"You've worked hard, Strategist."
"No, it is you, Lord rlen, who have endured the most. I will ensure that all your military achievents are reported without omission, so please continue to focus on your duties without concern."
"Leave it to ."
With the report from Lord rlen, the lord of Granisle Castle at the westernmost edge of the northern continent, Jenna had nearly completed her mission.
Now, only the investigation of Kelstein Castle and its surrounding areas remained.
It was not ideal for a national strategist to be away for such an extended period, but given that Serpina herself was an exceptionally shrewd individual, and that Jenna’s own role was dedicated entirely to supporting her, she felt little cause for concern.
If anything, what truly worried her lay elsewhere... but that particular issue was beginning to take a different turn.
"Strategist."
As Jenna stepped out of Granisle Castle, a female officer approached her.
It was ri, a newly appointed officer who had not been working with her for long.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No, not at all. Ah, I completed everything you ordered. Please check it!"
"I'm sure you handled it well, ri."
Originally, the officer assisting Jenna in these matters had been Erin.
However, after Erin was exposed as a traitor and executed, Jenna—like Serpina—was once again reminded of how deeply their ruler was despised.
"Are you returning straight to the castle now?"
"No. There are still places I need to check. I have to visit Kelstein Castle."
"Ah..."
ri hesitated briefly before cautiously asking,
"But... is this really okay?"
"What do you an?"
"It's about... Lord Swen."
Hearing this, Jenna imdiately grasped the intent behind ri’s question.
Indeed.
Up until recently, she had been deeply wary of Swen, the infamous traitor.
Serpina might not have held preconceived notions about those she recruited from outside her forces, but as her strategist, Jenna believed it was her duty to approach external figures with a stricter standard.
In Serpina’s army, where rebellion was practically a routine occurrence—whether from long-serving officers or newly appointed ones—Swen’s presence stood out.
His passage through multiple nations before being cast aside by the Aishus army was unusual, but what drew Jenna’s concern most was how unnaturally favored he was by Serpina.
At first, she had kept a close watch on him. If Serpina, with her unwavering trust, were to be betrayed by Swen, the resulting damage would far surpass anything previous rebels had inflicted.
However—
That changed recently.
The mont she heard that Swen had brought the pink-haired magician to Serpina, Jenna completely revised her stance.
"Lord Swen will be fine."
"Is that so...? Not long ago, you ntioned that leaving him unchecked for too long would be dangerous."
"That was true at the ti, but not anymore. Opposing him or needlessly keeping him in check would be more detrintal to us now."
Even without the magician incident, the fact that Airen—one of the most accomplished generals—was practically bound to Swen made it an easy conclusion.
Defying Swen and provoking his discontent could now result in losses far greater than any gains.
With Serpina’s forces already devastated by rebellion, Swen's worth was only increasing.
In fact—
Jenna had begun to seriously consider that arranging a marriage between Serpina and Swen might be the best course of action for their ruler.
At any rate, Jenna’s stance on Swen had now shifted.
No longer would she attempt to restrain him—she would instead draw closer to him.
"Well... if the Strategist says so, then I suppose it must be so."
ri did not press the matter further.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
To her, apart from Serpina herself, there was no one in this army sharper than Jenna.
"Shall we get moving then?"
"Yes."
With that, Jenna and ri set off for Kelstein Castle.
Even the strategist of a once-mighty empire now had to make difficult decisions in order to survive.
***
The Capital of the Aishus Army, Valharat Castle.
"So? Jinor has resurfaced?"
"Yes."
"And the place he appeared... it's the Lunarian Army that recently launched a rebellion against Karelia?"
"That's what I've heard."
At Anima’s report, Yuri imdiately fell into thought.
Why...?
Leaving their army just to join a band of rebels?
No matter how she looked at it, this choice seed out of character for soone as sharp as Jinor.
She didn’t know the full details, but it appeared that the rebels had their own justification for the uprising.
And with the public support of Kyle von Eingart—who had long been presud dead—the rebellion had gained a level of legitimacy that almost rivaled that of established lords.
