episode_0036

dream.

She had been having a particular dream over and over again for the past few days.

A place where you feel like you know where it is, but at the same time, you don’t know exactly where it is.

In a place full of buildings with blue roofs and white bricks, I dream of a man approaching me.

The man was a very beautiful looking man with pure white hair and gray eyes.

I don’t know who that person is.

But, in my dream, I know who that person is.

His name is-

‘… … .’

Even though he naturally said that name in his dream, he couldn’t remember it at all after he woke up.

She frowned slightly and placed her hand on her forehead.

Perhaps it was because she had such a radiant appearance, but even the slightly glazed look of her golden eyes was breathtakingly beautiful.

‘that man… … Who is it.’

If I had time left, I could have calmly thought about that man, but-

With her standing on her own two feet, it was impossible to give her any personal time.

She knew this well, so she got off the soft bed as soon as she came to her senses.

‘… … it’s okay.’

For the people who need her even today, she has no choice but to be reborn as the ‘her’ everyone wants.

As if trying to adapt to the fate given to her, she took her signature hairpin from the table, quickly gathered her thoughts, and began preparing to leave the bedroom.

*

I leave the bedroom, pass the security, and walk down the long hallway.

As she walked down this hallway, she closed her eyes slightly.

This was a ritual she did.

The ‘real me’ when I just woke up is reborn as the ‘me that everyone demands of me’ as I walk down this hallway with my eyes closed.

Not long after, a thick door appears.

If you open this door-

‘… … .’

With the sound of the door opening.

A woman with brown hair tied back bows to her and shows respect.

“Are you awake, my lord?”

“… … Um.”

She nodded and took a seat on the throne of Absoluteness that had been prepared for her.

The brown-haired woman was close to her side, reporting what had happened and what she needed to hear.

“The troops for the 4th Kelstein Castle expedition have been prepared at Chorel Castle and Cherien Castle. And from General Julian, we received an opinion that we should first destroy the fortress to the north of the Brans army’s newly built Kelstein Castle.”

“Number of troops?”

“It is said that approximately 28,000 people are stationed in the fortress.”

“If you attack the fortress, you will launch your campaign from Chorel Castle, right?”

“Yes.”

She thought for a moment, then looked at her and asked.

“Jenna, I’m curious about your thoughts.”

“Can I be honest with you?”

“Rather, it would be difficult if you don’t do that.”

To her words, the brown-haired woman – Jenna smiled slightly and responded.

“First of all, speaking of the fortress, I am not sure why the fortress was built there in the first place. It’s not a fortress in a very strategic location. So, rather than paying attention to this area, it would be better to lead a large army and attack Kelstein Castle directly using the route southeast of Cherien Castle. If you do that, the 28,000 troops stationed in the fortress will also come down for defense anyway, so it seems right to attack them individually with the troops that came down from Chorel Castle. It seems like it would be better to attack than attacking the troops inside the fortress.”

“I see.”

She tapped the armrest of the throne with her fingers.

Her golden eyes sparkle naturally.

“In the end, the point is, is Cherryen a saint? … Anything else to report?”

“There is a rumor that troops are gathering near the border between Aceers County and Brans County.”

“Hmm?”

Are you planning to attack the east at this point?

I don’t know why, but it couldn’t have been a pretty bad thing for our military.

What should our military do to get out of the North and advance to other places?

If you continue southeast from Cherien Castle, you will come across a huge mountain range. If you cross this mountain range, you will reach the place where the Aethus Army is located – but it was not a path where troops could be deployed.

The southwest of Chorel Castle is also a series of rugged mountains and swamps, and it is not a wise choice to proceed through this side to the central and western part of the continent.

The choice was Kelstein Castle, located on the road directly into the central region.

By breaking through this place, we could finally escape from the north and advance into the south.

The three expeditions ended in vain – but the cost of engagement was still in our favor.

If you enter into a volume war, it is a battle that you have no choice but to win in the end.

In this situation, wouldn’t it be more appreciated if Brans’ army expanded the front line?

I don’t know what the agent over there was thinking, but I couldn’t help but take advantage of this situation.

at that time.

Jenna asked, bowing her head.

“Serpina. What would you like to do?”

“… … .”

In Xena’s words, she is the only one who carries on the will of Eingart, who sat on the throne of the Absolute, and is the one who has come closest to reaching the goal of becoming the hegemon of the continent –

Serpina von Eyngart, with radiant blonde hair and golden eyes with an even more intense color, answered in a slightly dry voice.

“I think the final date will be decided within a week. In the meantime, so that we can report in detail the situation on the eastern border of Brans County.”

“Okay. I will order you to prepare thoroughly so that you can carry out whatever you say.”

