Ch.148Chapter 148. Questions (2)

“Hello……”

As soon as Jenis’s younger sister saw me, she bowed her head and greeted me.

I took a seat across from where she was sitting.

“I apologize for earlier……”

“It’s nothing.”

I calmly observed her as she kept apologizing, not knowing what to do.

Her face really did look exactly like Jenis’s.

Come to think of it, Jenis did have quite feminine features for a boy, but a real woman was definitely different—she exuded a much stronger feminine aura.

If I had to put it precisely, Jenis was like a pretty boy, while she was genuinely female.

Wait. Should I confirm something while I’m at it?

“Since when have you been staying here instead of Senior Jenis?”

“……Since yesterday.”

‘……’

I erased my previous thoughts.

All that about her having a more feminine aura—I hadn’t noticed anything until I realized she was a woman.

Just yesterday, didn’t I fall asleep in this room with Senior Jenis?

We used bunk beds, and when I returned to the room, he was already asleep, so we didn’t talk much… but I never once thought it wasn’t Senior Jenis.

Anyway.

Strictly speaking, though this wasn’t our first encounter, from my perspective it essentially was—

so I needed to do what was customary.

“My name is Swen.”

“Ah, I’m Iolline Al Caski. ……I’m Jenis’s twin sister.”

“I could tell that without you mentioning it.”

“Haha……”

She laughed awkwardly.

When she smiled, she looked even more like Jenis.

The power of DNA is truly remarkable.

“So, what exactly is going on here?”

“My brother asked me for a favor. He wanted me to stay here for a few days……”

“Why?”

Shaking her head.

Iolline shook her head repeatedly with a troubled expression.

“I can’t tell you the details, but I was told it’s something extremely important.”

“Something extremely important?”

“Yes… I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t, I’m sorry…”

What could be so important?

To go through all this trouble.

From what I’ve observed, Senior Jenis—Jenis Al Caski—was never particularly serious about anything.

If you asked whether he seemed ambitious, he wasn’t that either. Perhaps the only things he truly valued were his pride in his brother Irian and his sense of belonging to Serpina’s army?

Given that personality, there was a possibility that his reason was more frivolous than expected—

‘To be fair, I haven’t observed Senior Jenis for that long.’

I couldn’t rule out the possibility that all of it might have been an act, portraying a suitable character.

As I was lost in thought, Iolline addressed me.

“Um… Sir Swen.”

“Yes?”

“About… today… could you please keep this a secret from my brother…?”

After saying that, Iolline bowed her head deeply and pleaded with me.

“Just… until my brother returns… please…! I don’t want to be a burden to my family anymore……”

‘……’

The way she so easily referred to herself as a burden suggested there was some backstory there…

I organized the current situation in my mind.

‘I don’t know why Senior Jenis went to such lengths, but he must have had his reasons. I might need to look into this.’

At this point, I couldn’t ignore one troubling fact:

In my memory of playing this game for 10,000 hours, there was no character named Jenis Al Caski.

Not just Jenis, but Iolline in front of me and their older brother Irian—all of them were faces I’d never seen before.

There were certainly forgettable officers.

Those C to D-rank officers with generic names and unremarkable stats, almost like clone characters.

It’s a bit mean to say, but Jack and Silin, who accompanied Lady Irene with me back when I was in the Brans army, were probably like that.

From a third-person perspective, even I—Swen—wasn’t particularly memorable, but with my white hair, I should have been somewhat recognizable.

Yes, I couldn’t have forgotten characters like these.

Irian was quite handsome, and given that he was consistently employed by Serpina, who valued capable people, his stats must have been decent.

As for Jenis, while I didn’t know his stats, if he existed as a twin, that setting would have been memorable.

But… I couldn’t recall anything.

‘Anyway, since Senior Jenis went to such lengths, there might be some connection. I might discover something important, so I’ll cooperate with Iolline for now.’

If Jenis was up to something suspicious, it could endanger my lord, Serpina.

My new goal was to save Lady Serpina.

It might delay my entry to where Lady Irene was, but… I didn’t want to create regrets by not handling this carefully.

Having made up my mind, it was time to act.

“Alright. I’ll help you, Iolline.”

“Really…?”

It was a bit uncomfortable how she looked at me like I was her savior, but I needed to make some things clear.

“However, I have one condition.”

“A condition…?”

“It’s nothing major. Could you keep it a secret from your other family members that I noticed your existence? It might get troublesome if it gets out.”

“A secret? Of course I have to keep it secret. If I tell anyone, it would reveal that my identity was discovered…”

“I’m just making sure.”

Iolline thought for a brief moment, then nodded.

“Alright. I’ll do as you say, Sir Swen.”

“Then we have an agreement.”

As I stood up to leave, Iolline’s voice came from behind me.

“Um… Sir Swen, where are you going?”

“Hm? I’m going to look for somewhere else to stay. Now that I know you’re a woman, it would be awkward to stay together… and you’d be uncomfortable with me here, wouldn’t you?”

