Chapter 1148: Chapter 9 Friendship_2

“The more you explain, the more scared I get. How about this — let me come stay at your place instead?” The more sincere Winters was, the less Aike wanted to hear. He intentionally changed the subject, dragging out his words: “Oh, I forgot, you’re already a married man now!”

“Fiancee.” The young man in uniform flushed red in an instant, embarrassed as he corrected himself: “Fiancee.”

“And quite the stunning beauty too!” Aike said admiringly.

“Heh.” The young man in uniform undid the button at his collar, feigning indifference as he said, “She’s alright.”

Aike couldn’t help but let out a long sigh: “You are like a racehorse — you don’t understand the burdens of a draft horse! I’ve heard a wealthy beauty approached you out of her own accord, and everyone envied you to death! While we were staying in Guidao City, not to mention beauties throwing themselves at us — even being occasionally invited to a ball was rare, and during those times we could only jealously watch as others charmed and delighted the ladies.”

“It can’t be called throwing herself at me. To be precise, it’s…” The young man in uniform rubbed his forehead, struggling to think. “I don’t even know how to describe it. Mutual affection?”

“Tell me how.” Aike perked up with interest: “Tell me, how did you two become ‘mutual affections’? Let me pick up a few tips.”

“It all started with a slap.”

Initially, the young man in uniform seemed eager to speak, but then he tilted his head, looking at the ground in contemplation. He appeared to be recalling the details, organizing his thoughts. After a while, he sighed, smiled, and said, “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you another time.”

“Alright.” Aike faintly sensed his friend didn’t want to recount the story of his fiancee in a casual tone, so he refrained from pressing further. Instead, he changed the topic again and deliberately reproached: “But getting engaged without telling me — isn’t that going too far? Sending a letter, how hard could that be? Winters Montagne, I didn’t think you were such a cold-hearted person.”

“Actually.” The young man in uniform awkwardly cleared his throat: “I’m not engaged yet.”

“Not engaged, yet you’ve already moved her into your place? I-I-I…” Aike first widened his eyes in shock, then collapsed onto the bed like a ruptured water sack, groaning in disbelief, “I really envy you!”

“When you were in Guidao City,” the young man in uniform asked, “did you hear about me?”

Aike didn’t reply. He sat upright, resting his hands on his knees, fixed his gaze on his friend, and said seriously, “Winters, please don’t ask me anything about The Federated Provinces’ military intelligence — I won’t answer. Likewise, I won’t pry into your military matters either. Can we agree on that?”

“No problem.” The young man in uniform responded with a cheerful laugh: “You’re my captive, but you’re still my classmate and good friend. There’s no contradiction.”

Aike exhaled deeply.

Truth be told, a faint sense of estrangement had hung between the two ever since their reunion. It was intangible but undeniably present.

How could there not be some distance? Even blood relatives, after years of separation, would inevitably feel a touch of unfamiliarity upon meeting again. And Winters Montagne and Axel Orange were not only friends but also enemies, each shouldering their own responsibilities and missions.

Thus, when Winters Montagne and Axel Orange reunited, they both worked hard to maintain the conversation’s mood, tacitly avoiding questions that might evoke resentment from the other, carefully steering toward “safe topics.”

Because they cherished this friendship, unwilling to see it sullied, damaged, or desecrated.

Yet this deliberate effort to please and tread cautiously was paradoxically the main source of their sense of estrangement.

Once Aike made his boundaries clear, that invisible barrier seemed to vanish as if swept away. The two effortlessly slipped back into the inseparable, no-secrets camaraderie they had enjoyed during their school days.

“It’s actually not much of a story.” Aike leaned back into a reclining position, smiling as he said, “Plenty of classmates know about your situation.”

“Oh?” The young man in uniform raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“When it was learned you were sent to Paratu, and the classmates from Paratu were dispatched overseas, everyone was outraged. They felt the arrangement was both disgraceful and deeply unfair.” Aike sighed, “Everyone was worried about you all, so they went out of their way to gather news. Whenever someone got new updates, the classmates from the 21st cohort quickly spread them around. When word came that your military ranks were rising rapidly, folks even teased that you were blessed in disguise.”

The young man in uniform listened intently and kept nodding. Aike watched his friend’s expression closely — the latter seemed to have numerous questions he wanted to ask.

But in the end, the young man in uniform said nothing, only chuckling self-deprecatingly: “I knew it. When was I ever that popular? Still, if you get a chance, please thank everyone for me.”

“Your intel was the most sought-after.” Aike, swept up in memories, pulled the blanket under him and leaned back into a more comfortable position, speaking enthusiastically: “Everyone originally thought you had died in battle and even held a memorial service for you. There were folks crying at the ceremony. Remember Danilo Orsper?”

“Of course I remember. But wasn’t he in the Cavalry Corps?”

“He said that although you weren’t well-liked, you weren’t an outright bastard either.” Aike mimicked their classmate’s tone: “And so–‘To die so pointlessly, trampled by a barbarian’s horse, with not even a body left behind — it’s such a senseless waste! Such a senseless waste! Why?!'”

The young man in uniform instinctively touched his nose: “Why do I feel like… he’s still holding a grudge against me for breaking his nose and making it bleed for three days?”

“Didn’t he also punch you until your eye was black and blue?” Aike sneered in response, “And then the two of you ended up sweeping the toilets for a whole month?”