Ch.164Chapter 164. Wavering Heart (1)

After a while.

The purge of the rebels was carried out on a large scale.

Although there was circumstantial evidence that Jenis had frequently associated with them and could have been charged with knowing about the rebellion but failing to report it immediately—which could have put the Al Caski family in a very dangerous position—

Taking into account that he provided decisive evidence in this case, they were able to avoid family extermination, and the matter was settled with him being imprisoned for about 3 months.

A 3-month imprisonment was hardly considered punishment from Serpina’s perspective, who never forgave anyone even slightly connected to rebellion, so Jenis seemed to accept his situation calmly rather than raising objections.

In a way, I had changed the predetermined future.

After he was taken to prison—

“Thank you so much, Sir Swen.”

“I must express my gratitude as well. If it weren’t for you, we would have suffered greatly.”

In front of the Al Caski family mansion, Irene, Reika, and I were receiving continuous thanks from Irian and Ioline.

“As I said, I’m satisfied with having been able to cut off the roots of rebellion, so please don’t worry about it.”

“That’s not true. How can I ever repay this debt… Lady Irene, I am deeply indebted to you as well. I will never forget this.”

Irene spoke in an indifferent tone to Irian, who kept bowing to her.

“As Swen said, don’t worry about it. We only did what needed to be done.”

“I understand it was your duty, but the fact remains that it became a great favor to us. My father taught me never to become someone who betrays kindness.”

From Irian’s perspective, he must want to thank us over and over again.

Although it wasn’t his intention, his family would have been exterminated because of his younger brother’s foolish actions.

Anyway, this proved that my memory of them being gone was because they had already disappeared long ago.

“I will never forget this favor. Please take care of yourselves.”

“Stay well, Sir Swen.”

After saying our final goodbyes to Irian and Ioline.

On our way back, I casually asked Irene a question.

“When do you think we’ll be able to move into the mansion?”

“I think we’ll be able to move in soon. All the necessary procedures have been completed.”

“Really? Then we don’t have many days left before we live together again.”

“…Yes.”

Irene nodded with a flushed face.

Reika, who had been quietly following us, looked at me with a smile and said.

“I’m… happy that I can live with you too. Hehe…”

I see.

So Reika will be living with us too.

Since the mansion is spacious, we’ll each have our own rooms… Anyway, the three of us would be living together.

‘We haven’t had the opportunity to talk about it since we’ve been living apart, but it’s about time we did.’

Reika was the only one with whom I had a formal marriage proposal.

Of course, we couldn’t contact her father Ginor at the moment… but considering that he was the one who proposed the marriage in the first place and deliberately kept Reika by my side, his intentions were clear without having to ask.

That meant only Reika’s wishes remained.

If Reika said she wanted to marry me…

‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to formally propose to Lady Irene first.’

It’s not that I disliked Reika, but if possible, I hoped Irene would be my first bride.

She was the first one I thought about marrying, and despite everything, she had followed me, trusting only me, even changing her allegiance to different rulers twice.

So, I would spend my time safely in Serpina’s army, and when Lady Luna raised her army, I would switch sides—

I couldn’t think of a better life plan now that the concerning matter with Jenis had been resolved.

Although Irene would eventually have to go to war as the deputy commander of the occupation forces, I was confident I could save her as long as my predictions were accurate, and Serpina had been listening to me relatively well compared to previous rulers like Lynn or Yurie.

…Of course, lately she had been showing signs of obsession with me rather than just listening well, but from the position of an advisor, it was much better to be obsessed over by the ruler than to be at odds with them.

“Then, I’ll send someone soon.”

“Yes. I’ll be waiting. I’ll need some time to complete the checkout procedures at my lodging anyway.”

“Okay. Then… I’ll be waiting until that day. Take care, Swen.”

“See you again, Sir Swen…!”

After saying goodbye to the two women, I returned to my lodging.

When I entered my room, the empty room with a bunk bed gave me a strangely lonely feeling.

The time I spent with Senior Jenis and Ioline wasn’t bad at all.

From my position as someone who would eventually leave Serpina’s army—saving a talent like Irian would certainly be a great help to her.

