A brief turn of the clock forward—
The capital of the Aishus Army, Valharat Castle, located in the eastern central region.
"......."
Yuri stood by the window of the audience chamber, staring blankly outside.
How much ti had passed?
The sound of footsteps echoed as soone approached.
"Yuri."
"......."
The owner of the voice was none other than Anima Ingram.
The very woman whom Yuri had been willing to bear all disgrace to protect.
"Anima, you’re here. How’s Ern doing?"
"He seems to have completely recovered. It’s a relief. That guy... other than being sturdy, he didn’t have much going for him."
At Anima’s words, Yuri smiled.
"That’s really good to hear... I was so worried."
"......."
Anima watched Yuri with a complicated expression but couldn’t bring herself to smile back. Instead, she let out a short sigh.
"Yuri."
"Hm?"
"You do understand what’s happening right now, don’t you?"
"......Yeah."
As of yesterday, the ninth officer had resigned.
Including Jinor, a total of nine high-ranking officers had left the Aishus Army.
For a small nation like Aishus, where every single officer was invaluable, this was a critical blow, no matter how much their power had grown.
To exchange their own general for the return of prisoners—
A situation so unprecedented that no ruler could have ever conceived of it.
Though Epinnel had stepped in as a firefighter to quell the uproar, there was no way to completely hide the storm raging within the army.
"Epinnel went through so much trouble cleaning up after . Honestly, maybe she should’ve been the ruler instead of . The only thing I have... is the blood of the Aishus lineage flowing through my veins."
"I didn’t co here to listen to you whine, Yuri."
Anima’s voice was firm as she watched Yuri’s awkward smile.
No matter what anyone said—
This woman had done everything solely for her sake.
At this point, saying sothing like "I never asked for it" would be aningless.
Since the day of their oath, the only sun she would serve was Yuri.
"So, what’s your plan from here on?"
"...I don’t know. For now, it’s fortunate that Serpina’s army hasn’t moved, but... the southern regions are growing unstable. It seems like things will beco chaotic again. Either way, we need to focus on strengthening our internal stability. Our territory has expanded by three new domains, after all."
Valharat Castle, Laccline Castle, Zelstrom Castle, and Zeta Castle.
With the addition of Charam’s and Aleffel’s territories, along with one of the Brans Army’s castles, the Aishus Army had grown considerably.
"I have a plan, Yuri."
"A plan?"
Yuri looked straight into Anima’s eyes.
"What do you think our army needs most right now?"
"...I guess, first, we need to let the storm pass."
"Exactly. The storm must pass. This series of incidents needs to be forgotten quickly. In other words, internal cohesion is more important now than ever."
"Internal cohesion... huh."
The upheaval had started with the unprecedented decision to sacrifice one of their own officers.
To suppress this raging torrent, sothing even larger had to sweep everyone along with it.
"Yes. And for that... we need to start a war."
Yuri’s eyes widened slightly at the word war.
"A war? You an... launching an offensive?"
"That’s right."
"But the only target we can attack is Serpina’s army. Are you suggesting we invade Hisphil Castle again?"
Yuri’s expression darkened.
"That’s impossible. With three of our territories already near the border, launching another offensive would be too risky. ...Anima, you know this too, don’t you?"
"Of course. It would be difficult, especially Hisphil Castle. My past mistake has made it even more impossible."
"I-I wasn’t trying to bla you—"
"It’s fine, Yuri. I don’t get hung up on things like that... Co here for a mont."
Anima unfolded ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) a map on the nearby table.
"Now, looking at the map... it’s clear that the only force we can attack is Serpina’s army in the west. If we took more ti, we could push south, but getting ambushed along the way would be disastrous."
"...Yeah."
"But we are going to attack Serpina’s army."
Yuri remained silent, staring at Anima.
She quickly recognized this as Anima’s way of signaling that she was waiting for an explanation.
"However, invading Serpina’s army doesn’t necessarily an attacking the castles near the border. The western front isn’t the only route to reach them."
"What do you an? I don’t quite understand."
"Don’t you? We have more than just those three castles."
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Anima pointed at a specific location on the far eastern edge of the continent.
Zeta Castle.
"But everything around Zeta Castle is already part of our territory, isn’t it?"
"No, Yuri. Look at it from a different perspective. ...You should be able to see it."
Yuri stared at the map for a long while.
If Anima had brought it up, then there must be sothing to it...
And then, she realized sothing.
"Wait... Are you talking about the river?"
"Exactly."
A massive river flowed near Zeta Castle.
Following the river upstream, it led to the northernmost edge of the continent—Amir Castle.
"We’re going to invade Amir Castle. From their perspective, it’s not even considered a border fortress, so they probably have minimal defenses. If we bring as many troops as we can, we’ll definitely win. We’ll plant the red flag of Aishus in the northern continent! No one will see it coming."
Indeed.
Predicting such an unorthodox maneuver would be nearly impossible.
After all, Aishus stood to gain little from such an attack.
"But... even if we seize the territory, we won’t be able to hold it. That would make it aningless, wouldn’t it?"
"I already told you, Yuri. We don’t need just a couple of territories. We need sothing to quell this chaos. We need a massive wave to counter the storm approaching us."
Yuri imdiately understood the deeper aning behind Anima’s words.
To overshadow the scandal of sacrificing Swen—
They would create an even more shocking event by planting their flag in the northern continent.
That was Anima’s true intention.
Even if they lost the castle soon after, it would still serve its purpose—
Bringing order to their current turmoil.
