The first to react were the residents living below Kelstein Castle.
Most of them had co from territories now under the control of Carlints’ and Chel’s armies.
"Is it true that the northern Serpina Army is conducting relief efforts?"
"They say you need to have family there to receive aid."
"I have relatives in Utiner Castle! If I go, I should be able to get help."
For people whose lives had been ravaged by disease and hardship, the news of a relief camp was nothing short of a miracle—a ray of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation.
After all, neither Carlints nor Chel had lifted a finger to help them.
Of course, not everyone received the news with optimism.
"Wait, that witch is offering aid? Does that even make sense?"
"Did you forget the rumors? They said she was the one who spread the plague using magic!"
However—
This was no ordinary situation, and the usual rhetoric didn’t hold the sa sway over the people as before.
"So, what exactly is that so-called 'Yuri' doing for the people?"
"Trap or not, it’s worth checking out. Either way, we’re dying—whether it’s from starvation or disease, it doesn’t matter!"
A ruler who silently aided the people.
And another who loudly accused others of having ulterior motives—while doing nothing to help.
For the commoners, who were struggling just to survive, the difference between these two figures was more significant than anyone could have imagined.
They had been left with no choice but to endure the stench of rotting corpses, praying for the plague to pass, unable to do anything about it.
Now, a ruler who had no direct connection to them had extended a helping hand.
How could they not feel moved?
Of course, the ones openly supporting Serpina were primarily those in the disease-stricken parts of the central continent.
In contrast, those in the southern continent—untouched by the plague—or in the midwestern regions that had barely avoided infection due to Lyn’s swift lockdown, found it hard to believe Serpina was engaging in such selfless acts.
And yet—
For the first ti in history, the opinions of the lowest ranks of society had begun to favor Serpina.
The weight of this shift in public sentint was about to set events into motion far beyond what any of the lords had anticipated.
***
"Thank you so much."
"I will never forget the grace that Lady Serpina has shown us."
By the third day, more and more people had begun arriving at the camp.
So of them had no family ties to the northern continent at all, but we deliberately refrained from conducting any strict screenings.
After all, the physical distance alone acted as a natural limitation on how many could make the journey here.
Anyone who managed to reach us in the midst of the plague had likely co prepared to die trying—so Irian judged that the number of arrivals wouldn’t exceed what we could handle.
And his judgnt was spot on.
Throughout the entire operation, we never once faced a shortage of supplies.
Our army had already stockpiled an imnse amount of resources, having occupied nearly the entire northern continent.
And the person most actively involved in this entire process—
Was none other than Irian himself.
"Here, take this."
"Thank you so much. May I ask for your na...?"
"You don’t need to rember our nas. Just rember Lady Serpina’s. And rember that she is not soone who would harm her people with magic."
"Of course. I will never forget this kindness for as long as I live..."
Irian, the castle lord himself, personally distributed supplies to the refugees from the central continent, offering them words of encouragent.
His actions set an example, and the soldiers followed suit, taking the relief efforts seriously.
If any of them had been halfhearted about distributing aid, it would have been difficult to combat the rumors Yuri had spread—but at this level of commitnt, our efforts were undeniable.
"I didn’t expect you to be this involved."
I approached Irian and spoke.
"Hm? Oh, Swen."
The mont he saw , he greeted with a smile.
"You were the one who told , weren’t you? That with the blessing magic cast upon us, we would be immune to the plague for at least a week."
"That’s true, but... I thought it might be difficult for so to believe."
"No. I trust you, Swen."
His eyes held no hesitation.
Well... I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised.
If not for , his entire family would have been wiped out.
It wasn’t strange that he placed such faith in .
"Then I can only thank you for your trust."
"Indeed. Now, I should get back to work. You should look after Lady Reika."
"Reika just fell asleep a little while ago. So, I should be working too, shouldn’t I?"
"Is that so? I won’t stop you, but..."
At that mont, Irian seed to ponder sothing.
Then, with a very serious expression, he turned to .
"Swen. I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"What exactly is your relationship with Lady Reika?"
"...Excuse ?"
For a mont, I had braced myself for so grave revelation—perhaps news of a rebellion brewing against Lady Serpina.
But his question was so unexpected that I couldn’t keep my expression from slipping.
"Well, I’ve been watching you two for the past few days, and you seem to be quite close."
"...Is that so?"
"Swen, what is she to you? Could it be that she’s your mistress?"
"No, nothing like that... I’m not married."
"Is that so? That reminds —since we’re on the topic of marriage... I believe I have yet to hear your response."
"...My response?"
What was he talking {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} about?
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Seeing my confused expression, Irian tilted his head slightly and asked,
"Has General Airen not ntioned it to you?"
She hadn’t.
But I didn’t want to speak ill of Airen, so I played dumb.
"Ah... My mory isn’t the best. I must have forgotten."
"Is that so? That’s unlike you... But then again, assuming I know what is ‘like you’ is a rather foolish notion, isn’t it?"
Irian continued, his tone utterly serious.
"I wanted to ask what you think of Ioline."
Ioline.
It had been a long ti since I’d heard that na.
My forr roommate Janis’s twin sister.
A woman I had once spent nights in the sa room with.
Soone whose undergarnts I had unintentionally seen—making her, alongside Airen, one of the only two won I knew such details about.
It wasn’t exactly the most dignified way to rember soone, but—
—Wait a minute.