“Ah, you’re right about that…”

Having no counter to my logical point, she lowered her head and fidgeted.

I was a bit concerned, but it would be inappropriate to stay together.

With Lady Irene, there had been a clear order from the monarch, but this was different.

“Well then.”

As I was about to leave with a brief farewell, she stopped me.

“Um, Sir Swen…!”

“Yes?”

“Would it… would it be possible for you to stay with me?”

“?”

I looked at her, wondering what she meant, but she spoke in a surprisingly serious tone.

“It’s just that I’m not familiar with the building layout, and I feel anxious being alone… I don’t know how to react when I encounter people… I really don’t mind, so if it’s okay with you, I’d like to ask if you could stay with me.”

I had intended to give her space out of consideration, but it seemed I had misjudged.

Indeed, from her perspective, this place must be quite overwhelming.

From what I could tell, she wasn’t even an officer in Serpina’s army, and she had to pretend to be her brother of the opposite gender.

‘I’ll cooperate for now.’

Since I wanted to investigate Senior Jenis anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to gain her favor.

“Alright. However, if you need me to leave at any point, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“Need you to leave?”

“Like earlier, when you need to change clothes, things like that.”

“Ah…”

Iolline’s bowed face turned noticeably red.

“…I understand. Thank you for your consideration.”

After wrapping up the conversation with Iolline, I sat at the desk, lost in thought.

‘It would be good if I could understand the truth before entering Lady Irene’s house…’

For some reason, I felt strangely uneasy…

But thinking it wouldn’t be anything serious, I carefully organized the events of the day.

*

The capital of the Brans army, Anel Castle.

“……”

Lynn Brans, instead of sitting on the throne, was standing by the window of the audience chamber, gazing up at the sky.

She fidgeted with her thumbnail, which had become rough from being bitten too much, and thought.

‘Will it really work out as Farfalle said?’

An alliance with the Serpina army, whom she considered her enemy—a decision she had made with great resolve.

After losing Elgaim Castle to the Hesna army, she no longer had time to hesitate.

Though there was a brief lull now—considering the possibility that the Rolland army might advance after judging the Hesna army’s progress, there was a risk of losing other territories besides Elgaim Castle in no time.

Even the goal of protecting Anel Castle and the western continent would be limited to fronts with the Serpina and Aeshus armies.

With the southern continent’s nations beginning to move, the Brans army needed to reduce one of its fronts somehow.

Farfalle had suggested forming an alliance with the Serpina army immediately, without even considering alternatives.

The reason was that the balance in the southern nations had collapsed, potentially leading to complicated entanglements.

In other words, while the Hesna army was currently the biggest threat—

if the Ohana army seized the opportunity to conquer the Hesna army, they would have to seek alliances again.

Additionally, with four—or broadly five, including the Aeshus army—nations entangled, it was extremely difficult to determine which decision would definitely be beneficial.

Therefore, Farfalle argued that quickly forming an alliance with the Serpina army while things were quiet was the safest path.

The hostility toward the Serpina army within the Brans army, as well as the monarch’s own pride, had made her hesitate until the end—

“My lord. Cast aside your pride. We cannot afford to make wrong choices anymore.”

As Farfalle had said, it was no longer the time to worry about pride.

They had to prevent the once-mighty Brans army of the central continent from becoming a minor nation at all costs.

After all, maintaining face required national power.

However.

“If we form an alliance… will our army really be able to keep its spark alive?”

“I can’t be certain… but I believe it will create that possibility.”

The most frustrating thing was that not a single person could guarantee that this path was “definitely beneficial.”

‘If Swen were here, he would have given me a definite answer…’

She thought of that man’s face again with regret, but he had long since become a member of the Aeshus army due to her wrong choice.

After her brother Chel was devastatingly defeated by the Aeshus army, hadn’t Lynn spent her time idly, disinterested in state affairs?

Having wasted so much time in panic and useless thoughts, it was now time to pull herself together and move forward rather than dwell on the past.

Just then.

“My lord. Lady Farfalle is here to see you.”

“Tell her to come in.”

The doors to the audience chamber opened, and Farfalle slowly walked across the red carpet.

As soon as Lynn saw her face, she rushed to her and asked.

“How did it go? The alliance?”

“Fortunately, it seems they’ve agreed somehow.”

“Really?!”

“Yes. They said they would form an alliance with us.”

‘Thank goodness…!’

The Brans army had exhausted all available resources.

To ensure success, they should have offered even more, but after the country fell apart following Irene’s departure, they had wasted time neglecting state affairs, and the treasury was not in good shape.

They could spend more money if needed, but that would leave them short on salaries and operational funds, so it was no exaggeration to say they had invested their entire fortune.

“However… there is one condition that concerns me.”

“A concerning condition? What is it?”

“Well… it’s…”

Farfalle, with a slightly puzzled expression, carefully began to speak.

“They said they would form an alliance, but they want you to personally visit Einhart Castle…”