Ch.157Chapter 157. Inevitability (4)

* * *

Karelia Army Headquarters, Tepelo Castle.

“Huh, huff… just a little, just a little break time…”

Francis, the eldest among Cain’s children entrusted to Luna and showing exceptional talent with the spear, planted his weapon on the ground while panting heavily as he pleaded with his master—

“Hey. You’re still young, why are you already worn out? How long have you even been at it?”

The red-haired female instructor, her hair loosely tied back, looked at her disciple with contempt.

“We’ve been training continuously since sunrise until just now at sunset… except for lunch break.”

“So what? What, are you planning to play house at night? At your age? If you’re determined to become stronger, shouldn’t you be training until bedtime?”

“Um… Tifa. No matter how you look at it, training all day is a bit…”

Instructor Tifa approached Francis and spoke in a very serious tone.

“Hey. You want to make a name for yourself, right? Don’t you want to impress Luna?”

“No, that’s, that’s…”

Francis bowed his head slightly with a flushed face.

“It’s not really about impressing her… I just want to achieve excellent results somehow, so as not to bring shame to my uncle…”

“Uncle Cain? What damn face does that gloomy old man have to save!”

Tifa burst into laughter as she said this.

In some situations, this might have been considered extremely disrespectful, but Francis had witnessed the bond between Tifa, Cain, and their lord Luna during his stay here, so he didn’t take offense.

“Hey, Francis. You’re much better than old man Cain. Not just in talent, but in looks too. That old man has a somewhat cunning face, doesn’t he? I don’t know exactly whose bloodline you come from, but you’ve got that noble prince-like quality. Your skin is pretty decent too, despite spending all day training.”

“…”

Francis remained silent with his head bowed.

Honestly.

At his age, he was old enough to know that his appearance was superior to his peers.

And that filled Francis with a kind of adolescent self-esteem.

Of course, in these turbulent times, how important could good looks be, especially for a man?

“Among the men I’ve seen, you rank second. So have some pride, man! What about old Cain’s face? Forget about that old man. Francis, sweat for the sake of making your name known across the continent, you bastard.”

While Tifa meant this as encouragement in her own way—

For the young Francis, there was one word in her sentence that he simply couldn’t let slide.

“…Second?”

An ordinary person might have shown a look of regret at this point—

But Tifa, with her muscle-brain who disliked lying, or rather didn’t even know how to lie, answered honestly without much thought.

“Huh? Yeah. You’re second. There was a much more handsome man than you.”

For Francis, who had grown up hearing comments like “you have exceptional looks,” this was quite a significant revelation.

“Really? Who is that?”

“Swen.”

“Swen…?”

“Haven’t you heard of him? He was the strategist for our army… Oh?”

At that moment.

From a distance, Tifa spotted Luna approaching and raised her hand in greeting.

“Oh, Luna? Are you done with your work already?”

“Yes. Until orders come from above, there’s nothing special to do.”

The southern continent was currently engulfed in war tensions, led by the Hesna army, more than ever before.

The reason Tifa was intensively training Francis was because she was convinced that with his talent, unlike other generals, he could be deployed immediately to the battlefield.

Her principle was that for a general wandering the battlefield, practical experience was more important than any training.

“Is that so? What about what I asked for?”

“Actually, that’s why I came looking for you. Oh, wait.”

Luna turned her head to look at Francis, smiling gently as she asked.

“Francis, you’re always working so hard. Were you diligent today as well?”

“Ah… y-yes!”

Francis, who had been sitting down, immediately stood up and answered her vigorously.

“I’ve been doing my best to be of help to you, Lady Luna.”

“Is that so? Hehe, that’s reassuring.”

As Luna smiled with a starlight-like radiance, Francis couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes—

He quickly turned his head to cool his heated face.

I wonder if she understands this feeling… this desire to be of help to Lady Luna.

“What were you two talking about? Training?”

“About Swen.”

“…Huh?”

At that moment.

As soon as she heard the name ‘Swen,’ Luna’s expression visibly reddened.

“Lord Swen…? W-why so suddenly…?”

To the flustered Luna, Tifa casually remarked:

“Yeah. I was telling Francis about him. He’s going to be a general in our army someday, so it’s good for him to know about our indispensable strategist in advance, right?”

“Ah… so that’s what you meant…”

Luna let out a short sigh, then—

‘…!’

She smiled a smile that seemed incredibly happy, both as a ruler and as a woman.

Beyond being beautiful, pure, or comforting—

Crucially, it was a smile she had never shown to Francis before.

Though she had always been kind to him, treating him gently and speaking softly with a smile… she had never shown him such a smile.

“That’s right. Our army’s strategist is only Lord Swen. No one else… can replace Lord Swen.”

