Serpina fell silent at my words.
Then—pfft.
She let out a small chuckle, which soon turned into a full, amused laugh.
"I thought you might say that, Swen."
"...."
"It would be quite enjoyable for to hear your reasoning. Why do you believe that?"
"Would you grant a mont to think?"
"Oh? Are you saying you answered without even thinking? That makes it even more intriguing."
Serpina gave a deeply satisfied smile.
It was just like her to say sothing like that.
She had already observed answering her questions multiple tis. She had to know that my responses ca instantly.
And yet, she still pointed it out—not to provoke , but because she had begun to understand the chanism behind my thoughts.
Serpina... at least the current Serpina, trusted more than ever.
If I gave even a half-baked excuse, she would likely still accept it.
But I couldn’t afford to be careless.
She needed a solid justification for trusting —not just for herself, but for her entire army.
Her officers wouldn’t accept missing an opportunity unless there was a clear reason.
So, why would mobilizing the occupation forces right now be a mistake?
Even if my answers seed arbitrary at tis, all I had to do was do what I’ve always done.
Otherwise, I’d end up lost—dragged along by the weight of my own compass.
I closed my eyes and visualized the map.
I had morized the continent’s geography down to the last detail.
Now, I just needed to gather the right information to support my conclusion.
"My lord, before I explain, may I ask—which territories did Carlints and Chel begin their rebellions in?"
"Carlints in the capital city, Arnel. Chel in Heisel Castle, nearby."
‘As expected.’
Neither of the rebel forces bordered our territory.
I quickly organized my thoughts and began my report.
"Both rebel forces are currently surrounded by Brans’ remaining territory.
As long as our alliance holds, even if we successfully seize those castles, they would beco isolated enclaves.
To advance into their territory, we would need a military transit agreent with Brans.
However, as far as I recall, no such clause exists in our treaty."
"Correct."
Of course, it didn’t.
Allowing our troops to move freely through Brans’ land would an allowing Brans’ troops to do the sa in ours.
There was no reason for us to grant them that.
Sure, we could have forced them into an unfair agreent...
But even a dominant power like ours couldn’t afford to act like a brute in diplomacy.
If we had conquered four-fifths of the continent, then yes—we could impose whatever terms we wanted, and nations would have no choice but to comply.
But right now, we controlled only about a third.
We weren’t powerful enough to completely disregard diplomacy.
"Even if we temporarily received permission from Brans to move our troops—there’s no guarantee they would accept such conditions.
And even if everything went smoothly, the gains would be minimal at best."
"Yes. That much, I agree with."
"Then the next issue is Aishus."
When it ca to siege warfare, we had no general capable of overwhelming Aishus’ defensive commanders.
We had Airen, of course, an expert in siege tactics...
But Aishus had Emma, Epinel, and Hernandorf—all of them elite commanders in their own right.
They might be poor administrators, but they were undeniably excellent generals.
Aishus was designed in the ga as a faction with strong commanders and limited territory.
That was their balance.
And war, ultimately, was a numbers ga.
Even with our overwhelming manpower, brute-forcing an assault would be inefficient.
Could we win?
Yes.
But it would an recklessly throwing our entire army at a single fortress.
I summarized my conclusions to Serpina.
She nodded at my assessnt that mobilizing all our troops would be a reckless gamble.
And really—if we could easily crush Aishus, the system wouldn’t have told "No."
Even if we went all-in, we would fail—or, at best, suffer a Pyrrhic victory that crippled our forces.
Because conquering Aishus would be in our best interest.
And yet—I had been given the answer: "No, it is not the right ti."
"To summarize," Serpina said, "You are saying that moving against Brans is impossible due to our alliance...
And that, while we could defeat Aishus with ti, we would gain nothing in return?"
"Yes."
"..."
Serpina remained silent for a mont.
Then, she gave a curious look.
"Is that all you have to say, Swen?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Then may I share my opinion now?"
