Ch.110Chapter 110. Choice, and Consequence (2)

* * *

At the hospital in the capital city of Balhart Castle.

All the founding members of the Aeshus Army were gathered around Erinandorf, who was lying in a hospital bed for recovery, except for Yurie and Anima.

“…Epinel, you didn’t need to come.”

Looking at Erinandorf speaking with hollow eyes, Epinel clicked her tongue.

“Shut up. How’s your condition?”

“I’m just barely alive.”

“Don’t talk nonsense after eating expensive food, Ern.”

“…”

Erinandorf’s hands trembled.

It was the appearance of someone suppressing their anger.

“I couldn’t… save Anima.”

“I heard. It was an unavoidable situation. You did your best.”

“While my family was being taken away bound in ropes, I returned alone with my life intact.”

“Ern…”

Emma looked at him with a somewhat sad expression.

Emma and Erinandorf had maintained a long relationship as retainers serving Yurie together.

Having walked similar paths, their ways of thinking were also naturally similar.

“Didn’t you hear me telling you not to talk nonsense?”

“Epinel, don’t be too harsh on him. If it were me, I would have acted like Ern too.”

Epinel looked thoroughly displeased.

“What’s the point of being emotional here? We need to hurry up and either go get Anima back or do something else! What is Yurie doing?”

“She seems to have sent an envoy. For negotiations.”

“Negotiations, my ass!”

Bang!

Even for a lord, it wasn’t appropriate language to use toward a monarch.

But no one particularly pointed that out.

If Ginor had been there, he would have cautioned restraint, but he wasn’t present.

“Hey, Ern. So, when do they say you’ll get better?”

“…The injuries seem serious. Pathetic, isn’t it?”

“So you’re retiring for a while. Got it.”

Epinel looked at Emma and said:

“Let’s start preparing, Emma.”

“Preparing?”

“Combat preparations, obviously. Are we just going to sit around doing nothing while Anima is captured? Surely you’re not going to say we should wait for the results of negotiations or something like that?”

“Calm down, Epinel. You’re excited.”

“I am not!”

Epinel continued to fume for a while before finally plopping down in a chair.

“…Ugh, this is so frustrating!”

“We sent seven thousand nine hundred gold. Unless Serpina is extraordinarily greedy, she should release Anima for that amount.”

“Would that crazy witch even blink at money? We should consider ourselves lucky if she doesn’t demand we hand over the castle.”

“What else can’t we give?”

“…Sigh.”

Epinel covered her face with her hands after hearing Emma’s words.

“I can’t face Anima.”

“…”

“She finally achieved her long-desired western expansion, and if she finds out we handed over territory to secure her release, she’ll just blame herself again.”

Emma couldn’t respond.

“You know how hard Anima worked. She… was the most diligent among us. She’s not particularly gifted with talent, so how do you think she came up with those strategies and tactics? You must have seen how she worked tirelessly without sleep.”

“I know. …I know.”

How great must Anima’s sense of loss have been when Ginor took the position of national strategist?

Especially considering that Ginor was originally a person who served the Empire.

Rationally, she understood Yurie’s decision. As a ruler, it was important to have a broader perspective and make macroscopic judgments.

She also acknowledged that Ginor was objectively an extremely capable person.

But even so…

It was also true that Anima couldn’t be dismissed as a foolish person throwing a tantrum.

Without her bone-breaking efforts, it would have been impossible to establish the foundation of the Aeshus Army in the first place.

“That’s why we need to rescue her somehow, even now. How else can we face Anima with dignity?”

“I understand how you feel… but honestly, it’s not an easy task.”

Emma bit her lower lip.

“I thought the same thing. That we should lead the army right now to rescue Anima. But… realistically, it’s not easy. In this chaos, if Serpina decides to kill Anima instead of keeping her alive… it would truly be over.”

“So you’re saying we should just beg during negotiations and give her whatever she wants without offending her? What a pleasant opinion. I’m sure Anima would applaud that.”

“What? You’re now-“

“Enough.”

At that moment.

