Ch.17Chapter 17. Zeilant Defense (4)

“What did you say…?”

Lynn looked at Swen with an expression of shock.

Instead of giving us gold… he’s going to take gold from us?

“Hey. What did you just say?”

Lynn spoke in a low voice, but—

Swen didn’t back down from her pressure and spoke with the same confident attitude he had shown all along.

“I said that if you give us three thousand gold, I promise that we will sign a ceasefire agreement and will not pursue the retreating Brans army.”

“You… do you even know who you’re trying to con right now?”

Hearing this, Swen bowed his head and said.

“A con? Not at all, Lady Lynn. I’m only here for diplomacy.”

“Then why are you asking me for money?!”

Lynn shouted loudly, losing her composure.

Her voice might have leaked outside the audience chamber, potentially disturbing her subordinate generals waiting in the corridor—but Lynn couldn’t possibly pay attention to such things right now.

“Didn’t I tell you? You rejected our ceasefire agreement with the condition that we would give you thirteen hundred gold. Didn’t I ask you several times? And now the situation has changed. Until just now, perhaps our side stood to gain more, but now hasn’t the Brans army much more to gain from a ceasefire agreement? Then naturally, it makes sense for us to receive compensation.”

“This is ridiculous. Even without bringing in the Zeilant invasion force, I have enough troops to stop an army of 50,000.”

“Is that so? Well, that’s fortunate… though honestly, it doesn’t appear that way.”

“Ha!”

Lynn snorted.

She knew this was just bravado—but right now, she felt she couldn’t maintain her sanity without doing at least this much.

After all, when thinking calmly, his words were correct.

The fact that, ironically, the ceasefire agreement had become advantageous to the Brans army.

Fleeing soldiers would inevitably be less effective in combat than those fighting in formation.

From the perspective of the Brans army, which needed to preserve its forces as much as possible, the difference between having pursuers or not could be greater than expected.

And this man… had been acting as if he knew all along that things would turn out this way.

As if he had anticipated Serpina’s invasion—no.

He was acting as if he was certain of Serpina’s invasion.

In front of such a person, if she didn’t at least put on a show of bravado—she couldn’t protect her pride from being completely humiliated by a nameless person from a minor country.

“What if I say I won’t agree to a ceasefire?”

“What could someone as lowly as me possibly do? It’s just like before. This opportunity will never come again. That’s all.”

At that moment.

Lynn grabbed a decorative sword placed beside the throne and walked with heavy steps toward where Swen was kneeling.

And then—

The sound of a sword being drawn from its scabbard rang out.

When he came to his senses, the silver blade in Lynn’s hand was precisely positioned next to Swen’s neck, pointing at him.

Though decorative, it was a real sword with a properly sharpened edge.

“……”

Swen said nothing and merely looked up at Lynn.

His expression showed no sign of fear or confusion.

Seeing his utterly detached demeanor, Lynn was the one who felt fear instead.

‘What the hell is this guy…?!’

Lynn bit her lower lip hard again.

And then, with killing intent in her voice, she let it flow.

“Hey. You seem to be misunderstanding something, so let me be clear. Yes, I’ll admit it. Taking an ambassador who came for diplomacy as a prisoner is something only tyrants like Serpina would do. Let alone beheading that ambassador? The moment this fact leaks out, I wouldn’t be able to conduct diplomacy with any lord. People would point fingers at me, calling me a bloodthirsty piece of trash. Even my subordinates would be greatly disappointed in my actions. Some with upright characters might be so disappointed that they would leave my service.”

Lynn pushed the sword a little deeper as she spoke.

“But you know what? I’m actually quite impatient. I don’t know what kind of trick you’re trying to pull, but I tend not to discriminate when it comes to killing someone who acts all high and mighty in front of me. I could just kill you right here, ceasefire agreement be damned. I can deal with the aftermath later—sure, the damage would be significant, but I could manage it. But you would lose your life at my hands. Got it? That’s the difference between you and me.”

Her voice was so cold that the killing intent in it felt palpable.

