This was inside the mansion where Airen and I resided.
With Reika still occupied with her library duties and yet to return, it had been quite so ti since the two of us sat down together for a al.
"If you have sothing on your mind, would you be willing to share it?"
Had I been alone with my worries, I might have felt much lonelier. But with Airen by my side, I felt at least sowhat at ease.
"If it’s you, Airen, I imagine you already have so idea. What do you think?"
Airen gave a bitter smile in response.
"...Hmm."
A brief silence followed before she finally spoke.
"Luna has finally raised her banner in the southern continent."
"......."
"I don’t know the exact details, but it seems she betrayed those under her... Not that I intend to judge her for it. Turmoil always breeds such things."
According to Serpina, Luna’s uprising had taken the form of a rebellion.
I wasn’t sure of the precise state of Karelia’s forces, but considering that both their ruler and most of their key figures placed heavy importance on loyalty, the odds of a successful rebellion should have been incredibly low.
And yet, for so reason, a significant number of Karelia’s officers had chosen to side with Luna.
"That aside, I never expected her to end up under Karelia’s army... Was this part of your plan as well, Swen?"
"My plan...?"
All I had said was: Seek refuge in Karelia.
That was it.
Whether she would start a rebellion there or take any other action was entirely Luna’s decision, separate from .
At the ti, I had rely given advice based on my knowledge of the ga—I hadn’t even consulted the intelligence of my 100 IQ brain.
Thinking back on it, all I had really done was ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ predict the results.
I had no direct ability to shape those results.
Of course, I could manipulate events to so extent by altering decisions beforehand, but I wasn’t so magician capable of turning the impossible into reality.
That day.
When I assigned Tifa to oversee comrce, and she ended up returning with a treasure chest full of gold coins.
When I placed Cain at the vanguard, and rcenary forces appeared out of nowhere to repel Carlints’ attack.
Luna insisted on calling all of that my achievent simply because I had given her the most efficient course of action.
But in truth, I had never actually expected those things to happen.
At first, I didn’t think much of it.
But as I spent ti among the Brans Army, the Aishus Army, and now the Serpina Army—
I began to realize just how bizarre this all was.
"I didn’t plan any of this. It’s just..."
"Just?"
"Perhaps... it is simply Luna’s fate."
Yes. Fate.
Just as Serpina, shackled by past sins or so unknown malice of the world, could never grasp the throne despite leading the formidable Serpina Army to one success after another—
Luna, on the other hand, was destined to beco a unifying ruler.
No matter what she did, things always seed to turn in her favor.
No matter what choices she made, she always ended up in the best possible situation.
If the Goddess of Fortune truly existed, then Luna must be the one basking in her love.
That was the only reason she could have launched a rebellion with justification in Karelia, of all places, where loyalty was the highest virtue.
Without that justification, there was no way she could have succeeded there.
So what was I supposed to do now?
Should I follow through with my original plan... and return to Luna imdiately?
Should I... abandon Serpina—the woman seemingly forsaken by the Goddess of Fortune?
"Swen."
"...Ah."
Airen’s voice pulled back to reality.
At so point, she had moved to sit right beside .
"I’ve traveled with you across three nations now, haven’t I? I can tell what you’re thinking, and what’s troubling you."
After saying that, she took my hand in hers.
The hands of a woman who wielded a sword. Of course, they were rough and calloused.
But to , they were warr and gentler than the hands of any saint.
"Swen. Whatever choice you make, it doesn’t matter. Take your ti, think it through. Think, and then think again before you decide.
No matter the outco, I will always remain by your side."
"Airen..."
I slowly nodded, placing my free hand over hers.
"Thank you, Airen."
No matter what decision I made, there was soone who would always stand by .
Perhaps that was why the turmoil in my heart felt just a little lighter.
No matter what happened, Airen would be here.
That alone was enough to bring clarity.
Even after that, we remained like that for a long ti, hands firmly clasped together.
Airen—this woman...
To , she was an irreplaceable sanctuary.
***
Ti flowed on rcilessly.
Though Swen had yet to return, the one relief Luna had was that nothing drastic had happened in the anti.
Karelia’s army had gathered its forces, but they remained still, showing no signs of movent.
The renegotiations with Ohana’s forces were dragging on, yet Violet continued to probe and diate between the two sides.
Fortunately, this process at least confird that Ohana’s army had not already ford a secret alliance with Karelia.
