The place Serpina and I headed to was the familiar annex.
"It has been quite so ti since we last ca here together."
From the day she tested my abilities with a duel—
To the night we first shared a drink—
Serpina and I had spent a great deal of ti in this place.
Looking back now, so much had happened.
"Sit comfortably. I shall bring the wine."
Sothing I recently learned—
This annex had once been used as a storage building back when the great Eingart manor stood, before it burned down during the ‘crown prince conflict.’
Now, it was the only remaining structure that had survived the flas, a space that Serpina continued to tend to, even now, by maintaining the surrounding garden.
What must it feel like to spend ti alone in the place where your siblings perished?
For a mont, her sudden confession surfaced in my mind.
"I did not kill anyone..."
I almost let myself get lost in thought.
But Serpina’s voice pulled back to reality.
"It would have been nice to have sothing to accompany our drinks."
She held a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hands.
At a glance, the wine looked incredibly expensive.
Well, of course—soone of Serpina’s stature wouldn’t be drinking anything cheap.
"It’s fine. I like drinking straight."
"Straight?"
"Ah... it’s just a phrase. It ans drinking without any side dishes or snacks."
She took her seat and handed a glass.
The mont I accepted it, her voice followed.
"I have never heard that term before."
"It’s common where I co from."
"Where you co from? Are you referring to your holand?"
"My holand, huh..."
Serpina skillfully removed the cork from the bottle, took my glass, and filled it with ruby-red wine.
The quiet glug, glug of the pouring liquid echoed in the stillness of the room.
"I suppose you could call it that."
"Co to think of it, Swen... I do not believe I have ever asked where you are from."
I took the glass Serpina handed .
Even without bringing it to my lips, the rich fragrance struck imdiately.
A sweetness lingered in the scent—was this to her taste?
"Are you from the central continent?"
Where I was from, huh.
There was no need to be honest.
Yet, even before taking a sip, I felt as if I were already intoxicated—
A stubborn part of refused to lie to her.
"I co from... sowhere else."
"Sowhere else?"
"Yes. A place unrelated to this continent.
A little farther away..."
It was the kind of nonsense that anyone would find ridiculous.
But instead of pressing for details, Serpina simply filled her own glass and lightly raised it toward .
I lifted my own in response.
"You must have endured much hardship in a foreign land, Swen."
"It’s nothing.
No matter where they live, humans are bound to endure suffering."
I took a sip of the wine.
As expected, it wasn’t just fragrant—it was quite sweet for a red wine.
Thinking back, the last ti I served her drinks, that one had been rather sweet as well.
It seed Lady Serpina preferred her liquor on the sweeter side.
"Suffering cos in different forms.
Standing by my side and surviving day by day must be a hardship of its own.
As you know, I am the continent’s most infamous witch...
A tyrant, after all."
She smiled as she spoke.
And I did not correct her.
The burden Serpina had taken upon herself, whether she wanted it or not—
The cross of Eingart that she bore.
To sustain it, the mask of a tyrant was a necessary tool.
Without further words, we continued sharing our drinks.
Whenever one of our glasses emptied, the other would refill it.
One sip, then another.
At so point, I felt the heat in my face—
And noticed the flush coloring hers as well.
"Swen."
"Yes, my lord?"
"Tell about your lord."
"...Excuse ? Are you referring to yourself, Lady Serpina?"
At my response, Serpina let out a soft, amused chuckle.
"Hahaha, Swen.
For all your sharp wit, you are rather terrible at dodging questions."
"..."
Fair enough.
There was no need for her to ask about herself.
She was not the kind of person who sought validation through such things.
My lord... Lunarian.
Where should I even begin?
I thought for a mont before speaking.
"...She is a steadfast person."
Serpina said nothing, only gazing at intently.
But I could tell from her expression that she was listening carefully.
"She is soone who genuinely loves her people.
When the ti cos, she does not hesitate to make decisions.
She possesses an aura... sothing that sets her apart from others."
Speaking about Lunarian made realize sothing.
Despite all the ti I had spent with her, she was surprisingly difficult to describe.
And that it had been a long ti since we parted ways.
We had spent neither too little nor too much ti together.
But back then, the circumstances surrounding the Lunarian Army had been too dire for to truly understand her on a personal level.
It was true that I had sensed sothing in her that neither Lyn nor Yuri had—
But in the end, my assessnt of Luna had been based primarily on one thing.
Nine-tenths of it ca from my intelligence of 100—
From the answer I had received long ago.
