Ch.163Chapter 163. What Happened to Him

I immediately removed the cloth sealing his mouth and shook him.

“Senior, are you conscious? Senior Jenis!”

“……!”

Fortunately, Jenis quickly opened his eyes and assessed the situation.

“……Swen? Why are you……”

“I came to rescue you. Your sister asked me to.”

“……Ah……”

Jenis let out a brief sigh, then nodded at me.

It seemed he had easily grasped the situation.

Now, it was time to hear his story.

* * *

Turning back the clock to a few days ago.

Jenis left the royal palace with a bitter expression and thought.

‘Even though my brother suffered the most on the battlefield, why can’t he receive any rewards?’

The position of deputy commander of the occupation forces was clearly meant for the most promising young general in Serpina’s army.

Anyone could see that position belonged to Ian, who had achieved great merit in suppressing the Brans army.

At least until that woman Irene appeared.

‘I understand she’s impressive… but in the end, it was my brother who fought for our army. And yet……’

He had always been loyal to Lady Serpina and thought it natural to serve without expecting anything in return—

But the fact that this position went not to his highly respected brother, but instead to a general who had recently betrayed her lord and only just joined them, gnawed at Jenis.

Even talking with Ian didn’t resolve anything.

Just when he was wondering if he should let it go… a group approached him.

“Don’t you think this is unfair?”

The words came from an old general who had kindly shown him the ropes when he first joined Serpina’s army.

As it turned out, there were quite a few generals in the army who shared his thoughts.

At the place he visited after being introduced by the old general, an unexpected face greeted Jenis.

“Oh, it’s the honorable Jenis of the Al Kaski family. Welcome. It seems like just yesterday I was sharing drinks with your father, and now his second grown son stands before me. How enviable!”

The leader of this group was Huton Argyle, one of the 11 founding contributors of the Einhart Empire who had retired from the front lines and was quietly spending his remaining days.

He was considered a wise old man, the only one who could potentially succeed Ginor Nighthart, the former chancellor of the empire. For this reason, he was regarded as a talent capable of serving as a national strategist in Serpina’s somewhat disorganized army—

But citing old age, he had declined the position, which then went to Jenna, while he quietly spent his time on small matters in the background.

Of course, that didn’t mean he had completely withdrawn from central politics.

At first, Jenis joined them simply to soothe his feelings.

After all, sharing frustrations with like-minded people tended to lessen the burden.

But at some point… Jenis naturally realized they were plotting something that should never be spoken of.

“If it had been Lord Algot, he wouldn’t have handled things this way.”

“Lord Huton, who was Lord Algot’s right-hand man, is also expressing great regret.”

“Jenis, don’t you also think Lord Algot is the true heir to the empire?”

They were one of countless factions that didn’t recognize Serpina.

The only difference was that their focal point had shifted to Algot von Einhart and his favored Huton Argyle—otherwise, they were no different from the countless groups that had appeared before, borrowing the names of Algot and Sidmid.

Having discovered everything, Jenis chose to play along to survive.

He considered reporting everything to his lord immediately, but he couldn’t get a private audience with her recently. Moreover, the group included people Jenis had been friendly with, as well as the old general who had been like a personal benefactor, making it impossible for him to report them.

It was obvious that everyone would be executed the moment he reported them.

While he remained indecisive, Jenis was already being treated as a member of the group, and before he knew it, he was contacting them behind his roommate’s back, even asking his sister for favors.

Then one day.

“My brother, you mean?”

“Yes. Don’t you think if Lord Ian, who must be heartbroken by this incident, helps us, he could become a cornerstone for the ‘rightful Einhart Empire’? Of course, if we succeed, I guarantee that both Lord Ian and you, Lord Jenis, will receive appropriate positions. The Al Kaski family will finally become true founding contributors of the nation!”

After Huton asked him to persuade Ian, Jenis felt he couldn’t just let this pass.

‘Just associating with them and having these conversations has already put me in a dangerous position. If I’m not careful, my brother and sister—no, our entire family could be in danger. So I need to tell my lord everything honestly right now…!’

“Jenis, never forget that you’ve already taken a step in. If you want to get what you want, you know what to do, right?”

What Jenis wanted was for Ian to be recognized for his hard work.

But he couldn’t commit such a foolish act that would certainly lead everyone to ruin.

Countless rebel forces, even ones much larger than this, had all been executed—what could a group gathered by a retired old man, noble title notwithstanding, possibly achieve?

Besides, regardless of all that—Jenis himself had never once thought of betraying Serpina.

“…I understand.”

So after saying that, Jenis immediately headed for the royal palace.

To have a private audience with Serpina and confess everything, even if it meant being disrespectful.

He might be punished for reporting late, but that was better than having his family exterminated for being implicated.

But—

“……!!”

Someone struck Jenis hard on the back of his head as he was heading to the royal palace.

