Each time his words were cut off, Leonard's face grew redder. If one lowered their gaze just a little, they could see his tightly clenched fists trembling.
'He's more sensitive than I thought. If I push him a bit more, he might just take a swing.'
Mia pressed down the smile creeping onto her lips. Judging by his extreme reaction to talk of his father, it seemed Marquis Leonard was either excessively strict with his son—or perhaps the opposite, an overly affectionate father.
'Judging by the stories I've heard, it's probably the former.'
As Leonard stammered while trying to refute her, Mia grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer. Caught off guard, Leonard was left speechless, and Mia took that moment to ask:
"Leonard. Even someone like you must have some respect for his father, right?"
"What kind of bullshit is that! You think just because you're lacking in ability, you can try to manipulate with words now?"
Mia curled her finger at him, gesturing for him to come closer. Her commanding manner was so natural that Leonard instinctively took a step forward—only to realize too late that he'd made a mistake.
Unfortunately for him, Mia moved faster than he could retreat.
A voice filled with undisguised amusement whispered something in Leonard's ear.
Then, after being frozen in place for a long moment...
"You son of a bitch! Who the hell are you trying to drag into this?!"
Finally reaching his limit, Leonard grabbed Mia by the collar.
Her feet dangled midair, not quite reaching the ground. Yet despite being manhandled, Mia's expression remained so calm it seemed almost ridiculous. Even seeing a large man threatening a much smaller woman didn't feel all that intimidating.
Perhaps frustrated by her relaxed face, Leonard raised his fist.
"...Huh?"
The punch he threw with all his strength missed its mark entirely. The next moment, his grip on Mia's collar weakened. Thud—Leonard lost his balance and collapsed to the ground. A muddy footprint was now stamped across his pristine white uniform.
It all happened before he could even comprehend the situation.
Whish—her cloak fluttered as Mia landed lightly on the ground. The face she had been looking up at was now beneath her feet.
His once-arrogant expression was now hideously twisted. Mia let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
"To think even a vice-captain is this poorly trained. How are we supposed to win a war like this? I'll have to report this to the commander."
Her scornful voice pierced Leonard's ears.
"Y-You damn brat! Don't act so high and mighty just because you got lucky once!"
Leonard shouted, his face flushed deep red. Something flickered in Mia's eyes.
She had definitely landed a solid blow, yet he was already trying to get up. His tenacity was, at the very least, worthy of recognition. Whether that stubbornness would ultimately serve him well was another matter entirely.
Staggering back to his feet, Leonard charged at Mia again. Mia didn't even bother dodging. That, more than anything, seemed to wound his pride.
Whish, whish—his wild punches tore through the air, but none of them landed. Mia dodged every one with a slight twist of her body or a few small steps.
She didn't even counterattack. Her attitude was one of casual defiance—"Go on, try if you can." It grated on Leonard's nerves. Being blocked so effortlessly felt like being toyed with.
"Heh."
As Leonard's face turned crimson with rage, an uncontrollable laugh slipped from Mia's lips.
"You little—how dare you…!"
Clearly offended by her mockery, Leonard charged again, but rage alone could achieve nothing. Before he could finish his sentence, Mia's foot slammed into his side, sending him sprawling in the dirt. A moment later, her sturdy boot stomped down on his chest. His uniform was stained again—for the second time that day.
"You've got a lot of grit for someone so lacking in ability."
Mia muttered.
Leonard, desperate to escape the humiliating position, flailed and grabbed at her ankle. But that only earned him another blow from the toe of her shoe. Thwack. Mia kicked him in the chin, his head snapping back with a loud crack.
Mia was enjoying herself quite a bit, but naturally, someone being humiliated wouldn't feel the same. Leonard's eyes flared with rising fury.
"Damn fake without divine power…!"
With a roar born of sheer hatred, he delivered a blow that felt like her side was being crushed.
"Urgh…!"
Mia reflexively doubled over. Though she was no stranger to pain or injury, this attack felt different—like it cut deeper than mere flesh.
'He used divine power…!'
The realization came too late. Now, it was Mia who was rolling on the ground.
Her mind went blank, making it difficult to think. It felt like her entire body was being ripped apart.
Ironically, the greatest weakness of the goddess's chosen hero was divine power. Mia's body had an intense rejection to attacks imbued with it.
Though she'd learned various dirty tricks and unorthodox fighting styles on the battlefield, divine attacks were something she could not defend against, no matter how much she understood them.
"Why would the Goddess choose someone like you to be her hero?"
The voice dripping with sarcasm came from the very man she had just been stomping on. Mia didn't even have the energy left to care. Every nerve in her body was aflame with pain.
A large boot flew toward Mia's face.
'I need to dodge.'
But the pain refused to fade. She could barely move more than a twitch.
Mia curled up as tightly as she could.
'Even if I can't dodge, maybe I can at least reduce the impact…'
She just hoped this moment would pass quickly. Taking one hit wasn't the end of the world. Leonard was never good at hand-to-hand combat anyway. If she could endure long enough to shake off the divine power, she'd have her chance to strike back…
But the moment she was waiting for never came.
"François Leonard. What's going on here?"
A cold, blade-like voice came from behind him just as he was about to move.
"...Commander."
Etienne was merely standing there, but Leonard dropped to his knees before him. Judging by the awkward angle of his limbs, it didn't seem voluntary. Mia suspected Etienne had used divine power to subdue him.
"Surely you're aware that disrupting discipline is punishable even in peacetime."
Leonard didn't answer. Or rather, he couldn't. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a beastlike growl escaped his throat.
Mia noticed he was straining to move his arms. Judging by the white glow binding his shoulders and the strangled noises he was making, this too seemed to be Etienne's doing.
"Then did you forget that such actions are subject to immediate execution during wartime?"
Etienne's sharp voice scolded him. Leonard's contorted expression made it clear he was in even more pain than before.
Etienne sneered.
"There's no way you didn't know that. So how should I interpret this situation?"
Mia closed her eyes. Even after returning to the past, she still felt incredibly powerless.
The situation ended with Leonard passing out. Since it didn't escalate to an actual crime, immediate execution was realistically difficult. Moreover, Mia's standing within the army wasn't solid enough, and the Leonard marquisate wasn't a weak house that could be crushed without future consequences.
Strangely, Etienne seemed even more furious than Mia—but for her, his intervention alone was surprising enough.
"A vice-captain doesn't usually have that much authority, does he?"
Mia broke the silence, voicing the question that had been bothering her all along. After all, even if he was a superior officer, the rank difference between a vice-captain and a strategic officer wasn't so wide. So where did he get the confidence to lay hands on the daughter of Blanchard? She couldn't understand it.
Etienne sighed.
"He's been a problem soldier since he enlisted. Strangely, he always kept his head down just in time for promotions—so he managed to rise through the ranks late, but even after enlisting, he kept causing issues. Most of them involved clashes with superiors."
"Sounds like you're saying I'm his superior too."
"You're not officially, but
you're treated as such due to your rank."
"Hm…"
Mia frowned. His answer came so naturally. She still couldn't understand how this military system even functioned.