"You… reinforcement…?!"
Lucas looked at Klain, then replied with a smile, his good mood still lingering above the surface:
"Yes."
As Klain processed the answer with his mind left rusty by his debilitating injuries, Lucas's smile grew and he added with what almost seemed like a hint of care:
"So, don't die, dear General. You will be a good witness later, and who knows, your life may be worth some merit."
The wounded general raised his gaze to the golden eyes across from him and the smile below them, and even within them. There was sincerity glinting inside, but it stung, more than anything else. What had resembled care earlier, he seemed to have imagined it, because looking beyond the sincere smile was disregard, not just for him, and not just for the enemies around, but even for those who died on either side, even for the suffocating faction behind the other side, even for the Empire itself.
