I imdiately tore away the cloth gagging his mouth and shook him.
"Senior, can you hear ? Janis, wake up!"
"......!"
Thankfully, Janis opened his eyes quickly and took in the situation.
"...Swen? Why are you...?"
"I ca to rescue you. Your sister asked to."
"...Ah..."
Janis let out a short sigh before nodding at .
It seed he had grasped what was happening without much difficulty.
Now, it was ti to hear his story.
***
A Few Days Earlier
As Janis left the royal castle with a bitter expression, his thoughts churned.
'My brother worked harder than anyone on the battlefield, so why is he getting nothing in return?'
It was obvious that the position of Deputy Commander of the occupation forces would go to one of the most promising young generals in the Serpina Army.
And anyone could see that the position rightfully belonged to Irian, who had played a decisive role in subjugating the Brance Army.
That is—until Airen showed up.
'I understand that she's capable, but in the end, wasn't it my brother who fought for our army? And yet...'
Janis had always pledged his loyalty to Lady Serpina, and he had never expected anything in return.
But the fact that the position didn’t go to his esteed older brother—
Instead, it was given to a commander who had only recently defected to their side.
That fact alone gnawed at him.
Even after discussing it with Irian, there was no resolution.
He considered simply letting it go—until they approached him.
"You think this is unfair too, don't you?"
An old veteran, one of the first to guide him when he had joined the Serpina Army, spoke to him.
As it turned out, he wasn’t alone in his frustration.
There were plenty of officers within the army who felt the sa way.
And when he followed the old veteran’s introduction to a certain eting—
He was greeted by a completely unexpected figure.
"Oh-ho! The distinguished Janis al Kasky! An honor indeed!"
A warm but weighty voice welcod him.
"I rember sharing drinks with your father as if it were just yesterday, and now you’ve already grown into such a fine man. Two sons, both exceptional—your family must be proud!"
The speaker was none other than Hewton Argyle, one of the Eleven Great Pillars of the Ain Gart Empire.
He was once a highly respected statesman—one of the few who could have succeeded Jinor Nighhardt as Imperial Chancellor.
Though he had declined that position, citing old age, he was still regarded as a brilliant political strategist.
The Serpina Army had even considered appointing him as the Empire’s National Strategist—but he had refused.
Instead, he quietly withdrew from active politics, keeping to the shadows.
But that didn’t an he had severed ties with the empire's central politics entirely.
At first, Janis simply spent ti with them to vent his frustrations.
After all, discussing his grievances with like-minded individuals eased his resentnt.
But at so point, he began to realize—
These n were plotting sothing they should never have dared to speak of.
"Lord Algott would never have handled things this way."
"Even Sir Hewton, his right-hand man, has expressed great discontent."
"Janis, surely you also believe that Lord Algott is the rightful successor of the Ain Gart Empire?"
They were one of many factions that refused to acknowledge Serpina's legitimacy.
Their leader was Algott von Ain Gart, and their strategist was Hewton Argyle.
They were nothing more than another group of conspirators using Algott and Sidad's nas—just like all the others before them.
Faced with this dangerous truth, Janis made his choice.
To stay alive, he played along.
He thought about reporting it to his liege imdiately, but he had no private audience with her at the ti.
And more importantly—
Many of the conspirators were people he had trusted.
Even his old ntor was among them.
If he exposed them now, they would all be executed.
So he hesitated.
And in that hesitation—
Janis gradually beca one of them.
Before he knew it, he was lying to his roommate, asking his sister to cover for him—
All so he could continue eting ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) with them.
Then one day, Hewton spoke to him directly.
"Your brother, Irian, is feeling quite discouraged, isn’t he?"
"...Are you referring to my brother?"
"Indeed. If he joins us, he will help lay the foundation for a true Ain Gart Empire.
If we succeed, both Irian and yourself will be granted the positions you deserve.
The al Kasky family will finally take its rightful place as a founding noble house of the new empire!"
It was at that mont that Janis realized—
He couldn’t sit back any longer.
'Just talking to them was already dangerous enough.
If I let this continue, my brother... my family... we could all be destroyed.
I have to report everything—now!'
"Janis, you’ve already taken one step forward.
You know what you need to do if you really want to get what you desire."
What Janis desired was for Irian’s efforts to be recognized.
But he wouldn’t bring about his brother’s ruin just for that.
Countless rebel groups had tried to overthrow the empire.
Even far stronger forces had been wiped out entirely.
Did they really think a group of old n could change the empire’s fate?
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Even if they had noble intentions—Janis had never once considered betraying Lady Serpina.
"...I understand."
So he gave them a vague answer and imdiately headed for the royal castle.
Even if it ant punishnt, he had to confess everything.
That was the only way to protect his family.
But—
"......!!"
Before he could reach the castle, sothing struck the back of his head.
"Tch. So you were planning to talk after all. Damned fool."
"What do we do? Should we kill him?"
"No. If we want to win over Irian al Kasky, we need to keep him alive.