"Are you... asking about marriage?"
"That’s right."
Marrying Ioline?
While I was caught completely off guard, Irian continued to speak without the slightest hesitation.
"Swen, soone like you would be warmly welcod into our family.
Ioline has spoken fondly of you.
Forgive if this sounds arrogant, but I truly believe she is a woman whose beauty would not lose to any other.
Moreover, she has undergone extensive training to beco a devoted and virtuous wife.
I have no doubt she would be an excellent partner to support you."
"Well, that’s..."
"If you already have a woman you care for, I wouldn’t mind if she beca a concubine.
And if you desire, I would even grant you the Al Kasky na.
Please, consider this favorably."
His words ca at so forcefully that I barely had ti to process them.
Irian, however, seed completely unfazed.
"There’s no need to answer right away. Take your ti.
If you choose not to respond, I will assu you aren’t interested and leave it at that.
And of course, refusing won’t bring you any disadvantage—so don’t worry about that.
Now, if you’ll excuse ."
With that, Irian left the room.
And I...
I found myself thinking about Ioline.
She was certainly beautiful.
Her figure was well-balanced, her deanor graceful.
If I were to consider only those aspects, Irian was probably right—she would make a wonderful wife.
But... I couldn’t get married yet.
Protecting Lady Serpina.
Fulfilling my promise to Lady Luna.
These two responsibilities alone were already overwhelming.
I couldn’t even fathom the idea of settling down sowhere.
And honestly—if I were to marry soone, the first person I’d want to marry would be Airen.
"Has General Airen not ntioned it to you?"
That one sentence from Irian made it clear.
Airen had deliberately withheld Ioline’s marriage proposal from .
I could pretend I didn’t know why...
But I didn’t want to.
There was only one possible reason she hadn’t told .
"...Haah."
I let out a quiet sigh and rubbed my face.
My skin felt hot.
My mind was filled with thoughts of Airen.
"I want to see her."
...But now wasn’t the ti to be thinking about marriage.
In this world, a man could have up to four wives.
There was no need to rush a decision.
I could take my ti and choose carefully.
After cooling my face, I followed after Irian.
***
The Royal Castle of Langbow, Under the Aishus Army
"...A relief camp?"
"Yeah. The Serpina Army has set up a camp near the base of Kelshtein Castle to aid the central continent’s commoners."
At Epinnel’s report, Yuri scoffed in disbelief.
"Hah!"
Then, rising slowly from her seat, she trembled with anger.
"That wretched woman. So this is how she intends to cover up the fact that she used magic?"
"..."
And then, a few more days passed.
"The camp’s operations seem to be going very smoothly. The people from Carlints’s territories, the closest to them, are practically worshiping Serpina as if she were a goddess."
"...Enough. It’s just a ploy to make herself look good."
"If it was just a ploy, wouldn’t it have been easier to simply send supplies instead of setting up a whole camp? And honestly, does it even make sense that she would care about her reputation? Would soone like her even bother with sothing like this?"
"What are you trying to say, Epinnel? Are you seriously about to claim that Serpina is so benevolent saint?"
"..."
Normally, Epinnel would have brushed the topic aside with a vague response—
But not this ti.
This ti, he had a responsibility.
He needed to make Yuri understand the reality of the situation.
"Yuri. We’ve been played."
"...What?"
"If her goal was truly to spread the disease using magic, there were too many unnecessary actions she wouldn't have taken."
"..."
Yuri fell silent, lowering her head.
The truth was—
She had already sensed it.
She had shouted it from the rooftops, declared to the world that Serpina was the culprit behind the plague.
But if Serpina had truly intended to kill people, there would have been no need for forced relocations.
And now, with her running a relief camp—objectively speaking, what possible reason would she have to go this far?
Even so, there was no turning back.
She had already accused Serpina.
Loudly.
Boldly.
For all to hear.
"What... do we do now?"
Epinnel let out a sigh of relief.
At least she wasn’t going to keep denying it out of sheer stubbornness.
If Anima had been fully conscious, he might have been able to offer a more strategic answer—
But Epinnel was a warrior first, not a tactician.
He was great at crushing enemies in battle, but when it ca to seeing the bigger picture, he knew he had his limitations.
Still, even if the answer he had was simple, now was the ti to say it.
"For now... don’t say anything else about it. Just stay quiet.
Serpina already has a terrible reputation. Instead of reacting further, it might be better to just let it pass. If we act like we don’t care, this whole situation might just blow over."
"...Hah."
"We don’t have a choice. We have to wait for the next opportunity.
Everyone makes mistakes, Yuri. But right now, we can’t afford to wallow in guilt. You know that, don’t you?"
"I know. I know that..."
Yuri closed her eyes and began to pray once more.
Praying that the plague would pass as quickly as possible.
Praying that the consequences of her words would not be as disastrous as Epinnel feared.
***
But just a few days later—
"They're demanding that our army set up a relief camp?"
The soldier reporting to Yuri looked uneasy, practically shrinking under her gaze.
"I deeply apologize for bringing you this news, but... there are rumors spreading among the people.
They’re asking—if even the Serpina Army is providing relief, why isn’t the Aishus Army doing the sa?"
Her prayers had been aningless.
The mont of reckoning had co far too soon.
And it was the worst kind of reckoning—
A Zugzwang situation, where no matter what move she made, it would be the wrong one.
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