Ch.178Chapter 178. Why Are You Asking That?

After leaving the royal palace.

Irene, who was heading to the training ground with some of the occupation forces without being able to accompany Swen due to scheduling, walked slowly, lost in thought.

‘Is it not the right time yet?’

Irene was fundamentally supportive of all of Swen’s decisions.

She could personally guarantee, better than anyone gathered here, that he always ultimately said the right things. After all, she had been by his side longer than anyone else.

Nevertheless, this opportunity seemed quite good even from her perspective.

The opinions of General Kransis, commander of the occupation forces, and Advisor Jenna seemed momentarily reasonable.

But.

‘Swen’s opinion matters more than people like them. Even if his opinion isn’t right, I can make it right with my sword.’

Irene gathered her resolve once again.

To her, Swen himself was far more important than the future of Serpina’s army.

If he said so, then it was right. At this point, she had neither the opportunity nor the desire to consider other options.

At that moment.

“General Irene.”

Turning her head toward the voice calling her, she saw Irian standing there.

“General Irian. What brings you here?”

“Since our policy has been decided, I wanted to suggest to Commander General Kransis that we should deploy the current occupation forces throughout the continent, but I couldn’t find him anywhere.”

“Ah.”

Now that Swen’s proposal had been adopted, the occupation forces would be deployed throughout the northern continent for defense and security management instead of gathering to march south.

Since there weren’t nearly enough capital defense soldiers to be divided up, the splitting of the occupation forces was essentially decided.

“I was thinking the same. I’ll relay the message.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

As Irian bowed politely, Irene asked him a question.

“By the way, I noticed you agreed with Swen’s opinion.”

“Yes, I did.”

Irene knew all too well what her position was within Serpina’s army.

It wasn’t that there was insubordination within the occupation forces… but she could feel the subtle atmosphere that she wasn’t yet fully recognized as the deputy commander.

Compared to her time in Brans’ army, it was nothing, so she was getting along fine, but Irene wasn’t so dull as to not notice that she was being kept in check.

The important thing was that this wasn’t solely her problem.

The foreigner who had joined Serpina’s army with her—Swen—was clearly receiving much more scrutiny among the officers, especially with strange rumors circulating about him and Lady Serpina.

Irene knew well that Swen wasn’t that kind of frivolous man… but objectively, it was difficult for a man who had changed his allegiance several times to be universally accepted just because he was talented.

In such a situation, it was no exaggeration to say that they won the vote thanks to Irian, who was highly respected among the officers.

Originally, Irian was the man who had been almost certainly expected to become deputy commander before she took the position, and as such, he could have harbored resentment toward her and Swen… but instead, he was actually helping them.

Of course, it wasn’t for nothing. They had done him a favor recently regarding his sister.

Nevertheless, these were chaotic times. In a situation where gratitude and trust were treated worse than dog food, there was no need to disparage his will to uphold them.

“I want to thank you on his behalf. Without you, we couldn’t have adopted Swen’s opinion as the official stance.”

“I simply thought Lord Swen was right.”

“I see. Anyway, I’ll definitely relay your opinion. Well then.”

As she was about to turn and walk away after saying goodbye.

“General Irene. Please wait a moment.”

“?”

“I have something I’d like to ask about Lord Swen.”

“From me?”

“Aren’t you and Lord Swen particularly close?”

“…!!”

Irene was momentarily speechless and her face reddened at Irian’s words.

But after clearing her throat a few times, she spoke in an extremely solemn tone.

“Yes, we are.”

‘I just admitted it…’

A special relationship with Swen.

Of course… they were certainly close enough to be called special. They had been through three countries together.

And also… they were in a relationship where they would share a warm cup of tea together for life—she was busy rationalizing to herself with such thoughts.

“The thing is, I was wondering if Lord Swen has a wife, and if so, how many.”

At the word “wife”—

For a moment, Irene froze and asked with blank eyes.

“…Why do you ask?”

“I think you’re generally aware of the situation… but my sister Iolline seems to have taken a liking to Lord Swen. If Lord Swen is amenable, I would like to formally discuss marriage.”

Iolline… was he referring to that pretty woman who resembled Irian, whom they had met before?

Irene fell into thought for a moment.

Swen currently had no wives.

There was Reika, with whom he had exchanged marriage talks, but given the circumstances, that was currently on hold.

So, here she should naturally say that he had no wife, but…

Why were the words so difficult to say?

But it would also be problematic to show any sign of rejection here.

She hated the idea of causing trouble for Swen with selfish behavior more than death itself.

Wasn’t it obviously Swen himself, not her, who should decide whether to entertain marriage talks?

As she was lost in thought, unable to say anything—

“If you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you could casually ask him. Of course, if it’s burdensome for you, I can ask him directly, so please don’t worry too much.”

“Oh? Ah… yes. I understand.”

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

Irene stared at Irian’s retreating back for a long time.

But even as she stared, she was merely looking vacantly—the man filling her mind was not Irian but another man.

The young man with white hair, someone to whom she was so indebted that she wouldn’t mind dedicating her entire being to him, Swen.

Thump, thump.