“Tsk. So you were going to talk after all. Damn bastard.”

“What should we do? Kill him?”

“We can’t kill him. If we want to recruit Ian Al Kaski somehow, it’s better to keep him alive. However… it would be best to prevent him from going outside for a while.”

And so, barely recognizing the voices of his attackers—

Jenis’s vision gradually faded to black.

* * *

Einhart Royal Palace.

I was kneeling before Serpina in the audience chamber, conversing with her.

“Swen. I’m quite curious why you sought an audience with me first. Perhaps you wish to spend some personal time with me?”

“……”

Serpina spoke with a smile at the corner of her lips, keeping the conversation light—

But what I was about to report to her was an extremely heavy matter that could not be delivered lightly.

She must have read the atmosphere from my expression, as she lowered her tone and asked in a more serious manner.

“Something seems to have happened.”

“My lord. ……Please don’t be alarmed. I was concerned about something, so I investigated personally—”

“Someone is plotting against my life again, it seems.”

“……!!!”

Upon hearing Serpina’s words, I looked up at her face in surprise.

She was… smiling.

That smile contained neither the charisma she showed as an absolute ruler, nor the allure she displayed as a woman—

It was an empty, incredibly lonely smile.

“There’s nothing to be surprised about. From your serious expression, I just thought it was about time. Besides, Swen, you’ve already uncovered traitors and informed me before. It’s not so unusual for something to happen twice.”

“My lord……”

Contrary to my intentions, I had indeed uncovered traitors once before.

Back then, they were remnants of Sidmid von Einhart’s faction, while this time they were Algot von Einhart’s remnants—other than that difference, the two situations were quite similar.

Looking at her lonely expression, I thought.

…That’s right.

The Northern Continent was currently experiencing endless rebellions.

Even when playing as Serpina’s forces in the game, no matter how high the loyalty was set, someone would always rebel.

Back then, I simply thought of it as a kind of “balance patch”…

But in this world that had become reality, it meant she had to periodically watch generals who trusted and followed her turn against her.

“Tell me, Swen. What happened?”

“……Yes.”

Even if what I reported would make Serpina’s crown weigh even heavier—

I couldn’t just let it pass.

I had to protect her.

So I reported everything I had heard from Jenis to her.

* * *

That day.

Thanks to Swen and Irene’s efforts, the group plotting rebellion in Algot von Einhart’s name was entirely arrested and detained based on the confessions of those involved.

The mastermind was the retired old general Huton Argyle, who had supported Algot in the succession struggle but had supposedly retired to quietly live out his remaining days after Algot died and Serpina ascended to the throne.

As this incident came to light, it became clear that was merely a facade.

And.

Among the traitors was the female general Erin, who had been particularly loyal to her.

“……Erin.”

“……”

Serpina looked at the woman who had always worked for her and asked.

“Why on earth did you participate in such a foolish act? It’s an uncharacteristically stupid thing for someone as intelligent as you.”

“Lady Serpina. Do you know how many people have become unhappy because of you? After taking so many lives, how long do you think you can continue to reign?”

“……”

“It’s not too late. Step down now. Hand over your crown to Lord Huton, the rightful heir of Prince Algot, who should have become the monarch. If you do that, he said he would specially guarantee your life. It’s foolish to cling to the Einhart bloodline that has already been tainted beyond repair.”

It was strange.

Serpina felt she couldn’t communicate at all with Erin, who had always sworn loyalty to her.

And then she realized.

Is this it?

Is this the feeling that Rahelven, who once taught her etiquette, had spoken of?

“Princess. Since we have this connection, let me tell you something good at the end. I… this old man, am just the first.”

“Didn’t you expect it when you drank the blood of the royal family with your own hands? Countless people are targeting you, Princess. ……It will be a difficult battle, but this too is a weight that must be borne by one who deceived everyone, coveted what should not be possessed, and finally took it.”

‘Am I… someone who possesses what should not be possessed?’

What should not be possessed.

In truth, she never wanted any of this.

All of these things—the fate of the Einhart family, the bloodline, the will to unify the empire—

Weren’t they all things that were ‘given’ to Serpina?

On her way back from the prison, Serpina leaned against a wall and thought.

How long would she have to watch the eyes of those who worked for her change 180 degrees to hatred?

How long would this seemingly endless malice continue to lurk around her?

Thinking about it, she could easily realize that ‘that man’ was involved this time as well.

‘Swen…..’

Both the previous rebellion and this one would have gone undetected without him.

It was no exaggeration to say that avoiding major damage, regardless of whether the rebellion would have succeeded, was all thanks to Swen.

Perhaps Swen could give her an answer.

On her way back to the audience chamber, Serpina decided to summon Swen.

Was it simply to commend him for his efforts in this matter and discuss future affairs?

Or was it because she just wanted to see him…?

That, even she did not know.