Ch.169Chapter 169. The Blue Light Dream Crumbles in Vain (3)

* * *

On a day when Farfalle was overseeing general state affairs in place of Lynn, who had lost her proper judgment abilities.

Upon an urgent summons from Lord Rem, Farfalle hurriedly headed to the royal castle of Zeilant Castle.

“What’s the matter?”

“Um… Advisor. Just now, this imperial edict…”

“What? …An imperial edict?”

With the throne currently empty, who on earth could have sent an imperial edict?

As that thought crossed her mind, Farfalle’s heart sank.

‘Could it be…!!!’

“I, I don’t really understand what’s going on either, but for now, this…”

Farfalle took the paper Rem handed her.

Stripping away all unnecessary rhetoric and summarizing the essential content, it was roughly as follows:

[Lynn Brans can no longer be entrusted with the future of the Brans Army.

Not only has she lost most of the central continent territories due to lax management, but does it make any sense to join hands with the demon Serpina, who is like our mortal enemy?

Therefore, I, Kalintz Brans, hereby declare that I have personally ascended to the position of ruler of the Brans Army to continue the glory passed down from our ancestors.

Lords who will follow me should respond quickly.

Territories whose lords do not respond will be designated as enemy states, and I declare that I will reclaim those territories through war if necessary.

The 2nd Ruler of the Brans Army, Kalintz Brans.]

Kalintz’s rebellion.

After reading the edict, Farfalle was shocked for a different reason.

‘What? Kalintz Brans did this…?’

Kalintz was currently serving as the acting lord of Anel Castle.

While he didn’t know exactly what condition Lynn was in, he at least knew that she needed recuperation.

The reason Farfalle had chosen Kalintz as lord instead of Chel was simple:

He wasn’t a man with enough ambition to plot something like rebellion.

Moreover, unlike Chel who was obsessed with battle and had earned many military achievements, gaining many followers,

Kalintz hadn’t particularly distinguished himself and thus had no popular support.

No matter how much Brans blood flowed in his veins, it was clear that few people would follow a man with no particular reputation and join him in rebellion.

In other words, she had entrusted Anel Castle to him rather than Chel because she was confident he wouldn’t do anything unnecessary.

But rebellion?

That Kalintz Brans?

As she rubbed her aching head, trying to make sense of this incomprehensible situation… Rem cautiously asked her.

“Um… what should we do?”

“What do you mean what should we do? This is rebellion! Of course we shouldn’t respond. With our lord still alive and conscious, condoning such an act makes no sense.”

“…But…”

Knowing Lynn’s current poor condition, Rem lowered his head with a deeply worried expression.

Unable to get angry at him, Farfalle rubbed her throbbing forehead and thought.

Why now of all times?

She had thought the information about Lynn’s mental state was tightly concealed, but could it have leaked somehow?

If the timid Kalintz had chosen the path of rebellion, it might be reasonable to assume the information had leaked.

After all, once a secret leaves one’s mouth, it’s no longer a secret.

She could only curse the heavens.

Why were such things happening one after another to their army?

No—

Come to think of it, there was something else bothering her.

‘That proud Chel submitted to Kalintz, who’s far less accomplished than him?’

Chel’s loyalty to Lynn was extremely simple.

Lynn was far superior to Chel in politics.

Chel was very aware of his limitations in areas outside of combat. To him, his sister Lynn was a lord worth serving, which is why he continued to follow her without much complaint.

But Kalintz was different.

Whether in combat or politics—he was unremarkable compared to Chel in every aspect.

While Kalintz wasn’t an incompetent person by any means, it was also true that he was an ordinary man with no advantages when compared to Chel.

And yet Chel silently watched as Kalintz ascended to the throne?

Considering that the edict had reached Zeilant Castle, it was almost impossible that Chel, stationed near the capital, had missed this news.

As she was lost in thought, feeling an incredible sense of dissonance—

“L-Lord!”

A soldier rushed into the audience chamber urgently.

“What is it?”

“Th-that… from Heizel Castle, r-rebels…!!”

“!!!”

“If it’s about rebels, I’ve already heard. Our castle will not participate.”

Unlike Rem, who responded nonchalantly, Farfalle froze in place upon hearing the soldier’s words.

Heizel Castle.

A castle near Anel Castle, and a very important military stronghold.

And… where Kalintz, who sent this edict, was currently located was not Heizel Castle.

“W-wait… did you just say Heizel Castle?”

“Yes, that’s right…!”

To Farfalle’s question, the soldier barely managed to answer in a strained voice, clearly at a loss.

“At Heizel Castle… General Chel has started a rebellion…!!”

“Ah…!!”

Thud.

“A-Advisor…!!”

Rem supported Farfalle, who had collapsed on the spot.

Just when they had barely managed to hold the northern front after humiliation, at the crucial moment when they needed to somehow restore past glory… everything was beginning to fall apart.

