“Ha!
I was expecting that, but we really match.”
Elia stared at her reflection in the mirror, her mouth gaping in surprise.
“Could it be that similar just because I cut my hair a little?”
The face reflected in the mirror was that of a handsome, red-haired man, and it was clear to everyone who saw it that he was her twin brother, Erhan.
She was wearing Erhan's clothes and armor.
Although she felt a little strange wearing it, because it was different from her usual dresses, it seemed to be tailored to her body as soon as she put it on.
Erhan was thin and short for a man, while Elia was tall for a woman.
Once she decided to disguise herself as a man, she really looked like a very handsome man.
Furthermore, having a low-pitched, husky voice, rather than a high-pitched feminine voice, helped make her sound like a man.
'But, will this really be good?'
This was the moment when a feeling of worry crept into a corner of her heart, even though this plan was her idea.
“Elijah, are you ready… Oh my God!”
At that moment, the Baroness opened the door and entered.
She was shocked when she saw her figure, and gasped.
“Mom, what's wrong?”
“You look a lot like him… For a moment, I thought the dead Erhan had come back to life.”
Tears quickly gathered in the Baroness's eyes, and her bent back trembled helplessly.
She remembered Erhan clearly.
Illya felt hurt to see her like this, but at the same time she gained confidence in herself.
If even the parents who gave birth and raised her felt like this, others would definitely not easily realize that it was not a lie.
'Instead of worrying, I'll try to look as much like Erhan as possible.'
Elia decided to do so, then went out to the entrance to bid farewell to the Baron and Baroness.
“So, I'll go now.”
“Elijah, are you really sure?
What if you get exposed…?”
The Baron asked in a worried voice, and Elia answered seriously and firmly.
“We have no other choice anyway.”
The Baron and Baroness closed their mouths with sad faces upon hearing her answer.
They knew very well that there was not much difference between Elijah being exposed, expelled, and punished, or starving to death while suffering in debt here.
“So, I will do my best not to be discovered.”
The Baroness wiped her tears with her handkerchief and asked:
“But, why are you in such a hurry to go, when there is still time?”
Elia smiled at the Baroness and said:
“The military unit is far from here, and anything might happen on the way.
I think it’s best for me to go and adapt as soon as possible.”
“Okay...”
"I'll send you letters from time to time, don't worry too much.
Since it's military service, maybe I can take time off sometimes."
“I understand.
Be healthy, my daughter.”
After she finished her farewell, Elia mounted the horse and left the baron's humble palace.
•
“We're almost there.”
Illya muttered as she looked at the huge palace looming on the horizon.
Dozens of tall towers were rising towards the sky, giving it great prestige.
It is surrounded from below by high, sturdy walls.
“It's truly enormous when you see it in person.
Of course, it's not just any property, it's the palace of the famous Vonberg family.”
The most powerful lord of the empire,
legendary swordsman,
The bloody ruler with the iron fist...
Although they may seem a bit exaggerated, these are the phrases that describe Grand Duke Vonberg in the novel “Sitalsa”.
Long ago, the Grand Duke's influence in the empire was so great that even the imperial family submitted to him.
But after the war between humans and demons, which occurred a few years ago, the Grand Duke's power and influence increased more and more.
This is because the army led by the Grand Duke crushed the demons with invincible force and led the war to victory.
'In contrast, the Imperial Army had suffered a crushing defeat, and was busy fleeing blundering.'
Therefore, it was natural that he would enjoy massive support from the people of the empire after the war.
He was elevated to the position of Prime Minister unanimously by the nobility of the capital, and subsequently placed the political and economic reins of the entire empire in his grasp.
The Emperor was nothing but a weak paper puppet, and the Grand Duke was the actual ruler of this empire.
Even the children of the empire knew the name of Grand Duke Vonberg, while they might not know the name of the Emperor.
The anti-demon military unit, which she should have joined instead of Erhan, was located in that majestic palace.
‘Because the Grand Duke turned the palace annex into a military unit.’
The idea of turning his proper home into a military unit was crazy in itself, but originally, the purpose of this unit was to select bodyguards and a son-in-law for the Grand Duke to protect his daughter.
Therefore, the Grand Duke wanted to keep the men under his control.
'And the men must be close to Lavinia too.'
Only then does she and the male protagonists begin romantic relationships and fall in love, right?
Elia took a deep breath as she looked at the Vonberg Palace looming on the horizon.
Honestly, she wasn't too worried about military life itself.
'Ah, I didn't know that my miserable life in my previous life would be so beneficial.'
A sarcastic laugh came out of her unconsciously.
In her previous life, she was a graduate of a military academy.
Of course, she didn't join it of her own free will.
“What's a girl doing in college?
We don't have a penny to give you for your tuition!”
“Are you showing off because you study a little?
Aren’t you thinking about earning money and helping your brother who is struggling on his third attempt to enter university...?”
Because of her parents who only favored her brother, she had no choice but to attend a military academy that offered a full scholarship.
Because she hated seeing her family's situation, she joined the army as an officer after graduation.
'But they took even that very small salary brilliantly.'
For the record, her unfortunate brother was still a student trying to get into university several times at that time, and her salary went toward his tuition fees and entertainment expenses.
'Because he was skipping the academy every day and just drinking alcohol.
I don't know if he has gone to university now.'
I don't want to know that.
Anyway, thanks to this previous life, military life was familiar to her, which could be considered a blessing.
'But, I have to be very alert when I go in there.'
For your information, readers of the novel “Sitalsa” called the palace in which the military unit was located the Den of Chaos.
Because that place had fifty handsome and strong young men residing there,
‘Now they are forty-nine people apart from me…’
And because gathering so many handsome, energetic men leads to all sorts of things.
Especially if they had the ambitious goal of becoming the son-in-law of the Grand Duke, the ruler of this empire.
Fierce conflicts and intrigues, and...
Even shameful things cannot be described here!
'Some characters are already starting to come to my mind.
When I was a reader, I watched it with great amusement...
Humm!'
From Elijah's point of view, who had to live in complete silence there, these were matters she did not want to be involved with at all.
However, since she didn't have the slightest interest in becoming the Grand Duke's son-in-law, she would definitely be eliminated from the competition early.
Therefore, she intended not to care about such matters as much as possible.
Before that, there was something else you should focus on first.
Identity verification procedure that must be performed upon arrival at the unit!
Recruitment is finally confirmed after submitting documents such as the recruitment notice and medical examination report, and ensuring that the recruit is the same person.
Although it is a formality, if anything suspicious is discovered in it, not only will you not be conscripted, but you will be expelled immediately.
Although it only required submitting Erhan's medical examination report, it was an extremely stressful hurdle for Elya who was hiding her identity.
'That's why I came early with this calf.'
Today is Wednesday of the second week.
Normally a strict auditor would verify the identity, but today, “that person” in the palace would do so.
If that person's character is as it appeared in the novel
Original, the identity verification procedure will pass without much problem.
Because that person will not show any interest in her at all, she is just a peripheral figure.
"Let's go!"
She pulled the reins and headed towards the Vonberg Palace.