episode_0281

*

That day.

After being saved by Karelia, Cecil barely managed to survive and arrived at the western part of the continent. The first thing he heard was the news of Vanessa and Karelia’s deaths.

‘My lord… … !’

In the end, he died.

That too, because I was betrayed by the person I trusted.

It wasn’t just the lord who was betrayed. Wasn’t it none other than himself who had insisted so strongly that Lunalian be accepted during his time in the Karelian army?

‘It’s my fault. If I hadn’t affirmed Luna… … .’

Even though I knew it wasn’t my fault, I couldn’t shake the thought.

But I can’t just despair like this.

As I thought about how I must prevent Lunalian, who abandoned her lord, from gaining power at all costs, my steps naturally led me to the Bran’s Army.

Yes. Let’s go under Lin. Asius had practically done his bidding, and since she couldn’t go under Serphina even with a knife to her neck, she was the only choice left.

Didn’t his own family also have a base in the western part of the continent?

Lin, as Lin, had been suspicious of what was going on when she first heard that she would be joining her.

Cecil Lohengrin. A daughter of the prestigious Lohengrin family, she was the de facto backbone of the Karelian Army.

It was a fact that Rin had also heard well that without her, it would have been nearly impossible for the Karelian Army to have established itself to that extent.

Out of nowhere, she proposed to join our army.

Lin remembers that moment clearly. That moment when the seemingly innocent woman spoke to him with burning eyes, pleading as if vomiting.

“I won’t say that you have to avenge Karelia. Just stop the Lunalian Army.”

From Lin’s perspective, it was an offer that she had no reason to refuse.

Not only was Cecil a decent politician in and of himself, but having the support of the Lohengrin family was also a blessing in many ways.

In fact, as soon as Cecil joined the Bran’s army, he donated the financial resources of the upper Lohengrin group located in the west to the Bran’s army.

For the Bran’s army, which had lost the castle of Anel and had all of its A-class generals deserted, it was like rain in a drought.

As money was made available, it was possible to naturally recruit troops, repair the walls, and invest in the markets of the territory to invigorate them. The effect was even greater because the territory was relatively underdeveloped in the western continent.

Cecil, who had provided the funds, was able to quickly gain a significant position within the Bran’s Army, and Farfalle had also told her that she was not so much an ambitious person as someone who burned with a desire for revenge, so there was no need to be too wary.

The most surprising fact was that the person she was burning with hatred was Lunalien.

Lunalian Inian. A minor lord of a small country that he once destroyed.

Not long after the rebellion, the Karelian Army, the most influential in the south, was destroyed in an instant.

The fact that the first monarch served by Swen, who was now renowned as a white-haired strategist, was Lunalien was known only to a few people, including Lin.

As expected, she was no ordinary person. It was obvious, since the one who was under her in the first place was Swen, but I couldn’t realize it at the time.

At that time, the thought that if only she had listened to Irene’s advice, this wouldn’t have happened – shook her head for a moment.

‘……no.’

Lin immediately dismissed the useless thoughts.

For Irene’s sake, he had to somehow revive the Bran’s Army that she had once tried to protect.

Lin knew all too well that shedding tears of regret for a hundred days and a thousand days would solve nothing.

Anyway, what matters is now.

Lin looked straight into the eyes of Cecil, who was kneeling right in front of her, and asked.

“Did you hear that? According to what Cecil has told me so far, the ‘person’ Luna keeps talking about is probably Swen.”

Cecil said that Luna and he had been very close ever since she had joined the Karelia Army.

“I’m sure it is. All the time I was close to her, she said, ‘I was able to save my life thanks to that person.’”

My life was saved.

Since it was Lin and not someone else, it was possible to infer how Lunalian had survived.

The reason she survived was simple.

That’s because he was too busy capturing Swen at the time to pursue Luna.

If Luna says, ‘I saved my life thanks to that person’, then that situation is…

‘It was all Swen’s scheme.’

He said that his lord had left him here, but in fact, that was not the case. He had deliberately created that situation.

It was none other than Swen. There was no way he wouldn’t have noticed that my real purpose was none other than himself.

So he threw his body at me. To protect the life of his lord, Lunalien.

That was the kind of man he was.

Only after hearing Cecil’s words did Lynn truly realize.

Maybe he himself had never truly owned Swen for even a single moment from then until now.

… … Anyway, there was one strange thing.

――If that’s true, then why did Swen become a strategist for the Serpina Army and not the Lunalian Army?

The subject who decided to save her by putting his own life on the line accepted the position of strategist under Serpina, of all people?

Although the position of state strategist was basically an appointed position, there was not a single crazy monarch who appointed one by force or intimidation.

The position of a state strategist is the highest position in power, except for the monarch, so it was foolish to give power to someone who refused to do so and wield it.

