Ch.188Chapter 188. Overlaid Karma (3)

“……!”

I was caught off guard by the unexpected question and gave away a strike without being able to respond properly.

“How interesting, Swen.”

“Pardon…?”

“I didn’t think that question would be difficult enough to make you wear such an expression.”

“…….”

After she said that, I found myself at a loss for words again as I looked at Serpina who was gazing at me with clear eyes.

She was right. In fact, that would likely be the question most rulers would want to ask first.

Any ruler who had noticed even a little about my ability would ask that first.

Since I had already received this question from Jenna, there was no need to answer it again as long as I was just registered under Serpina’s army—

Anyway, since this was the first time my lord was testing my ability, I couldn’t help but input it.

‘Can Serpina von Einhart become the unifying monarch?’

The answer, as expected, rolled in predictably.

[She cannot.]

‘The problem isn’t the answer.’

The issue is how to convey it.

In a way, the solution was simple. I could just lie.

Saying something like “I cannot determine who can become the unifying monarch” would probably be enough for someone of Serpina’s character not to press further.

Besides, there were genuinely questions I couldn’t answer, which would lend credibility to this response.

I didn’t need to explain this “mechanism that only I know about.” I could just say “I’m not in good condition today” or “The flow of stars is unusual, making it difficult to discern”—vague excuses she would have to accept. After all, this entire premise relied on the absurd belief that “I can always know the correct result.”

But would that be okay?

This question wasn’t about Serpina.

It wasn’t about her, but about the person answering—about me.

‘Am I okay with lying?’

If Yurie or Lynn had asked the question, I would have lied without hesitation, saying “No result appears for that question.”

I had nothing against them, but they weren’t particularly meaningful to me either. They were certainly my lords, but there was no need to grow attached to a nest I would eventually leave. I didn’t feel particularly connected to how their countries operated, and they didn’t seem to particularly want me either.

But.

Serpina was different.

She kept saying she wanted to have me. Rather than intimidating or pressuring me, she approached quite submissively for an absolute monarch, listening to my story and trying not to earn my hatred.

She was also kind to Irene, who was dear to me, and her attitude toward her country and subordinate generals suggested a lot to me.

If there was one commonality with the others, it was that Serpina’s army was also “a nest I would eventually leave”…

But why couldn’t I make a simple decision?

Why was my heart burning so intensely?

In life, such moments come along.

Moments when you waver with intense intuition at a crossroads.

The best way not to regret this moment when looking back after sufficient time has passed—

was to answer according to where my heart led me.

“My lord…”

Looking into Serpina’s sparkling golden eyes, slowly, carefully.

“You cannot become the monarch who unifies the continent.”

I conveyed the “truth” of her destiny.

“…….”

My choice was to speak honestly.

I knew there was nothing to gain by being straightforward about this.

But I didn’t want to lie to Serpina and deceive her. Perhaps I also wanted her to accept her fate.

I thought that might be the way to save her.

The more she reached for an impossible destiny… the more belief in her turned into killing intent.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You cannot become the unifying monarch… that is the result.”

Serpina’s expression was… calm.

Not that her face showed signs of peace. How could I describe the feeling?

After several minutes of silence, her final answer was quite deflating.

“I see.”

“…Does it not concern you?”

Her plain response surprised me, but thinking about it, such a reaction wasn’t strange.

I could be confident in the proposition that “my words are always correct” through inductive reasoning based on my experiences and knowledge of this world, but from Serpina’s perspective, there was no evidence beyond my claim.

Of course, she was treating me with a very serious attitude, and she even knew the keyword “Mind’s Eye” which seemed almost identical to my ability, but it wouldn’t suit her typically logical character to become dejected just because someone suddenly said “You cannot become the unifying monarch.”

The Serpina I knew would probably say, “If that is my fate, then I shall simply twist that fate from now on,” followed by a chuckle.

But.

Her answer to my question was something I hadn’t expected.

“No. I’m just relieved that the answer was as I expected.”

“…What?”

“I thought as much. I’ve been expecting that such an opportunity… would not come to my hands.”

Serpina’s shocking statement.

If anyone’s expression showed surprise, it was mine.

“You’ve been thinking that?”

Serpina smiled bitterly as she spoke.

