Ch.155Chapter 155. Inevitability (2)

The royal palace of Einhart Castle, the capital of Serpina’s territory.

Serpina sat on the throne, listening to a soldier’s report.

“Are you saying it’s presumed to be a landslide?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The news had come from a transport unit dispatched to send supplies to the front lines.

“We changed course based on our own judgment, but felt the need to report this matter.”

“Can you determine when this occurred?”

“Based on consistent testimonies from numerous territory residents living in nearby villages, we estimate it happened approximately three weeks ago from today.”

“I see…”

Fortunately, it was just a valley used as a passage, so there wasn’t significant damage—

However, as it was a crucial access route from the northern continent to the central continent, it was a path that absolutely needed to be restored for smooth communication with allied forces at the front lines and to facilitate the advance of occupation forces later.

“Very well. How long is the restoration expected to take?”

“From what I’ve heard, it will take quite some time… but the field commander requests your orders whenever you’re ready.”

Serpina pondered briefly, then extended her hand forward and spoke.

“I understand. I’ll dispatch support troops from the nearest castle to assist with the restoration. I’ll entrust the operational authority to General Estin, the transport unit commander.”

“Shall I relay that message?”

“Yes.”

The soldier who heard Serpina’s words responded in a loud voice.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

After dismissing the soldier, Serpina rose from her seat and headed toward a large map.

It was a complete map of the continent, often used during state councils.

She picked up a quill pen from beside it, intending to mark the area near the landslide valley for reference.

But.

“…Huh?”

For some reason, the moment she looked at the map,

Swen’s voice flashed through her mind.

“Regarding what you mentioned, about going there personally… there’s a possibility it could lead to unfavorable results for our forces.”

“I believe my lord should avoid moving personally.”

The discomfort Serpina felt at that time wasn’t just because he had addressed her as “Lady Serpina”…

It was also because he had specifically tried to prevent her from going herself.

Swen’s surface reason was “we shouldn’t allow the commanders to feel sympathy for Lynn,” but… if that were the case, he should have also refused to bring her here, but Swen didn’t do that.

At that moment.

“Oh…?”

Suddenly struck by a chilling thought, Serpina felt her heart racing as cold sweat formed on her brow.

“…Wait a minute.”

Serpina checked the map once more.

It was a route she had traveled many times. Hadn’t she recently returned from the front lines using this very path?

Therefore… it wasn’t difficult for her to estimate exactly when this path would have been used.

Of course, even if there were weather issues affecting travel time, that would only be a problem when looking toward the future, not the past.

The skies had been perfectly clear lately, so travel would have been without incident.

What she was thinking about now.

It was about the original plan she had proposed to Swen—not bringing Lynn here, but going to Brans territory herself.

“They definitely said three weeks ago…?”

Serpina slowly assembled a diplomatic mission in her mind.

The situation she was simulating was a plan known only to her, one she hadn’t revealed to anyone—

A scenario where Serpina herself would visit Brans territory directly.

The destination was Kohart Castle, located above Anel Castle, the closest territory at the current border with Serpina’s forces.

There was no need for someone like her, who had nothing to lose, to go all the way to Anel Castle. The purpose was to be seen by demoralized commanders guarding a border castle without proper forces, and by territory residents who would surely be feeling the tense atmosphere.

So.

Serpina calculated the situation where her delegation, including herself, would arrive at Kohart Castle, form an alliance, and then return to Einhart Castle.

Of course, that route included the valley where the landslide had occurred.

And then…

“…!!!!!!”

Serpina dropped the quill pen from her hand.

The ink-soaked quill fell onto the desk with a thud, splattering black ink everywhere.

There, the “truth” she realized was…

* * *

“Still no news?”

“No… We should have received contact by the scheduled date, but still nothing…”

“And you don’t know where he went?”

“No…”

Inside the dormitory.

I was talking with Iolline, Jenis’s twin sister who had come to fill in for him in this room.

“And there’s no way to exchange letters or anything like that?”

“I’m terribly sorry… I truly apologize.”

“Well, there’s nothing to apologize for…”

There was no point in pressuring Iolline further.

I still had time before entering Lady Irene’s house, and I was also concerned about what Jenis might be plotting, so delaying the eviction a bit longer was fine.

“I understand. Then you may stay here longer for the time being.”

“Ah, yes… I understand. Thank you, Lord Swen.”

Looking at Iolline, who was bowing her head in apology, I asked:

“Iolline. I’m curious about something.”

“Yes. Please ask anything.”

“What kind of person is your brother Jenis?”

Although I had shared a room with him for a while, all I knew was that he seemed like a frivolous man without much seriousness.

We never had serious conversations, so I didn’t know what he was thinking.

“Jenis is… a kind person. But sometimes, that kindness can be a bit excessive.”

“Excessive?”