That is – Swen could have refused at any time if he wanted to.

Of course, since she was not just any other person, but the villainess Serphina, there could have been circumstances she was unaware of… … But if that was the case, there was no explanation as to why she had not returned to the Lunalian Army and was still there.

“… … What do you think?”

To Lin’s question, Cecil answered politely to the new Lord of the Blue Light.

“I don’t know the details, but I think I can make a guess.”

“You’re making an inference?”

“Before you listen to the story, please understand that I don’t know much about the man.”

“Okay.”

“First, he is deceiving Serpina and plotting something under her. However, this is a low probability hypothesis. Serpina is a woman who is as smart as she is vicious and wicked. No matter how great the man is, someone like Serpina would easily notice that he is plotting something, and if she wanted to, she could easily cut off his head.”

Lin could understand up to that point.

If Serpina had been a stupid woman, she would have collapsed before she could conquer the Northern Continent.

Before that, Lin once led a nation that rivaled hers, and they even shared a border.

If you think about the things Serpina-kun had shown you… … she was by no means an incompetent woman who only relied on her bloodline.

“Secondly, the man changed his mind.”

“Changed your mind?”

“It’s simple. I chose Serpina as my lord. In times of trouble, changing your lord is not a big deal, is it? Just like I am in front of you, Lin.”

Is that true?

Was he the kind of man who would so easily abandon the monarch he risked his life to save?

No. He wasn’t that kind of petty guy. Lin, who had once been with him, could be sure. There was definitely something she didn’t know.

‘We’re running out of ingredients… … ‘

The missing link between the Bran’s Army and Serpina Army.

I thought it might be worth learning a little bit about Swen during his time in the Aishus Army.

Whatever it was, it was very important to know about Swen.

Like it or not, Luna and I were going to have to come into contact, and knowing about Swen would, in and of itself, put some effective pressure on Luna.

This was Lin’s intuition.

Two facts only she knows.

This could be seen as a result of considering Luna’s strange obsession with Swen that she heard from Cecil, or Swen’s behavior of constantly changing monarchs that felt like he was foreseeing the future.

“Okay, I understand. We’ll meet Luna soon, so when we do, I’ll try to stop her, just like you want.”

“Yes? That means we’ll meet soon… … .”

“The Southern Continent will be united. In her name.”

“… … !!”

Cecil looked at Lin with his eyes wide open in surprise.

Farfalle, who had been quietly listening to the story, cautiously joined in the conversation.

“I see, my lord, that’s what you think.”

“That’s right. It’s not someone else, but the woman Swen wanted to protect. The hidden royal bloodline and the second wizard emerged from her side. Karelia, which was considered the best monarch in the southern continent, collapsed in an unbelievably short period of time. Do you think that small-timers like Roland, Hesna, and Ohana can stop Lunalien?”

Farfalle also agreed with that opinion.

The balance of power in the Southern Continent continued because the four nations had similar powers, but it was also because the capabilities of the four monarchs were not very good when viewed objectively.

In the case of Karelia, there was at least some virtue, but Farfalle’s honest judgment was that the other monarchs were just ordinary people who had seized the opportunity at good timing.

That is why I wanted to conquer the Serpina Army first.

Although, everything went awry during the process of clearing out the Aesir Army.

“And, I can’t just end up as a monarch who paves the way for Lunalien. If that happens… …I’ll regret it even in hell. I can’t end the Branth Army that Irene tried to protect like this.”

“… … .”

“That’s why― I’ll stop Lunalien. I’ll clear out the central continent, win the battle against the Lunalien army, and restore the former status of the Branth army. And, I’ll deal with Serphina, the culprit who brought the continent to this state… …with my own hands.”

“I will follow you to the end of hell, my lord. Give me your orders whenever you want.”

“I, too, would do anything to stop Lunalien.”

At the two people’s words, Lin smiled with her usual confident smile.

There was no trace of arrogance in those sparkling blue eyes.

“Then I think I’ll start moving slowly, Parpale.”

“… … !”

Parfalle was slightly surprised, but soon nodded.

The plague has also subsided. Of course, the time has come.

“Please, my lord.”

Lin said with her blue eyes sparkling.

“Tell your second brother. If you surrender, I will spare your life out of remembrance of our old friendship, but if you don’t, there will be only war.”

The blade of Serpina von Eingart to Chell Brands.

The blade of Lynn Branth – to Kalintz Branth.

For those who had lost everything because of the plague, there was no such thing as a second chance――as was quite obvious.

Those were the times.

* * *

Madlan Castle, the capital of the former Karelia County, part of the Lunalian County in the Southern Continent.

The ‘news’ that came from the Serpina Army naturally reached here.