“Didn’t I tell you? When walking the streets, when sitting on the throne, and… even at this moment. I can feel malice toward me with every breath I take. Whenever an opportunity seemed to arise, it would vanish as if it had never been there. Most of the things I attempted when I thought ‘this is the right timing’ ended in failure.”

“The country didn’t collapse. Having inherited the foundation of the empire, it would have been strange for it to crumble overnight without pointless struggles for imperial authority. But those moments, those instances when it felt as if everything in this world hated me… looking back at them, I couldn’t help but think that way.”

“That perhaps I am not destined to become the monarch of a unified empire.”

“My lord…”

“Swen. Haven’t you found it strange? Why our country, which has pacified the entire northern continent and possesses the strongest national power, has been unable to rebuild the glory of the old unified empire for so long. Why there are so many rebellions. And why… like missing the opportunity to advance south on the continent this time, we always get caught up in something whenever the time comes.”

I bowed my head, unable to say anything in response to her words.

Even if I input “why is it so” into my mind, it would naturally only output [Unknown.]

“But now everything becomes crystal clear when viewed through your ‘Mind’s Eye.’ I… was not born with the fate of someone who could accomplish it. What flows through me is not the destiny to build a unified empire, but merely the last bloodline of the Einhart Empire. If the karma of the Einhart family, which has endured by consuming so much blood, is holding me back, then perhaps—”

She looked at me with a bitter smile.

That smile again.

An expression so precarious it seemed about to shatter at any moment.

“—I myself might be the final obstacle for this country.”

What I just heard confirmed it even more.

Serpina truly was an insightful person.

She deduced that the fate of unification would pass to this country if she died, based solely on the premise that “she cannot become the unifying monarch.”

Of course, she would know far more about this country than I did, but even considering that, few people could view themselves so objectively.

Yes.

She wasn’t incompetent.

It’s just that… as long as she lived, the goddess of fate was siding with Luna, not her.

That was all it was, but…

Why?

Once again, my whim that wasn’t a whim began to control me.

“However, this is only the result as of now.”

“…What?”

“At this very moment, the answer to whether ‘my lord can unify the continent’ is indeed negative. But the predictions of the Mind’s Eye are only valid for that specific moment. It’s also true that the answer can often change if the situation changes even slightly.”

My words weren’t a lie.

Only the result at this moment would appear; there was no compelling force that would never change no matter what.

She had already avoided a fatal destiny twice. The proof was that she was still alive before my eyes.

“So, I think it’s a bit hasty to think that way. Perhaps you should focus on governing the country for now, and strive for the best possible outcome?”

As I said this, I was surprised at my own words.

If I were solely “Luna’s strategist,” there would have been no need to say such things.

Then I wouldn’t have thought I would regret not telling her the truth, and it would have been best to just offer vague wordplay like “I cannot tell.”

There was a possibility that unnecessarily shaking her resolve might blur Luna’s destiny to become the monarch of the unified empire.

Wasn’t I originally trying so hard to keep Serpina alive to keep my promise to Luna?

But now I was.

Not concerned with who would become the emperor of the unified empire… but speaking solely out of hope that Serpina would not break down.

I wanted her not to be sad. I wanted her not to be intimidated by superstitions like bad karma.

It was an undeniably emotional judgment. Why? What was she to me?

“Swen…”

Serpina couldn’t continue after hearing my words—

“…Ahah.”

Then she smiled brightly.

It was the first time.

The first time she had smiled so joyfully.

At that moment.

The intense sunlight streaming through the window strongly illuminated Serpina’s sparkling golden hair and snow-white cheeks.

“Thank you, Swen.”

“…!!”

“As you say, I will definitely need the help of your ‘Mind’s Eye’ to seize the opportunity.”

With those words, Serpina extended her hand toward me.

The absolute ruler.

Reigning over her subordinates, stretching out that snow-white hand forward in command was enough to give an extremely elegant impression.

As her subordinate general, I would look up at this and feel the charisma of the northern continent’s tyrant with my whole body.

But at this moment.

The image of Serpina reaching out her hand to me was not that of an absolute ruler looking down at me—

but of a companion walking alongside me, matching my pace.

“I’m counting on you from now on, Swen.”

Thump.

Thump.

Against my heart beating so fiercely I could clearly feel it, there was nothing I could do.