[Can Lunarian Iniang beco the ruler who unifies the continent?]
[Yes.]
These two cryptic answers—
Perhaps they were the closest thing to the entirety of my image of Lady Luna.
That wasn’t to say they were all there was to it.
No, there was sothing even more important.
"And... she trusted ."
"She trusted you?"
Serpina, who had been silently listening until now, finally spoke, her voice carrying a question.
"Yes. No matter how absurd my words were, she listened to them all.
She never asked for proof—she simply took my words at face value and believed in .
Thinking back now... I think that’s what I rember the most."
"She believed you..."
Serpina stared at for a mont, then quietly refilled her glass with a soft glug, glug—
"...!"
—before downing it all at once.
"...Swen."
"I am listening."
"Soday... you will return to your lord, won’t you?"
There was the faintest tremor in Serpina’s voice.
Her flushed face was no longer looking at my eyes but at the table.
It was unlike the charismatic ruler who always spoke with confidence, always t people’s gazes head-on—
In this mont, she seed far more like a vulnerable girl.
"One day, when the ti cos... you will go back.
To the lord who believes in you..."
"..."
When the ti cos...
That had been my plan, Lady Serpina.
And in truth, the ti had already arrived.
Lady Luna had raised her banner. She had revealed herself.
So, I should have returned.
But...
I cannot leave you behind.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Your golden eyes, the lingering scent of citron—
The way you trembled as you looked at ,
The sight of you standing before a grave in silent mourning,
The way you threw yourself in harm’s way for Lady Airen—
I cannot ignore it all.
I cannot bear to leave you alone.
The words swirled at the tip of my tongue, never making it past my lips.
I did not say them.
No—
I could not say them.
I could not place yet another burden upon her shoulders.
Serpina seed about to say more but hesitated.
Then, she took another sip of wine, let out a small sigh, and murmured—
"...You do not have to answer, Swen."
Still staring at the table, she slowly lifted her head.
Her golden eyes wavered.
"I just... I envy her.
The fact that she can call you her vassal...
I truly, truly envy her."
I knew it wouldn’t bring her any real comfort,
But after seeing that expression, I couldn’t just remain silent.
"I am serving you now, Lady Serpina."
"You were simply taken from Yuri in a bet, were you not?"
"Even so... to , you are special."
"...What?"
...Was I also a bit drunk?
Words that should have remained locked away—
Like a storage room filled with random items carelessly stuffed inside,
With the door finally bursting open—
They spilled out one by one.
"Lyn Brans and Baranga Yuri Aishus.
I once served them both.
They each had their own strengths and weaknesses.
Lyn was arrogant, but undeniably capable.
At her peak, she could have rivaled even Serpina’s forces.
Yuri had an unbreakable bond with his comrades, stronger than any other ruler.
Of course, that also ant he was sotis swayed by them—
But in tis like these, having allies who would never betray you, no matter what,
That in itself was a great asset.
However—"
"—Despite all that, I never gave my heart to any of them.
To be honest, I never even thought of them as my rulers.
To , they were just people I happened to serve—
People I would eventually part ways with.
People I would assist until my duty was fulfilled, and then move on.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say I never considered them anything more than that."
Why was I telling her all this now?
Was it because I saw the look on her face—
As if she were monts away from crying?
Or was it simply because I was drunk?
"Lady Serpina is different."
I spoke the truth that had taken root deep in my heart.
"Lady Serpina... is a ruler truly worth serving."
"Swen..."
Only after the words had left my lips did I finally manage to hold my tongue.
I could not give her false hope.
I could not make promises I could not keep.
I was not lying.
Among all the rulers I had served,
She was the one who embodied the very essence of what a ruler should be.
"..."
Serpina gazed at in silence.
She was beautiful.
Like a sculpture {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} carved by the gods themselves.
If I spoke only of appearances,
I had never seen a woman more beautiful than her.
For a long while, we simply stared at each other—
"...Is that so?"
At last, Serpina broke the silence.
"That is enough."
Rather than saying anything more,
I silently lifted the wine bottle and offered it to her.
She smiled, held out her glass, and let fill it to the brim.
"For now, this is enough."
Then, once more, she drank.
...Truly.
Once again—
I found myself wishing that both Lady Serpina and Lady Luna—
Could find happiness.
Would such a thing be possible?
I had no certainty.
But for now—
I simply enjoyed this mont,
Sharing a quiet drink with her.
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