Ch.160Chapter 160. Wandering Evil (3)

Irian made a somewhat bitter expression, then spoke in a resolute tone.

“Let me be clear. No matter what position I hold, my loyalty to my lord will never change. And I believe Irene is worthy of that position. My comrades who fought alongside me on the battlefield weren’t too pleased that I didn’t get the position, but…”

I carefully observed Irian’s eyes as he spoke.

I didn’t sense… any deception.

“I’m a warrior too. I can tell at a glance who is more exceptional than me. It wasn’t difficult to hear about the legendary exploits of Irene, the red-haired female knight who specializes in siege warfare and is one of the two generals who made House Brans the ruler of the Central Continent.”

‘As I expected, Lady Irene seems to be far more impressive than I thought.’

Of course, her abilities—her status itself—were excellent, but in the first scenario of this game, Lynn Brans had already taken over the entire central continent, and she had already been demoted.

Looking back now, Lynn, who stubbornly ignored and refused to use such an accomplished Irene before ultimately abandoning her, was quite an extraordinary person.

Well, even when she was with the Aeshus forces, she had somewhat successfully kept Chel Brans in check.

Anyway, she was now by my side, assisting me. That alone made me feel reassured.

“So, at least I have no complaints about that decision. What matters isn’t my position, but what I can do for my lord. However…”

Irian sighed deeply and said.

“Jenis was extremely displeased about it. He would get angry, saying if not me, who had sworn loyalty to the imperial family for generations and earned the most military achievements on the battlefield for the conquest of the Central Continent, then who else could take that position?”

Jenis often had days when he was absent and didn’t return to our quarters. Was he discussing such things with Irian at the mansion during those times?

“I’ll say it again, Swen. I support my lord’s decision. Lady Irene is an exceptional general. Fighting alongside her on the battlefield will surely help me grow just as much. Internal power struggles, career advancement, and such things don’t matter to me at all.”

“Brother…”

“But, as I said, this doesn’t have much to do with the current situation. I don’t think I can be of much help. Well, he’s an adult. Doesn’t he need time to sort out his own emotions?”

Irian said this as he stood up from his seat.

I considered being honest with him, but I felt it would only escalate matters without being particularly helpful.

At least I had gained something.

The fact that Jenis was dissatisfied with Irene taking that position.

And if that had become the catalyst for Jenis participating in some kind of rebellion, resulting in the family’s extermination, it would roughly make sense why I didn’t know any members of the Al Caski family—

‘But thinking he’d commit treason just because of that is going too far.’

Even Irian himself was maintaining his composure, so would someone who cared for Irian act independently and recklessly endanger everyone?

It seemed like an incredibly stupid action.

Especially considering that without the premise that “I, who played this game for 10,000 hours, don’t know of their existence,” I would never have inferred that he participated in treason.

Of course, humans sometimes act incredibly stupidly when driven by emotions, as proven by both Yurie and Lynn… but from what little I had observed of Jenis, he didn’t seem like someone so thoughtless.

‘There must be something more to this.’

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll take my leave. Ah, Swen.”

“Yes?”

“Next time, I’d appreciate if you came to greet me formally, rather than like this. As long as it’s not sudden, I’m always willing to listen.”

“Brother, please stop…”

Irian left the room, leaving behind a blushing Iolline.

In the now quiet reception room with just the two of us, Iolline asked a question.

“May I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“I’m curious about why you came to see me.”

“Pardon?”

“Actually, if you had assessed the situation before consulting, it seems more natural that you would have gone directly to Irian to organize a search party, rather than coming to me.”

I wasn’t particularly suspicious of her intentions, but it was always better to clarify things for peace of mind.

Hearing my words, she nodded understandingly and said.

“Actually, I’ve heard a bit about who you are, Swen.”

“You’ve heard?”

“From my second brother… that is, from Jenis. He mentioned that his roommate seemed to be the famous white-haired mage.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. And living together, he realized what a wonderful person you are… I apologize for saying this, but I thought I might be able to rely on you.”

The white-haired mage.

That title still feels unfamiliar no matter how many times I hear it.

But when we lived together, Jenis didn’t particularly emphasize that fact…

It seemed like he was being considerate of me in his own way.

Constantly bringing up topics like being a mage would have been awkward for both of us.

‘Indeed, no matter how I look at it, he’s not simply a villain.’

No matter how much I racked my brain sitting there, nothing conclusive came to mind.

From experience, I knew that sometimes sleeping on it was the best solution.

“It’s getting late today… let’s meet tomorrow morning when the day breaks.”

“Understood. Where should I go tomorrow?”

“Please come to the small square near the lodgings.”

“Yes, I’ll do that. However…”

Perhaps she was worried about letting more time pass.

Realistically, nothing serious would happen yet, and if something had already happened, it was likely too late.

But until we reached a conclusion, reassuring her was the right thing to do.

“Don’t worry. As long as he’s within the territory, we’ll find him quickly.”

“…Alright.”

After saying goodbye to Iolline, I left the Al Caski mansion when the sky had already darkened.