Yurie slowly walked into Erinandorf’s hospital room.

“…”

“Tch.”

Even though the five of them were essentially a community sharing the same fate, Yurie was effectively their representative figure.

Both Epinel and Emma knew this well, so they obediently closed their mouths and remained silent.

After confirming that the situation had settled down somewhat, Yurie slowly approached Erinandorf.

“Ern, are you okay?”

“…I seem to have passed the critical point, at least.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t visit you more often.”

“It doesn’t matter. …Yurie, you do what you can do.”

Once the heir to the family he served, but now a comrade sharing his soul, Erinandorf spoke to her in the most gentle tone he could manage.

“What I can do…”

Yurie pondered Erinandorf’s words for a moment, then looked at everyone and said:

“I have something to tell you all.”

“What is it?”

“Serpina has expressed her willingness to release Anima Ingram.”

“!!!”

Everyone was momentarily shocked by Yurie’s bombshell announcement.

But soon, they easily understood the hidden meaning in the sentence.

“‘Willingness to release’ means…”

“She won’t do it for free, I guess.”

“That’s right.”

Yurie affirmed Epinel’s words.

“Seven thousand nine hundred gold isn’t enough? What a witch. Is she finally going to extort territory from us? Yurie, let me tell you in advance, territory is off-limits. If Anima finds out she was brought back on that condition, she’ll blame herself again for sure.”

“Don’t mind what Epinel says, Yurie. I think it’s okay to give up a castle or two. We can reclaim them later.”

“…”

Yurie looked back and forth between Epinel and Emma’s faces.

Two different opinions were reflected in her heterochromatic eyes.

“…No, that’s not it, guys.”

Yurie let out a long sigh.

It was her somewhat vulnerable side that she showed only in front of people she truly trusted.

“If it were just a matter of giving up territory or not, choosing between Zelstrom or Laclaine, I wouldn’t have hesitated.”

“What do you mean? What exactly did she demand?”

“…The envoy.”

“?”

“She says she’ll release Anima if we hand over the envoy.”

Rather than being shocked at the words “hand over the envoy,” the two tilted their heads in confusion.

Shock is only possible when something falls within the range of what humans can imagine.

For instance, if some apparent madman goes around proclaiming that the world will end tomorrow, not many people would take it seriously.

In Emma’s common sense, as well as Epinel’s and Erinandorf’s, the demand to “hand over the envoy” was something they couldn’t even conceive.

“What does that mean?”

“In other words, she wants us to surrender the officer who went as our envoy. If we do… she said she’ll release Anima.”

“What…?”

Only then did Emma and Erinandorf turn pale with shock as they understood the meaning of her words.

Epinel also spat out an irritated sound as if she found it absurd.

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“It’s exactly as I said. …She says she won’t accept anything else. Not gold, not treasures, not even territory.”

“Huh.”

“Who went as the envoy?”

Yurie answered Erinandorf’s question with a shadowed face.

“Swen.”

“That’s a name I haven’t heard before. Does he have some connection to Serpina’s side?”

“You know, that white-haired magician. The one who’s pretty smart.”

“…Ah.”

Erinandorf, who hadn’t shown much reaction to the name Swen, responded to the keyword “white-haired magician.”

“Is she targeting him because of rumors that he can use magic?”

Yurie frowned at Emma’s question.

“I don’t know either. Why she would make such a demand…”

“Could it be that he’s earned Serpina’s grudge?”

“A grudge?”

Epinel nodded and said:

“If not for something like that, she wouldn’t ask for the surrender of an envoy, right? If she could have captured him, she would have done so already. But instead of doing that, she’s making this proposal to us, which means she has something she wants to settle quietly with Swen, and if we don’t interfere in this process, she’ll give us what we want.”

“Indeed. Unless she has a grudge, it doesn’t seem like she would make such a proposal.”

Emma also agreed with Epinel’s opinion.

Is that so?

Not simply a love escape with Irene… but is he constantly running from Serpina for some reason?

Come to think of it, the target of the stone he dropped was also Serpina’s army.

It wouldn’t be strange if he had earned her grudge.