Although he wasn’t an exceptional general who could turn the tide of battle, he had definitely achieved military merit in the war against the Brans army.

I thought this should be enough to clear any sense of debt I had toward her, when—

‘…Huh?’

Only then did I notice a piece of paper stuck near the door.

I picked it up and checked its contents…

*

[A summons from your ruler. Sir Swen, please head to the royal palace as soon as you see this note.]

‘What is it this time?’

I’d gone back and forth so many times that the path from my lodging to the Einhart palace now felt quite familiar.

On the way, I tried to think about why she might have called me.

‘Does she want advice on how to deal with the traitors?’

But for that, there wasn’t much else to do besides executing everyone involved, as had been done so far, for the sake of national discipline.

Seeing the continuous rebellions, it didn’t seem like a conciliatory approach would solve the problem anyway.

I didn’t know the details, but Serpina’s karma seemed very deep and heavy, and that karma appeared to be what made her a tyrant.

The fact that rebellions kept occurring despite her taking care of each general and running the state decently only reinforced this impression.

‘Whatever it is, I need to be on her side to some extent.’

To act freely within Serpina’s army, I needed her trust above all else.

I could feel her growing obsession with me, but… as I thought earlier, from my perspective, it was much more beneficial for her to use me properly and be obsessed with me than to not utilize me properly like Yurie did.

With these thoughts, I arrived at the palace gates.

A soldier saw me, saluted, and asked:

“Are you Sir Swen?”

“Yes, I am.”

“The ruler has requested that you come to the reception room in the villa. She said you would understand.”

The villa? Is that the place she often called me to?

‘Serpina really likes that place.’

To me, it was just a desolate old mansion, nothing more, nothing less.

Could it be a special place for her?

I greeted the soldier appropriately and headed toward the villa.

*

When I arrived at the villa, opened the door, and headed to the reception room.

“You’re here, Swen. Come, sit here.”

She greeted me with a smile.

Something about her tone of voice and her slightly flushed face felt different from the usual Serpina.

The cause wasn’t hard to figure out.

On the table was a wine glass filled with red wine.

“My ruler, I’m not sure if I should say this, but excessive drinking is harmful to your health.”

“Do you think I’m so weak that I would collapse after just a few glasses?”

“…Excuse me.”

I sat down across from Serpina and looked at her face.

…Unconsciously, my gaze kept drifting to her lips.

‘….’

My first kiss, which tasted like citrus.

Since then, we hadn’t specifically brought up the topic, so I also just acted as if nothing had happened… but that didn’t mean what happened could truly become nothing.

We had kissed, and I had heard something like a marriage proposal from her.

Seeing her slightly intoxicated and relaxed state… the memory of that time came back, making me feel strangely unsettled.

At times like this, it’s best to change the subject.

“Why did you call for me?”

“Does a ruler need a specific reason to call one of her officers?”

“Not necessarily, but we are basically here to serve our ruler—”

“Just.”

Serpina interrupted me, and then looked straight into my eyes with a serious tone, without any hint of playfulness.

“I wanted to see you, Swen.”

“…!”

“I called you… because I missed you.”

Serpina’s slightly intoxicated expression looked very lonely as she said this.

There was no sign that she was joking or looking down on me.

Did this woman really… just call me because she wanted to see me?

I remembered what happened a few days ago. And the words she had spoken to me.

As always… Serpina was undeniably a person whose thoughts were difficult to read.

I silently took a glass from the cabinet, sat across from her, and said:

“My ruler. I don’t know what’s troubling you, but I can be your drinking companion for today. If there’s anything you want to discuss, I’m here to listen.”

“…Can you be something other than a drinking companion?”

“Of course. It’s my duty to follow your orders.”

“That sounds nice. I don’t particularly like those who only speak pretty words. Are you prepared?”

Seeing her smile as she said this, I felt relieved somehow.

“Of course.”

However.

Without hesitation, she began to say something I couldn’t have imagined.

“Really? Then I must test you.”

Serpina lightly traced her lips with her finger—

And spoke to me in an incredibly seductive voice, not as a ruler but as a woman.

“Swen. Stay by my side tonight.”