A few days later.
As the morning sunlight tickled her cheeks, Serpina’s eyes slowly fluttered open.
...Mmm...
She sat up lightly and stretched.
Her sheer white negligee clung precariously to her delicate curves, barely covering her figure.
The first thing she did was bathe.
After filling the tub and heating the water, she spent the waiting ti tidying her bedding.
It was an unusual sight—one that didn’t quite suit a ruler.
After all, Serpina wasn’t just so noble or feudal lord—she was of the forr imperial bloodline.
Naturally, she should have had at least three or four maids attending to her at all tis.
Yet, she preferred to do it herself.
This was more than just a morning routine—it was a ritual.
Before starting her day as the heir of the Eingart family, she would shed the identity of Serpina for a brief mont.
Moreover, this bedroom was a forbidden sanctuary.
No one besides Serpina herself was allowed to enter freely.
It was her only place of solitude.
Thus, she stepped into the wooden tub, her body wrapped in nothing but a thin towel.
As the water overflowed around her, a soft sigh escaped her pink lips.
Perhaps due to the ample size of her chest, the water spilled over for quite so ti before the room finally settled into a quiet stillness.
...
As the warmth seeped into her skin, a certain man’s face naturally ca to mind.
The only person who had ever trespassed into this forbidden space—twice.
Swen...
Flushing, Serpina dipped her face into the water up to her lips.
The bubbling sound echoed the turmoil in her mind.
Whenever she thought of him, her heart pounded.
Whenever she thought of him, a ticklish sensation filled her stomach.
The first man to step into her bedroom.
The first man to visit her siblings’ graves with her.
He had told her he would stay by her side.
He had told her he believed in her.
And—he had entrusted her with a secret he hadn’t even shared with Airen.
At first, her feelings toward him had been simple: curiosity.
A naless young man who kept appearing in her dreams.
The strategist who had sent boulders crashing down and cornered her army—she had simply wanted to et him once.
Then, it had turned into desire—not personal desire, but the desire for talent.
Jenna was by no ans an incompetent commander, but Swen’s insight was unparalleled among the Serpina forces.
Even his initial wager with her—offering a bet to a ruler of an enemy nation—showed that he had courage despite his lack of physical strength.
From the very beginning, she had instinctively known—
Swen was the missing puzzle piece necessary for her conquest.
And now—
The feeling she held for him was no longer desire.
It was craving.
It was no longer about ambition.
It was the raw yearning of a woman for a man.
Even the absolute ruler, Serpina, could not resist the primal instincts that stirred within her.
Curiosity, desire, and craving had beco a tangled ss, ruling over her mind.
A completely foreign feeling, one she had never experienced before, left her confused and restless.
And then—
A thought suddenly struck her.
Swen had said he possessed an ability called Insight.
Given how everything he had predicted so far had co true, that claim was likely to be true.
But...
Was he really using that ability for her?
["When he moved from Brans Army to Aishus, and... his path to becoming a strategist for Brans Army—there’s sothing off about it."]
According to what she had heard, before joining Brans Army, Swen had been a strategist for a small, weak nation.
Abandoned by his forr ruler, he had remained in a besieged fortress and surrendered himself to Lyn Brans.
The official story was that his forr ruler had used him as a sacrificial pawn and fled.
When she had first heard it, she had rely found it strange—How could soone with such insight be betrayed so easily by a minor ruler?
But now, knowing about Insight, she had far more reason to be suspicious.
Would soone like him truly allow himself to be abandoned so easily?
Or...
Could it be that he simply couldn’t see whether he would be discarded or not?
After all, he wasn’t omniscient. There were things he failed to predict.
Yet—Serpina’s intuition told her that Swen had not acted carelessly.
["Perhaps..."]
Yes.
The truth might be—he had far more complicated relationships with his past rulers than he let on.
This wasn’t just her speculation.
The soldiers of Brans Army had whispered their own doubts.
A ruler who had suddenly vanished, taking all the gold, provisions, and troops with them.
A strategist who had once made a fool of Lyn Brans, yet had seemingly fallen into her grasp with ease.
The inconsistencies had been widely discussed among Brans Army’s soldiers.
Though the rumors had faded without conclusion, there was one undeniable fact:
Swen had changed rulers multiple tis.
It was only natural to reach a certain conclusion—
His true loyalty lay not with her, but with soone else.
