"Lieutenant General John Maslow."
Liana spoke slowly, her back still turned to John.
Compared with the voice carried by the amplification spell, her voice sounded younger—and far more tired. "I've read your file. Top graduate of the Imperial First Military Academy. You defeated three distinguished Allied Forces generals soon after entering the battlefield, repeatedly thwarted the Star of Dawn's command while outnumbered, and used an enemy ship's guns to kill a true Crown Tier powerhouse. You helped the Empire win the naval and ground battles in the south. You became the fastest-promoted air force lieutenant general in Imperial history, with a record to justify it, and now serve as governor of Faoken."
"Your extraordinary achievements and career have earned my admiration."
"But I don't think you need to stand in the rain with a girl who has just lost her father."
"Do you?"
It was a direct test.
She made it clear that she already knew his background, yet instead of wielding her ducal title, she called herself a "girl."
She was plainly trying to gauge his attitude toward her.
It was cautious and guarded, much like Dries Ostan himself.
John nodded inwardly, but his expression did not change as he addressed her back. "I disagree. The person I'm standing with is no ordinary girl. She is the Empire's youngest naval commander, the new head of the Ostan Family, and—"
John paused, then said something that made Liana's gaze sharpen. "The Reformist Faction's only banner within the Imperial Navy."
At last, Liana slowly turned to face him.
Her eyes, one gold and one green after a spell formation had altered them, were unlike those of the rest of the Ostan Family. An intricate tangle of emotions churned within them:
Grief, wariness, uncertainty, and a barely perceptible plea for help.
"Banner?"