"I've thought about it so much, Yuri. In the end, this all happened because of , so I felt like I had to fix it sohow. I racked my brain over and over, thinking until my head was about to burst. Sure, it’s a reckless plan, and there’s not much for us to gain from it... but precisely because of that, no one will ever see it coming. This will catch them completely off guard. Yuri, just trust one more ti."
The burden in Yuri’s heart was just as heavy in Anima’s.
After all, this entire farce had happened to save Anima Ingram.
That was why she had given everything to thinking of a way—anything—to help Yuri out of this dangerous predicant.
A visible achievent. If she could just secure a decisive victory, it would surely stabilize the chaos within the nation.
Her eyes shone with conviction.
Yuri gazed into Anima’s eyes.
Even after losing her arm, even as she refused to show any weakness, even as she declared that she would beco Yuri’s wings—her eyes had shone just like this.
But—
That was exactly why Yuri slowly shook her head.
"No, Anima. I’m not going through with this plan."
"Why not?! They’ll never see it coming. This way, we’ll at least secure territory, even if just for a mont. This is our chance—aside from Serpina’s army, Aishus can be the first to plant its flag in the northern continent!"
Yuri agreed.
She agreed, but there was sothing even more important.
"Lady Yuri, spilled water cannot be put back into its vessel. Whether the decision was right or wrong... no one can ever know for sure."
"Accept what has already happened. Accept the consequences of your decision. Only then will you be able to move forward. That is the final piece of advice I can give you as soone who once served as your tactician."
With her eyes closed, Yuri recalled the last words of a great pillar who had once stood by her side in these chaotic tis.
She had ultimately lost him.
But his final words remained, anchoring a part of her heart.
"Anima. We can’t sacrifice the present and the future just to erase the past."
"......!"
"What’s done is done. Sure, an accomplishnt like this would make an impact and might even calm the situation down... but that would just an throwing away our future to settle the present. So, no. I can’t do it. I’m sorry."
The truth was—
Anima had already sensed it deep down.
The only reason she was so certain the enemy wouldn’t foresee this plan was because it wasn’t particularly beneficial to Aishus.
What kind of strategist would ever expect their opponent to execute a plan where their own losses outweighed the gains?
Planting the Aishus flag in the north, even if just for a mont—
That was all they would achieve.
The soldiers they sent, the resources they burned through, the rations they depleted—it would all disappear for nothing more than an impactful mont.
Even so, she had pushed forward with the plan.
Because Yuri had borne everything on her shoulders for her sake.
Because she wanted Yuri to cast off the weight of her burdens and rise again as soon as possible.
"But... but if we do nothing, you—you're the one who'll suffer. Because of . Because you... because you tried to save —"
"Anima."
Yuri reached out, gently brushing Anima’s slumped shoulders.
"It’s okay. I was prepared for this. ...We’re family, aren’t we?"
"......."
Anima swallowed back the tears welling in her eyes.
And in that mont, she made another vow.
Even if she made the wrong decision, even if the entire world turned its back on Yuri—
She alone would remain by her side, taking on all the filth and disgrace with her.
And—
Anima had no way of knowing just how much fortune she owed to the fact that, in a decisive mont, Yuri had rembered Jinor’s advice.
***
"Good Work, Lady Airen."
"Hmm. You’ve done well. Take care and get so rest."
After dismissing the soldiers who had been patrolling alongside her, Airen changed into her casual clothes and headed back toward her lodgings.
Her assigned mission was to help maintain order in the capital city of Eingart.
There was nothing particularly special about it—just patrolling the outer and inner territories of Eingart Castle.
Even though security was already relatively stable, it was only thanks to the constant shifts of patrol squads keeping things in check.
If they let up even for a day, disorder could spread rapidly, even in the capital.
Especially in tis like these, when chaos reigned.
Moreover, ever since Amir Castle’s patrols had uncovered a major incident, the higher-ups had ordered even stricter security asures, effectively doubling her workload.
Not that Airen minded.
As long as she had work to do, she felt a sense of purpose.
After all, there was once a ti when no one sought her out at all.
She was the kind of person who felt stronger just knowing she was needed by soone.
"......."
As she walked ho, mories of Valharat Castle suddenly ca to mind.
Back then, whenever she finished a mission and returned ho—
Swen was always there to greet her.
She realized that the reason her steps had always been so light on the way back was because she knew, without fail, that a certain silver-haired man would be waiting for her with a smile.
"...I miss him."
She missed Swen.
But she couldn’t just rush off to see him without a reason.
She had only recently received her new assignnt, and standing out too much wouldn’t be a wise decision.
If it only affected her, she might not have cared.
But if she did anything reckless, it could bring unnecessary trouble to Swen as well.
"I wish I had so excuse to see him..."
If she had a legitimate reason, she could request a eting naturally.
But nothing reasonable ca to mind.
For a fleeting mont, Airen imagined herself showing up in front of Swen and simply saying—
"Swen. I missed you, so I ca to see you."
The very thought made her face flush bright red.
She instinctively bowed her head low.
...There was no way she could ever say sothing so embarrassing out loud.
How did Swen manage to say things like that so easily?
"I wish I could express my feelings as naturally as Swen does..."
She sighed at her own hesitation.
And just then—
"...Huh?"
A lively commotion nearby caught her attention.
Her gaze drifted toward the source of the noise—a dessert shop.
It looked like they were hosting so sort of promotional event.
Airen lifted her head and glanced up at the banner above the shop.
[Only Three Days Until Saint Valentino’s Festival! Prepare in Advance!]
"Saint Valentino’s Festival?"
She tilted her head in confusion, unfamiliar with the occasion.
Just then, a woman wearing an apron approached her with a warm smile.
"Hello, knight! We’ve just released a brand-new chocolate—would you like to try so?"
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