end up with nothing but an empty can, and if investigations proceeded, their obsession with finding these dubious documents would neglect the search for true evidence about Carthroy Duke.

Even Carthroy Duke, who had been involved in politics for a long time, marveled at the meticulousness.

“Thorough.”

“Information is what it is, and my position necessitates it.”

“I see. Act naturally.”

“First, pretend to receive these documents.”

Carthroy Duke received the documents from the man. As he had said, they contained nothing but low-security information about the Defense Department’s conventional troop operations.

“So, what’s the main point?”

“Didn’t you siphon off some of the budget from the Construction and Development Department? You didn’t stop there; you even referenced nearly obsolete laws to reclaim wartime pensions.”

“True. However, I’m not confident that’ll be enough.”

“It seems it’s due to the issue of bribing collaborators within the Naval Department.”

The man’s words seemed to hit the mark, causing a frown to form on Carthroy Duke’s brow.

“You know too well. You’re right. It feels a bit uncomfortable to bribe someone to assist with the operation…”

“For such a lord, I have good news. This information concerns the Senate, but…”

“I’m listening.”

“The commander of the 3rd Maritime Defense Squadron and the commander of the 2nd Fleet from the Naval Department are both nearing retirement around the same time. Their inauguration ceremony is scheduled for this August, where they will hand over the command baton and squadron flag. Did you know that?”

“…I think I’ve heard of it in passing. While nominally under the Defense Department, the naval group is relatively independent and isolated due to its peculiar nature.”

Given the nature of the naval branch, it was unavoidable. After all, Carthroy Duke came from an army general background, making this even more so.

“Then what does that mean?”

“Even though they are nearing retirement, these former heavyweights of the Naval Department. It is also true that they are part of the second fleet, right after the first fleet. What do you think they will do after their retirement?”

“…If I think of retired generals I know, they’ll likely waste their time playing golf or tennis, or perhaps cricket.”

“Most retired generals end up that way. However, these two were particularly zealous soldiers even during their admiral days.”

Carthroy Duke’s mind started to clear. He finally understood what the man was saying.

“What do you mean by that…?”

“It’s not easy for former soldiers to enter politics. Let alone, into the Senate and not the Citizens’ Assembly. The number of seats is limited, after all.”

Two heavyweight admirals from the Naval Department. For them to enter the Senate as former soldiers after retirement was undoubtedly a challenge.

Given the limited number of seats in the Senate, the proud nobles of the Senate wouldn’t easily relinquish their positions.

While there are a few commoners associated with the Senate for the sake of fairness, it is hard to treat them carelessly without sufficient cause.

However, what if you think of it this way?

“If your lordship, with deep roots in both the military and the Senate, were to assist those two….”

“……”

“Your lordship, this is an opportunity to incur a debt with the naval bigwigs you need.”

This was quite good information. No, it was significant enough to alleviate the current frustration.

“Let’s think positively.”

“Shall I bring you detailed information about those two?”

“No, that’s fine. We can have our people handle that.”

Carthroy Duke nodded with satisfaction. Even this was useful information, but there was still one more thing left.

“I will now discuss the second piece of information.”

“Be quick.”

Carthroy Duke quickly organized his thoughts in his head while gazing at the fallen angel. Given that it was related to the royal family, it must be quite significant.

“This information has been meticulously managed with utmost secrecy in the royal family. I heard there was even a gag order issued secretly within the royal family. If leaked, it carries a minimum life sentence, regardless of status.”

“Alright, what is it?”

And that was.

“The Second Prince has attempted suicide.”

“……What?”

It was information that could potentially shake the entire empire.

---