She tightened her grip on the sword and said.

“Keep talking without understanding this difference. If your life isn’t precious to you. I can kill one or two ambassadors from minor countries like yours many times over. Reputation? Why should I care, right?”

Lynn pushed the sword a little closer to his neck.

The distance was now so close that even a slight brush of her hand would be enough to wound his neck.

She had pushed this far.

So, it would be natural for his resolve to crumble now—

But Swen, without showing any sign of fear, looked up at Lynn and calmly parted his lips.

“Then do so.”

“…What?”

“Kill me. Go ahead.”

Lynn had spoken confidently—but she couldn’t hide the trembling of her pupils.

“Are you serious?”

“What can I do? If Lady Lynn is the type of person who would kill an ambassador just because she’s a bit angry right now, then it’s obvious you wouldn’t agree to a ceasefire agreement that anyone would find reasonable. What more could I possibly do? However.”

Swen began to explain in a steady voice, deliberately driving his words into her ears.

“What Lady Lynn would lose by killing me isn’t just her reputation among lords or the loyalty of her subjects. Since you have nowhere to immediately bring in soldiers from, you would naturally lose Kelstein Castle. You would face great difficulties in establishing future battle lines after losing a castle that serves as a bridgehead for advancing from the north to the central region. Of course, your current conquest of the central continent and southern advance would come to nothing. Once the north is breached, Serpina’s forces will continue to invade.”

“…!”

“Is that all? Would the Brans army, busy trying to stop Serpina’s forces from the north, have time to worry about lords from the south or other directions? From that moment on, the Brans army would essentially become a breakwater for other lords, blocking Serpina’s northern forces. This would be very pleasing to the Aeshus forces, who have been unable to develop due to the Brans army. Wouldn’t it be ironic that the virtually only country that posed a real threat to them would now be protecting them from an even greater threat?”

‘This, this man… what is he saying right now…?’

Lynn was greatly surprised.

Why… how does this nameless man from a minor country know so much about the continental situation?

“Perhaps the southern lords would all unanimously praise Lady Lynn. While you hold back Serpina’s forces, they would grow and establish their own order. When that moment comes, how different would the status of the Brans army—desperately trying to hold back Serpina’s major offensive—be compared to now? Aren’t you curious?”

“That’s…”

“Lady Lynn. It’s fine if you kill me. At the same time, there will be no ceasefire agreement, and all our soldiers will pursue your twenty thousand troops retreating to defend Kelstein Castle to the very end. The renowned Raven Mercenary Corps and the Chilean Mercenary Corps will follow the inevitably vulnerable rear of the retreating Brans army to kill as many as possible. My lord Lunarian shares the same thoughts as I do.”

Swen spoke while staring into Lynn’s trembling eyes.

Clearly, it was Lynn who was holding the sword and who was in the overwhelmingly dominant position in this situation—

But it was no longer she who was leading this conversation, but Swen.

“Of course, our army won’t gain anything from this, nor will we be able to kill all twenty thousand. In fact, our army might suffer more casualties. But from the perspective of a minor country like ours, we just lose some troops. But what about the Brans army? What if you lose a significant number of valuable troops that could be quickly sent to Kelstein Castle due to pursuit, and fail to defend against the enemy at the right time? What if you lose Kelstein Castle before troops from other borders can arrive?”

“…!!”

Lynn’s eyes widened in shock.

At this point, there was no trace of dignity as a ruler.

She was overwhelmed by a feeling she had never experienced before.

It was—fear.

A fundamental fear stemming from the realization that no matter what she did, she could not defeat this man with words!

“…Lady Lynn. You said it yourself, didn’t you? That you could somehow manage the aftermath, but I would lose my life. But that’s only half correct.”

Swen slowly—

At the same time, in a tone as if he would devour Lynn, said.

“What I would lose is indeed my life. But in exchange for my life… Lady Lynn would lose the world.”

“!!!”

“My life as an ambassador from a minor country is worthless compared to the world that the Brans army might conquer in the future. Don’t you think so?”

Swen said with a slight smile.