Riding in the carriage prepared by Iolline’s side back to my lodgings, I was lost in thought.

‘Am I doing the right thing?’

Thinking about it, so much has happened until now.

Regardless, until the day I meet Lady Luna again… I will definitely protect Lady Serpina.

I should focus solely on that and act accordingly.

With that thought, I headed alone to the empty lodgings.

*

The next day.

Early in the morning, together with Iolline who had arrived early, we went around visiting places where Jenis might have gone, almost like a pilgrimage.

Since my physical body was too weak to wander around for long, prioritization was crucial.

After discussing with Iolline to narrow down the search areas—

Surprisingly, it seemed I was the one who had the most personal conversations with Jenis.

I focused the search on places I inferred he might have frequented based on our casual talks.

After searching all morning—

“You haven’t seen him, you say?”

“That’s right. He does visit frequently, but he hasn’t been here for the past few days.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

There was no trace of Jenis anywhere.

It felt as if the person named Jenis had simply vanished.

‘Should I just be honest with Lady Serpina and ask for her help?’

But it would be absurd to tell her I’m looking for “someone who might have been plotting treason.”

While she would likely listen if I earnestly pleaded, there’s a vast difference between “likely to listen” and “definitely will listen”—like the difference between 99 and 100 intelligence.

Still, I didn’t want to see people I had formed connections with being brutally killed.

If Jenis truly was contemplating rebellion, his death might be inevitable, but I couldn’t help feeling uneasy about Iolline or Irian meeting a miserable end.

I wasn’t sure if Irian would remember, but I did owe him a small debt from when I first came to Serpina’s forces.

The fact that he gracefully accepted that the newcomer Irene had taken a position he might have held himself showed he wasn’t much of a villain.

Of course, in a decisive moment, I intended to side with Serpina…

But if we could avoid the seemingly predetermined tragic deaths, it would ultimately benefit not only me but Lady Serpina herself.

Then, the second option:

Be honest with Irene and ask for her help.

This approach was much less burdensome than directly speaking to Serpina.

She and I had traveled across three countries together, and we had built a bond during that process.

‘I think it’s best to go to Lady Irene.’

As I was thinking this—

“Swen.”

Iolline approached, carrying something bundled up.

“What’s all that?”

“It’s a packed meal. Since you’ve been working hard all day…”

“Thank you.”

I accepted it.

Inside were quite appetizing-looking foods.

“Did you make this yourself?”

“No, I didn’t. I’m sorry about that.”

Well, she was still a lady from a well-off family even in these turbulent times.

Unless she had a hobby like Reika, there was no need for her to cook with her own hands.

While eating, I engaged in a brief exchange with her.

“Are there any more places we should check?”

“There are, but it’s awkward to visit them all today, and I can’t be certain… I think it’s better to seek help from someone who can assist us.”

“Someone who can help?”

“Yes. I know someone who can help us quietly without causing a commotion.”

“Who is that person…?”

I casually chewed on a white piece of bread and said.

“It’s the person mentioned in our conversation with Irian yesterday.”

* * *

Each day in the military camp was the same, with little change.

Holding swords, spears, and various weapons, soldiers continuously trained.

Maintaining discipline and continuing training might be challenging for soldiers stationed in the capital city.

Of course, since Irene took charge of the training—

“Your movements are sluggish! Remember what I taught you!”

“Yes, understood!”

The discipline had never been better.

With her own renowned reputation and her sincere attitude towards the soldiers, which surpassed that of any other general, most of the occupying forces had opened their hearts to her long ago.

As a result, just having Irene lead the training was enough to boost morale to the skies.

As she was conducting training as usual—

“Lady Irene.”

“What is it during training?”

“You have a visitor.”

Irene looked at the officer delivering the message.

He was one of the military officials who helped manage the camp and faithfully followed Irene’s orders.

“I believe I instructed that anyone other than our lord should be asked to wait until training is complete?”

“Well, they insisted that if I mentioned their name, you would definitely come out…”

“Who is it?”

Who would call her out during training?

Unless it was her lord calling, it was a knight’s duty not to leave during the execution of orders…

“They said their name is Swen.”

“!!!”

Swen?

Why is he looking for me?

…Just hearing his name, Irene pushed aside all notions of a knight’s duty.

“It seems urgent. Should I train the soldiers for a while?”

Though she preferred to finish things herself…

If it was Swen looking for her, of course she had to go.

Before serving Serpina, she was Swen’s knight.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Sorry about this.”

“Not at all. You always work hard. Please go ahead.”

Irene immediately left her post and headed to where Swen was waiting.

‘Wait. I’ve been sweating a lot… I hope I don’t smell bad?’

She wanted to take a bath, but given how rarely he sought her out like this, it must be quite urgent…

With the girlish thought that she always wanted to present her best self to Swen, she hurried her steps.

“Lady Irene.”

“Swen!”

A handsome man with well-suited white hair, the person I must protect—Swen appeared before Irene’s eyes.

Yes.

Up to that point, everything was fine.

But then…

‘…Huh?’

Irene stopped in her tracks.

Next to him… stood a woman she had never seen before.