It would have been strange for Karelia—known for its emphasis on loyalty—to side with Ohana, which was infamous as the most treacherous among the four southern lords.
But Karelia had already been swayed by Vanessa and had lost much of its once-glorious reputation.
Now that a rebellion had broken out, there was little reason for them to hold back.
And yet, with no significant developnts on that front, it was clear that Karelia had failed to seize either legitimacy or practical advantage.
For Luna, this was good news.
And yet, ever since that day, her heart had continued to wither and dry up.
Why... hasn’t he co?
Swen was most likely not in the Brans Army anymore, but rather in the neighboring Aishus Army.
If the rumors Violet ntioned were even partially true—if Swen was now part of Serpina’s forces—he should have heard the news of her rebellion by now.
By this point, there had been more than enough ti for him to ride down here alone.
Given the current state of the northern continent, regardless of his location, if he had set out on horseback at full speed, he should have arrived already.
Luna couldn’t fathom a situation where Swen knew about this and still chose not to co.
So, naturally, her thoughts led her to one grim possibility—
"Could he be in a situation where he can’t hear the news?"
If he was unable to receive word of her uprising, it would explain a lot.
Could he be imprisoned by Serpina’s forces?
If, for so reason, Serpina had detained him, then the reports of people seeing him in the northern regions wouldn’t be contradictory.
It would also explain why the Aishus Army had supposedly "sold him off"—a captured prisoner would typically be thrown into a dungeon.
Swen’s talent was exceptional. If Serpina saw value in him, she might be keeping him for her own use.
Even if that wasn’t the case... if sothing had happened to him—if sothing had prevented him from hearing about her rebellion...
No, more than that—
What if sothing had happened to him personally?
A chill far colder than the winter wind crept up Luna’s spine.
"Have I... been too late?"
These were turbulent tis.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Loyalty, trust, and human life were all treated as disposable commodities in an era of chaos.
It wouldn’t be unheard of for a wandering officer to be executed without a second thought.
The re thought of it brought a crushing weight upon her chest.
Had she... spent too much ti waiting for the right opportunity?
Had she stalled for legitimacy, believing that if she simply waited long enough, the victory would be hers?
Had she—naively, foolishly—dragged things out for too long... only to be too late in the end?
"No... No...!"
The very instant that terrifying thought crossed her mind—
A soldier entered the audience chamber.
"Milady. A man has arrived requesting to swear allegiance to you."
"!!!!!!"
Hearing those words, Luna’s expression lit up, and she sprang to her feet from the throne.
"Is that true?!"
"Uh—yes! That is, um... I an—"
"Hurry! Bring him before at once! Quickly!"
The soldier, flustered by her urgency, could barely stamr out a response before rushing off to bring the visitor in.
Swen...!
Ah...!!!
She knew it.
She knew he would co.
She had always believed in him.
She had waited for this mont all this ti.
She had never forgotten the promise they made that day.
Luna could feel her heart pounding harder than ever before.
Yes.
She needed him.
It was true that she needed him as a strategist.
It was true that she needed to et him again, because of the promise, because she owed him.
But... she now understood sothing else.
She needed Swen—not just as a strategist, not just out of obligation—
She needed him as a person.
The first person who had ever acknowledged her potential.
The first person who had believed in her, when everyone else only mocked her as the powerless ruler of a weak, insignificant nation.
The first person who had called her "a ruler capable of unifying the continent."
The man who had perford miracle after miracle—beyond anything she could ever explain.
As a human, as a woman, she needed him.
When she saw him again, the first thing she would say was—
"Thank you for waiting for ."
And then—
"I’m sorry for making you wait."
"Thank you for surviving."
"Thank you for coming back to ."
Even if she spoke for days, she wouldn’t be able to say everything she wanted to.
But that was fine.
Because they had ti.
Because being together ant they could keep talking for as long as they wanted.
At least, that was what Luna believed—
Until.
"This is the man, milady."
"......Huh?"
The soldier brought forth a white-haired man.
That much was correct.
But that was where the similarities ended.
The man before her was far older, soone who looked closer to Cain’s age than her own.
And as he knelt before her, he spoke.
"It is an honor to et you, Lady Lunarian."
"......?"
"My na is Jinor Nighhardt.
A long ti ago, I once served as the Empire’s Chancellor.
Would you permit this old man to pledge his service to you?"
The situation was shifting—
In a direction Luna had never anticipated.
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