“…”

“…I hope he’s doing well.”

Her laughing face was exactly like that of a girl in love.

“He’ll be fine. Looking back, even the most absurd things he said turned out to be true, right?”

“I suppose so…”

It wasn’t difficult to read the desperate longing in Luna’s eyes.

In that moment, Francis, who had sworn to take up the spear for her sake, felt an insurmountable wall.

What kind of man was Swen?

What kind of man could make Lady Luna make such an expression?

Francis quietly pondered, hiding the complex feelings he was experiencing for the first time in his life… feelings he couldn’t quite put into words.

What kind of person was he?

* * *

“Lady Serpina…?”

“…”

Only after hearing her one-sided ‘declaration,’ I managed to utter her name in a half-dazed state.

Serpina, looking at me like this… slowly placed her hand under my chin, slightly lifting my face.

“As before, you call me ‘Lady Serpina’ at critical moments.”

“No, this… my lord.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind such trivial matters. Didn’t I just clearly say? Whoever is inside you, it doesn’t matter. Yes. You don’t have to serve me now.”

“…But I… am already part of Serpina’s army.”

To my roundabout expression of service—

She slightly curled the corners of her lips.

I could hardly believe that those glistening, moist lips that had just smiled seductively… had touched my own lips.

“Swen. You lie so well to me. No one would dare to tell lies before me with an unchanged expression, yet. Huhuhuh…”

“…!”

That it’s a lie…

Why… can she be so certain?

Does she have some source of information that I’m unaware of?

She was a ruler, and if she wanted to investigate my activities, she could certainly do so. From Serpina’s position, finding the connection between me and my true lord—Lunarian—might not be that difficult.

Though a bit flustered, since it could just be a wild guess, I put on a puzzled expression while gritting my teeth.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Swen. Whether your true lord is Lynn Brans, or Baranga Yurie Aeshus, or someone else entirely… there’s no way for me to find out. You’re not careless enough to let that slip.”

I was actually quite careless in many ways, but there was no need to remind her of that.

“But I have no intention of giving up on you. Those with Einhart blood never give up on what they desire. Be it this continent, or, Swen… you as a person.”

As Serpina said this—

She looked straight into my eyes.

The fragrant citron scent that had lingered in my mouth until just now tickled my nose as her face drew closer.

“When I was still young, when everyone believed the empire would prosper. Countless men approached me. They tried desperately to catch my eye, a bearer of imperial blood. Like peacocks showing off their feathers, they would deliver speeches about how their family, their position, their talents were suitable for me with my noble blood, and how they could glorify the imperial family.”

“Not a single one of them captured my heart. They were too predictable. I could see everything they were thinking, what they were aiming for as they approached me, wagging their pathetic tails. They were all, without exception, predictable humans.”

Her eyes sparkle as she says “not a single one.”

She’s beautiful.

“After becoming a ruler, they didn’t even dare to wag their tails at me. I was a tyrant who washed blood with blood. Only after becoming someone too frightening for these small fry to approach did I gain freedom. Isn’t it amusing? That even though this current self of mine has become far more valuable than my younger, naive self, they’re too afraid to approach?”

Serpina laughed as she said this.

It was similar to Lynn Brans’s tone, but… while Lynn’s was full of arrogance, Serpina’s was purely joyful, like that of a mischievous child.

“But, Swen. You’re different. You are more… unreadable than any man I’ve met. This is a first for me. No man has ever made my heart race like you do. Aren’t you curious about what would be born if your talent were mixed with Einhart’s noble blood? Huhuhuh…♥”

Having finished saying that, Serpina.

With a deeply flushed face, looking at me with a very sticky voice…

“I’ll say it once more. People of the Einhart family never let go of what they passionately desire. And—”

—This body desires you.

Only after hearing her words do I realize.

The woman I’ll be most deeply entangled with in this world might not be Lady Luna… but perhaps her.

And for me, who needs to stick close to Serpina somehow to preserve her life, this was like having a time bomb installed that I couldn’t avoid.

* * *

“Thank you…!”

In the market alley of Einhart Castle.

Reika, who had now gained the freedom to go outside without any hesitation, was purchasing various necessities for daily life.

‘Thanks to Lady Irene, I’ll be able to leave the lodgings soon… From then on, I can seriously try cooking?’

Although the direct maids would take care of all meals, Reika wanted to spend time in the kitchen herself.

Even if it wasn’t specifically pastries, cakes, or bread, there were many dishes she wanted to try.

For her, who had always been confined to the mansion like a caged bird, repeatedly practicing magic, even simple attempts at planning and doing things on her own gave her a strange thrill, like a kind of deviation.

‘Now I’ll head over there… Huh?’

At that moment.

Something unsettling entered Reika’s field of vision.