Just thinking deeply about Swen made her heart start racing again.

What did I want to be to Swen?

His bodyguard? A comrade who would always be by his side?

Or…

‘…I miss him.’

Even though they had gone to the royal palace together just hours ago, she already missed Swen.

Still, things were much better these days than before. She could see Swen after work.

Spending time together with Reika, the three of them—those were incredibly precious moments for her.

‘I should buy something delicious from the plaza today.’

With that thought, she began to walk with lighter steps.

Setting aside the heavy thought of what she wanted to be to Swen…

And so, Irene was, gradually, both body and soul—

Becoming hopelessly entangled with the man named Swen.

* * *

Several days after the regular meeting ended.

The occupation forces had temporarily split into several small units and were dispatched to various parts of the continent.

The official reason was “strengthening security and search operations.”

In any case, with soldiers moving around, unnecessary disturbances would certainly decrease.

Meanwhile, I was once again heading to that separate building, summoned by Serpina.

Given the strange rumors circulating, I thought it might be better to be a bit more careful… but anyway, there was nothing I could do but follow my lord’s orders.

Besides, I didn’t have any particular duties assigned.

When I arrived at the separate building, Serpina greeted me with a smile.

“You’ve arrived, Swen. Quite quickly.”

“It’s not just anyone, but my lord who called for me.”

“Seeing your increased jokes, it seems you’re doing quite well these days?”

She said that and then laughed, “Kuhuhu.”

…She’s beautiful.

She was so beautifully formed that every time I faced her, I felt my heart continuously wavering in real-time.

“With me summoning you so frequently, it’s not strange that strange rumors are circulating.”

‘I’m glad you’re aware.’

I swallowed those words and bowed my head deeply.

At that moment.

Serpina approached me as I bowed my head and whispered.

“What do you think, Swen?”

“Pardon…?”

“How about making those strange rumors the truth tonight, with me?”

“…!!!”

I looked up at her in surprise.

She was… smiling.

Not the intimidating smile of an absolute ruler… but the mischievous smile of a young girl.

“Think about it. Don’t you find it unfair to have rumors about things you haven’t done? If so, I think it’s a good method to make them real rather than being swayed by rumors. I’m specially proposing this for your sake.”

For a very brief moment, I considered just accepting the offer—

But then I quickly bowed my head and said.

“…I apologize. It’s my fault for not being careful enough. I will be more thorough in the future.”

“No. What fault could you have when you simply came because I called? If anything… it’s only that you’re a young man in his prime. And one with quite a pleasing appearance. People of the secular world are much more interested in how things appear than in their essence.”

“…”

She keeps mentioning appearance, but honestly, I don’t really understand…

But now, having heard her somewhat sad-sounding words, it was difficult to bring it up again.

She would know better than anyone about people being interested in appearances, even if she didn’t want to. After all, she was the owner of a face that could be revered as an absolute ruler solely for her beauty.

“So, what is it today?”

“There’s somewhere I’d like you to accompany me.”

“Accompany…?”

“Could you escort me for a while?”

“Escorting isn’t difficult, but how many soldiers will be accompanying us?”

“Soldiers? You will be the only one accompanying me.”

“…Pardon?”

I asked her with a puzzled expression.

“I don’t mean to refuse, but… are you sure I’m sufficient?”

I said it myself, but I wasn’t confident in protecting her.

My physical strength was at rock bottom, and I needed Reika to use magic. What if we encountered bandits in this situation?

Of course, considering her swordsmanship, she probably wouldn’t fall to mere bandits, but she wasn’t just an officer—she was the ruler of a country. It meant that if there was any possibility of her precious body being injured, even slightly, it would be wise to avoid it.

Serpina drew a curve on her lips as if finding my words amusing.

“Swen. Even I am not so naive as to leave Einhart Castle with only you. You seem to be quite underestimating me.”

I wondered if it was appropriate to use the word “escort” in that case, but I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to get on her bad side.

“It’s alright, Swen. My feelings for you won’t cool just because you talk back.”

…How does she read my mind so uncannily?

Hiding something or telling a lie in front of her was an incredibly difficult task.

“And come to think of it, that wouldn’t be bad either. Running away to a place with no responsibilities with you… wouldn’t that be quite a fitting ending for a story between a man and a woman?”

“…Your joke goes too far, my lord.”

“A joke? How disappointing. My heart is always sincere. Huhuhu…♥”

Serpina laughed again, covering her mouth with her hand, then slowly began to walk.

I followed closely behind her.

*

Leaving the separate building, we walked along an overgrown dirt path where no one passed.

Our destination was a small hill behind the separate building.

It was surprising that such a space existed near the bustling royal palace of Einhart Castle… but thinking about it, this was the separate building used by Serpina. It was a place where not only commoners but also her officers couldn’t freely enter without her permission, so it made sense that it would be this desolate if not maintained.

After walking for a few minutes.

“Swen. Do you know?”

She asked me while walking ahead, without turning her head.

“Know what?”

At that moment.

Serpina stopped in her tracks, slowly turned to look at me… and carefully parted her pink lips.

“Why I am called a ‘tyrant’?”