“…”

As Yurie was lost in thought, Emma carefully offered her opinion.

“Don’t you think there’s no need to hesitate, Yurie?”

“…Huh?”

“Having an officer who has earned Serpina’s grudge could be dangerous in the long run. Besides, keeping Anima as a prisoner for too long is also concerning. Her head could be cut off at any time, so we should bring her back quickly when the opportunity arises.”

“But if we do that, we’d be selling out an officer who was just following orders and fulfilling his duty as an envoy, an officer who has sworn loyalty to our army.”

“…”

Emma couldn’t respond to Yurie’s principled argument.

She too was aware that what she suggested meant betraying Swen.

“…Yurie.”

At that moment.

Epinel spoke with a very serious face.

“The final decision is yours. It’s your choice, but just my opinion… no.”

She slowly exchanged glances with Erinandorf and Emma.

This meant that the three of them were of the same mind.

“To express our opinion, we think this world is just a series of choices anyway. Just. To speak coldly. It’s a matter of deciding what would be beneficial for our army. And don’t you already know the answer to this question?”

“…!”

A choice beneficial to the Aeshus Army.

A choice more important to Yurie herself and to all of them.

“These are chaotic times. What’s human morality, even heaven’s laws are denied in this world. Everyone is moving solely for their own benefit. I think Swen is certainly not a bad officer. However, it’s also true that his talents are somewhat restricted. I hear that every time he uses magic or something similar, it shortens his lifespan. Even if we keep him, the more we utilize him, the more we’re consuming his lifespan. We’re sacrificing him either way, even now.”

“That… that’s…”

“Just think about it carefully. Who is more important to us? …Whatever decision you make, we’ll all follow your will… but show your responsibility as a ruler here.”

‘Responsibility… as a ruler.’

Yurie pondered Epinel’s words.

Everyone simply chooses what’s more important to them and moves forward.

As she left the hospital to answer the envoy and headed back to the royal castle, the image of Anima flashed in Yurie’s mind.

The moment she sacrificed her arm to protect her.

The moment she saved everyone with her brilliant strategy in a crisis.

She truly worked herself to death for our army.

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t lose Anima in a place like this.

‘Responsibility…’

Yes.

Responsibility.

A leader is someone who takes responsibility.

Anima might deny this decision. She might resent her for doing something a ruler shouldn’t do.

But if she were to die, she wouldn’t even be able to hear that resentment.

‘I’ll take the responsibility.’

Her footsteps grew heavier as she made up her mind.

* * *

When she arrived at the royal castle, Ginor and several officers of the castle were gathered in the audience chamber.

From the looks of it, they all seemed to have finished grasping the general situation.

“My lord. I’ve heard about it.”

Ginor naturally approached her as she sat on the throne.

“It’s a proposal that doesn’t even need to be considered. Reject it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t even need to explain. I’ve never seen anywhere a case of selling out one officer to save another.”

Yurie slowly nodded.

“Right? …I think so too, Ginor.”

Ginor inwardly sighed with relief as he looked at Yurie.

Honestly… he had been worried about what to do if she fell for the offer of “releasing Anima in exchange for Swen.”

While it was a decision difficult to understand by common sense, what Anima Ingram symbolized in the Aeshus Army was by no means small.

Judging by her reaction, fortunately, she didn’t seem to be making such an unreasonable decision.

“By the way, can you hear my voice?”

“Yes, I can hear you, Lady Yurie.”

The envoy answered with his head bowed.

“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. I needed some time to think.”

“It’s alright. What should I convey to my lord?”

Hearing those words, Yurie let out a small sigh.

Anima.

My childhood friend and my eternal shadow.

Even if you and everyone else in the world resents me and points fingers at me…

I’ll bear everything and move forward.

“Go and tell her. I accept Serpina’s proposal.”

“Excuse me? That means…”

In contrast to the envoy calmly asking for clarification, Ginor’s pupils contracted dramatically.

What… is this woman, my lord, trying to say??

“I’ll hand over our envoy Swen. Release Anima.”