Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Having just admired the unconstrained display of feminine beauty in the painting of Aphrodite, Winters found the painfully cinched waist before him to be a cruel and pathological treatment of women.

"You unbind the cords at the back of the skirt first, then undo the ribbons inside the corset, and I'll take care of the rest," Anna blushed, not knowing what had come over her to allow a man to unlace her corset.

"Oh, right," Anna said, and Winters immediately understood, expertly unfastening the ribbons of the skirt and gradually loosening the crisscrossed slender cords.

"Why are you so adept at this?" Anna asked, alarmed to find that Lieutenant Montaigne could untie the cords faster than her own maid.

"Aren't these just like shoelaces? I've worn boots for over a decade—tying and untying laces, I could do it with my eyes closed," Winters answered with pride.

Once the corset's knots were undone, Anna wouldn't allow Winters any further assistance and slowly loosened the remaining part herself. This wasn't about removing the corset, rather, like loosening shoelaces, it was about not letting it constrict too tightly anymore.

Free from the confines of the corset, Anna took several deep breaths with relief, as evident that the garment had not only tightened around her waist but also compressed the space for her lungs. She glared at Winters, sat back down on the stone bench, and ate her food with a sort of vengeful vigor.

Winters couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the young lady and pushed the remaining food towards Anna. One silently ate while the other silently watched; they sat this way for a while until Anna finished off all the remaining bread in one go.

"I hardly had a few bites," Winters joked. "It seems all to have gone into your stomach."

"If you wanted to eat, why didn't you make some yourself?" Anna quickly retorted.

With no more food, Winters found it pointless to continue sitting around and thus suggested, "Shall we return to the party then?"

"I'm not going back, and you're not allowed to either. If you go back, mother will certainly send people to look for me."

Winters was at a loss for words, so the two sat silently for a while longer.

The sound of boot heels knocking against stone grew louder from a distance, clearly someone was approaching. Anna immediately dropped her relaxed posture, sitting up straight with her back erect on the stone bench.

Winters stood to look in the direction of the footsteps and saw a familiar figure emerge from behind the neatly trimmed bushes, taller than one man—Antonio.

"So here you are. You can't just hide away because you dislike social gatherings," Antonio said to Winters with a smile. He then caught sight of another figure at the stone table, and his expression became complicated, with a playful smile spreading across his lips.

As soon as Winters saw Antonio's expression, he knew his uncle had gotten the wrong idea. Before he could explain, Antonio had already greeted Anna, "Good evening, Miss Navarre!"

Anna rose politely and returned a curtsy: "Good evening, General Serviati."

"I hope this young fellow Winters here hasn't troubled you."

"Not at all? Mr. Montaigne has been very polite."

Antonio then turned to Winters, cheerfully asking in the old language, "[Old Language] Have you kissed her tonight?"

The Old Language, known as the high tongue or noble tongue in the Northern Empire, is deeply rooted yet distinct from the Empire's language. In the past, it was mainly used by the noble class and the clergy.

After the overthrow of emperors and nobility by the Alliance, the terms high tongue and noble tongue were discarded, and it was henceforth referred to as the Old Language.

While the Empire's language came to be called the common tongue or continental tongue.

The Old Language and the common tongue share only a few words, but most pronunciation and grammar differ significantly, so speakers of the common tongue might understand individual Old Language words but certainly not the whole sentences.

During the Imperial Era, knowledge was monopolized by the clergy and the nobility, and most books were written in the Old Language.

In the modern Republics, only the learned class studies the Old Language as they need to read past literature. The vast majority only speaks the common tongue, which is enough for daily life and work.

Above the Old Language is the ancient tongue, whose original pronunciation is lost.

Only researchers needing to read books from the Ancient Empire era—and clergy, as the official scriptures recognized by the church are written in ancient tongue—study the ancient tongue.

Since the three languages use the same alphabet system, people today can "hard read" the ancient tongue using current grammar.

The church also has a unique system of pronunciation for the ancient tongue, known as "ecclesiastical pronunciation," believed to have been passed down orally since ancient times and generally only learned by clergy.

The military academy offers courses in Old Language and ancient tongue, enabling Winters and Antonio to speak the Old Language.

When Antonio suddenly switched languages, Winters didn't understand at first and was startled when he realized what had been said.

Winters hadn't expected his uncle to dare to say something so rude in the presence of a lady, which would have earned him a harsh slap from even the most gentle of women. He turned to look at Anna, who, tilting her head in confusion, watched the two men and showed no sign of anger.

Winters breathed a sigh of relief, since Anna evidently didn't understand the Old Language, and he replied to his uncle in the same tongue, "[Old Language] Can you please not stir up trouble?"

"[Old Language] Alright, alright, young people have their own ideas," Antonio said with a smile, still misunderstanding the situation, "[Old Language] I'm done with my business. When you want to leave, just find me. I'm in no hurry."

Having said his piece, and before Winters had a chance to clarify, Antonio nodded farewell to Anna and strode off.

As Antonio's figure disappeared behind the bushes, and his footsteps grew fainter, Winters was at a loss for words. Antonio had already jumped to conclusions, and to explain now would be troublesome.

He sighed, turned to Anna, and took his leave: "Miss Navarre, it has been a pleasure spending time with you today. But I must head home now, please allow me to take my leave."

Anna's smile beamed brightly as she said to Winters, "[Old Language] Then, would you like to kiss me?"

After she spoke, she gave Winters a slap and stormed off huffily.