“Will you keep your pride and lose the world, or will you set aside your pride and continue to seek the opportunity to take the world… As a ruler, which path you choose depends entirely on your decision, Lady Lynn.”

Lynn froze in place.

As if the world had stopped.

Would she take this man’s life and lose the world?

Or would she quickly make a ceasefire agreement and plan for the future?

Lynn Brans was someone who had risen to the top of the Brans army by proving her abilities.

What she would choose was all too obvious.

Crash!

Lynn nervously threw away the sword she had been holding.

Her face reddened, and her eyes gradually became bloodshot. She desperately swallowed the tears that threatened to burst out from her anger.

And then, looking at Swen, who still hadn’t moved an inch… she opened her mouth with a trembling voice.

“You. What’s your name?”

“My name is Swen.”

“Right. Swen. Swen…”

She repeated the name “Swen” several times.

And then, in a somewhat calmer tone, she said.

“I will never forget you, Swen.”

And then—

She shouted to the guard standing behind her, maintaining his composure.

“Hey, you!”

“Y-yes!”

“Prepare three thousand gold. Right now.”

“Three thousand gold… you say?”

Lynn snapped at the soldier who was asking for confirmation.

“What are you doing? Prepare it quickly!”

“Ah, understood!”

“……”

Lynn let out a deep sigh.

She somehow managed to swallow the rising tears.

Eventually, she slowly turned her head and looked directly into Swen’s eyes as she spoke.

“…I’ll have it prepared outside the castle.”

Only then did Swen nod and slowly rise from his seat.

“Thank you for your wise decision, Lady Lynn. On behalf of our lord Lunarian, I am grateful. As promised, we will not touch a hair on the retreating Brans army. Well then.”

After he slowly walked out of the audience chamber.

Lynn trudged back to the throne and slumped down.

‘Swen… Swen. Swen…’

Swen.

It was a name she had never heard before.

At least until today, it was a name that had never appeared in any historical moment.

Such an unknown, and moreover a mere subject of a minor country—

Had completely outmaneuvered her, the ruler of the Brans army.

‘So Lunarian’s army… had such a man?’

The puzzle pieces began to fit together in Lynn’s mind.

The unexpected ambush by the mercenary corps.

She was convinced that the man—Swen—was behind the recent actions of Lunarian’s army.

Moreover, though she didn’t know how he had learned it, he clearly already knew that Serpina’s army would invade the Brans army.

That was the only explanation for his consistently confident attitude.

She didn’t know how an unremarkable ruler like Lunarian had discovered such a man—

But in a way, it was fortunate.

The fact that a man of his caliber was serving none other than Lunarian Ineanne.

‘Swen.’

The method by which the Brans army had built up its strength in the central continent.

It involved absorbing surrounding minor countries based on overwhelming background—but among them, prioritizing the collection of minor countries with outstanding talents without letting them fall into other hands had greatly contributed to the foundation of the country.

Gurupa from the Walnut army was also one of the top recruitment targets recently.

Although she couldn’t get Gurupa, she could instinctively sense.

That compared to this man called Swen, Gurupa was just an ordinary person of no particular note.

Lynn recalled Swen, who had stared at her clearly even with a sword at his neck.

The certainty in the eyes of the pretty-faced man.

While facing him, surprise and fear had taken precedence—

But thinking about it now, there was hardly a more appetizing man.

She wanted to color that expression with her own hue.

‘Swen. I wonder what expression you’ll make when you come under me…? Hehe…♡’

Yes.

Let’s postpone the conquest of Zeilant Castle.

First, let’s protect Kelstein Castle, make sure there’s no trouble elsewhere, and then Zeilant Castle… no.

What she wanted wasn’t meaningless pieces of land like Zeilant Castle.

What Lynn really wanted to conquer was the man called Swen.

‘I’ll make you obey me like a dog. Swen…♡’

Her face reddened again.

But—this was for a slightly different reason.

Not anger or hatred, but something more primal and sticky.

A subtle feeling of wanting to reign over someone who had bested her.

This was obsession.