["I trust my lord... I trust you, Lady Serpina."]
His voice, in that mont, had carried undeniable sincerity.
But was she truly the "lord" he spoke of?
If so—why had he added Lady Serpina as an afterthought?
Of course, one could interpret it as "I trust my lord, Lady Serpina."
But still.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Up until now—whenever she had spoken about the possibility of his loyalty lying elsewhere—
At so point, Swen had stopped denying it.
So who was it?
Who was the true ruler Swen had in his heart?
Would Airen, who had been with him since Brans Army, know?
Yet, she couldn’t afford to ask.
Not now.
She didn’t want to burden Airen unnecessarily.
She was a brilliant general, and besides—
She didn’t want to risk pushing Airen into asking Swen directly.
She didn’t want to provoke him.
She didn’t want him to resent her.
Certainly.
She had resolved to wait patiently—
To wait until he slowly opened his heart to her.
Even if it took months, even if it took ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) years, she had sworn she would win him over in the end...
And yet—
A creeping sense of anxiety gnawed at her, as if the warm, gray eyes that once gazed at her would suddenly disappear.
Her body burned with unease.
...Haah.
After soaking in the bath for a long while, Serpina finally rose and finished her bath.
She dressed herself and covered her body with a scent reminiscent of her favorite childhood place.
The fragrance of yuzu was her armor.
By donning that armor, she was no longer the soft-hearted youngest princess of the imperial family—
She beca Serpina von Eingart, the golden-eyed absolute ruler.
Finally, she adorned her hair with a distinctively shaped hairpin.
With that, she was ready to face the world.
["Welco, my lord."]
Leaving her chambers and heading toward the royal castle, she acknowledged those who bowed to her with a light nod as she made her way to the throne.
Upon arriving at the royal castle, the first order of business was to receive reports on recent affairs.
["No signs of rebellion... is that correct?"]
As she read the long report from Jenna, soldiers approached her periodically to deliver updates on ongoing matters.
Today, it seed like she would spend her ti reviewing reports, issuing no major orders.
But then—
A surprising piece of news reached her.
["My lord. A letter has arrived from General Irian."]
Irian—
He was the one Swen had recomnded to patrol Kelstein Castle.
Serpina took the letter from the soldier.
And then—
***
Rewinding ti—at Roze Castle.
["Our lord has specifically assigned ?"]
["Yes, General."]
Irian, who had been overseeing the garrison at Roze Castle in place of Airen, tilted his head in confusion.
["There are plenty of other capable generals available for a simple territorial survey, aren’t there?"]
["That is true, but this was our lord’s decision."]
["I do not question our lord’s will, of course. But I can’t help but wonder why I was chosen specifically..."]
As Irian pondered, his aide hesitated before carefully offering an opinion.
["Well... it seems to be his suggestion."]
["His?"]
["That man—Swen, I believe? He has been spending a great deal of ti with our lord lately. From what I hear, he has been advising her on various matters. Many of the recent, sowhat perplexing orders are rumored to be tied to him. Of course, these are just rumors, but..."]
Hearing this, Irian frowned in irritation.
["I must say, I am quite surprised by you. I had no idea you had the audacity to spread baseless gossip in front of ."]
["N-No, sir! That was not my intention!"]
["I will overlook it this ti, but be mindful of your words from now on."]
["Yes, sir!"]
["If you understand, go summon General Beniel."]
["Understood."]
As the aide departed, Irian fell into deep thought.
I don’t believe in malicious rumors... but even if they were true, Swen is certainly soone worthy of trust.
There must be a reason he specifically chose for this mission.
Irian was well aware of the strange rumors surrounding Swen and Serpina.
However, after the incident involving Janis, his trust had already leaned toward Swen.
And besides—
If things played out well, Swen might even beco his brother-in-law.
Why would he speak ill of soone who might one day be part of his family?
"I’ll leave this place in Beniel’s hands and prepare to depart imdiately."
It didn’t matter who had suggested it.
Orders had been given.
And orders were to be followed.
That was the way Irian lived.
***
Back to Eingart Castle.
As Serpina read Irian’s letter, a faint tremor ran through her body.
...!!!
"Sending Irian would be the most efficient choice."
Hadn’t he said that?
Once again—
Serpina had witnessed, firsthand, the undeniable accuracy of that man’s words.
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