Ch.204Chapter 204. The Price of Choice (1)

* * *

The first magician in the continent has appeared—

They say that news with no legs can travel a thousand miles. This news began to spread throughout the continent at an incredibly fast pace.

Brans Kingdom, Belliar Castle.

Belliar Castle was located in the western part of the continent, and was one of the relatively substantial places among the small territories that made up the western continent—

It had now become the new capital of the Brans Kingdom.

While officially designated as a temporary capital, with plans to move back to Anel Castle once it was reclaimed from Kalintz’s occupation, everyone knew that was a distant prospect. As such, the castle was being expanded with various buildings to function as the de facto new capital, making it more vibrant than ever before in its history.

In a situation where the country had been split into three, somehow managing with only the available resources and loyal territory lords who hadn’t betrayed them—a situation that would appear hopeless to any outside observer.

Yet what permeated the royal castle wasn’t despair, but vitality. Hope.

The expressions on each soldier’s face were so upright that they didn’t look like they belonged to a fallen nation.

Instead of the characteristic dejected appearance of soldiers from a collapsing country with no sense of tomorrow, there was a sharpness reminiscent of an ambitious new nation.

At the center of it all was her.

Sitting on the throne, wearing rather modest and comfortable clothing for a monarch, was the blue-haired prodigy Lynn Brans.

Normally, as the person responsible for dividing the country into three parts, she would have lost the trust of many—

But as soon as Lynn found herself in this situation, she transformed as if into a different person, somehow managing to salvage the situation and successfully securing one faction to prevent the Brans Kingdom from completely collapsing.

While both Chel Brans and Kalintz Brans were indeed descendants of the Brans bloodline—

The overwhelming legitimacy of being designated as successor by Monarch Orlando Brans still remained with Lynn, and that couldn’t be easily ignored.

Though she had always sat on the throne with a bored expression when she had nearly conquered the central continent—

Now, as the monarch of a small country whose territory had been split into more than three pieces, she was listening attentively to the report of her strategist Farfalle with clearer eyes than ever before.

“The victor of the battle for Anel Castle is Kalintz’s side.”

“Is that so? Elder Brother Chel must be quite frustrated.”

After the Brans Kingdom split into three.

The area Lynn could claim was the westernmost region of the continent, considered the outskirts of Brans territory and of little value.

All the influential figures and outstanding generals were stationed around Anel Castle, located in the very center of the central continent, and they were smart enough to bet on the side that believed Lynn couldn’t become a proper monarch.

Yes, Lynn acknowledged it. The outstanding generals had sided with Kalintz or Chel, and those who followed her were commanders she had never paid attention to—those stationed on the outskirts whom she had expected to do just the bare minimum, whose names she hadn’t even bothered to memorize.

While she had never even glanced at these ordinary commanders—those who could be replaced by anyone, placed only where someone needed to be stationed—in the end, at the final moment, it was these overlooked individuals who loyally followed their abandoned lord without calculating profit and loss.

The Kalintz Kingdom, which had swallowed Anel Castle and the core lands of the Brans Kingdom.

The Chel Kingdom, which, though slightly lacking in territory quality, had gathered the most skilled warriors of the Brans Kingdom.

As they checked each other, the original owner of the crown and absolute ruler, Lynn, who had been pushed to the periphery, was completely disregarded.

Indeed.

Ironically, because she had no significant foundation left, Lynn found herself with a golden opportunity to step away from the fraternal conflict of the Brans family and reorganize her situation.

“What about troop movements?”

“We’ve conscripted everyone available… but we’re critically short of generals who can properly train them.”

“Are there any promising individuals among them?”

“Rather than being particularly capable… there is someone who insists on serving you, but in a different sense.”

After saying this and letting his words trail off, Lynn asked Farfalle in a calm tone:

“Tell me more.”

*

Shortly after.

A man walked steadily into the audience chamber and knelt before Lynn.

“Belut Ruga has just arrived here at my lord’s command!”

He had rather strong features and a masculine appearance, but overall gave an ordinary impression.

Though muscular, he didn’t exude much intimidation, giving the impression of a well-trained soldier rather than a warrior or general.

“Raise your head, Belut.”

“Yes!”

“You’re asking for authority to manage soldiers, correct?”

“That’s right!”

Belut bowed his head once more and shouted energetically in a loud voice.

“I, Belut, have vowed countless times to repay my lord ever since you mercifully spared my life. I believe now is the opportunity. If you entrust me not only with training but also with battles to reclaim territories stolen by treacherous betrayers, I will surely lead from the front and bring back the heads of the rebel leaders Kalintz and Chel!”

“……”

Honestly.

She couldn’t remember who he was very well.