“Please.”

And at that very moment.

bang!

The front door of the throne room opened with a frantic noise.

“Master!!!!”

A soldier rushing towards us.

Serpina asked in a calm tone without being embarrassed.

“What’s going on?”

“Type… … At Cherien Castle.”

Without even having time to gasp, the soldier desperately pulled out the information that had to be conveyed right away and thrust it at her.

“The lord of Cherien Castle, Ian Rashphalt… … Rebellion… … !”

“… … !!!”

“… … .”

Unlike Jenna, who was astonished as soon as she heard those words-

Serpina only slightly furrowed her eyebrows and did not show any reaction.

” Claiming to purge the false witches of Eingart, who are left in name only, and to reestablish order by informing them that the Rashpalt family is the de facto enemy of Algoth, the true successor to the Eingart Empire… … We raised an army!”

‘… … .’

Serpina’s impressions after hearing those words were very simple.

—A pathetic bastard who has no choice but to rely on the power of someone who is already dead.

Algor von Eyngart, her brother, couldn’t have wanted something like that.

She thought about her ‘past’ for a moment and gritted her teeth, but-

There was a need to not show that side of me.

“How many people agreed?”

The soldier quickly answered Jenna’s question.

“There are about 13 people in total, including Solana Rashpalt, the owner of Mati Castle. Most of the rebels are people related to the Rashpalt family.”

Marty Castle was a small castle near Cherien Castle.

“I see.”

Ian.

Was it for this moment that I threw away my pride and brought my knees close to the floor?

Serpina sneered briefly.

Because I knew that it was just the struggles of people who couldn’t change history anyway.

“… … What will you do, my lord?”

“Let’s postpone the 4th expedition for a while.”

“But-”

“It’s okay. Brans’ current forces won’t have any effect.”

According to the last intelligence I heard yesterday, the number of troops in Kelstein Castle has somehow increased by 10,000 from the last confirmed number.

Maybe if there were more people gathered, that number of troops wouldn’t have been a big threat.

The reason this fourth expedition was rushed in the first place was because we wanted to invade quickly before gathering more troops.

I wondered if they had sensed that they were planning a re-invasion due to the sudden increase in troops, but if that had been the case, they would have sent more soldiers than 10,000.

Because Brans County had enough capacity to do so.

“… … Okay.”

After hearing Xena’s answer, Serpina stood up, stretched out her hand towards the soldier, and spoke.

“Go and tell it. Summon all the generals on duty right now! We will prepare for departure. Send a messenger to the lord of each holy place to share the situation as quickly as possible and tell them so that they can advance without my ashes!”

“Yes, I understand!”

After saying those last words, the soldier ran away again at high speed.

‘Rebellion… … .’

Even when the rebellion broke out, nothing changed.

Just do what you’ve always done.

It was – ‘thorough trampling’.

To raise the imperial flag again. Eingart’s maintenance… … For myself who has been ‘taken over’.

“… … .”

She pondered her brother’s name.

Algor von Eyngart… … .

She killed- Yeah. The person who ‘killed’… … is it.

If that’s the fate she must accept-

‘… … ‘There will be bloodshed again.’

She, known internationally as a tyrant, was having thoughts that were quite uncharacteristic of her.

Of course, whether it was her thing or not – even she didn’t know anymore.

* * *

As I expected, it didn’t take long before the incident finally broke out.

“Rebellion… … What do you mean?”

In response to Iren’s words as she knelt down, Rathion nodded and said.

“Okay. Ian Rashphalt, the lord of Cherien Castle, has raised an army. According to the most recently obtained information, it is confirmed that there were approximately 40,000 troops, but it is possible that more were gathered in the meantime.”

‘Is this also a rebellion?’

Actually, I expected it to be like this to some extent.

But seeing what was really happening was just a strange feeling.

Moreover, the name of the person who started the rebellion is a familiar name.

Ian Rashphalt.

However, there was one thing that was unfamiliar – he was not a general belonging to the Serpina Army, but one of the monarchs of the northern region who led an independent force called ‘Ian County’.

Of course, since he respawns in the north, there is a very high chance of becoming Serpina’s food – but it was my first time seeing him become independent after being under Serpina from the beginning.

Rathion looked at me kneeling next to Iren for a long time.

I thought he was going to ask me something useless, but instead of asking another question, he got straight to the point.

“I heard from General Kalinz that he wanted to support soldiers… … General Irene, excluding the troops to safely defend our castle, I think only the 10,000 soldiers you brought can move. Please let me know how much time is needed to prepare for departure.”

“Available right now.”

“… … What?”

To Rasion’s question, Iren once again answered more firmly.