The Brans Army, once the most dangerous rival to the Serpina Army.

That Brans Army was now divided into three parts, effectively self-destructing as the most threatening rival.

All of this was a butterfly effect triggered by forming an alliance with the Serpina Army.

[It will be an efficient alliance that creates a great opportunity for our forces.]

It was another moment when the prediction of Intelligence 100 proved correct—

But there was no way for Farfalle, an advisor from another country, to know this.

“H-how could this happen…”

Unable to come up with any countermeasures… Farfalle finally had to acknowledge it.

That there was no way to put the declining Brans Army back on its original track.

No, even if such a method existed, it would be beyond her capabilities.

In the face of this “infallible logic,” there was… nothing she could do.

‘Is this… is this the end?’

While it might have been different in peacetime, with the country torn into three, her driving force to lead the nation would inevitably diminish.

No, if Farfalle continued to run state affairs instead of Lynn even in this urgent situation, the subordinate generals would certainly question it. What was their lord doing?

Then they would have no choice but to reveal what condition their lord was in, and if that happened…

‘No… oh God…!!’

Just as Farfalle was sinking into an endless abyss of despair.

“Farfalle!”

“…?”

Farfalle looked up toward the voice calling her name.

This voice… it was the voice of her lord, Lynn Brans.

“My lord…?”

“I’m sorry. …It seems I’ve put you through a lot of trouble.”

Farfalle raised her head to look at her lord, Lynn.

She should have been mentally unstable due to trauma, but now her complexion was clearly different from before.

“My lord, could it be…?”

“Yes. I’ve remembered. …Everything.”

“My lord…!!!”

Farfalle knelt and wept before her.

At the very last moment, when everything was as fragile as a candle flame in the wind, her lord Lynn Brans had dramatically regained her senses.

Though she didn’t believe in gods, was this truly heaven answering her prayers?

Whatever it was, from Farfalle’s perspective, it was an incredible stroke of fortune.

“Thank goodness. Truly, truly thank goodness…!”

“Um… my lord, have you regained your senses?”

Lynn nodded in response to Rem’s cautious question.

“Yes. I owe you as well, Rem. I’m sorry.”

“Not at all. I’m truly relieved.”

Lynn spoke in a calm tone.

“Anyway… I heard roughly what happened on my way here. It seems a rebellion has broken out, is that right?”

“My lord, that’s…”

“It’s fine. …About half of it is my fault. Who is it? Brother Chel? Or someone else?”

“…Both General Chel and General Kalintz are rebels.”

“What? So they’ve joined forces after all?”

“That’s not it… it seems they’re each leading separate rebellions.”

“…I see.”

Lynn sighed deeply and bent down to help Farfalle to her feet.

“The best course of action now is defense. Who’s at Anel Castle?”

“General Kalintz.”

“Then the capital defense forces are probably under Brother Kalintz’s control. If the two have split their forces, all the loyal generals would have gone under Brother Chel. From our position, having lost most of our troops and armed forces, it would be impossible to recapture Anel Castle now.”

“My lord…!”

Seeing Lynn calmly assessing the situation, Farfalle was reminded of Lynn from the days when her brilliance was still intact.

“I think our best option is to inform the lords that I’m still alive and well, gather forces that won’t join the rebels, and build our defensive line as much as possible. What do you think?”

“I agree that’s the best approach. Since General Chel and General Kalintz have split, it seems they won’t form an alliance, so we might be able to benefit from their division. It might be good to watch the situation for a while.”

“…Alright. Things are going to get busy from today. I’m sorry for causing you trouble, Farfalle.”

“Not at all, my lord. I, Farfalle… will stay by your side and assist you until the very end.”

Without responding, Lynn gave some general instructions to Rem and slowly left the audience chamber.

Hearing Farfalle’s footsteps following behind her, she calmly sank into thought.

‘Looking at this objectively, even if we somehow overcome this crisis, it’s fair to say our Brans Army no longer has any possibility of becoming the unified empire. The country has been split into three. But we cannot collapse like this. Even if we’re destined for destruction in the end, we must finish as a nation that fights to the last. If not…’

Lynn held back tears that threatened to fall again and thought.

‘I wouldn’t be able to face Irene, who risked her life trying to protect our Brans Army…’

So, she couldn’t let it collapse like this.

Though she knew it was too late… she didn’t want to do anything more that would make her feel sorry toward Irene.

‘Even if Irene doesn’t forgive me, I will fight to the end for the name of Brans that Irene tried to protect. I absolutely will not perish helplessly without putting up a fight.’

Although the blue-tinged dream that Lynn had long cherished had crumbled futilely due to her successive foolish choices—

Paradoxically, Lynn Brans, freed from the obsession of continental unification, was shining more brightly than at any other moment.

It was the very potential in Lynn that only her father, Orlando Brans, had ever noticed.