“Yes. He has this tendency to try to shoulder everything himself… I think he believes he shouldn’t be a burden to our older brother Irian.”

A burden, huh.

It seemed like there might be some family issues, but I didn’t need to dig too deeply.

“As far as I know, this outing too… I think he might be doing something to help Irian. The only time my brother becomes proactive is when it concerns Irian. He’s always encouraging him, calling him the genius who will restore the Al Kaski family.”

He didn’t seem like such an outstanding talent to me, but at a young age, being active on the battlefield probably made him an exceptional talent in Serpina’s forces, where there weren’t many outstanding individuals.

Anyway, the more we talked—

I couldn’t help but think something suspicious was going on.

‘No matter how I look at it, he seems to be up to something shady.’

The first thing that came to mind was treason, but…

On the surface, Irian seemed deeply loyal to Serpina.

He didn’t appear dissatisfied with his position either.

I had looked into the situation a bit because I was concerned about the fact that Irian had been mentioned as a candidate for the position before Irene became the occupation force’s deputy commander, but I hadn’t detected anything unusual.

Yet the reason “treason” came to mind was—

‘Because I don’t have any data on the Al Kaski siblings in my database.’

Perhaps the reason I couldn’t recall them despite playing this game for 10,000 hours was because they had died early for some reason, and were already deceased by the time the game started?

And that reason might be treason.

Otherwise, at least one of the three would surely have remained in my memory.

Especially someone with Irian’s abilities.

Since he graduated top of his class from the most prestigious academy in Serpina’s territory, his basic stats must have been quite high—

And I had memorized every commander with outstanding basic stats.

Among the commanders I had memorized, Irian’s name did not exist.

‘Then is it just Jenis acting alone…?’

At that moment.

Knock, knock, knock—someone was knocking on the door.

I gave Iolline a look, and she immediately adjusted her posture and started organizing the desk.

Even to me, she looked exactly like Jenis, so that should be fine.

“Who is it?”

“Is Lord Swen here?”

‘Huh?’

I briefly wondered how to handle it if someone was looking for Jenis—

Fortunately or unfortunately, the person was looking for me.

When I opened the door, a soldier saluted me and said:

“Lord Swen. Our lord urgently requests your presence.”

“Me?”

What could this be about?

Is there something else she needs advice on?

We seemed to have handled the alliance with Brans forces well enough, so I was concerned about what kind of outlandish answer I’d need to give this time—

But from my position of needing to keep her alive, maintaining a close relationship with her couldn’t be bad.

“I understand. I’ll follow you right away.”

“Yes. I’ll wait outside the door.”

After briefly exchanging greetings with Iolline, I left the dormitory and headed for the royal palace.

*

Arriving at the audience chamber, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘The throne is empty?’

But since I was told she would be here, I looked around…

The golden-haired sovereign was standing, looking down at a desk.

I called out to her without much thought.

“Swen has arrived as commanded, my lord.”

“…Swen.”

Serpina slowly turned around, then gradually approached me and spoke.

Was it my imagination?

I thought I saw her pupils trembling ever so slightly.

She always had such a composed expression when calling for me… but today, she seemed completely lacking in composure, just like when we first met.

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

If she wanted to ask something, it would be seeking advice.

Since it’s not me but a brain with 100 intelligence that’s answering, my job is just to somehow add plausible flesh to the response.

“Please discuss anything with me.”

I wondered what question would come.

Would it be about upcoming battles, or perhaps strategies and tactics?

I hoped it would be a question I could anticipate, but while I was thinking this…

“…Swen. Tell me… your thoughts.”

She began to ask a question from a category I hadn’t expected at all.

“About the alliance with Brans forces, the reason you prevented me from going personally…”

“…?”

“That reason… you claimed it was because showing Lynn in a humiliating position might cause our commanders to feel sympathy rather than hatred.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“But that’s difficult to accept.”

Serpina took another step toward me.

This was strange.

If it was difficult to accept, she should have said so at the time, not bringing it up now.

And the woman who always exuded tremendous pressure just by being in her presence… today, for some reason, seemed as fragile and thin as a precarious branch.

“If what you said were true, shouldn’t you have also forbidden me from summoning Lynn here? After all, the alliance would still be witnessed directly by Lynn’s commanders.”

“…My lord, that is—”

As I was considering how to explain this clear logical point—

“Swen. I’m sorry, but… give me a chance to speak first.”

Serpina cut off my words with a trembling voice.

I remained silent, tacitly agreeing to her request.

What was going on here?

Before I could even grasp the situation, she looked straight into my eyes and asked:

“The reason you stopped me… it wasn’t really that, was it?”

‘…!’

“…I’ll tell you what I’ve surmised.”

Serpina, now with a slightly flushed face and a pitiful expression that looked like she might cry at any moment…

Looked at me and uttered those words.

“You were… trying to save my life, weren’t you?”