“Yes. You can go out right now, Lord Seong.”

“… … .”

Racion broke into a cold sweat and only then opened his mouth.

“… … Did you guys expect this? Is it going to be like this?”

“… … .”

Iren looked up at Racion without saying a word.

Racion probably knows because he was there during the discussion.

In the end, the moment to deploy the soldiers has arrived.

And – that ultimately meant that Iren’s opinion, and by extension my opinion, was correct.

what.

The opportunity has already passed.

It was clear that adding 10,000 troops would not be enough to turn the situation around, and if they waited to reinforce additional troops, they would miss the optimal timing.

‘Well, it would be nice if I could at least get Balharat Castle.’

Probably not. That too.

At this moment, I once again realized that my abilities could be meaningless without a ‘trustworthy master’.

Racion took a short sigh and then shouted loudly at us.

“General Irene takes 10,000 troops and moves to the fortress where General Kalinz is!”

“Yes, I understand!”

After saying hello, I was lost in thought as Irene left the castle.

‘What is Carlinz trying to do?’

There were approximately 28,000 soldiers in the fortress.

If we add our 10,000 soldiers, the number is 38,000.

This number was not enough to retake Cherien Castle, where about 40,000 men were believed to have been stationed.

It may be possible if more troops are sent from Kelstein Castle, but there is no way the Serfina army will just sit by and watch.

Racion’s choice to only send additional troops was a wise choice.

‘Carlinz guy, are you just trying to push it by burning various hope circuits?’

It was the worst expectation, but would a named general like Kalintz Brans do such a foolish thing?

Kalinz was the most ordinary of the three Brans siblings, but he was still an S-class general.

Well, after looking at it for a while, I would click my tongue and give up when I realized that there weren’t enough soldiers.

I haven’t made a prediction yet, but from what I can see, it was correct.

Still, I have to do what I’m told.

After leaving the royal castle.

Irene then turned her head and looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

“… … Swen. I have something I want to ask.”

“Please tell me.”

“Did you expect it to be like this?”

ah.

Come to think of it – from Iren’s point of view, it seemed like she had seen through the whole future that I would end up like this.

At that time, if I had somehow succeeded in overturning the opinion in the discussion with Farfalle without Rin’s interference, I would have deployed more troops to defend the north, as Irene had suggested.

Naturally, with that many troops, they would have been given the opportunity to invade the just-raised Ian army much faster than the Serpina army.

What is the opportunity? Perhaps it would have been enough to conquer Cherien Castle.

In the end, my prediction turned out to be correct this time too.

Although Irene is not my master, she is still a woman who should be with me in the long run.

There was nothing wrong with it looking ‘plausible’.

I spoke in as sly a manner as possible.

“Unusual signs were felt in the north. I have relatives near the north, and I often hear from them through letters. I expected a revolt, but I still wasn’t sure… … If I had known it would be like this, I would have appealed a little stronger.”

“… … !”

Irene looked at me with a surprised expression, unable to say anything, as if she couldn’t believe what was going on.

I spoke to her as if driving a wedge into her mouth.

“Didn’t I make it clear? Irene’s opinion is not wrong. No, Irene’s opinion is the only correct answer. I think you will probably understand what I mean soon.”

“Ah… … .”

After hearing what I said, Irene froze for a moment, lowered her head slightly, and then-

He muttered in a pitiful voice as if he were about to cry.

“I see. I am… … You’re not wrong.”

“That’s right. It doesn’t matter if no one raised their hand in agreement with Irene’s opinion. In the end, Irene was right.”

“… … .”

and.

Soon, she looked up at me cautiously, her face red.

“And… … You were the only one who believed in me. Swen.”

?

Rather than trusting her, she was just siding with her to increase her favorability, but since the answer was ‘almost close’, she must be right.

Anyway, I realized that now was a really good opportunity to increase my favorability rating, so I smiled at her.

“Didn’t I tell you? Irene. I’m not siding with you out of sympathy for Irene. So, it’s okay if you don’t get discouraged.”

She nodded at my words.

The purple eyes twinkled as if they were about to burst into tears at any moment.

“… … okay. Thank you, Swen.”

If the situation had been good, we could have slowly talked about ‘why Irene’s plan is right’ –

Now, they had received orders to come to the fortress immediately.

I spoke as if to brighten the mood.

“Anyway, it’s inevitable that the opportunity has passed. Since we’ve received the call, let’s head to the Northern Fortress.”

“Let’s do that.”

I immediately went to the newly built fortress with Irene, Jack, and Silene.

* * *

And when we arrived at the fortress –

The ‘worst expectation’ surprisingly became a reality.