‘...Huh?’
Serpina’s opinion?
Curious, I t her golden gaze, signaling for her to continue.
"You just said mobilizing all of our forces would be dangerous."
"Yes. Or rather, it would be inefficient."
"To , it seems more dangerous than inefficient."
"Well... I suppose leaving our lands unguarded would be a risk, but—"
"No. Not just risky."
Serpina’s voice grew firm.
She spoke with absolute certainty.
"If we do, a rebellion will break out."
"...A rebellion?"
Because a rebellion was breaking out within the country, advancing onto the continent under the current circumstances was dangerous—
Of course, it wasn’t a thought I hadn’t considered before.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
However, I simply believed that another rebellion occurring re days after we had just suppressed one was highly unrealistic.
It was like expecting lightning to strike the sa place three tis in a row.
So, I hadn’t bothered to voice it.
After all, I had no confidence in persuading Lady Serpina, let alone the commanders under her, with nothing more than "a rebellion will break out."
"Then, Swen, I’d like to ask you a question."
"A question...?"
"What do you think? Do you believe a rebellion will break out in our army?"
'......??'
I wasn’t sure why she was suddenly fixating on the word "question," but regardless, I entered her query.
As expected, the result was predictable.
[Unknown.]
As always, when asked a direct question about whether a specific event would occur, I received no answer.
I couldn't provide her with a satisfying response, but at the very least, I needed to say sothing.
"It’s not entirely impossible... but even though the north is in chaos, the blood of dozens of officers who harbored futile ambitions has yet to dry. Given the circumstances, I find it unlikely that rebels would willingly reveal themselves at such a risk."
"Oh?"
"If I were plotting a rebellion, I wouldn’t act now—I would wait for a more opportune mont. Wouldn’t you agree, my lord?"
I began persuading her while watching her amused expression.
But—
She spoke about sothing entirely unrelated to what I had been trying to convince her ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) of.
"So, you think they wouldn’t reveal themselves?"
"...Pardon?"
"And that they would wait for a more opportune ti?"
"My lord?"
"Swen, let ask you once more. I am considering leading the occupying army south—what do you think?"
'......???'
Why was she asking that question again?
Regardless, my answer remained the sa.
"I have already stated that now is not the appropriate ti."
"Then what about the likelihood of a rebellion?"
"...There is a high probability that it will not occur..."
...Ah.
Only then did I realize why she had been asking those questions.
"I see. You speak with absolute certainty when declaring that it is 'not the appropriate ti' to move the occupying forces, yet when discussing whether a rebellion will break out, you hesitate and speak in probabilities. No—"
"Every ti you have ever spoken with certainty, it has been about outcos. 'Moving the occupying forces is not efficient'—that was the only claim you made with confidence. And every single reason you provided was based on predictions and assumptions."
"Not just this ti, either. You always speak with certainty about results, but the reasoning leading up to them is re speculation."
She stood up and slowly walked toward .
This situation—
It wasn’t the first ti.
Yes.
Long ago, the one person who had co the closest to understanding my abilities through our philosophical exchanges—
The ill-fated strategist of the Aishus Army, once called the Sage of the Forr Empire, despite his old age, his mind had remained astonishingly sharp—
Jinor Nighhardt.
That man had, for even a brief mont, made feel this sa chilling sensation.
And now—
From Serpina, I was feeling that sa coldness...
"Swen, I have only one question to ask. It is a question that will resolve every doubt I have about our conversations. You don’t have to answer, but I would appreciate it if you at least indulged ."
By the ti I regained my focus, her face was already inches from mine.
Foolishly enough, in this situation, the mory of the lips we had once shared surfaced in my mind, and my heart began to race once more.
Lady Serpina stared straight at , her cheeks slightly flushed, her eyes glimring with curiosity—like an inquisitive young girl.
And then, she asked,
"Tell , Swen... is it possible that you can only perceive the outco... and nothing else?"
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