But for now... he needs to disappear for a while."
The last thing Janis rembered—
Was the sound of their voices as his vision darkened into nothingness.
***
Aingart Royal Castle.
I was kneeling in the audience chamber, speaking with Serpina.
"Swen. You’ve co to first this ti—I’m quite curious to hear what this is about. Could it be that you simply wished to spend so private ti with ?"
"......."
Serpina spoke with a faint smile, as if throwing out a lighthearted remark.
But what I was about to tell her was far from lighthearted. It was a weighty matter, sothing that could not be conveyed lightly.
She must have sensed the gravity of my expression because her tone lowered, taking on a more serious edge.
"It seems sothing has happened."
"Lord... Please do not be alard, but through my personal investigations, I have discovered—"
"That soone is plotting to take my life again?"
"......!!!"
The mont Serpina spoke, I looked up at her in shock.
She was... smiling.
But this smile was neither the commanding charisma of an absolute ruler nor the alluring charm of a woman.
It was hollow—nothing but a lonely, desolate smile.
"There is nothing to be surprised about. Seeing the severity of your expression, I rely thought, ‘Ah, it’s about ti.’ Besides, Swen, was it not you who previously uncovered a conspiracy against ? It is not so unusual for sothing that has happened once to happen again."
"Lord..."
Now that I thought about it, I had indeed exposed a group of rebels once before.
Back then, they were the remnants of Sidmid von Aingart’s faction. This ti, it was those clinging to Algott von Aingart’s na. The only difference was which prince they claid to serve.
As I looked at the sorrowful expression on her face, I thought to myself—
...That’s right.
The northern continent was currently plagued with endless rebellions.
Even when playing as Serpina’s forces in the ga, no matter how high her loyalty score was raised, there was always soone who would eventually rise in rebellion.
Back then, I had simply dismissed it as a “balance patch.”
But in this reality, Serpina was forced to witness those who once swore loyalty to her rise against her ti and ti again.
"Tell everything, Swen. What exactly happened?"
"...Yes, my Lord."
Even if revealing this would only add to the burden of her crown—
I could not keep silent.
I had to protect her.
And so, I relayed to her everything I had learned from Jenis.
***
That day.
Thanks to the efforts of Swen and Iren, the faction plotting rebellion in Algott von Aingart’s na was completely uprooted.
With the confessions extracted from those involved, all mbers were swiftly arrested and imprisoned.
At the heart of the conspiracy was the retired veteran Hewton Argyle.
Once a staunch supporter of Algott in the battle for succession, he had stepped back after Algott’s death and had appeared to be peacefully spending his twilight years.
Now, with this plot laid bare, it was clear that his retirent had been nothing more than a front.
And among the captured rebels was one particularly unexpected na—
Erin, a female knight known for her unwavering loyalty to Serpina.
"...Erin."
"......."
Serpina looked at the woman who had always been by her side and asked—
"Why would you take part in sothing so foolish? This is an act of utter stupidity, and you, Erin, have always been too intelligent for such folly."
"Serpina, do you have any idea how many people have suffered because of you? How many lives you’ve taken? Do you truly believe you can rule indefinitely?"
"......."
"It is not too late. Step down. Abdicate the throne and hand over your crown to Lord Hewton, the rightful heir of Crown Prince Algott. If you do so, we will guarantee your life. There is no point in clinging to the tainted blood of Aingart any longer."
Sothing was off.
Serpina had always been able to understand Erin—
But now, it felt as if she were speaking a completely different language.
And in that mont, she realized—
This was it.
This was what Rahelven had once tried to warn her about.
*"Princess. Since this is our last conversation, allow to share one final lesson. I am rely the first of many."
"Did you not anticipate this when you first drank the royal blood of Aingart? Countless others will co for you. ...It will be a grueling battle, but this is the weight one must bear when they seize what was never ant to be theirs."
"I... took sothing that was never ant to be mine."
Sothing that was never ant to be hers.
In truth, she had never even wanted it.
All of this—
The fate of the Aingart lineage, the empire, the dream of unification—
Had they not all been simply given to her?
As she left the prison and made her way back, Serpina leaned against a cold stone wall, lost in thought.
How many more tis would she have to witness the faces of those who once swore loyalty to her twist into expressions of hatred?
How much longer would this unending cycle of malice haunt her steps?
And when she thought about it—
Once again, he had been involved.
Swen...
It had been Swen who uncovered the previous rebellion.
It was Swen who had exposed this one.
Had he not been there, she might never have even realized until it was too late.
No matter the success or failure of these plots, the fact that Serpina herself had never suffered any great losses—
That was entirely thanks to Swen.
Perhaps... Swen could give her the answer she was searching for.
As she made her way back to the audience chamber, Serpina decided she would summon Swen.
Whether it was to comnd his efforts in this matter and discuss what ca next—
Or simply because she wanted to see him—
Even she did not know the answer.
Reviews
All reviews (0)