Sorry to Belut, but until now, Lynn had been a woman who hadn’t allocated space in her brain to remember unremarkable commanders.

Despite his words, he was probably just a commander who could be easily handled by Kalintz, let alone Chel, the premier swordsman of Brans.

But.

“I’m very reassured, Belut.”

Lynn slowly rose from her seat, and extending her hand, declared in a serious tone:

“I’ll entrust you with 48,000 troops. I’ll supplement you with additional warriors and troops to assist you as quickly as possible, so I hope to see impressive results. Understood?”

“Yes!”

“And.”

“…?”

Looking directly into Belut’s eyes as he raised his head to look up at her:

“No matter what happens, I will never forget your name, Belut.”

“Ah… I understand! It’s an honor!”

Belut bowed his head as if embarrassed, then shouted energetically as he had when he entered, and departed.

——Lynn no longer looked down on those without ability.

After all, the fact that they chose her at this moment meant that rather than making rational calculations, they maintained their loyalty to their previously unappreciated lord in these chaotic times.

Lynn imprinted Belut’s name in her mind repeatedly. She was determined never to forget the names of all who continued to follow her, including him.

“Farfalle. Where did Belut work before?”

“I believe he was part of the Walnut Army.”

If it was the Walnut Army, that’s where Gurupa had been.

Back then, she wouldn’t have noticed anyone but Gurupa.

She never imagined that one of the people she had appointed without much thought would remain by her side until the end— Just as she was thinking this.

‘…Come to think of it.’

As soon as she thought about the man she had targeted next, something occurred to Lynn, and she turned to ask Farfalle:

“Have you heard the news, Farfalle?”

“What news do you mean?”

“They say a magician has appeared in the Serpina Kingdom.”

“……”

Farfalle bowed his head deeply and said nothing.

He had probably heard the news but deliberately chose not to mention it to his lord.

Lynn easily guessed the reason and smiled with a distinctly bitter edge.

“…They say a pink-haired woman created flames from her hands.”

“That wasn’t all, was it?”

Farfalle slowly closed his eyes and lowered his head.

“It’s alright, Farfalle. Tell me honestly. It’s a moment we need to face and move forward from anyway.”

“…They say a white-haired man was seen beside her, appearing to support her.”

“So it was Swen after all. He did something similar when he was in our army, didn’t he?”

“But this time, he didn’t set up an altar to perform a ritual… It seems he fought in battle literally like a magician from the texts. Since it’s still at the rumor stage, the details aren’t clear.”

“Well, even if it’s a rumor, if it mentions a white-haired man, it’s probably not a lie. Perhaps he’s been hiding his abilities all this time? Swen was always someone who kept many secrets even when he was with me.”

“……”

“It’s fine. He’s someone who has left my hands anyway.”

Lynn said this, and then… with a slightly trembling voice:

“And, at least she has Swen by her side… so I’m okay.”

After saying this, she turned her head away.

The commander of the battle where the magician appeared, the first name that reached her ears.

The red-haired female knight known as the ‘Siege Specialist’——

“…Let’s go, Farfalle.”

“Where are we going?”

“I want to do a simple inspection. We’ve conscripted so many people, the morale of the territory’s residents must be shattered, right? I can’t just sit on the throne now that I’m the monarch.”

‘If we collapse pathetically like this, I won’t be able to face Irene… At the very least, I must reunify the Brans Kingdom that she wanted to protect.’

With these thoughts, Lynn strode out of the royal castle.

Swen and Irene.

Perhaps she had lost the most important key to unifying the world, or perhaps she had naturally let go of beings that could never have been hers, that she could never have aspired to—

She couldn’t continue to collapse here, blaming herself for their departure.

Everything was for the Brans Kingdom that Irene had so desperately wanted to protect.

Even if she could no longer reach her, Lynn didn’t mind.

It was an atonement that wasn’t really atonement, coming far too late.

It was essentially her small act of desperation, something she couldn’t stop despite knowing that no amount of regret would turn back time.

* * *

Just as there are those who recognize their situation and try to move forward somehow—

There are also those who only now realize what they have done.

“A magician… has appeared?”

A woman’s trembling voice filled the empty royal castle.

It wasn’t strange that the owner of this voice would react this way.

After all, the ‘magician’ who was beginning to shake the continent… had originally been in this woman’s hands.

With heterochromatic eyes, she was the leader of a formidable power in the eastern part of the continent, having founded a nation with comrades who shared a blood oath and grand ambitions.

Baranga Yurie Aeshus, the leader of the Aeshus Kingdom, who had carried the will and intentions of five people on her shoulders and made decisions without hesitation for what she believed was right.

Just like Lynn—

It was time for Yurie too to face the consequences of her actions.