Still, even with that backing, they were nothing more than a fleeting candle fla in the wind—just a single territory on the verge of being crushed at any mont. It made no sense for Jinor to throw his lot in with them.
"Do you know anything about this Lunarian person?"
"Not much. Doesn't seem like a well-known figure."
"Then why would Kyle align with soone like that...?"
At Yuri’s question, Anima answered with a slightly uncertain tone.
"I can’t say for sure... but maybe Kyle is the real leader."
"Huh?"
"Think about it. Kyle only beca significant because Serpina slaughtered all the other siblings with her own hands. But he's old now—running a nation himself would be too much of a burden. So maybe he's just propping up soone who seems easy to control while he pulls the strings from behind."
"He’d take such a gamble at his age?"
"It’s just a guess. I can't say for certain without more information. But there must be sothing to it—Jinor wouldn’t have chosen this army without a reason."
Anima trailed off, lost in thought for a mont.
"...Actually."
"Hm?"
"Doesn’t this all seem connected to Swen?"
"What?"
Yuri was completely caught off guard. Seeing her confusion, even Anima sounded uncertain as she continued.
"I an... Lord Jinor resigned from our army because of that incident, right?"
"...Yeah."
"And Swen was the one most deeply involved in it. Of course, I can’t really explain how that connects to what’s happening now, but..."
"Jinor ended up joining a fledgling rebel army because of Swen...?"
Yuri tapped her fingers against the armrest of her chair, deep in thought.
"But if that’s the case, shouldn’t Swen have joined them as well? According to our most recent reports, Swen is still with Serpina’s army."
"That’s true. Honestly, I don’t really know. It could just be an old man’s whim, or maybe he saw hope in Kyle von Eingart rather than that woman."
"..."
"Unless you have so proof? Sothing that shows Jinor and Swen have to be in the sa army?"
"It’s not exactly proof, but..."
Since Jinor’s adopted daughter, Reika—the magician—was currently in Serpina’s army, Yuri had assud Jinor would naturally head there as well.
But bringing that up would an admitting that she had personally driven Reika away, and she wasn’t keen on sharing that detail.
She believed Anima would understand, but there was no need to say sothing that would bring down morale.
"It’s fine, Yuri. There’s no need to overthink things at this stage. Even with Kyle’s backing, they’re still just rebels. Judging by the situation, Karelia or Ohana’s forces will crush them soon enough."
"...You think so?"
"Yeah."
Anima, her trusted friend and national strategist, spoke with confidence, but Yuri couldn’t shake the unease creeping through her.
Swen, making waves in Serpina’s army with a magician at his side.
Jinor, abandoning everything to join a naless rebel lord propped up by Kyle.
She couldn’t explain why, but sothing about all of this made her deeply uneasy.
Perhaps it was a form of intuition—
A feeling that only one person on this continent could have.
The kind of unease that only soone who had once held both of those n in the palm of her hand could understand.
"So cheer up, Yuri. There’s still plenty of work ahead."
"...Yeah."
That’s right.
No matter what happened, at least Anima was still here.
For now, all she could do was take comfort in that.
That their sanctuary remained intact.
That their carefully constructed world had not yet shattered.
"But anyway, this isn’t what’s important right now."
"Huh? Oh... yeah, you’re right."
Yes.
She hadn’t called Anima here just to reminisce about forr comrades.
"Everything is ready. Just give the order, Yuri."
"..."
With Swen gone, Airen departed, and many officers and soldiers scattered,
the Aishus Army had spent a long ti recovering from the ensuing chaos.
With the Brans Army fractured into three and Serpina’s forces remaining still, they had been quietly regaining their strength.
And now—
That they were ready ant it was ti to spread their wings once more.
Realizing that this was the mont, Yuri slowly rose from her throne.
She looked at the one person she could never afford to lose, no matter what, and gave the command.
"Summon everyone, Anima."
"Understood."
Yuri, Emma, Hernandorf, Epinnel—
And Anima.
Once again, Aishus' will stretched its hand toward the continent.
Reviews
All reviews (0)